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

After hearing this, He Youcai looked as if he had suddenly understood something.

Then everyone had lunch together at the county government office.

Next, I took a walk around the county town.

Chang County was originally considered a prosperous county, and the houses in the county town were built very solidly, but now many of them are vacant.

The looms in the workshop were also covered with cobwebs.

However, the wells were cleaned and the streets were very tidy.

It can be seen that He Youcai has put his heart into it, but the population is too small, and some of them are powerless. As the saying goes, a good cook cannot cook without rice!

Zhang Pingan didn't say much. At this juncture, people like He Youcai were at least dedicated, loyal, and capable of execution as officials, which was considered good.

You can only pick the tallest among the short ones!

After a night's rest, Zhang Ping'an prepared to take his men back to Ze County early the next morning.

Before leaving, he specifically said, "Master He, just do as I told you yesterday. It will be useful. As the saying goes, 'You must always be well fed before you can pursue good food; you must always be warm before you can pursue beautiful clothes; you must always be comfortable before you can pursue happiness; poverty is not the only worry, but insecurity.' If you can't even get enough to eat, how can you have the energy to practice Taoism? Besides, people are afraid of being different from others. Once your mindset changes, things will be easier!"

"I understand, thank you for your guidance, sir," He Youcai said with a salute.

"Then I will wait for good news," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile, and then rode away with his men.

He Youcai looked at the group of people going away, took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and said with emotion: "The doctrine of the mean, sociability is the most important thing. This is the material for being an official!"

For some things, he actually knew in his heart what was the best way to do it, but he just couldn't control his emotions.

Whether it is the art of controlling subordinates or governing the people, he admitted that he still has a lot of shortcomings.

This is probably how his life will be!

Zhang Ping'an didn't know what He Youcai was thinking at the moment. If he knew, he would probably look up to him even more.

The most important thing for a person is to know himself. Those who have a clear understanding of themselves will never live a bad life.

How many people will never understand this truth in their entire life!

After nearly two days of travel, Zhang Pingan finally brought his men back to Ze County.

When the bald old man saw people coming back, he was very friendly. He surrounded them and asked them questions, asking about their well-being.

After a moment, he rubbed his hands and revealed his true intention: "Ping'an, you want to go to Yangzhou, right? I'm here to help you. Now that the autumn harvest is over, I want to take my brothers out to exercise their skills and go hunting. It will probably take two or three days. What do you think?"

"How many people do you want to bring?" Zhang Pingan thought for a while and asked.

"About fifty or sixty people!" replied the bald old man.

"Okay, then you go ahead and be careful," Zhang Ping'an nodded readily in agreement.

Anyway, there are no big mountains near Ze County, and I haven't heard of any powerful bandits.

It would be a good idea to let them go out and sweep the hilltops, so as to wipe out any fish that have slipped through the net.

Upon hearing this, the old bald man jumped three feet high with joy and said happily, "Ping An, I appreciate your straightforwardness. It makes me feel comfortable!"

"This is called give and take. The most important thing is that you, Old Baldy, know your limits, otherwise I wouldn't dare to agree to it," Zhang Ping'an advised.

"That's right, don't worry," the bald old man said with a chuckle, touching the back of his head.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was getting light, Lao Tu counted the men and set off.

In the morning, when Zhang Ping'an was dealing with piled-up government affairs in the yamen, he found an envelope pressed on the table.

The signature is Liu Shuisheng.

Sent from Fuxian.

Zhang Ping'an was shocked when he saw this and quickly opened the letter. After reading it, he found out that the matter of the Wu family merchant ship had come to an end.

It's basically solved.

Businessmen are the best at changing with the times, let alone a wealthy merchant family like the Wu family with a long history.

I think the survival wisdom can be written into a book.

After Liu Shuisheng and his companions were intercepted, the Wu family in Jiaozhou quickly learned the news and sent people to rescue them.

After comprehensive consideration, the Wu family expressed their willingness to return to Daxia and contribute to the Daxia court's Northern Expedition.

Regardless of whether they really think so in their hearts, at least a preliminary commitment has been made, which creates the possibility of further negotiations.

Lin Junhui didn't hold on to it either.

They are all thousand-year-old foxes, full of twists and turns, and no one can deceive anyone.

Just pretending to be ignorant even though you know the truth!

As the son-in-law of the eldest wife of the Wu family, Liu Shuisheng did not have to be caught in the middle and tortured as a hostage.

He is now a free agent.

As far as his own wishes were concerned, he really wanted to come to Ze County to meet Zhang Ping'an.

It would be great if the two of them could return to Lin'an together one day and reunite with their family, parents and elder brother!

But he is no longer alone.

His wife and children were waiting for him at home in Jiaozhou.

Although he is a son-in-law, he still has to take on the responsibilities of a man.

When he married into the Wu family, he had an agreement with the Wu family. If one day he wanted to leave the Wu family and no longer be under the control of the Wu family, then everything in the Wu family would have nothing to do with him.

Including his wife and three children.

He now has deep feelings and hopes for his own little family.

He couldn't take any risks until he was fully prepared.

So I would like to ask Zhang Pingan not to tell his family his whereabouts for the time being.

So that his family wouldn't be sad for him.

After he has made all the arrangements, he will take the initiative to come to Zhang Pingan.

The parents and relatives at home can only ask their eldest brother to take good care of them.

Attached to the letter was a national silver note worth one thousand taels.

The whole letter reveals helplessness between the lines.

After reading it, Zhang Ping'an felt relieved that his good brother had escaped safely, but at the same time he felt a little sad for his situation.

Once upon a time, Liu Shuisheng was the most clever and lively among his classmates in their private school.

Now I have to grow up to be a well-rounded man!

He understood and respected Shuisheng's choice.

He also believed that the current situation of unification of the North and the South was very good, and the two would not stay in one place forever, and they would definitely meet again in the near future.

By then, perhaps the aquatic situation will improve.

He may also have greater ability to help aquatic life.