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

No one knew what the two said when they entered the room, but after a long while, when Xu came out, her face looked even uglier.

Even Zhang Lao Er couldn't get anything out of her. Xu just said, "Forget it. Let's listen to the child. Tomorrow I'll go find matchmaker Wang. We can go and see each other first. If it's a good match, we can get married right away!"

Zhang Laoer nodded and said no more. As long as the affairs of the daughters in the family were not too outrageous, they were all handled by Xu. He did not interfere much and only supervised the important matters of marriage. He really thought that the family mentioned this time was not bad. The housing prices in Lin'an were so expensive now. It would be good to have two rooms to live in. He also had skills, so his life would not be bad in the future.

Zhang Ping'an was reviewing his books in his room. He frowned when he heard this. Although his mother spoke rudely, her character was generally acceptable. It must be no small matter that made her so angry.

Zhang Ping'an had never done such a thing as a heart-to-heart talk with a girl before, and he couldn't do it either. The next day, when he passed by Liu's house on his way to the provincial school, Zhang Ping'an specifically called out his eldest sister and told her about it. The eldest sister nodded and said, "I'll go ask her when I'm free this afternoon. Don't worry about it. Our parents won't harm Wu Ya."

When Zhang Ping'an arrived at the provincial school today, he did not get lost and went straight to the library. He arrived early and the tea was already brewed. Zhang Ping'an did not even need to organize the books today. He could do whatever he wanted as long as he did not disturb others. It was a good time to review his lessons.

Zhang Ping'an simply went upstairs to read books. There were many annotations on the Four Books and Five Classics that could not be seen outside.

The time spent immersed in the sea of ​​books passed very quickly, and before he knew it, it was noon. It was his colleague downstairs, the proofreader named Ye, who kindly came upstairs and called out to Zhang Pingan, inviting him to go to the cafeteria for lunch together. Only then did Zhang Pingan realize that so much time had passed.

After stretching his stiff neck and arms, Zhang Ping'an went downstairs to the cafeteria to eat with his colleagues.

Ye Jiaoshulang is an old man who has been working in the provincial school before the court moved the capital. He is also a famous student, about forty years old. He is open-minded and optimistic, and he is also a friendly person. He usually speaks very humorously, and has a bit of the feeling of an old naughty boy, which makes people want to get close to him. He has a good relationship with everyone in the library. It is said that his younger brother is a successful candidate and works as a teacher in the provincial school, so he was able to get this good job.

At this time, he walked with his hands behind his back, shaking his head and saying, "Look at our provincial school, isn't it magnificent? It's even better than the newly built Imperial College. I really didn't expect that after living in Lin'an for most of my life, one day I could transform into a resident of the imperial capital, hehe!"

Zhang Ping'an nodded in agreement and said modestly, "You are absolutely right. Our provincial school is indeed magnificent and full of literary atmosphere. However, I am new here and don't know much about the rules here. I will need your guidance from time to time."

Ye Xiaoshu stroked his long, graying beard and nodded in response, "Very well, very well. I see you're intelligent and ambitious, and you won't stay in the library for long. But since we're here today, there are some things you should understand and know."

Zhang Pingan nodded repeatedly.

Seeing the younger generation being taught, Schoolmaster Ye was in a good mood and continued, "In this provincial school, we have to get up at the hour of Mao every day for morning reading and reciting classics. Classes begin after dinner at the hour of Chen. The teachers are all highly educated people. The most ordinary ones have the title of Juren. They teach very seriously. There are also famous Confucian scholars with a rigorous learning style. Counting back thirty years, the provincial school always had the most students on the list of the provincial examinations. Many officials of the third rank and above have come out of here. Our immediate superior is Zhong Xuezheng, but he doesn't come often. When he comes, it means something big. Now, after the capital was moved, most of the talented people in the south are here at the provincial school. You must find out their backgrounds when you do things, otherwise it is easy to offend people!"

Zhang Pingan quickly bowed and thanked him: "Thank you for the reminder, Schoolmaster Ye. I will definitely keep it in mind."

As they were talking, the two of them had already arrived at the cafeteria. They were a little late, and the cafeteria was already crowded, but the order was still in good order.

When he smelled the fragrance of Laba porridge, Zhang Pingan realized that today was Laba Festival. The canteen had cooked fragrant Laba porridge and everyone could get a bowl for free.

After Zhang Ping'an and Ye Xiaoshu had finished their meal and found a place to sit down, he had just taken two bites when he heard people at the next table arguing about academic matters. One side believed that the classics, history, and literature were the right way to go, while the other side advocated poetry and songs.

Tsk tsk, they can even start a debate over academic matters while eating. How much do they love studying? Is it just a matter of eating? Zhang Pingan grumbled inwardly.

Secretary Ye listened for a while and then said softly to Zhang Pingan, "Let's not get involved. These students are not the same as us."

Zhang Ping'an nodded and continued eating.

As he was speaking, a young man carrying a lunch box walked up to an old man not far from Zhang Ping'an and bowed, saying, "Master Lu, I heard that you are quite knowledgeable about the Analects. I have some doubts in my reading recently. I wonder if I could ask you for some advice?"

If this happened in the old Ezhou Prefecture School, if you disturbed the teacher while he was eating to ask for advice, you would definitely be labeled as a hypocrite and would make the teacher unhappy.

But Mr. Lu did not seem angry. Instead, he agreed with a smile and asked the person to sit down. After the young student sat down, he asked several sharp questions. Mr. Lu answered them calmly one by one, and gradually many people gathered around to listen.

After he finished answering, all the students bowed and praised Master Lu for his profound knowledge.

Master Lu was very humble and replied with a smile: "Learning never ends. You must not slack off for even a single day. You must remember this!"

After saying that, he continued to eat, and after a while he got up and left.

"Is it possible?" Zhang Pingan was shocked.

Ye Xiaoshu smiled, already accustomed to this, and explained, "Although our provincial academy is rigorous in its academic research, most of the students have backgrounds. No one can predict which of them will rise to prominence in the future and become a prominent official. Moreover, since this is a serious matter of learning, how can the teachers refuse? It all depends on connections. Therefore, the teachers in the provincial academy are mostly friendly and modest, and they will consider many aspects when doing things. It's very complicated! You should learn from them!"

Zhang Ping'an secretly sighed that this provincial school was indeed extraordinary. After dinner, the two of them returned to the library together and each went their own way.

There are many books in the library, and the air is filled with a faint scent of ink. Zhang Pingan continued to study by looking at the annotations from the morning. No one else came to disturb him. The relationship between colleagues is simple. This kind of job is really a worker's dream job.

When it was time to get off work, Zhang Ping'an put a bookmark on the book and put it back in its original place so that he could continue reading it the next day. Most of the books in the library were very valuable and could not be taken away easily.

I returned home briskly, and before I even entered the door I could smell the rich aroma of Laba porridge. It seemed that my family had also made Laba porridge. As the saying goes, after Laba it is the New Year. It seems that it will snow soon, so I have to buy things for the winter as soon as possible.