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

By the time we got home, the rain had completely stopped.

Xu had just returned home. She had gone to the matchmaker's house in the afternoon. Fortunately, it was not far away, so she borrowed an umbrella from the matchmaker and was not caught in the rain.

Seeing Zhang Ping'an coming back, he said happily: "Son, your sixth sister's marriage has also been settled!"

"So fast, that's great. Which company is it from?" Zhang Pingan asked while changing his shoes.

"He is the second son of the fifth branch of the Yu family in the east of the city. His family is a local household in Lin'an. The old man is a seventh-rank official. He has very good conditions. It is said that the men have been working in the Ministry of Works for generations. Although they are not rich, they definitely live a good life. They have many sons and no one dares to bully them," Xu replied. It can be seen that she is very satisfied with this marriage.

"Mom, the Ministry of Industry is too broad and has many branches. Have you ever asked what it does specifically?" Zhang Pingan asked.

This is like a modern marriage proposal. When you ask the man what he does, he says he works in a state-owned enterprise. This is too broad. Those who move bricks at a state-owned enterprise construction site are also in a state-owned enterprise, and those who sit in an office are also in a state-owned enterprise. The difference between the two is too big!

Xu didn't quite understand all this. She slapped her thigh in frustration and said, "Mother didn't understand either. I didn't ask so many questions. The matchmaker said the man's family's grandfather was a seventh-rank official, so I thought this was a family of officials, a very good family!"

"Has his family split up? How many people are there?" Zhang Pingan continued to ask.

"I asked about this. The family hasn't been divided yet. There are more than 80 people in the family, about 100 including the servants. The old man is still in good health and is still working. He has six sons. The family that is proposing marriage is from the fifth branch, and the fifth branch has five sons. The one the matchmaker mentioned is the second son," said Xu.

Zhang Pingan felt a little dizzy when he heard this. Isn't this similar to the situation in Yue Chi's family? Maybe even more complicated. "Does his man take a concubine?"

"The old master does have two concubines, but no man in the fifth house has taken a concubine," said Xu, somewhat disapprovingly. "It's quite normal for an official to have two concubines. Even wealthy landlords in the countryside marry several wives. Your sixth sister will be a proper wife when she's married. That's totally different!"

"The human relationships are a bit complicated. With so many people here, I'm afraid it's not just superficial. Maybe their lives are worse than ours," Zhang Pingan analyzed.

Just look at Yue Chi’s family and you will know. He is less than 30 years old but his hair has turned white with worry.

Zhang Laoer also felt that this was not a big problem. At that time, marriage was about matching the family backgrounds. Marrying into an official family would make a completely different situation. Even if the other party's family lived in poverty, others would still look up to them when they went out.

"They all have decent jobs. No matter how bad their lives can be, at least they have a bowl of rice to eat, which is enough. If your sixth sister can really marry into one of them, everyone will look up to her when she goes out. When she has children in the future, it will be easier for her to go to school than others. I think the family the matchmaker mentioned this time is very good. I guess they got the upper hand from you. You can ask around in the next two days. If it's suitable, you can get married. It's hard to find a good man," said Zhang Laoer.

After listening to this, Zhang Ping'an felt that what his parents said made sense. The main reason was that he didn't have any suitable candidates to introduce to his fifth and sixth sisters. Girls' blooming period is short, and it would be delayed if he was not careful!

He couldn't guarantee that he would be able to find a better family for Sixth Sister in the future, and the selection of concubines might be announced at any time, so he was afraid that he couldn't wait any longer.

After thinking it over, Zhang Pingan said, "Okay, then I'll find some time tomorrow to ask someone about it. It just so happens that I have to go to the Imperial College tomorrow morning to complete the admission procedures."

"Hey, do you need to prepare anything? Do you have enough money?" Xu asked with concern.

"Mom, that's enough. I'm a top scholar. I only need living expenses to study in the Imperial College. The expenses are not that high," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

"Study hard, our family is counting on you in the future. No matter whether you pass the exam next year or not, you must get married. You can't delay it," Zhang Laoer continued.

Zhang Ping'an was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. His marriage had become a source of worry for his parents, who were anxious about it every day.

"It takes time to find a good family, they are not readily available. Look at Jinbao, he has been looking for marriage for such a long time, but still hasn't found the right one." Seeing that her son did not take it seriously, Xu quickly gave an example.

"Mom, marriage is a lifelong event, and Jinbao doesn't want to settle for anything casually," Zhang Pingan explained.

"Then your father and I also got married blindly, and we live a happy life," Xu didn't understand.

Zhang Ping'an shook his head and stopped explaining.

Dinner is now prepared by Mrs. Hu. After dinner and washing up, everyone goes to bed to rest.

The next morning, Zhang Ping'an got up early, packed his things, and went to the Imperial College.

The admission procedures went smoothly. The teacher in charge was quite kind when he saw that he was admitted as a top student. Classes have not started yet and the unified enrollment will start on September 16th.

The Imperial College was built after the capital was moved by requisitioning a wealthy family's private garden. Therefore, its area is less than half the size of the provincial school, but it is more exquisitely built than the provincial school and has a nice scenery.

After leaving the Imperial College, Zhang Ping'an began to ask people about the Yu family.

He still went to the provincial school to find Ye Xiaoshu. There was no other way, because among the people he knew, Ye was the most well-informed, tight-lipped and reliable.

After hearing the purpose of the visit, Ye Xiaoshu pondered for a moment and said, "There's no need to look for anyone else for this matter. I know the Yu family. They have a large family. The old man is a seventh-rank official, so the family background is quite compatible. However, the family is complicated, so there will inevitably be some intrigue. The fifth branch of the Yu family is in the middle and not as well-regarded, but the family tradition is relatively upright, and the second son is also an honest and decent person."

After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "He's just too honest. I heard he's very naive and doesn't know how to deal with things. He just buries himself in tinkering and making useless gadgets all day. His future is worrying. I guess that's all he'll do. It depends on what your family thinks. He'll definitely have no problem making a living. And although the Yu family's position in the Ministry of Industry isn't high, it's very stable, and the salary is enough to support the family."

After hearing this, Zhang Ping'an felt relieved. After thanking them, he went home and told Zhang Laoer and Xu what he had learned.

Xu nodded repeatedly and said with a smile: "Well, that sounds good. It's okay to be honest. No one can become a high-ranking official. It's enough to have a decent job and take care of the family."

Zhang Laoer also agreed, thinking that the other party's family background and talent were sufficient.