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

"Ping'an, how's the questioning going?" asked Brother Fu.

Since the two sides started traveling together, the relationship between Zhang Ping'an and the two sons of the Fu family has become much closer, which can be seen from the change in the way they address each other.

Zhang Ping'an didn't know whether the eldest brother of the Fu family knew what his father was planning, so he replied, "The old man said we can take a boat to Tangjia Ferry, which is 20 miles away, but the price might not be cheap."

Brother Fu said indifferently, "Money doesn't matter, as long as we can get the job done. We should hurry to the south. Should we go back and tell them now?"

"Well, let's go back," Zhang Pingan nodded.

The coachman drove the carriage back and met his own team after about ten miles.

Zhang Ping'an took his cousin Dazhu off the carriage and got on the mule cart of his eldest brother-in-law's house.

"How is it?" asked Liu Sanlang.

"There are three suitable ferry crossings ahead. Let's go to Tangjia Ferry first," said Zhang Pingan, and then explained the conditions of several ferry crossings.

Liu Sanlang was a man of integrity. He frowned upon hearing this and said, "So, according to you, the people in Tangjia Village are not good people, and they don't do anything good. We can't get involved with them!"

"They are just looking for money. We also need to take a boat. Let's see if we can reach an agreement first. If they really have any bad intentions, we will not tolerate them," said Zhang Pingan.

Time has been delayed for a long time, and it would be best if we could reach an agreement and get on board as soon as possible.

It was already noon. Zhang Ping'an took out his bamboo whistle and blew it, signaling to stop and rest and have lunch first. No matter what you do, you have to be in good health.

Zhang Laoer was driving the cart in the middle, and by the time Zhang Ping'an returned to his own car, Xu had already started the fire.

"Son, would you like to have some dumpling soup?" asked Mrs. Xu.

"Mom, you decide on the arrangements. I'm not picky," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

"How's the investigation going?" Zhang Laoer asked with concern.

"It's okay. There are several ferries here. Let's go to the nearest Tangjia Ferry first," Zhang Pingan replied.

Zhang Laoer nodded, looked around to see if there was anyone around, and then whispered, "After you left, Doctor Fu said he had guards at home, and he volunteered to cover their rear, moving us to the front. Is there something wrong?"

Zhang Pingan sneered when he heard this: "What's the problem? It's nothing more than wanting to leave us and run away when the time is right!"

"They're running away?" Zhang Laoer was surprised. "Why? They said they were going to travel together."

"Why? We traveled together at that time because we all wanted to go to the provincial capital. We had the same goal. It would be safer with more people and companions. It would be best to travel together. Now we can't get into the provincial capital. We have to find a private ferry to take a boat. We would be a burden. There are so many people, old and young, and we don't have much money. Of course they look down on us," Zhang Pingan explained.

Zhang Laoer was puzzled: "So they are sure they can get on the boat?"

Zhang Pingan said helplessly, "Dad, have you forgotten what he wanted our family to do before? Since he dared to smuggle medicinal herbs, he must have a way. I asked my third brother-in-law to secretly follow Brother Fu yesterday and overheard that they had a contact at Tangjia Ferry. They should be taking a boat there."

Zhang Laoer understood, but didn't mind. "To be honest, it's better to separate. Doctor Fu is a cunning man. I always feel uneasy when I'm involved with him. I'm worried that he might sell me out at any time."

"Dad, don't worry. We just need to be more careful. At worst, we can just separate," Zhang Pingan comforted.

At this time, Xu called out from outside the carriage: "Ping An, it's time to eat!"

Only then did Zhang Laoer and his son get off the car.

"Mom, please pick out the most worn clothes in our house and put them on, and tell the other families to make their faces a little dirty and wear their clothes a little torn, so as not to appear to be rich," Zhang Ping'an instructed.

Xu was a little nervous when she heard this. She looked around and whispered, "What's going on? Are there bandits?"

"No, but you'd better be more careful and not be too conspicuous," Zhang Pingan said without further explanation.

As a conservative woman, Mrs. Xu was not completely confused. She immediately said to her two daughters, "Take off the hairbands on your heads and stop wearing colorful things. Put some dust on your faces and necks."

Wu Ya and Liu Ya were at the age of appreciating beauty, so they were reluctant. However, they were always sensible, so they nodded and said, "Got it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jinbao came over with a bowl containing a few egg pancakes with a garlic aroma. "Ping An, this is for you!"

Zhang Pingan took one and tasted it, praising it: "It tastes really good. Do you still have eggs to eat at home?!"

Jinbao chuckled and sat next to her: "My grandma put a lot of eggs in the rice bag. If you like it, I'll ask my mom to make it tonight."

"We don't know how long it will take to get to the south, so eat sparingly. Have you eaten?" Zhang Ping'an said.

"Eat it, this is specially reserved for you. I ate three of them," Jinbao said with a smile.

Seeing that there were still a lot of cakes, Zhang Ping'an divided them into several small pieces and put one piece into each of his parents' and two sisters' bowls.

Xu narrowed her eyes and smiled: "Jinbao, come and play with Ping'an more often. Among all his friends, you are the best to him."

"Of course, we are best brothers," Jinbao scratched his head and smiled foolishly.

After the meal, the team set out again. The mule cart was not as fast as the horse carriage, and there were many people and a lot of luggage. It was still about thirty miles to Tangjiadu. There was no way they could reach that point today. After walking another twenty miles, it was getting dark.

Zhang Ping'an ran to the back carriage and discussed with Doctor Fu, and found a suitable place to camp.

People were still arranged to take turns to keep watch at night. Zhang Ping'an and Liu Sanlang were responsible for command during the day, so they were on duty in the first half of the night.

Night duty is particularly tiring, and after handing over the shift in the first half of the night, Zhang Pingan fell asleep.

The next morning, before I woke up, Brother Liu pushed me awake: "All right, the Fu guys ran away!"