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

The whole family is very satisfied with this place.

Zhang Laoer discussed with his son, "Before, you made six or seven hundred taels selling down jackets, duvets, and wine recipes. I never touched that money. Later, when we were fleeing, your grandmother took the initiative to sell all the family's fields and livestock, and we got about a hundred taels. Add to that our own savings of one or two hundred taels. Although we spent some on the journey, it's still more than enough to buy this house. We'll have nearly two hundred taels left after buying it. Why don't we settle on it?"

Zhang Ping'an nodded and said decisively, "Okay, Dad, let's settle it. Now that I have the title of Juren, not only will I be exempt from taxes and labor service, but I will also have many ways to make money in the future. I will be able to earn back the money I spent on buying a house sooner or later!"

Zhang Pingan is very confident about this.

In fact, if it were in my hometown, the money for buying a house would be nothing at all. I would have to give a lot of gifts to the nearby landlords and gentry, and I could also register tax-free land under my name, which is also a source of income.

However, I don't have any connections in Lin'an City now, so no one dares to rashly register their land with me. This trick doesn't work very well. I'll just have to wait until I build up my connections.

Seeing that both father and son were satisfied with the place, Xu had no objections and had already started thinking about how to decorate the house.

After Zhang Laoer and his son had discussed it, they went to the main room to find the broker. The family had just discussed it in the side room behind the broker's back.

Since you are interested in buying the house, the rest is just bargaining.

In the family, only Xu was good at bargaining. After coming out, she started to find fault with the house and haggled with the real estate agent for more than an hour, until the real estate agent lost his temper.

The broker really wanted to sell it, to facilitate a deal and get a finder's fee. In the end, both parties compromised and agreed on 600 taels.

This price is within expectations and acceptable to both parties.

"We have bought this house, let's sign the deed," Zhang Laoer said proudly. This was the most money he had ever spent in his life.

The broker was so happy to hear this that he showed his teeth. He was secretly pleased with himself for being a sharp judge of people and getting a lot of brokerage fees. It was worth his initial investment of treating a few people to ice cream, accompanying them to look at houses, and spending so much time to negotiate.

Several people returned to the brokerage firm together, signed the contract, paid a 10% deposit first, and brought a banknote to pay the balance tomorrow.

After paying the deposit, the deal was settled. The broker was even more enthusiastic than before. He escorted them out the door, clasped his fists, and said, "If you have friends or relatives who want to buy a house, please remember to introduce them to me. I have the most houses available, and the prices are the most reasonable. I never cheat anyone!"

After the family bought a house, they finally put their mind at ease. Although it was painful to spend so much money, it was worth it to be able to settle down. Since ancient times, people have had a deep obsession with houses!

"Dad, now that we've bought the house, let's find a bricklayer to renovate it in the next two days. We'll move in as soon as it's done," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

Xu was puzzled: "This house is quite nice, it has furniture and is clean. We can just pack our bags and move in!"

Zhang Ping'an explained, "Mother, our family's status is different now. When we socialize with others, we pay attention to the matching of family backgrounds. The doorposts are the door blocks, and the door blocks are the decorative door frame components at the top of the gate. The number and position of the door blocks and door blocks can tell whether the owner of the family has an official position, whether it is civil or military, and whether there are people with honors in the family, and how many. All of these can be seen through the door. There are strict regulations. So we have to renovate this house before we can move in."

Mrs. Xu was stunned, a little confused: "There are so many things to pay attention to. I've only heard opera singers talk about them during the New Year before, and I never realized it. Do we have to pay attention to them in our own family too?!"

Zhang Laoer was always out and about, so he had a lot of experience and was somewhat understanding of this. He asked, "Son, is there anything else you should be aware of? I'll have someone take care of it all at once, so nothing is left out."

"Dad, we need to find someone to make the plaque and flagpole for the successful candidate. They are symbols of status. Putting them outside will prevent those thieves from doing anything rash, and the neighbors will also look up to us. In addition, I see that the yard of this house is quite large, so we should build two more side rooms at the gate and make a screen wall," said Zhang Ping'an.

Zhang Laoer heard something and asked, "Are we going to buy someone?"

"I will definitely have classmates or friends coming to visit me in the future. I can't ask my mother or my fifth and sixth sisters to come out to pour tea and water. I can just buy a maid and an old man to guard the door. We should keep our family in good shape," Zhang Ping'an nodded and replied.

Xu feels quite satisfied with her current life. She doesn't have to work hard and only needs to do some light housework on weekdays. She has enough money to spend. She didn't expect that she would have to save all these chores in the future and have someone to serve her directly.

I couldn't help but feel a little dizzy: "Back home, only the big landlords and gentry would hire servants. Will I have someone to serve me in the future?!"

"Mom, you and Dad have worked hard for most of your lives. Just wait and enjoy yourself in the future," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

Zhang Laoer also smiled foolishly.

After returning home, Xu started to clean up the house. She was impatient and couldn't sit still after knowing that they were going to move. She cleaned up the house roughly first so that it would be convenient to move in two days.

While packing, I was thinking about what to take away. Those that I couldn’t take away could be given away in advance.

Wu Ya and Liu Ya also came to help.

Zhang Laoer was now feeling very excited and felt that his life was going to be very promising. Despite the scorching sun, he drank some herbal tea at home, and after a short rest, he went out to look for a craftsman, trying to compare prices and find one with good skills.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade his father, Zhang Ping'an just followed his father.

He had just been sweating while looking at the house and looked very disheveled. He had to quickly wash up, change his clothes, and go to the Luming Banquet.

This is the first time that the new candidates show up in front of the chief examiner, the academic official and others. They are all from the same year and will be in the same circle in the future, so they must not be careless.

By the time I finished washing up, it was already past 3 p.m.

Zhang Ping'an changed his clothes, combed his hair carefully, and tidied up his appearance before going out and preparing to call a taxi to the Plum Garden.

The Plum Garden is the private garden of the Qian family in Lin'an City, covering an area of ​​600 acres. It is planted with various flowers, especially plum blossoms, and the scenery is beautiful. The Deer Singing Banquets for the recent provincial examinations were all held in the Plum Garden borrowed from the Qian family.

This time is no exception.

The Qian family is said to be a descendant of Qian Tuo, the founder of the Wuyue Kingdom, and is known as "a thousand-year-old prestigious family and the foremost family in Liangzhe."

The fact that this family has been able to stand for a thousand years shows that it has good management skills and is quite something.

Before Zhang Ping'an walked out of the alley, he saw a gorgeously decorated carriage driving in.

"Ping'an, come up," Lin Junhui shouted as he lifted the curtain.