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

The roads from the provincial capital to the county town are basically wide official roads, which are easy to walk on. In addition, everyone is traveling by carriage or horse, so the journey is very smooth.

In the fields on both sides of the official road, farmers were working under the scorching sun, harvesting rice.

The older children went back and forth shirtless in the fields to help their parents.

Seeing Zhang Pingan and his team's long luxury convoy passing by, some children would occasionally look up and point in this direction and exclaim in surprise, but would soon be scolded by their parents and then start working again with their heads down.

Compared to the noble people passing by, the food in the fields is more important to farmers.

Seeing Zhang Ping'an looking at the fields, Tan Yaoqi smiled and said, "Now most places in Ezhou Prefecture have started to plant Annan rice. The harvest is much better than before. I heard that it was you, sir, who first took the lead in promoting its planting in Ci County. The people all remember you well! Oh, by the way, there are also sweet potatoes, but it's not time to harvest them yet. We have to wait another month!"

"I'm ashamed to say that I only played a small role and I dare not take credit for it. In fact, the Annan rice and sweet potatoes were brought back from overseas by a good friend of mine who risked his life. To be honest, he made the greatest contribution, and it was also thanks to the wisdom of the current emperor. If he hadn't commissioned a fleet to go to sea, my friend would not have been able to go to Luzon," Zhang Ping'an explained with a smile.

Then he waved his hand and said, "Don't call me sir. It sounds strange and uncomfortable. We are classmates and colleagues. You can just call me Jingbian or Ping'an. Whatever is more comfortable for you. However, most of my friends around me call me Ping'an. It's more convenient."

"Okay, then I'll just call you Ping An," Tan Yaoqi said with a smile without refusing.

Suddenly, he sighed, "Come to think of it, we once walked this road together when we were taking the imperial examination. We even happened to be caught in an earthquake back then. How many years have passed!"

"Yes, it's been more than ten years." Zhang Ping'an nodded, his eyes gentle yet sharp, and said meaningfully: "You have changed a lot, and you are not the same as before!"

"Alas, I was young and ignorant at that time, and I hope you can forgive me," Tan Yaoqi acted very ashamed and embarrassed after hearing this.

After talking about the past, the distance between the two of them was obviously shortened a lot, which was exactly what Tan Yaoqi expected.

Both of them wanted to get along well, and the atmosphere soon became relaxed.

"By the way, I heard that your family later settled in Jinling? Are you living well?" Zhang Pingan asked.

"Life is okay, but it's definitely not comparable to Wushan County," Tan Yaoqi said honestly.

In the county town, their family was considered the local tycoon. But when they went to Nanjing, there were many immigrants everywhere, so their family was nothing. Naturally, their life was much worse than before.

"I heard from Junhui before that many of the big families in the north have settled in Jinling." Zhang Pingan nodded in understanding and said comfortingly, "No matter what, at least we have survived this chaotic world. You are now an official. If you work hard to move up in the future, restoring the family's former glory is just around the corner."

"I dare not compare myself with you and Junhui. You are both second-class Jinshi graduates, and your starting point is much higher than mine," Tan Yaoqi shook his head and sighed.

"Don't be discouraged. Now that you've entered officialdom, all your imperial achievements are in the past. You have to look forward to the future!"

"You're right. I should learn more from you two and your brother-in-law. I really didn't expect that he would become a fourth-rank military general one day. I offended him a lot in the past. I have been wanting to apologize to him these two days. When we get to the county, you must not refuse," Tan Yaoqi invited with a serious look on his face and bowed.

"If you give me a gift, I dare not accept it, but I still have to eat the meal. That's no problem. Besides, my brother-in-law is a rough man. He won't take those little things in the past to heart," Zhang Ping'an said with a smile.

Tan Yaoqi also laughed.

Both sides seemed to be in a mood to put aside their grudges with a smile, although they had no grudges against each other before, but they had this feeling.

It was not until this moment that Zhang Pingan really brought this person closer to his own circle of influence.

"By the way, I see that you are accompanied by Xiao's eldest son. Is he back to claim the ancestral property?" Tan Yaoqi suddenly asked, thinking of the eldest brother of the Xiao family in the team.

"That's right," Zhang Ping'an nodded. "Their family used to have quite a lot of business in the county, and now the government is in a good position, it would be a pity to give it up. The second son of the Xiao family is Xiao Yifei, whom you know. He and I are good friends. He is also in Lin'an. When he learned that I was coming back, he asked me for a favor and asked me to give the eldest brother of the Xiao family a ride back!"

"I see. I didn't expect you two could get together. It's fate," Tan Yaoqi said thoughtfully.

"Not only that, when I first arrived in Lin'an, Yifei helped me a lot, otherwise my family would not have been able to gain a foothold in Lin'an so quickly. It's not an exaggeration to say that he is my benefactor." Seeing Tan Yaoqi's expression, Zhang Ping'an deliberately emphasized the relationship between himself and the Xiao family.

As expected, Tan Yaoqi continued, "If that's the case, when we get to the county seat, I'll call on Feng, the Magistrate of Wushan County, and ask them to handle things more efficiently and not embarrass Xiao Dalang!"

"Why, is there any explanation for this matter?" Zhang Pingan asked.

"Well, you should also know the rules of officialdom. It's not that clean. What's more, all places are short of money now, and many places need to be rebuilt. When you encounter such a wealthy family coming back to ask for their ancestral property, you won't refuse to give it, but you will inevitably exploit them," replied Tan Yaoqi.

Zhang Pingan frowned when he heard this: "What about the farmers down there?"

"Don't think too much. It doesn't matter to the farmers below. They are all following the government orders. They won't do anything reckless. After all, ordinary farmers don't have much land. They are all from mud-legged families and have experienced troubled times. They can't really make trouble in front of the government office for an acre or two of land, but there is no need to take the risk. Now their lives are better than those of the rich. The rich are asked to donate and collect taxes every few days, which is very difficult!" Tan Yaoqi smiled bitterly.

If he hadn't been a minor official in the government office with some real power, his family would probably have been in the same situation.

"I understand," Zhang Ping'an nodded, realizing that now that he was in trouble with the accounts, he could only start with the big customers. There were fewer of them, but more oil and water, so it was a piece of fat meat.

"Do you know how many people in the county have returned?" Zhang Pingan thought for a moment and asked, "To be honest, I want to find out where my fourth sister and her family are."

"We can only wait until we get to the county government office and look through the household registration book. Those people who lived there before either died or escaped. I really don't know where they went," Tan Yaoqi spread his hands and told the truth.

Although he wanted to show off, he also knew that most of those people in the past would have had a bad ending, especially women.

Zhang Pingan thanked him and didn't ask any further questions. He actually had this psychological expectation.

The horse carriage was much faster than the mule cart. Just after the hour of Si on the second morning, they arrived at Shili Pavilion in Wushan County.

The county magistrate had received the news long ago and had specially sent people to wait here for the past two days.

Hearing the old yamen runner's authentic local accent, Zhang Pingan felt a mixture of emotions for some reason.