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

Chapter 964 Estimating Rankings

Seeing their plight, Zhang Ping'an felt sorry for them. After they were all settled, he told the driver to hurry back without saying a word.

Upon arriving home, Xiaoyuer immediately instructed the servants to bring in water to change clothes and wash up.

Even if he usually considers himself to be quite good-looking and handsome, at this moment, he has no image to speak of.

This distressed Xu Shi greatly, and she helped him from beginning to end.

"Little Fish, Pengpeng, we've lit a charcoal fire for you in advance. After you wash your hair, remember to have the servants wring it out and dry it completely. Don't come out with wet hair, or you'll develop headaches when you get old, understand?"

Zhang Lao Er couldn't stand it anymore and called the man back: "There are so many servants here, come back and sit down and rest for a while!"

Xu reluctantly sat back down, grumbling, her head tilted to the side as she looked behind her.

Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but sigh as he watched, and then he thought of the dream he had when he first went to pick up Xiaoyuer and the others, and couldn't help but chuckle:

"Mom, I think you want to hold your great-grandson. Didn't Xiaoyuer say he wanted to have more children? You probably won't be able to hold them all when the time comes. There will be so many children who need your care and attention, you won't have enough energy."

Mentioning this, Xu Shi perked up, "Having many children is such a wonderful thing! As long as I'm still alive, I wish Xiaoyuer could have a few more children. Anyway, the family can afford to raise them!"

Zhang Ping'an knew this would be the reply, so he smiled and chatted with the old couple. After waiting for a while, Xiaoyuer and Pengpeng finally came out. The two of them looked like they hadn't eaten a proper meal in days, and they ate three big bowls of rice in a row.

Madam Xu helped serve the food, saying, "Eat slowly, there's still plenty left. My dear grandson and Pengpeng, you two have worked so hard, eat more to nourish yourselves. I'll make you some pigeon soup tomorrow, that soup is really nourishing."

"That's enough, Grandma, I can do it myself," Xiaoyuer finally slowed down her eating. "Grandma, you don't know how cold and unbearable it is inside the examination hall. My dad won't let me hand in my paper early. It's so uncomfortable inside. The food at home is much better."

“Right? Then eat more these next few days to replenish your lost energy and blood,” Xu said with a happy smile. She couldn’t wait for her grandson to eat at home every day.

Zhang Lao Er had finished eating, but did not leave his seat. He was looking at his grandson with gentle eyes and said kindly, "Now that you have finished the exam, you should offer incense to the ancestors later and let them know that you are being protected from below."

"Okay, I'll go in a bit," Little Fish nodded, having almost finished eating.

Zhang Ping'an spoke up at this point, bringing up the exam: "After you finish offering incense to the ancestors, you two come to the study and tell me the exam questions and answers. If you can recite them from memory, I'll give you an estimate of your rankings."

Little Fish didn't seem to care, but Peng Peng's spirits, which had just begun to recover, immediately deflated.

Zhang Ping'an couldn't stand this, so he gently scolded, "If you pass, you pass; if you don't, no one will do anything to you. At least you have some ambition and have already passed the provincial examination. If you really have some talent in the future, I can help you find a job. I think what you need to work on the most is your mentality, rather than taking the imperial examination. How can you be responsible if you are so easily startled?"