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

Several children tiptoed into Liu Shengyuan's house. The Liu family was so quiet that they felt uncomfortable.

Father Liu went to the kitchen and brought out a few cakes and maltose on a plate. He greeted the children in a gentle voice, "Come, eat quickly. Thank you for thinking about my Ayuan."

The children each took a piece of candy and stopped moving. Liu Shuisheng didn't forget the purpose of his visit and continued to beg: "Uncle, can you let Ayuan go out and play with us for a while? There's still time for calligraphy practice in the afternoon!"

Father Liu looked gentle but was very principled. He said gently, "Uncle, thank you for thinking about Ayuan. However, calligraphy practice is scheduled every day and cannot be neglected. If you skip it today because of this, and tomorrow because of that, you will fall behind others over time. Over time, your bottom line will drop lower and lower, and you will lose the desire to study. So Ayuan can't go out this morning. You can come and play with him in the afternoon. I won't stop you."

"Ah..." The disappointment on Liu Shuisheng's face was evident.

Father Liu smiled and continued to ask the children to eat, but he refused to let his son go out.

Several children could no longer sit still, and Liu Shuisheng was the first to stand up and say goodbye, "Uncle, in that case, let Ayuan practice calligraphy first. We'll leave first and come back to play with him in the afternoon."

"Well, drive slowly on the road," Father Liu said as gentle as ever.

After the children had left, a young woman in a skirt came out of the east wing. It was Liu Shengyuan's mother. She was frowning at Liu's father and said, "Ayuan is still a child. You are being too harsh. It will make him stand out."

"They will just be passers-by in Ayuan's life in the future. My son will definitely fly higher and farther than me in the future. There is no need to waste time on such meaningless fun now." Father Liu said lightly.

Mother Liu felt helpless after hearing this: "Hey! Why are you so persistent? You make yourself and your son feel uncomfortable. I think the life we ​​have now is pretty good."

After hearing this, Mr. Liu stopped talking and went back to his study to continue reading.

Liu Shengyuan was practicing calligraphy in a small room next to the study. He heard Liu Shuisheng and the others as soon as they arrived. At first he was very surprised and a little excited that so many classmates came to see him, and his heart was flying. But as he listened to his father's next words, his heart gradually became colder and colder. It was not until Liu Shuisheng and the others left that tears filled his eyes, and big tears fell on the paper.

At such a young age, he still doesn't understand why his family is different from other families in the village, why his mother never goes out, and why his parents often say things that he can't understand and are extremely strict with him. Although everyone in the village says that his father has a good temper, Liu Shengyuan knows that this is not the case. In fact, his father looks down on everything here from the bottom of his heart and has always wanted to escape.

It was not until many years later that Liu Shengyuan realized that this kind of contempt was actually contempt.

"Don't cry, keep writing. You are not allowed to go out this afternoon if you don't finish." Liu's father walked in and saw his son like this. He just took out a handkerchief to wipe his son's tears, still showing no intention of giving in.

Liu's mother made two bowls of lotus root powder and brought them in to the father and son. She said nothing more and went back to the east wing.

Liu Shengyuan knew that he had to write this word today, so he could only calm down and continue to pick up the pen and dip it in ink, writing each word stroke by stroke.

After Liu Shuisheng brought a few people out, he went straight to his third uncle's fish pond. The fish pond of Liu's third uncle was very large, with an area of ​​two or three acres. It was considered a relatively large fish pond in Liujia Village. It mainly raised grass carp. The water in the pond was almost drained at this time. Looking around, the pond was full of fish jumping around, and they looked very lively!

Zhang Pingan and his friends were stunned by the sight. There were so many fish!

A group of shirtless men wearing sturdy trousers tied with oil paper and straw walked barefoot in the muddy water of the pond, catching fish with nets or directly with their hands, and then throwing them into the small boat at hand.

There was a large group of women gathered on the shore, helping to kill the fish. Their baskets were soon filled up, and it was obvious that they were all skilled and skillful.

After the animals were killed, they were dragged away one by one using a mule cart.

Zhang Pingan and his companions were seeing a dry pond for the first time and were quite excited. Liu Shuisheng laughed out loud and mocked them for their naive appearance.

Then, like a loach, he slithered to the shore closest to his uncle, cupped his hands into a trumpet shape, and shouted, "Uncle San! Uncle San! I'll take my classmates and I to catch some fish!"

Uncle Liu is very busy right now. He has hired many people to help with the pond drying work today. All the 10,000 kilograms of fish have to be caught, killed and pickled today. He really wishes he could have three heads and six arms.

After hearing what his nephew said, he turned around and shouted impatiently: "Don't bother me, you little bastard. I'm busy now. Go and get the fish yourself!"

After saying that, he felt a little worried and shouted, "Just pick up a few from the mud on the shore. Don't go too deep. Do you hear me? If you don't listen, I'll cut you when I'm done!"

"Hehe, I know, I know!" Liu Shuisheng laughed.

He then scurried back to Zhang Pingan and the others, patted his chest and said generously, "You guys can pick up as much as you want today. They belong to my Third Uncle. His fish are fat and delicious!"

After that, he led a few people to find a gentle slope and walked slowly down. The water in the pond was drained, and there were many adults, so he was not worried about drowning, but he was worried about getting his clothes dirty. He also broke a few branches on the slope.

Luo Fuan was so excited as soon as he got to the pond. He spotted a big grass carp and reached out to catch it. The fish had been writhing in the wet mud for a while, exhaling more than inhaling.

They were all children from farming families. Even if their families were better off, they were generally quite tough. Luo Fuan grabbed the fish's gills with his hands, pulled it up and pulled it out. The fish's tail splashed mud all over his body.

"Look, look, I caught it, this fish is so fat!" Luo Fuan was very excited.

However, this fish was estimated to weigh more than ten kilograms. Luo Fuan had a hard time lifting it, and the fish's tail was dragging on the ground.

Liu Shuisheng was very contemptuous, "Why do you need to catch it? It's obviously picked up!"

Zhang Pingan and Jinbao were also eager to try, and each picked up a fish they liked. It was really a sense of accomplishment.

Liu Shuisheng quickly helped to thread the fish's gills with branches, and then several people each carried a big grass carp ashore.

"How is it? Is it fun? We can also go dig lotus stems to eat. My second uncle has a lotus pond. They dried the pond and are digging lotus stems today. My parents are there helping." Liu Shuisheng suggested.

"Okay, okay, take us there quickly," Jinbao was very tempted by the suggestion, but he was a little worried, "Our fish is so heavy, what should I do, I can't lift it!"

"Me too," Zhang Pingan couldn't lift the fish anymore. The fish wasn't dead yet, and its tail was swinging back and forth, making it tiring to lift it.

"Well, we can leave it with my third aunt first and let the people who help transport it back by mule cart," Liu Shuisheng said after thinking for a while.

Then he led a few people to the woman who was killing fish, and said to one of them with a flattering smile: "Aunt San, these are my classmates. I took them to pick up some fish to eat just now, but we still have to go dig lotus stems, and we can't carry them anymore. You can ask the mule cart to take them home for us, and we will get them when we get home."

Aunt Liu was a good-tempered woman. She looked at the little ones and said with a smile, "These are your classmates. They are so beautiful and all look smart. Okay, leave them with me. I'll have the fish carrier take them back later."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie!"

"Thank you, Auntie San," the others also followed suit.

"You guys go and have fun," Aunt Liu waved her hand.

Liu Shuisheng took a few people to the lotus pond of his second uncle Liu's family. These lotus roots were transported to the nearby town or county for sale. Moreover, the lotus pond was not that big, so basically the help of family members was enough and no one else was hired.

"Dad, Mom, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Big Brother," Liu Shuisheng called out in one breath.

Everyone in the lotus pond looked over. Brother Liu recognized these children as his third brother's classmates, and one of them was about to become a relative. So he struggled to get out of the mud, walked to the shore and asked, "If it's not fun here in the lotus pond, why did you come here?"

"Hehe, we want to dig lotus stems to eat," Liu Shuisheng scratched his head.

Jinbao is a foodie, and he gets greedy when he hears about something delicious. After hearing Liu Shuisheng say that lotus stems are delicious, he couldn't wait any longer and nodded frantically in agreement: "Yeah, we want to dig lotus stems."

Brother Liu rolled his eyes and slapped his younger brother on the head. "Another bad idea from you," he said, turning to the others. "This mud is very wet. If you step on it, half of you will be drowned. Your clothes will definitely get dirty. If you want to eat it, I'll dig a few for you. Wait."

After saying that, he felt around in the mud, then pulled hard, and long white lotus stems came out. He pulled out seven or eight strips in a row before stopping.

After handing the lotus stem to Liu Shuisheng, Brother Liu instructed: "Go back, don't hang around by the pond, tell your sister-in-law to cook a few more delicious dishes for lunch and let your classmates eat here!"

The few of them then took the wet lotus roots home. Luo Fuan was still not satisfied, "Liu Shuisheng, your village is much more fun than Luojia Village!"

Zhang Ping'an also sighed, "No wonder your village is so rich. Almost every household has a pond. You can grow whatever you want and live a good life."

"Who said that? There are still families who can't even have enough to eat. My family's pond was passed down and expanded by my grandfather's grandfather's generation. My family is hardworking! And actually, it's not that profitable. The cost of raising fish and feeding them is very high. We also have to hire people to work, and pay taxes and stuff." Liu Shuisheng counted the details. Although the family's fortune was small, he knew a lot about it. He saw them working so hard, but he didn't know how much he would lose in the end. All the money he earned was hard-earned.