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

"Then why is Master Lu so close to someone like Master Huang?" Zhang Ping'an asked curiously.

"We are all teachers of the provincial school, so some interactions are inevitable. We all maintain face. It is impossible to stop interacting with each other just because the other party has some flaws in his character. Besides, one good thing about Teacher Huang is that he is easy to talk to and willing to use back doors. It would not be easy for you to audit other classes. After all, this is the best provincial school in the whole south, and not everyone can get in!" said Principal Ye.

"I understand," Zhang Ping'an nodded. It seemed that he had to be a little tougher in front of Master Huang.

After dinner, Zhang Ping'an went back to the library with Ye Xiaoshu. In the afternoon, he took some time to go to the office of the teacher of Class A in Zhongshe, and finally met Teacher Huang.

This man was younger than Master Lu, with gray hair and a medium height. His eyes sparkled with shrewdness. It was said that he was a juren (imperial scholar) in the 27th year of Ningwu. After reading the letter of recommendation that Zhang Ping'an brought over, his attitude wasn't too hostile. He said calmly, "Since you're a student recommended by Master Lu, you should audit the class tomorrow. I'll greet the other teachers in the class."

"Thank you, Master Huang," Zhang Ping'an said respectfully, without saying anything else, and then took his leave.

After half a day of busyness, it was soon time to get off duty. When he returned home after work, his brother-in-law had already returned from the exam. Daya specifically asked her son Maodan to wait for Zhang Pingan at the door, for fear that he would miss him.

Maodaner was playing at the door while staring at the entrance of the alley. When he saw Zhang Pingan turning in, he immediately shouted into the house, "Dad, Mom, my uncle is back!"

Daya wiped her hands quickly and came out, smiling and greeting from a distance: "Little brother, you're back, come in!"

"Sister, how did your brother-in-law feel about taking the exam today?" Zhang Ping'an asked as he approached.

"I heard from your brother-in-law that it seems quite simple. Come in quickly, I'll get you a bowl of chicken soup. You've worked hard studying and need some nourishment," Daya pulled him into the kitchen.

Zhang Pingan struggled for a long time but was suppressed. Daya glared at him and asked, "Why, you can't drink my chicken soup?"

After saying that, he scooped out a bowl from the pot and said it was chicken soup. It contained chicken and mushrooms. It smelled very fragrant. Maodan was so greedy that he was almost drooling.

Zhang Ping'an drank two sips as a token of his gratitude, then winked at Maodaner to ask him to call his brothers and sisters over. While Daya wasn't paying attention, he divided the bowl of chicken and soup among the three children.

Daya said coquettishly: "Just spoil them!"

After dinner, Zhang Ping'an took the children to the main hall, where Liu Sanlang was reading. Seeing his brother-in-law coming, he put down his book, smiled and greeted him, "Ping'an, you're home!"

"Well, it's time to go to the next shift. How did you and Xiao Yifei feel about the exam today?" Zhang Ping'an saw that his brother-in-law looked relaxed, and guessed that he must have done well, so he asked.

Liu Sanlang scratched his head and smiled innocently, "At first I thought it was difficult and I was so nervous, but it turned out to be quite easy. For the horse archery test, as long as you can hit the haystack, you'll pass. For the foot archery test, you have to shoot at the scarecrow, and you just need to hit it. There are also the crossbar test and the weight test, which are not difficult. Anyway, I'm strong, and Xiao Yifei also passed. More than half of the people passed today! Tomorrow we will have other tests."

"Congratulations, you've taken the first step," Zhang Pingan said happily.

"Haha, finally these two months of preparation time were not wasted," Liu Sanlang himself was very happy, and he seemed to have found a goal in his heart.

After chatting with his brother-in-law for a while, Zhang Pingan said goodbye and left.

When we got home, Xu had already set dinner and was beaming with joy. It seemed she had heard the good news about her eldest son-in-law. She said, "I've left a bowl of food for Sanlang. Ping'an, please take it over!"

"Okay," Zhang Ping'an replied. The two homes were close, so they finished the delivery and returned in a short while.

"I never thought Sanlang could be so successful. If he really achieves fame, your elder sister will be blessed," Xu said happily.

Zhang Laoer was quite confident in his eldest son-in-law and said with a smile, "Just based on Sanlang's rare physique, I think there will be no problem!"

"By the way, Dad and Mom, I won't be working in the provincial school library anymore. A teacher recommended me to sit in on the provincial school's Class A class, where I'll take serious classes and prepare well for the provincial examination. I don't have to pay tuition, so I won't have a monthly allowance in the future. I'm telling you this," Zhang Ping'an told you about his own affairs while eating.

When it comes to studying, Xu and Zhang Laoer both fully support it.

Zhang Laoer said decisively, "This is great news. If you don't want to work on the library, then forget it. The exam is more important. Your monthly allowance is not needed by the family, so you can study with peace of mind!"

Xu also nodded in agreement.

After dinner, Zhang Ping'an went to his room to read as usual. He went to bed on time and had a dreamless night!

The next day, he got up early, changed into decent clothes, picked up his school bag and went out. Zhang Ping'an had prepared the basic books and annotations for the imperial examination. He didn't know what the situation would be like when he went to Zhongshe to audit the exam, so he didn't need to prepare anything for the time being. He could just buy whatever he needed.

No matter what time, transfer students always attract attention. When Zhang Ping'an followed Master Huang into the classroom, all the students looked at him with scrutiny in their eyes.

After giving the students a brief introduction, Master Huang pointed to the last empty seat in the southeast corner of the classroom and said, "Sit there!"

The class began after Zhang Ping'an sat down.

The learning atmosphere in Class A of the provincial school is better than that of the former provincial school in the provincial capital. Everyone is fully focused in class, and the teacher can easily quote the allusions for the exam. It can be seen that they are all well-educated and have their own strengths in addition to their family backgrounds.

Although Ye Xiaoshu did not have a high opinion of Master Huang's character, Master Huang's knowledge was undoubtedly good. He was also very familiar with the examination questions of previous years' provincial examinations and the family background, personality and preferences of each examiner, and was very experienced in taking examinations.

After the two-hour class, it was lunch time and groups of students would go to the toilet together.

A student sitting in front of Zhang Pingan turned around and asked, "Want to go eat together?"

"Ah? Okay, but I have to go to the toilet first," Zhang Pingan replied immediately after being stunned for a moment. He didn't expect someone to ask him out so soon. He thought it would take a day or two to get to know the other person!

"Well, I want to go too," the other person nodded.

Zhang Ping'an saw that although this man had a good appearance, his eyes and brows were melancholy, and he looked like he was worried and unhappy. He wondered what was bothering him.

On the way to the toilet, the two introduced themselves to each other. The other party said, "My surname is Bai, my given name is Yunhe, and I'm from Lin'an. I'm eighteen years old and haven't even reached adulthood yet. I don't have a courtesy name. You can just call me by my name."

"Okay, then I'll call you Brother Bai," Zhang Ping'an said.