448 Two and a half years have passed

Time flies, and two and a half years have passed in the blink of an eye.

The eighteen-year-old Ping An has grown into a tall man of 1.83 meters. Standing next to Fu An and Chen Xuan, who are both over 1.70 meters tall, he stands out from the crowd. In fact, both of them are considered tall.

Sun Sicheng set out for the capital on the 18th day of the first lunar month of the year before last. Because he had too many things to do and wanted to personally supervise the potato planting, he could not return to Yingtian for a while, but he insisted on writing a letter to Ping An once a month.

The potato yield was high that year, more than twice the yield per mu of potato.

Ping An wrote a letter to the master saying that there was no rush to report it. He could try planting it in Mr. Zheng's Youhua County for a year the following year and then he could report it. The anti-ascarid medicine would also be used in Mr. Zheng's county first. Adding this should help him a little.

Last year, there was indeed a bumper potato harvest in Youhua County. Sun Yat-sen reported the matter to the court and included the names of Master Ping An and his disciple.

Because some potatoes were still growing in the fields and had not yet been harvested, the Minister of Revenue personally led people to the fields to dig them up. With the facts before them, no one could say a word.

Ping An made contributions to obtaining seeds, Sun Sicheng made contributions to leading people in cultivating seeds, and Sun Wen made contributions to expanding trial production, recording every bit of real data, and actively reporting it.

At the end of last year, Sun Wen was directly transferred to the Ministry of Revenue as a sixth-rank official. Sun Sicheng and Ping An also received rewards from the emperor. These rewards were not very important to Sun Sicheng and his apprentice, but Sun Wen did benefit from them.

This is exactly what they wanted.

Because for Sun Sicheng and Ping An, they had already been honorary officials of the fifth and sixth ranks conferred by the emperor. Even if they were really promoted to a higher rank, so what?

As for rewards, they have received a lot of dividends from their business over the years, and Ping An has a few more shops for rent in the capital, so they are not short of money.

It would be best if we could help Sun Yat-sen's career. After all, he is nearly 40 years old and has no backing except Baicaotang. If he doesn't try to get promoted now, it will be even more difficult as he gets older.

Xiao Wu and Er Qiang returned to Yingtian in the autumn of the year before last, otherwise they would not be able to trust their master.

Da Wu helped train people in the capital. In addition to the ten people he brought back, he bought more than 20 children from the dental clinic and selected some good children from farmers.

Some of them followed him to learn martial arts, some were taught medicine by Xiaochen and Wenzhu, and some followed Xiaoshan to learn medicine making.

Those who study pharmacy have to sign a lifelong contract with their master. They are children bought by the dental clinic. They eat well and dress warmly here, and they can also learn skills. What's there to be unwilling about?

Wan Xiang then studied medicine and occasionally helped herbal farmers grow herbs. He also fell in love with a female doctor named Leng Feng, and waited for her to return to Beijing after the provincial examination so that she could marry him.

Wenzhu, Xiaochen, Wang Quan and others also wanted to get married. Master Qin was very busy. He built a row of small courtyards in Jia'an Village and prepared all the necessities for them. He was just waiting for these boys to get married. When the time came, they could just lay out the quilts and live there.

Tong Lin safely married Leng Shui in June of the year before last. At the end of last year, they gave birth to a fat daughter, which made Tong Lin happy and smiling all the time.

Last fall, when Xiaowu and Erqiang came, they also brought their wives.

Xiao Wu’s son is almost three years old. He is very naughty and will climb up to the sky if given a ladder.

Erqiang's wife Lengyue also gave birth to a son three months ago. Erqiang was so happy that he walked with the wind, and he still can't calm down.

The provincial examination will be held on October 10th, so I must go back by the end of August.

Fu An’s registered residence is in the capital, so he has to go back to the capital to take the exam, which means he has to leave in advance.

Chen Xuan also had to go back to his hometown to take the exam. His home was even farther away, almost to Youzhou. Mr. Chen rushed here a few days ago, contacted the escort agency in advance, and was waiting to leave during the holiday at the end of June.

Ping An and Fu An also decided to return to Yong'an at the end of June, and then contact the escort agency in Yong'an to go to the capital for Master Fu.

Mrs. Fu is now in Hezhou City with her husband. She must be going with her son, otherwise he would be worried about his son returning to the capital alone. Who knows what kind of evil things that old woman and her good sister-in-law will do.

She is not afraid of anything, but she cannot let her son face it.

Now it is mid-June and they are about to part. The old man is reluctant to leave and clings to Ping An like a child.

Ping'an has been living in the old man's yard for almost the past half month. He takes time to walk with the old man, occasionally gives him a massage, and sometimes listens to the old man's lectures.

Ping An has been preparing medicinal meals for his seventy-five-year-old grandfather three to four times a month over the past two and a half years. He also takes his pulse every ten days and immediately treats him if he finds any minor problems. Now he is in good health and goes shopping occasionally, which makes some people envious.

"Ping An, your master said he came at the beginning of this year, what a liar, he still can't come."

Ping An laughed, "Master came here last spring and stayed until October. He was originally planning to come here, but some things in Jiangnan stopped him, so I went back right away. Master wrote to me saying he would arrive in Yong'an in September."

The old man was a little sad: "Ping An, I am almost seventy-six this year. If you leave, I am afraid I will never see you again in this life."

Seeing his father getting sad, Master Wang tried to persuade him, "Dad, you look like you're in your 50s or 60s, you still have a lot of life ahead of you. Ping An will get married when he's 20, and when you have a son, you can send the child over to us and we'll help him take care of him, okay?"

The old man looked at Ping An and said, "Wouldn't it be better to get married after the provincial examination? Why must you be 20 years old?"

Ping'an laughed out loud, this old man is really interesting.

"Master, why don't you come back with me to Yong'an, and then go to the capital together. I will get married in the capital in the future, and I will be happier if you are all there."

When the old man heard this, he thought it was feasible. Since he was in such good health and had a good carriage, why couldn't he go to the capital to have a look? His home in the capital was basically empty now because the third son had been transferred to Dingzhou.

"Boss, I want to follow Ping An."

Master Wang held his forehead with his hands; he had a headache. Old and young, when people get old they become just like children, thinking whatever they want.

"Dad, if we stay with Ping An now, we will waste his time. Why don't we go to Yong'an in September when the weather is neither too cold nor too hot? Ping An will have finished his exams by then, and we can go to the capital together. Isn't that better?"

The old man nodded, this is indeed better.

When people get old, even if they are in good health, they may feel uncomfortable during the journey. That will delay a safe journey and affect their mood. This is not appropriate.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Ping An. You guys should leave at the end of June. I'll leave with your husband, mistress, and you in mid-September. Then I'll go to the capital with your parents. I'm happy when I think about how envious people in the capital will be when they see my current health."

The next day, during the break, Master Wang called Ping'an to the study.

"What your master and teacher said yesterday may not be true. I am mainly trying to appease your master.

He is already 76 years old, how could I dare to let him travel? Although he looks healthy now, he has a chronic problem of motion sickness and can't stand it.

Yingtian has the most pleasant climate. I hope he can live here forever and live longer. When he is a hundred years old, I will have finished my filial piety for your master. By then, you will be old, and maybe you and your master's wife will not want to go anywhere else."

"Sir, Ping An doesn't want to hear this."

"Silly child, people are born, grow old, get sick and die. Death is destined from birth. What is there to say? It's just that everyone hopes that they can live longer and that their loved ones can live longer. This is human nature.

Ping An, sir, I hope you can take time to come back and see us. There is a bond between people, and you and I can say that there is a deep bond. Next year is the year for the big exam, and I want Shao Qi to take the exam three years later, as his foundation is still a little weak. If you take the exam, you should be able to pass, but it’s hard to say what your ranking will be, as there are too many talented people in Beijing.

You should consider these things yourself, whether you want to take the exam next year or three years later, and don't put too much pressure on yourself.

Don't tell anyone about what I said today. During this period of time, I have been sorting out the key points of the provincial examination, spring examination, and palace examination for you. These are just some of my experiences, which may not be of much use. But you must not tell anyone about it, or it may cause trouble, understand?"

Ping'an nodded with red eyes, the master treated him so well.

"If the old man talks about the itinerary in front of you these days, just pretend you don't know. As long as the old man is happy, you will figure it out after a while. You don't have to wait for us in Yongan.

Just in case, I mean just in case, you also plan to take the exam again in three years, and come back next year, okay? As soon as the results of the provincial exam come out, write to us immediately, okay?"

"Yes, sir."