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

Zhang Ping'an knew that he did not have a strong background, and in the families of these two bullies, one was the son of a third-rank provincial judge, and the other was the son of a third-rank envoy. This rank was considered the highest among officials in the eyes of ordinary people, and both had real power. It was easy to deal with these two, but the difficult part was how to deal with the aftermath. He must not become a suspect.

Bullying was just a way for the two of them to have fun after class, so these days Zhang Pingan went straight to the cafeteria or library after class, trying not to have a head-on conflict with them.

There were two times when he came back, the books were thrown on the ground, but Zhang Pingan didn't care. He picked them up, shook them clean and continued using them.

The lanky one of the bullying duo was so angry that he taunted him from the front: "Humph, you're a coward!"

Zhang Pingan pretended not to hear and went to class peacefully. Tomorrow was his day off, so he would just have to wait and see the results the day after tomorrow!

After class, the two men wanted to stop Zhang Pingan as usual. Zhang Pingan was well prepared. After the teacher left, he immediately picked up his schoolbag and ran out of the back door. Because he ran too fast, he knocked over a chair.

The two watched Zhang Ping'an run away without caring about his image from behind. They rubbed the place where he was hit by the chair and laughed: "Look, doesn't he look like a mouse? He can only run away with his head in his hands!"

"Yeah, he really doesn't care about the image of a scholar at all. He has no backbone at all. It's boring to bully him. He is worse than Bai Yunhe before," said another student of medium build with a sneer of disdain.

It was these three people who bullied Bai Yunhe before. It was just that this student of medium build had the best academic knowledge and was usually busy with schoolwork, so he seldom participated. However, he was the most ruthless and had the most tricks when it came to bullying. He was also said to be a homosexual, which was the biggest reason for Bai Yunhe to drop out of school.

As a scholar, no matter how outstanding your knowledge is, once you get involved with male favorites, you will never be able to make a name for yourself in your life and will be despised by all scholars.

When I got home, Mrs. Xu had already started setting the table and seemed to be in a good mood.

Zhang Pingan smiled and asked, "Mom, what good news is this?"

Xu said happily, "Your father went to look at houses today, as well as Jinbao's. Now we've settled down. Lin'an City seems quite prosperous and stable. Our two families are planning to buy a small courtyard in the north of the city and settle down. After all, renting a house all the time is not a big deal, and if any of your classmates come to visit us later, it would be embarrassing!"

Zhang Laoer, who had recently been helping deliver vegetables to the post station thanks to Guo Jia's connections, was very busy on weekdays. After drinking a cup of tea at Zhang Ping'an's house, he said, "We can forget about the east side of the city. I've seen a place in the north that's pretty good. It's just three lanes away from the Xiao family's house. It has three main rooms and a decent-sized yard. I'll build a study and kitchen in the yard when the time comes, and our family will have plenty of space!"

Land and houses are the roots of ordinary people. Renting a house always makes one feel like floating and uneasy. After settling down in Lin'an, Zhang Laoer has been thinking about buying a house. However, the housing prices here are really expensive, and Zhang Laoer is heartbroken.

"Even in the north of the city it's not cheap, right?" Zhang Pingan asked.

He had thought about buying a house before, but the world is unstable. After spending such a large sum of money, he would not be able to take it with him if something happened. So in the end he did not mention it and decided to continue renting a house!

Zhang Lao Er nodded and replied, "It's expensive, two hundred and sixty taels, but I think I can still pay a little more. There are not many people selling houses now, so it's hard to find a suitable house!"

"Houses in the south of the city are much cheaper and can be bought for less than 200 taels, but our family's status is different. Your father and I thought about it and decided that we can't save this money," Xu said with a smile.

She also comforted her son: "It's good to buy a house. It also puts an end to a worry for your father and me. Otherwise, we always couldn't sleep well. Besides, if we have a house, you can talk to your fifth and sixth sisters about it and get them to talk about a better one."

"Yes, and you will have the provincial examination in August. If you pass the exam, it would be inappropriate for others to come to the south of the city to report the good news," said Zhang Laoer with anticipation.

"Dad, Mom, I think the life in the south of the city is pretty good right now. Let's talk about buying a house after I take the provincial examination. If I pass, it will be easier for me to buy a house or ask my fifth and sixth sisters for help. I can also have a say in asking others for help and have more choices. March is almost over now and August will be here in a blink of an eye. There is no need to rush," Zhang Pingan said after thinking for a while.

Xu disapproved: "Then when you pass the imperial examination, others will come to announce the good news and see you living in a messy place in the south of the city. They will definitely laugh at you!"

"If you are poor in a busy city, no one will care about you. If you are rich in a remote mountain, you will have distant relatives. It doesn't matter where you live. Besides, no one knows me. You are thinking too far ahead." Zhang Pingan felt that it didn't matter. As long as he could be in a high position, everything would not be a problem.

Xu wanted to say more, but Zhang Laoer interrupted her, "Alright, let's talk about the house later. Let's eat first!"

On the second day of his day off, Zhang Pingan went to Jinbao's house and asked Jinbao to go to the bookstore to buy books together.

Jinbao complained, "You're getting busier and busier. I really hope you can finish the exam soon!"

"Didn't I come to see you today?" Zhang Ping'an said with a smile, and then asked, "By the way, my parents told me that your family is planning to buy a house in the north of the city?"

Jin Bao nodded, a little embarrassed, "I'm not a child anymore. My parents are going to ask a matchmaker to find me a husband. Without a house, I can't find a good family. That's why my grandma said we should buy a house. My parents support us, and I think it's a good idea. Don't you want to buy one too?"

"I must buy a house. I have considered this a long time ago, but I plan to wait until after I finish the provincial examination. Then I will have more choices," Zhang Pingan explained.

"That's right," Jin Bao nodded. "Never mind. I won't worry about these things. Let's go look for some books. My storybooks are now sold in many bookstores. I'll show you some."

Zhang Pingan jokingly said, "Then you must have earned quite a bit of money. You have to treat us today!"

"Hahaha, no problem," Jinbao laughed.

After the two of them went to the bookstore, Jin Bao really pulled Zhang Ping'an to a corner, secretly picked up one of the storybooks, handed it to him, and whispered, "This is what I wrote."

Writing storybooks, especially those about love and romance such as the talented scholar and the beautiful lady, were not considered to be of high quality by scholars. Reading such storybooks would make people feel a little ashamed, so bookstores would not sell them in prominent places. They would usually be placed in a corner, and people who liked them would buy them.

"Not bad, the writing has improved a lot," Zhang Pingan opened it and took a look and praised. Although it was an old routine, it was written with rich emotions and did not look tacky.

"Hehe," Jinbao was happy to hear the compliment.

After the two of them bought the books they needed, Jinbao invited Zhang Pingan to have a donkey meat hotpot on the street, which tasted very good.

After arriving home, they separated.

The next morning, Zhang Ping'an arrived at the state school for class as usual. As soon as he entered the classroom, he heard many of his classmates in the front row talking about it. "I heard that the three of them went to a brothel on their day off yesterday, and ended up having too much fun and died immediately. It's really embarrassing!"

"Who says it's not? But I heard they used drugs," the other person gave the other person a look that said you know what I'm doing.

Zhang Pingan curled his lips when he heard that and sat down happily.