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

Another half hour passed, it was getting later and later, and it was almost dusk.

Liu Ya simply told the housekeeper to set the table, and asked the servants to take the children who had played dirty to wash their hands and faces.

"Dad, Mom, and little brother, let's not wait for him. Let's eat first. It's been like this at home before. We are all family and there are not so many rules and etiquette. His job is very easy when it's slow, but there is no fixed time when it's busy," Liu Ya said as she invited a few people to the flower hall.

After they sat down, a few children were fighting and being disobedient. Liu Ya was busy scolding and disciplining them, and she looked very busy.

Seeing this, Mrs. Xu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Look, raising a child is not easy, raising a group of children is even harder. Eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, sleeping, studying, all need to be taken care of. There are so many things to do. You have so many servants to help you now. Just think about how your mother and I were alone before. It was really hard!"

"Mom, I know you've worked hard. Drink some soup to replenish your body later. I asked the servants to stew it this morning," Liu Ya said with a smile.

Since we were all family and there weren't many people, we didn't have separate tables for adults and children. We just sat at one big table, which was quite lively.

It's fun to listen to the chirping of children.

Zhang Pingan felt a little regretful. "When we originally set out from the capital, we had planned to go to the capital with my eldest sister and her family to take up their posts, and then we would come to visit you on the way. However, we were delayed in Lin'an for too long, and my eldest brother-in-law's family leave was not enough, so I had to take my eldest sister away first, and we didn't come. I wonder when you two will have the chance to meet again, and for my eldest sister to meet her nieces and nephews."

Speaking of this, Liu Ya felt very sorry, but she also knew that there was nothing she could do about it. After all, her brother-in-law did not have extra bereavement leave, and she could not miss the day he took office.

Since marrying into the Yu family and following her husband to Yangzhou, Liu Ya has come into contact with many wives of officials and dealt with them frequently. She has learned a lot over the years.

Whether it is the way to manage the family or the way to control subordinates, or the education of children, or the husband's career, etc.

It can be said that she has been reborn and is no longer the Liu Ya of the past.

At the same time, she understood too well the meaning of "being in officialdom and having no choice".

The couple discussed things together, which is why they can live such a prosperous life.

"Forget it, there will always be opportunities in the future. As long as everyone lives well, it's fine. What I was most worried about before were the fourth and fifth sisters. This time you can go back and find the fourth sister's family, and help them by the way. It's really good. And the fifth sister, from what mother described, the fifth brother-in-law should be a reliable person. I hope that the fifth sister will be able to do well in the future," Liu Ya smiled generously.

She really looks like a mistress of the house with all her bearing and demeanor.

When the dishes were served and everyone was preparing to eat, Yu Shiqi came back in a hurry. There was a light sweat on his face and a few stains on his cuffs, which showed how hurried he was.

After entering the house and seeing Zhang Laoer and Xu, he immediately bowed respectfully: "Father-in-law and mother-in-law, please accept my humble greetings!"

Then he bowed to Zhang Ping'an and apologized, "Ping'an, I'm really sorry for not welcoming you here. The workshop has reached a critical juncture these days and I really can't leave. I hope you can forgive my impoliteness!"

"We are all family, so let's not be so quarrelsome. Come and sit down. I heard from Liu Ya that you must be exhausted these days, right?" Zhang Laoer quickly asked the person to sit down and said a few more words of concern.

Zhang Pingan also smiled and said, "Yes, Sixth Brother-in-law, we are all family, no need to be polite, sit down and eat first!"

Yu Shiqi then wiped the sweat off his face and sat down. Several children in the family were vying to call him dad, talking to each other one by one. It was obvious that the father and sons had a very good relationship.

Liu Ya also felt sorry for her man and scolded him, "Have you finished drinking the nourishing soup I asked you to bring this morning? Take care of yourself and don't get too tired!"

"I know what I'm doing. I'm not tired!" Yu Shiqi smiled gently.

After the meal was almost over, Zhang Pingan and his sixth brother-in-law went to the study to drink tea. He asked about the firearms workshop in a tactful way: "Sixth brother-in-law, I heard that you are busy with a secret weapon recently. Could it be a firearm?"

Yu Shiqi nodded and shook his head without giving it much thought. "I guess so. A lot of improvements and upgrades have been made to previous firearms technology. But in my opinion, they seem to be improvements for large warships. Many of them are used in water, and there are quite a few of them, at least enough to equip a hundred large warships. I guess it's related to naval warfare!"

"Naval warfare?" Zhang Ping'an lowered his head and pondered, somewhat puzzled. "But now that the North and the South are unified, there's no need for naval warfare and so many large warships, right?"

"Maybe I guessed wrong. I was just saying that. How can we spy on the movements of the court?" Yu Shiqi laughed when he heard this. He was not a person who was very sensitive to the movements of the court. He always cared about the work at hand. Rather than saying that he was an official, it would be better to say that he was a professional craftsman.

"No, you should be right. I received news when I was in Lin'an before that several coastal shipyards such as Ci County were building large ships. But before, I just thought it was for the court's reserve needs. Now, considering this, I guess His Majesty really has some new moves," Zhang Pingan pondered.

He had originally thought that the court's next strategic direction would be westward, but now it seemed that it was heading eastward? There were no naval battles inland, so was it time to go out to sea?

"Forget it, don't think about it. You will know sooner or later." Yu Shiqi was very open-minded and didn't care too much about the combat trends of his superiors.

Then he took out two small boxes from the study drawer and said, "Here, take them. They are for you and your brother-in-law to use for self-defense!"

"What is this?" Zhang Pingan asked curiously as he took it.

"It's a Thunderbolt Pill, about the same size as a pill. When two of them are rubbed together and thrown on the ground, a lot of smoke will be produced. I also added dried and crushed Datura and Gelsemium elegans to it, which has psychedelic and poisonous effects. Although its power is not as amazing as that of a musket, it is easy to carry and has a wider attack range. You can use it according to the situation," Yu Shiqi explained seriously.

His face was full of concentration when he talked about his inventions.

"Okay, thank you!" Zhang Ping'an bowed and thanked him.

I opened the box and saw that there were quite a lot of things. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness of my sixth brother-in-law.

"By the way, Sixth brother-in-law, you have been working in Yangzhou for several years. Do you have any idea of ​​getting a promotion? In fact, the capital is also preparing to set up a firearms workshop. You will have great potential if you go there."

Hearing this, Yu Shiqi decisively waved his hand to refuse, without even thinking for a second, and replied: "Ping'an, I'm not like you. I passed the imperial examination and became an official. You scholars are good at the intrigues and deceptions in the officialdom, and you also have ambitions, but I can't do that. I still know my own strengths and weaknesses. It's okay for me to concentrate on inventions, but being a high-ranking official is not suitable for me. Now it's good enough. We live a comfortable and quiet life in Yangzhou. Not only do we have two sons and one daughter, but your sixth sister doesn't have any sisters-in-law to quarrel with. It's so nice to live our own little life behind closed doors. It's also convenient for us to go back to Lin'an to visit our family whenever we want."

"Alas, everyone has their own aspirations. I understand that this cannot be forced. It's enough for you to live a good life," Zhang Pingan sighed and nodded.

This sixth brother-in-law is just like the second brother-in-law. They are both people who live a stable life and are unwilling to fight. It’s good this way. A simple and ordinary life is the real life!

When the two finished chatting and came out, only Zhang Laoer was in the yard. A group of children gathered around him, all listening to Zhang Laoer talk about the time when he accompanied Zhang Ping'an to take the exam and the time when he was fleeing.

"Grandpa, will the mountain really collapse during an earthquake?"

"Of course, there will be more fish and frogs jumping out," said Zhang Laoer with a smile.

Seeing his son and son-in-law come out after finishing their conversation, he stopped talking and urged them, "Okay, we'll talk about the rest tomorrow. Go take a shower quickly, you're all smelling bad!"

The little kids were also obedient. They laughed, made faces, and followed the servants to the bathroom to wash up.

"Dad, thank you for your hard work. These naughty boys ask endless questions. I don't know where so many questions come from. Liu Ya and I are often stumped by their questions," Yu Shiqi said with a helpless smile.

"We are all children. Everyone was like this when they were young," Zhang Laoer waved his hand.