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

Most of the villages around the county town are wealthy and have good public security.

Zhang Ping'an took his family to find a pond and washed his face before entering the village.

I heard that Zhang Ping'an was a scholar and took his family to visit relatives in the county town. As it was getting dark, he wanted to stay overnight and was willing to pay. The village chief was very welcoming and could tell at a glance that this family was honest people.

Then he said, "Mr. Zhang, I'd like you to stay at my house, but my family is quite large and we don't have any extra rooms. There's only a grandmother and her grandson living at the village head, and there are two or three empty rooms. Why don't you stay at her house?"

Zhang Pingan didn't pick it up, and replied with a smile: "Well, there are not so many rules when you go out. Sorry to bother the village chief!"

The old woman Niu that the village chief mentioned was a widow. Although she was called an old woman, she was actually only in her early thirties. Her husband and son died of tuberculosis, and her daughter-in-law was taken away by her brother from her natal family and remarried. She was left with only a three or four-year-old grandson to depend on. It was difficult for them to make a living, so the village chief was quite caring and introduced the man to her house to stay overnight so that he could earn a few copper coins.

"The bed is covered with clean new straw. I don't have any extra bedding at home, only a thin quilt. You'll have to make do with it for one night," said Mrs. Niu stiffly as she stood aside.

Zhang Ping'an didn't mind, he just had to make do when he was away from home, "Aunt, we haven't had dinner yet. I wonder if you could make us some dinner. Here's the money for the meal and accommodation." He handed over more than twenty copper coins.

"Oh, okay, I'll do it now," said Mrs. Niu with a reserved smile. She took the copper coin and put it carefully into her lapel, then called her grandson to go to the kitchen to help light the fire.

Xu looked at the bedding, which was relatively clean and had a delicate scent of soap nuts. She then sat down and said, "Hey, I don't know what you two are doing, father and son. Look at where you live!"

Wu Ya thought it was okay, as long as she was with her family, she would be fine. She sat aside and said with a smile: "The village chief is quite nice. Seeing that Aunt Niu's family is having a hard time, he knew to help them."

"Yes, we met a good person," Liu Ya also echoed, and then wanted to pour some water to drink. She was indeed a little thirsty after the journey.

"Don't drink yet," Zhang Pingan took the cup.

Wu Ya asked in confusion: "Why?"

Zhang Laoer tiptoed to the window and the door, looked out, and then whispered, "When you go out, you must be on guard against others."

Xu, who had been eating extra meals for so many years, was startled when she heard this. She also looked outside like a thief, and after confirming that no one was around, she whispered, "Your father is right. Be patient and drink later!"

Wu Ya and Liu Ya didn't dare to move and quickly put the teacup back.

After a while, Mrs. Niu prepared dinner, which was a pot of vegetable and dumpling soup. Although there were more vegetables, it was nice to have a bowl of hot soup in such a cold weather!

Zhang Pingan saw Niu Pozi's little grandson Fengshou looking at him eagerly, sucking his fingers and drooling. He smiled and said, "Fengshou, are you hungry and want to eat?"

Fengshou nodded ignorantly.

Mrs. Niu quickly waved her hands and said, "We have all eaten, you guys can eat, don't worry about us!"

Zhang Pingan smiled, went to the kitchen and got a bowl, scooped two spoonfuls of dumpling soup from each of his parents and two sisters' bowls, which made up half a bowl in total. Then he carried Fengshou to the bench and touched the child's sparse hair: "Eat!"

Xiao Fengshou was only three years old. When he smelled the fragrant dumpling soup, he knew it was for him. He immediately picked up the bowl and started eating without caring about the heat.

When Mrs. Niu saw this, her eyes turned red and she stopped trying to stop him.

The Zhang family then began to eat. As they ate, they chatted. When Mrs. Niu heard that the Zhang family wanted to buy a cart frame for the mule, she hesitated and said, "We do have a cart. When life was good, we had cows and mules, but we sold them to treat my husband and son's illnesses. The cart frame is worthless, so I didn't sell it to facilitate transporting food during the busy farming season and to chop firewood. If you need it urgently, I can sell it to you, but the price may not be low. After all, I have to find someone else to do it."

In fact, what Mrs. Niu wanted was to sell the cart at a high price. Seeing that the family was dressed well and wanted it urgently, she would look for a second-hand one that was cheaper and make a profit from the difference. Anyway, the current one she had was about to fall apart and it was hard to pull!

Zhang Pingan smiled and said, "What a coincidence! I wonder how much Auntie wants to sell it for?"

"Five...five hundred coins," said Mrs. Niu hesitantly. After she finished speaking, she felt unsure and asked tentatively, "Is that okay?"

Xu knocked the bowl heavily on the table and said with a stern face, "Sister, buying a new one won't cost more than 500 coins, right? You're so lucky!"

With an embarrassed look on her face, Mrs. Niu defended herself by saying, "Mine are all made of fine wood and the workmanship is also exquisite."

Xu rolled her eyes when she heard this: "My family is a carpenter. How could I not understand wood?!"

Mrs. Niu squeezed her palms and asked, "How much do you want?"

"Two hundred coins," said Xu.

"No! It's too little," said Mrs. Niu unwillingly. "Then I won't sell it. It's not enough for me to make new ones."

Xu doesn’t want it yet, so at worst she can just walk back!

Seeing that the talks were about to break down, Zhang Pingan secretly kicked his mother under the table.

Fortunately, Xu was not too stupid. She continued to bargain with Niu Po ​​reluctantly and finally got it for 380 Wen.

Even this price seemed too expensive to Xu, and her eyelids twitched. She didn't know what bad luck she had this year, and her family had been losing money. She had to go to the temple to pray tomorrow!

The family managed to get through the night, and the next morning Zhang Laoer put the bicycle frame on and prepared to leave. Mrs. Niu was in a good mood and said, "Next time you need a place to stay, come to my house!"

The village chief also walked over and greeted everyone with a smile.

Little Fengshou sucked his fingers and looked at everyone reluctantly. This big brother even gave him candy. He is a good person!

After going a hundred or two hundred meters, Zhang Laoer stopped the car and said, "The frame is falling apart. I need to hammer it, otherwise I won't be able to move fast!"

"I'll go back and borrow a hammer," Zhang Pingan jumped out of the car.

When he returned, Xiao Fengshou was squatting at the door playing with ants. Zhang Ping'an didn't see anyone in the main room, so he went to the kitchen to look for someone. He saw the village chief making advances towards Niu Pozi. Niu Pozi looked patient, but obviously acquiesced.

When Zhang Pingan saw this, he quietly retreated to the door and sneered: Haha, I thought he was a good person!