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

Another good night’s sleep!

The next morning, when Zhang Ping'an was getting ready to go to school, he saw his cousin Dazhu also driving a bullock cart. This was really rare!

The cow my uncle's family has now was bought later. The cow they got when the family split up died of old age two or three years ago. After reporting to the head of the village, they slaughtered it and got some money from selling the meat. Then they bought a calf and slowly raised it to this size. It looks very precious. They don't dare to let the cow do any heavy work during the busy farming season, let alone use it to go anywhere with a cart.

Dazhu saw his cousin standing at the door and greeted him with a smile, "Ping'an, are you going to school?"

"Well! Cousin, where are you going?" Zhang Pingan asked curiously.

"I'm going to pick up your cousin's wife," Dazhu was obviously in a good mood today. After saying that, he gently waved the whip in his hand and hit the cow's back and shouted to speed up. Then he turned around and said, "I won't talk to you anymore. I'm leaving. I'm in a hurry!"

Zhang Ping'an was stunned when he heard that he had to go and pick up his eldest cousin's wife. It seemed like he hadn't seen his cousin's wife for a long time. His cousin's wife was not tall, her hair was always combed neatly, and she habitually kept her head down. She rarely went out except for working in the fields and cooking. She spoke very little and had a low presence at home. She was not even there when his eldest sister got married this time. It was really strange!

After getting in the car, Zhang Pingan curiously asked Zhang Laoer, "Dad, where is my eldest cousin's wife? I haven't seen her for a long time. She wasn't here when my eldest sister got married. I saw my eldest cousin driving out this morning. He said he was going to pick up my eldest cousin's wife."

Zhang Laoer was silent for a moment before replying, "Children shouldn't pry into adult matters. Just study hard, okay?"

Obviously there is something behind this!

However, Zhang Ping'an just asked casually, not insisting on knowing. Seeing that his father didn't want to say it, he stopped asking and said "Oh" to indicate that he knew.

"I know," Jinbao said vaguely while chewing fried rice cake, "My grandma said that Dazhu's wife went to Guiyuan Temple to pray to Guanyin, the Goddess of Fertility, and it would take a hundred consecutive days of worship to see if it would work!"

Zhang Laoer turned around and asked in surprise, "How did your grandma know?"

"Ah? Is this true? My grandma guessed it. I heard her talking to my grandpa. She said that Dayajie was not at home after getting married. There must be something very important. She probably went to Guiyuan Temple to pray to Guanyin, the Goddess of Fertility." Jinbao scratched his head and said.

Zhang Laoer: This damn kid, I really want to beat him up, he said it as if it were true, I thought he really knew it!

"Hey, Jinbao, don't tell your grandparents about this when you go back," Zhang Laoer said after clearing his cough.

"Oh, you adults are so mysterious!" Jinbao didn't understand why there was nothing to hide.

"Anyway, you can't tell anyone. You've already agreed to it. If your grandparents say they heard it from you, I won't let Ping'an play with you," Zhang Laoer threatened with a stern face, fearing that the child might not keep his mouth shut.

He had no choice. It was inappropriate for an uncle like him to say such things. Who knew this kid could be so loud?

Zhang Ping'an probably understood the whole story. It was nothing more than the matter of being anxious to have a baby. However, when he thought about it, it was indeed a bit abnormal that his eldest cousin had been married for more than two years and there was no movement at all. It was estimated that his eldest aunt must have been very anxious.

After a while, they arrived at the gate of the private school. Zhang Ping'an was too lazy to think about these things. He guessed that at most, they would just eat vegetarian food and burn incense as spiritual sustenance.

Today, in addition to his normal lectures, Mr. Luo actually started teaching the two of them the Hundred Family Surnames after school, and he spoke quite quickly, probably because he wanted to see how well the two could adapt.

Luo Fuan and Liu Shuisheng didn't care about this matter. They were lucky enough to be able to do their normal schoolwork and didn't want to add any more burden.

But Luo Fugui felt uncomfortable. He was a delicate person, but also introverted and timid. After knowing this, he thought that maybe he did not do well enough, so the teacher did not call him. However, he got the same A in the last monthly test. He did not dare to ask and could only worry about it himself, with his head hung and looking worried.

Even the carefree Luo Fuan noticed it, and couldn't help but ask worriedly: "Fugui, what's wrong with you? Why are you so unhappy? No one bullies you. If you have anything to say, tell me and I will help you vent your anger!" After saying that, he patted his chest twice.

It would have been fine if he hadn't asked. As soon as he asked, Luo Fugui burst into tears of grievance and couldn't help but look up and shouted: "You want to help me vent my anger? Can you help me? You didn't even do as well as me in the monthly test"!

After saying this, he probably realized that he was in a bad mood, so he put on his school bag, wiped his tears and ran out.

Luo Fuan looked at Liu Shuisheng and Jin Bao blankly, wondering, "Why should I vent my anger on him and ask Guan Yuece?"

Jinbao responded with an even more confused expression. He didn't know what had happened. Why did Luo Fugui suddenly start crying? Wasn't there anyone who provoked him?

Liu Shuisheng did notice something and seemed to be thinking about it, but it was not appropriate for him to point it out, as it would seem like he was making things up. So he played dumb and said, "What? How would I know? Go and catch up and see!"

"Hmph, I really owed him in my previous life. Not only did he yell at me for caring about him with good intentions, but now I have to chase him!" Luo Fuan said indignantly. He was still worried, so he put on his school bag and ran away quickly.

Liu Shuisheng and Jinbao were left staring at each other in bewilderment in the classroom. Liu Shuisheng lay on the table bored and said, "It seems that Ayuan and I won't be able to go home together in the future. But fortunately, his father is back now, and someone from his family can come to pick him up. What about you, Jinbao?"

"Me? What's wrong with me?" Jinbao asked in confusion.

Liu Shuisheng frowned: "Are you really stupid or are you just pretending to be stupid? If you are really stupid, that would be too scary!"

"Are you planning to wait here for an hour every day for Ping An?"

"Yes, is it not possible?" Jinbao said as a matter of course.

Liu Shuisheng was truly impressed and clasped his fists, saying, "I admire you. You and Ping An are truly close brothers!"

Jin Bao proudly replied, "Of course, we are best brothers!"

The two of them waited until the teacher finished teaching Zhang Pingan and Liu Shengyuan, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Pingan said apologetically, "Jinbao, I'm sorry for making you wait for me for so long. How about you go back first next time and let my dad take you back first? It's not far anyway."

"No, I want to go back with you. I'll just wait for you. It'll be boring to go back anyway." Jin Bao firmly rejected this suggestion. He didn't want to go back alone.

Liu Shengyuan was also very sorry and said, "Brother Shuisheng, I'll ask my dad to pick me up later. He happens to be at home recently."

Liu Shuisheng stretched and replied simply: "Okay! Oh, it's so boring to just wait. I can use this time to catch two fish in my pond."

The group separated at the door and went home.

Zhang Laoer knew that he would have an extra class today, so he greeted Grandpa Jinbao and came on time, so he didn't have to wait long.

When they got home, the food was already on the table, so they just started eating. Xu had indeed steamed a bowl of egg custard, a bowl of it, golden and tempting. Zhang Pingan ate it with great satisfaction. And tomorrow was the day his eldest sister would return home, and it was also his day off, which was perfect!

The next morning, Xu started to get busy. Going back to the parents' home was considered entertaining guests, and the whole family had to eat together today. All the women in the family had to help. Zhang Ping'an got up early in the morning and went to the kitchen to serve breakfast. He was shocked to see a skinny woman standing in front of the stove.

Who is in the kitchen at home so early in the morning?

Seeing this, Xu turned her back and secretly tugged at her son's clothes, saying, "Why don't you call someone, kid? Call your cousin's wife!"

"My...my cousin's wife," Zhang Ping'an was a little confused. In his memory, my cousin's wife didn't look like this!