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

In his previous life, he lived in the era of information explosion. Although he had never attended university, Zhang Pingan knew that people who could recover and survive the epidemic must have antibodies against the disease in their bodies. This was how the cowpox vaccination method came about. He had also received the cowpox vaccine when he was a child.

He had never studied medicine and didn't know how to extract it specifically, but he wanted to tell this idea to Dr. Chen, who was a professional and might have a way.

After a while, Professor Han came in to class. He frowned when he saw there were only three students in the classroom, but he still insisted on finishing the morning class.

When the class was over, Professor Han said, "A lot of people have caught the cold these days, and many students in the outer dormitories have fallen ill or asked for leave. You three are commendable for insisting on coming to class under these circumstances, but you should still prioritize taking care of your health. Starting today, classes in the outer dormitories will be temporarily suspended. We'll arrange for someone to inform you of the specific resumption date."

The three of them exchanged glances, mentally prepared, and immediately stood up and saluted, saying, "I understand, Master. Please take care of yourself."

In this way, the provincial school was temporarily suspended. After Zhang Ping'an returned home and told his parents about the situation, Zhang Laoer and Xu became even more worried. Not even being able to attend classes meant that the situation was very serious in their opinion.

The next day, Zhang Ping'an got up at the usual time, had breakfast and started to review his lessons. Studying is like rowing against the current, if you don't make progress, you will fall behind. Even if you don't have classes, you can't slack off.

After a while, Xu came and knocked on the door, saying that the idle man who helped deliver the mail had delivered two letters. Zhang Ping'an picked them up and saw that they were replies from Jinbao and Doctor Chen.

Jinbao replied that there were many people infected with the cold in the county. After receiving the letter, he informed his second and third sisters and people he knew, and asked someone to send the letter back to the town and village. He also went to many clinics to buy the right medicinal herbs. If the situation was serious, he might go back to the countryside with his grandparents. After all, there were fewer people in the countryside and the risk of infection was small. He told Zhang Pingan not to worry too much and wrote two large pages of paper.

Doctor Chen's reply was much simpler. He said that some people in Yingzhou City had also been infected with the cold, but the medical department in the provincial capital had acted quickly and had isolated these people long ago. People entering and leaving the city would also be strictly checked, and all the medicinal materials corresponding to the treatment of the cold had been taken away and controlled, and would be arranged uniformly by the medical department. This would also reduce the situation where the sick people concealed their illnesses. He also said that he was currently researching a suitable prescription and would write to Zhang Ping'an again when he had the results.

After receiving the letter, Zhang Pingan wrote back to the two of them. Jinbao could only remind them to be more careful, while Doctor Chen carefully explained some of the cowpox vaccination methods he knew in his previous life, as well as the theoretical basis, hoping to provide some help.

After the family finished their worried lunch, Zhang Pingan was exercising in the yard when he heard a knock on the door. He opened it and saw that it was Wu Ya and Liu Ya who had returned. "Fifth sister and sixth sister, why did you suddenly come back from the embroidery workshop? Is someone there sick?"

Wu Ya and Liu Ya each held a small bundle in their hands and replied with frowns on their faces, "Not yet, but the manager is worried that if someone gets sick later, it will spread, so they asked us to go home and rest first, and will notify us to go back later depending on the situation."

"Come in quickly, have you had lunch?" Zhang Pingan asked.

"Brother, we have eaten. We had lunch at the embroidery workshop before coming back," Wu Ya replied with a smile.

Xu heard the commotion and came out. After hearing everything, she sighed and said, "It's good that you're back. Your father and your younger brother were just talking about coming to see you a few days ago. But if you do that, we'll have to prepare more food. I don't know if you can get some of the money back if you haven't been to the embroidery workshop for a while."

Liu Ya stepped forward and took out the copper coins from her bag: "Mother, the manager refunded more than 100 coins, and the money is all here."

Xu's face finally lit up a bit as she took the copper coin and said, "The people in this embroidery workshop do have some conscience."

Zhang Laoer was a restless person. He didn't know how long this epidemic would last, so he dug two ridges in the corner of the yard, preparing to plant some radishes and cabbages. At least he could save some money on vegetables. He was sowing the seeds and only stopped when he saw Wu Ya and Liu Ya return. He went to the water tank in the yard, drew a basin of water, washed his hands, and then said, "Now that you're back, settle down and settle down. We can talk about other things later."

Because there were two more people to feed at home, Zhang Laoer got up early the next day and prepared to go out to buy some more vegetables. However, after just a few days of not going out, more than half of the people selling vegetables at the stalls had disappeared, and the prices of the few that were still selling were ridiculously expensive, more than three or four times the previous price. Zhang Laoer was really reluctant to spend money, so he finally brought back more than 20 kilograms of radishes.

When he came back and walked towards the provincial school, he saw that every house had closed its doors and windows, and even the sound of children playing could not be heard. Zhang Laoer felt heavy in his heart.

After entering the house, Xu looked at the cart and found that there was only one basket of radishes. She asked, "Why is there only one basket of radishes? There are so many people in the family. We have to change the vegetables from time to time!"

Ever since his son was born, Zhang Laoer had always been calm and gentle in front of Xu. However, what he saw and heard today made Zhang Laoer unusually irritable. After hearing what she said, he scolded, "What kind of situation is this now? It's good enough to have something to eat."

Wuya, Liuya and Xiaohu beside them couldn't help but shrink their necks and breathe softly.

Xu couldn't help but grumble, "Is it because I can't eat it by myself? Why are you yelling at me?"

After saying that, he went forward and moved the basket of radishes to the kitchen.

Zhang Pingan heard the sound and came out and asked, "Dad, what's wrong?"

Zhang Laoer wiped his face, calmed down his irritation, and said, "Nothing!"

Although he said it was nothing, this matter made Zhang Laoer feel uneasy. After dinner, he went to the study.

Zhang Ping'an put down his pen, turned around and said, "Dad, you can tell me anything directly. I'm grown up now and can help you share some of the burden. The ancients also said that three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang. Don't keep anything to yourself. This morning, you suddenly yelled at Mom, and I felt something was wrong. What's the situation outside now?"

Zhang Ping'an is not stupid. He knows that his father's abnormal behavior today must be because something happened.

Zhang Laoer said with relief, "Dad hasn't achieved anything special in his life, but I'm most proud of having you." After a pause, he said in a deep voice, "I went out today and I felt that the situation is getting worse. It might be a plague. Your mother and I are old, and we don't know if we can make it. What if, and I mean what if, your mother and I are gone, you will be the male head of the family. You've been studying all these years, so there are some things at home that I want to explain to you in advance."