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

In a foreign land, as long as you have a roof over your head and money in your hands, you will feel much more at ease.

Zhang lived with Zhang Laoda and Zhang Laosan in the big courtyard with a well. During special times, the two families would temporarily cook together and eat.

"Let's all come over for a meal tonight. You've all worked hard on the journey," Zhang invited.

Mrs. Liu the Butcher and Mrs. Erya didn't hesitate and said with a smile, "Okay, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, we will take turns inviting them. We've finally settled down!"

Seeing that her house had its own independent courtyard, Xu was very satisfied. She rolled up her sleeves and started to clean up with her two daughters. She also told her husband and son to go out and buy firewood, rice, oil and salt, as these things were indispensable for life.

The stores are not far from each other. Jinbao's father made arrangements in advance so that if the family wants to buy something, they can go out together. It will be cheaper if the quantity is large.

Zhang Ping'an was thinking that he had to buy a mule cart so that he could travel anywhere conveniently, and he also had to prepare more food. Judging from the current situation, if a war really broke out, it would only be a matter of time before the price of rice skyrocketed.

Jin Bao's father is in the food business and has been purchasing grain for a long time. He can tell at a glance which rice is good and which is bad. He also has a keener sense of price fluctuations than most people and agrees with Zhang Ping'an's opinion.

He said, "We are now in the south. With the Cangwu River as a natural barrier, the north can't easily break through. If everyone flees south, the price of rice will skyrocket. It's better to stock up. This stuff won't go bad. We can take it with us even if we continue to flee south or return home."

Uncle Xu and his friends agreed: "Back home, we had fields and could grow anything to fill our stomachs. If things got tough, we could always pick wild vegetables. But here in the southern city, there's nowhere to pick wild vegetables, so it's better to store more food for peace of mind."

Everyone reached a consensus on this matter. Each family bought several sacks of inferior brown rice and a lot of soybeans, which were all foods that could satisfy hunger.

Salt is an indispensable item and it is not cheap. We prepared a lot of it in our hometown town at that time. No one was willing to throw it away when we took the boat at Heifeng Ferry. There is still quite a lot left now, so we can buy a little. Then we need to buy oil, pots, pans, and cloth. It took several trips to carry them back home.

Of course, the main force was Zhang Laoer. Zhang Ping'an was carrying a sack of brown rice and almost crushed him, but Liu Sanlang reached out to catch him.

"Thank you, brother-in-law," Zhang Pingan said with shame.

Liu Sanlang asked the shop assistant to put the bag of rice on his other shoulder and said with a simple smile, "You are a scholar and have never done any work. Let me carry it. You just take up the oil can."

There is food at home and there is no panic in the heart.

After dark, everyone came to Zhang's place to eat a meal. They looked visibly more relaxed. Some of the children had snacks in their mouths, probably fried soybeans, which made a crunchy sound when they chewed them.

Mrs. Li always listened to her mother-in-law, Mrs. Zhang, and prepared this meal quite well. She bought a chicken and killed it, stewed half of it with soybeans and braised the other half, stir-fried some chicken giblets with garlic, and stewed a big pot of pork, radish, cabbage and vermicelli. She also stir-fried some cheap vegetables to make up the number. There were too many people, so they couldn't afford pure white rice for the time being, so they steamed brown rice. Given the current situation, this meal was quite presentable.

"Everyone, please start eating. Don't be polite," Zhang said.

He then asked his eldest son to pour wine for everyone and said with a smile, "After you get through this, there will be more blessings to come. Don't be afraid!"

Butcher Liu raised his glass and said with a smile, "Come on, let's all toast, and everything will get better and better!"

"Once we have established ourselves, Ping An will be able to continue his studies. If he can pass the higher examinations, it will bring honor to our family," Zhang Laoer said hopefully.

The table is not big enough, so children are not allowed to sit at the table. Adults help to pick up the dishes. The pork vermicelli is oily and soft, and children love this dish the most.

Listening to the children's childish chatter and the elders' loud conversations and laughter, under the dim light, the scene was very warm. Zhang Ping'an remembered this scene for many years.

After a good night's sleep, Zhang Ping'an got up early the next day.

Mrs. Xu was making breakfast. Seeing her son getting up so early, she couldn't help but say, "Why are you getting up so early? It's still cold!"

After washing his face, Zhang Pingan said, "I have to go out today to see if there is any suitable work. It's not good to sit around doing nothing."

Zhang Laoer was chopping wood in the yard and said, "Let's go to the cattle and horse market first, pick out a mule, and then build a cart frame. I think we can go to the dock to pick up passengers later. It's not too tiring, so we can earn some money for vegetables first."

Xu thought this was a good idea and said with a smile, "Let's get familiar with the city first. There's no rush. And by the way, ask if there are any good academies. Ping An still needs to continue studying. Working is not going to be a good idea."

"Mom, the world is unstable right now, let's wait and see," said Zhang Ping'an.

Zhang Laoer also felt that there was no rush: "Let's eat first, and then get familiar with the city."

After breakfast, Zhang Ping'an followed his father to the cattle and horse market to buy a mule. The price was a little higher than in his hometown, but still acceptable. He spent another 300 Wen to order a new frame.

Then the father and son walked around the city for a few times before going back. When they passed by the brokerage shop, they found that there were many people inside. It seemed that the broker yesterday was not lying.

As long as scholars are willing to lose face and not be picky, it is still easy for them to make a living.

The first ones to find work were Zhang Ping'an, Jinbao and Erhe cousin.

Zhang Ping'an went to the government office to help others write documents and lawsuits, temporarily becoming a part-time lawyer. He also helped the small shop with its accounts. He had the title of scholar, so the shop owners were at ease. His income was pretty good, and he also got to know a few people in the government office.

Jinbao then went on to write illustrated storybooks, which he found quite handy.

My cousin Erhe went to work as a clerk in a bookstore. Although it was not as comfortable and respectable as his previous job as an accountant in town, the income was good and clean.

He had no official title and no acquaintances here who could act as his sponsor, so many stores were afraid to hire him. He had no choice but to take this job first and then look for other options.

As for the job that my eldest brother-in-law had been dreaming of, carrying bags at the dock, it ended before it even started. It was because of xenophobia. The porters at the dock were divided into gangs, and part of the money they earned had to be given to the gang boss, which was equivalent to protection money.

Liu Sanlang couldn't stand this kind of behavior. Plus, he was big and others were afraid that he would cause trouble, and they couldn't beat him, so they didn't want him.

However, my third brother-in-law Qian Yongde is smart and sweet-talker. He squats at the doors of various big restaurants and inns, running errands for others and guiding them, and he gets rewards from time to time.

When he encounters customers with bad attitudes, he can bend over backwards and speak nice words to them as if they were free, coaxing the customers into calming down, so he lives a pretty comfortable life.