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

The father and son came out with smiles on their faces. Jinbao's father guessed that the herbs had been sold. He didn't ask how much they were sold for, thinking that it was just to supplement the family income.

He joked to Zhang Laoer, "Your son Ping'an is so capable. He knows how to find ways to make money at such a young age. He will definitely live a good life in the future."

To be honest, when Jinbao's father heard that the idea of ​​tinkering with herbs was first thought up by Ping'an, a kid, he was really shocked. He thought that when he was five or six years old, he was still playing with mud and didn't know anything.

"Hey, I can't sell much, just enough to supplement the family income." Zhang Laoer waved his hand modestly, but he couldn't suppress the upturned corners of his mouth.

Jinbao's father was a very good driver, driving fast and steadily. The mule ran faster than the donkey, and in less than an hour the outline of Zhangjia Village could be seen from afar.

Turning to look at the two children who hadn't finished their roast chicken, he urged, "We're almost home. You two should finish the chicken quickly, or else someone will come and ask for it back and cause a scene."

In fact, half a roasted chicken doesn't have much, but Jinbao's father and Zhang Laoer refused to eat it no matter how much they were fed. They wanted to save it for their own sons. The two little guys ate slowly, and they were reluctant to eat it all at once, so there were only three or four pieces of meat left.

Zhang Pingan and Jin Bao each shared two pieces of meat and began chewing them with big mouthfuls. He also urged, "Eat quickly, we'll be home soon."

Everyone in the village is a relative, and if a child cries and makes a fuss about the food, it would easily hurt the relationship if you really don't give it to him. It would be better to just eat it all up.

After passing the village entrance is the Zhang family yard. Zhang Laoer jumped out of the car and took the things down. He kept thanking Jinbao's father. His son had eaten roast chicken today, which was a very valuable favor. Next time when there is something delicious at home, he will have to send some over to repay the favor.

The father and son walked happily into the yard and ran into Ma, who was peeling peanuts under the eaves. Seeing Zhang Ping'an's greasy mouth, she said with a click of her tongue, "Oh, second brother, what delicious food have you taken Ping'an to eat again? Look at the thick grease on his mouth, you can scrape it off and use it for cooking!"

"The child is greedy, so he just ate a little," Zhang Laoer said perfunctorily. He didn't want to say more and pulled his son into the house.

However, the paper rolled up in her arms was a large bundle, and it could not be hidden. Ma paused and looked at the movements in her hands, as if thinking about something.

After thinking for a moment, she walked into the house and nudged her husband. "Hey, what do you think your second brother is up to? Today, he and Jinbao's father took the two children to the town and bought a bunch of things. I saw that the basket was very heavy, and he was holding a large bundle of paper in his arms. Go and ask around."

Zhang Laosan was dozing on the kang. This was a rare leisure time of the year. Although Zhang Laosan was a little lazy, he was quite good at making money and was also good to his wife and children. Hearing this, he yawned and said, "What are you asking about? I guess he's going to send Ping'an to school. My second brother and his wife have already revealed this matter. They only have this one child, so they treat him very preciously and hope that Ping'an will have a bright future!"

"That's too early! Ping'an is only five years old," Ma was surprised, and then a little sour, "Our Dahe and Erhe have never been to a proper school, and Ping'an is only five years old and he has to go to school."

"Why do you care? It's not your money anyway. Besides, I wanted to send the two boys to a private school, but you stopped me and said that they just needed to learn a few words from me. There's no need to waste money," Zhang Laosan said lazily, not caring at all.

"That's what they say, but admission to school is not cheap. Do you think it's possible that our parents paid for it privately?" Ma still felt uncomfortable.

"Tsk, how is that possible? Don't you know what kind of people our parents are?! Look who they have given money to over the years since the family split up, and which grandchild has spent a penny of their money? The older they get, the tighter they keep their money! You, stop imagining it."

"That's right! But our boy is also very smart, why should he go to his house?" Ma was indignant. After all, she looked down on Xu from the bottom of her heart and felt that she was being suppressed in this matter. Everyone knows that studying is good, but studying will cost at least three or four taels a year, which is really a lot of money. Ma was reluctant to send her off at first because she was thrifty.

"Okay, don't think about it. Dahe has grown up and will be able to find a wife in two years. It's good for him to follow me and learn how to sell mountain products. Erhe can learn the craft of making bamboo strips after playing for another two years. Besides, our family has land, so making a living will not be a problem," Zhang Laosan was quite optimistic.

"Oh, it's not a matter of living together. I can't explain it to you." Ma glared at her husband and went out. She sat in the corridor and became more and more angry. She didn't understand what she was angry about.

The atmosphere in the west wing was quite lively. Xu was overjoyed to learn that the herbs had sold for over thirty coins today. She lamented that she was lucky to have so many maids at home, as they had searched all over the mountains and fields to gather so many. Although Zhang Ping'an thought it was cheap, neither Zhang Laoer nor Xu thought so. She even specifically told them not to tell anyone else in the village, as this was their family's secret to making money.

Because her son was going to school, Xu was afraid that his classmates would laugh at him if he was not well dressed, so she dug out the few feet of cloth in the bottom of the box at home, made him a new set of clothes, two pairs of cloth shoes, and sewed a small school bag for him. It looked really good when he carried it on his back.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is here in a blink of an eye. It is a day of reunion for ordinary people. The Zhang family has a meal together on this day. Each family contributes a few dishes. Zhang also specially asks for a pot of red bean cakes to make it look more complete. Although they can't eat mooncakes, they still have to have this meaning.

Like all other children, Zhang Ping'an likes festivals very much, because the food at home will be much better during festivals. Today, the family specially killed a chicken, fish, and stewed meat. The food is also the new rice harvested this year, without beans mixed in. The adults don't beat or scold the children anymore, and the whole yard is much more harmonious than usual.

However, during the meal, apart from the men sitting at the main table who were picking up food more naturally, the maids sitting at the small tables were so busy with their chopsticks that they were almost leaving afterimages, as if they were in a war.

The older ones, in particular, were always quick and accurate in grabbing the meat. Zhang Pingan was truly thankful for being able to sit at the main table, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get a single bite of the meat. Zhang Laoer even specially scooped a bowl of chicken soup with rice for his son, which contained several pieces of chicken.

The family was very satisfied with the meal. When they finished eating and were chatting in the courtyard, Ma brought up the old matter again. She wanted to confirm her guess and asked, "Second brother, I heard that Ping'an is going to school. Who is his teacher? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Ping'an is going to school. Isn't it a bit early?!" Old man Zhang was a little surprised. He had known what his second son was thinking for a long time, but he didn't expect that he would be sent to a private school at the age of five.

"Well, Dad, I'm going to school tomorrow. I'm studying under Master Luo from Luojia Village. I want Ping'an to learn something early so that he doesn't have to play around in the village every day." Zhang Laoer replied honestly.

"We in Erhe are already eleven years old, and we still play every day," Ma interrupted again.

"Our Ping'an is weak to begin with. I don't think he will be a bamboo craftsman in the future. It's too hard work! If he learns some skills, he will have more ways to make a living. Studying is always easier," explained Zhang Laoer.

"He eats a lot every day and is fat, but he's still weak," Ma rolled her eyes and muttered in a low voice.

After returning to their rooms that night and lying down, Ma tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She sat up, nudged Zhang Laosan and said, "What do you think about sending Erhe to school as well?"

"Go to sleep quickly, don't be crazy!" Zhang Laosan was woken up and was very annoyed. He pulled up the quilt to cover his head and remained silent no matter how Ma pushed him.

"Virtue!"