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

Although Ci County is a coastal area, it is still very hot in summer.

If you are not careful, you will get sunburned.

Especially for those who work in the salt fields by the sea, or fishermen who go out to sea to fish, their faces and necks, any exposed parts are black and pink, and the skin is peeling off layer by layer.

It won't get better until the weather gets completely cold.

Each one looks like charcoal.

Walking around the county town, you can probably tell people's occupations by their skin color.

It is now the beginning of July, and the dog days are about ten days away.

It is the hottest time of the year.

The rice in some places with good sunlight can be harvested. From early July to mid-August, this more than one month is the busy farming season.

Not only does rice need to be harvested, but the soybeans, sesame and rapeseed in the fields also need to be harvested one after another, and the harvest time is almost the same, so there is no way to stop.

The harvest of these two months is related to the people’s food supply for the whole year.

There are basically no idle people on the streets of the county town.

The few stalls and small shops that were open were also struggling, with few customers. The shopkeepers were even napping behind the counter, looking lazy.

The sun scorched the earth, and even the air was distorted.

Zhang Ping'an was quite free at this time. The Annan rice was the first batch to be harvested and had already been harvested. The yield per mu reached nearly 400 kilograms.

He had already submitted a memorial to the court and privately sent a letter to his father-in-law, Lord Qian, and Lord Zhou, explaining the matter.

In addition, he did not forget his senior brother. His senior brother was working in southern Fujian. The climatic conditions in southern Fujian are actually more suitable for growing Annan rice than Ci County.

If it can be promoted in southern Fujian, it will undoubtedly be beneficial to the eldest brother.

It is estimated that after receiving the letter, his father-in-law informed his fourth uncle Qian Yu. Not long after, Zhang Ping'an received a letter from Xiangshan.

I hope someone can send some seeds over.

Zhang Ping'an was not stingy and sent someone to deliver several sacks.

Anyway, he is not short of seeds at the moment.

It seems that Annan rice can be harvested at least twice a year in Ci County, and the second harvest does not require re-seeding.

When harvesting the first season of rice, keep the rice stumps, utilize the original root system and stems, re-fertilize and store water, then the dormant axillary buds will sprout again and form the second season of rice ears, which is very convenient!

However, there are some requirements for retaining rice stumps. During the first season harvest, rice stumps about one foot long must be retained to ensure the survival of liquid sprouts.

When the second season is harvested, the ripening time will be much shorter than the first season.

This is a method that was discovered through comparative testing bit by bit.

Old Man Ding was also very surprised to see that rice could be harvested twice a year.

"I used to think that flowers could bloom twice a year if they were well cared for, but I didn't expect that rice could also be harvested twice a year. The people are blessed," said Old Man Ding with emotion.

If this kind of rice had appeared earlier, perhaps he would not have been sold when he was young because his family was too poor to have enough food to eat.

Then the fate will be very different!

Although the government office was idle and there was nothing important to deal with, the autumn harvest had already been arranged in an orderly manner in advance. His busiest time would be after the autumn harvest.

But the weather was too hot. Even if you sat in the yamen and did nothing, you would sweat in half a day.

It's so annoying!

Even more irritated than him was Qian Youyi. The child was about to be born, and she felt both excited and nervous.

She often thinks of bad things, and even if she sits there with no one paying attention to her, she would cry silently.

This would never have happened in the past.

Xu was also worried day and night, feeling both excited and nervous.

"Hey, you see, I never felt this kind of fear when I gave birth to my own child. Why is it that my daughter-in-law is more nervous when she gave birth than I was when I gave birth to my own child?" Xu pushed Zhang Laoer and said worriedly.

"How are you not worried? Didn't you tell your mother that you couldn't sleep because of worry?" said Zhang Laoer.

"Oh, I was just worried that people would talk about me for giving birth to daughters one after another, but I never worried that anything would happen. Why did you mention my mother?" Xu said unhappily.

"Looking at our daughter-in-law like this, I'm afraid she won't have a good birth!"

"You're not a doctor, how do you know that?" Zhang Laoer asked back, annoyed by being pushed around.

Xu sighed gloomily, "My right eyelid has been twitching for the past two days. It's just a gut feeling!"

"Go to your son's study, tear off some white paper, dip it in water, and stick it on your eyelids."

"Oh, I put it on, but it's useless," Xu said worriedly.

"We have several doctors and midwives at home, so everything will be fine, don't worry." After hearing what Xu said, Zhang Laoer felt a little worried, but he didn't show it on his face and just comforted her.

"Oh!" Xu sighed, and finally fell asleep after tossing and turning.

At the same time, Zhang Ping'an also did not sleep well.

The heat is one thing, but I also feel stuffy and have a feeling of being blocked up inside.

He knew that he was not the only one who was worried, his family members were also worried, so he didn't dare to say anything in front of his family.

Otherwise the atmosphere at home will become even more tense.

You're about to become a father, why are you so panicked?

Qian Youyi reached out and touched the back of Zhang Pingan who was sleeping next to him, and knew that he was not asleep. He whispered, "I can't sleep, help me sit up for a while!"

"Does your stomach hurt?" Zhang Ping'an asked as he sat up and helped to prop up the pillow.

"It's okay, it doesn't hurt, just my legs are swollen," Qian Youyi whispered.

"Then let me give you a massage," Zhang Pingan said as he was about to sit down at the end of the bed.

Qian Youyi pulled the person back, shook his head and said softly, "Mammy has already pressed it during the day. Every time you press it, there's a dent. Don't press it anymore. It will be fine after the baby is born. Come and talk to me for a while!"

"Okay!" Zhang Pingan nodded.

"My father hasn't written to me in a while, right?"

"Well, it's been a while since I last wrote to you. I haven't written to you much since the New Year. He didn't reply to the letters I wrote to him, but he definitely read them.

He and your fourth brother must have been communicating with each other. Two days ago, your fourth brother wrote to me and asked me to send him some Annan rice seeds," Zhang Pingan replied in a low voice.

"My father is just like that. You don't have to take it to heart. He must be having some thoughts in his mind because he failed to transfer you to the Ministry of War according to his plan." Qian Youyi knew his father too well.

There is fatherly love, but it is limited. Once something concerns the future and interests of the Qian family, it will collapse instantly.

"I know what's going on, but I don't take it to heart. Don't think too much about it. Just be at peace and prepare for the birth." Zhang Ping'an took a fan and helped fan gently.

Because there was a pregnant woman there, it was not convenient to use an ice basin because we were afraid that the child would catch a cold and the pregnant woman would suffer as well.

"Just don't take it personally. I know you have your own ideas and know how to handle things properly. I won't interfere with your affairs at the yamen. But it's best not to create too much tension with my family, or else it'll be hard to bring up if something comes up."

"Yeah, I know," Zhang Pingan replied.

The two chatted for a long time, and Qian Youyi finally took out a booklet from the box beside the bed: "This is the list of my dowry, as well as the profit and loss of various shops and farms."