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

Zhang Ping'an was naturally willing to help in this kind of matter where both parties were willing. It was like saving a life for both the girl and her family.

In the evening, Li invited everyone to come over for dinner as a token of appreciation to welcome the newcomers. This time the food was much worse than the original cooked meal. Food was precious now, and it was impossible for such a large group of people to just eat dry rice.

Mrs. Li was a skillful person. She cut half a pound of meat and chopped it into fine minced meat. She added a little of it to each dish. This way, the dish had the aroma of meat, didn't cost too much, and tasted good too.

Although it is not very decent, there is no need to be picky at this time. The cooked rice contains a lot of kidney beans, soybeans and black beans, and very little brown rice.

Zhang ordered that a bowl be served to the new bride first. No matter what, she had to have a full meal as soon as she entered the house.

It was also at this time that everyone learned that the little girl was just over fifteen years old. Her name was easy to remember, Mei Zi. Her father and grandfather were both peddlers, and her home was in Gejiazhuang, eighty miles outside Yingzhou City.

Originally, the family was living well, but with the constant conscription and taxation, life became extremely difficult. Just when they were about to have a break from work due to the summer harvest, they were hit by a drought and the crops failed.

Old Man Ge often drove his donkey cart around the nearby villages and towns. Seeing that everyone was rushing south, he said that there would be a war and casualties in the north, and that life would be easier in the south, so he simply sold his property and ran over.

When I got there, I realized how difficult the situation was. I couldn't even enter the city. The situation was stronger than me, so I had no choice but to follow others and marry off my daughter.

Mrs. Li was still counting on Mei Zi to give birth to more children for the family as soon as possible, so she specially picked out some dry rice, filled half a bowl with it, and also picked up a lot of other dishes and brought it to the room.

Yingniang remained as silent as ever from beginning to end, and Dazhu did not seem particularly happy despite everyone's jokes, and his smile looked very forced.

On the contrary, the guests were much more relaxed. Ma, Shen, Da Ya, Er Ya, San Ya and Jin Bao's families all enjoyed their meal very much and said many words of blessing. In their opinion, this was a happy event and it didn't cost too much money.

Although life was getting harder and harder, we could still get by, especially when compared with people outside the city, it was easier for everyone to be content.

After dinner, Sanya had some stuffed sour hawthorns to eat, wrapped in oil paper, and ate one bite at a time while listening to everyone chatting. She felt very relaxed!

Despite these difficult times, Qian Yongde lived a very comfortable life. He often packed up some leftover food from other people's restaurants and took it home, so he was the only one among the group who gained weight.

Ever since San Ya became pregnant, he has treated her much better, hoping that she will give birth to a big fat son!

Mrs. Xu was an experienced person. Seeing that San Ya had gained so much weight while she was still less than five months pregnant, she couldn't help but advise her, "San Ya, this is your first child. Eat less and don't get too fat. Otherwise, the baby will be too big and difficult to deliver. We don't have any doctors we know well, so it will be difficult to deliver the baby when the time comes!"

Sanya was stunned when she heard this: "Don't you have to eat more children to grow up?"

Mrs. Xu was speechless: "You raised the child so big, will you be able to give birth to the child when the time comes? Hemorrhage is no joke!"

After hearing this, San Ya quickly put the hawthorn away and said, "Then I'll eat less!"

"Cousin, you don't want to eat anymore. Can you give me one? I want to eat it," Ruirui, the youngest daughter of Erzhu's family, came over and asked.

This name was given with the help of Zhang Pingan. Her full name is Zhang Chenrui. She is not yet five years old. Since she is the youngest among two older brothers, her family dotes on her. Now if she wants to eat, she can just ask directly.

San Ya didn't want to give it to him, and said perfunctorily: "Rui Rui, this is very sour, you will have a toothache if you eat it."

Ruirui opened her large, distinct black and white eyes and said crisply, "I'm not afraid of acid!"

"This can only be eaten when you are pregnant with Maomao. Ruirui is still young and can't eat it," said San Ya.

Seeing her elder sister-in-law Li looking over here, Xu felt embarrassed. She had just had a meal here, and she didn't even get a piece of dried fruit. It was outrageous.

So he whispered to his daughter, "San Ya, let Rui Rui try one. It's normal for her to be greedy as a child."

San Ya then gave one reluctantly.

Erzhu's wife was a hot-tempered woman. She couldn't stand Sanya's behavior, so she walked over, took the fruit from her daughter's hand, and handed it back to her. She taught her daughter a lesson in a pointed tone, "Ruirui, we don't want to eat this sour fruit. Mom will give you some mung bean cake. We don't need anything at home. Don't be so humble as to pick up other people's leftovers, okay? You should have backbone."

Ruirui didn't understand anything, she just knew there were better pastries to eat, so she nodded.

Erzhu's wife really did what she said. She went into the house and took out three pieces of mung bean cakes. A child broke off a little bit and just tasted it!

Seeing this, Mrs. Xu glared and said, "Look at you, you don't care about your own cousin's daughter, and you even push a piece of fruit around. How shameless!"

The men sat in a separate group and had no idea about the affairs between these women. Even if they knew, they would not care, as they were all trivial matters.

What they care more about is how to store more food.

Butcher Liu sighed and said, "Food is getting more and more expensive now. This food business can't continue. Ping An, if you find a way to get cheap food later, no matter what it is, beans or bran, please call us and go buy some. I'm always worried."

"I'll pay attention and tell everyone when the time comes," Zhang Ping'an nodded.

Time flies and it is the end of September. Yuezhou is not too hot at this time.

As the saying goes, September is the golden season and October is the silver season. At this time of year in previous years, after the autumn harvest and taxes have been paid, everyone has food and money in their hands, and it is the most affluent time. However, now many small stalls and vendors in the city have disappeared, and only some big restaurants and big businesses are still open as usual.

As soon as Zhang Ping'an arrived at the yamen that morning, he heard the worst news: the capital had been captured by the Tatars, and the current emperor was almost captured. In order to maintain his last dignity as an emperor, he directly committed suicide with a sword.

Like his father, he was also a short-lived emperor.

The current heir to the throne is the emperor's eldest son, a six-year-old child. It is said that he was accompanied by the personal guards and broke out with great difficulty.

Under such circumstances, the other princes just sat back and watched.

Now the little emperor has fled to Jiangnan, which is the sphere of influence of his in-laws, and the court is in chaos!

With no leader and alien invasions, war is inevitable!

Everyone in the yamen was in a state of panic, more devastated than they had been a few months ago. Before they could fully digest this news, new news came: the sixth prince had proclaimed himself King of Ying.

Soon after, various kings, big and small, appeared in the north!

Before people had time to rejoice that Yuezhou was still relatively stable, another King Yue appeared.