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

"Mom, I didn't say anything. I'll help you." Si Ya quickly put away her smile and went over to help.

Xu pounded her aching arm, sat down, poured herself a glass of water, and said with a smile, "Son, I just bought a basket of walnuts from someone. Let me dry them for a few days. When I peel the kernels, I'll fry them and pack them up. You can eat them anytime you want."

"Mom, we just finished the ones we fried last time. Walnuts are not in season yet this year. I guess you must be buying last year's. It must not be easy. You don't have to spend so much time on food," Zhang Ping'an said helplessly, and walked over to help Xu's shoulders.

"Hey, what's the trouble? Don't you like eating walnuts? Just eat more. Studying is a brain-intensive process." Xu disagreed. Instead, she took Zhang Ping'an's hand and sighed, "My son is so filial. I will be waiting to enjoy your blessing in the future! Don't worry about me. If you want to study, go ahead and study. You also have to prepare well for the academy entrance exam"!

"Well, Mom, I'll go to the study first. Dad just had a drink at my classmate's house. Let him sleep for a while before getting up to do anything."

"Mother knows, go ahead!" Xu said gently.

After Zhang Ping'an arrived at the study, he took out the annotations he bought yesterday from the bookshelf and looked at them. These annotations were the latest in recent years. Comparing them with what Mr. Luo had said before, he had some new insights in his mind.

As the saying goes, a good memory is not as good as a bad pen. Zhang Ping'an took notes as he read. This was also a habit he developed in school in his previous life. When Mr. Luo saw it at first, he was quite surprised, but later he found that this method was very practical, so he also began to require students to take notes. Now all the students in the school have this habit.

In fact, Mr. Luo has already commented on the recitation, dictation and comprehension of the article, so he just needs to keep up the good work. What Zhang Ping'an lacks now is how to integrate and apply what he has learned, especially in the imperial examination. It is impossible to test only one point, and multiple knowledge points must be integrated into one question. This requires learning how to crack and solve the problem.

Before he knew it, it was dusk. Zhang Ping'an felt an orange light cast in front of the window. He looked up at the sky and found that it was almost the hour of You. So he tilted his head back and rubbed his sore neck, then stood up and stretched to relax for a while. He didn't want to become nearsighted in this era, as there were no glasses available at this time.

Zhang Laoer was twisting hemp rope in the yard. It was almost time to pick several kinds of medicinal herbs such as licorice, forsythia, honeysuckle, etc., so a large amount of hemp rope and backpacks had to be prepared. Even Zhang Laoda was sent out by Li to weave baskets in the yard.

Seeing Zhang Ping'an stretching his neck in front of the window, Zhang Laoer asked loudly, "Son, you must be tired from studying. Come out for a walk first."

Zhang Pingan replied through the window: "Dad, no need. I'll just move around for a while and practice writing for half an hour. That'll be enough."

"Well, then you should take some rest. There is no rush to study right now." Zhang Laoer kept working while he spoke. After a while, he had twisted two or three hemp ropes, and a pile of them had formed at his feet.

Zhang Laoda complained to Zhang Laoer while weaving a backpack: "Why are you all in such a hurry? The harvest isn't until next month. You won't let me talk while I'm working in the yard. It's so frustrating."

Zhang Laoer whispered back, "Get ready early and be at ease. No one can predict the weather. If the weather is bad, we may have to harvest early. Sister-in-law is right to do this. We can't be lazy at this time. I didn't let you talk because Ping'an was reading just now. He would be easily distracted if we talked. As his uncle, you have to understand this."

Boss Zhang stopped talking and muttered softly, "That's a real treasure in your family."

The courtyard was quiet and soundproof. Zhang Pingan overheard the conversation between his uncle and his father in the study. He shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and then sat down to practice calligraphy. Calligraphy practice was something that could not be neglected for a single day. The ancients said that a person's handwriting reflects his character. Good handwriting represented a person's image. Furthermore, since exams were usually covered up, good handwriting could add a lot of points. It was truly important!

Half an hour passed.

After the last stroke was made, Zhang Ping'an put down the brush, picked up the paper and took a look. He was not very satisfied. When he went to study in the county town, he would have to find some good copybooks to practice with. His current handwriting was too neat but lacked spirit and had no unique style.

Xu walked gently to the study window and said softly, "Son, it's time for dinner. Have you finished writing now?"

Zhang Pingan nodded and smiled, "Mom, I've finished writing. What did you make today? I can smell the fragrance!"

Mrs. Xu finally smiled. She had been worried about disturbing her son's studies, so she said, "I made hand-rolled noodles tonight. Didn't you want to mix them with sesame oil? I also chopped up some bacon and stir-fried beans for the stew. It's delicious!"

"Then I have to eat more. You've made me hungry." Zhang Ping'an came out of the study and took Xu's arm to the kitchen.

There are not many people in my family now, so sometimes we cook a simple dinner and eat it in the kitchen.

Xu scooped out a bowl of rolled noodles, added a thick layer of broth and drizzled sesame oil on it. Zhang Ping'an ate it with great satisfaction. Perhaps because he was still growing, Zhang Ping'an now ate much more than before.

The food at home is much better than before, and everyone has more fat on their faces.

Have a good night's sleep!

Early the next morning, Zhang Ping'an got up on time and started to memorize his lessons. He had been studying in school for the past few years and had gotten used to getting up early. Sometimes he wanted to sleep in but couldn't.

He had memorized the Four Books thoroughly, and had currently reached the "Book of Changes" and "Spring and Autumn Annals," which were the areas that gave Zhang Ping'an the most headaches. The "Book of Changes" was somewhat similar to a modern book of philosophy and thought, and even included divination. As a modern person, Zhang Ping'an found it relatively difficult to understand.

When attending class at the academy, Master Luo had already discovered Zhang Ping'an's shortcoming. Master Luo's idea was to memorize all the books first, and then read them. After reading a book a hundred times, its meaning will become clear.

Zhang Ping'an couldn't find a better way at the moment, so he could only memorize it first, planning to listen to other teachers' teaching ideas when he went to study in the county town later.

After a while, Jinbao's voice came from the yard: "Ping'an, Ping'an, I'm here to find you. My father asked me to learn with you."

Zhang Ping'an looked out of the study window and found that Jinbao ran in with a big school bag on his back, just like he did on his way to school as usual.

Jin Bao was already very familiar with the Zhang family. He ran into the study, put down his school bag, and took out a bag of walnut cakes from it. He said, "Here, this is what my grandma asked me to bring you. My dad bought these walnut cakes in the county town. They are delicious."

Zhang Pingan took it with a smile: "Thank your grandma for me. We'll eat later when we're hungry. Let's sit down and recite the book first. I'm also reciting the Book of Changes"!

"Okay, then I'll recite The Great Learning." Jinbao was very obedient.

Just as the two of them finished their round, there was another knock on the door. Zhang Pingan looked up and said in surprise: "Luo Fuan, Luo Fugui, why are you two here? Come in!"