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

"It's settled! Well, I finally got my mind taken away. Your father and I were worried about it for a long time!" Xu replied without raising her head.

"So fast? Which company did you order from?" Zhang Pingan asked.

Although he knew that his eldest sister was indeed of marriageable age according to the village standards, in feudal society women were basically completely dependent on men, and the choice of a husband was so important that it was like a second life. Zhang Pingan was also worried and especially hoped that his eldest sister could choose a suitable husband.

Xu waved her hand nonchalantly: "It's not that fast. Today we're just asking for the bride price. We haven't officially proposed yet. We've decided on the third boy from Liu the butcher's family in town. His family knows him well and his conditions are good. It's pretty good."

Xu was extremely satisfied. Marrying from the village to the town was considered marrying up. Daya was not that outstanding, so this marriage was the best outcome.

Zhang Pingan frowned and said, "How do others know about my eldest sister? Have you met his third son?"

"I was curious at first, so I asked the matchmaker Jin. She said that it was your second aunt who mentioned it to the man from Liu the butcher's family, praising your elder sister for being beautiful, gentle and virtuous. The butcher's wife was very interested in her, so she asked the matchmaker to come to our house. The gift she brought was not small, at least two taels of silver. Your father and I both thought this was a good marriage, so we decided on it," said Xu happily.

However, she had spent a lot of money to entertain Matchmaker Jin today, so she hoped that the matchmaker could say a few good words to help her make the marriage go smoothly.

Only then did Zhang Ping'an remember that his second aunt's family was also butchers.

"You haven't even seen what the other person looks like, and you don't know his or her character. What if he or she is a scoundrel?" Zhang Ping'an was always a little worried about this kind of blind marriage.

After hearing this, Mrs. Xu waved her hands and said, "That's impossible. His father and mother were both tall and strong, so the son will not be bad looking. The matchmaker said he is a good-looking man. Now he helps with the work of collecting and slaughtering pigs at home. When he becomes proficient in the skills, he can open his own pork stall. How great is that? Your sister can just help collect the money in the future!"

"What about the eldest sister? What does she think?"

"What could she think? Of course she is very satisfied. We, as her parents, have done her best to raise her to this age with good food and drink, and even arranged a good marriage for her," said Xu indifferently.

Zhang Ping'an felt that his mother wouldn't listen to anything he said now. Could it be that the more the mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law, the more satisfied she became?

Xu gathered all the gift boxes and put them in the cabinet, still marveling at the generosity of the Liu family: "This Liu the Butcher family is truly generous. The butcher's wife knows how to behave. The gifts she chose are all practical, with cloth, candied fruit, and even a piece of fine paper for you. I guess she specifically inquired about your studies. Look, how capable she is!"

For some reason, Zhang Pingan suddenly felt a little melancholy. A little food and daily necessities could be exchanged for the rest of a young girl's life.

I wanted to say something more, but it was obvious that my mother wouldn't listen to me, and my father wouldn't listen to me either. I was still too young.

Zhang Pingan walked to the gate depressed, sat on the threshold, and stared into the distance in a daze.

"Hey, why are you sitting on the doorstep?"

Zhang Ping'an's thoughts were pulled back to reality, and he discovered that it was his cousin Erhe, who was chewing a pear in his hand.

"Nothing, just daydreaming!" Zhang Pingan replied and turned back.

"He looks pretty stupid," Erhe muttered, then continued, "I'm going to study too, you know? But not to your place. My father found me a teacher from Lujia Village."

Zhang Ping'an was still very depressed, and said weakly: "That's good, cousin, you are so smart, you will definitely learn well."

Erhe was quite surprised by the unexpected answer, and couldn't help but ask his cousin a few words of concern: "Ping'an, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? If you feel unwell, you should see a doctor."

"I'm fine, I just feel... well, how should I put it, my eldest sister is about to marry a complete stranger and leave this family. I feel a little reluctant. What if she doesn't have a good life?" Zhang Pingan paused and couldn't help but confide his feelings.

"Oh, that's it, it's nothing, if you miss her, just go see her, girls will get married eventually, if she's not doing well, you can go and help her out and beat up your brother-in-law", Erhe laughed out loud, "Hehe! If my sister gets married in the future and the man treats her badly, I will beat the guy to pieces!"

"You're right. It's definitely different to have your maternal family's support. It's much better." Zhang Ping'an nodded and said, "I'm the only male in my family. I can't rely on fighting. At the very least, I have to be stronger than the average person to make people afraid of me."

This incident further deepened Zhang Ping'an's determination to study hard and make a name for himself. Only when he was capable could he make his family live a comfortable life, and he could also help his sisters if they were not doing well after getting married.

"Ping'an, I just picked some crow seeds. They are so sweet. I'll give them to you." Erya came back with a basket of pig grass on her back and a few dry branches in her hands. When she saw Zhang Ping'an sitting at the door, she put down the basket and took out a handful of black, round fruits wrapped in leaves.

Sanya, Siya, Wuya and Liuya all followed beside him, and each of them had a basket half full of herbs. Now that the weather was getting cooler, herbs were hard to find.

Zhang Ping'an took a look and saw that there were more than a dozen grapes in the handful, not many. He picked one and put it in his mouth. It tasted sour and sweet, a bit like grape. He probably meant wild grapes that had not been grafted or improved.

"Thank you, second sister," Zhang Pingan said sweetly, looking up and passing a few to the youngest sixth sister, "Sixth sister, I'll give you a few."

"Well...brother, you eat it!" Liu Ya shook her head timidly.

"If she doesn't want to eat it, give it to me," San Ya grabbed it and stuffed it into her mouth. There wasn't much to begin with, and it was gone in one bite.

Erya was so angry that she slapped Sanya hard on the forehead: "You only know how to rob, you are the reincarnation of a starving ghost!"

San Ya didn't care at all and ran into the yard.

Erya stamped her feet in anger, but after all, she was her own sister, so she couldn't really do anything. She turned to Liuya and said, "Next time, I'll pick some for you." After saying that, she was still not satisfied, "Your third sister is a glutton. If you have anything delicious, don't let her see it. If she sees it, eat it up quickly. Do you understand? A rat digging a hole is a cruel thing!"

Zhang Pingan: ...

The dinner was quite rich, most of it was leftover from lunch. When Xu was stewing the chicken soup, she added a lot of water, so there was a lot left over. The maids each got a small bowl, and San Ya and the other little ones were so happy that they almost jumped for joy.

After all, we are not rich.

Daya was free for a while after dinner, so Zhang Ping'an went over and sat next to her.

"Ping'an, what's wrong? It's hot here, go into our house," Daya said, sitting on a small stool for burning firewood and chasing people away. She wanted to use tongs to pick up the unburned firewood and put it into the jar, so that she could have charcoal in the brazier to keep warm in winter. It was very hot in front of the stove in the summer.

"It's nothing, I just feel that since you're going to get married so soon, we'll have fewer chances to meet in the future," Zhang Ping'an was a little depressed. His elder sister had been really good to him since he came into this world.

"Hey, it's no big deal. If you miss me, just come to town to see me. I'll make you something delicious." Daya was very optimistic, with a look of longing for getting married on her face.

"Sister, do you think the Liu family we booked today is a good choice?"

"I think it's great. It's a great marriage and one that counts in our village," Daya responded, obviously thinking it was a good one.

Zhang Pingan understood. No matter what he thought, he could no longer use modern eyes to measure everything in this era. The environment was different. His elder sister might not think something was bad to him. How can you know the joy of a fish if you are not a fish?