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

Doctor Fu came over during a lunch break and asked, "Nephew, what do you think?"

Among so many people in the Zhang family, only Zhang Ping'an is favored by Doctor Fu. He is indeed a smart man, knowledgeable and decisive, but his temperament is a little soft. He brought so many elderly, weak, women and children with him. It would be fine if he brought his own family along, but he even brought his relatives. It is obvious that he is very poor and has no use at all. He didn't tell anyone that he was going out this time!

Zhang Pingan smiled and said, "There's no shortage of smart people everywhere. Why don't you send a servant to investigate?"

Doctor Fu whispered, "I asked Geng Si to investigate, but they're keeping their mouths shut and are trying to trick us into telling them."

"That's fine, we're all going to the capital anyway. The road is wide open and we can just go our separate ways. No one will get in each other's way. There are so many of us, they won't dare do anything to us." Zhang Pingan threw a dried radish into his mouth and chewed it, then continued, "You'd better go back and eat quickly so we can set off early."

"Oh, what kind of days are we living in?" Doctor Fu sighed and complained. He felt that his belt had loosened a lot in the past few days. It was so painful.

In this way, more and more cars came in, and by the afternoon of the next day, from a distance, the convoy was several hundred meters long.

Seeing so many people following along, and it was obvious that they all came from well-off families, everyone at the Zhang family felt relieved!

But Zhang Pingan frowned fiercely.

"What's wrong, Ping An? Why are you frowning so hard?" Jin Bao asked in confusion. He handed a piece of dried fruit to Zhang Ping An and said, "Here, I'll give you a piece of apricot. It's very sweet."

"Oh, I'm worried. It would be too conspicuous for so many of us to walk together," Zhang Ping'an sighed. He put the dried fruit into his mouth and chewed it, but he felt bitter in his mouth.

"It's better to have more people. It's safer when we all go together. It proves that your decision is right," Jinbao said vaguely while eating.

Zhang Pingan couldn't help but give Jin Bao a slap on the face: "Do you think the people in the capital are stupid? We are almost there. There are so many villages along the way. How can others not be worried? And I am also worried... Oh..."

"What are you worried about?" Jinbao asked.

"I'm worried that we won't be allowed to enter the provincial capital, and I'm worried that it will be the same as the county town, where we can enter but not leave. I'm also worried that there won't be a boat to cross the river. There's no wall that's impenetrable. By then, everyone will be scrambling to take a boat to Yingzhou, and then cross the river to the south. There will definitely not be enough boats, and the crossing fee won't be cheap. What should we do with so many people?" Zhang Ping'an continued what he had not finished.

Jin Bao also restrained the smile on his face when he heard this. He looked around to see if there was anyone around. Then he leaned over to Zhang Ping'an's ear and whispered, "Don't worry. My grandfather said there is a way. If it really doesn't work, we can run away by ourselves. I will definitely take you with me when I run away."

"I won't take this step unless it's absolutely necessary. I'll do my best and leave the rest to fate," Zhang Ping'an replied in a low voice.

That panicky feeling came back again!

Fortunately, there was no robbery along the way, and on the morning of the sixth day, everyone could see the city wall from afar.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Ping'an went to Doctor Fu to discuss the matter, "Uncle Fu, why don't we send someone to the city to check out the situation? We don't want so many of us to get stuck in there and get stuck."

Doctor Fu stretched himself and thought for a moment before saying, "That makes sense. Let's rest here first. We're only seven or eight miles from the city gate now. If we can walk quickly, we can be back in less than an hour."

After saying this, he ordered a servant to set off early.

Those who were able to leave early at least had some connections in the county. There must be smart people in the team. The convoy of several hundred meters all rested outside the city without any prior agreement.

An hour had passed and the servants still hadn't returned. Doctor Fu was very anxious and kept pacing on the spot.

Qian Yongde brought a pot of hot water and said attentively, "Doctor Fu, please have a cup of tea first. Maybe that person was delayed on the way and will be back soon."

"Go away," Doctor Fu said impatiently.

Qian Yongde looked embarrassed when he heard this, and said flatteringly: "Yes, yes, then I will rest first."

Even San Ya couldn't stand it and whispered, "What are you doing? You are so spineless. It's so embarrassing!"

Qian Yongde was always domineering in front of San Ya. He rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "What is integrity? Can integrity be eaten? What do you know? Get out of here!"

San Ya felt very aggrieved, but she didn't dare to say anything.

Ma burst out laughing when she saw this, and said to her daughter-in-law with disdain, "She married into a town family and thought she had a good life, but it's nothing special. She has no face in front of men!"

Neither of the two daughters-in-law responded. Ma suddenly felt bored and ran to talk to Shen. The two of them had similar interests and could talk to each other easily. After a while, low laughter could be heard from both of them.

Zhang was so annoyed by what she saw that she took off the sole of her shoe and threw it at Ma, shouting, "The men are already upset, and you two still have the mind to joke around?!"

Ma was very angry at being scolded in front of so many people, but no one spoke up for her, so she had to return to her car in shame.

Dahe and Erhe saw things more clearly than Ma, and advised, "Mother, since we've all come here together and are going to settle down in the south, we'll have to rely on our cousins ​​in the future. Stop talking about us behind our backs every day. It's not good!"

Ma was furious and replied with a stern face, "I know!"

After noon, everyone could no longer wait.

Zhang Ping'an discussed with Brother Liu: "Brother Liu, you have worked at the Fucheng Wharf and are more familiar with the city. We can't wait like this any longer. How about this, I'll let my eldest brother-in-law's eldest brother go with you. He's strong and has been slaughtering pigs for many years, so he has a lot of strength. You two grown men won't be in any danger on the road. Go and see what the situation is at the city gate. If the situation is not right, you can go to the nearby village and ask around. The news in the village close to the city is always better than us."

"Okay," Brother Liu agreed without saying a word. He put a hatchet on his waist, put two medicine bags in his arms, and left with the eldest son of Liu the butcher.

"What is in the Liu family's eldest son's arms?" Xu asked curiously.

Zhang Pingan smiled and replied, "This is something Doctor Dou gave us to save our lives."

Brother Liu walked very fast and came back about an hour later. It was almost noon now.

Everyone gathered around and asked, "How is it?"

Brother Liu gulped down a glass of water to catch his breath before replying, "There's a queue at the city gate, but it's small, so it should be possible to enter. We didn't dare venture too close. Later, we inquired in the nearby village, and they said that the city is now also open to entry but not exit, and they're also recruiting soldiers. They're close to the city, and those serving gathered at the western suburbs camp the day before yesterday. I guess there's going to be a battle, but they don't know exactly where it's going to start."