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

It was still Jinbao and Zhang Laoer who came together to pick them up.

Many people were holding bamboo poles at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall, and Zhang Ping'an couldn't tell which one was Jinbao at once. After the last day of the exam, he didn't care about his image anymore and didn't cover his face.

Jin Bao was sharp-eyed and saw Zhang Pingan in the distance. He jumped up and down, waved his hands and shouted, "Pingan, Pingan, here!"

Zhang Ping'an was carrying an examination basket and a bunch of bamboo tubes hanging around his neck, and he struggled to squeeze through.

On this last day, there were especially many people at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall, and the noise was deafening. Zhang Laoer pulled his son and Jinbao out of the crowd and only felt better when they reached the mule cart.

My second brother-in-law Liu Husheng helped to take the things, and the three of them quickly got on the mule cart and left.

After getting away from the Imperial Examination Hall, the road gradually widened. Zhang Ping'an lifted the curtain of the car to let in some fresh air and felt much more comfortable.

Zhang Laoer said with a smile, "Be safe. No matter how you did on the exam, don't think about it anymore. You've been too hard these past few days. Your mother prepared a lot of your favorite dishes today. You should eat more later to replenish your energy. She went out to buy them before dawn. She's been busy all day, and all the relatives are here too."

Zhang Pingan felt warm in his heart and responded with a smile: "Well, I must eat two big bowls later!"

Jin Bao said happily: "I benefited from it too, hehe!"

After saying this, he seemed to remember something and sat up straight and said, "Oh, right, maybe you didn't know this yet, but the results of the college entrance examination for Brother Sanlang were announced two days ago, and he is now a martial arts scholar!"

"Really? That's great. I said that my brother-in-law was born to take the martial arts exam. What about Xiao Yifei?" Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

"Xiao Yifei has passed as well. He came to our house yesterday and invited us to have dinner with him the day after tomorrow," Zhang Laoer continued. "I'll tell you the details when I get back."

Zhang Pingan nodded.

As the mule cart turned into the alley, Donkey Egg and Cat Egg, who were playing nearby, saw the cart coming back and quickly got up and ran home, shouting, "Mom, Second Aunt, my uncle is back, my uncle is back!"

Zhang Pingan wanted to call a few children to ride in the car together but he couldn't stop them.

Daya and Erya walked out of the door and saw that it was true.

He quickly stepped forward and said, "Little brother, you must have been tired from taking exams these days. Go home and take a shower. Your second sister and I will be there for dinner later. We can talk over dinner!"

"Okay, big sister, we'll go first," Zhang Ping'an didn't say anything polite. He was really a little tired, and his body was rotten.

When we got home, Grandma Zhang, Uncle Xu, and Jinbao's family were already waiting in the yard, drinking tea and chatting. Xu also brought a plate of boiled water chestnuts and salted peanuts to entertain the guests.

There are two large tables in the middle of the yard. The weather is hot, so there is no need to worry about the food getting cold. The dishes are already laid out and everyone is just waiting for everyone to gather and take their seats.

Zhang stood up, took Zhang Ping'an's hand and patted it, saying gently: "Finally, the exam is over. Go wash up, change your clothes and come sit down to eat."

Zhang Ping'an greeted everyone one by one before going to the room to take a shower. The hot water was already prepared, and Xu had boiled it on time.

After taking a shower, Jin Bao threw a dry cloth to Zhang Ping'an and said with a smile: "Hurry up and wipe your hair. Even in hot weather, you can't be careless."

"I understand," Zhang Pingan replied with a smile.

After everything was taken care of, everyone was there, even Mei Zi from Dazhu's cousin's family came with her child.

The yard was filled with joy as if it was New Year's Day. As soon as Zhang Ping'an sat down, several nephews and nieces gathered around him, asking curious questions.

Daya pulled the children apart and said with a smile, "It's time to eat. There are lots of meat dishes today!"

The children were immediately attracted by the meat dishes.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was very lively. No one went out of their way to ask Zhang Ping'an how he did on the exam. It must be that Zhang Laoer had already told him about it in advance.

Zhang was unusually gentle during dinner today. She slowly said to Zhang Ping'an, "Ping'an, you're the only serious scholar in our family. You even passed the provincial examination and are the most successful person in the family. No matter what the result of this exam is, don't worry about the gains and losses in the short term, okay? There's still a long way to go. Eat when you should, drink when you should!"

"Yes, grandma, I know," Zhang Pingan nodded in response, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that no ordinary man could match his grandma's wisdom.

Butcher Liu drank a few glasses of wine and couldn't help grinning. "Ping'an, you might not know this, but your brother-in-law is now a scholar, a military scholar! He's also exempt from corvée labor and taxes, hehe!"

It can be seen that Mr. and Mrs. Liu the butcher are very proud of their son.

Liu Sanlang scratched his head innocently, feeling a little embarrassed, and complained, "Dad, let's just eat today, why are you saying this?"

"When there's a happy event, we should let everyone be happy together," said Liu the Butcher happily, his eyes narrowed into slits, and he sighed, "I never thought that my Liu family would one day produce someone of honor and renown. I, Old Liu, will keep my promise. Tomorrow I'll treat everyone to a meal at Shiweilou. We won't leave until we're drunk!"

The others had known the news for a long time and congratulated them. After all, everyone was an outsider in Lin'an City and had to stick together for warmth and help each other if anything happened. Of course, the more promising people there were, the better.

Zhang Ping'an was also genuinely happy for his eldest brother-in-law. This way, at least his eldest sister's family would have someone to rely on. He could then ask Lin Junhui for help in finding a job, and his life would not be bad.

Daya was also happy, but she was a low-key person and had already told Liu Sanlang not to be too ostentatious. The couple was actually the calmest.

Brother Liu put down his chopsticks and said, "Since Uncle Liu has told me this good news, I have one to share as well. My second brother Husheng and I have applied to become canal transport boatmen. We have passed the first round of the exam and now it's time for the second round. If we pass the second round as well, we will be able to earn a living as a government employee. The monthly salary will be pretty good, and our lives will be much better in the future."

"Doesn't that mean I have to travel to other places by boat often?" Zhang Pingan was a little worried. Going out is not a good choice in today's world.

Brother Liu smiled and said, "It's okay. It's not as hard as you think. I asked Yifei before. The ships transporting grain to Lin'an basically only go to a few nearby state capitals and don't go too far. They return in four or five days at most. At the shortest, it may only take two or three days. It is a little dangerous, but Husheng and I grew up in rivers and ponds. We are good swimmers. If we can't win, we can just run away. Yifei is so much younger than us, but he has been doing it for more than a year and he is still alive!"

My second brother-in-law Liu Husheng also agreed and echoed, "Don't worry about us, Ping'an. This is all discussed by my eldest brother and me. It's good enough to eat the emperor's food. In this world, everything is difficult, and making money is not easy. Xiao Yifei was a young master before, and he also went to help on the ship. Besides, if my brother and I don't make some quick money, we will never be able to afford a house. The children will grow up and need education, and everything will cost money. This job is good."

"Hey, who says it's not?" Aunt Li agreed very much and leaned over to ask, "Then can my son Dazhu go?"