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

Zhang Pingan walked over and congratulated his brother-in-law, "Brother-in-law, congratulations!"

Liu Sanlang, the protagonist of the day, was still a little dazed. Seeing his brother-in-law coming over to congratulate him, he quickly stood up and said, "Ping'an, this is all thanks to you for giving me the military manual and encouraging me to take the exam. Otherwise, I wouldn't be where I am today. I have to thank you!"

"We are a family, let's not talk about these polite words." Zhang Pingan patted his brother-in-law's arm. "By the way, how did Xiao Yifei do in the exam? Why didn't you invite him to come over for dinner?"

Liu Sanlang smiled and said, "He passed. His stepmother found out and invited the whole family to dinner at her mansion today, so he couldn't come. He said we should call Jinbao and get together again when you have a day off!"

Speaking of Jin Bao, Zhang Pingan looked around and asked, "Where has he been? Why hasn't he come for so long?"

Speak of the devil, and here he comes. Jin Bao came in breathless. Seeing Zhang Ping'an, he waved and walked over. He bent down to catch his breath before saying, "Moving is so tiring. Just now, my grandma asked me to help the guys from the furniture store deliver the new furniture to our new home. I almost broke my back from the strain!"

"Then why don't you ask me to go with you?" Liu Sanlang asked doubtfully, "I have nothing to do anyway."

Jin Bao laughed and said, "Aren't you the star today? It's also a good day for the results announcement, so I didn't call you. I can handle it myself!"

"Jinbao, you are just being polite," Liu Sanlang said with a silly smile.

"Have you decided on a specific date for moving to the new house? Moving is a big deal. I'll take a day off on that day," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

"It should be in these few days, my grandma hasn't told me yet," Jinbao scratched his head.

Dazhu was envious when he heard this: "Jinbao, your family has bought a house in Lin'an, that's great!"

"Brother Dazhu, you will buy a house in the future. It's just a matter of time," Jinbao comforted.

Dazhu shook his head. "I don't know how long I have to wait. Meizi is about to give birth. I really hope that the baby can live in a spacious house after it is born. It doesn't matter whether it is in the north or south of the city. I will be very satisfied as long as I have a house of my own!"

Following what his cousin Dazhu said, Zhang Pingan noticed Mei Zi, who was pregnant and sitting next to him with his cousin Ying Niang. This girl was as quiet as his cousin Ying Niang and had little presence. To this day, there was no clear name for her. No one called her wife or concubine, and everyone just called her Mei Zi.

"Was it born in June?" Zhang Pingan asked. He remembered it seemed to be around this time.

Dazhu shook his head, but before he could say anything, Li heard the news and said happily, "It's not June, it's May. She'll be born next month. I asked the midwife to come and feel the baby a few days ago, and she said it's very likely a boy. Your brother Dazhu is finally having a son!"

Everyone chatted for a while, and when everyone was present, Liu the Butcher announced the start of the meal.

There were three tables in total, two for the men and one for the women. Children were not allowed to sit at the tables as there was no room for them. The adults just put the food into their bowls and ate aside.

As the head of the family, Butcher Liu happily raised his glass and said loudly, "Today is Sanlang's big day. I'm so happy. Really. We've traveled thousands of miles from north to south. It's not easy for Sanlang to have this good fortune today. Everyone, just eat and drink to your heart's content. I hope you will forgive me for any shortcomings in our hospitality. I'll drink first as a toast!"

"Okay!" The men responded enthusiastically, raised their glasses and toasted each other.

Although we didn't go to a restaurant to save money, the dishes today were very substantial. There were chicken, duck, fish and meat. The vegetarian dishes also had some minced meat, which was very fragrant with the taste of meat. Everyone was eating with a lot of oil in their mouths.

As the protagonist, Liu Sanlang naturally drank quite a bit. After a while, his face flushed and he said with a thick tongue, "No... I can't drink anymore!"

Zhang Laosan said with a smile, "Sanlang needs to practice his drinking tolerance!"

Butcher Liu said cheerfully, "Never mind him, let's drink ours!"

The meal didn't end until the moon was at its highest point. Daya then hurried to make a few pots of tea and brought them out to help everyone sober up.

She had been busy in the kitchen all day and had barely eaten a bite of food. Now she was tired and hungry, but she was really happy from the bottom of her heart today. Her husband had become successful and her children were sensible and obedient. What could be more promising than this!

Xu came over, took her eldest daughter's hand, and said with relief, "My dear, life is getting better and better now. When we first proposed to each other, I knew Sanlang would be a promising man. When Sanlang passes the imperial examination, I'll ask your younger brother to go and ask for a good job with his classmates. Then you can buy a house and settle down. Life will be wonderful!"

"Mother, it's too early to talk about this!" Daya laughed, "But if Sanlang can really pass the military exam and get a good job, I'd like to continue sending Donkey Egg and Cat Egg to private school. It's not good for them to play around with the kids in the alley every day. They won't achieve much. They need to go to school like my younger brother!"

"As long as you have a plan in mind," Mrs. Xu patted her daughter's hand. She was most relieved about her eldest daughter's life.

Erya was also happy for her elder sister, but she was very strong-willed. Upon hearing this, she said, "I have to find a way to send Pengpeng and Manman to school next year. No matter how hard life is for adults, we can't let the children suffer. Only when they learn to read and write can they find jobs!"

Daya agreed: "Yes!"

Then he praised: "But I heard that your Peng Peng is very smart. He can recognize the words that your brother-in-law teaches him after reading them a few times. He is a good student and can sit still better than our Donkey and Cat!"

"It's just so-so," Erya said modestly as she combed the hair around her ears with her hands, but the corners of her mouth were raised high, showing that she liked to hear this.