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

If there is a place that can reflect the economic situation and price conditions of a city, it must be the market.

As the provincial capital, Xi'an not only has a night market, but its prosperity has also left a significant mark in the history of previous dynasties.

After the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Ziming did not abolish the night market in Xi'an. Instead, he supported it after signing an alliance with the Jinwu Khanate.

To a certain extent, it can help Xi'an restore its former prosperity as soon as possible.

The night market is mainly concentrated in the West Market, and the most lively place is Chongrenfang in the West Market. A poet once described it as "thousands of lights in the night market shining on the blue clouds", which is enough to show how prosperous the night market was at that time.

There are many hotels and restaurants in Chongrenfang, and there are also several brothels and theaters not far away, so the demand for nighttime consumption is strong.

This gave rise to the night market in the neighborhood.

There are many categories of goods for sale, including snacks, fruits, toys, clothes and accessories, etc.

But at the same time, this is also a place where all kinds of people tend to gather, and outsiders who come here alone may indeed suffer losses.

It would be fine if they suffered a little loss in money, but the biggest fear was that they would be targeted by someone with ulterior motives, kidnapped and sold to the Western Regions as slaves. Strong young men and young women were the most favored by these people.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhao, Brother Qian, this place is a bit dirty, please watch your step," the accompanying official walked in front of them and carefully reminded them.

Before coming here, they had already agreed to just call each other friends to avoid unnecessary complications.

The accompanying official was not of high rank, and it was the first time for him to receive a second-rank official. To be honest, he was quite nervous, fearing that something might go wrong, which would be difficult to report.

As soon as you enter the night market, the aroma of food hits your nose, mixed with the strong smell of cumin and pepper.

Zhao Renzhi couldn't bear it and couldn't help sneezing.

Looking at the ground again, it was pitch black, and it was obvious that it was greasy and could not be washed off. He waved his hand and said nothing.

Zhang Pingan felt that the smell of fireworks here was very strong. He walked forward and said with a smile: "With so many people coming here to eat, it must be delicious. Smoke and oil are inevitable. It's nothing. It's okay. On the contrary, I feel that there is a strong smell of fireworks that I don't have when I eat in a restaurant."

Qian Jie was also a casual person. He sniffed and praised, "What a nice smell!"

After saying that, he patted Zhao Renzhi on the back and said with concern: "Brother Zhao, are you okay? The food in the northwest is quite strong in flavor. If you don't like it, just drink some goat's milk. It's also a specialty. I just tried it at the dinner table. It tastes much more authentic than the food in Beijing."

"It's okay, I think it smells good too, but my nose just isn't doing it justice," Zhao Renzhi rubbed his nose helplessly.

A few people walked and looked. Although the stall looked a bit simple, it was not messy because it was managed by the government.

There are two or three small square tables next to each stall for customers to sit and eat, and a custom-made tent made of stones is set up behind it to block the wind.

"The weather is getting colder. How long will their night market last?" Zhang Pingan asked casually after watching for a while.

The accompanying official explained, "If the weather is bad, or if it's windy or rainy, we'll stop. We'll keep the stalls open as long as we can. After all, we've paid the stall fees, and many people rely on these small stalls to support their families. If we stop working, we'll stop making a living. It's already mid-November, and it's sure to snow next month. We'll probably stop for a few days during the heaviest snow days!"

"Oh, people's lives are so difficult," Qian Jie sighed and shook his head after listening. He was not unfamiliar with common affairs.

Zhang Pingan knew that even so, these street vendors were not at the bottom of society, and at least they had a way to make a living.

The most difficult families have it much harder than them.

Several of them were dressed in extraordinary clothes and brought with them followers. It was obvious that they were wealthy customers. Some vendors had noticed them long ago and when they were about to pass by their stalls, they carefully solicited customers from the side.

The shouting sounds continued.

After walking around for a while, they felt a little embarrassed. Zhang Pingan chose a stall that looked relatively clean and sat down. He said to everyone, "Please sit down and relax. Let's see what we have to eat. It's my treat today. Let's go shopping after we finish eating."

"Then you won't be polite. The barbecue skewers here smell good. There are about ten of us here, so let's start with a hundred kebabs of lamb," Qian Jie said after calling the stall owner over.

"Dear guests, why not try the roasted camel hoof, a specialty of our Xi'an night market? Our ancestors set up a stall here to run the night market. The roasted camel hoof is a specialty. You will find out if you go out and ask around. It has a very chewy texture and cannot be found anywhere else. We also have roasted rabbit and roasted quail. The mutton offal soup is also good. It's hot and sprinkled with chopped green onions. Have a bowl on this chilly night and you will feel comfortable all over!" The stall owner was a middle-aged man. He was overjoyed to see a big customer coming.

After wiping his hands on his apron, he stepped forward and awkwardly introduced himself to everyone.

There was an old man and two young boys standing next to the oven, and behind them was a middle-aged woman and a child helping to thread the skewers. It was obvious that they were a family.

"Well, that sounds good. Then give us a portion of the roasted camel hoof and mutton offal soup, depending on the number of people. No need for the roasted rabbit, we came here after dinner."

"Okay, okay," the stall owner responded repeatedly. Roasted camel trotters are not cheap, so this is pretty good.

After thinking about the rare opportunity, he continued to recommend, "I see you're all from out of town, right? Unlike the locals, eating so much barbecued food at once might cause you to get a sore throat. How about serving each of you a fragrant drink? It's made with herbs, nuts, spices, and flower petals. It's both refreshing and thirst-quenching."

"Okay, give me one serving," Zhang Pingan nodded, and then said softly, "We really don't need anything else. We can't finish it if it's too much. If it tastes good, we'll come back tomorrow."

"Okay, sure, I guarantee you'll all be satisfied," the stall owner replied happily, rubbing his hands.

Then I went to prepare.

After hearing this, the woman and the child immediately sped up the speed of threading the skewers, and the two young men also used palm-leaf fans to fan the fire to the maximum.

The whole family was busy with excitement because of this big order.

Zhao Renzhi sneered when he saw this: "Ordinary people are so easily satisfied."