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

Speaking of which, Zhang Ping'an had heard classmates talk about selling themselves to bury their fathers when he was in Ezhou Prefecture School. However, most of them were women, and there were very few men. They would just go to the human market and stick a straw tag on their heads. They would never drag their parents' bodies to the market like what was shown on TV, which was a great disrespect to the deceased.

Many people may wonder why there was a phenomenon of "selling oneself to bury one's father" in ancient times. Couldn't one just dig a hole and bury the deceased?

In fact, there are two main reasons. The first is that it is impossible to bury your relatives whenever you want, because you need a piece of land. Without money and land, your relatives really have no place to be buried after death. For example, Zhu Yuanzhang and Dong Yong were both so poor that they sold themselves to bury their father.

The second is that ancient society attached great importance to filial piety. Parents should be well supported during their lifetime and buried properly after a hundred years. Otherwise, you would be considered unfilial. Unfilial behavior would not only be condemned by the morality of secular society, but would even be punished by law.

Many poor people at the bottom of society may even become destitute overnight because of a funeral.

Therefore, people at that time were accustomed to selling themselves to bury their fathers.

When we arrived in Lin'an, we saw fewer people. After all, most of the older people had died along the way while fleeing.

Zhang Ping'an is not a fool, and he is not overly sympathetic.

He saw that although the fabric of the child's clothes was poor, it was still clean, and there was no strange smell on his body. The exposed neck was not very dirty, but his hands and face were very rough. It was obvious that he was used to doing housework. He did not speak with a heavy accent. He must have lived in Lin'an for quite a long time and had a fixed residence.

After a careful inspection, Zhang Pingan said solemnly, "Let go first, or I'll have my servants report this to the authorities!"

The child hesitated for a moment before slowly letting go of his hand. Wiping away tears, he begged, "Sir, please don't report this to the police!"

"There are so many people passing by, why do you only want to catch me? Do you know me?" Zhang Pingan asked with his head down.

"No, I don't know you. I just thought you looked familiar, so I gave you a try," said the child.

"Oh? Then you've made a mistake. I'm not a kind person," Zhang Ping'an said calmly, and was about to walk into the bookstore.

The child quickly followed, crying and hugging his thighs again.

Zhang Pingan quickly took a step back and said in a deep voice, "I'll ask you again, do you recognize me?"

"Know...know," the child said in a crying voice, with snot bubbles coming out, and this time he changed his words.

Haha, he knew it was such a coincidence!

"Who asked you to come?" Zhang Pingan asked coldly.

The child wiped his tears and cried, "No one asked me to come, I came here on my own! My family lives in the south of the city. We are so poor, and my father is sick, so I usually go to each other's houses to beg for food. I knew the young master when I was in the south of the city. A few days ago, I heard from the neighbors in the south that there was a scholar in the south of the city, and now he has moved to the east of the city. He also said that the young master's family was going to hold a buffet, which was very generous. So I sneaked in and ate at the banquet that day. The food was much better than the New Year's. I was very envious, and I really think that the young master is a good man with a kind heart. Now that my father is gone, I am willing to sell myself to the mansion. As long as you can help me bury my father, I can do any job!"

"Is it such a coincidence?" Zhang Ping'an was skeptical. "Your father just happened to pass away today, and you just happened to run into me at the door of the bookstore?"

"No, no, no, I was thinking that there are no poor people in families where people can read, and most scholars are kind-hearted. I waited at the door of the bookstore on purpose. This is not a coincidence," the child waved his hands quickly.

Zhang Pingan looked up at the sky and said, "It's already past noon. When did you come?"

"It's past noon."

"Have you looked for anyone else?"

As he asked, the child's face suddenly turned red and he nodded, "I have looked for you, sir. You are the twelfth person I have looked for..."

"..." Zhang Pingan frowned, and after thinking for a moment, he took out a silver bean from his pocket and handed it to the child, "Take this money. I don't care whether you really sold yourself to bury your father or you are lying. You are still young, don't go astray. This money is enough for you to eat well for a few days!"

A deep disappointment flashed across the child's eyes. He wanted to continue begging, but he tried to defend himself, "Sir, I'm not lying. I really want to sell myself to bury my father. If you don't believe me, come with me to my house and see!"

"I will only buy servants with clean family backgrounds from legitimate brokers. I won't buy those with unknown origins. You can go now," Zhang Ping'an waved his hand.

"Young Master..." the child followed a few steps and shouted.

Zhang Ping'an didn't stop this time and went straight into the bookstore.

Bookstores have recently published many new annotations, all of which are specially compiled based on the questions in this provincial examination.

Although the exam is over, everyone has different ways of solving the problems. It is still very inspiring to read more. There is always a teacher among three people!

Zhang Ping'an looked around for more than half an hour, going upstairs and downstairs, and then he picked out two useful books and went to the counter to pay.

When I came out, the sky, which had been clear just a moment ago, suddenly became gloomy, and then heavy rain poured down.

Pedestrians on the road ran to avoid the rain.

Old Man Lu quickly took the oil-paper umbrella from the mule cart and handed it to Zhang Pingan. When he got on the cart, he inadvertently saw that the child had not left, but huddled up in a corner of the wall to avoid the rain.

His eyes were still fixed on Zhang Ping'an, and when he saw Zhang Ping'an looking over, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Zhang Ping'an's heart moved, he sighed, and walked towards the child again. When the child saw him, hope rekindled in his eyes.

"Sir, have you changed your mind?" the child asked anxiously.

"No, it's just that the rain is too heavy. If you get sick, I'm afraid you won't even be able to bury your father," Zhang Pingan said, handing him the umbrella in his hand, "This umbrella will protect you from the rain."

The child took the umbrella, was stunned for a moment, and then burst into tears with a "wow", tears streaming down his face, looking very ugly. He wiped his tears with his sleeves while crying.

"Master, please take me in, please!" The child cried sadly and desperately.

That look is really touching!

Zhang Pingan stopped for a moment, frowned slightly, thought for a moment and said, "Come with me!"

Upon hearing this, the child quickly got up and followed.

Zhang Ping'an ordered Old Man Lu to go to the market in the south of the city.

Old Man Lu didn't say much. After nodding, he drove the mule cart towards the south of the city. The road was slippery due to the rain, so the car moved very slowly.

The rain came quickly and went away quickly. By the time it reached the south of the city, it had become much lighter.

Zhang Pingan drove the car directly to the bearded man who had bought the person before.

It suddenly started to rain, and the bearded man thought there was no business, so he was gambling with a few brokers next door.

Seeing Zhang Pingan coming over, he was very surprised. He quickly put down the dice and greeted him enthusiastically, "Hey, Master Zhang, what brings you here? Come and sit down!"

Zhang Pingan took the child out of the car and asked, "By the way, what's your name? I don't even know it yet!"

The child knew where this place was and felt a little scared for a moment. He pinched the corner of his clothes and whispered, "My name is Lu Yi, one, two, three, four, five, one."

Zhang Ping'an nodded, then looked up at the bearded man and said, "This kid wants to sell himself to bury his father. Please help me check if his family background is clean. If there is no problem with his origin, I will take him in to work as a handyman in my house and run errands. You will not be shortchanged in the broker's fee!"

The bearded man understood immediately. He had encountered many such cases before, so he patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, I do this for a living. I will definitely find out everything for you!"

After saying that, he grabbed Lu Yi's collar and brought him to his side like a chick.

Lu Yi was so scared that he was like a quail and didn't dare to breathe.

"I'll be waiting for your news these two days. He's still a child, so don't be harsh on him," Zhang Ping'an said. After that, he took a silver coin from his arms and threw it to the bearded man.

With money to be made, the bearded man was full of motivation and flattered: "Don't worry, don't worry!"

Zhang Pingan then took the bus back home and closed his eyes to rest.

If it was a plot specifically targeting him, there was no point in hiding, so he might as well find out.

If the child is really an orphan and the situation is true, then he is willing to keep him in his house and have a full meal.

Life in this world is not easy for anyone!