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

Zhang Pingan's heart trembled when he heard this, and he regained his consciousness. "When did it happen?"

"It's been at least an hour. The fires over there were extinguished, leaving a mule cart blocking the way ahead, so we couldn't find them for a while. They must have quietly gone around from behind," Brother Liu speculated.

"Didn't we arrange for people from the Fu family to be on duty together?" Zhang Ping'an was a little annoyed.

Brother Liu smiled bitterly, "It's my fault for letting my guard down. Sanlang had warned me when he was handing over his shift, but I saw the second son of the Fu family was always beside me, and their car was also there, so there was nothing unusual. Plus, it was almost dawn, so when the second son of the Fu family said he had to go to the toilet, I didn't pay much attention. But he didn't come back for over a quarter of an hour, and when I went to look for him, he had already run away. When I got to the back, I saw the car was gone too."

Zhang Pingan was silent for a while. Now that things had come to this, there was no point in saying more. He could only calm down his irritability before saying, "Originally, I was thinking that having Doctor Fu take us to Tangjiadu to take a boat would at least give us some face. At least we wouldn't be ripped off too badly, and it would also prevent the other party from having some bad intentions. Now that they're gone, we can only go by ourselves. Forget it, we'll talk about it when we get there. Brother Liu, don't blame yourself!"

"Yes, it's because they are too cunning," Zhang Laoer also advised.

"Oh, I wanted to chase him, but I looked around but couldn't find anyone." Brother Liu was also very upset and felt ashamed. He was originally a vigilant person, but he was really careless this time!

"Don't think too much about it for now. Let's go forward and see what happens. There are three ferry crossings ahead, and there must be one that is suitable." Zhang Pingan cheered up, "Let's have breakfast first!"

Brother Liu nodded and went back depressed!

After a while, everyone stood up. When they heard that the Fu family had left, they had mixed reactions and complaints were certain. After all, they had spent a few days together, and they just left without even saying goodbye, which always made people feel uncomfortable.

Zhang Ping'an was already mentally prepared that the other party was going to run away, so he let it go after a moment of annoyance. It is better to rely on yourself than on others!

After breakfast, Zhang asked Dazhu to come over and call Zhang Pingan over.

Zhang already knew about the Fu family's affairs, but she remained calm and did not complain like others.

"I heard Dazhu tell me what he inquired about yesterday. Which ferry are you planning to go to?" Zhang asked.

Zhang Pingan sat down and replied, "Grandma, the boats at Tangjia Ferry are the largest and newest. They can carry our livestock and carts. I plan to go to Tangjia Ferry first to take a look. My only concern is that they are not legitimate. Overcharging passengers is not the most serious issue. I am afraid they will do something shady along the way."

"I've heard about this too, but I agree with what you said. We can't delay things just because we're afraid. We have to find out the truth first. We still need to be brave enough when we go out. I'll go with you later," Zhang nodded, with a hint of appreciation in her eyes.

"Courage is one aspect, and secondly, I've heard from my classmates before that people like them who hang around in the underworld all value the code of conduct. As long as they're not those low-class thieves, they'll stick to their word. I think since they can survive near the city, they must have some skills," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

"Yeah, that's right. I remember when my family was escorting goods, we often dealt with these gangsters. My father said that not all of them were bad. There were also some generous and cheerful people among them. They did this job because they were so poor that they couldn't survive. It all depends on the people you meet," Zhang recalled, looking forward.

"So, grandma, don't worry too much. I'll ask my eldest and third brother-in-law to go with me. It's still cold now, so you can just rest in the car."

Zhang shook her head. "Ping'an, don't look down on me because I'm old. I'm still in good health. You may be smart, but you're young and inexperienced. Sanlang and Yongde haven't been through much either. I can go with you to help hold the lower pass. I can tell from their eyes whether they're human or ghost. Eyes can't lie!"

After the voice fell, Bian Dang lifted the curtain of the car first, waved his hand and said, "Hurry up and get off. Don't waste time. Come and call me when you get to the place."

Zhang Ping'an and his cousin Dazhu looked at each other, smiled helplessly and got out of the car.

I feel that my mother's milk was produced at the wrong time. If this happened in modern times, with her intelligence and decisiveness, she would definitely be a heroine.

After they set off and walked forward for nearly twenty miles, they could see from a distance a dark brown wooden boundary marker standing by the roadside with the words "Tangjiadu" written on it.

When he got closer, Zhang Ping'an got out of the car and took a look. The wooden boundary marker had been worn out after being exposed to the sun and rain for a long time, and wood chips fell off when he touched it with his hand.

Fortunately, I could still see clearly that the direction was to turn right.

Zhang also saw it and got out of the car neatly.

Liu Sanlang came over with his bow and arrow and a butcher knife, which made Zhang Pingan feel very safe.

Qian Yongde was very proud because he was called out by his brother-in-law to accompany him to the ferry to inquire. He straightened his back a lot and felt that he was different and smarter than others, which was why he was noticed by his brother-in-law. Therefore, he was very active and quickly went to Zhang Pingan after the car stopped.

The four of them then headed towards Tangjia Ferry together, and the convoy rested there for a while.

After walking three or four miles, you can slowly see the wide river channel. On one side of the river, a shallow beach is created by the water flow, with some sand and rocks exposed. In the middle of the river, there are people standing on a small boat casting a fishing net.

Zhang Ping'an asked his third brother-in-law to go over first to inquire about the situation.