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

Mr. Lu is worthy of being a Jinshi and has many years of teaching experience. He gave very insightful guidance on the problems sorted out by Zhang Pingan.

Pointing at the question on the paper, he said, "This imperial examination essay requires a clear beginning, development, turn, and conclusion. Your transition here is too abrupt and not smooth enough."

Zhang Ping'an listened attentively, nodded in agreement from time to time, and carefully wrote down the key points.

"As for the rhythm of poetry, you are still a little immature. You need to carefully study the level and tone. Read more collections of essays and write more. Then you will naturally have a clear idea in your mind. By reviewing the old and learning the new, you can be my teacher," Mr. Lu continued, pointing to another place. As he spoke, he gave some examples of classic poems to explain the exquisite rhythm.

Although he was not very patient, his explanation was very detailed, which was very good. He was indeed a good person as Principal Ye said.

After talking for about half an hour, the attendant came in to report that Master Lu's disciples had arrived. Zhang Ping'an saw that he had almost finished explaining the problem, so he tactfully said goodbye.

Master Lu nodded, took a sip from his teacup to moisten his throat, then looked up and said, "The key to learning lies in accumulation and diligent thinking. Your foundation is very good, much better than I expected. However, the provincial and imperial examinations are completely different. Solving the questions requires deeper research."

Zhang Pingan replied respectfully, "I understand. Although I am not very talented or knowledgeable, I still want to try my best to take the provincial examination. Thank you for your teachings today. I will always be grateful."

Mr. Lu waved his hand and said politely, "Well, go ahead. If you have any questions, you can come back to me."

"Thank you, Master," Zhang Ping'an bowed solemnly again before leaving.

When he came out, he passed by Master Lu's only direct disciple. The two looked at each other and nodded, which was considered a greeting.

The man was about twenty years old, with a fair complexion and no beard. He looked ordinary and was dressed in fancy clothes. However, he had a shrewd look on his face. He did not look like a scholar, but more like a calculating businessman.

After leaving Master Lu, Zhang Ping'an did not go back to the library directly. Instead, he left the provincial school and went to a nearby bookstore, intending to buy some collections of essays recommended by Master Lu to continue studying.

Because it is closest to the largest and best provincial school in Lin'an City, Hongru Bookstore does very good business and has the most complete collection of classics, history, and other types of books.

The bookstore was filled with the unique aroma of paper and ink. Zhang Pingan searched carefully among the bookshelves and finally found a few books he liked.

When paying the bill, someone nearby was whispering about the preferences of the examiners for this provincial examination. Zhang Pingan listened calmly for a few seconds. They were talking about all kinds of things, and it was probably just hearsay, so Zhang Pingan didn't care.

I put my mind back on reading, thinking that although I read a lot, I still need to work harder on quoting allusions.

He hurried back to the library with the collected works he had bought. His colleagues on the first floor didn't pay much attention to him. After saying hello to them, Zhang Ping'an went straight to the third floor. After sitting down at the table, he couldn't wait to open a book and began to study it. Combining it with what Mr. Lu had taught him in the morning, he sorted it out again and took notes. A good memory is not as good as a bad pen!

With someone to ask for advice, Zhang Pingan found studying more comfortable and began a busy and fulfilling life of preparing for the exam.

As time went by, Zhang Ping'an soon discovered that Mr. Lu was actually an old man who was particularly concerned about his reputation.

When he went to ask for advice for the second time, Master Lu was not so willing, but because of his reputation, he still explained to him reluctantly. When he went for the third time, he even directly and tactfully hinted that he was very busy and that he should not look for him again, as there were many other knowledgeable masters in the provincial school.

Zhang Ping'an was actually very embarrassed. He was not a student of the provincial school, so it was not good to always take advantage of someone. However, he really needed guidance from a famous teacher, so he could only selfishly and shamelessly pretend that he didn't understand.

Later, he found out that Master Lu had a hobby, which was to fight crickets with other literati in his spare time, which is commonly known as cricket fighting. This is also a form of entertainment among literati. Some people even wrote "Cricket Fighting Sutra" to record the experience of raising and fighting crickets.

He took some time to learn more about it. There are three types of crickets that are most popular among literati nowadays. The first type is the fighting cricket, which is known as the "number one insect" and is famous for its excellent fighting ability and pleasant chirping. It is also the most expensive.

The second-best is the red-breasted black cricket, which is small and elegant, with a very unique chirping sound. It is called the "black peony of singing insects". It can often defeat crickets two or three times its size. This contrast is also very popular among scholars.

The third grade is the sky blue cricket. The body color of the sky blue cricket is as blue as the sky. This color is extremely rare among crickets. The body lines are smooth and the appearance is very charming. It has extremely high requirements for the living environment and can only survive in a specific ecological environment, such as specific areas in some deep mountains and forests. Therefore, it is difficult to buy on the market and the price is also not cheap.

Sometimes it is hard to buy these kinds of good crickets. You can't buy them anytime you have money. Moreover, the crickets are easily lost. If you don't raise them well, they will die. The sky blue cricket that Lu Fuzi raised before died, and now he is still looking for a new cricket.

Zhang Ping'an wanted to find a good one to give to Master Lu, so that he would feel more at ease when he went to ask for advice next time.

He was busy preparing for the exam and did not have enough time to wait in the insect market every day. After thinking about it, he asked Guo Jia to do this job. He was on duty at the post station and knew all kinds of people. He was well-informed and had flexible schedules.

Thinking of this, Zhang Pingan went directly to the posthouse after finishing his shift that day and solemnly asked Guo Jia to take care of this matter.

"Don't worry, I will pay close attention to you, just focus on preparing for the exam," Guo Jia said cheerfully.

"Thank you very much. It would be a great help to me if you can really find it. Good quality crickets are not cheap. I don't have any silver with me today. Tomorrow I will bring you a silver note of 20 taels. If it is less than 20 taels, you can buy it for me directly. If it is more than 20 taels, you can pay a deposit and then send someone to find me at the provincial school," said Zhang Ping'an.

"Okay!" Guo Jia nodded.

After taking on this task, Guo Jia was indeed very attentive to it. He would go to the insect market whenever he had time. However, after a few days, not to mention the sky blue crickets, even the crickets of slightly better quality were hard to find.

The market is now in a state of supply far less than demand.

He really wanted to help Zhang Pingan.

That day, Guo Jia once again came out of the insect market dejectedly, but was stopped by a little beggar.

Guo Jia wanted to ignore him, but the little beggar said mysteriously that he knew where to find sky blue crickets. He probably begged nearby every day, and seeing Guo Jia coming more often, he knew what he wanted.