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

Seeing the atmosphere becoming increasingly awkward, Jiang Fengping remained calm, fanning himself unmoved. Zhang Pingan was afraid that things would get too awkward, so he compromised and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Brother Jiang!"

In the carriage, Jiang Fengping and Zhang Pingan sat opposite each other.

Jiang Fengping was the first to break the silence, saying calmly, "Brother Zhang, don't take what happened today to heart. Jinhuai and I grew up together. He was just curious. He didn't mean anything else by what he said just now."

Zhang Pingan smiled and said, "Brother Jiang, you're worrying too much. I understand."

The scenery outside the car window kept receding, and the car was silent for a while.

Soon, the carriage arrived in the south of the city and stopped in front of Zhang Ping'an's house.

After getting off the car, Zhang Ping'an bowed and said goodbye to Jiang Fengping.

Just as he turned around, he heard Jiang Fengping's voice behind him, suggesting, "Brother Zhang, everyone is curious. It's not just Jin Huai who is curious, there are many other people who are curious."

Zhang Ping'an's heart moved, and he turned around and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Jiang."

Hearing the sound of the carriage wheels going away, Zhang Ping'an finally entered the house.

Zhang Laoer and Xu had been waiting at home for a long time. When they saw Zhang Ping'an return safely, they finally felt relieved.

"Why is it so late today? Your father almost couldn't help but go out to look for you," Xu said worriedly.

"Today, my classmates and I went to visit several other injured classmates, so we were a little late," Zhang Pingan explained. "Next time I have something to do, I'll ask someone to bring you a message."

Zhang Lao Er nodded and said solemnly, "It's only natural to visit. Let's eat!"

After eating and washing up, everyone went to bed.

At night, Zhang Ping'an tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, which was a rare occurrence for him.

The temptation from his classmates today made him realize that what he was involved in was far more complicated than he had imagined, but he also knew that he was still inexperienced and had to keep a low profile. He could not afford to offend any party.

As he thought about it, Zhang Ping'an secretly made up his mind to work hard to improve himself, both in terms of knowledge and connections.

Only in this way will he be able to cope with it when unknown danger comes again.

The moonlight outside the window was like water, sprinkling on this quiet courtyard. Zhang Pingan thought and thought, and slowly fell asleep.

The next day was another new day. When we went to the state school, everyone behaved normally and no one mentioned yesterday's topic.

For the next few days, Zhang Ping'an was very conflicted about whether or not to go and thank Lord Zhou.

After he goes there, it is possible that he cannot just say thank you and leave. What will he say? What can he say? There is no such thing as a free lunch.

He not only has himself, he also has a family.

After much deliberation and weighing the pros and cons, Zhang Ping'an wrote a letter of thanks and asked a trustee to deliver it to Lord Zhou. He decided to wait until after the provincial examination before making a decision on whether to pay a visit.

Having made up his mind, Zhang Ping'an stopped thinking too much and focused on his studies.

Time quickly came to mid-June.

Today is the day when Uncle Xu's family marries his two daughters-in-law, and tomorrow is the full moon banquet for the son of cousin Dazhu's family.

Zhang Ping'an followed his uncle Xu to his home early in the morning, and would go out of the city with his two cousins ​​to welcome the bride.

Although my aunt Shen is very stingy, today is a happy day for my two sons to get married together, so Uncle Xu still bought a string of proper firecrackers and set them off, leaving red paper scraps all over the floor at the door.

The crackling sound sounded festive, dispelling the gloom deep in Zhang Ping'an's heart, and a smile appeared on his face.

The women were all in the yard picking and washing vegetables and helping with the banquet.

As the saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. Now that everyone has come to Lin'an, they don't have many relatives. Therefore, even though Mrs. Liu the butcher couldn't stand Shen's stingy and mean look, she still came to give gifts today.

Even if what Shen said was unpleasant, he would not argue with her.

The yard was bustling with laughter and conversation.

The men's wedding procession also set off in a grand manner. In order to appear respectable and important, Uncle Xu specially rented two sedan chairs and hired a suona band to play music.

The two cousins ​​were dressed neatly today, wearing two bright red wedding suits, which made them look much more pleasing to the eye.

Zhang Pingan and Jinbao followed behind their two cousins ​​without having to worry about anything, their main purpose was to provide support.

Jin Bao followed beside him, cracking melon seeds and whispering, "Ping An, didn't your aunt-in-law want to hold the wedding banquet on the same day to save money? Today, I see this banquet, as well as the sedan chair and suona. It's not bad at all. It's barely passable and not particularly shabby!"

"I guess it's because the dowry from the bride's side is pretty good. The family that my second cousin mentioned gave a loom as a dowry, which is quite generous. My uncle is a smart man, so he naturally won't do it too shabby. As long as my uncle makes up his mind, my aunt-in-law won't make a fuss," Zhang Pingan replied.