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

"No matter what other families do, we just need to make our own lives better and better," Zhang Pingan said with a smile. No one is anyone else's savior. We should act according to our conscience and have a clear conscience.

Zhang Laoer patted his son's shoulder and said with relief, "You are a man of great plans. I won't say much else, but I will just say one thing: don't tell anyone else in the family about the banknotes. Don't show off your wealth. If others in the family find out, you'll be in a lot of trouble."

Zhang Pingan nodded: "Dad, I know."

Because the family now has a large amount of income, Zhang Laoer is more willing to spend money on New Year's goods this year than in the past. In addition to buying a lot of delicious food, he also prepared a lot of snacks and desserts.

Zhang Ping'an had left a few down quilts and down jackets for the family before. Xu and Zhang Laoer originally wanted to keep one for their son and sell the rest for silver. Their family members were in poor health, so they could just cover themselves with quilts. It was more practical to have the silver in hand. Now with this large income, and Zhang Ping'an's persuasion, Zhang Laoer kept the things.

Liu Shuisheng also had a holiday on New Year's Eve. After having breakfast in the morning, he took two boxes of snacks and a jar of rice wine to Zhang's house to celebrate the New Year.

After opening the door, Mrs. Xu scolded him, "You kid, you came just like that, but what are you bringing? Working in the rice shop is not easy. You're getting married soon, so you need to save some money."

Liu Shuisheng smiled and bowed, saying, "Second Aunt, these things are not worth much, I just brought them to show my good luck. How can I come to your house empty-handed? This is not in accordance with etiquette, right? It's still too early for me to get married. I plan to build a career first and then start a family!"

"Child, come into the main room and sit down. There are fried peanuts and melon seeds on the table. Lunch will have to wait a while," Xu greeted warmly. She liked Liu Shuisheng's cheerful and lively personality.

Zhang Pingan was stirring paste in the main room. When he saw Liu Shuisheng coming, he smiled and said, "Shuisheng, you've come just in time. Come and help me put up the couplets. My father is killing chickens and has no time!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Shuisheng picked up the written couplet on the table and took a look at it, saying, "Ping An, your calligraphy has improved a lot. "Spring is always harmonious throughout the four seasons, and a peaceful home brings more than enough celebration." It's well written!"

"Come and help," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile, carrying the bowl of paste and walking towards the door.

"Okay, here I come," Liu Shuisheng followed with the couplet.

Zhang Laoer was killing a chicken in the yard and asked Wu Ya and Liu Ya to hold bowls to catch the chicken blood. He looked up and saw the two boys pasting Spring Festival couplets at the door without any worries. He couldn't help but smile, his heart was full, and he felt full of energy.

"It's crooked, move a little to the left," Zhang Pingan said from the side.

"Now, are you okay?" Liu Shuisheng asked, turning his head while standing on the bench.

Zhang Pingan stepped back a few steps, looked at it, nodded and said, "It's okay now."

Liu Shuisheng then jumped down from the bench, clapped his hands and said, "Ping'an, you used too much glue and it got all over my hands. I need to wash it quickly."

"Haha, my mother was afraid that it wasn't enough, so she boiled a little too much, and when she was brushing, she accidentally brushed too much," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

Although it was a rented house, the family did not take things lightly during the New Year. They still cleaned the house inside and out. Zhang Laoer even climbed onto the roof to sweep away the dead branches, fallen leaves and snow, making the house very bright inside and out.

The custom in Ezhou Prefecture is to have the New Year’s Eve dinner in the evening. At noon, the family members just scooped up some chicken soup with rice to make do with their meal.

Old Man Xu and Old Lady Xu are not even a hundred days old yet, so Mrs. Xu is the only one in the family who doesn't eat meat. It doesn't affect anyone else. Country people don't have so many particulars, so just eat what they like.

After finishing a bowl of chicken soup with rice, Liu Shuisheng wiped his mouth and said, "This chicken is good, and the chicken soup is quite thick. My mouth is sticky after eating it."

Wu Ya covered her mouth and laughed, "Of course it's delicious. This chicken is an old hen that my father carefully selected and bought. With my mother's cooking skills, and the addition of dried mushrooms and dried black fungus to enhance the flavor, how can it not be delicious?!"

"Hehe, it's thanks to you, it's thanks to you," Liu Shuisheng scratched his head and smiled.

Xiao Hu licked his lips and said, "Ever since I followed Brother Ping An to the capital, it feels like every day is New Year's Day. It's great!"

The east of the city was quiet. When it was getting dark in the afternoon, there was basically no sound around. Xu cooked, fried, and stir-fried everything, and also prepared a New Year's Eve dinner. She called Wu Ya, Liu Ya, and Xiao Hu to help serve the dishes.

The New Year's Eve dinner consisted of ten dishes, each generously portioned, symbolizing perfection. Zhang Laoer poured each person a glass of rice wine, raised his glass, and said with a smile, "After tonight, it will be a new year again. I hope our family can be as harmonious and happy every year as this year, and everyone will be healthy and happy."

The others followed suit, raised their glasses, and clinked them with smiles, saying, "May you be healthy and happy!"

Rice wine is sweet, and Wu Ya and Liu Ya also like to drink it. In the end, the seven of them drank up the jar of rice wine that Liu Shuisheng brought.

The dinner was very rich, with chicken, duck, fish and meat. Except for Mrs. Xu who only ate tofu and vegetables, everyone else was full.

Liu Shuisheng suggested, "Why don't we play Gobang to kill some time? Even though we don't have to stay up all night to celebrate the New Year in the capital this year, we should at least go to bed at midnight!"

"Okay," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

The two played seven or eight games, with Liu Shuisheng losing miserably in every one. Zhang Laoer also saw something was going on, so Zhang Pingan simply stepped aside and said, "Dad, you give it a try."

Zhang Laoer had lived most of his life without much entertainment, so he was eager to try. He smiled at Liu Shuisheng and said, "Shuisheng, if my uncle doesn't do a good job, you're not allowed to laugh at him!"

Liu Shuisheng waved his hand: "How can I? I'm only half-baked myself, and I just don't want to go down with Ping An. You've come just in time!"

The two men started to play, and Zhang Pingan could see that Liu Shuisheng was letting him go. On the other hand, his father was laughing, so he didn't point it out. As long as he was happy, that was enough!

Wu Ya and Liu Ya were reading storybooks in a corner of the main room, immersed in their own world, and didn't pay any attention to this side. Xu and Xiao Hu were eating melon seeds and chatting on the side. The old and the young were so different in age, but they were still having a pleasant chat.

Xu spat out the melon seed shells in her mouth and said, "Xiao Hu, let me tell you, one must believe in fate. I heard my mother say that when I was three years old, she took me to the temple to burn incense. The master in the temple read my fortune and said that I would have a smooth and comfortable life. Sure enough, my life is getting better and better now."

After swallowing the peanuts in his mouth, Xiaohu said, "Yes, my mother also said that everyone has their own destiny. Mine is a good destiny, just like yours."

Zhang Pingan shook his head and laughed when he heard this. Simple happiness is also good!