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

After the day's classes were over, Master Luo dismissed the class as usual and called on everyone, "Zhang Ping'an and Liu Shengyuan, both of you come to my study."

The two of them looked at each other, then put down their school bags and followed the teacher to the study, leaving Jinbao and Liu Shuisheng looking at each other, confused. However, they usually went home together, so they must wait together.

After Zhang Ping'an and Liu Shengyuan entered the study, Mr. Luo sat behind the desk and calmly took a few sips of tea before slowly saying, "Do you two know why I called you in alone?"

The two children looked at each other and shook their heads.

Master Luo smiled upon seeing this, put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, stroked his beard and said softly: "I, your master, am already sixty years old this year. Time flies like a white horse! Compared with other people of the same age, I can be considered to be old. I can only hope to spend the rest of my life in this countryside. This is my life, but you are still young and have a promising future. Through teaching during this period of time, I can clearly feel that you two learn much faster than others and have a stronger comprehension. Such talents are rare. If you continue to learn at this slow pace, it will only delay you."

He paused, sighed softly, and then continued, "But precisely because you're young, some things are premature. You're all children from ordinary families, and education costs a huge amount. If you spend everything on a slim hope, it would be a gamble, and it would have a huge impact on your family. So, I want to give you extra lessons first, moving on to learning the Hundred Family Surnames and the Thousand Character Classic. I'll see the results then make a decision on the next step. Do you understand?"

Zhang Pingan immediately understood that they were going to be given special treatment. This was a great thing. From these words, it was clear that Master Luo had truly considered every aspect of their studies. It was truly well-intentioned! So he stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and asked, "Master, will there be extra classes after school?"

Liu Shengyuan was a real child. He was confused by the teacher's long words and his eyes were filled with bewilderment.

Looking at the two children's different performances, Mr. Luo pondered for a moment, then said: "Forget it, they are just children after all! Go back and tell the adults at home that I will give you two an extra hour of lessons after school. If it rains or snows, it will be half an hour. Okay, go home quickly!" Mr. Luo waved his hand after speaking.

After they came out of the study, they saw Jin Bao and Liu Shuisheng squatting under the persimmon tree in the yard playing with stones.

"Ping'an, you finally came out. What did the teacher say? I've been waiting for so long that I'm almost starving." Jinbao rushed forward and asked when he saw people coming out.

Zhang Pingan smiled and soothed him, "Alright, alright, we're out now, let's go home now. My dad must be waiting anxiously, right?"

After hearing this, Liu Shuisheng responded: "I see your father is not in a hurry at all. He is happily chatting with my second brother at the door." After saying that, he smiled mischievously and joked: "Maybe he has taken a fancy to my second brother!"

Then he gave Zhang Pingan an expression that said, "You know what I mean!"

Zhang Pingan was stunned. No, what on earth was going on?!

Several people put on their school bags and went out together. Outside the door, Zhang Laoer was chatting happily with Liu Shuisheng's second brother. Of course, it is not certain how Liu Shuisheng's second brother felt. Zhang Ping'an saw that Liu Shuisheng's second brother was so embarrassed that his toes were almost digging into the ground, but he seemed embarrassed to leave.

"Dad, Jinbao and I are fine, let's go home quickly!" Zhang Ping'an quickly came to the rescue of Liu Erge.

"Oh, everything is out safely, then let's go back," Zhang Laoer replied, looking a bit regretful.

Brother Liu quickly said hello and said, "Uncle Zhang, I'll take my brother and Ayuan back first. We'll talk next time!" After that, he took the two children and ran away.

Zhang Pingan frowned: Dad, what are you talking about? You scared me like this...

When Zhang Laoer brought his two children home, Grandpa Jinbao was already waiting at the door of the Zhang family, standing on tiptoe to look at the village entrance from time to time. Today was much later than usual, and Grandpa Jinbao was worried, so he came out to wait.

"Grandpa!" Jinbao jumped out of the car and threw himself into his grandfather's arms, saying coquettishly, "I've been studying so hard today that I'm starving. What delicious food did you make at home?"

Grandpa Jinbao hugged his grandson lovingly and replied, "Your grandma stewed eggs and minced meat, and added a few drops of sesame oil. It smells really good. I made it especially for you."

After saying that, he said goodbye to Zhang Laoer and took Jinbao back.

Xu was still cooking in the kitchen. When she heard the noise at the door, she came out and asked, "Why are you so late today? Hurry up and set the table and get ready for dinner."

Today's dinner consisted entirely of leftovers. Xu had carefully selected the cleanest dishes and heated them up on a separate plate, placing it in front of Zhang Laoer and Zhang Ping'an. She kept muttering, "Luckily, the weather is cooler now. We can enjoy the leftovers slowly. If it were summer, they would have gone bad in no time and we would have had to give them away in advance."

To be honest, the leftovers were not good-looking at all, a plate of red and green. Zhang Pingan didn't really want to eat it, but wasting food was very shameful. At that time, the yield per mu was not high and farming was very hard. There was no reason to be picky, so he had to scoop some soup to soak the rice.

Mrs. Xu noticed it and tapped her son's forehead, saying angrily, "You're still very picky. How can you not eat these leftovers? I see your sisters enjoying them very much, but you, little guy, have never liked leftovers since you were a child. You can eat them for one more day tomorrow. I'll make fresh leftovers for your eldest sister when she returns home the day after tomorrow."

Zhang Laoer didn't care about these things. He also enjoyed the leftovers. He ate two bowls of food in one gulp. After putting down the bowl, he said to Xu: "Let's stew an egg for our son tomorrow. He has never liked to eat leftovers since he was a child. Don't force him."

Then he turned to Zhang Ping'an and asked, "Why did the Master keep you and Liu Shengyuan here today? I heard from Jin Bao that he only looked for you two."

"Well, the teacher said that he would give Liu Shengyuan and me one hour of private lessons after school. We would study the Hundred Family Surnames and Thousand Character Classic separately. If it rains or snows, he would give us half an hour. He also asked us to tell the adults at home. I was planning to tell them after dinner," Zhang Pingan replied after swallowing the food in his mouth.

Zhang Laoer was delighted when he heard this, and rubbed his hands and said, "This...this is just special treatment for you two. Do you want to send something special to the teacher?" The last sentence was directed to Xu.

Mrs. Xu was also very surprised and asked, "Are you two going to have the class alone? My son is so smart!"

After saying that, he thought for a moment and said, "It's not a good idea to give gifts to teachers individually now. This kind of special tutoring is not something that should be done openly. If we give gifts to teachers individually, other students will think that teachers are accepting gifts in exchange for extra lessons. This will cause trouble for teachers. No good! Let's just wait until the New Year to give them a bigger gift package. No one will say anything. What do you think?"

Zhang Laoer nodded and said with a smile: "Okay, that's good!"

After finishing speaking, he sighed with emotion: "That great monk was right! Our son is truly brilliant. He's only been in class for two months and he's already won the master's favor. What did he say back then? Our son has a full forehead, and that... That's right! Blessed are we, if I had known to have the monk write down his words earlier, I could have read them from time to time!"

Mrs. Xu slapped her thigh and said regretfully, "We have met a master. I should have asked him to tell us clearly, to tell us the specific time, so that we can see when our son can make a name for himself. And as for the pancakes, I shouldn't have been reluctant to use the white flour and only used half the dough. It takes piety to meet a master."

Zhang Pingan was speechless after hearing this: My father and mother, you are still dreaming of becoming a marquis or a prime minister!