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

When Zhang Laoer saw his grandson running over, he quickly stopped the mule cart and asked Xiaohu to carry the grandson onto the cart.

Maodan'er is almost 5 years old now and has a very good memory. Although he hasn't seen Zhang Ping'an for half a year, he is not restrained at all. He climbed into the carriage and said to Zhang Ping'an coquettishly: "Uncle, you are back. I missed you so much. Did you bring me some candy?"

Zhang Pingan deliberately said with a stern face: "I don't think you miss me, you miss the candy I brought, right?!"

Maodaner quickly shook his head and said in defense: "No, no, I miss my uncle. If I had brought candy, I would have missed him even more!"

Wu Ya chuckled beside him: "Little clever ghost."

Zhang Ping'an couldn't help laughing and took out some candy from his bag. "Here, here you go! How could my uncle not bring candy for us, Maodan? But you can only eat two, or you'll get a toothache. Share the rest with my brothers, sisters, and younger sister."

Maodaner couldn't wait to pinch a piece and put it in his mouth, mumbling: "Well, I'll only eat two more pieces, and split the rest with them."

"It seems that Maodan has grown a lot and now knows how to share things equally," Zhang Pingan said with a smile as he touched the child's soft hair.

As soon as he finished speaking, he arrived at the door of Liu the Butcher's house. Liu the Butcher was already standing there waiting. When he saw the car stop, he laughed out loud and said, "Just now, Yangdaner went in and said that Maodaner's grandparents had come. I didn't believe it. When I came out, it turned out to be you. It must have been difficult for you to come all the way back. Come in and rest."

"Oh, don't mention it. It's all caused by the epidemic. Fortunately, the whole family is safe and sound, so I don't ask for anything else," Zhang Laoer shook his head and smiled.

Zhang Ping'an got off the car holding Maodaner, and Wuya and Liuya followed suit.

Butcher Liu welcomed the crowd into the house and shouted into the yard, "Old woman, our in-laws are here, hurry up and make some tea!"

"Hey," Liu the butcher's wife responded loudly in the kitchen.

Soon Daya ran out from the backyard. Seeing that it was really her parents who had returned, her eyes suddenly turned red. She cried and laughed, "Dad, Mom, little brother, fifth sister, sixth sister, you are back."

Maodaner slurped the candy and asked in confusion, "Mom, why are you crying? My uncle brought some candy back. It's very sweet. Please eat one and stop crying, okay?"

Daya wiped her tears and said with a smile: "If mother doesn't want to eat it, you eat it!"

After a while, Liu Sanlang also came over from the backyard. He had just been helping to chop firewood in the backyard. Even in the middle of winter, he was sweating and his whole body was steaming.

Seeing his father-in-law, mother-in-law and brother-in-law coming, he quickly greeted them, "Dad, Mom, everything is fine. Fifth sister, sixth sister, you are back. Come and sit down."

"Brother-in-law, your stuttering is almost inaudible now. It seems that you have recovered very well in the past six months," Zhang Pingan said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

Hearing this, Liu Sanlang scratched his head and smiled innocently, "Thanks to Master Yang for forcing me to practice every day. He always made me take attendance during the archery and horse riding classes. Gradually, my stuttering has become less severe."

Zhang Pingan nodded. "Although Master Yang is a bit lazy, he's actually a good person. How is he? We went to look for you after returning to the county, but the gate was locked and Jin Bao's family was not there."

Liu Sanlang nodded and said, "Master Yang is doing well in the county. He sent me a message a few days ago. He takes good care of me and taught me to read. I can now recognize the Three Character Classic and write a few characters, but my handwriting is not good."

"That's great. Everything is difficult at the beginning. It will be easier to learn to read later," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

Daya brought over some hot tea and continued with a smile, "Little brother, you don't know this. At first, your brother-in-law was unwilling to learn. He didn't learn well and was scolded by Master Yang every day. Later, I followed him to learn. I told him that he couldn't learn worse than a woman like me. That's what motivated your brother-in-law to make progress."

"No, why are you dismantling my stage?" Liu Sanlang muttered embarrassedly.

Daya said with a smile: "Next you have to learn the Hundred Family Surnames. If you are afraid of being embarrassed, then work hard to learn them well. Then I will praise you every day."

After saying that, he sat down and continued, "Last winter, the epidemic was terrible. Many elderly people died, and the county school was closed early, so we all came back together. Fortunately, I heard that there was a great doctor in the provincial capital who taught us the art of vaccination, and that's how the epidemic was brought under control. We were so worried about you at home."

"It's all in the past. We were doing well in the provincial capital. Nothing happened. It was just a pity that I couldn't come back when my grandparents passed away," Zhang Ping'an whispered.

After drinking half a cup of tea, Xu sighed and said, "Alas, I am such an unfilial daughter. We will go directly to your grandparents' home later. Although it is a national mourning and sacrifices are not allowed now, we still have to burn incense and give the additional money to your two uncles."

Butcher Liu stroked his shiny hair and sighed, "Uncle Xu and Aunt Xu were both wonderful people. It's a shame they didn't survive the epidemic. But you don't have to be too sad, mother-in-law. They were both in their sixties, so it's a happy death."

Almost two months had passed since the incident, and Xu had been able to accept it calmly. Upon hearing this, she nodded and said, "Yes, I know."

In the car, Zhang Laoer divided the things he brought for his family and took out the portion for Daya. Most of them were practical things such as food and daily necessities.

Daya refused and said, "Dad, it's really not necessary. We have everything we need to eat and use at home. You don't need to bring so many things back every time. Save the money for my younger brother's future studies."

"Just take it if I tell you to," Zhang Laoer said in a deep voice.

Her parents-in-law were watching from the side, so Daya couldn't refuse any more and had to accept it. She secretly thought that when she returned to her parents' home, she would have to give the money to her mother in private to supplement her income.

Butcher Liu's wife laughed and said, "Oh, my dear, you always bring so many things with you every time you come. It's so embarrassing. You must eat here at noon today. I'll cook two delicious dishes."

After saying that, she invited her two daughters-in-law to cook together and went to the kitchen happily.

After a while, the eldest and second sons of the Liu family and their two wives came to the main room. They were jealous when they saw that the third brother's wife's family had brought many bags of things. However, they also understood the basic rules, so they didn't say anything and went to cook with their mother-in-law.

The children from the three families gathered together and made a lot of noise. Maodan sensibly took out the candy and shared it equally with everyone.

He kept muttering: "One piece for Brother Gou'er, one piece for Brother Yang'er, one piece for Big Brother, one piece for me..."

Wu Ya was surprised and said, "Wow, cat eggs can count now?"

Daya said proudly: "Yes, his father taught him at home."

Upon hearing this, Xu pretended to be casual and secretly boasted, "It seems that my eldest son-in-law has made a lot of progress. In the future, he should work hard to become a formal martial arts teacher like Master Yang in the county school. The monthly salary will be quite high. I heard Ping'an said that he can get nearly two taels of silver a month. And our Ping'an is also very outstanding in the provincial school. He was noticed by a scholar who is an official and was accepted as his apprentice. His two senior brothers are also officials. Our Ping'an will not be far behind in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Butcher Liu leaned forward and asked Zhang Laoer, "My dear, Ping An even took the Juren as his teacher. That's incredible!"

There was a lot of seriousness in his words, which made the eldest and second sons feel even more sad.

Comparing people with others will lead to death, and comparing goods with goods will lead to throwing away!