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

Everyone rushed forward to comfort him.

Daya is a smart woman and also a mother. She saw that Qian Youyi had not come back to see her children since she went to Zhoushan.

The past few years have passed in a flash. Apart from the occasional letters, clothes and food sent back, I haven't seen the real person, and I have been secretly worried.

Now her guess has been confirmed. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Qian Youyi, lamenting her beauty's tragic fate and pitiful for the child.

As for my younger brother, he is a man after all, so it will be easy whether I marry him or not in the future.

"Come, Xiaoyuer, come to your aunt. Your uncle brought back a lot of rare gadgets this time. I saw the wooden ox and horse and the compass chariot. They are all toys for boys and they are made very delicately. So I brought them to you. See if you like them." Daya waved her hand gently and called Xiaoyuer over.

Xiao Yuer also likes this eldest aunt. Among the three aunts he remembers, the eldest aunt is the best and the strictest to him.

Of course, this is partly because he has two cousins. Both cousins ​​are good at martial arts and are tall and strong. Every time he takes his two cousins ​​out, he looks very impressive. They will unconditionally help him cover up for anything that happens, so this is one of the reasons why Xiaoyuer likes his aunt's family.

Unfortunately, cousin Donkey Egg is busy with his marriage, and cousin Cat Egg ran away secretly, so now we can’t get together. Sometimes Xiaoyuer misses them so much.

"Thank you, aunt. My father also brought me one, but it's not as big as this one," Xiao Yuer replied while fiddling with the things in his hand.

Daya touched the child's head and said with a smile, "Your cousins ​​are both tall, so the toys they bought are naturally much larger. This was specially custom-made by your uncle, but it doesn't matter. You can play with the ones your father bought first, and then play with this bigger one in a year or two when you're older. It won't break anyway. You have a much better standard of living now. Where could you find such exquisite toys in the countryside before? These cows and horses can even walk by themselves!"

Erya is the most straightforward person. Because her life has been smooth, her personality has not changed over the years. She couldn't help crying after receiving the news.

His eye circles and nose are still red, and he speaks with a strong nasal tone.

At this moment, she couldn't help but hug the child and said lovingly, "Xiao Yu'er, although your mother is gone, you still have several aunts here. Don't worry, no one will dare to bully you in the future. What happened in the past will be the same in the future. Just tell us if you have any problems."

Xiao Yu'er was very sensitive to this and broke free and shouted, "Humph, if anyone dares to bully me, I will tell my father, my grandfather, and my uncles. I'm not afraid!"

After hearing this, Xu Shi repeatedly agreed, "Right, right, right. Who dares to bully my grandson? Your second aunt has been speechless since she was a child. Don't listen to her."

Erya didn't take it to heart. She wiped her tears and said, "Xiao Yuer, it was Second Aunt who said the wrong thing. Don't be angry!"

Seeing this, Wu Ya hesitated for a moment, but still did not step forward. With so many people in the family, they all needed her to comfort them.

What's more, the Fang family is there, and she doesn't want them to get involved.

Speaking of the Fang family, Wu Ya felt a little helpless. These past few days, the Fang family had been treating her better than ever before, and they would not give her the moon or the stars if she asked for them, and would not go west even if she was told to.

Even her mother-in-law and sister-in-law, who had always been at odds with her, were now inferior to her and tried to please her.

She is no longer young and naturally knows why this is the case, but since the funeral is the most important thing, she can only wait until the funeral is over and then discuss with her family to see what to do.

Now, she ignored them and pretended not to see them.

But I have to say, I felt pretty refreshed, as if I had finally gotten rid of my anger.

As for Liu Ya and her husband, they are still in Yangzhou, not in Lin'an, so the person who came was the eldest brother of the Yu family, who is the leader of this generation of the Yu family. This was considered to be giving them enough face and being very polite.

Zhang Lao Da and Zhang Lao San are family members. After they arrived, they brought the men in the family and followed the housekeeper to run errands.

Only a few female relatives were left in the main room.

Uncle Xu has been doing okay in the past few years with the help of the Xu family. He finds opportunities to say a few words of comfort, and has managed to be less annoying.

Mrs. Zhang and Old Man Zhang sat at the top and said nothing except sighing.

Zhang even secretly thought that the Zhang family's feng shui might be unlucky for daughters-in-law, as it was a pity that he passed away at such a young age.

"Jinbao, why are you standing there? Come and sit down. I'm going to discuss something with you. I want to ask you for a favor." Zhang Ping'an saw Jinbao standing there blankly and no one was talking, so he shouted.

Jin Bao finally came to his senses, exclaimed "Ah", and then sat over and said quickly: "Ping An, what's wrong? Just tell me what you want me to do for you. As long as I can do it!"

Zhang Pingan smiled tiredly and soothed him, "It's not that serious, don't be nervous. I want you to help me prepare the gift book for the guests who come to pay their respects. These are favors that need to be repaid later, so there can't be any mistakes. You are careful and educated, so you are the perfect fit."

"Ah? Me?" Jin Bao was a little surprised and said hesitantly, "Brother Erhe, don't you think he has any ideas?"

After all, this kind of thing can usually only be done by the closest person in the family. In the past, it was always my cousin Erhe who did this. Now it’s him who’s doing it. I don’t know if it would be inappropriate.

"It's okay. My cousins ​​will have to help me welcome the guests and arrange the seats. It would be best if you could do it," Zhang Pingan replied.

"Okay, as long as you trust me, I will definitely get it done for you," Jinbao said seriously.

Jin Bao's mother was both relieved and helpless when she saw this. "You two brothers still have such a good relationship. Even if you are not biological children, you are better than them. How rare it is. It's a pity that Jin Bao is far inferior to you. He is not as ambitious as you. Until now, he still hasn't found a wife. Sigh!"

As he spoke, he let out a long sigh and couldn't help but redden his eyes.

Jinbao's father also sighed, but he still defended his son's face and forced a smile and said, "I don't know why Jinbao has such high standards. In fact, he has become quite famous in Lin'an for writing storybooks in recent years, and his family is not short of money now.

But he just hasn't found anyone he likes. His mother and I are really worried about him, afraid that he will be alone in the future. But we don't want to force him. If he gets into trouble, we will be even more unbearable. Ping An, if you find someone suitable, remember to keep an eye out for Jin Bao! "

Jin Bao was terribly embarrassed when he heard this, and he quickly whispered to stop her, "Dad, Mom! Stop talking, I know what's going on with me!"

After hearing this, Jin Bao Niang shook her head helplessly and said nothing more.

Zhang Pingan was also worried about Jinbao, but he still comforted Jinbao's parents: "Uncle, aunt, don't worry about it. Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings. I will keep Jinbao's affairs in mind."

"Thank you for your help, but there's no rush. Let's take care of the family affairs first. Jinbao has been single for so many years anyway, so there's no need to rush for a day or two," Jinbao's father said hurriedly.

When it got late at night, Jinbao, Dazhu, Erzhu, Dahe and Erhe stayed to rest.

We have to leave for Zhoushan early tomorrow morning to escort the coffin, so it would be more convenient to stay.

Zhang Ping'an has always had a good relationship with several of his cousins, but they haven't seen each other for several years. The gap in their identities and status is huge. Apart from family matters, they have nothing to talk about, let alone a heart-to-heart talk.

After a few pleasantries, the two sides parted ways.

On the contrary, it was Jinbao. The two grew up together and studied together. After he went to the north, they often corresponded with each other. Their feelings were incomparable to anyone else.

Even though we haven't seen each other for a few years, after chatting for a while, the familiar feeling came back.

Zhang Pingan sighed and said, "Jinbao, it's a good thing you haven't changed, otherwise I wouldn't even have anyone to open up to and chat with. Although I have a good relationship with my cousins, they have a large family behind them, and there are some things I can't tell them."

"Then just tell me. I'm not married anyway, so I don't have any family conflicts to deal with," Jin Bao said with a smile.

"Tell me the truth, why don't you get married? You are not young anymore, and you don't have any children. If you keep dragging it on like this, won't your family worry? I originally wanted to keep an eye out for a suitable one for you, but later you went to the north, and the idea was shelved. As a result, you have been delayed until now. If I were in Lin'an, I would never let you do this," Zhang Ping'an shook his head.

After saying that, he refilled Jinbao's cup of tea, and the two of them were very quiet in the study.

Hearing this, Jin Bao looked up and said seriously, "If I tell you that it's not that I don't want to get married, it's just that I haven't met the right person, would you believe me? And now I'm not in a hurry to get married. After that age, the urge has gradually subsided. Now, I actually feel that a marriage without love is unnecessary. What is the purpose of life? It seems that we haven't figured it out, and we just follow the path arranged for us by our ancestors step by step."

Zhang Pingan: ………

"Your writing has transcended the mundane world? Why do I feel like you're so detached that you might even become a monk soon?"

"It's not impossible. What's wrong with being a monk? Life is all about practicing," Jin Bao said indifferently.

Seeing Zhang Ping'an's surprised and somewhat frightened expression, Jin Bao waved his hand and continued, "But don't worry, I won't become a monk yet. My grandmother is not in good health and I don't think she will live for many days. My parents are still alive. As long as they are alive, I won't do anything stupid. I have to fulfill my duties as a son first."

After a long chat, Zhang Ping'an found that Jinbao's ideas were becoming more and more mature, and closer to the ideas of modern people.

"Maybe it's because I have too much time. I think more and my ideas change," Jinbao said self-deprecatingly.