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

Zhang Ping'an only heard about this the next day.

Mr. Huang was almost unable to suppress his laughter and jokingly said, "I never thought that there would be a day when you, Sanlang, would argue with others. It's really rare!"

Liu Sanlang, however, did not find this funny. He said dejectedly, "I was also angry because this was definitely not the first time the shopkeeper had done this. He only returned the money because I was a tough guy. But what about others? What if an ordinary person with no background encountered the same thing? What would they do? I'm afraid they would have no one to turn to and could only suffer this loss in silence!"

I come from a small town myself and know how difficult life is for ordinary people. That’s why I particularly hate this kind of scam. When I encounter it, it’s not only disgusting, but it also ruins my mood for the whole day.”

"It's impossible to completely prevent this kind of thing," said Mr. Huang, shaking his head.

"Since ancient times, the way of the world has been that big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp, and shrimp eat mud. To put it bluntly, it's because those people have no ability and no background, and they can't be reincarnated, so they can only hope for good luck. Maybe my words are a bit cold-blooded, but the truth is this. All we can do is protect ourselves and try our best to climb up. The higher we climb, the fewer people will be able to bully us!"

Zhang Pingan somewhat agreed with Mr. Huang's survival logic, but said, "I think what my brother-in-law said is right. If we haven't encountered it, it's fine. But if we do, we must take care of it. Moreover, now that the new dynasty has just been established, the various markets are still very strict about these things, and the penalties are also heavy. Next time something like this happens, just report it to the city government. There's no need to get upset over it."

Liu Sanlang actually understood this principle in his heart, but he still wanted to take care of things that he could.

The more he knows, the more troubles he has. Now he really doesn't have the kind of simple happiness he had when he was selling meat in Shuanghe Town.

Two days later, after completing various formalities, Zhang Ping'an, Liu Sanlang and Mr. Huang set off with their servants and guards.

Mr. Huang returned to Kaifeng by land in a horse-drawn carriage, while Zhang Ping'an and his elder brother-in-law Liu Sanlang took a boat directly from the outskirts of Beijing, heading south along the canal, passing through Yangzhou and Suzhou to Lin'an.

Therefore, the two teams separated in the suburbs of Beijing.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Liu, see you later!" Lord Huang bowed.

"See you later!" Zhang Ping'an and Liu Sanlang also bowed solemnly in response.

After watching Mr. Huang's carriage go away, Zhang Ping'an and his elder brother-in-law Liu Sanlang boarded the boat.

The water route is faster than the land route, and there were several sections of the journey with a tailwind. A month later, the two men and their servants arrived in Lin'an.

Because they were unsure of the time of landing, the two did not ask their family to pick them up.

We just found a few cars at the dock to take them back home.

The further they got into the city, the more lively it became. Both of them couldn't help but lift the curtain of the car to look at this place they hadn't returned to in several years.

"Lin'an is my second hometown. Seeing it again now, I feel an inexplicable sense of familiarity!" Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

"Haha, to be honest, me too. I will be able to see my family soon. I wonder how they are doing," Liu Sanlang laughed.

As the two were talking, the driver suddenly let out a loud "whoosh" and stopped his horse.

Zhang Ping'an and Liu Sanlang looked at each other, lifted the front curtain and looked out. It turned out that a delicate little boy suddenly rushed onto the road.

The driver was so angry that he wanted to curse.

But when he saw the little boy was dressed in unusual clothes, and several people who looked like servants and guards were running after him not far away.

He didn't dare to curse out loud, but just whispered: "Hurry up and reincarnate!"

After saying that, he apologized to Zhang Pingan and the others and prepared to set off again.

Unexpectedly, the little boy looked young, but his ears were very sharp. Even though there were several adults in front of him, he was not afraid at all. He stood in front of the carriage, one hand on his waist, pointed at the driver with the other and said arrogantly: "You dare to scold me? Do you know who my father is? Do you know who my grandfather and uncles are?"

The driver was speechless. He didn't expect that the child was so smart and had such sharp ears.

At this moment, the servant who had been following him also came running over, panting, "Oh, my little master, there are so many people on the street, you can't run around. If you run into a beggar, it will be troublesome!"

"Who told you to run so slowly? You eat a lot but do little. What's the use of you? If I get kidnapped by a beggar, my grandparents and uncles will be the first ones to not forgive you, hum!" said the little boy arrogantly.

It is obvious that the big and small kings can be distinguished.

After hearing this, the servants stopped talking nonsense and just picked up the child and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute, you can't leave yet. That man just scolded me, you have to go and help me vent my anger," the little boy said, kicking his legs on the servant.

After hearing this, the servant asked in a gentle voice, "Then how do you want to vent your anger, young master?"

"Let him slap himself ten times and say that he was wrong. I won't bother with him."

Although the servant was quite timid in front of the little boy, he was a completely different person in front of the coachman: "Hey, I'm talking to you, get down here. Do you know who you were scolding just now? We are tired of living with you, and we won't bother with you. Just do as our young master says!"

The driver was a little confused and hesitant.

He realized that the person in front of him was probably the child of an important person whom he could not afford to offend. If he did not do as they said, he might bring himself to suffer even greater trouble.

While the driver was hesitating, the little boy added, "By the way, make the horn a little louder, otherwise I can't hear you!"

Zhang Pingan rarely sees such a bad child. It is obvious that he is spoiled by his family.

"Who is your father? Who are your grandfather and your uncles? Why don't you tell me?" Zhang Ping'an asked after bending down and getting out of the carriage.