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

When they returned to Liu's house, Luo's father was already waiting at the door. In the end, they did not have dinner at Liu's house because they had a lot of things to do at home.

Liu Shuisheng felt it was a pity that he couldn't play with Ayuan in the afternoon. Grandma Liu asked the children to take the fish and lotus stems home to eat. The children tried to refuse but accepted them.

On the way, Father Luo and Grandpa Jinbao kept exclaiming, "This Liu family is really nice!"

Several children were also proud of it. Luo Fuan agreed: "Of course, Liu Shuisheng is very generous, and his family must not be stingy either."

After returning home, Xu was already making lunch. She was surprised to see the fish and lotus stems her son brought back. She was worried when she heard Erya say that her son went to Liujia Village to play, but it seemed that the children had a good time.

Xu happily took the fish to the backyard and asked Erya to kill and marinate it. It would be a delicious dish during the Chinese New Year.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day for Erya to propose marriage. Matchmaker Jin brought Liu's father and Liu Erge to the Zhang family. Since it was almost the end of the year and everyone was busy, the betrothal process was not complicated. The two families discussed and set the wedding date for the beginning of spring, when families were less busy. They followed the trend and set the betrothal silver at five taels.

Erya was helping cook in the kitchen and didn't show up. It was only then that she learned that Liu Erge's real name was Liu Husheng, and the names of the Liu family's three sons were all related to water, namely Jiangsheng, Husheng, and Shuisheng.

The lunch at noon was also lively, with the family members busy preparing two large tables of banquets.

After everyone left, Erya felt a little unhappy. Zhang Pingan noticed it and couldn't help asking, "Second sister, what's wrong with you? Today is your engagement day, why do you look unhappy?"

"It's nothing. You're just a kid and you wouldn't understand even if I told you," Erya said sullenly.

"Of course I wouldn't understand if you didn't tell me, but now I understand, right?" Zhang Ping'an really couldn't think of anything that his second sister should be unhappy about. The Liu family was indeed a good family.

"It's okay," Erya shook her head and stopped talking.

But she was holding something in her heart, and after a few days, she couldn't help it. After dinner that day, Erya asked gloomily, "Mom, when are you going to prepare my dowry?"

Xu was stunned by the question, "It's still early, why are you in such a hurry?"

"It's okay," Erya shook her head. She wasn't one to hide things. After a pause, she couldn't help but whisper, "My eldest sister got a silver hairpin when she was engaged, but now I have nothing."

Xu disagreed and said, "That was prepared by her in-laws, not given by me. Your dowry is the same as your sister's, two boxes and a wardrobe, no more. Our family is like this, and our brothers and sisters are still young, so there are plenty of places to spend money. I can find you such a good family, so you should be content!"

Erya suddenly burst into tears, and her tears fell, which scared her family.

"What are you crazy about?" Xu frowned.

"I just don't want to get married so early, and I don't know their whole family."

"You are so silly. A girl's blooming period doesn't wait for anyone. Look at your eldest sister Ni. She hasn't found a good family yet. Your aunt is so anxious. If your brother hadn't gone to school, your father wouldn't have found such a good family. Marrying into one would mean a life of happiness. What are you thinking about all day long?" Xu put down the bowl and tapped her second daughter's head with her finger, fearing that she would not come to her senses.

After a pause, she continued, "You don't have to worry about not having the silver hairpin or anything. After all, we are all from a big family. It's probably not easy to be the elder. After many years of being a daughter-in-law, you have to wait for you to be the head of the family. The most important thing is to live a good life with your man. Ping'an went to their village to play some time ago. Didn't you tell me when you came back that their family is very rich and there is nothing to worry about. You just need to prepare for marriage."

Erya wiped her tears and whispered, "Yeah."

Zhang Pingan understood a little bit. This was probably a bit like pre-marital phobia, just the worry about unfamiliar environments!

Xu said there was no rush, but it was better to tell her sooner rather than later. She went back to her parents' home on the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month when the market was open, and told them about Erya's engagement, and ordered two boxes and a wardrobe.

Old Man Xu agreed and promised to do it as soon as possible.

This time, Uncle Xu was also there. After what happened last time, he felt much more at ease and was able to concentrate on his work at home. Furthermore, the gossips from the people around him never stopped, so Uncle Xu was too embarrassed to go out.

Old Man Xu and Old Lady Xu are satisfied with the current situation. Although they have lost a lot of money, as long as people can walk on the right path, it is more important than anything else.

My aunt-in-law, Mrs. Shen, was also much more obedient. When she saw Mrs. Xu coming, she didn't say anything sarcastic.

Now Xu really feels that life is getting better and better. Now that her daughters are married, the burden will be reduced a lot. It will be even better if her son can study well and pass the imperial examination. Just thinking about it makes her look forward to the future!

When she came back from the market, Xu bought a piece of tofu and put it in her basket. She took a detour to her relative-in-law Liu the butcher and brought back Daya's wedding dress. She would wash it and give it to Erya.

For fear of delaying her business, Xu went around to the backyard and knocked on the door. The person who opened the door was a black boy of six or seven years old with a pigtail. Xu recognized him and he seemed to be from Liu Erlang's family.

"Who are you looking for?" The black boy asked loudly after opening the door, and was quite vigilant.

"I am your third aunt's mother. I came to see your third aunt. I am from Zhangjia Village," Xu said with a smile.

"Oh, then come in!" The black boy let go and stepped aside.

As soon as Xu entered the yard and walked a few steps, she saw Daya washing pig offal by the well. There was a pile of offal next to her, enough for a whole day of washing.

The fire flared up instantly, "Daya!"

Daya turned around and saw that it was her mother. She quickly rubbed her hands with ash and washed them clean before coming over. She asked in surprise, "Mom, why are you here? Is there something wrong at home?"

Xu, holding her breath, replied, "Everything is fine at home. Your second sister is even engaged. The Ping'an classmate's family you mentioned is the one who raises fish in Liujia Village." She pointed to the ground and asked, "Why are you here washing so much pig offal by yourself? Where are your eldest and second sisters-in-law?"

"My eldest sister-in-law has gone back to her parents' home, and my second sister-in-law is pregnant now and can't stand the smell of blood, so I have to wash it. It's not too bad normally, there's not so much work. But it's almost the end of the year, and many families ask my father-in-law and eldest brother to slaughter pigs. According to convention, half of the waste should be given to the butcher, and we also slaughter pigs at home, so there is a lot of waste accumulated," Daya explained.

Then he brought a chair out of the room and gave it to Xu, "Mom, please sit for a while. I'll go get you some tea."

Xu waved her hand and said, "No need to sit. I've had a headache these past two days and asked someone for a prescription. You can accompany me to get the medicine. By the way, I brought a piece of tofu to add to your dishes," and then she handed over the basket in her hand.

Daya was a little anxious when she heard this. She took the basket and put the tofu in the kitchen, then said, "Mom, please wait a moment. I'll go talk to my father-in-law."

After saying this, he went to the front yard to say hello, and then followed Xu out of the backyard. Before leaving, he reminded the black boy, "Goudan, watch the door, don't let wild dogs come to our house and take away the sewage."

"I know, auntie," the black boy replied after sniffing.

After walking quickly for two blocks, Xu was sure that she didn't see any acquaintances, so she twisted Daya's arm hard and said, "You silly girl, you made me so angry. I thought you were enjoying a good life by marrying into the Liu family, but it turns out that you work like a slave in the Liu family every day. Doing housework is nothing, but I can't rely on you to do it all by yourself!"

Daya was a little confused, "Mom, you are not sick?"

"Pfft, I'm fine!"