The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

As soon as he finished speaking, another of County Magistrate Zhu's advisors came in to report something. County Magistrate Zhu stopped talking and asked the manager of the household department to present the prize money of the scholars, a small silver ingot of five taels for each of them. After distributing them, he encouraged them with a few words and sent them away.

When they left the county government office, Zhang Laoer was already waiting at the entrance of an alley not far from the government office. He waved when he saw his son coming out. After saying goodbye to Jiang Yaozu and Lin Junhui, Zhang Pingan smiled and walked forward, "Dad, when did you get here?"

Zhang Laoer smiled innocently and said, "After sending you to the county government office, I went to pick up your fifth and sixth sisters and took them home. I didn't know when you would finish eating, so I came here in advance to wait for you."

"Dad, I didn't think it through. I should have informed you in advance. I plan to go to the South City Chess Academy in the evening to see if I can meet Mr. Fan. He has been very kind to me and has given me a lot of guidance in my studies. Although we don't have the official relationship of teacher and student, I still have to thank him now that I have passed the imperial examination," Zhang Ping'an said regretfully.

Zhang Lao Er nodded and said, "You should definitely go and thank them. They are all benefactors in your life. I'll drive you to the Chengnan Chess Academy. You should go and take care of your own business and don't worry about me."

"Having a father like you who understands and supports me is the blessing I earned in my previous life," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

"Stop saying these disgusting things, little brat. Your dad has shallow tear ducts," Zhang Laoer joked, and he looked much more lively.

Unfortunately, after staying in the chess academy in the south of the city for a whole night, Zhang Ping'an did not meet Mr. Fan. He didn't know whether he was not in the county town or what. Finally, Zhang Ping'an had no choice but to leave a message for the owner of the chess academy, asking him to say that if Mr. Fan came, he had to say that he had been there. He also left an invitation, inviting Mr. Fan to a dinner on August 18th. Although Mr. Fan would probably not go, he still had to be polite.

When they got home, it was almost past the hour of Shu, but Zhang Laoer and Xu had not yet rested. Xu had rushed out to buy a lot of fabrics that afternoon and asked the fourth, fifth and sixth girls to make clothes together. Zhang Laoer was making a list of guests and the menu under the lamp.

"Son, you are back. Come and help dad write the menu. I learned a few characters from your grandfather when I was a child, but now I have forgotten most of them and don't know how to write them. Don't waste paper and ink," Zhang Laoer scratched his head and laughed. The ink accidentally splashed on his face, making a mess.

Xu jokingly said, "I told you to wait until my son comes back before writing, but you insisted on writing it in advance. Now you're done!" Then she told Si Ya to get a handkerchief to wipe Zhang Lao Er's face. She continued, "Don't bite if you don't have teeth in your mouth, and don't try to hold on if you don't have shells on your back. You're wasting all this paper and ink."

"What are you talking about? Don't talk nonsense in front of the children," Zhang Laoer scolded with an embarrassed face.

"Dad, Mom, it's okay, I'll write it later," Zhang Ping'an said with a soothing smile.

At this time, Wu Ya and Liu Ya greeted with shy smiles, "Little brother, you're back?"

"Well, I haven't seen you for a while. Fifth sister and sixth sister, your craftsmanship has gotten better and better," Zhang Ping'an picked up the finished clothes, looked at them and praised.

Wuya and Liuya were very happy to be praised. Their parents had just said that they would find an embroidery workshop for them to learn the craft when they arrived in the provincial capital. Although it would be a bit tiring to work in the workshop, they would not have to work in the fields and would not be exposed to the wind or rain. There would also be many girls of the same age to talk to. Both of them felt that it was better than staying at home.

After writing the menu and guest list, Zhang Ping'an wrote a lot of invitations and prepared to send them out tomorrow. There were teachers and classmates from his own academy, as well as classmates who were also on the list this time. If he hadn't written them, he wouldn't have known that there were quite a few people.

Zhang Laoer frowned and said, "I see other families have servants or bookboys help deliver the letter. In our family, it would be undignified for either me or you to do it. We can only ask a messenger to help deliver it. This will cost a lot of money. I'll have to find you a bookboy when we return home."

Xu suddenly slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Dad, no wonder I always feel like something is missing. Now that you mention it, I remember that my son is a scholar now, so he must have servants or something like that. Otherwise, it would be too inappropriate for our son's status!"

"I've thought about this question as well. In the future, I'll make more and more friends, and most of them will be of higher status than ours. It would be more convenient to have someone to help run errands. However, we still have to go to the provincial capital by then, so it would be better to hire someone there," Zhang Ping'an replied.

Xu waved her hand and said, "Why bother hiring someone? It'll cost a lot of money. When we get back to the village, we'll just spread the word that we need a servant, and we'll have plenty of people come to our door."

Zhang Laoer frowned: "This is not good, they are all relatives and fellow villagers!"

"What's wrong with that? At least you can have enough to eat if you follow us. The grain production has decreased this year, and there are many children in the family. There are many people who don't have enough to eat," Xu said nonchalantly.

"Let's talk about it after we return home," Zhang Laoer made the final decision.

Zhang Ping'an picked out the invitations from the neighboring Li family and Jinbao's family. The two families lived close to each other, so he planned to deliver them personally tomorrow morning. Although he and Jinbao had known each other since childhood, he could not skimp on the necessary etiquette.

After seeing this, Xu asked casually, "Which two families are these invitations to?"

"It's for the Li family and the Jinbao family next door. The two families are close to each other, so I will deliver it myself," Zhang Pingan replied.

"You two have been away for the imperial examination for more than ten days. You have been busy running around since you came back. The Li family next door has been empty for a while. Their youngest son hasn't come to fetch water either. I don't know where he has been. I also don't know whether the eldest son of the Li family next door has passed the exam," Xu replied after biting off the thread in her mouth.

Zhang Laoer was quite surprised: "Then where did these orphans and widows go?"

Xu rolled her eyes and said, "Why do you care where they go? It's none of your business. You're being too nosy!"

Zhang Pingan suddenly realized, "I was wondering why it was so quiet next door. When I went out this morning, I saw their door was locked. But Li Mingxuan must have failed the exam. He wasn't at the banquet for the newly-appointed scholars at the county government office today."

"Look at how arrogant he is. He is not very knowledgeable and is not as good as my son," Xu muttered.

"Mom, don't say that. Examinations are unpredictable. Sometimes luck has a lot to do with it. He is very knowledgeable. Don't poke at other people's sore spots in front of them. That will make you enemies," Zhang Ping'an warned.

Mrs. Xu was both angry and amused, and said, "Am I really that stupid? This is something we should talk about behind closed doors!"

After a good night's sleep, the family packed up a lot of things the next day to prepare to return home. The families of Zhang Lao Da and Zhang Lao San also packed up their gifts and came to meet up.

Zhang Ping'an looked at the tightly closed door next door, thinking that it would be difficult for him to see Li Mingxuan again in the future. After returning to his hometown to host the scholar banquet, he would have to come back to pack up his things, move out of the house and move to the provincial capital.

When the whole family was about to leave, the Li family came back on a cart. The mother and her two children all had a gloomy look on their brows. When they arrived at the door, Li's mother helped Li Mingxuan get off the cart. Only then did Zhang Ping'an realize that Li Mingxuan's leg was injured, and it looked quite serious.

Since they met, Zhang Pingan stepped forward to say hello and asked a few words: "Brother Li, how did your leg get injured?"

Li Mingxuan raised his head upon hearing this and stared at Zhang Pingan for a long moment without saying anything. Mother Li, who was standing beside him, quickly tried to smooth things over, forcing a smile and saying, "Thank you for your concern. Mingxuan accidentally fell and has already seen a doctor."

Zhang Pingan was startled by the look in Li Mingxuan's eyes. Although Li Mingxuan had been aloof in the past, it was only the kind of indifference that came from not caring about anything, more like arrogance. But now his eyes were filled with hostility, sharp as a sword, cold as ice.

"What is the so-called heaven?" Li Mingxuan asked lightly at last. Without waiting for Zhang Ping'an's answer, he walked in with the help of Li's mother, leaning on crutches.

Zhang Pingan could feel something fading from his eyes.