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

After seeing the token being pushed over, the stall owner opened his mouth but said nothing.

The officer looked at the man who seemed to be unable to produce a single word after being beaten with three sticks, raised an eyebrow and said, "Why? Do you have any other ideas?"

There was a condescending and intimidating tone in the words.

Zhang Pingan frowned slightly when he heard this, raised his hand to stop him, and said, "Don't be so aggressive."

After saying that, he looked at the stall owner and continued, "Boss, I heard that your mother has been ill for several years and needs long-term medication. As a result, your family has been a little short of money. It just so happens that your father meets our requirements. That's why we've taken the liberty of asking him to be our guide. The remuneration is very generous, and we will also have attendants to protect us, so our safety is very guaranteed. This is a win-win situation for both parties. You may consider it."

In fact, professionalism is one aspect. What Zhang Pingan values ​​most is that this family has a clean background and has no ties with any forces. Judging from what happened last night, this family is also quite united and courageous.

Combined with the investigation of the officials and Chibao, it was discovered that the ancestors of this family did go to the outside of the Great Wall to do business from time to time and were very familiar with the roads to Guazhou and Yumen Pass.

He is good at observing the weather, identifying directions, and finding water sources, and can speak various dialects in the northwest.

Just what they need.

Only then did I think of inviting this old man.

Going out in winter when the weather is bad and not having a good guide is like entrusting your life to God.

This is obviously impossible for Zhang Pingan, who is good at preparing for a rainy day, and he must be fully prepared.

The stall owner opened his mouth and rubbed his two thick hands, as big as palm-leaf fans, on his apron, obviously conflicted and hesitant.

Just when he was about to say something, the old man who had been stringing the skewers silently suddenly put down his work and walked over.

After taking a look at the crowd, he knew who was the one who could make the decision. He looked directly at Zhang Ping and said calmly, "Five times, five times and I'll go."

After a pause, the old man added, "You won't suffer any loss if you hire me. I can guarantee the safety of water sources along the way and find suitable places to stay."

Nowadays, there is only one safe route to Guazhou in winter, so the old man didn't ask the others which route they were taking.

At that time, the reward for finding a good guide from Xi'an to Guazhou was about five to eight taels of silver. If someone was injured or killed in an accident on the way, an additional pension would be given.

Five times that would be thirty or forty taels of silver, which is not even the total savings of many families.

When the subordinates heard this, they wanted to slam the table and curse. Isn't this taking advantage of the situation? Damn, it's almost half a year's salary for them.

But after Zhang Pingan took a look at the old man, he nodded without hesitation and said, "Okay, deal!"

Although he had a map in his hand, the post stations along the way west of Xi'an were very far apart, and the weather was bad at the time, so he had to make sure that the guide he found was experienced.

In comparison, it doesn't matter if it's a little more expensive.

He always believes that you get what you pay for. Expensive things are not necessarily good, but good things are definitely expensive!

The subordinate wanted to persuade him, but was interrupted by Zhang Pingan, "Let's go!"

After saying that, he looked at the old man and said, "Come to the inn to find us tomorrow morning. We will pay half of the deposit first as promised."

"You guys, really, remember to come here," the official waved his sleeves angrily, pointed at the old man, then put them down, and finally just gave this instruction.

After returning to the posthouse, Zhao Renzhi was also a little confused and asked, "Ping'an, why do you have to hire that old man? I believe there must be many good guides in Xi'an. I have no shortage of money, but the feeling of being asked to raise the price is not very pleasant."

Zhang Pingan smiled, shook his head, and sat down, saying, "Only when there is a big reward can there be a brave man."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Renzhi frowned.

Qian Jie also looked over.

"You're right. There are definitely other good guides in Xi'an, but it's fate that we met this family."

"Last night, that family had an argument with their colleagues, but even the young boy and the old man showed no fear. This shows that this family is not a coward, but rather courageous and united.

When you see them setting up their stall, they get along very warmly, which shows that they have a very good family atmosphere. In addition, there are patients at home. In this case, the old man as a guide will only care about safety more and be more cautious than us.

With enough compensation, the old man dared not to be lazy.

I rarely hire people who come from a particularly bad family environment. This bad environment doesn't refer to money, but to character and upbringing, including family members with bad habits, etc. People from such families tend to be particularly aggressive. Although there are some who are untainted by the mud, but the guide is our eyes on the road, we must be cautious, I can't take risks. "

"I see," Qian Jie nodded. "Isn't this just like asking if the other person has a clean background? Everyone wants to be tied to someone with a clean background, so they can rest assured."

After they finished chatting, they went to rest.

The thief who broke into their room today did not come back. Now that they have returned, the other party will not come either. They can only wait until tomorrow.

Zhang Ping'an was a little disappointed. In order to lure the snake out of its hole, he also specifically instructed the servants to tell the people in the kitchen that they would be back very late tomorrow and that the kitchen did not need to prepare dinner for them.

If you were to ask where in the inn it would be easiest for outsiders to sneak in, it would definitely be the kitchen and the stables.

The place that is most informed must be the kitchen.

After a good night's sleep, the next morning, just as Zhang Ping'an and his companions had finished washing up, the visiting gentry arrived again.

Even Prefect Cao came early and waited alone in the flower hall on the second floor.

Yesterday, Zhang Ping'an and his men did not let Prefect Cao accompany them for the entire day. Today, he really could not sit still, so he came here just to go through the motions.

Regardless of whether Zhang Ping'an needed it or not, at least the etiquette was in place, just like when Zhang Ping'an and others visited Mr. Yang and Mr. Li.

Since everyone was blocked at the posthouse, Zhang Ping'an couldn't completely say that he didn't see anyone.

After thinking about it, I took the visiting card and started to read it, and picked out some people I had to meet.

The three of them continued to deal with it until noon.

Fortunately, the deployment was not delayed and has been completed.

The old man who ran the stall yesterday also came over. Because there was a distinguished guest, Zhang Pingan and his friends were not available to meet him for the time being. They waited for a long time and had lunch with him in the kitchen.

The old man didn't talk much, but he had a big appetite and ate three large bowls of rice in a row.

It tastes delicious when you soak the rice in chicken soup and add some vegetables to it.

When I found him after eating, the old man was basking in the sun outside the kitchen yard. He looked quite comfortable.

Seeing that he was full, he put his hands on his hips and smiled: "Come on, follow me to see the master. Many people came to visit in the morning, and the master didn't have time."

The old man's surname was Qiu, and everyone called him Old Qiu. After he had eaten, he started calling him that too.

Hearing Chibao's call, the old man patted the dust off his butt and stood up, then followed Chibao without saying a word.

It was only then that he realized that he was following a high-ranking official and was going to the Guazhou military camp in the northwest, and he suddenly became much more cautious.

Just as the officials found out, when he was young, he followed his father and grandfather to transport goods outside the Great Wall, so he did have some knowledge.

You know, this job looks stable and profitable, but it may not be so in reality.

Even an ordinary caravan has a lot of intrigues, let alone officials, it is even more troublesome!

But he is old, and if he can get a large sum of money, he is willing to give it a try. If he succeeds, the financial pressure on his family will be much less. At the very least, he can get half of the money, which is not too bad.

Although the business of the night market barbecue stall seems to be okay, big orders only come occasionally depending on luck. There are the costs of ingredients, charcoal fees, stall fees, and filial piety fees. There are so many deductions here and there, and I also have a sick child at home, so I am actually not well off.

Thinking about this, Old Qiutou followed to the flower hall to meet Zhang Pingan and others.

Qian Jie got straight to the point: "I'm sure you know what we do now, so don't worry about your safety. Just lead the way. Here's the money. We'll set off at 3:00 AM the day after tomorrow. You'll stay here tomorrow night. Remember?"

"Your Excellency, I will remember this," Old Qiu said respectfully with his head lowered.

"Well, then you go back and prepare first. There will be a chef accompanying us to take care of three meals a day," Qian Jie said and waved his hand.

Old Man Qiu bowed again and left with the silver.

It was not until he put the heavy silver in his arms that Old Qiu smiled stiffly and felt much more at ease.

This is twenty-five taels, and they actually gave so much. The market price is obviously more than what the official said yesterday.

"Okay, we have deployed everything that needs to be deployed, and we will set off early the day after tomorrow. As for what Mr. Yang mentioned, I have arranged spies to inquire about it first. Let's wait and see if there are any useful results. Let's go to Piaoxiangyuan for a stroll!" Qian Jie stood up and stretched and said.

Since arriving in the northwest, he has changed into a set of tight-fitting clothes. It looks ordinary, but it contains many hidden weapons.

Standing in the hall at this moment, he looks so handsome that one can't help but praise him, what a handsome man!

The Piaoxiangyuan he mentioned was a place you could tell from its name. Seeing Zhang Ping'an frown, Qian Jie quickly held out his hand and said, "Stop, I'm not here for pleasure. Piaoxiangyuan is the largest brothel in Xi'an. There are all kinds of people there, and they are well-informed. It's worth a visit. Besides, you have to relax once in a while!"

"Let's go!" Zhang Ping'an smiled, got up and went out.

"Ah? So fast?" Qian Jie was stunned for a moment before catching up.

I thought I was going to have to give him a good talk???