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

"What's going on?" Zhang Pingan frowned.

"Brother Zhang, Brother Zhao, Brother Qian, you wait here, I'll go take a look," the official said, then he lifted his clothes and trotted to the crowd in front to inquire.

Before the officials came back, there was a sudden "bang" sound of the fire falling to the ground, and the scarlet charcoal rolled all over the ground. The crowd immediately screamed and scattered.

Only then did Zhang Ping'an see clearly that the accident happened at the restaurant where they had just eaten.

The middle-aged stall owner who originally looked honest now looked fierce, waving a small machete for cutting meat in his hand.

The woman and her two older sons also stood by with serious expressions, knives in their hands, and fierce glances in the corners of their eyes.

The other youngest child was held in the arms of his grandfather. Although the old man was old, he was not weak and used the tongs in his hands as a weapon.

The middle-aged stall owner said to several middle-aged men also wearing aprons, "I pay the stall fee every month, and I do business and solicit customers in an orderly manner. You can't do it yourself, so why do you come to pick a fight and smash my stall?"

"Everyone's been making a living in Xi'an for eight generations. My ancestors even went to the desert and Persia. If I call out, there are dozens of men in the clan. No one is afraid of anyone. Business is all about ability. Humph! If you have the guts, come see me at the government office!"

"It looks like a business dispute between peers," Qian Jie said after hearing this.

The subordinate, having inquired about the situation, came trotting back with his men, confirming Qian Jie's words. "I've inquired about it. It's the stalls next door who are jealous of the big business they just did for us. They're trying to make excuses by saying we were originally going to their place. To put it bluntly, they're just looking for trouble. I guess there's been a grudge between them. But you don't have to worry. No one doing business on this street is too soft. A fight and a scolding will be enough. It's not a big deal."

His tone was so casual, as if it was just a simple request of drinking a glass of water. It seemed like he had seen this many times.

Zhang Pingan thought for a moment and said in silence, "The stove is overturned and full of charcoal. What if there's a fire in winter? Now that we've seen it, we should help. Have your attendant take your token and go find the mayor to take care of it!"

"By the way, don't take advantage of others' misfortunes. It's not easy for street vendors!"

"Hey, okay, your subordinate...I was planning the same thing," the official said hurriedly.

I couldn't help but secretly blame these people for not causing trouble earlier or later, but choosing this time. It's really outrageous!

The mayor hasn't looked at me for a long time. It seems that he is not doing his job well. I will give him a good scolding later.

The official thought as he ordered someone to find the mayor.

Qian Jie knew Zhang Pingan quite well. Seeing him deep in thought, he asked, "What's wrong? Is there any problem?"

"I was thinking that we might have found a suitable candidate for our guide to Guazhou," Zhang Pingan replied gently.

"Well, that's fine. Although Magistrate Cao has already said that he will send a good guide to take us there, it is very cold in winter and it may snow at any time. It will be very troublesome if the roads are blocked by heavy snow. It will not hurt to find a few more local people to follow us," Qian Jie nodded and said.

The most important thing is that they feel more at ease with a few close friends following them. People like them are not used to entrusting their entire fortune and life to someone they are not familiar with.

The night market incident was quickly settled with the intervention of the mayor. Although these people were making a big fuss, it was actually just a private conflict. As long as no one died, they would not go to the government office.

According to the city's customary practice, both sides were given fifty lashes each.

It can also be seen from this that the people in the Northwest are indeed more tough. Even if a person looks honest, once it comes to matters of survival, he will fight for his life.

The same goes for women, children and young children.

When we returned to the inn, the moon was already at its zenith. The winter moon always seemed to have a layer of cold light, which was not very pleasing.

Zhang Ping'an felt something was wrong the first time he opened the door. When he went out, the branches of the flower vase at the door and the window were placed at 90 degrees. This was his usual way of marking.

Now the position of the vase looks the same, but the angle of the branch is wrong.

Has anyone been in the room?!

He had already told the people in the inn not to clean the house. His men all knew the rules and would not enter the room without his order.

The room is on the second floor, for no reason.

Looking more closely, I found that the mattress and luggage had also been moved. Although they looked the same as before, many subtle details were obviously wrong.

Only Zhang Pingan himself can discover it.

After thinking about it, he went to his second uncle Qian Jie's room first and asked him if he had noticed anything unusual.

"Someone came into my room and touched my bag!" Qian Jie frowned.

"Me too!"

"What? Who dares to tamper with this? This posthouse is under the jurisdiction of the government. Petty thieves wouldn't dare to touch a place like this. Could it be..."

This is a suspicion of Magistrate Cao.

Zhang Ping'an had doubts at first, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was not the case.

"It shouldn't be Prefect Cao. He has no reason to do such a thing. Isn't this just asking for trouble? I think he is a cautious official. It can't be him!"