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

Except for Qian Yongde, everyone else was calm and composed, trying their best not to show any panic as they walked towards the door.

Liu Sanlang had even prepared for the worst case scenario of being stopped by someone, but when he went out, the person guarding the warehouse acted as if he didn't see him and didn't say a word.

After everyone went out, they walked quickly home and let out a long sigh.

Qian Yongde actually felt guilty himself, but he still sneered, "Look at how scared you all are. You're so useless! We've already made arrangements, what could possibly go wrong?"

Everyone knows what kind of person he is, so no one bothers to argue with him.

Zhang Ping'an had already finished his shift and arrived home. Everyone pushed the cart straight over and closed the gate before whispering, "Ping'an, we got everything back. Nothing went wrong."

Zhang Ping'an nodded. "Just as we agreed before, one car per family, weapons per head. Pack up everything tonight and leave the city early tomorrow morning. You don't have livestock, so we'll have to rely on people to pull the carts. I have a mule, so my father and I will lead the way."

"Okay," replied Liu Dalang from Liu the Butcher's family. He was the oldest among his peers and had seen the situation outside the city. He was so worried that he couldn't sleep every day, fearing that one day he would wake up to hear the news of refugees entering the city. He felt that the sooner he left, the better it would be.

The others nodded and said, "Don't worry, we'll put the things away tonight."

Jin Bao lingered until he was the only one left, then he whispered, "Ping An, we really have to escape this time, right?"

"Yes, if we really have to flee, it's just like last time. We all arrived in Yuezhou safely, don't worry," Zhang Pingan replied.

Jin Bao shook his head. "This time is different from last time. Last time I wasn't panicked at all, but this time I'm completely panicked, especially after hearing about the cannibalism incident outside the city. I had nightmares all night."

Zhang Pingan was silent. This was a fact. People had to accept reality and learn to grow.

Jin Bao was silent for a moment, then continued, "Do you remember the 15th year of Duke Xuan of Zuo's reign that we studied in school?"

Zhang Ping'an nodded. "I remember the original text: 'Our country exchanges children for food, and cuts up corpses for cooking.' It tells the tragic story of the Spring and Autumn Period, when the State of Song was besieged in war and ran out of food. The people exchanged their children for food, even cutting up corpses to use as firewood for cooking."

"Well, when I read this article, apart from feeling that the people at that time were so miserable, I always regarded it as history. I always felt that such things were far away from me and never thought that it would really happen to me," said Jin Bao.

"Even ants try to survive, let alone us now that we have cars and food. We are much better off than others. We will be fine once we get to Lin'an," Zhang Ping'an comforted.

"Okay, I know. I'll go back first. I have to get up early tomorrow," Jinbao said as he stood up.

"Yeah," Zhang Pingan nodded.

Looking at Jinbao's back as he walked out, Zhang Pingan knew that his good brother's carefree youth was completely over!

The cruelty and hardship of the escape were foreseeable, and he had to learn to bear this pressure.

Xu turned most of the food in her home into dry food, mainly pancakes, steamed buns, and fried rice, all of which could be eaten directly without making a fire, and were enough for a family of five to eat for more than a month.

A lot of cooked soybeans and black beans were also fried, which can be eaten by humans and livestock.

During this special period, people didn't dare to cook so much food during the day because the aroma would spread and attract people's covetousness. Zhang Ping'an specifically asked someone to get up in the middle of the night to light a fire and cook.

Then he pulled his father and fifth and sixth sisters together to block the gaps in the kitchen door with straw, which could slightly alleviate the smell.

After finishing all these work, it was already late, so we just had to wait for dawn to leave the city.

Zhang Ping'an took out a few pieces of silver and said, "Dad, Mom, Fifth Sister, Sixth Sister, we don't know what we'll encounter after leaving the city. Let's each carry some extra silver and hide it in different places. Just in case, I mean just in case, we get separated, at least we'll each have some silver to keep with us. The same goes for dry food. Everyone should put some in their bags."

Zhang Laoer looked at the loose silver pieces that were obviously cut from a whole silver ingot, and couldn't help but sigh that his son had really grown up and was both smart and careful.

"I'll listen to you," Zhang Laoer nodded.

Xu was a little puzzled: "Why do Fifth and Sixth Girls have so much silver on them?"

Zhang Pingan simply explained, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket. It's safer to keep them separate."

Xu didn't say anything else.

At dawn the next day, the five families gathered at the entrance of the alley and set out for the south city gate, ready to leave as soon as the gate opened.

This escape was much more shabby than the last time. Last time, every family's car was packed full of stuff, almost full, and there was no place for people to sit.

But this time, not even half of the cart was full. Basically, each person in each family carried a bundle on their backs, and the cart was padded with a thick layer of dry straw. It was mainly used to carry pots, pans, dry food, and straw raincoats.

When we first set out, everyone was still in good physical condition. Except for a few children under seven years old and two pregnant women, no one got on the bus. They all walked beside the bus.

San Ya's belly is already very big and she will give birth in two months. Mei Zi from Da Zhu's family is fine, her belly is not very obvious.

With a nervous mood, everyone arrived at the South Gate in a short while.

Although the city gates had not yet opened, there were still many people queuing up. Zhang Ping'an also saw acquaintances from the yamen, but everyone tacitly pretended not to know each other and did not say hello.

When it got light, the city gate finally opened and everyone lined up to leave the city.

When the team was halfway through, someone suddenly walked up to Zhang Ping'an and whispered, "Ping'an, it's me. I've been thinking all night and decided to go with you. My family is all alone here, and I'm even more anxious!"

Zhang Ping'an looked up and saw that Uncle Xu and his family had finally caught up with him, each of them carrying a large bag.

Fortunately, Uncle Xu’s three children are all grown up, so it’s no problem for them to follow along. Otherwise, it would be really troublesome without a car.

Zhang Ping'an didn't care whether his uncle and his family left or not. After all, everyone had their own choices. However, when Xu saw her own brother coming over, she was very surprised and waved him, "You are talented. Come, line up in front of me. How did you come up with this?"

Shen's face was a little embarrassed: "You all left. It's scary for our family to live there. I'm always scared!"

Uncle Xu was quite straightforward and frank, saying, "I really didn't want to leave, but when I thought about you all being gone and my family being left alone in Yuezhou, I started to feel anxious. After seeing you guys leave this morning, I thought about it over and over again, and in the end I decided to bring your sister-in-law and a few kids along with me. More people always keeps us company!"

"Oh, that's right," Xu said happily.