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

The conditions in the neighboring Tianjia Village seemed slightly worse than those in Wangjia Village, but they should not have to worry about food and drink. Zhang Ping'an observed that many of the children playing at the village entrance had snacks in their pockets. Although they were just homemade pickled radishes, fried peanuts and the like, it showed that they had enough food to eat at home and had the leisure to prepare these things.

As usual, Uncle Xu distributed candies to the children, who laughed happily. One of the boys who was quick-witted had already run to tell the Tian family.

Before they had taken a few steps into the village, the Tian family came out to greet them. They all looked like honest farmers.

The matchmaker praised both sides again, and the atmosphere was quite good.

The Tian family looked at the men from the Xu family who had come with them. They were all dressed neatly, with few patches on their clothes, and their faces were rosy and they looked energetic. They knew that their family had no shortage of food and that they lived in Lin'an City. They were very satisfied and felt that the matchmaker was right. They felt relieved.

Before everyone entered the yard, they could smell the strong aroma of meat, which showed that the host had put a lot of thought into the preparation of the meal.

Uncle Xu was very happy to see this. Although the two daughters-in-law were from the village, their families were not as poor as he imagined, and they were generous in entertaining guests. This was enough. He did not have as many concerns as Shen.

Although Tianjia Village is not as wealthy as Wangjia Village, the family that was chosen looks like a wealthy family in the village. The main house is made of blue bricks and tiles, and the side rooms and kitchen and woodshed are made of earth bricks, which is considered quite good in the village.

The Tian family made the decision very smoothly. After the formalities, it was time for lunch. The Tian family also invited the village chief to join them to show their importance.

The village chief is very old and walks with a trembling hand. He is a relative of the Tian family within the fifth degree of kinship.

"My new son-in-law lives in Lin'an City. He has inherited the carpentry skills from his ancestors. He also studied with his elders since he was a child and knows how to read. He is also handsome and a good match for the girl," the girl's father introduced him to the village chief. It was obvious that he was very satisfied with the marriage.

The village chief leaned on his cane, squinted his eyes, nodded and smiled, "That's good, my daughter will enjoy a happy life after she marries him!"

After everyone sat down, the women of the Tian family began to serve the dishes, each dish being a large bowl.

The atmosphere at the banquet was lively. The girl's brother even stood up to toast Zhang Ping'an and Liu Sanlang, saying with a smile, "I heard from the matchmaker that you two are both accomplished scholars. Your family has simple food and drink. I hope you will forgive me if we are not able to provide you with a good hospitality."

Zhang Ping'an and Liu Sanlang quickly stood up to return the greeting. To be honest, this meal tasted much better than what they usually made at home, with plenty of oil and fat.

Zhang Ping'an felt that it was great that his uncle's family had such relatives. It was important for a person to know himself.

While they were drunk, the girl's father said to Uncle Xu, "Although we are from the village and cannot compare to the city people, we only have this one daughter. She has been spoiled since she was a child. We chose your family after careful consideration. She has four brothers. When she marries, your family is not allowed to bully her. We are not the kind of family that sells their daughters. I have prepared a dowry for her: the only loom in the village. She is used to using it at home. With it, she can weave cloth in her spare time to supplement the family income."

"My dear relatives, this...this is so embarrassing," Uncle Xu was surprised and happy.

A new loom costs about eight taels. Even if it is an old one, it is still a big item that can make money. It is indeed the only one of its kind in the village.

Zhang Pingan then remembered that the weaving technology in Jiangnan was far superior to that in the north. The silk fabrics produced by the weaving offices in many prefectures were only supplied to the palace, and their exquisite craftsmanship was famous throughout the country.

Many daughters of ordinary families in the Jiangnan region can also weave cloth, but most of them are coarse cotton cloth and ramie cloth. After weaving, they can take them to cloth shops to sell or dye them to make clothes for their own families, which is very convenient.

The local cotton and linen production in Ezhou Prefecture is low, and the people don't grow them much. Therefore, when I was in my hometown, there were not many women around who knew how to weave. But when I came to the south of the Yangtze River, I broadened my horizons.

Before getting married, a woman's parents' family is her support. Because of this, Uncle Xu's attitude towards this marriage is obviously more important than when he was at Wang's house just now.

They had originally planned to leave after dinner, but they chatted until the middle of the afternoon. When they finally left, the Tian family picked a basket of loquats and asked everyone to share it when they got home.

He escorted everyone to the village entrance.

When they returned, Jin Bao's father had obviously changed his mind about the two marriages. He said to Zhang Lao Er, "I originally wanted to marry someone in the city, but now it seems that marrying a country girl isn't so bad either!"

Liu Dalang nodded: "I think it's not bad either. Recently, our eldest brother has been asking someone to look after him!"

Everyone walked and talked, and it was already dusk when they returned to the city.

Uncle Xu gave the matchmaker two taels of money as a thank you, plus half a basket of loquats, to thank her for accompanying him on this trip today.

The matchmaker was not polite and accepted it and said, "There are still two taels!"

"I know, I know," Uncle Xu replied with a slightly flattering tone.

The women had already prepared dinner. Wuya and Liuya helped to wash the loquats, put them in a colander, and gave each person a handful. They tasted quite sweet.

When I returned home after dinner, the moon was already at its highest point in the sky.

After hearing the father and son's account of their engagement, Xu felt relieved and said with a smile, "So, the two sides are quite a good match. Not as bad as my sister-in-law said!"

"Yes, I think it's pretty good," Zhang Pingan nodded.

"We'll get married on the sixth day of next month, so time is a bit tight," said Zhang Laoer. He was a conservative person and thought that the marriage should be held at least one month after the engagement.

"Well, it's almost done. It's better to keep it simple," Xu said indifferently.

After returning home, everyone simply washed up and rested.

In a blink of an eye, it was the end of May, the day that Class A had agreed to go on an outing.

The Minghu Garden that was booked was located on the edge of Minghu Lake in the suburbs, quite far from the south of the city. It would definitely be too late to walk there. Zhang Laoer happened to be helping the post station transport vegetables, so he could send his son there at the same time.

On the way, he met other classmates passing by on horseback. When they saw the mule cart carrying vegetables that Zhang Ping'an was riding in, they didn't even bother to hide the contempt in their eyes. Without even saying hello, they waved their whips and walked away quickly. Zhang Ping'an just smiled and didn't take it to heart at all.

Zhang Laoer felt a little uncomfortable and whispered to his son, "How about I put you nearby and you walk over there?"

"Dad, it's okay. There's no difference between walking and riding a mule cart. We just need to take care of ourselves and there's no need to compare with others." Zhang Ping'an really didn't care.

It was still early when they arrived at Minghu Garden. The classmate in charge of the organization was named Zhong. He asked the servants to take Zhang Pingan there. He sat in the corner, but the fruits, snacks and tea on the low table were the same as those on the other tables.

Zhang Ping'an was just here to eat and drink for free, and he didn't have any requirements, so it didn't matter where he sat!

After waiting for more than half an hour, Zhang Ping'an had eaten two plates of snacks and drank a pot of tea, and most of the people had arrived.

The protagonist is always the last to appear. The last one to come is a classmate who has been sitting in the C position in the class for a long time. His surname is Jiang. It is said that his father is the commander-in-chief, a second-rank official, and has real power. He is now deploying defenses along the Cangwu River on the front line.