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

As the only relative of Uncle Xu in Lin'an, Xu must go to help out on the day of the engagement.

In order not to delay Zhang Ping'an's study time, Uncle Xu specially scheduled it for his day off.

That morning, Xu got up early, dressed herself neatly, and put on new clothes. Zhang Laoer drove the whole family to Xu's house.

Since Jinbao's family moved out, Uncle Xu considered that his two sons had grown up and were about to get married, so he didn't find anyone else to share the rent with him. He cleaned up the two rooms in Jinbao's house, pasted red paper on them, and used them as new houses.

"Speaking of this matter, your uncle handled it quite disgracefully. How could two sons get engaged and married on the same day? It's probably your aunt's idea to save money on the banquet," Xu muttered.

"A penny can make a hero fall. As long as it's a formal marriage, it's no big deal. We don't need a banquet at home, so don't take it to heart," Zhang Ping'an comforted him. He knew that his mother was not really angry, but just thought that holding a banquet like this was not decent, so she just complained a few words.

The two houses were not far apart, and the mule cart arrived at Uncle Xu's house in a short while. A big red wedding character was pasted on the door, which looked very festive.

After Xu got out of the car and entered the house, she found that Ma had already arrived. Her sister-in-law and her sister-in-law seemed like real sisters and had a very good relationship!

Today is just the engagement, not the formal marriage. The matchmaker is also here, so the men can just go with Uncle Xu. The women are more relaxed today and gather together to chat.

The topic soon turned to the two brides who had not yet married.

Shen's face didn't show much joy. She ate some melon seeds and said, "I heard from the matchmaker that those two girls are well-behaved, sensible, hardworking and capable!"

Xu said, "That's all right. They're all from humble backgrounds. It's enough for them to be hardworking, capable, well-behaved and sensible. You're still expecting to talk about a fairy!"

Shen's tone was filled with disdain: "Third sister, you don't know. Our family is so poor that we're almost infested with lice. If this happened in the town before, I would have absolutely despised it. Now that we're in Lin'an, there's nothing I can do. Seeing that Tianshou and his wife are getting older and richer, they have to get married quickly. I really don't want to do this."

Mrs. Liu the butcher was a straightforward person. Upon hearing this, she said something fair: "Mother of Tianshou, don't blame me for speaking bluntly. As the old saying goes, marry high and marry low. We just need a girl with good character, right? Are you still expecting others to bring you a good dowry? Even people with rich families would look down on your family. You don't have a house or a piece of land. Tianshou and Tiancai are just ordinary, not that outstanding. First, they are uneducated, and second, they don't have a good physique. It's good enough that they can marry a wife!"

"How can you say that?" Shen was not happy.

Jin Bao Niang echoed, "I think what I'm saying is, you should stop overthinking it!"

At this time, the men were still in the yard. Uncle Xu and his two sons felt a little embarrassed when they heard this. They hurriedly called out to the matchmaker and everyone else, saying, "Let's go quickly. Don't miss the auspicious time!"

The betrothal gifts were carried in pairs by Dazhu and Erzhu and Liu Erlang and Liu Sanlang, while the others followed beside the mule cart.

In fact, according to Liu Sanlang's physique, he could carry the betrothal gifts by himself, but Xu Xiaojiu felt that it would not look good if he carried it alone, as the gifts would seem light, and it would look more decent if two people carried it. After all, he was helping, so Liu Sanlang had no choice but to obey.

Zhang Ping'an followed Uncle Xu all the way south. They walked for at least fifteen minutes. The houses around them were becoming more and more neatly arranged. He couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, where exactly is the girl's family? How long will it take to get there? Didn't they say it was in the south of the city? I thought it was very close."

Uncle Xu replied, "Almost there, almost there!"

The matchmaker wiped her sweat and said, "It's almost there, almost there!"

The powder on her face has faded and she looks dirty.

Zhang Pingan looked at the matchmaker with a face full of flesh and felt that she was not a good person. Could this really be a good marriage?!

As it turned out, the matchmaker and Uncle Xu were not telling the truth.

This was quick. After walking for more than a quarter of an hour, everyone arrived directly at the South Gate.

Uncle Xu calmly went over to line up.

Zhang Laoer frowned and asked, "Are you leaving the city?"

"Yes, the girl's home is in the south of the city. After leaving the city, walk south for about half an hour and you will arrive," said Uncle Xu.

Jin Bao's father couldn't help but complain: "Why don't you just say that you talked about two girls in the village?"

Tianshou and Tiancai were not as thick-skinned as Uncle Xu. When they heard this, their faces turned red, and they lowered their heads and kept silent.

The matchmaker came to the rescue and said, "Isn't that also south of the city? The south side of the city!"

Although everyone was speechless, they could only follow Uncle Xu out of the city since things had come to this point.

After leaving the city, the road became wide. Everyone followed the mule carriage for a while and finally arrived at the village that Uncle Xu mentioned.

Because it is close to Lin'an City, this village looks pretty good. The houses are neat and tidy, and it doesn't look too poor.

After entering the village, the old people under the big tree at the entrance of the village looked at everyone curiously.

Uncle Xu enthusiastically distributed some wedding candy to the children at the village entrance and explained to the villagers, "I came from Lin'an City to propose marriage to the Wang family."

The old people looked enlightened after hearing this, and after receiving the wedding candies, they all said a few auspicious words of blessing.

One of the old ladies even grabbed the matchmaker and said flatteringly, "Sister, I have several girls at home who are looking for marriage proposals. Can you also help me find a family in Lin'an City? I guarantee you will get a lot of money as a thank you for the matchmaking!"

The matchmaker pretended to be embarrassed and said, "There aren't that many good families. Let's talk about it later. I'm busy!"

The old woman hurriedly said, "You go ahead and do your thing. My house is the third one from the entrance of the village. Sister, please pay attention to this matter. I'm leaving it to you!"

"Haha, I see," the matchmaker said with a smile, flicked her handkerchief, and led everyone to a mud brick and tile house in the village with familiarity.

This family has a very large yard, with a lot of clothes hanging on the clothesline, and many chickens and ducks pecking at food everywhere. It can be seen that this family has many people and they live a good life.

The men in the host family had been waiting at the door for a long time. When they saw the matchmaker coming with the man's family to propose marriage, they hurriedly welcomed her warmly.

Uncle Xu distributed a few more handfuls of candy to the children, and the girl's family nodded secretly when they saw this.

Zhang Ping'an thought that although this family was not particularly wealthy, they were definitely not the poor and lice-infested family that his aunt-in-law described. They might even live better than his uncle Xu's family.

I guess it’s just urban-rural discrimination!

The matchmaker had already made arrangements with both parties, and the engagement was just a formality.

The other girl's surname is Tian and she lives in the next village.

In order to save time, we agreed to have breakfast at Wang's house and lunch at Murata's house next door.

The Wang family was very hospitable. They prepared a sumptuous meal in the morning without any sloppiness. They stewed two chickens, and also had braised pork and braised duck. It was obvious that they took it very seriously.

After the lively meal, everyone said goodbye and the matchmaker took everyone to the neighboring Tianjia Village.