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

After everyone finished eating, Zhang Pingan asked, "Where are you living now? Why are you going to the human market to sell yourself?"

"We live in the abandoned old City God Temple in the south of the city. Beggars live there, and other villagers live in shacks in secluded places outside the city. Selling ourselves is not a solution. We can't survive. We don't have a travel permit and no way to get a new household registration. We are considered refugees and it is not easy to find work. Even if we do find one, the price is very low. My mother and children at home are sick now, so we thought of selling ourselves to rich families to beg for food, to find a way to make a living for ourselves and our family," Ma Chibao said with red eyes.

"Alas," Zhang Ping'an felt sympathetic after hearing this. Although the village of Heifengdu was very poor at that time, they could barely have food to eat. He remembered that everyone was in good spirits, but when they arrived in Lin'an, they could only sell themselves as slaves to make a living.

"Is your village chief still here?" Zhang Ping'an asked.

Ma Chibao nodded and said, "Yes, if it weren't for our village chief's cleverness, we wouldn't have made it to Lin'an and would have died in Yingzhou long ago."

"Well, tell me what happened after we left. I know nothing about the situation in my hometown now. I only know that there was a fight and the situation was not good," said Zhang Pingan.

"After you left, more and more people came to our ferry to take the boat. Our location is remote, and we just picked up the leftovers from the previous ferries, so business has not been very good. That period was the best time for our Heifeng Ferry in history. The villagers could all eat their fill, and they could even eat meat every now and then," said Ma Chibao, with a nostalgic expression on his face.

After a pause, he continued, "Then one day, when our village chief was out shopping, he discovered that almost all the people in Tangjiadu had left. He realized something was amiss. Food was also much more expensive than before. After asking around, he vaguely learned that a war might be brewing."

"And you ran away too?"

Ma Chibao shook his head and said, "Not at that time. After all, that was our home and our ancestors had lived there for generations. It was only when the war really started that we ran away."

Another person continued, "It's tragic. Many people in the city have died. I heard the streets are covered in blood. There are also northern barbarians. We weren't the last to escape. Those who didn't escape later must have suffered even worse. I heard the barbarians are cannibals."

"Well, then the village chief sold off all the livestock he couldn't take with him at a low price and quickly ran away with us. Our village, young and old, men and women, are all good at swimming, so we followed the route we sent you to Yingzhou. As a result, Yingzhou also started fighting, and there were artillery fire, deafening noises. It was a big commotion, so we took a detour and went to Wangzhou via another waterway. As a result, there were wars everywhere, and there was no safe place. The riverside was full of people waiting to take a boat to the south. I heard that the boat fare had to be bought with gold, and we didn't know where to go. They all said that the south was better and there was no fighting in the south, so we simply followed what others said and crossed the river to the south. When we got to the south, we followed others and walked until we arrived in Lin'an. There was indeed no fighting here, but we couldn't eat or make money."

I really want to cry when I think of the hardships along the way!

"You crossed the river to the south by yourselves?" Zhang Pingan was surprised. What a great man is this!

"Well, at that time, there were occasionally large ships crossing the river at night. The village chief asked us to secretly tie ropes to the boats with rivets, and then sit on sheepskin rafts and follow behind. It was very safe, and no one in the village was in trouble. Instead, they were robbed by refugees in the south, and several people in the village died," Ma Chibao said sadly.

After saying that, he raised his eyes and said hopefully, "Master Zhang, aren't you going to buy people? Can you buy us back? We can do anything and we're very strong. It's worth buying us!"

"I originally wanted to buy a servant, but yours is not suitable. Besides, I have an unmarried sister at home, so it is impossible for me to buy a young man," Zhang Pingan said frankly.

The disappointment of the people opposite was beyond words.

Zhang Pingan had no choice but to shake his head and give all the change he had to the men. "Take this money. It's enough for you to have enough food for a few days."

A few people took the money somewhat stiffly and were about to stand up and kowtow to Zhang Pingan, but were stopped by Zhang Pingan.

"If I need to hire someone for work in the future, I will definitely look for you."

It is indeed difficult to have no identity, just like working illegally.

I don’t know what happened to my fourth sister and the people in my hometown.

But everyone has his own destiny, and he is not a savior. He can only take care of himself. This world has always been a place where the strong prey on the weak.

But I still feel uncomfortable.

The next day when they went to the Imperial College, Hua Wanli noticed it and asked, "What's wrong with you? You look like an eggplant hit by frost. You look so listless."

Zhang Pingan told Hua Wanli about what happened yesterday. Hua Wanli shook his head and said, "What's the big deal? Only the fittest survive."

After chatting, the two began to review their homework.

The students with green bean eyes were listless and yawning. The PhD students who were giving lectures were lazy and it was really easy for students without self-control to relax. Just like the students with green bean eyes, they felt that going to school every day was a torture and so boring.

Time flies and nearly half a month has passed. Wu Ya's wedding is approaching.

Just when everyone thought that Liu Ya would definitely be chosen to be a palace maid, Liu Ya was suddenly sent back by people from the Street Department.

Wearing a mask on his face.

The people from the Street Office just said that the person was not selected, sent him there and left.

Before Xu could be happy, she saw Liu Ya wearing a veil and asked in confusion, "Liu Ya, we're already home, why are you wearing a veil? Is this a new rule you've learned in the palace?"

Zhang Pingan had a bad feeling in his heart.

When Liu Ya heard Xu's question, she paused and took off her veil. She saw obvious large burn marks from the lower jaw to the neck on her left face. They were red and obviously new.

"Oh my God, what's going on?" Xu cried.

Liu Ya whispered, "It's a burn. I've already applied medicine. Don't make a fuss, mother."

Zhang Ping'an asked Old Man Lu to ask a doctor to come and take a look.

Wu Ya was also scared. There is no girl who doesn't love beauty. Although Liu Ya's face was not disfigured, it was certain that she would be left with scars that would be ugly in the future.

The doctor came over quickly. Xu pulled her daughter out and asked the doctor to take a closer look.

When Old Man Lu went in, he said it was a burn. The doctor brought some ointment for burns. After examining him, he said, "This burn must have happened yesterday. I've applied some medicine. It will heal after the scab forms. It will definitely leave a scar, but don't apply too much medicine. The mark will be very light in the future, just like a birthmark. It won't affect your life, so don't worry."

The doctor had seen many difficult and complicated diseases and did not think this was a serious problem. He left the ointment and left with his medicine box.

Liu Ya also looked calm, put her veil back on and said, "I told you it's okay, it's not a serious illness. I think it was a blessing in disguise!"

Xu was speechless.

Less than a month after entering the palace, Xu felt that Liu Ya had matured a lot. The shyness on her face disappeared, replaced by calmness and maturity.