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

Chapter 425 Reunion of old friends

"Oh, okay," Luo responded.

Following Zhang Ping'an's gaze, he looked over.

There were crowds of people in sight.

I don’t know which one is the old friend Zhang Pingan mentioned.

Zhang Ping'an stood up and walked towards the figure. As he got closer, he became more and more certain that it was Mr. Fan!

Apart from looking a little tired, his appearance was no different from before.

Come to think of it, the two haven't seen each other for more than two years.

At this time, Mr. Fan was accompanied by a student who was about thirty years old, and it was obvious that the two were from the same group.

Zhang Pingan saw that the two men were not talking, so he thought it would not be abrupt to go up and say hello. So he tentatively called out, "Mr. Fan?"

When Mr. Fan heard someone shouting, he was obviously stunned for a moment, then turned around.

The moment he saw Zhang Ping'an, his eyes widened in surprise, and then he stepped forward excitedly and asked, "Ping'an? Zhang Ping'an?"

There was also a hint of uncertainty in the voice.

"It's me!" Zhang Ping'an smiled when he heard that, and his expression relaxed. He knew he had not recognized the wrong person.

"It's true that we meet everywhere in life!" Mr. Fan was very emotional, and even his usual calm expression could not be maintained. After being happy, he immediately asked in confusion: "Ping'an, why are you here? Are you going to school here, or..."

Zhang Pingan replied, "Mr. Fan, I'm enrolled in class A of the Upper Shed. As for why I'm here, that's a long story, and I can't explain it in a few words. I'm wondering where you're staying now. Would you mind telling me the address? I'll come visit you in person after I finish school, and we can talk in detail then!"

Mr. Fan saw that the cafeteria was crowded and noisy, and it was indeed not a place for conversation. He thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we have lunch together at noon and talk over it?"

"Is this...convenient?" Zhang Ping'an looked at Mr. Fan's companion who had been casting curious glances at him from the side.

Hearing this, Mr. Fan smiled and said, "I was so excited after seeing you that I forgot to introduce you two. Ping An, this is Mr. Huang, my best friend and brother-in-law. He is also studying at the provincial school, but in Class B of the Upper Dormitory. I guess you have met each other before. I came to the provincial school today to see him."

Then he introduced Mr. Huang, "Liren, this is a friend I made in my hometown. His last name is Zhang Ping'an. We haven't seen each other for over two years. I didn't expect to meet again at the provincial school today. Meeting is fate. How about we have a meal together?"

Huang Liren was a tall, thin scholar with an elegant face and a gentle temperament. He smiled and said, "When you meet an old friend in a foreign land, you should make things clear. What's wrong with that?"

Zhang Pingan suggested: "Then let's find a secluded place to sit down. There happens to be a classmate of mine who came here with us there!"

Mr. Fan looked in the direction Zhang Ping'an mentioned and met Mr. Luo's curious eyes.

Both parties nodded slightly in greeting.

Then Mr. Fan and the other man brought lunch over and sat down together.

The cafeteria sells warm rice wine, which is not strong in alcohol and is very warming to the stomach in winter.

Zhang Ping'an bought two pots and took them over.

After they sat down, they exchanged greetings and introduced themselves to each other.

None of us are introverted, so we chatted happily.

Classmate Luo was amazed: "I didn't expect you two would come all the way from the north to Lin'an and actually meet each other. Moreover, you will take the imperial examination together in February. Maybe you will even be in the same year. It's really fate!"

"Then I'll take your good wishes," Mr. Fan said with a smile. After that burst of excitement, he quickly returned to his usual elegant and graceful appearance.

Even though he is in his forties, his conversation is still interesting and not preachy or boring.

He is really a great person to be friends with!

"Mr. Fan, will you return to Nanjing after the imperial examination? Or will you settle down in Lin'an?" Zhang Ping'an asked.

"My current plan is to settle down in Lin'an temporarily. No matter whether I pass the exam or not, I have to find a government position," said Mr. Fan slowly.

Then he looked at Zhang Ping'an with admiration: "I am already in my twilight years, so anything is easy for me to deal with. But you, on the other hand, really impressed me. You are already a juren at such a young age. You will definitely have a bright future in the future. You must seize the opportunity of this imperial examination!"

"I will," Zhang Pingan nodded firmly.

Next to him, Mr. Fan's brother-in-law, Mr. Huang, raised his glass with a smile and said, "Perhaps we can serve in the same court in the future. Meeting is fate. Come, cheers!"

The others also raised their glasses and clinked them together, saying, "Cheers!"

Mr. Fan was one of the people who left early, so Zhang Ping'an thought he would be fine.

However, I didn’t expect that the whole Fan family would go to Jinling in the end.

Mr. Fan was also very grateful when he mentioned this: "Fortunately, I got the advice from my uncle, otherwise I would be stuck in the north and living in dire straits now. I didn't expect to go to Nanjing in the first place, but after many twists and turns, I finally settled down here. I suffered some hardships, but fortunately, my family is safe and sound, which is a blessing!"

"Yeah, I heard that the situation in the north is very bad," classmate Luo echoed.

In fact, Mr. Fan had some concerns about why he wanted to settle down in Lin'an in the future, which was that Lin'an was further south. If an attack came from the north, Lin'an, as the new capital, would definitely be the last to fall. Moreover, Lin'an was close to the sea, so if something happened, it would be convenient to go to Fuzhou by water.

There is constant unrest on the front line now, which makes it difficult to feel at ease.

After finishing his meal, Mr. Fan left after leaving his address. Class was about to start, and it was inconvenient for him to continue disturbing him.

He came here today in order to use his connections to audit classes at the provincial school for a period of time until the imperial examination.

It’s better than working in isolation!

He definitely can't be idle during this period.

After class in the afternoon, Zhang Ping'an asked the driver to drive to Guo Mansion in the east of the city, which was the home of one of Mr. Fan's uncles.

Mr. Fan is currently staying here temporarily.

Speaking of which, the Guo family is actually not far from Zhang Pingan's family, but they are not in the same circle and have no intersection. They just have heard of each other.

Zhang Ping'an really didn't know that the Guo family and Mr. Fan had such a relationship.

When passing by Xingweizhai, Zhang Ping'an asked the driver to stop for a while, got off and bought a few bags of high-quality snacks.

You can't visit someone empty-handed.

After Zhang Ping'an had the driver hand over the visiting card, the doorman immediately bowed and said, "Mr. Zhang, please come in with me. Mr. Fan already gave instructions when he returned today!"

After saying this, he led the way.