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

Zhang watched Sanya's slowly receding figure, glanced around, and said, "From now on, just treat them as dead. No one is allowed to recognize them if they see you again!"

Everyone nodded.

The ones who were most touched were Wu Ya and Liu Ya. First they saw the third sister lose her child, then they saw the third brother-in-law abandon her and run away. Now the third sister would rather give up her family and go find her brother-in-law. They really couldn’t understand!

After this incident interrupted everyone, they became much more obedient. Even Shen and Ma, who used to be the most active, became very obedient.

After walking forward for more than fifty miles, it was dusk. Brother Liu had explored the way ahead and found a cave.

The cave is quite big, even a cart can be pushed in, and it is windproof, which is much better than sleeping in the wild.

Zhang Pingan sniffed and said, "This cave smells so strong, it couldn't be the lair of some animal!"

Brother Liu also smelled it: "Maybe it is, but there is no bigger cave nearby!"

Zhang Ping'an thought about it, and sprinkled the realgar powder that Chen Jianqiu had given him before in a thick circle at the entrance of the cave. He also tied a bell with a hemp rope about ten feet away from the cave, to serve as a warning.

After finishing all these, he breathed a sigh of relief. He also asked Brother Liu and his brother-in-law to carry their weapons with them, because if something really happened, he would have to rely on them to take the lead.

The men took care of safety, while the women just set up the pot and cooked a pot of dinner. They also picked up firewood at the entrance of the cave and made a fire to keep warm. For a while, the cave was warm.

The crackling of firewood may be heard among the children's childish chatter.

Zhang Ping'an discussed with Grandpa Jinbao, "If we go a little further tomorrow, we'll be out of these hills. Then we can find a clean stream or a pond to get some water. The mules have been drinking muddy water from puddles for the past two days, and they wouldn't drink anymore when we led them over this afternoon."

"Where is the next place?" asked Grandpa Jinbao.

Zhang Ping'an had already looked at the map and replied, "The next place is Gao'an County."

"Then it's not far from Hongzhou, right?"

"It's still far from Hongzhou, more than 300 miles away," Zhang Pingan calculated.

Jin Bao heard this and asked curiously, "Master, do you know Hongzhou?"

Grandpa Jinbao smiled and said, "I not only know Hongzhou, I also know Quzhou and Taizhou!"

"So powerful," Jinbao said in surprise.

Jin Bao's father was also hearing about this for the first time. He laughed and said, "Dad, I haven't heard you mention this before. It's really far from our Ezhou Prefecture!"

Grandpa Jinbao sighed, "Yes, it's far away, more than a thousand miles!"

Now the men all gathered around and asked curiously: "What are you doing in Taizhou? Tell us!"

Most people at that time had never traveled far in their lives. In their opinion, being able to go to a place thousands of miles away and come back safely was the most amazing thing. It meant that they had seen the world, and they all wanted Grandpa Jinbao to tell his story.

Grandpa Jinbao dusted off his clothes and said with a smile, "Since you want to hear it, I'll tell you!"

Jin Bao urged, "Master, please tell me quickly!"

"Well, it's nothing great actually. I'm the only son in three generations, but my parents passed away early. When I was twelve or thirteen years old, I followed a distant cousin of mine to work on a ship at the dock in the city. But I didn't make much money, just enough to fill my stomach all year round. I was young at that time, and I didn't accept it. I didn't want to be so poor all my life, and I happened to be short of money to do something big, so with the introduction of a middleman, I took a boat along the Cangwu River all the way east to the coast of Changzhou to work on a ship. I know several prefectures along the coast, including Lin'an," Grandpa Jinbao said slowly.

"Wow, Master, you are so awesome," Jinbao said admiringly.

Jin Bao's father was also quite surprised and said with a smile, "Dad, why don't you ever tell me about it? The villagers can't wait to brag about it when they go to town!"

Grandpa Jinbao waved his hand: "There's nothing much to say, it's all bitter memories. I'm old now and have let them go, so I'm chatting with you for a while!"

"Uncle, did you make any money later? Did you get the job done?" asked Liu the butcher.

"I did make money and get things done, but it wasn't earned from sailing. The middlemen never tell the truth. Sailing along the coast can make a little more money than inland, but you can't keep your promise when you're unfamiliar with the place. People over there bully newcomers. It's very tiring to be at sea. The sea water is salty, and you can't even drink a sip of water. The supervisors are also harsh. We transported valuables, and if anything went wrong, we would have to pay with our lives," recalled Grandpa Jinbao.

"I didn't expect that you have seen the world," said Liu the butcher admiringly.