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

"Tell me about it," Zhang said.

"The man's situation is a bit similar to the boy from the Guo family. They were also engaged, but the woman died of an acute illness before the wedding. She is not young anymore now, she is already 19 years old. The man's father works in the household department of the government office. His surname is Fang. The man himself is a scholar. His family has a house and land. The conditions are pretty good," said Zhang Laoer.

Xu added, "This is the family recommended by the matchmaker after Ping An passed the imperial examination. The one mentioned before was far worse than this. I think it's still okay."

"You can't just listen to what the matchmaker says. You should inquire about it privately," Zhang said. "If there's no problem, then get married. Wu Ya really can't wait any longer. She's already an old maid. This is only in Lin'an. In her hometown village, she would be drowned in spit."

"Then I'll go and ask around tomorrow. It will be more convenient for me to find out," said Zhang Ping'an.

"Okay!" Zhang Laoer replied.

After discussing this, Zhang stood up and prepared to go back. "It's too early to get up this morning. I'll go back and rest for a while, and then come back for dinner in the evening."

"Hey," Xu replied, and then she picked up the box containing the gold hairpin and handed it over. "This box is quite beautiful. Take it back, mother."

Zhang didn't refuse. She picked up the box, put it in her arms, and then went out.

When several people came out, Zhang Laoer locked the door. There were valuable things in the room, and there were so many people around, so he couldn't leave the door open.

As soon as they came out, the gold hairpins on Xu and Zhang's heads immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"Oh, mother, second sister-in-law, you are all wearing gold hairpins, which looks really good," Ma said with sourness and jealousy as she stepped forward to take a closer look.

Li was more concerned about the actual value of the gold hairpin and said enviously, "This hairpin looks very heavy, it must be worth dozens of taels!"

"This is Ping'an's gift to me and our mother as a filial gift. If you want it, I will ask your sons and grandsons to buy it for you in the future," said Xu with a slightly proud smile.

Li immediately smiled and complimented him, "Ping An is indeed promising. It looks very good on you, mother!"

Ma and other female relatives also echoed the sentiment.

Everyone likes to hear nice words, and Zhang couldn't help but curl the corners of her mouth.

Dazhu volunteered to drive the car to take Zhang and Old Man Zhang back to rest.

Zhang Ping'an asked him to drive his mule cart, which had a large frame and a carport, making it more spacious and comfortable to sit in.

"Why do I feel like this mule looks familiar?" Dazhu asked in confusion, touching the mule's head.

Then he suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Isn't this the big blue mule from Sanlang's family? It was taken away by Heifengdu at that time. Sanlang, come and take a look. Doesn't it look very similar?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Sanlang came over and carefully examined the mule for a while before saying, "It really does look alike. The mule also has a scar at the right corner of its eye, but maybe they just look alike."

"Okay, no matter what, just send your grandparents back quickly," Li urged.

Old Man Zhang and his wife were both old, so they went back to take a nap at noon and came back after 3 p.m. to prepare for dinner.

Zhang Pingan finally breathed a sigh of relief after the dinner was over. Fortunately, it only took one day. It was so tiring!

Li and others were all grinning from ear to ear when they received the return gifts. With a family of twenty or thirty people, it was inevitable that they would have some of their own little thoughts.

Seeing that Zhang Laoer's family received so many gifts today, and Zhang and Xu even wore gold hairpins, it would be a lie to say that they had no thoughts at all. They must be trying to take advantage of the situation.

Within a reasonable range, Zhang Ping'an doesn't mind these little thoughts. Just like what Zhang said, focus on the big things and let go of the small things, and a harmonious family will bring prosperity!

Otherwise, you would be fed up with worrying about all this bullshit.

Ma was originally very satisfied, but after seeing that Daya and Erya also took a lot of good materials, she became a little dissatisfied and secretly murmured to Zhang Laosan: "It's okay for our family, the eldest sister-in-law's family, and Ping'an's uncle's family, but Daya and Erya are already married girls, why do they still take so much? Second sister-in-law is really too good to her daughters!"

"What does it have to do with you? She can give her things to whoever she wants. Don't talk nonsense," Zhang Laosan whispered.

"I know. I'm not stupid. I definitely can't offend my second sister-in-law now. I have to win her over," said Ma, rolling her eyes.

Since her husband and son were not as ambitious as others, she could only be humble and submissive. Ma felt that she was the most adaptable.

Everyone also discussed the issue of future retirement.

Zhang Laoer couldn't bear to see his parents still living in a shared courtyard, so he wanted to bring them in to live with his family, but was rejected by both Zhang and Zhang Laoda.

Zhang said, "Since ancient times, our ancestors have always provided for the eldest son in his old age, so your eldest brother got the largest share of the family property. It doesn't make sense that just because you're living better than your eldest brother, your father and I should come and live with you. This is against the rules. I live in the south of the city pretty well now. I have food and drink, and I can go to the alley entrance to chat with other old ladies to kill time."

"That's right, how can I, as the eldest brother, keep my face when you do this?" Zhang Lao Da said dissatisfiedly, feeling that the second brother did not respect him.

Li tried to smooth things over, saying, "Don't worry, second brother. We still have some savings, and my third brother and I are also looking at houses recently. Renting all the time is definitely not an option."

Zhang Laosan nodded and said with a smile, "What my sister-in-law said is right. Both our families have some savings, and we have also consulted with real estate agents to look at some houses. We are ready to make a decision soon."

Zhang Pingan said, "Uncle, Third Uncle, buying a house is a big deal. You have to be careful. If you don't have enough money, I have some here that I can lend you for a while."

That being said, based on his understanding of his uncle's and third uncle's families, his aunt and third uncle would not easily ask to borrow the money. Their own savings would not be enough to buy a small courtyard in the south or north of the city. Both of them were very sensible and knew how to spend favors wisely, so he was not too worried.

Zhang Ping'an was right. Neither the first nor the third wife had any intention of borrowing money for the time being. On the contrary, Uncle Xu really wanted to ask, but today was not a good time, so they could only wait for some time.

It was already very late, so each family said goodbye and left.

After seeing the person leave, Xu quickly took off the gold hairpin and put it away. She would touch it from time to time in the afternoon, for fear that it would fall off.

"Mom, now that you've become a juren, you have more ways to make money. Just wear them with confidence. It was my fault for not thinking carefully before and not thinking of buying you some jewelry," Zhang Ping'an said apologetically.

Xu didn't care at all. She waved her hand and said, "These are enough. I don't have anywhere to go. Wearing them would be a burden. I'm afraid they'll fall off! Go wash up quickly and get some rest. You've been tired all day!"

"Well, Dad and Mom, you should go to bed early too," said Zhang Pingan.

The next day, he went to the provincial school and asked Ye Xiaoshu to help him inquire about the Fang family. Ye Xiaoshu was a local resident of Lin'an with a wide network of contacts. Many of his relatives worked in the government office, and he was a reliable person, so it was most appropriate to ask him for information.

"No problem, leave it to me. This concerns your sister's life, I will definitely not dare to be careless," Ye Xiaoshu said slowly, stroking his beard.

"Thank you!" Zhang Ping'an bowed and expressed his gratitude.

Seeing that Zhang Ping'an was anxious to find out, Principal Ye did not delay. After finishing his shift that afternoon, he went to Zhang's house and told him about his inquiry.

"This family is also a local household in Lin'an. They are a family that has passed down the tradition of farming and studying. Their hometown is in Fangjiazhuang, 20 miles outside the suburbs. They have a good reputation, just as the matchmaker said. The family that the youngest son of the Fang family was engaged to, the girl died suddenly of a heart disease. There was nothing they could do about it. If you don't mind this, this family is a good choice," said Ye Xiaoshu.

Xu was overjoyed to hear this. She was afraid that the matchmaker was deceiving them. If that was really the case, then Wu Ya was marrying above her station.

Zhang Laoer and Zhang Pingan hurriedly expressed their gratitude. Xu asked Mrs. Hu to cook a few more dishes. The whole family insisted on keeping Ye Xiaoshu at home for dinner.

The Zhang family was so enthusiastic that Ye Xiaoshu couldn't resist, so he agreed and went back after dinner.

On the morning of the next day, Xu replied to the matchmaker's letter, agreeing to the marriage. She also added some money as a thank-you and asked the matchmaker to keep an eye on Liu Ya.

A family like the Zhang family, with a clean family background and a good reputation, is easy to find a match for. The matchmaker is willing to deal with such a family and naturally agreed to it.

The Fang family acted quickly and came to propose marriage three days later. September 6th was an auspicious day.