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

After the marriage is decided, the man will choose a day to propose, and he will come with the woman on that day.

Although Zhang Ping'an had let go of his worries, he still acted like a spoiled child with Zhang Laoer on the day of the engagement. He used the excuse of wanting to see his future brother-in-law and asked Zhang Laoer to ask Mr. Luo for a day off so that he could stay at home and see what his future sister-in-law was like.

In the entire Zhang family, only my cousin Dazhu from my uncle's family is married. My eldest sister is the first daughter to get married, so the family pays quite a lot of attention to her.

The Zhangs, Zhangs, and Zhangs were busy before daybreak. The women were in the kitchen preparing meals, while the men were in the main room drinking tea and chatting, waiting to help greet guests later. Some close cousins ​​also came today to help maintain the atmosphere.

A group of children were running around and playing in the yard, making the whole yard lively. Xu was happy to see this, so she grabbed a handful of malt sugar and distributed it to the children, making the children very happy. Some of them ate, some played, and the children had no worries.

At about noon, there was a commotion at the door. Zhang Ping'an knew that it must be the Liu family coming to propose marriage, so he hurried to the door to look, and the other children followed him with laughter. Usually, in such happy occasions, the man's family would give money to the younger generation of the woman's family to share in the good fortune, mostly a few copper coins, so the children were very enthusiastic.

I saw Matchmaker Jin sitting on the leading mule cart, the big red flower on her temples really eye-catching. The people driving the cart next to her must be Liu the Butcher and his son. At first glance, they both had one thing in common: they were strong!

Liu the Butcher is relatively okay, at least he is acceptable. One can barely praise him for his strong build and powerful build, and he is a majestic man, which is in line with the aesthetic of this era.

But the man who might be his future brother-in-law was incredibly strong, almost two meters tall. He stood out among a crowd of men, most of whom were under five feet seventy. Even his fine clothes couldn't hide the muscular build beneath. He had a square face, eyes like bells, and a bit of a dark complexion. Zhang Ping'an felt only one thing: suffocation! Wasn't this the Titan Ape?! The oppression was overwhelming!

He doesn't look like a 17-year-old boy at all!

On the car were several pieces of cloth tied with red silk, several large jars of wine, half a pig, all tied with red silk, and some other gift boxes. The colorful things were pleasing to the eye.

Following behind were three or four ox carts and donkey carts, all of which were members of the Liu family, who came to help propose marriage.

At this time, everyone in the main room also walked to the door to welcome the guests.

Butcher Liu stopped the mule cart with a "whoosh" and jumped out with his son. He smiled and greeted Zhang Laoer. Zhang Pingan was sure he felt the ground shaking...

Zhang Laoer quickly returned the greeting and sized up his future son-in-law, praising him. "Oh, this is your third son, isn't he? He's got a really strong physique! I remember when my son was one month old, he went to your house to buy meat. Wasn't he the one who brought the meat over later? He didn't seem to be this tall then."

"Hahaha, brother, you have a good memory. It's this kid who has been able to eat since he was a child. He only grows taller but not smarter. He's almost eating me into bankruptcy!" Butcher Liu laughed heartily, holding his belly.

Delivering meat? Wasn't that five years ago? This future brother-in-law was only 12 years old then, right?! Zhang Pingan was puzzled.

After the adults finished exchanging greetings, Zhang Ping'an learned that the strong boy was called Liu Meng. With his physique, the name was well-deserved and he was indeed very strong.

Next, everyone was going to take the betrothal gifts to the yard. Liu the butcher looked strong and had some ideas, so he wanted his son to show off his abilities and let him carry the wine and meat to the yard by himself.

Liu Meng bent down, grabbed the pork ribs and thighs, and lifted them up easily, just like carrying a basket of vegetables. He then strode into the yard and looked around. Xu understood and said, "Child, just put it here," pointing to the table in the yard. Since there were many people today, two large tables had been set up in the yard for the feast.

Liu Sanlang put down the meat with a "bang" and turned back to carry the wine. This half piece of meat must have weighed at least 100 pounds. It was really like a piece of cake. The children in the yard were amazed when they saw it!

After all the things were put away, the Liu family members came in. An older uncle gave a red envelope to each child in the yard, including Zhang Pingan. He noticed that there were words on his red envelope, which was different from that of other children. He touched the red envelope with his hand and found it was quite thick. It should have been specially prepared for him, the girl's younger brother.

To be honest, based on what we have seen so far, this Liu Sanlang seems to be a really good match. He is indeed a bit too strong, but farmers like this kind of man. Even Grandma Zhang nodded in satisfaction, and there is nothing major wrong with his personality.

The two families were chatting lively, and the atmosphere was at its peak when the aunt-in-law, Mrs. Li, invited them to have breakfast. Zhang Laoer arranged everyone on both sides to sit according to their seniority, and then the kitchen started serving the dishes.

Because the marriage was a good one, Xu was very generous and she cut some meat and killed some chickens. The dishes were full of oil and fat, and both the host and the guests enjoyed the meal very much.

After the meal, Zhang Laoer and Liu the Butcher were chatting like friends for life.

The women in the family now have no food to eat. They have to wait to add rice, tea and serve dishes to the guests from time to time. Now that the guests have finished eating, they have to clean the table quickly. They can only make do with some leftovers. Since they haven't gotten married yet, Daya is not allowed to come out and has to hide in the kitchen to help light the fire.

Xu prepared a bowl of chicken soup and white rice for Zhang Ping'an in the kitchen. Zhang Laoer would also pick up some dishes for him from time to time. Although the food was not served on the table, Zhang Ping'an was very full.

While the adults were busy, Zhang Ping'an slipped into the kitchen, came up to Daya and said, "Sister, I saw my future brother-in-law."

Daya blushed slightly: "Well, why are you talking about this?" After a pause, she asked in a whisper: "What does she look like?"

Zhang Ping'an hesitated to speak, not knowing how to describe it: "Well... he's quite strong! Anyway, it seems that his grandparents are quite satisfied with him."

Daya breathed a sigh of relief and continued with her work, saying, "That's fine. My parents can't possibly harm me. If they say we're from a good family, then we're definitely right."

Zhang Pingan looked at his elder sister, who was barely 1.5 meters tall, and he really couldn't imagine the scene of the two of them standing together in the future...

Breakfast is just the beginning. Next, the two families have to discuss the specific details of the marriage, the wedding time, and the betrothal gifts. All of this will have to wait until after lunch.

The betrothal silver had been agreed upon long ago, and six taels were given. The Liu family was also very sincere and even gave the woman a silver-wrapped hairpin separately, which would make the eldest sister look more decent when she got married.

Liu Sanlang sat next to them in a daze and said little. It was all decided by Liu the Butcher and Zhang Laoer. In the end, both families were satisfied after the talks and the marriage was set for two months later. After that, it would be too cold and inconvenient to hold a wedding.

After lunch, the Liu family was about to go back, and Xu gave them some return gifts. These were all the rules.

After all the guests had left, Xu collapsed in her chair and didn't want to move anymore. She was so tired. Fortunately, everything went smoothly today!

But Zhang Ping'an always felt vaguely that something was not right.