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

"It's okay. The job is not too tiring, but it requires carefulness and seriousness. My colleagues are all very nice," Liu Sanlang replied.

"That's good. It's not easy to get to this point today. You must cherish it," Zhang Laoer reminded.

"Thank you for your concern, father-in-law. I understand," Liu Sanlang responded with a smile, feeling warm in his heart.

"Where is Maodan? How is he doing in the military camp?" Zhang Ping'an felt relieved to see that his brother-in-law had found his footing, and turned to care about his nephew.

"He's a good guy. I heard from their leader that he's always at the front of the class in all kinds of training. This kid is born with supernatural powers and is suitable for a job in the military camp. The only problem is his temperament. He's too reckless and competitive. He needs to be polished." Speaking of his youngest son, Liu Sanlang was both distressed and proud.

"Young people are bound to be full of youthful vigor, which is normal. With more experience, they will learn to be more sensible," Zhang Pingan advised, and he was optimistic about Maodan's future.

"Forget it, leave him alone and let him make his own way. After all, I am at home. Whenever he comes back, he will have a bowl of rice to eat and a way to retreat. In comparison, Donkey Egg is the eldest brother and is much more sensible. He is not young anymore. I just want to discuss his future with you," Liu Sanlang said hesitantly.

"Hmm? Brother-in-law, since everyone is here, we can discuss it together." Zhang Ping'an made a gesture of listening attentively when he heard the words.

When Daya heard it, she looked over, without any surprise on her face. It seemed that this had been discussed in advance.

"It's like this. I happen to be a fourth-rank military officer, so I'm eligible for a hereditary position. I plan to recommend Donkey Dan'er and find him a job, but there are too many military generals now, resulting in too few good positions to choose from. Usually they are third-class titles, such as third-class Fengzhi, Jiandangguan, guard officer or Zhailang. Daya and I have discussed it for a long time, but we can't make up our minds. You have read a lot and have a wide range of knowledge. Which position do you think is best? Please help me make a decision," Liu Sanlang asked, with a conflicted look on his face. It can be seen that it is indeed difficult to make a decision.

Zhang Pingan reviewed the positions before looking at Donkey Egg and asking, "Donkey Egg, what do you think? You'll be the one taking the job in the future. Your father has already paved the way for you, but you still have to make your own decisions."

"Uncle, actually I told dad before that I wanted to be a guard in the palace, but dad and the others think that you need to be cautious all the time in the palace and it's easy to make mistakes, so they prefer me to go to the Taimiao to be a decent and easy civil servant," Donkey Egg replied a little embarrassedly.

I still feel a little embarrassed and feel sorry for my younger brother. He can become an official directly after the recommendation, and his starting point is much easier than Maodan's. I always feel that it is not fair to him.

"What I'm asking now is what you think," Zhang Pingan said seriously, tapping the table lightly with his fingertips.

"As for myself, I still want to be a guard in the palace. It will be easier to get promoted in the future and it will have a better future," Donkey Egg thought for a moment and looked up and replied, as if he had made up his mind.

"You kid, why do you want to go to the palace to suffer instead of being a civil servant?" After listening to Daya explain the differences between several jobs, Xu suddenly felt that it would be a good idea to go to the Taimiao to be a monk.

"Mom, working in the Taimiao is easy, but you won't get much experience," Zhang Ping'an shook his head and said, "Even if I'm your uncle, I can't easily make a decision for you on such an important matter. I can only share my opinion, but the final decision is still yours."

"Of course, sister, we understand. We just want to hear your opinion," Daya nodded.

"Okay, then I'll be frank. If I were asked to choose, I also think Donkey Egg should go to the palace to be a guard officer and seek a position as a palace guard, such as the Prince's Right Guard or the Prince's Guard. This is the most common starting position for children of high-ranking officials, and future promotion will definitely be much easier than other positions. This is the capital, not a place. If you want to live a good life, you have to fight for it. Donkey Egg is still young. If he goes to the Taimiao to live a lazy life, it would be a pity." Zhang Pingan said this from the bottom of his heart.

Where there are people, there are battlefields. Since he has already entered the court as an official, why bother to waste time going to the Taimiao? He thinks it is not worth it.

Seeing his eldest brother-in-law and his wife looking conflicted, Zhang Ping'an didn't rush them into making a decision. After all, he could only give them some advice on this matter, so he continued, "This isn't too urgent. Take your time to think about it. If you need any help, feel free to let me know. I'll then notify the Ministry of Personnel, and they'll be able to speed up the appointment."

"Okay, thank you very much," Liu Sanlang patted his brother-in-law's shoulder and thanked him. He then kicked his son under the table and scolded him, "Hurry up and thank your uncle!"

Upon hearing this, Donkey Egg quickly stood up and bowed, saying shyly, "Thank you, uncle. I'm sorry to bother you!"

"This kid!" Zhang Pingan quickly asked him to sit down.

Then he turned to his eldest brother-in-law and said helplessly: "We are all family, why are you kicking the child!"

Zhuzhu stuck out her tongue and complained, "Dad has become more and more fierce since he became a high-ranking official. Humph!"

"Where is that, Dad?" Liu Sanlang complained, and helplessly pointed at his naughty little daughter from a distance.

When Xiao Yuer saw this, he covered his mouth and laughed.

The two families finished their dinner happily.

After dinner and tea, Zhang Ping'an said goodbye to his parents and left.

At this time, Xiao Yuer was already sleepy and fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Zhang Ping'an pulled his son up early.

Xiao Yu'er was still a little lazy and didn't want to get up. He hugged his little pillow tightly and shouted, "Dad, what are you doing? There's nothing to do when you get up so early. Let me sleep a little longer!"

"Are you still sleeping? It's already dawn!" Zhang Ping'an gently patted his son's little butt, which felt pretty good.

Then he forcibly lifted his son up again and said as they walked, "We have to visit your grandfather's house today. It would be bad to go too late. It would be impolite. Also, haven't you always wanted to see your uncles and cousins? From now on, you can see them every day."

"Ah? Really?" Xiao Yuer opened his eyes wide upon hearing that. He was no longer sleepy and stopped struggling.

The servant was very perceptive and quickly came forward to help with washing.

When everything was almost done, Zhang Pingan replied to his son: "Of course it's true. Starting tomorrow you will go to the Qian Family School."

"Go to school?" Xiao Yuer hadn't been to school for a while and almost forgot that he still had to go to school.

"What? You don't want to go?" Zhang Ping'an asked with a glare.

He had considered going to the Qian family to study, mainly because the various academies in the capital had nothing worth showing off after being burned down in the war, and the academic style was not as rigorous as that of the clan schools of the aristocratic families.

In addition, although the Imperial College was famous and many descendants of newly-minted princes and nobles enrolled there, the spirit of comparison was particularly serious precisely because of this.

Xiao Yuer is still too young and can be easily led astray. Zhang Pingan doesn't want him to be exposed to these things too early.

Although my father-in-law's family has their own little thoughts, to be honest, they are very successful in teaching and educating people, and they have their own methods.

So he planned to let Xiaoyuer spend his childhood in the Qian family school.

"Okay, let's go. It's boring to be alone at home," Xiao Yuer spread his hands like an adult.

After breakfast, Zhang Ping'an put on his school bag and took his son on a carriage to the Qian family.