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

After sending Chen Ergu away, it was almost dawn.

Everyone knew that there was a new young master in the mansion.

Having a new baby is a great joyous occasion. After hearing the congratulations from his servants, Zhang Ping'an was not stingy and rewarded everyone in the mansion with two months' salary.

He also ordered the kitchen to boil a lot of red eggs so that he could go to all the familiar households to announce the good news.

Including the minor officials in the yamen, each of them received six red eggs.

The kitchen was not well stocked, so Zhang Laoer quickly ordered his servants to go out and buy some food and cook several large pots.

Although Xu asked him to rest for a while, he was happy in his heart. He dozed off for a while, but then he couldn't fall asleep again, so he got up and busy himself with the good news.

The mansion was bustling with activity.

Before Zhang Ping'an went to the yamen to report for duty, several families who lived nearby came to congratulate him.

Everyone was holding some things suitable for mothers and babies.

Chen Jianqiu said enviously, "That's great! I've got a boy this easy! I don't have to worry about my family urging me to have more children in the future!"

"You already have a wife, why are you in such a hurry? If you work hard, it will only be next year. Unlike me, I'm still single and don't even have a wife or children," said the man with green eyes nonchalantly as he sat aside.

The weather was too hot, and even the thinnest gauze dress he wore was no use. He could only fan himself constantly.

Needless to say, he was also envious.

I was thinking about lowering my standards and just asking my family to find me a wife.

Hua Wanli is going to be a father soon. Although he is envious, he is not that envious.

As for children, your own are the best.

After congratulating Zhang Ping'an, he turned to Chen Jianqiu and said, "I'll go visit Second Aunt at your house when I have time and say hello to her. My wife is giving birth next month, so I'll ask her to help. There are very few female doctors who are both skilled in medicine and midwifery. I'll feel at ease knowing Second Aunt is here."

"Okay, no problem," Chen Jianqiu responded without saying anything.

"By the way, the child's third birthday is the day after tomorrow, you all should come," Zhang Pingan greeted.

"I remember you said that there is no custom of washing the third day of birth in Ezhou," said Chen Jianqiu.

"We have one in Lin'an. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. It won't be a big event. Just have fun among our own people. I've already sent letters to all my relatives at home. We'll have a good full moon banquet then," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

After having a child, I always want to give him the best things and don’t want him to be worse than others.

You still have to do the third day bath, it’s not a big deal anyway.

After they chatted for a while, it was time to go on duty, so Green Bean Eyes returned to the inn.

The others went on duty.

When they arrived at the yamen, everyone had already received red eggs. Knowing that the county magistrate had a son, they poured out baskets of congratulations.

Even an introvert like Zhang Pingan couldn't help but smile after hearing this.

Before noon, Xu sent someone to call him back.

It turned out that after the wealthy families and gentry in the county learned about it, they all sent people to send generous gifts.

Xu and Zhang Laoer were also undecided about whether to accept the items or not. Many people just sent their servants over to put the items down and then left.

I couldn't stop him even if I shouted.

Zhang Laoer was afraid of causing trouble for his son, so he quickly called the person back.

Zhang Ping'an looked through the gift list, accepted the ones he could accept, and sent someone to send back the ones that were too valuable.

It took only a short while to finish everything.

Xu heaved a sigh of relief and praised with a smile, "My son is really capable!"

Zhang Pingan smiled and said, "Mom, how are Youyi and the child? Have you gone to see them?"

"I just took a few glances inside, but Aunt Rong didn't let me stay any longer, saying I was afraid of being caught in the wind," replied Xu.

"But I see my daughter-in-law doesn't look well. She still needs some nourishment. I've asked the kitchen to make some soup. She won't go uneaten. The baby has a wet nurse feeding her. She eats well and doesn't cry much. She's so cute!"

"That's good. Youyi is weak to begin with, so please take more care of him," Zhang Ping'an instructed.

"I know. She's my daughter-in-law and my grandson's mother. There's no need to emphasize it all the time. I'm still reliable. You can rest assured," Xu said unhappily.

Zhang Ping'an touched his nose awkwardly and quickly went to coax his mother.

In the blink of an eye, it was the third day of bathing.

Although it was not a big event, there were still many people coming, all of whom were very familiar with the family, so in the end six tables were set up in the yard.

Even my fifth brother-in-law Fang Ziqi came back from the next county and gave the child a valuable gold locket as a congratulations, but he didn't bring Wu Ya with him.

After seeing this, Xu asked a question, and Fang Ziqi explained with a somewhat unnatural expression that Wu Ya was recuperating from the heat.

There were so many people talking that Xu was too busy entertaining the guests to ask any more questions.

The third day bathing ceremony is mainly to wash away the dirt on the baby's body and is considered a blessing ceremony.

This job can only be performed by the midwife and no one else can do it.

Before the ceremony begins, the family must first worship the gods, including the Goddess of Bed, Goddess of Bed, Goddess of Childbirth, etc. After burning incense and worshiping, they must finally place the statue of Guanyin and worship again.

Some things are better to believe than not to believe.

Zhang Ping'an followed his family and completed the entire worship process very devoutly.

The next step is to add money to the basin. Relatives and friends add a spoonful of water, copper coins, silver, longan, red dates and other items into the basin in order of seniority.

The midwife will say a blessing based on what was added.

Three days later, the child had grown a little bigger than when he was born. Wrapped in a red swaddle, he looked cute like a little baby and no longer as ugly as when he was born.

The ceremony of adding water to the basin is essential, but Zhang Pingan knows that money has the most bacteria.

He prepared a lot of gold and silver nuggets in advance, which had been cleaned and disinfected with boiling water, and distributed them to several relatives and friends who came to add basins for use.

Because of this, my mother, Xu, scolded me countless times for being pretentious.