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

"What's going on?" Xu asked nervously.

The others were also very nervous and huddled together even more.

Everyone was squeezed into the innermost part of the cabin, unable to see what was happening outside. With people jostling for position and passing messages to each other, it took a while before they finally understood that there were more than a dozen large ships on the river, flying the flag of the Sixth Prince.

"This should have nothing to do with us," Uncle Xu asked cautiously.

Jin Bao's father was speechless: "Brother, you think too highly of us!"

Zhang Pingan also said: "It should have nothing to do with us. It's an emergency. I just don't know what exactly happened."

After everyone waited anxiously in the cabin for about a quarter of an hour, they felt the ship slowly move again and speed up.

As time passed slowly, after about two quarters of an hour, the boat stopped again.

Zhang Pingan said, "It should be here."

Daya couldn't help but say, "It's not that far, but the boat fare is so expensive. It must be so hard to make money!"

"This is still considered good. Ordinary people like us can afford it. If something really happens, the fare is worth more than gold," said Zhang Pingan. This is no exaggeration. Just look at the Taiping Ferry and you will know.

As the people on the deck outside slowly got off the boat, the people inside the cabin also began to slowly walk out.

After coming out, everyone felt their eyes brighten, their vision became much wider, and even their breathing became more comfortable.

"Is this the South?" Zhang said, standing on the deck and looking into the distance.

"Yes, grandma, we are in the south."

Zhang Ping'an also looked towards the dock, and saw that the prosperity of Yuezhou's dock was no less than that of Yingzhou.

In the cold weather of February, many men wearing coarse cloth clothes were carrying goods back and forth on the big ship nearby.

There are many food stalls on the pier, with adults and children shouting together, and lively faces appear in the rising heat.

Seeing this prosperous scene, everyone felt much more at ease.

Liu Sanlang enviously said, "Once we have established ourselves in the city, I will come out and work as a porter at the docks like them."

Liu Dalang and Liu Erlang from Liu the Butcher's family also laughed: "With such popularity, making a living shouldn't be too difficult. Now we can rest assured."

After everyone got off the boat, they all looked at Zhang Pingan: "Ping'an, what should we do now?"

"Enter the city first," said Zhang Pingan.

Qian Yongde said enthusiastically: "Then I'll go and ask how much the bus fare is."

After saying that, he ran away. Qian Yongde had seen a lot in the past few days in Yingzhou and had become a lot bolder. Now he was no longer afraid to buy things or ask for directions alone.

"It's three cents per person, regardless of whether you're an adult or a child. We'll pay for the driver and the cart's entrance fee to the city," Qian Yongde ran back and said after a while.

"This price is quite fair," Zhang said, "then let's take a bus into the city!"

The others had no objections. Finally, they arrived at their destination and everything was settled. They felt much more at ease. Before, they always felt like they were wandering around.

Zhang Ping'an called a few carts to take everyone into the city and head to the east. No matter where, the security and environment in the east of the city are generally the best.

The gate of Yuezhou City is equally majestic, and there are city defense soldiers patrolling on the second floor of the gate. If you have to rank them, it is slightly inferior to Yingzhou City.

After comparing the two, Maodaner whispered to his elder brother: "Brother, I think it's better to go to the upper city gate."

Donkey Egg agreed deeply and nodded: "I think so too, but we won't be picky."

Erya was amused by what she saw and taught her sons, "Pangpeng, Manman, you two should learn more from your brothers Donkey Egg and Cat Egg. Boys should have ambitions. Don't just think about raising fish and digging lotus roots every day. You should look up."

Pengpeng was almost seven years old and understood a lot. Hearing this, he retorted, "But we're not as strong as Donkey Egg and Cat Egg. They're both almost a head taller than us. Besides, we like playing in the water. I'm the best swimmer among the children in the village. My uncle also said that I was born with talents that will be useful in the future. I'll be of great use in the future. When I do, I'll let you enjoy it."

Manman, who is almost five years old and a follower of her brother, echoed, "Yeah, brother is right!"

Arya chuckled when she heard that, and snored over the two boys' heads: "Look at what you can do!"

Erya's grandmother was very protective of her grandson and spoke up for him: "My grandson is right. We will all be of great use in the future."

After saying that, he stared at Erya's belly and said, "Two children are still too weak. Erya, it would be great if you could have a few more boys. It would be so lively and beautiful like Liu the Butcher's family."

Erya has been married for so many years that she has developed a thick skin. Upon hearing this, she spread her hands and said helplessly, "I want it too, but I'm not pregnant!"

"Once we're on our feet, I'll buy some soft-shelled turtles and stew them for you. Your elder brother and sister-in-law also need some nourishment," said Erya's mother-in-law Ge Guihua after thinking for a while.

Erya's sister-in-law smiled and said, "Mom, we don't need to do that. My son Da Pang will be able to get married soon, so why would we need to do that?"

Ge Guihua disagreed with this statement: "But he hasn't married yet, and besides, it's not uncommon for uncles to be younger than their nephews. Having children is a good thing."

Erya's sister-in-law stopped arguing after hearing this. She didn't want to have another child anyway.

Everyone was sitting in the car chatting and time passed quickly. Soon they arrived near the city gate. When it was their turn, the soldiers guarding the city checked their household registration and travel permits and let them pass after finding no problems.

Finally entering the city, Zhang Pingan felt that even his breathing was refreshed and he felt completely safe. At least he didn't have to worry about anything for a while.

Zhang was also much more relaxed. She said to her daughters-in-law, "Get a good night's rest tonight. Tomorrow we'll go out and look for a house. We'll get all the pots and pans ready. No matter where we are, we'll have to make a living."

Several daughters-in-law agreed with this point. They thought that they couldn't always buy food, it was more economical to cook it themselves.

After settling down in a relatively clean inn in the east of the city, Zhang Ping'an saw that it was still early, so he discussed with his family, "I think we should go today instead of tomorrow. It's still early. One person from each family should go with me to find a real estate agent to look at houses. The sooner we decide, the safer it will be. If nothing unexpected happens, we will have to stay in Yuezhou for a long time in the future!"

Zhang thought for a moment and replied, "That's fine. After we decide on the house, we can go buy some furniture."

So after a simple lunch, Zhang Ping'an took his eldest brother-in-law, second brother-in-law, third brother-in-law, Jinbao's father, and Xu's uncle, and went out to look at houses. After all, it would be impossible for each family to live together at that time, and the decision to rent a house had to be made by each family themselves.

Before leaving, Zhang Ping'an asked the waiter at the inn and got a rough idea of ​​the situation of each brokerage firm. Given the current situation of each brokerage firm, it was impossible for them to live in a very high-end place, so he went to the east of the city near the north to look at houses.