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

Although the yard was cleaned and renovated by the people sent by County Magistrate Weng.

But the overall atmosphere of decay and dilapidation is still difficult to conceal.

As the saying goes, a house needs people to live in it. A house without people living in it will have no vitality and will deteriorate quickly.

Moreover, this house has a history of nearly a hundred years and has been passed down for several generations.

So everyone wasn't too surprised when they entered.

Mrs. Li efficiently directed the servants to put the luggage in each room.

Although Ma was a little disgusted, she didn't show it on her face. She was afraid of being picked on, so she started to clean up.

No matter what, in the eyes of the villagers, she is also the wife of an official who has returned home in glory, so she cannot be too petty.

Like Li, Xu was not so disgusted and adapted well. After the servants put away the luggage, they let Wu Ya go into the room first to pack.

Village chief Zhang Dachang is not a very smart person, but he is not stupid either. Most importantly, he is quite knowledgeable about the ways of the world.

Seeing that Wu Ya was so old, yet she followed him back to his hometown, and had a woman's bun, he guessed that her husband had died or she was divorced, so he pretended not to see it and did not ask about Wu Ya's situation.

Xu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If the villagers really asked her about it, she wouldn't know how to start. It would be best to talk about it slowly later.

After a while, the family finally sat down.

After Mrs. Zhang and Old Man Zhang sat down at the head of the main hall, they ordered people to quickly boil water for tea and serve snacks. They were really tired after the journey.

"Oh, auntie, uncle, there's no need to trouble you. The tea has been prepared long ago and is ready. I'll have someone serve it now," Zhang Dachang said politely.

After Jin Bao's father drank a cup of tea, he saw that there was no one else who needed help for the time being, so he said goodbye and left.

Zhang Laoer knew that he also had to go home to clean up, so he didn't force him to stay. He just invited him, "Don't light the fire at home tonight. Come over to eat with us, and bring Zhaocai with you."

"Okay!" Jinbao's father was not polite.

After Jin Bao's father left, Zhang Dachang said sourly, "Jin Bao's father is really smart. He knows how to cling to the thighs. Why didn't I have such a brain when I followed you guys?"

"Dad Tietou, you are an adult now, and the village chief. Don't be so sarcastic. I didn't stop you from going together. Didn't I also inform the villagers? It's all fate!" Zhang was smoking a water pipe and said a few words lightly after hearing what he said.

"Oh, aunt, I'm just nagging you, I don't mean anything else, haha", Zhang Dachang realized that the topic was not right, so he quickly laughed it off.

To be honest, Zhang Pingan was also a little tired. Social interactions were the most energy-consuming.

So he frowned and didn't respond, listening to the elders' greetings.

I thought to myself, Uncle Dachang has never been so talkative before?!

Looking at his son happily attracting chickens and ducks outside the yard, he couldn't help but smile.

Children are better. For example, Xiaoyuer hadn't even sat down in the house when the servants took him out to play, so he didn't have to worry about all this trouble.

As time went by, the awkwardness of the first meeting wore off, the atmosphere in the yard became more and more lively, and more and more villagers came in to watch.

Three layers inside and three layers outside.

From time to time, some people would boldly interrupt and ask about the Zhang family's experiences outside.

I heard that Zhang Ping'an not only met the current emperor, but also had dinner with him.

The villagers were immediately excited.

Someone asked, "Does the emperor eat from a golden bowl?"

"Is it a golden shoulder pole?"

"Look at you, you're so ignorant! The emperor doesn't need to go to the countryside, okay?" Before the Zhang family could reply, someone immediately refuted the question, and then asked curiously, "Does the emperor really have three thousand wives? Has he really seen an immortal? Everyone says he saw an immortal riding a tiger!"

"Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor, of course he has seen gods. He is a hero assigned by gods to rescue people from disasters. Otherwise, why can he be the emperor while others are not?" Everyone was chatting lively.

Xu is much more sensible now. If she can't accept something, she will just smile and refuse.

He only ordered his servants to put free tea, snacks, melon seeds, peanuts and other things in the yard for everyone to pass the time.

Of course, Zhang Laoer would not say anything nonsense and just invited everyone to eat.

The others are similar. Even Zhang Laosan, who has the biggest mouth, is no longer at the age of bragging.

Ma simply looked down on them, thinking they were a bunch of country bumpkins who wouldn't understand anything and were talking at cross purposes, which was a loss of status.

But after they stopped bragging and showing off, everyone thought their family was even more amazing.

It is now obvious that the Zhang family is too different from the people in the village. Everyone is actually a little scared and a little awed.

As a result, people are more measured in what they do, unlike in the past when they would grab and snatch the good things at weddings.

Most of them were very sensible and just grabbed a handful. Some ate it on the spot, while others put it in their pockets to take home for their children.

Soon, the ground at the gate of the yard was piled with melon seed shells and peanut shells.

About half an hour later, the sun began to set slowly, and the butcher in the town finally delivered the ordered meat and oil.

The two ox carts were filled to the brim.

The villagers had just heard that the meat and oil would be distributed to them, so they all gathered around and looked around. If they were not fresh, they would not take any.

The butcher's surname is Bao. I heard that he is an outsider, but he is tall and strong, with great strength.

After parking the car, he ignored the crowd, told his son to watch the car, wiped the sweat off his face, and went into the yard.

He bowed respectfully to Zhang Ping'an and said, "Master Zhang, there are few people raising pigs these days. I've been scrambling around in this town for half a day, but I've only managed to gather three pigs and this oil. It's hot, and the meat spoils easily. I'll send them over right after they're slaughtered. Use them today first, and I'll send fresh ones every day. Is that okay with you?"

"Okay!" Zhang Pingan nodded.

The butcher wanted to reconcile the accounts again, so Zhang Ping'an told him to eat his fill.

"This...this meat and oil..." After the butcher left, the village chief Zhang Dachang smiled and rubbed his hands, hesitant.

"Let someone send it to the ancestral hall and follow the old rules of the clan," Zhang Pingan replied.

Seeing that the village chief and the people around were all looking at him eagerly, he didn't keep it a secret.

Then he stood up, bowed to the village chief and the surrounding villagers, straightened his back and said in a loud voice: "Dear fellow villagers, dear clan elders, I, Zhang Ping'an, have been away from home for many years with my family. Thanks to the blessings of our ancestors, I have survived a great disaster. Today, I have also received the emperor's great grace and won a reputation and an official position. This is a small achievement.

Coming back this time, standing on this land where I was born and raised, to be honest, I am filled with joy and excitement!

Having said that, Zhang Pingan looked at the crowd that was gradually quieting down and paused.

He continued, "Thinking back to those days, all the fellow villagers always took good care of my family. All the elders also taught me a lot since I was young. My grandparents and parents always told me that one should not forget one's roots, and even more so, one should not forget the people in the clan. Without the dedication of everyone, I would not be where I am today.

Therefore, when I was away from home, I often felt guilty when I thought about how I had been away from home for many years and had not been able to do my best to help my hometown. I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep at night.

So the reason I came back this time is, firstly, to comfort the spirits of my ancestors in heaven and open the ancestral hall to worship them. Secondly, I want to repay the kindness of my clan. I will discuss with the village chief and clan elders how to do it later!

There isn't much meat and oil in this, it's just a small token of my appreciation. In addition, there are some local offerings that my family brought back, and I will ask the village chief to distribute them to everyone according to their household later.

In addition, elders over 70 years old will receive a portion of cotton cloth, and middle school students in the tribe will also receive money for writing. If there are particularly needy families, we have also prepared a separate portion and will distribute it one by one later. If there are any shortcomings in the arrangements, I hope that all villagers will forgive me.

Finally, I wish all my fellow villagers a prosperous and peaceful life, more talented people, good health, and a better life!

Having said that, Zhang Pingan bowed to the people around him again and saluted with a humble and neither humble nor arrogant attitude.

"Great! Ping'an really doesn't forget his original intention. Even the Zhang family's ancestral graves are smoking!" Zhang Dachang was the first one to slap his thigh and cheer loudly.

"Okay, Ping'an is a righteous boy!" The others also followed suit. Apart from anything else, there were free rice, flour, grain, oil and cloth, which were all real things. They were so generous that they had to show their support.

It is such an honor to have an official in the clan!

No one at the scene said anything sarcastic anymore.

It’s simple, the gap is just big enough!

The other people from other villages who came to watch the fun had their eyes red with envy, and they only regretted that the one who had the potential was not one of their own people.

Seeing that the atmosphere was almost ready, the villagers were all looking forward to it, and they were drooling at the sight of the white pork.

Zhang Ping'an also said straightforwardly, turning to the village chief: "Uncle Dachang, it's not too late now. Let's quickly open the ancestral hall to burn incense for the ancestors, and then distribute the meat to everyone. Everyone is looking forward to it!"

"Okay, okay, okay," Zhang Dachang agreed repeatedly, and quickly waved his hand to tell his son to wait in the ancestral hall. He was also looking forward to the distribution of meat. Although people would not starve to death in this year, there was not much oil and water.

As the village chief, his life is not much better than that of other villagers.

As soon as the two of them spoke, the villagers flocked towards the ancestral hall.

Those who are more shameless just run, hoping to get to the front of the line in advance to get a good position and get a good piece of meat.

"Shameless!" The slower people spat inwardly when they saw this, but their pace quickened unconsciously.