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

"Alright, as long as the matter is settled, it's fine. As for the eight taels of silver, the third family of the eldest family will each pay half," Zhang said, glancing at her two daughters-in-law. "Is that all right?"

Mrs. Li and Mrs. Ma quickly shook their heads and said, "Mom, we have no objection. Let's do it this way!"

"Ping'an, you should go to the county government office tomorrow to get things done. If there are people in the village who have already found someone, you can lend a hand and do it together. If you haven't found someone yet, just ignore it," Zhang said after taking a puff of cigarette.

"Grandma, that's what I was thinking. I'll go to the county town tomorrow morning," Zhang Ping'an replied.

Brother Liu stood up and said, "Then I'll go back first. Be safe. I'll come to see you tomorrow morning."

"Well, I'll go out at noon tomorrow," Zhang Ping'an nodded and replied.

After Brother Liu walked away, Li sighed and said, "Thanks to Ping An's achievements, our family has saved a lot of money. The Liu family has been seriously injured this time. I heard that the family has used up all the money they had for buying fish fry."

Ma curled her lips and said, "Sister-in-law, you're really worrying too much. They still have a pond full of fish that haven't been sold yet. The pond didn't dry up last winter. Once the fish are sold, there will be money."

"Where can we sell the fish at this critical moment?" Li said unhappily.

After saying that, he went back to his room. It was impossible to communicate with this third brother's wife. They were not the same kind of people.

Zhang Ping'an took some time out in the afternoon to visit the village chief Uncle Daqiang's house and told him about his trip to the county government office the next morning.

Zhang Daqiang nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go with you. I've already found someone."

Zhang Ping'an got up at the hour of Mao on the second day, and specially picked out a set of clothes made of better material to wear. In ancient times, people would respect the clothes first and then respect the people, so wearing good clothes can save a lot of trouble.

At daybreak, Brother Liu and Uncle Daqiang came over. Zhang Laoer was worried and insisted on going with them. In the end, the four of them put some dry biscuits in their pockets and drove out.

When we arrived in town, it was already daybreak and the cold wind was like a knife, stinging our faces.

After knocking on the door of Liu the Butcher's house and explaining his purpose, Liu the Butcher hurriedly said, "I've been waiting for you. I've found someone. I'll let Sanlang go with you to change your household registration."

After saying that, he shouted into the yard: "Sanlang, Sanlang, come out quickly!"

Liu Sanlang hurried out from the backyard. When he saw the people at the door, he understood what was going on and said hurriedly, "Dad, little brother, wait for me for a moment. I'll go change my clothes."

After saying that, he went back to his room. After a while, Daya followed him out and went to the kitchen to fill two bamboo tubes with hot water for everyone to drink on the way.

"Sister, do you know what's going on in Third Sister's family? What did she tell you?" Zhang Ping'an asked after taking the bamboo tube.

Daya frowned and said, "She said her family doesn't have the money to find a replacement, and she doesn't want to serve. Forget it, leave her alone. You guys go do your business first!"

Zhang Laoer and Zhang Pingan frowned when they heard this, but at this critical moment they didn't have time to go to the Qian family to make trouble.

Zhang Daqiang urged, "Okay, let's go quickly, otherwise we'll be too late. A daughter who's married off is like spilled water, and her family will have money to take care of it."

Liu Sanlang drove out his own mule cart, otherwise it would be too crowded for five people to sit in one cart and the mule would not be able to run fast.

After rushing as fast as they could, they arrived at the county town after noon. Everyone was hungry, so they found a stall, quickly ate a bowl of wontons, and then rushed to the county government office.

The last time Zhang Ping'an came to the county government office was when he came to collect the scholar's documents.

Except for Zhang Pingan, the others were all tied up.

"Dad, it's not good for several of us to go in together. How about this? You guys wait for me outside the door first. I'll go to the household office to ask and see the situation. If it's possible, I'll let you in," Zhang Pingan said after thinking for a while.

"That's right, Ping'an, you go," Zhang Daqiang responded quickly. He was afraid that he would be kicked out if he followed him in, so it would be better to let Ping'an go and ask first.

Zhang Ping'an walked towards the household registration office with familiarity. The person in charge of the household registration office was the same person who had helped him and Lin Junhui to exchange their scholar household registration cards. He was sitting behind the table, drinking tea comfortably.

"Tang Jingcheng, long time no see, I hope you are well," Zhang Pingan stepped forward and greeted him.

"Who are you?" Tang Jingcheng squinted his eyes and carefully identified him. After a moment, he suddenly realized, "You are Mr. Zhang, right? You came to me last year to exchange your certificate of membership for a scholar, and you came with Master Lin."

"That's me," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

Tang Jingcheng's attitude was quite friendly. He said, "Please sit down. What brings you here today, Mr. Zhang?"

"It's like this, I want to change my household registration..." Zhang Ping'an was interrupted by Tang Jingcheng before he finished speaking: "Is it about military service?!"

Zhang Pingan smiled and said nothing.

Tang Jingcheng put down his teacup, shook his head, and said, "There's no shortage of smart people in this world. A few days ago, a large number of people came to change their household registration. Normally, as long as it doesn't violate the law, I shouldn't stop them. But the higher-ups just issued an order today to put an end to this unhealthy trend. The household registration book is a serious matter. How can we change it at will? I might even lose my job!"

Zhang Ping'an looked around and saw that there was no one in the house, so he secretly took out two five-liang silver ingots from his sleeve and handed them over.

Tang Jingcheng looked at it, shook his head and smiled: "A gentleman loves money and gets it in a proper way. Zhang Xiucai, this is not about money!"

Too greedy. The imperial court was being eaten away by people like this. Zhang Pingan was also angry and remained silent for a while.

Tang Jingcheng calmly lowered his head to blow away the tea leaves and continued drinking tea.

Zhang Pingan paused, then took out a ten-liang silver ingot and said with a smile, "I know this matter has put you, Tang Jingcheng, in a difficult position. I will definitely reward you handsomely after the matter is completed. Moreover, since you helped me today, I will definitely help Tang Jingcheng if he has any difficulties in the future. My second brother said that he is your colleague and is also in charge of the household department in the government office."

"Oh?" Tang Jingcheng finally looked up again and asked, "Who is it?"

"How could you not recognize the person in charge of household affairs in the government office? My second senior brother is none other than Liu Wenchang," Zhang Ping'an said with a half-smile, and then took out the jade pendant given to him by his teacher.

After taking a closer look, Tang Jingcheng patted the table and said with a smile, "Oh, this is really a flood that has washed away the Dragon King Temple. Zhang Xiucai, why didn't you tell me earlier? I would have asked someone to do it for you right away."

"Thank you very much, I'll take care of it for you," Zhang Ping'an said with a bow.

"Well, we are all family, no need to trouble you," Tang Jingcheng waved his hand and pushed the silver back: "Take the silver back."

Zhang Pingan pushed it back and said, "I won't take this money. You took such a big risk to work for me, so I have to treat you to a meal to calm your nerves. Besides, your subordinates are watching over you, so don't refuse!"

"Okay... okay," Tang Jingcheng said reluctantly.

It is said that it is easy to get things done when you have someone in the court. Zhang Ping'an called his brother-in-law and a few others in, and it was done in a short while.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Ping'an thought that the matter was resolved and he could return to the capital city with peace of mind, but he didn't know that even greater trouble was waiting for him.