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

After retreating to the door, Zhang Ping'an quietly asked Xiao Fengshou to call for help.

Xiao Fengshou stood up straight and shouted at the top of his voice, "Grandma!"

Mrs. Niu came out of the kitchen in a panic and said, "Hey, what's going on?"

After he finished speaking, he saw Zhang Pingan coming back again and asked in confusion: "Didn't you leave? Did you leave anything behind?"

Zhang Pingan replied with a smile: "The cart is about to fall apart in a few places. My father asked me to borrow a hammer to knock it down, otherwise I'm afraid it won't be able to move fast on the road."

Mrs. Niu looked embarrassed when she heard this. She knew the situation of the cart best, so she quickly said, "I'll get it for you."

The village chief had been in the kitchen all the time and had not come out yet. Mrs. Niu did not care and took the hammer and went with Zhang Ping'an to repair the car. The hammer was also an important property of the family and she was not comfortable handing it over to a stranger whom she had only known for one day.

Zhang Laoer was very good at small jobs like repairs. He took a hammer and banged on it for a while before standing up and saying, "It's OK. It can be used as a makeshift."

Seeing this, Mrs. Niu awkwardly added, "This car isn't usually like this. It's quite useful."

Xu rolled her eyes and said nothing.

Zhang Pingan said with a smile: "Maybe we have too many people sitting here today. Sorry to bother you!"

"Oh, it's no trouble, no trouble," said Mrs. Niu, waving her hand.

The family then set out again. The snow had begun to melt slowly in recent days, making the road very muddy and difficult to drive on. They didn't return to town until almost dark in the afternoon.

"Let's go to Liu's house to rest first. It's too late to go back to the village today," said Xu, looking at the sky. She was cold and hungry, and her hands and feet were almost frozen.

Zhang Lao Er nodded and said, "Okay, I thought so too. The road is not easy to walk on. Don't let yourself fall again when you rush in the dark."

"Dad, should we let our eldest sister's family go with us, as well as our second sister, third sister, and uncle's families? We have too many relatives and too many people. A rough calculation shows that there are hundreds of people." Zhang Ping'an got a headache just thinking about it. It would definitely not work if he just ignored them. He couldn't get over this hurdle in his heart.

Zhang Laoer had been pondering this all the way, and upon hearing this, he said, "Let's talk about our plans and ideas. It's up to them whether they want to go together. We won't force them, but it would be best if your eldest brother-in-law and his family could come along. They have many strong men, and they can help if anything happens along the way."

"Are we really leaving?" On the way, Xu had already heard her husband and son explain the situation. Until now, it still seemed like a dream. War and famine were too far away for her.

Wu Ya and Liu Ya were like quails, leaning against each other without saying a word.

"Mom, fifth sister, sixth sister, don't worry. Whether we leave or stay, our family will definitely be together," Zhang Pingan said firmly.

"Oh!" Xu replied, with some confusion in her eyes.

After they arrived at Liu's house, Butcher Liu was surprised: "My dear relatives, why are you back again? Didn't you go to the county town a few days ago and say you were going back to the provincial capital?"

Seeing that the men were empty-handed, without even a package, and their bike was old and almost falling apart, it was obviously not the same bike they had left with. He couldn't help but ask, "Were you robbed?"

Daya was holding the child and was also very worried, but she didn't interrupt. She pushed Liu Sanlang and asked him to get some thick coats.

After Liu Sanlang responded, he quickly went to his bedroom and took out a few coats, asked his father-in-law and mother-in-law to put them on, and quickly lit a brazier.

Mrs. Liu the Butcher put down the shoe soles she was sewing and said with concern, "You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll get you something hot to eat. Wait!"

After he warmed up and finished eating the noodles, Zhang Laoer explained in detail what would happen after he arrived in the county town and his family's plans.

"What? You're moving your whole family to the south?" Butcher Liu's eyes widened and he put down his pipe.

Daya couldn't help but interrupt and asked, "Dad, Mom, is the situation really that serious?"

Zhang Ping'an nodded. "Uncle Liu, big sister, we finally got out of the county town. It's impossible for us to go back to the county town. I plan to take a detour and go directly to the provincial capital. There is a dock in the provincial capital where we can take a boat. It only takes half a day to reach the provincial capital Yingzhou. There are large ships that can cross the river there. The place we go to is Yuezhou, which is where Mr. Fan went."

"Brother, to be honest, I'm already this old. I'm not afraid of life or death, but I still have children. I have to consider my children. If I hadn't had to, I wouldn't choose to go this way. In my opinion, it's best for your family to go together," Zhang Laoer said calmly.

Butcher Liu couldn't accept this shock for a while: "This... our family's foundation is all here. How are we going to survive if we go to the south? This won't work!"

Having said that, in fact, he already believed more than half of what the Zhang family father and son said. Liu the Butcher was a very shrewd man, and now he was just reluctant to let go!

Seeing no one was talking, Liu Sanlang scratched his head and stepped forward, saying, "It's getting late today. Father and Mother, little brother, fifth and sixth sisters, you should all get some rest first. I'll take you back early tomorrow morning."

"It's okay, no need to send me off. We have walked back to the village many times," said Zhang Laoer with a smile.

This matter does take time to digest. The Liu family probably didn't sleep well, and they all had dark circles under their eyes the next morning.

After breakfast, Zhang Ping'an said, "Brother-in-law, you guys think about it first. Dad and I will go to my uncle's and my third sister's house to tell them what they think. Then we will go back to the village. We will probably be gone in a day or two, and we will pass through the town. I will definitely come and say hello to you before I leave."

Daya's eyes were red: "Little brother!"

"Sister, it's okay, we'll leave first," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

In this era, women have no control over their own lives after getting married. Whether the eldest sister can go with him depends entirely on whether the Liu family will go with them. What's more, there are several children, so Zhang Pingan has no control over this.

Zhang Laoer first took his family to Xu's house. Although they had an unpleasant experience before, it was Xu's family after all, so Zhang Laoer still showed some consideration for them.

The Xu family has not yet dealt with the conscription issue. Although Daya gave the letter to Uncle Xu before, Uncle Xu was a little hesitant and never went to the county town.

Fortunately, I didn’t go to the county town, otherwise I would not be able to get out now.

Seeing their brother-in-law and his family coming back, Uncle Xu, Uncle Xu II and Liu the Butcher were all shocked.

After Zhang Laoer explained his purpose, Xu Erjiu decisively said, "We'll go with you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but look up to his uncle. It was rare to see someone so decisive and straightforward.

"Second brother, are you crazy?!" Uncle Xu frowned and shouted.

Our ancestors' legacy is all here, how can we leave so easily? What's more, what my brother-in-law said has not happened yet, it's just pure speculation, isn't this nonsense!

Second Uncle Xu looked up and replied, "Brother, I'm not crazy. Third Sister's family is much richer than ours. What's more, Ping'an has the title of scholar and is studying in the provincial school. Isn't he much smarter than us? They are all leaving. Are we still waiting here to die?!"