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

Just as Zhang Ping'an finished thinking, his fifth sister and her family arrived with their children.

The Xu family was small, with no parents-in-law to serve, no uncles or aunts, just the fifth sister and her husband, their one-year-old child, and a few servants.

After returning from the Western Regions, my fifth brother-in-law was promoted two ranks for his meritorious service on his mission, jumping from a seventh-rank translator to a sixth-rank official, and now works in the Ministry of Rites.

Although it's not a particularly lucrative or powerful position, it's respectable enough from an outsider's perspective.

It's enough for a couple and a child to live comfortably in Beijing.

Compared to her former slender figure, Fifth Sister has now gained weight, and her body is expanding horizontally, showing a trend of catching up with Second Sister.

Although Zhang Ping'an had heard his parents mention it briefly in their letter, he was still greatly surprised when he saw the real person.

He didn't expect his fifth sister to have gained so much weight. Her double chin made her neck look short, and it was no exaggeration to say that she looked completely different.

She looks five or six years older than before.

The most crucial thing is that she doesn't care about grooming herself as much as before; she's become a bit sloppy, which really makes people feel the difference.

"Fifth Sister, Fifth Brother-in-law, come in and sit down. This must be Sweet Potato. It's so plump and looks like it's been well-fed." Zhang Ping'an looked at the rolls of fat on the child's neck and arms and knew that the child was well taken care of and fed good food.

"That's right, I keep a close eye on him every day and take very good care of him. In addition to breast milk, I also give him plenty of eggs and meat broth every day," Wu Ya said proudly.

This son is now the apple of her eye, and his status is even higher than that of her husband, Xu Kezhang.

"Here, this is a gift for the child. Fifth Sister, please help him put it on!"

Following local customs, Zhang Ping'an took out the longevity lock he had prepared and handed it over.

Since it was for the children, Wuya didn't refuse, but she was still a little embarrassed. "Oh dear, Mom already gave me some before, and now you're giving me some again. We sweet potatoes are really getting a good deal!"

"Isn't that right, Sweet Potato? Say thank you to your uncle!" Wu Ya held up her son's hand and smiled as she taught him to speak.

However, after making two "ah ah" sounds, Sweet Potato didn't respond much. He just curiously held the longevity lock in his hand and played with it. After a while, he even tried to put it in his mouth.

Wu Ya quickly stopped her.

The group chatted for a while, mostly about everyday matters. Xu Kezhang listened quietly without interrupting or showing any impatience, remaining very composed.

I help look after the children from time to time.

When the atmosphere improved, Zhang Ping'an subtly reminded his fifth sister, "Fifth sister, why have you gained so much weight? Being too fat is bad for your health. You should try to control your weight in the future. You're not old yet, you should take care of yourself!"

To be honest, although my second sister is also fat, she is fat in a solid way, the kind that doesn't look bad.

People like Fifth Sister, who are simply overweight due to bloating, are the ones whose health is truly affected, especially their heart.

Unfortunately, Wu Ya was completely unaware of this. She only felt that she didn't look as good as before after gaining weight. However, she was also open-minded: "The child is still small, and I still have to breastfeed. There's nothing I can do. Besides, I'm a mother now, so it doesn't matter whether I'm fat or not."

Da Ya frowned upon hearing this: "You can't think like that. The baby is so young, and you want to be all sloppy? Little brother is right. You can't keep eating whatever you want just to have enough milk. If you can't, you can find a few wet nurses to feed the baby. We didn't have that kind of opportunity before, so we had to feed the baby ourselves. Now that we have the opportunity, why should we make ourselves suffer?"

“We mean well, but they may not appreciate it. It’s all in vain. Sweet potato is already so big, almost a year and a half old. Normally, she could have been weaned long ago, but your fifth sister is still reluctant to part with her and keeps her in her bosom every day,” Xu said, then became too lazy to pay attention to her good-for-nothing daughter.

Of her six daughters, only Daya and Wuya are still by her side. Logically, the mother and daughters should be very close, but Xu Shi is increasingly looking down on this daughter.

Before, I was a troublemaker, but at least I still had some clarity of mind. Now, my head is completely muddled.

Hearing this, Xu Kezhang smiled and tried to lighten the mood, saying, "Mother, eldest sister, and younger brother are right. Although I don't mind that you're fat at all, health comes first. Sweet Potato is getting bigger now, so we can try to wean him. I see that he doesn't really like drinking breast milk anymore, but he's more curious about flavorful foods. There's no time like the present, so let's start weaning him when we get back today!"

Although he used a tone of negotiation, Wu Ya knew him well and knew immediately that there was no room for discussion.

"Isn't it too early? Some children go to private school at seven or eight years old. I still have breast milk, so there's no need to wean them!" Wu Ya said reluctantly.

"Good boy, be good. If you're worried, you can make some food suitable for him during weaning yourself, and also teach him to talk. That's the most important thing right now!"

Speaking of this, Wuya is also worried. Generally speaking, a one-and-a-half-year-old child has no problem saying some simple words and sentences.

But their sweet potato can only say "ah ah ah". If it weren't for his bright eyes, which don't seem like he has a mental problem, Wu Ya would have suspected that she gave birth to an idiot.

It's true that everything has its counter. Before, Wuya would cause trouble with this person and that person, but now she's completely under the thumb of this father and son and hasn't caused any trouble since.