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

But he is not stupid. The ladder is handed to him so obviously, if he still can't catch it, then he should just hit his head against it with a piece of tofu and die!

"Master Lu, dead insects cannot be resurrected, please accept my condolences," Zhang Ping'an consoled him. "The sky-blue cricket I gave you last time was found for me by my brother. I'll go say hello to him after school today and ask him to help me find one more. If I find a good one, I'll bring it to you right away!"

"Well, thank you for your help," Master Lu said, wiping his eyes. "Actually, I've had my servants go to the insect market many times to look for crickets. Good quality crickets are in high demand, and you can't just buy them with money. It also depends on fate. I think you have quite a bit of luck!"

Zhang Pingan smiled modestly and said, "No, no!"

Master Lu waved his hand and said, "Alright, I don't feel like being polite with you right now. I won't let you help me for nothing, and I won't take advantage of you. If you can really help me find another Sky Blue Green, I'll give you some special lessons before the provincial exam. I believe my knowledge is still better than Master Huang in your class!"

Isn’t this a one-on-one teacher-led sprint training before the exam? It’s such a great thing that you may not be able to get it even if you have money!

Zhang Pingan immediately bowed excitedly and said, "Thank you very much, Master Lu!"

Mr. Lu waved his hand, still immersed in grief, and Zhang Pingan wisely said goodbye and left.

When I walked out of the study, I felt lighter all over. With Mr. Lu's guidance, my confidence in the provincial examination was even higher.

I never thought that Tian Lanqing might not be found.

After school, Zhang Pingan couldn't wait to go to the posthouse. He had visited Guo Jia several times before, and the gatekeeper knew him. He took the initiative to greet him, "Manager Guo is in the stable."

"Thank you very much," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

Arriving at the stables, Guo Jia stood with his hands behind his back, sternly lecturing the horses: "Do you know how valuable these horses are? You can't afford to pay for them even if you sell them. Count how many times I've told you this: if any of these horses feel unwell, you must tell me immediately and ask a doctor to see them. You're still being lazy. I won't give you a good beating. You don't know who you are, do you? Do it if you can, and get out if you can't!"

Zhang Pingan stood aside in silence, waiting until Guo Jia had finished his work and the other men had left before jokingly saying, "Oh, you're quite irritable!"

Guo Jia then turned around and saw Zhang Pingan, and said in surprise: "Hey, why are you here? Stop talking nonsense and come in and sit down!"

After that, he took the person to the empty tea room to talk, and brought in a pot of brewed tea. After pouring a cup of tea for each of them, he said, "You will take the provincial examination in a month. Why don't you seize the time to study and come to my place?"

Zhang Pingan explained Mr. Lu's story and said solemnly, "This cricket is crucial to my provincial examination. I can only ask you for help. You must help me find another one!"

Guo Jia shook his head and said speechlessly, "Humans are truly worse than insects. What kind of vision does that Master Lu have? He would rather let you, a piece of unpolished jade, go on to mourn over a bug. I don't understand them!"

"There are plenty of unpolished jades for them, and there are plenty of them in the provincial academy, but this cricket can make him happy, and he wants it. What can we do?!" Zhang Pingan also felt helpless.

"Okay, I'll take this matter to heart and give you a result as soon as possible. This concerns my good brother's future, so you must be fully focused," Guo Jia said with a smile.

Although his expression was a little nonchalant, his eyes were serious. Zhang Ping'an knew that he was very reliable.

After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Zhang Pingan said goodbye and left. "After I finish the provincial examination, we can drink together again."

"Of course you have to have a good drink. I won't be polite," Guo Jia said with a smile.

It gets dark late in the summer, and it was just getting dark when Zhang Ping'an got home.

As soon as I turned into the alley, I was hugged by two strong boys, one holding each side. The two boys looked up and shouted, "Uncle!"

The voice was crying.

Zhang Ping'an took a closer look and found that they were Pengpeng and Manman from his second sister's family. There were dried tear marks on their faces, scattered here and there, like two little cats.

"Pengpeng, Manman, what's wrong? Are you being bullied?" Zhang Ping'an asked, bending down and touching the two boys' heads.

Manman complained, "My mother bullied me and my brother. She beat us so hard that our buttocks were purple. She also made us kneel on the washboard and didn't allow us to eat dinner. I don't want this mother anymore. I'll go to your house and be your child!"

Peng Peng, who was slightly older, complained, "Let her hit me, I'm thick-skinned anyway, so it doesn't matter. But she took off my pants and beat me in front of so many people. I have no dignity left. How can I be a general in the future? No friends will obey me anymore. Uncle, go talk to your sister!"

Zhang Pingan asked about the situation first: "Why did your mother beat you two? It must not be without reason!"

The two children lowered their heads and fell silent after hearing this. After a while, they mumbled, "We picked lotus leaves from someone else's pond!"

Zhang Pingan raised his eyebrows: "You two went to the waterside by yourselves?"

Manman shook his head: "No, there are also Brother Donkey Egg and Brother Cat Egg."

Zhang Ping'an was about to speak when Erya came from the depths of the alley. Her voice hadn't reached her yet, and she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Pengpeng, Manman, are you two itching for trouble again? It's not enough to complain to your grandparents, you're now coming to your uncle!"

The two children were obviously very afraid of their own mother and kept shrinking behind Zhang Pingan.

At least the two children called him uncle. After beating and scolding him, Zhang Pingan stopped him and said, "Second sister, what are you doing? It's scary to hold a stick!"

Erya angrily said, "Ask these two debt collectors what good they did. They plucked over twenty lotus leaves from someone else's pond. My elder sister and I tried our best to persuade them, but they each paid fifty coins as compensation. If they had used that money to buy eggs, they could have bought over twenty more. It's enough for them to eat until they were stuffed. I'm so angry!"

"Go home first. You've already beaten and scolded him, and he's making a scene outside and making others laugh at him. The child also needs to save face. Go home and educate him," Zhang Ping'an advised.

Only then did Erya suppress her anger, and they all went home together.

Erya's mother-in-law was extremely anxious, fearing that the two children would be beaten. She was relieved when she saw Zhang Ping'an bringing the two children in. She took the two children to the kitchen and said that they were not allowed to eat. She had just secretly left two bowls for them and she didn't want the children to starve.

Donkey Egg and Cat Egg were also facing the wall to reflect on their mistakes.

Daya taught her, "It's so hard to make money nowadays. I'm not only worried about the money, but also about those broken lotus leaves. If you pick the lotus leaves, the lotus roots underneath will rot and become inedible. It's such a waste! It's not easy for those who grow lotus roots either!"

Maodaner whispered, "Pengpeng said that their family used to grow lotus roots, and they just picked the lotus leaves casually. I didn't want to pick them."

"Did you participate?" Daya asked patiently.

"I participated..." Maodaner said with his head down.

Daya nodded and said, "It has already happened. There is no point in beating you, but you must be responsible for your own actions. Mother paid 50 coins to them today, and you must earn these 50 coins back."

"How do I make money?" asked Donkey Egg, feeling quite regretful.

"I haven't figured out how to make money yet. I'll tell you when I do. Anyway, I've noted the account," Daya said slowly.

Xu and Zhang Laoer were also there. If they hadn't been there, Pengpeng and Manman would have been beaten even worse. The two children would have called for help.

Children need to be educated, but the methods and approaches should also be taken into consideration. Zhang Ping'an tried to persuade them, and seeing that it was nothing serious, he did not interfere too much and went back with his parents.