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

"Speaking of it, this family is also unlucky. The old lady was very lucky. She gave birth to three sons and three daughters, but only one son lived to adulthood. The old man passed away a long time ago. When the son grew up, he finally got married and had children, but the grandson turned out to be stupid. Before the grandson was 5 years old, the son and daughter-in-law went out to sea to fish and died in a storm. She is the only old woman in our area who can live to be over 70 years old," the village chief introduced as they walked.

After saying that, he pointed to the mud brick house at the westernmost part of the village, near the small hillside, and said, "We're here. That's his home. I've sent someone to their fields to call him back. Everyone, please wait a moment."

"Why do you live in such a remote place?" Yang Dianshi looked around and saw that it was deserted.

The nearest neighbor is separated from me by a pond and a large rice field, and next to it is a small mound with a few skinny clumps of thorns growing on it.

The village chief rubbed his hands and explained, "Everyone in the village thought the old lady had a tough life and would bring bad luck to others, so they didn't want to live with her. That's why they moved to the west end of the village."

After saying this, he hurried over to push open the fence door, bowed and asked Zhang Pingan and others to sit down in the yard and wait.

After Zhang Ping'an entered the yard, he looked around. The earthen brick house was not big, with only three rooms. He estimated that one was the main room and the other two were bedrooms. There was a small kitchen in the yard. There was also a row of bayberries planted near the wall. The branches were lush and the fruits were plump, dense and large.

Although most local people in Ci County plant a few bayberry trees, including in the backyard of the county government office, this is the first time he has seen such large and dense bayberries.

Seeing Zhang Ping'an staring at the bayberry tree, the village chief thought he wanted to eat some, so he couldn't help but say, "These bayberries won't be available until the middle of next month. Even though they're big, they're still very sour if you eat them now!"

Zhang Pingan shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I don't want to eat them. I see that his bayberries are much larger and denser than usual. I think this man is very good at farming!"

The village chief agreed with this and nodded in agreement, "That's true. No one in our village can compare to him. I don't know what method he uses."

"Is he born stupid or is it caused by fever or other reasons?" Zhang Pingan asked.

Nature and nurture are different.

The village chief said, "Well, he was born stupid. He didn't speak until he was five years old. His parents were married for six or seven years before they had him. He was just a son. I don't know if he's stupid or not, but at least he can carry on the family line. That's why we raised him up.

After his parents passed away, the old lady raised him alone. He didn't usually interact with the villagers, but he was born very strong and powerful. In the past, when naughty kids didn't know how to provoke him, he would chase them with a sickle and chop them. He was so confused that he was stunned!

"How many acres of land does their family have?" asked Yang Dianshi.

The village chief recalled and gave an exact figure: "Three mu and six fen of land, two mu of top-quality land, and the remaining one mu and six fen of medium-quality land. His family was originally well off, with more than ten mu of land, but with funerals over the years, and the old lady and her great-grandson's frequent illnesses and medication, they've sold a lot of it!"

"Does this man have a son?" Green Eyes asked curiously.

The village chief almost rolled his eyes when he heard this. Isn't this nonsense?

He still explained in a gentle voice, "Su Erlang is almost thirty years old. Although he didn't get married until he was almost twenty, which delayed him for a few years, he gave birth to three sons right after they got married. He's really proud of himself!

The first two sons are healthy and strong like him, but the youngest is a sickly child. He is almost five years old and looks like a two or three year old girl. It seems difficult to raise him.

As they were talking, the person involved finally came back.

I saw a tall and strong dark-skinned man leading three children back, followed by two women, one old and one young. They were all covered in mud and dirty, but their feet were washed and they were wearing straw sandals.

The village chief heaved a sigh of relief when he saw someone coming back, and shouted, "Erlangzi, come here quickly and kowtow to the adults!"

Erlangzi was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but the old lady was calmer and brought her whole family to kowtow.

Just now, I heard the village chief say that this man was strong, but when I got closer, Zhang Pingan found that this man just had a big frame and didn't have much flesh on his body.

The whole family is thin, especially the old lady, who is just a layer of skin sticking to her bones. Her skin is covered with age spots and her eyes are cloudy, but she has a smart look on her face. It is estimated that the old lady is the one who runs the family.

Zhang Ping'an waved his hand and asked people to stand up, "Sit down and talk!"

The old lady rubbed her hands and looked calm, but she was obviously still a little nervous in her heart, and couldn't help but look at the village chief.

The village chief slapped his thigh and said, "What are you standing there for? You are such a bunch of idiots! Go boil some water and make tea for everyone!"

The old lady then said in a hoarse voice: "Look at my memory, I'll go right away!"

After saying that, he led his granddaughter-in-law to the kitchen, opened the kitchen door with the key, and started to make a fire again.

Zhang Ping'an just let them go about their business.

Smiling, she spoke to the man, "I heard you're very good at farming, and your harvest is better than anyone else's."

The man was slow to react, and after a while he said, "We must save the seeds!"

Zhang Pingan pointed to the bayberry tree next to him and continued with a pleasant expression, "That's because you're capable. I see your bayberries are much better than others. But how did you do that?"

This time, Su Erlang reacted much faster: "This is for Yidou, Erdou, and Sandou to eat."

Zhang Pingan was helpless. Communication was indeed difficult!

The village chief had a look on his face that said, "I'm not lying, am I?" and said, "He's just like that. He's just a bit clueless. Whatever you ask him, it's completely irrelevant."

Zhang Pingan thought for a moment and said, "How about this, take us to your farm to have a look?"

Without waiting for Su Erlang's agreement, the village chief said quickly, "I'll take you all there."

"Okay," Zhang Ping'an nodded. Before leaving, he thought of something and pointed at the bayberries by the wall. "I see your bayberries are quite good. Would you mind selling me some? I'll buy them from you with silver!"

"This...this...Sir, how can we accept your money? It's their blessing that you like them," the village chief waved his hands quickly.

Yang Dianshi was very perceptive. As soon as Zhang Ping'an finished speaking, he asked the yamen runners to pick a bag.

Erlangzi was highly sensitive to food, so he rushed over and yelled, "Don't steal my bayberries!"

After saying that, he went to grab it back.

Yang Dianshi quickly took out some copper coins and handed them over, "Hey, you are such a man, we will spend money to buy it from you."

When Su Erlang saw the money, he stopped making a fuss, took it and carefully put it in his arms.

"Hehe, who said he was stupid? I think he is very smart," said the man with green eyes with a smile, waving a fan.

When he arrived at the edge of the field, Zhang Ping'an discovered that the seedlings of Su Erleng's family looked similar to those of other families on the surface, with no difference, but the roots were denser and stronger. I guess that was the difference.

An increase in production once or twice may be a coincidence, but being able to increase production so much every year must have a secret. Sometimes, there is only a fine line between a fool and a genius.

I don’t know whether this person is a real fool or a real genius!