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

A dozen or so young boys who were not yet adults instantly admired Grandpa Jinbao.

"That's amazing," Donkey Egg praised sincerely, "I want to go far away and see the world in the future!"

Grandpa Jinbao smiled and said, "When you reach my age, you will understand that knowledge is empty and living a down-to-earth life is the real thing!"

The boys couldn't understand it at all and insisted, "A man who can see the world is what's called impressive!"

Grandpa Jinbao smiled and said no more.

Daya and Erya asked the children to rest quickly because they had to get up early and continue their journey tomorrow!

It was a time when the north wind was blowing. There were a lot of dry thatch around the cave. Together with the straw from the cart, they were used as padding, which was much more comfortable than sleeping directly on the ground. The children were tired after a day's work and soon began to snore.

The women also fell asleep with their children in their arms.

Late at night, Zhang Ping'an saw that the fire was about to go out, so he took some dry firewood and added it to the pile. He stirred the ashes, and the fire instantly became stronger.

Also on duty were my eldest brother-in-law Liu Sanlang and my uncle Xu, who also sat around the firewood pile to keep warm.

When it's late at night and everyone is asleep, people always think more. Uncle Xu stared at the fire in a daze.

"Uncle, we are on night duty, so we still need to be alert," Zhang Pingan reminded.

"Oh, I know," Uncle Xu replied softly, "I don't know what the situation is like in the next county town, and whether people can settle down there. It's too tiring to walk all the way like this. I'm afraid I won't be able to reach Lin'an."

Zhang Pingan sighed. Who doesn't want to settle down? But he was afraid that after settling down, he would have to run away again in a few days. Moreover, he would have no connections in the new place, and how his family would survive would be a problem. If he really had to run away again, the news he got would not be timely, and he might even have to mix with a large group of refugees. It would be tiring to go through this again and again. It would be better for him to reach Lin'an in one go!

The emperor's family must be strong, and with the support of so many aristocratic families, the financial situation will not be too bad. In addition, with Lin Junhui, his classmate and good friend, it will at least not be a problem to support his family.

He can now understand the psychological feelings of the ancient people who liked to seek refuge with relatives and friends. All things are difficult at the beginning, and when you are unfamiliar with the place, you will really take a lot of detours. Just look at how hard it was for him to settle down in Yuezhou!

Liu Sanlang trusted his brother-in-law very much, and replied naively: "Ping An is smart, my family will follow him wherever he goes."

"Oh," Uncle Xu sighed again. He sighed more this year than in his entire life. His two sons and one daughter were still unmarried, and he couldn't find a good family on the road of escape. He was so worried!

"Shh," Zhang Pingan suddenly raised his finger to his mouth and made a "shh" sound.

Liu Sanlang and Xu Xiaojiu looked at each other, but Liu Sanlang reacted faster and immediately picked up the bow and sword with a serious expression.

Uncle Xu quickly asked in a low voice, "What's the matter?" and picked up the long knife in the car.

"Listen carefully, are there any footsteps?" Zhang Ping'an said softly.

Liu Sanlang listened carefully and said, "Yes, it is. It sounds like an animal, with a gentle leaping sound."

This is thanks to the fact that it is early winter now, the leaves and branches are dry and become brittle. Even if you step on them lightly, there will be a sound of branches and leaves breaking. In addition, it is quiet at night, so this can be heard. Zhang Pingan has always had very sharp hearing.

"What should we do now?" asked Uncle Xu.

"Let's go check the door first. I tied a bell to a rope at the door. The bell didn't ring, which proves they are at least ten feet away from the cave entrance," Zhang Ping'an said immediately as he stood up.

Liu Sanlang and Xu Xiaojiu also stood up.

In the moonlight, Zhang Ping'an leaned sideways against the cave entrance and looked out. He first saw a few green eyes wandering not far from the cave entrance. He squinted and looked carefully, and found that they seemed to be a few wolves. He had only seen them on TV in his previous life, and had never encountered a wolf in this life.

In fact, there were a lot of wolves in the wild at that time. Zhang Laoer encountered them several times when he got up early to collect bamboo and sell bamboo products as a bamboo craftsman. Old Zhang also encountered them. This is why Zhang Laoda was unwilling to be a bamboo craftsman. First, it was hard work, and second, it was dangerous.

In the summer, when enjoying the cool air in the threshing ground, adults will also remind children not to run too far, especially when catching fireflies. They must be careful because fireflies also emit green light, just like a wolf's eyes. They are afraid that they may accidentally encounter a jackal hiding in the dark.

"Go wake them all up. Remember not to make any noise. There are five wolves outside," Zhang Ping'an said softly.

Uncle Xu responded, "Hey!"

Liu Sanlang also stood close by and asked, "There are five of them. What should we do with them?"

"Brother-in-law, how good are your archery skills?" Zhang Pingan asked.

"It's okay. Master Yang said I'm quite talented and was born to be a martial arts examiner," Liu Sanlang said, scratching his head.

"Okay, these wolves are probably just testing the waters at the door. Let's try to drive them away with torches and gongs first. If they want to move forward, you can shoot them with arrows first. After that, if these beasts are not dead, they will definitely counterattack. Then we can use long swords to deal with them," Zhang Pingan said solemnly.

"Well, okay," Liu Sanlang responded straightforwardly.

At this time, Uncle Xu also woke up everyone. Zhang Laoer, Grandpa Jinbao, Brother Liu and others were standing behind the cave wall, with a little panic on their faces and long knives in their hands.

Grandpa Jinbao handed a burning torch to Zhang Ping'an, and he took a gong and started to beat it. After a few "dangdang" sounds of the gong, the jackals were scared and took a few steps back, but they did not retreat far, and still looked at the cave entrance.

After knocking for a while.

"I'm afraid we can't drive away these beasts. Even though we have torches, they shouldn't come close for a while. But we don't have many torches and can't use them easily. We can only find a way to kill them," Grandpa Jinbao said coldly.

"Okay, I understand," Zhang Pingan said seriously.

Everyone held their breath and waited for more than a quarter of an hour before the jackals at the door took a few tentative steps forward, making a rustling sound as they stepped on the dead branches and leaves.

"Brother-in-law, shoot," Zhang Pingan said quickly.

Liu Sanlang had already drawn his bow. Upon hearing this, he immediately shot two arrows, hitting the wolves right in the body. The two wolves fell down immediately.

Before he could shoot the third arrow, the remaining three wolves had already jumped away quickly and were wandering behind a tree about ten meters in front of the cave entrance, howling loudly and shrilly!

The two sides fell into a standoff again. The people in the cave did not dare to go out, and the wolf at the door refused to leave.