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

Even when Zhang Ping'an was on his way back to the west wing with the meal, he still couldn't figure out how such a big change could have happened in just a few months!

"Little brother, why does it take you so long to serve the meal?" Erya asked while sweeping the floor. Xu had instructed them to clean the house thoroughly in the morning. Erya wiped and wiped until her face was sweaty.

Erya rarely goes out now. Since Daya got married, Xu asked Erya to stay at home to help. Now it is Sanya who takes the younger ones out.

In fact, compared to being at home, Erya prefers to run around the mountains and fields outside, picking mushrooms, firewood, and herbs. She doesn't feel tired. She can also order a few little ones from time to time to find some wild fruits to eat. She feels relaxed and comfortable!

I don’t have to pay attention to the expressions of my family members like I do now, and I don’t have to be nagged by Xu from time to time.

"Oh, nothing, I was just thinking about something," Zhang Pingan replied casually, and then asked curiously: "Second sister, did you go to the kitchen this morning? Did you see the eldest cousin's wife?"

Erya tilted her head to look outside the house, and when she saw no one was around, she whispered back, "You've seen it too, haven't you? Our cousin-in-law has become so thin she's out of shape. I didn't recognize her at first."

Zhang Pingan was puzzled: "Didn't I just go to pray to Guanyin for fertility? Why did it change so drastically?"

"Did you go to pray to Guanyin for fertility? How did you know? Tell me quickly," Erya looked like she wanted to hear gossip, so she sat down and asked.

Zhang Pingan finally realized that he had let the cat out of the bag, and immediately buried his head in eating, replying vaguely: "Nothing, I don't know anything"!

Seeing that Zhang Ping'an refused to continue, Erya snorted softly, sat up straight, and said, "I can guess even without you saying it. He must have gone to Guiyuan Temple. I guess it's because of eating vegetarian food and burning incense and praying to Buddha every day that he became like this."

Zhang Ping'an looked up at his second sister in surprise, but Erya said nothing, stood up proudly and continued to work.

Quite a personality! Zhang Pingan shook his head helplessly and stopped thinking about these things. He estimated that his eldest sister and brother-in-law would be here soon.

After a while, the sound of wheel and mule sneezing came from the door. It was estimated that Liu Sanlang had arrived. The men in the family did not go to the fields to work today, but stayed at home to entertain the guests. Now they were all gathered in the main room drinking tea. Zhang Laoer even changed into a new set of clothes.

After hearing the voice, Dazhu, as the younger generation, went to the door to greet him first. Although he had met him several times, Dazhu was still a little scared every time he saw Liu Sanlang's big body, feeling that he could kill him with one punch.

He secretly encouraged himself in his heart. After all, he was his brother-in-law. How could Liu Sanlang do anything to him? After thinking about this, Dazhu straightened his chest, walked over with a smile and said, "Oh, brother-in-law is here. Come in and sit down. Everyone in the family is waiting for you!"

After saying that, he wanted to pat Liu Sanlang on the shoulder to show affection, but when he stretched his hand halfway, he found that the other party was too tall, and it was too awkward to pat him. In the end, he put his hand down, smiled awkwardly, and led the way.

Hearing the noise, Mrs. Xu wiped her hands and came out of the kitchen. She walked over to Daya affectionately and pulled her over, saying, "Oh, Daya, you're finally here. I've been waiting for you for so long!" After saying that, she took a look at her daughter's face and continued with a smile, "Wow! You've gained some weight in just a few days!"

Daya was a little embarrassed and retorted with her head down: "Mom, where is that?"

After saying that, he handed the return gift to Xu. Xu took the basket and looked at it, secretly satisfied. Not bad, not bad, there are meat, candy and snacks, which is considered a proper etiquette.

Liu Sanlang stood there for a long time, his face flushed red, his mouth opening and closing, but he still couldn't say the word "mother". Xu knew about her son-in-law's problem and couldn't bear to see him struggling for so long, she felt anxious for him.

He simply spoke first and said with a smile: "Son-in-law, please go and sit in the main room. Your grandparents, your father, your uncles and the others are waiting. They have specially prepared good tea for you."

Liu Sanlang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. He really didn't like to talk, and every time he opened his mouth it was more difficult than moving 200 kilograms of pork. But not calling the elders was impolite, which was not good. It was very difficult for him!

They walked to the main hall together. Xu was busy making tea for her daughter and son-in-law. Daya quickly went to get the teapot and said, "Mom, let me do it!"

Xu tried to stop him, waving her hand and saying, "Go sit down and chat with your uncle and your grandfather. When you're married and you return to your parents' home, you're a guest. You can't do anything."

Daya had no choice but to walk over and sit down with Liu Sanlang. She felt a little uncomfortable and empty in her heart.

Mrs. Zhang and Old Man Zhang just asked a few questions symbolically. Liu Sanlang had a serious stutter and every time he stuttered, his face turned red but he couldn't utter a few words. Mrs. Zhang was tired of watching this, so she simply made an excuse that the cows had not been fed yet and went to the backyard. As soon as Mrs. Zhang left, Old Man Zhang also said he was going to the toilet and left.

Helplessly, the father-in-law Zhang Laoer had to take over and asked about the Liu family's situation, how the business was, whether Daya was getting along with the family these days, etc. These were the normal things that the father-in-law would talk about when returning to the parents' home. But even though Zhang Laoer had a relatively good temper, he found it very tiring to communicate with this new son-in-law. It was really too difficult for the other party to say a word, and he couldn't interrupt him, otherwise he would seem uncultured.

Daya was also embarrassed sitting aside and wanted to say a few words to help, but women were not allowed to interrupt when men were talking, and she was still the junior, so she had no choice but to continue drinking tea with her head down.

Xu saw that this was not the right time to talk any further, so she tried to smooth things over by saying, "Sanlang, you're the new son-in-law, so you shouldn't be asked to do anything. But the weather is getting colder, and we haven't stored enough firewood for the winter. It's still early for dinner, so I want to ask you for a favor. How about you go with the boys to the west woods and chop some dead branches for firewood? How about that?"

Liu Sanlang was not angry at all when he heard this. He kept nodding his head and said, "Yes...yes...yes!" Then he stood up and strode towards the yard. It was obvious that he felt that chatting was a pain and would rather go to work!

Zhang Ping'an had just finished his meal and was about to go to the main hall to visit his eldest sister and brother-in-law. He had only taken a few steps when he bumped into his eldest sister and brother-in-law head-on.

Liu Sanlang looked at his brother-in-law who had bumped into his legs, and quickly bent down to support Zhang Pingan, saying with concern: "...No...No...No..."

Zhang Pingan stood up straight and replied with a smile: "I'm fine, brother-in-law, where are you going?"

Dazhu quickly replied, "We're going to the west woods to chop woods. Do you want to come?"

Zhang Ping'an shook his head. He wanted to stay at home with his elder sister. Chopping wood was boring.

Seeing that his brother-in-law was fine, Liu Sanlang asked Dazhu for an axe, and the two of them went out with Erzhu, Dahe, Erhe and other younger ones.

The rest of the people at home breathed a sigh of relief. It’s really not easy to just chat with others!

Zhang Pingan walked into the main room and called out crisply, "Big Sister!"

Daya smiled and stood up, pulling her younger brother over and said lovingly, "Ping'an, did you miss me after not seeing me for a few days? Did you study hard in school?"

"Of course! Big sister, I missed you so much!" Zhang Pingan replied loudly.

"Good boy!" Daya reached out and touched her brother's head, then looked around and asked, "By the way, where are your second sister and the others? Why didn't they see you?"

"My second sister is cleaning the house, and my third sister and the others are out."

"Oh! Then let's go to the west wing. I brought you some candy." Daya said, taking her brother's hand and walking towards the west wing.