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

"Jinbao, sit down and rest for a while, there's no rush." ​​Zhang Pingan poured a glass of water and handed it to Jinbao. Jinbao took it and gulped it down in one gulp. After a short rest, he happily repeated, "In a few days, I can also go to Qingsong Academy to study like you."

"What's going on? How come he can go to school suddenly? Could it be that Uncle Zhang was arguing with the old man about this a few days ago?" Zhang Ping'an was also surprised. Jinbao's father seldom even went to the county town, and it was unlikely that he had any connections in the county town that could let Jinbao in through the back door. Besides, Qingsong Academy was not bad among the four academies.

Jin Bao scratched his head and smiled, "Hehe, I'm not sure what happened exactly, but my dad came home this morning and told me that I could go to Qingsong Academy to study. It seems he asked my aunt for help."

"Your aunt?" Zhang Ping'an thought for a moment. He had heard Jinbao say before that his aunt often asked people to send oil and meat to their home, but he had never seen her return to Zhangjia Village.

"Yes, actually I have never met her. I didn't expect my aunt to be so capable." Jinbao was also surprised. He originally thought that he could not go to school and had planned to go to the county town to find a job in a restaurant. Unexpectedly, there were twists and turns in life. There are surprises everywhere.

Zhang Pingan was genuinely happy for Jinbao and said with a smile, "That's great! We can go to school together again." He patted Jinbao on the shoulder and, after looking him up and down, joked, "No wonder the old people in the village say you're lucky even if you're stupid. I think it's true. You're really lucky."

After hearing this, Jinbao smiled innocently, not angry at all, but rather quite contented: "That's right, my grandma said that I am a very lucky person."

"So when you go to study at the academy, will you live there? Or what? How about you live with me? I have my own room anyway. We can be companions. My parents will definitely agree. They like you very much." Zhang Ping'an suggested.

Jin Bao had no objection to being able to live with Zhang Pingan. He said happily, "I'm definitely willing to do that. I just don't know how my father will arrange it. I'll listen to what he says when the time comes. If he agrees, I'll live with you."

Zhang Pingan thought for a moment and said, "Why don't we go ask your father now? We're moving today. If you want to live with me, pack up your things and let my father take them to the county town."

"Okay!" Jinbao said happily.

When they arrived at Jinbao's house and told Jinbao's father about the matter, he was quite happy to hear it, but he had already made arrangements. "Thank you, Ping'an, for being so good to our Jinbao. But I have already made arrangements. His grandparents will go to the county town with him to take care of him. My younger sister has prepared a small yard next to the academy."

"Is that so? That's great. We can go to and from school together then. The yard we rent is next to the academy," Zhang Pingan said with a smile.

Jin Bao, who had not yet known about this, was so disappointed when he heard this that he said, "Ah..." and his eyebrows drooped.

"Okay, we'll see each other every day from now on anyway, so I'll go back and pack my things first, otherwise it will be too late to move," Zhang Pingan patted his good brother's shoulder helplessly and comforted him.

There is no need to move most of the furniture, just clothes, bedding, pots, pans, etc., which fill up the entire mule cart. No wonder the ancients said that a broken house is worth a fortune. It seems that there is not much in the house at ordinary times, but there is a lot when you really have to clean it up.

It was absolutely impossible for people to ride on the mule cart anymore, so Zhang Laosan drove out his own mule cart to help deliver the goods and brought some vegetables for his sons. Dahe and Erhe now lived in the town, and they had to spend money on food, vegetables, and water, which was a high expense. Zhang Laosan would go to the town from time to time to deliver some vegetables grown at home or specialties collected in the village, which was always cheaper than buying them in the town.

The weather in early August was already very hot, but fortunately there was wind today, so walking on the road was not too uncomfortable. Zhang Laosan couldn't help but humming a little tune while driving the mule cart: "In spring, we are busy planting, in summer, weeding and fertilizing the fields, in autumn, we harvest the crops, and in winter, we have a leisurely time."

This joyful mood also infected Zhang Laoer's family. Zhang Laoer couldn't help laughing and said, "The singing is really bad. Fortunately, there is no one on the road, so I don't have to worry about being laughed at."

Zhang Laosan didn't care about it. He was thick-skinned anyway and was not afraid: "What a joke! I'm just singing my own song and it's none of other people's business. We're having a happy day and no one is allowed to sing a few lines." After saying that, he continued to hum.

Zhang Laoer smiled and shook his head.

Soon we arrived in town.

When Zhang Laosan went to knock on the door, Dahe and Erhe were not at home. There were only two daughters-in-law and grandchildren at home. It was not convenient for him, a father-in-law, to stay for long, so he was affectionate with the grandchildren, put down the dishes and left.

On the way from the town to the county, Zhang Laosan hummed a little tune and sighed, "It would be great if the whole family could live together someday. Life would be more complete. Now my grandson has to go to the town, which is a bit inconvenient."

Xu smiled and joked, "What's so difficult about that? Just buy a bigger house in town, and your whole family will have enough space to live in it. Then you can be city dwellers!"

Zhang Laosan rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "That's easy to say. Let's not talk about buying a house in town, which would cost at least 10 to 20 taels. If we go to town, we won't be able to farm the land in the village, and the annual income of more than 10 taels will be gone. Dahua and Erhua haven't mentioned them yet. I'm not as generous as you and Second Brother, and your sister-in-law and I have enough to wait for."

Of course, Xu knew about this situation, but she was just talking about it. She estimated that even if the third brother and his wife wanted to go to the town, Dahe and Erhe would not agree.

Zhang Ping'an listened all the way and smiled and shook his head. This Third Uncle looked unreliable and had been lazy since he was young, but in fact he had a sense of responsibility in his bones, and he knew how to do things in moderation and knew how to care for others. Even though he was in his thirties now, sometimes you could still see a hint of youth in his words and deeds, like an old child.

The rented house in the county town had been cleaned before, and now it can be moved in after a fresh wipe. The fourth, fifth and sixth girls are all very excited. This is their first time in the county town. Although the yard is not big, it is paved with stone slabs and looks clean.

The well was on the right side of the entrance. Zhang Laosan helped to draw a few buckets of water for washing. When he turned around, he suddenly found a strange little boy standing by the well.

"Wow, where are you from, kid?" Zhang Laosan asked in confusion.

The little boy was about seven or eight years old and not shy. He said crisply, "I live next door. Our house is a large one divided into two rooms. We share the well. I came to fetch water."

Zhang Laosan saw that the child was struggling to draw only half a bucket of water, and that a lot of it swayed when he carried it out, so he kindly said, "How about I help you carry it back?"

The little boy didn't even turn his head and said stubbornly: "No, I can lift it."