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

No matter how shocked everyone was, the most urgent task was to enter the city first.

Zhang Ping'an was just about to go find the cart driver to ask, but after taking a few steps, the people behind him hugged their bags tightly and followed closely.

Mrs. Xu was even more exaggerated. She directly grabbed her son's arm. She had lost her usual arrogance and acted like a quail.

"Mom, what are you doing? I'll go find some cart drivers to take us into the city and will be back soon," Zhang Pingan said helplessly.

The others were similar to Xu. Even Liu the butcher was hesitant. He said, "Ping'an, we'll go with you to ask. There are so many of us. Don't let us get lost. We're not familiar with the provincial capital at all. If we get lost, we'll be blind and waiting to die!"

The others nodded repeatedly and agreed, "Yes, yes, that's right, we'll go with you."

Zhang Pingan thought for a moment and said, "Okay!"

He didn't expect that Yingzhou City had such a huge impact on everyone. Except for his brother-in-law, his father, and his grandparents who were a little better, everyone else was almost like his mother, looking timid and afraid of getting lost.

Fortunately, the place where the carts were picked up wasn't too far away. Zhang Pingan led everyone over and asked the price: "There are 76 of us in total. How much does it cost to take us into the city?"

The cart puller glanced behind Zhang Ping'an and replied, "It's 10 wen per person, regardless of whether you're an adult or a child. You'll also have to pay for the cart and my transportation in and out of the city."

"What?" Zhang Pingan suspected he had misheard. "Brother, you're right, aren't you? When I came here last August, it was only three cents per person to take a cart, and the cart entrance fee was also three cents. You've more than tripled the price!"

The driver shook his head. "It was indeed three cents last year, but it's only gone up in the last two weeks or so. And the entrance to the city through Philadelphia Gate charges an even higher fee, twenty cents. That's the rule from above. We have no choice. We have to survive too. Everything is expensive in the provincial capital right now."

Zhang Ping'an suspected that the driver was deceiving him, so he asked his elder brother-in-law to go around and ask around. However, no one dared to mess with his elder brother-in-law, a big guy.

The driver put his hands into his sleeves, sat back on the cart, and said, "No matter where you ask, the price is the same. It's all fixed."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion without saying anything. They had suffered heavy losses in property along the way, and now they were somewhat used to only having a few cents!

After a while, Liu Sanlang came running back, panting, "Ping An, I asked several people, and they all said the same price."

The driver said, "Look, I told you I wasn't lying. These are the prices we agreed on. We have to pay them to the boss. Anyone who breaks the rules by quoting a wrong price will be killed. Besides, our boss said that it's still uncertain whether we can enter the city freely from now on. It seems the higher-ups are going to issue a new notice."

If it were Zhang Ping'an and his family, he would definitely decide to take a car. After all, his family has enough money for the ride. However, since there are other elderly people here, he has to ask for their opinions. "The driver has quoted the price. Let's see whether we should take the car into the city or walk. If we walk, it will take about half an hour. If we take the car, it will take 25 minutes and drop us directly at the inn door."

It was Uncle Xu who spoke first. "Let's take a car over. We're already here, so we don't care about a few dozen coins. Our Tianshou seems to have a fever, so we need to see a doctor right away. Besides, he's been sleeping rough for so long, and now I just want to take a hot bath, eat a hot meal, and get a good night's sleep."

Jin Bao's father also said: "Let's take the car. It's good to be at home for a thousand days, but it's hard to go out for a day. We have all suffered a lot in the past ten days. Let's not save this money now."

Although the women were a little heartbroken, since the men had spoken, they naturally had no objections.

Riding a cart is much more comfortable than walking, and you can also enjoy the scenery along the way.

Children are the most adaptable. Donkey Egg and Cat Egg from Daya's family are both teenagers. After sitting quietly on the cart for a while, they began to point at the surrounding houses and shops and whisper to each other, and from time to time they would exclaim, "Wow, what a big boat!"

When they arrived at the city gate, not only the children but also the adults were amazed. The city gate looked even more majestic and magnificent from a close distance.

Moreover, Zhang Ping'an discovered that there were many more people on duty than when he came last year. The soldiers patrolling on the city defense tower were all wearing shiny armor and holding red tasseled spears. They looked very imposing indeed.

Regardless of the past or present, every little boy has a dream of being a hero. Donkey Egg pointed at the soldiers on the city defense tower and said, "Dad, I want to wear armor and guard the city gate like them in the future. It's so impressive!"

Maodaner nodded repeatedly: "Brother, I want to too!"

"You?" Donkey Egg looked at his brother and said disdainfully, "You're so much shorter than me, and not as strong as me. At most...at most you're just like them, checking out the vegetable baskets and carts downstairs. You definitely can't wear armor!"

Donkey Egg pointed at the soldiers guarding the city gate who were checking passes. They were also guarding the city gate, but without armor, they looked much more ordinary.

Mao Daner stretched his neck to take a look and nodded, "It's fine to be like them. I'm not picky. As long as I can guard the city gate, it's fine. When I'm stronger, I'll go to the second floor like you, big brother."

"Well, remember to eat more. You eat too little. From now on, you have to eat three bowls of food for each meal like me," Donkey Egg stretched out three fingers.

"Yeah, big brother, I'll listen to you," Maodan nodded vigorously.

The eldest of Liu the Butcher's grandchildren was Goudan, who was already sixteen years old. Upon hearing this, he slapped each of his two younger brothers on the head and said, "What the hell are you two expecting? If anyone wants to guard the city gate, it should be me. I'm the eldest brother, do you understand the rules?"

"Brother Goudan, it hurts," Donkey Egg and Cat Egg covered their heads at the same time.