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

Zhang Laoer and Xu are both very superstitious. They have heard that losing temper on a festival day will bring bad luck, so during the New Year and other festivals, their patience is usually much higher than usual. They hope that everyone in the family will be happy on this day as a good omen.

Today is Laba Festival. When Zhang Pingan returned home, the atmosphere at home was much better than yesterday and no one brought up sensitive topics anymore.

Wu Ya and Liu Ya are both helping in the kitchen.

"Ping'an, you're back at the right time. Send a bowl of Laba porridge to your grandparents. I've put sugar in it. It's fragrant and sweet, and it's quite presentable. Your aunt will definitely not be willing to use such a simple ingredient," Xu instructed.

"Okay," Zhang Pingan replied as he took the large bowl with both hands.

The Laba porridge was very hot right out of the pot, so Zhang Ping'an found a wet cloth to wrap the edge of the bowl.

Fortunately, most of them were not far away, and I arrived there in less than a quarter of an hour.

After knocking on the door, it was Zhang Chenyang, the eldest son of Erzhu's family, who came to open the door. After seeing the Laba porridge brought by Zhang Ping'an, he turned around and shouted into the house: "Grandpa, Grandma, my cousin is bringing the Laba porridge!"

The voice was so loud that everyone in the yard could hear it.

Zhang heard the noise from her bedroom, opened the window, greeted Zhang Ping'an, and said, "Your mother is so thoughtful. It's cold, so I won't go out. Take the porridge to the kitchen and give it to your aunt!"

It was freezing cold in the twelfth lunar month, and the old couple would rarely leave their room unless necessary.

Zhang Chenyang said with a smile: "Uncle, come in quickly!"

When Zhang Ping'an came in with the bowl, he followed behind like a little tail, sniffed and asked, "Hey, it smells sweet, is there sugar in the porridge? I can tell from the smell that it tastes better than my grandma's!"

Zhang Pingan found it funny and teased, "How do you know it's better than your grandma's when you haven't even tried it? Be careful or I'll complain!"

“嘻嘻，小堂叔你才不会呢，吓唬我没用，再说了，我奶最疼我了，她也舍不得揍我”，小孩儿心里门儿清。

Zhang Ping'an shook his head and laughed, then brought the porridge to the kitchen.

Two families with more than 20 people, including a dozen children, lived in a small yard, which seemed very cramped.

The kitchen was a small shed built with earthen bricks in the yard. It was not big to begin with and was divided into two parts, shared by the two families. Firewood, pots, pans, water tanks and other things were placed inside. Zhang Ping'an had no place to step when he went in.

However, Li was already used to it. She took the bowl swiftly and poured the porridge into her own bowl to free up the bowl. She also scraped the bottom of the bowl with dry noodles until it was shiny before fetching some water from the water tank, washing the bowl and handing it to Zhang Ping'an.

He smiled and said, "Your mother is really generous. She even put sugar in it. Go back and tell your mother that your third aunt and I are going to buy New Year's goods in the next two days. We should buy a little to celebrate. When the time comes, ask your mother to come over and we will go together. If we buy a lot, we can bargain."

"Okay," Zhang Pingan replied, chatting casually, "How are grandpa and grandma doing lately? They've been busy these days and haven't been able to pay attention to this side."

Mrs. Li sighed and said, "They are both very well. They can eat and sleep well. I think they can live another ten years. But it is very difficult for our family. Your brothers Dazhu and Erzhu have no ability, so they can only do hard labor. The skin on their shoulders has been rubbed again and again, and now they are all calloused. They still need to study like you and Erhe to be useful. It will be easier to find a job. You work in the provincial school, which is decent and easy. Erhe now has a stall to help people write letters and read letters home. It is not tiring at all."

"Aunt, there's no need to rush this matter. It's good enough that we can settle down. At least our lives are not in danger now. If there is a suitable opportunity in the future, I will also keep an eye on it for my cousins," Zhang Ping'an comforted her.

He knew what his aunt meant. He might have been very worried before, but after more than a month of fleeing, Zhang Pingan always felt that his heart had hardened a lot.

A blacksmith must be strong himself. Now he is doing jobs that are entrusted to others. He has not yet established a firm foothold and cannot help others. Besides, he is not a Bodhisattva who can save all living beings. The most urgent thing is to prepare for the provincial examination. With the title of Juren, all difficulties will be solved.

When Zhang Ping'an came out with the bowl, he saw Dazhu's young wife Mei Zi moving a chair and sitting under the eaves, making small clothes in the dim light. Seeing that the fabric was altered from the older children's clothes, she took scissors and sewed the clothes, trying not to waste any fabric.

Maybe it's because she has settled down in Lin'an and no longer has to worry. Now her belly is finally showing and it can be seen that she is four or five months pregnant. This child is lucky.

When she got home, Xu had already prepared dinner. Seeing her son coming back, she told him to eat quickly. It gets dark early in winter, and it would be a waste to light a lamp when it is completely dark.

After a fairly hearty dinner, everyone went to rest.

The next morning, Zhang Ping'an deliberately left home a little earlier when he went to work. When he passed by his eldest sister's husband's house, he called his eldest sister out.

Daya wiped her hands and smiled, "I knew you would come over today."

"What's going on? What's the situation?" Zhang Pingan asked.

Daya looked around and made sure no one was around before she pulled Zhang Ping'an to the corner and whispered, "I went to ask yesterday afternoon. Maybe because it was a long night and it was a holiday, Mom was pretty good and didn't get angry. I also found out who Wu Ya liked."

"Who is it?" Zhang Ping'an was really curious and had some vague guesses in his mind.

Daya replied angrily and helplessly, "It's Guo Jia! You men are just crude and don't understand the concerns of little girls. Think about it, Wu Ya doesn't go out much. We've only been in Lin'an for less than a month. How could she know anyone? It's just the guys in the surrounding alleys and the few acquaintances and classmates around you. We've been fleeing all the way here, and she's been with Guo Jia the most. It's natural that Wu Ya has developed feelings for him over time!"

"It's him!" Zhang Ping'an suddenly realized.

Daya nodded: "That's him! It's no wonder our mother doesn't agree to this marriage. Let's not talk about him being poor, just the fact that he's a bachelor without a father or a mother is enough to make people feel uneasy. What's more, he was engaged before, and although the woman died before the marriage, that was also a second marriage. If our Fifth Girl marries him, she will be his second wife, and it won't be good for her reputation. What do you think he wants?"

Zhang Ping'an still hadn't figured out one thing. "Wait, Big Sister, are they in love with each other, or is it just a one-sided love from Fifth Sister? This is very important!"

If the two were in love, he felt that what his elder sister had just said was not a big problem. In his opinion, Guo Jia was smart and literate, and he would have a good future. Most importantly, he had good character and was responsible. He was willing to help persuade his parents to make it happen.

What I fear most is unrequited love. If this gets out, Fifth Sister's reputation will be ruined. Even if I pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi in the future, I won't be able to come from a good family. It will also affect Sixth Sister. This is the way the world is. There are many restrictions on women!

"It's unrequited love that's scary, that's why our mother is so angry. Guo Jia doesn't know anything," Daya sighed. She didn't know why her sisters were so opinionated. She said that the in-laws chosen by her parents were pretty good.