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

After Zhang Ping'an got the deed to the 40 acres of land from his family, he took his father and drove to the home of the landlord Wang in the next village. It was not because he was afraid of anything else, but mainly because he was afraid that the landlord Wang was cruel and would secretly beat him up on the way back after selling the land and then take the money back. Zhang Ping'an never doubted the dark side of human nature, and having his father around could also deter him.

Landlord Wang is a well-known small landlord in the surrounding area. He is over 50 years old and owns more than 600 acres of land and two hilltops. He is smart and capable, but very stingy and lustful. He either beats or scolds the servants in his house. He has six concubines, who are both concubines and servants, and are all daughters of tenants who settled in the house from outside.

The Wang family has five sons, so the landlord Wang tries to buy land every year. However, the villages near Zhangjia Village are all wealthy and there are few people selling land, which results in the landlord Wang's plan of 1,000 acres never being realized.

Now Zhang Ping'an came to sell land, and he sold 40 acres at a time. Landlord Wang welcomed him very much. He knew the Zhang family well, but out of caution, he still asked with a smile: "Why did Mr. Zhang sell all the land at home today? Won't you be left without support in the future?"

Zhang Pingan smiled helplessly and said, "To be honest, my family is planning to move to the capital city. You know I've been studying there, and it's been inconvenient for me to travel back home. Now my teacher has found some jobs for us in the city, so we don't have anyone to farm our land anymore. So, we're thinking of selling the land and buying a house to settle down in the city."

Landlord Wang nodded and smiled when he heard this, "Well, I understand that people tend to strive for higher positions, but since you're in such a hurry to sell, I probably won't offer a high price."

Zhang Pingan narrowed his eyes and smiled, "I wonder what price you want to offer?"

"Well, six taels per mu of paddy field, and three and a half taels per mu of dry land, how about that?" Landlord Wang replied.

"Nothing," Zhang Pingan said with a stern face, putting the teacup heavily back on the table, and stood up. "Landlord Wang, are you taking advantage of my young age and thinking I don't understand the market? My father is still here, and before I came here, my grandmother told me that paddy fields cannot be sold below 8.5 taels and dry land below 5 taels. At worst, we can rent it out and collect rent. Anyway, the land is here and it can't be moved away!"

After saying that, he stood up and walked out. Zhang Laoer didn't say anything, but just followed him, his attitude was very obvious.

"Hey, hey, Mr. Zhang, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Doesn't business require negotiation? It's not just a matter of a word," Landlord Wang stood up and tried to persuade him to stay. In his heart, he cursed that scholars were nerds who didn't even know how to bargain. He heard that this Zhang Laoer made a fortune in the medicinal materials business, but he guessed it was just a blind cat catching a dead mouse. Both of them were very naive!

"There's nothing to negotiate. This is the price. If you think it's okay, I'll sell it to you. If you think it's too expensive, I'll rent it out. These are all top-notch paddy fields, and the harvest from the dry land is also good. Everyone in the nearby villages knows that my family is willing to fertilize the land, so we don't have to worry about not having tenants," Zhang Ping'an said, turning around.

"How about this, eight taels per mu for paddy fields, and four and a half taels for dry land? You have to give me a discount on the price, so that I can feel better," said Landlord Wang anxiously.

"Then let me give you a fixed price. Eight taels per mu for paddy fields and five taels per mu for dry land. If you continue to bargain, I won't sell it to you. I'm busy packing up at home, and I don't have time to talk to you here," Zhang Ping'an said impatiently after thinking for a moment.

Landlord Wang thought the price was not bad and agreed: "Okay, that's the price. I'll ask the guarantor to come over and we'll sign the contract now."

"Okay," Zhang Pingan sat back and continued drinking tea.

"There are 30 mu of paddy fields, which earn me 240 taels of silver. There are 10 mu of dry land, which earn me 50 taels of silver. The total is 290 taels. Mr. Zhang, do you think it is correct?" said Landlord Wang after flipping the abacus beads a few times.

Zhang Pingan nodded: "That's right!"

"Then I'll give you the silver note, and we'll hand over the money and the deed at the same time," said Landlord Wang, stroking his beard and smiling. He bought forty acres of land in one go, and it was a continuous piece of land. He was very happy.

"I don't want banknotes, I want cash, and you have to keep this matter confidential. It has to be written in the contract," Zhang Ping'an shook his head.

"You need cash," Landlord Wang said, puzzled. "Silver is so heavy and inconvenient to carry. Besides, you can always go to the bank to withdraw silver with the banknotes."

"You should have heard that our family divided up a long time ago. This land does not belong to our second branch. It has to be divided between my eldest uncle and my third uncle. The silver is easy to divide, but they don't feel at ease with the banknotes," Zhang Ping'an explained.

"Tsk, that's true," said Landlord Wang with a hint of disdain in his eyes. After all, he was born a peasant and didn't have much experience.

After writing the contract and signing it, Zhang Ping'an took a small bag of silver and brought his father out.

"Dad, let's go quickly," Zhang Pingan urged.

Although Zhang Laoer still had many questions in his mind, the most urgent thing was to go back first. A bundle of silver was too conspicuous and too valuable, and there was no room for any mistakes. It would not be too late to ask after he got back.

The two villages were not far apart. Zhang Laoer whipped his horse hard and arrived home a quarter of an hour later.

Zhang Ping'an took the silver to his grandmother Zhang's room, and Zhang would distribute it when the time came.

"Well, the price is reasonable," Zhang opened the package and took a look, and she knew what was going on.

"Grandma, I'll go get busy first," said Zhang Ping'an.

"Go ahead," Zhang waved her hand.

Zhang Pingan went to Jin Bao's house again. Jin Bao was also surprised. Before he could cheer, Zhang Pingan pushed him to sit on a chair: "Don't say anything, listen to me first!"

After saying that, he called Jinbao's parents and grandparents to the main room.

"What's wrong? Why do you look so serious?" Jinbao asked worriedly.

Jinbao's parents were also puzzled: "Ping'an, just tell me what's the matter."

Zhang Pingan explained the situation carefully and finally said, "Uncle and aunt, your family should come with mine. We definitely can't stay here anymore. It's too dangerous. We can't take this risk no matter what."

"Ping'an, of course I believe you, but I haven't dropped out of school yet, and I haven't told the college yet," Jinbao said worriedly.

"It's already this late, and you still care whether I should drop out of school or not," Jin Bao's mother knocked on her son's big head.

"You mean the Xiao family members are gone too?" Jin Bao's father asked with a gloomy face.

"I haven't seen County Captain Xiao, but I guess he's still here. He definitely can't leave at any time because the others are not here," Zhang Ping'an nodded.

"Let's go, my family will go with yours," Jinbao's father said decisively.

"Mother Jinbao, come and help me pack up," Jinbao's grandmother stood up and greeted her. Although she looked a little worried, she looked very calm.

Grandpa Jinbao also stood up and said, "I'm going to sell the land and exchange it for some food from the villagers."

"Oh, no, we have to sell the land and move now," Jin Bao's mother was confused. Although she also felt that the situation sounded bad, it was not necessary to sell the land so soon!

Zhang Pingan was also a little confused. He had originally thought of several persuasive arguments, but he didn't expect the Jinbao family to accept it so easily and be so calm? !!!