Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 192: Great Kindness (asking for monthly ticket)
Zhang Mansion, main hall.

After the enthronement ceremony, Zhang Mao, as the chief envoy, went out first to wait in the back room, while Wan'an, like the former deputy minister Liu Ji, chose to stay and get close to Zhang Luan.

After the experience of his last contact with Liu Ji, Zhang Luan seemed much more calm when dealing with Prime Minister Wan'an this time.

"I heard that you, Zhang Honglu, are from the medical field?"

Wan An asked eagerly.

Zhang Luan was a little confused by Wan'an's enthusiasm.

Everyone treats me as a scholar. After all, I was born as a student of Beiyong Academy. Why do you ask me if I am a doctor first?

Hey?

Is someone in your family sick and waiting for me to come and treat them?

"Yes... I have learned some medical skills, but I am not proficient in them."

Zhang Luan hesitated for a moment before answering.

Wan An smiled and said, "Zhang Honglu, you are too modest... Before I came here, I asked someone and learned that now all parts of the north rely on Zhang Honglu's method of planting medicine to prevent and treat smallpox, so that smallpox is almost extinct in northern Zhili this winter. Is this something that ordinary people in the medical field can do?"

"Ugh, these are just some weird and lewd techniques that are not worthy of being shown on the stage. Shame on you, shame on you!"

Zhang Luan couldn't help but feel ashamed. It's not that he didn't lie, but he still didn't understand whether his method could really make acne eradicated so quickly?
Maybe it was just a coincidence!

Wan An looked around, then took something out from his arms mysteriously, handed it to Zhang Luan, and whispered, "Then take a look, what kind of medicine is this made of?"

"..."

Zhang Luan instantly felt as if he had been hit by a stick.

This guy is the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty and a role model for scholars all over the world?

Why does he look like a fake drug dealer?
Wan An probably felt that he had acted too rashly, and smiled with shame: "Zhang Honglu, please forgive me, I am usually so frank and direct, you will get used to it after getting along with me for a long time. We are not outsiders, I got a prescription of medicine here, and I don't know what it is made of. If there is something wrong, it will be a big deal!"

Zhang Luan still didn't reach out to take it, and asked doubtfully: "Since Lord Wan doesn't know the ingredients of this medicine, why doesn't he ask someone from the Imperial Hospital to take a look?"

Wan An said with a smug look, "This is what makes me most embarrassed... This medicine cannot be known to the people in the Imperial Hospital. I wanted to find a doctor in the market to take a look, but I couldn't find one at the moment. I can only say that it happened to be a coincidence. Isn't it just a coincidence that I have to come to your house for business? You are an expert, how about giving it a look?"

"I……"

Zhang Luan really wanted to curse.

But he finally took the medicine, and when he saw the red shell, he couldn't help but frowned and said, "This doesn't look like an ordinary prescription."

"Snapped!"

Wan An slapped his thigh and said in surprise, "It is said that Zhang Honglu is from the Fang family. He can tell at a glance that this medicine is unusual. This is the elixir refined by the immortal master."

Zhang Luan followed Wan An's patting of his thighs, and his body was shocked at first. He wondered what was the point of all this shock? After he calmed down a little, facing Wan An's expectant eyes, he put the medicine to his nose and smelled it, and said in surprise: "It smells very strong of sulfur."

"Sulfur? You mean, this thing is made of sulfur?"

Wan An was startled, and hurriedly took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms. This time, he directly poured out two pills from it, put them in front of his nose and smelled them carefully, frowned and asked, "Is this the smell of sulfur?"

Zhang Luan watched Wan An's every move and thought this scene was very funny. He tried to suppress his laughter and asked, "Master Wan, is this the medicine you usually take?"

"How can I use this kind of medicine? Zhang Honglu, you are really funny."

Wan An was about to joke with Zhang Luan, but suddenly realized that the occasion was not right, so he stopped smiling and said seriously, "Zhang Honglu, just tell me whether this medicine is...usable or not?"

Zhang Luan thought to himself, your question really stumps me.

I don't even know what this pill is for, how can I tell you whether you can take it?

If this contains a strong poison, and something goes wrong, won't it be my fault? Zhang Luan, adhering to the principle of never taking responsibility, said, "You should still think more carefully... How about I grind this medicine, examine it carefully, and then give you an accurate answer?"

Wan An asked hesitantly, "That means... there is something wrong with this pill, right?"

"That's not the case. But..."

Zhang Luan looked hesitant, there were some things that were difficult for him to explain.

Should I tell Wan'an that I'm just a fake doctor who can't see anything?

Wan An was a very smart man. When he saw Zhang Luan's embarrassment, he suddenly realized what was going on and exclaimed, "Fortunately, I asked Zhang Honglu today. Otherwise, I would have been in big trouble! Zhang Honglu, how could you say you are in power? You are such a kind man."

After saying this, he stood up, bowed deeply, then said goodbye and left.

……

……

at dusk.

When Zhang Yanling and his elder brother Zhang Heling returned home, the people who were watching the excitement at the door had already dispersed.

The big and small boxes of betrothal gifts were being moved to a room in the house that could store things with the concerted efforts of the masters and servants of the Zhang family.

"Why are you busying yourself like this? You can just take your time to clean up... these things won't run away on their own."

Zhang Luan was like a big boss, sitting there directing his servants to work, making a few complaints from time to time, but he couldn't hide the joy on his face.

Jin took the gift list and compared it one by one. Suddenly, she exclaimed in surprise: "Dad, there is gold here!?"

Zhang Luan seemed to have known this for a long time, and said with a smile: "The total amount of gold is 200 taels, 100 taels of 90% gold, and 100 taels of 80% gold. In addition, there are 1,000 taels of silver, 16 taels of pearls, and 4,000 strings of banknotes. Humph, what kind of family can you marry to get so much betrothal gifts?"

Jin was amazed. "It says here that there are four pairs of gold, silver, pearl and jade face flowers, four pearl and jade flowers, a pair of gold-footed four-bead rings, a pair of plum blossom rings, a pair of gold flower bracelets, a pair of gold plain bracelets, a pair of gold dragon head linked bead bracelets, a pair of gold eight-treasure bracelets... These are all made of gold. How much silver are they worth?"

"Of course, it's a gift from the royal family, so why should we miss it? His aunt even said she didn't want to join the royal family, but what happened? I think I have a unique vision, right?"

Zhang Luan looked very proud.

It seems like selling my daughter this time was a very good deal.

Jin looked at the gift list, then looked around the courtyard and asked, "It says here that there are eight horses... where are they?"

Zhang Luan said, "Oh, I asked someone to take it to the courtyard outside the city... It's too inconvenient to raise horses in the capital, and we don't have a stable, so we don't want the house to be covered with horse manure and stink.

"In addition to the horses, we will have someone send some of these gifts by horse-drawn carriage to the house outside the city that the Hui merchants gave us. We have plenty of places to store them. If they are not enough, we can buy a new house. We are not short of money now!"

Jin was unhappy and said worriedly, "How unsafe it would be if it was placed outside the city?"

Just at this time, Zhang Luan saw his two sons coming back. He jumped up from his chair, his eyes brightened, and he waved his hand and said casually:

"What a woman's opinion! There are so many servants in the house now, is it okay to send a few of them over to watch? Let the Jinyiwei outside escort along the way, and send some more people to guard there. Hey, the Jinyiwei is watching the place, let's see who dares to do anything wrong."

Hearing his father's boasting, Zhang Heling grinned and said in a mocking tone: "From what you said, Dad, Jinyiwei is run by our family, right? You can transfer whoever you want?"

"You little brat, you weren't even at home for your sister's wedding? Tell me, where the hell were you?"

Zhang Luan didn't seem to have time to argue with his eldest son at the moment. Without waiting for Zhang Heling to run away, he took a few steps forward and dragged Zhang Yanling into the house.

Zhang Yanling asked in surprise: "Dad, what are you doing?"

"You bastard, I've been looking for you for a long time. I asked your sister, and she said you went out just like your brother! Really, you're not here when I need you, which makes it really difficult for your father... Come with me quickly, your father has something to tell you."

Zhang Luan spoke in a tone as if it was natural for a father to order his son around. He didn't care that everyone in the yard was looking at him in surprise, and went to the main room with his youngest son.

(Today, the Provincial Writers Association is in a meeting, so I can only update twice, but the monthly tickets are in urgent need, so I still shamelessly ask for a wave of monthly tickets. I will resume three updates tomorrow!)
(End of this chapter)