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

After Lin Junhui came out and saw the expression on Zhang Pingan's face, he understood.

A cup of turbid wine is thousands of miles away, but Yan Ranwei has nothing to do.

Home and family are distant places that cannot be let go!

"Junhui, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you," Zhang Pingan said with a smile after adjusting his mood.

"It's human nature to miss home, and I feel the same way," Lin Junhui waved his hand.

Both of them cherished this rare opportunity to get together, and talked by candlelight until three in the morning before falling asleep.

Early the next morning, Lin Junhui left with the others.

"Be safe and take care! I believe we will see each other again soon!" Lin Junhui waved goodbye and then jumped on the horse nimbly.

Looking at the group of people going away, the old bald man said with a smile, "Haha, these people are not as lucky as the previous group of you!"

"What do you mean?" Ruan San asked curiously.

"The group of people you had earlier were all picked by Lord Zhou himself. They are our own people. One is a relative, and the other is someone who got in halfway. You should consider this yourself. Above the county town, there are the prefectural capital and the provincial capital. It will definitely be much easier for you to get promoted than for them. Learn more, silly boy," the old bald man said, patted Ruan San on the shoulder and left.

Ruan San perked up and asked Zhang Pingan again, "Master Zhang, is this the case?"

Zhang Pingan smiled gently and said, "How should I know? I'm not Lord Zhou's worm. Although there are indeed many vacancies in the provincial capitals, I estimate that the fastest time for people like us to be promoted is six months. Otherwise, wouldn't that be a slap in the face of the court?!"

It also seemed that Lord Zhou was too impatient, as if he was too ambitious and his achievements were too great to be tolerated by the ruler.

You must be more steady!

In comparison, Liu Sanlang didn't care so much about these things.

Standing aside thinking about my own thoughts.

The letters from home made his heart feel sore and swollen, and his heart was filled with ups and downs.

I really miss my family!

Especially Daya and the three children!

……

With the Annan rice seeds and sweet potatoes, Zhang Ping'an felt much more at ease.

He is not greedy for more, he just wants to plant them well when the time comes.

After all, there are only so many people in the county, so we have to take it step by step.

Since the imperial court won a series of great victories and recovered many lost territories, the name of the Huhui Army has spread throughout the north.

The small groups of rebel troops from Yangzhou to Huai'an and along the Huai River line were very well-behaved.

It's no longer a big deal.

All areas along the route are safe for the time being.

Although the current weather is not suitable for farming, there is no time to sit idle. After it is safe, Zhang Pingan puts the formal repair of the city on the agenda.

The first step was to repair and reinforce military defense facilities such as city walls, city gates, watchtowers and beacon towers.

Then there are houses, government offices, warehouses, city roads and underground drainage ditches.

The remaining people who had not yet been assigned houses by the government were also allocated houses.

Some government affairs in the county were restored, and the medical office and post station were reopened.

Although it is not as detailed as the three classes and six rooms in the county towns in the south, it is sufficient for Ze County today.

Zhang Ping'an and Lao Tu each performed their duties and managed Ze County in an orderly manner.

The old bald man was very pleased with himself: "I really am a genius. I never thought that besides being good at fighting, I also have a talent for governing the people!"

Zhang Ping'an smiled without saying anything and did not attack him.

The most important thing is that the two can cooperate to get things done.

Time flies and it is mid-to-late February. The ice and snow on the earth have melted, all things are revived, and green buds are slowly emerging in the fields and on the hillsides.

First, we planted sweet potatoes. The seedling-raising process was well-prepared and the germination went very smoothly.

After the sweet potatoes are planted, various vegetables follow.

When the weather gets warmer in early April, they start tilling the soil and planting Annam rice and various beans.

Around the Qingming Festival, it is a good time to plant melons and beans.

After the spring sowing, agricultural officials were sent from the Yangzhou camp to inspect agricultural work from south to north and then west.

This shows the importance attached to farming.

Since the re-establishment of post stations in various places, communication has become much more convenient.

Even so, when Zhang Ping'an received the official report and learned the news, half of the agricultural officials had already left.

It will probably arrive the next day.

Zhang Pingan got up from the field, clapped his hands, and joked with his eldest brother-in-law Liu Sanlang: "We've done a good job, so there's nothing to be afraid of others seeing. It's not a big deal if they come, but it would be great if they could bring some livestock over here. People can't just eat grain, they need some meat from time to time."

"It's not just the livestock. We also need to replant trees everywhere around the county. Most of the old trees have been stripped of their bark and are dead. Planting trees is a must. Fortunately, we don't have many high mountains or famous rivers here. It's mostly flat land. Otherwise, when the rainy season comes in May, I'd be worried about rockfall!"

"It's a blessing to have enough food to eat, but I can't expect to eat meat. It's also difficult for the court," Liu Sanlang replied with a simple smile, then looked to the north: "The mountains in the north are still far away from us!"

In fact, flowing rocks are mud and rock flows. The ancients were also very smart. They had long discovered that dense vegetation could effectively prevent landslides and mud and rock flows.

In places like this, a lot of vegetation was once planted.

It's just that he was disturbed by the war in recent years.

After all, people are starving to death, so who cares whether they die or not after climbing the tree?

Zhang Ping'an has secretly taken note of this matter. When he has time, he will have to find a way to find some saplings. Let's take it step by step!

I thought eating pork was a luxury for the time being.

Unexpectedly, what Zhang Ping'an had been waiting for really happened. When the agricultural officials who came to inspect from Yangzhou arrived, they actually brought a lot of piglets with them in mule carts, nearly two thousand in total.

The piglets are cute and pink, chubby, and they hum from time to time, which makes people feel very happy.

Next are calves and lambs, which are smaller in number.

There are straw mats hung on both sides of the car to prevent wind, and the treatment is almost the same as that of human beings.

There were quite a lot of people in the convoy, and there were many guards on both sides of the mule carts.

When the bald old man saw these livestock, his eyes lit up and his mouth opened like a flower!

After Zhang Ping'an led the way forward to pay his respects.

He rushed over and bowed, saying, "My dear colleagues, thank you for your hard work. Come on, come on, please come in and take your seats!"

Zhang Ping'an, Liu Sanlang, Ruan San and others were similar, all with beaming smiles on their faces.

The inspecting agricultural officials were warmly welcomed by the soldiers.

"This isn't all for you. When I was in Yangzhou, Lord Luo instructed that it must be allocated according to the quota and no arbitrary decisions are allowed. I'm going all the way to Xi County. You can calculate for yourselves whether it's enough for you!

You have to understand the court's difficulties, understand? These livestock all came all the way from Nanjing by boat, they are very valuable!" The leading agricultural official happened to be named Nong, and he was a seasoned man. He immediately stopped everyone from saying anything.

Zhang Ping'an was not annoyed. No matter how few places there were, it would still be meat once it grew up. He was not picky!

He said, "It's okay, it's okay. Everyone, take a break first. You've worked hard all the way!"

That being said, it is impossible not to fight for it!

This is meat that is right before your mouth. You can’t be too honest!

While the meal was in full swing, Zhang Ping'an found out indirectly that this agricultural official had no special hobbies and was not greedy, otherwise he would not have been entrusted with the important task of inspecting agricultural affairs.

I just love guessing puzzles.

And it’s not the kind of guessing words or objects, it’s a bit like a brain teaser.

Zhang Pingan was delighted when he heard this, this was something he was good at!

After he threw out a few questions to liven up the atmosphere, the agricultural official could no longer hold back.

He kept saying, "I've met a soulmate!"

After a few rounds, my appetite was whetted and I almost caught a black carp!

He wasn't stupid. After scratching his head for a moment, he said bluntly, "Master Zhang, you're not being nice enough to stop talking halfway. It's keeping me awake at night. So, I'm not a rude person. I'll make the final decision now. I'll give you twenty more of the three types of livestock, is that all right?"

After saying that, he slammed the table, a look of pain on his face, as if he had made a huge concession, "It's because these puzzles of yours are really interesting, they make me want to try them!"

"Okay, then I would like to thank Lord Nong on behalf of the entire army of Ze County and the people in the city!" Zhang Pingan said with a smile, no longer pretentious.

Everyone was happy after the meal!

Finally I can eat meat from now on!