Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 12 Dreams come true
Zhang Yanling made a perfect life plan for her sister.

Sounds reasonable.

The premise is that my father can get out of the royal family safely, bring the money home, pass the imperial examination, and then bring the whole family to live in the capital. In this way, my sister will have the opportunity to be selected as the crown princess and succeed... Even if she fails, I can find a better home for my sister, and she can live in the capital in the future...

The future is so bright.

The way Zhang Yu looked at his younger brother was different now. He instantly changed from "bad brother" to "my good-natured second brother."

"I don't know what you are thinking about."

Jin disagreed with her son's words.

After Jin entered the room, Zhang Yu walked over and put a piece of clothing on her brother. She asked in a low voice, "Little brother, do you think Dad can cure the illness of the entire Wang family?"

Zhang Yanling smiled brilliantly.

It seems that my sister also realized that the key to this matter was that my father walked out of the Wang family’s gate safely.

"Will do."

Zhang Yanling said firmly, "I will not harm my father. He is a scholar with extraordinary knowledge. Do you think he is the kind of person who is impulsive and does not care about the consequences? My father has always been very sensible."

The implication is that my father is such a coward, what if he feels unsure about entering the Wang family?
Zhang Yu thought about it and felt that it made some sense, so he nodded.

Zhang Yanling laughed secretly in his heart. If he hadn't taken advantage of Zhang Luan's speculative thinking and forced him into a fight at the critical moment, and then put him on the fire, perhaps this old guy would really back down.

But it doesn’t matter now. As long as Zhang Luan does what he says in the Wang family, the dream will come true.

……

……

In the following days, Jin waited anxiously for a letter from her husband, but Zhang Luan was always unreliable. The messages he brought back in the following days were only fragments of information, and sometimes he simply did not send any notes.

Jin thought something had happened to her husband at Wang's house, but only Zhang Yanling knew that her old father was eating well, drinking well, and sleeping well at Wang's house and had long been reluctant to leave.

That morning, Jin was about to go out, but was blocked by several people. The other party kept shouting and acted as if they would not give up until they achieved their goal. Fortunately, the villagers were reliable. When they heard Jin's cry for help, they immediately surrounded her with sickles and hoes. Relying on her large numbers, Jin finally managed to send the people away.

Jin came back with a winnowing basket, complaining non-stop: "I don't know where these people heard this from, they come to ask us for some secret recipe for curing diseases... Fortunately, it's winter now and all the young and strong people in the village are here, otherwise it would be hard to stop them..."

Zhang Yanling said, "Mom, doesn't this just prove that Dad's treatment is effective? People are beginning to come here after hearing the news."

"Second brother, what do you mean by hearing the news? Why are you talking so elegantly now?"

Zhang Heling, who was playing with stones nearby, asked.

Zhang Yanling was too lazy to pay attention to this idiot.

Jin thought about it and felt that her son's words made some sense, but she still asked with doubt: "But your father didn't come out, how did they know?"

Zhang Yu heard the commotion in the yard and came out to speak for his brother: "Mom, doesn't Dad send messages every time? I think the Wang family will also write letters to relatives and friends. What is the situation in the letters, the neighborhood and the government should have known about it a long time ago, right? In the current situation, no news is the best news, which means that Dad's treatment is effective!"

"I hope so."

Kim nodded.

While speaking for his younger brother, Zhang Yu looked at Zhang Yanling with encouragement, as if to say, even if others don't believe in you and dad, I believe in you.

You are the ones who can bring me a bright future. If I don’t trust you, who else can I trust?

Zhang Yanling said, "Counting the days, it will be half a month soon. Dad will be out in another six or seven days. I haven't heard of anyone in the Wang family getting sick recently. Dad should be able to become famous this time."

Jin asked, "To become famous? Will you stop being a scholar and become a doctor?"

Zhang Yanling shook his head. "Mother may not know that in order for Dad to take the examination for the provincial tribute, he must not only be talented but also have good moral character and integrity in the local area. He must be recommended by an official, at least a teacher, and preferably a county magistrate or prefect. If Dad can really get rid of the smallpox and plague in the Wang family this time, and help us control the local area, then Dad can be recommended as a filial and honest official, and our family will have a better chance of going to Beijing."

"is it?"

Jin was skeptical.

As they were talking, a neighbor came over and said, "Aunt Zhang, go out and take a look. Another person is here. This time it's another wealthy family in the city. They want to invite Mr. Zhang to their house for treatment and they've brought medical fees."

Jin said, "No, my master is not here."

"Whether he is at home or not, you should go and see for yourself..."

"Go right now, go right now."

Jin put down the dustpan and hurried out.

Zhang Yu looked at Zhang Yanling with a smile: "Brother, it seems that you are still capable... Dad said that the prescription was given by you, where did you get it from?"

"Sister, don't ask. Mother doesn't let us be happy too early... When Dad comes back, our family will be different from before." Of course Zhang Yanling would not answer this question.

Zhang Yu rolled his eyes at him and said, "Humph, you are playing secretive... But you are different after you got hurt this time. People who don't know would think that your soul has been replaced by the King of Hell. Dad has a piece of clothing, it's quite new, and Mom asked me to make it smaller for you. You can try it on when you go in."

Zhang Heling heard this and said quickly: "Sister, I want one too!"

Zhang Yu immediately changed to a tone of keeping strangers away: "It's none of your business. Go to the backyard and chop firewood. When it snows, we'll rely on the firewood you chop to keep the house warm... If you don't take good care of the family, I'll punish you when I get back!" Zhang Heling pouted: "Mom is partial, why are you partial too? Really! The second child doesn't work, and you let me do it alone? It's unfair."

……

……

Two days later, dark clouds covered the city, the wind was bitingly cold, and sparse snowflakes were floating in the air.

Jin had gone out long ago, and she had to do a lot of work in the fields. There was no strong labor in the house, so it was normal for her to be busy inside and outside. After all, even when Zhang Luan was at home, he was a hands-off boss.

Zhang Yu was still cooking at the stove when a staggering guy came in. He sat down on a stool beside him and asked, "Where's your mother?"

"Mom is out."

Zhang Yu glanced sideways and immediately became happy, "Dad, why are you back?"

"cut."

Zhang Luan had put his hands in his sleeves because it was cold, but he pulled them out after hearing what she said. "Why don't you go home and stay here when it's cold? Why do you want to spend the New Year at someone else's house? Bring me some food to fill my stomach... I should have eaten more when I left. I'm starving after walking all the way back. What are you looking at? Ask the eldest brother to call your mother back! As a young lady, there's no reason for you to run around aimlessly."

"Hey, hey!"

Zhang Yu was so happy that he couldn't express it in words.

It was inconvenient for a lady to go out, so she hurriedly asked Zhang Heling to go out, but Zhang Heling made excuses and didn't want to go. It was Zhang Yanling who had a good eye and hurried to her own field to call her back.

When Jin saw her husband, she was overjoyed: "Master, how come you came back so soon?"

At this time, Zhang Luan was teasing his youngest daughter Zhang Yi. Zhang Luan brought back some food from Wang's house and let his daughter choose by herself.

Zhang Luan said, "Hurry up and pack up. The city's neighborhood chief, our village chief, and possibly someone from the county government will be here as soon as they're told. They'll also send me a plaque."

Jin was so excited that she almost fainted and asked, "Is this... done?"

"More than succeeded? It was simply earth-shattering... No one in the Wang family has gotten sick since I came in. What's worse, there was a person who had a rash and was thought to be dead, but he only had a few red spots and was alive and kicking the next day. The servants of the Wang family worship me like a deity. If I tell them to go east, who dares to go west?"

Zhang Luan was so proud when he mentioned this.

Zhang Yanling knew that this was because the infected person had been vaccinated with cowpox within five days of contact with the patient. If he had not been vaccinated, he would have developed the disease. However, because he had been vaccinated with cowpox in time, the serious illness was turned into a mild one. Zhang Luan became famous overnight.

Being able to cure smallpox patients was an incredible thing for people of that era.

"I originally planned to stay in there for two more days, but the government officials said that I didn't need to stay there anymore and asked me to come out early. There were smallpox and plague in other parts of the city, and they wanted me to go and get treatment. I thought it was my duty, so I came back." Zhang Luan crossed his legs and continued to chat.

Jin said, "Dad, let's not go. It's too dangerous. It's easy to go but hard to come back. We can't rely on Buddha's blessing every time."

Zhang Luan waved his hands and said, "You have a lot of hair but little knowledge. I have planted medicine and I won't get sick again. There are so many people in the Wang family, but no one is sick now. Doesn't this just prove that the medicine is effective? Clean up the yard. I will have to entertain many people later. I haven't been home for a few days. Look at what a mess the yard is in. Big brother, go help your mother clean up."

"Where's the second brother?" Zhang Heling protested.

Why do you always let me do the work?
Zhang Luan almost wanted to pick up a stick to hit him, and cursed: "How dare you compete with your second brother? Can you? Yanling, change into clean clothes, and when guests come to our house later, you and dad will go out to greet them. Our ancestors were very wealthy, so we should show the dignity of a wealthy family."

Jin said, "A few days ago, the second master from the mansion came and said he wanted to find a matchmaker for our daughter."

"Ignore him."

Zhang Luan said, "Now that I have money, you still want me to sell my daughter? In the future, you will follow me to the capital, where you can eat and drink delicious food. If they are not princes and nobles who want to marry us, I will ignore them!"

"Hey, I'll listen to Dad."

Zhang Yu's beautiful eyes turned into crescents as she smiled. Although she knew that her old father was just bragging, for some reason, she felt comfortable after listening to Zhang Luan's words.

Jin asked hurriedly, "Master, where is the silver?"

"Hey, do you think Brother Zong Ren will default on his debt? He has to come to our house in person to thank us and hand over the silver with both hands! Not only will he give us the silver, he will also give us a few acres of land. I will confiscate them." Zhang Luan said.

Jin was anxious when she heard this and asked, "Why don't you accept it?"

Zhang Luan said, "We are all going to the capital, why would we accept his land? Besides, am I the kind of person who doesn't keep his word? I will give him whatever he said I would give him, and I won't take a penny more. This is called a gentleman's agreement! Hurry up and pack up. Second brother, follow me into the house, I have something to say to you."

……

……

Zhang Yanling was called into the inner room by Zhang Luan.

As soon as he entered, Zhang Luan seemed to have survived a great ordeal. He heaved a long sigh of relief and said to his son without disguising anything: "Son, do you know how I have survived these days? Every day feels like a year!"

Zhang Yanling said, "What you just said to mother seems to be different."

"Dad, can you tell me the truth about what happened in there? Don't you know who your mother is? It's just us, father and son. Don't tell outsiders. Dad has experienced life and death in there this time. There is a world of difference between inside and outside. But Dad relied on the prescription you gave me. Not only did he escape death, but he may also become rich. In the future, I can rely on this skill and travel around the world without fear!"

When Zhang Luan said this, it seemed that he was ready to travel around the world and make a living with one trick.

Zhang Yanling quickly reminded him, "Dad, your mission is to take the provincial examination and bring our family to Beijing. Don't forget it! I'm still waiting for you to find her a matchmaker with a noble family."

(End of this chapter)