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

"Oh," Zhang Laoer also sighed. It was even more difficult to deal with the Sun family with more than 30 or 40 people.

Si Ya sat down and said with a stern face: "Anyway, I won't let you go. Our child hasn't been born yet. What's the point of you leaving?"

"Is Si Ya pregnant?" asked Zhang Laoer.

Sun Liujin nodded and smiled, "Yes, it's only been two months, so I didn't tell you guys yet. I planned to wait until three months had passed before telling you."

"This is good news, congratulations," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

Si Ya was worried: "Now that something like this has happened, I don't know what to do."

Sun Liujin glanced outside the door, making sure no one was around before whispering, "Stop making such noises every day. It's not my turn to go home. After all, I've studied for so many years, and I'm the best at using an abacus and accounting. Dad definitely won't let me go."

Si Ya defended herself: "I don't yell about it every day. I only talk about it when Dad and my little brother are here!"

Zhang Laoer also scolded his daughter: "Your son-in-law is much smarter than you. From now on, listen to him in everything. Don't mess around!"

"I understand, Dad," Si Ya replied.

"Fourth brother-in-law, we are in a hurry to go back. Let me tell you straight, I just went to ask my classmates and the teacher in the academy. It's not that there is no room for maneuver now. We just have to spend money to find someone to change the household registration to replace you and go to serve in the army. Many wealthy families in the county are doing this now," said Zhang Ping'an.

"I'm afraid this won't be cheap. I need to find someone and use connections." Sun Liujin was a smart man and understood it as soon as he heard it.

"I haven't asked about this yet, but it will definitely cost money. You and your family can discuss whether to use this method. If you need any help, just come to me." Zhang Pingan said and stood up to say goodbye. "It's getting late now. We have to go back quickly. I'll leave first."

Sun Liujin nodded and didn't stay any longer. He told Si Ya, "Hurry up and go to the kitchen to prepare some food for Dad, my younger brother, and my older brother-in-law to take with them for the journey."

Si Ya nodded and took two steps towards the kitchen. Then she came back and complained, "Mom and sister-in-law locked all the cupboards. How can we have anything to eat?"

Sun Liujin looked at his father-in-law and brother-in-law awkwardly, and whispered, "Then go ask Mom for the key, or go to our room and pack some snacks and fruits."

"Oh," Si Ya went out again.

"Haha, Si Ya has been confused since she got pregnant. It's true what people say that pregnancy makes a woman stupid for three years," Sun Liujin said to make amends.

Zhang Laoer waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "No need to prepare anything. We're leaving now and won't have time to eat on the way."

The three of them got on the mule cart and left.

Si Ya came out with a bag of snacks and shouted, "Dad, little brother, why did you leave?"

Sun Liujin looked at his silly wife and held his forehead, "Keep it for yourself!"

Here, Zhang Laoer drove the mule cart and finally arrived at the town at dusk. He would have to wait until tomorrow to return to the village.

The father and son followed Liu Sanlang to the Liu family to rest.

Butcher Liu was very welcoming. He was extremely satisfied with the marriage to the Zhang family and asked his wife to prepare a decent dinner.

After finishing the meal, Butcher Liu couldn't wait to ask, "Father-in-law, Ping'an, how did your inquiries in the county town go?"

There are six people in the Liu family who meet the age requirements. In addition to Liu the butcher and his two sons, the eldest and second sons of the Liu family are both over 15 years old. Two of them have to be sent to serve in the army. Liu the butcher is in a dilemma.

Zhang Laoer told about what he had inquired about in the county town today.

Butcher Liu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and said with a smile, "It doesn't matter whether it's money or not. I can raise the money even if I have to sell my land and house. As long as I can keep the person alive, it's fine. I can earn more money in the future. But I have to think about who to find as a replacement. I might have to ask Ping An to help me with the errands to change my household registration. Our family is in the county government, so it doesn't matter."

Zhang Pingan nodded and said, "Uncle Liu, we are all relatives. I will definitely help you if I can."

Butcher Liu smiled with satisfaction and said, "It's getting late now. You should go to bed early. Daya has made the beds for you."

"Sorry to bother my in-laws," Zhang Laoer said with a naive smile.

"Well, we are all relatives, why bother being polite?" said Liu the butcher indifferently.

The next morning, after breakfast, the father and son said goodbye and left.

Zhang Laoer asked Daya and Sanya to tell them to decide on a candidate as soon as possible so that they could go to the county government office together to handle the formalities.

On the way back, Zhang Laoer was thinking about who to find to replace him. It would be best not to find someone from the same village as it would be easy to cause gossip.

Zhang Pingan thought about everyone he knew and asked, "Dad, the villages around us are all quite wealthy, so it might be hard to find someone. Even if we do, the price won't be cheap, and it's easy for people to gossip about us. I thought, isn't my aunt's family in a remote valley? Wouldn't it be easier to find someone there?"

"You mean Lijiawa?" Zhang Laoer responded, and after thinking about it, it really seemed like a good place. "Don't tell me, why didn't I think of it? It's a good place to find someone. They're poor there, and there are many families with many sons, many of whom can't even find wives. When you go back, ask your aunt to be the middleman and ask around."

It was not yet noon when the father and son arrived home, and it was still early. As a result, when they got home, they found a lot of people sitting in the house. In addition to the village chief Uncle Changqiang and several village elders, even the uncle and aunt of the Liu family, the second sister's in-laws, and Brother Liu were there.

When everyone saw the father and son return, they all eagerly asked, "How did you guys go about inquiring in the county? Do you have any ideas?"

"Let the father and son sit down and have some tea and rest first," Xu interrupted.

Village chief Zhang Daqiang nodded and said, "That's right, there's no rush. Let them rest first."