Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 20 The incident
Huizhou Trading House.

Shopkeeper Qin was listening to his subordinate Xu Gong's report on grain matters. The more he listened, the more solemn his expression became.

"...Song Cong, the Imperial Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, investigated the grain reserves in Datong and other places and reported that the border pay was seriously embezzled. Several officials from the Ministry of Revenue have been imprisoned, and the court is still investigating. It is estimated that the case will be traced to the canal in a few days. By then... I am afraid that we will be implicated."

The grain tax draft for the 22nd year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty had been issued and began to spread rapidly.

The Huizhou merchants, who run businesses all over the world, are known for their extensive information channels. They are also the first to receive news and respond urgently.

Shopkeeper Qin asked, "How much grain do we have left to send out?"

"We have sent out all the people that could be sent out from the cities along the canal, except Xingji..."

When Xu Gong reached this point, he looked over there eagerly.

Shopkeeper Qin suddenly realized, "Only Xingji? Since the Sun family didn't take our business, have you ever thought of contacting other families?"

Xu Gong said aggrievedly: "Boss, didn't you discuss this matter in person? There are not many families in Xingji that can consume such a large amount of grain at one time. Otherwise... let's find a few scattered grain merchants and buy our grain before things get out of hand."

Shopkeeper Qin glared angrily: "You mean to say that we knew that there was something wrong with this batch of grain and that the buyer might be implicated in the case at any time, but we still resolutely threw the grain away and let others take the responsibility?"

"This……"

Xu Gong didn't know how to respond for a moment.

He was also thinking in his heart, isn't this what you, the head of the family, revealed before?
Why are you acting so righteous right now?
Shopkeeper Qin said, "We Huizhou merchants value honesty and integrity. We didn't know the huge risks involved in the grain we sent out earlier, and the other party should have known the connection behind it when purchasing the grain. We can't blame us. But...if we send grain again at this time, it would be dishonest. Once the news gets out, not only will my family's reputation be affected, but also the reputation of Huizhou merchants."

Xu Gong said: "What the master said is very true, but the grain we have... is too much. Xingji is an important place for storing grain. This time we transported a lot of grain from the granary. I heard that Chen Yushi from Guizhou Province has already entered the city."

"come yet?"

Shopkeeper Qin frowned and asked, "Why can't we hear any noise from outside? Didn't the previous letter arrive?"

Xu Gong said confidently: "The letter was definitely delivered, and it detailed the local situation. At that time, Censor Chen said that after entering the city, he would immediately arrest the person who spread rumors to confuse the public. After all, there are famous doctors who have come forward to testify. But for some reason, after entering the city... there was suddenly no movement."

Shopkeeper Qin was even more surprised: "From what I know, Censor Chen is very aggressive and never shy away from the powerful. Besides, the student surnamed Zhang is not a powerful person at all... There must be something fishy about this matter. It seems that Censor Chen is not only here for local epidemic prevention, but it is very likely... he has plans against us."

"That...that..."

Xu Gong immediately became nervous.

Shopkeeper Qin said, "If I remember correctly, when the Sun family turned down our business, the price of grain in the market was rising. They gave up the profits they had made. They must have broken the contract after hearing rumors that something was wrong..."

Xu Gong said: "Boss, didn't the other party say that someone warned him at that time?"

"That's Mr. Zhang."

Shopkeeper Qin took a deep breath, "I thought he was just an ordinary person, and he was greedy. He dared to risk the world's condemnation for a small profit. He practiced medicine without knowing the medical principles and ignored the lives of the people. It seems that this person... is not simple!"

Xu Gong asked tentatively: "Then...how about we go and ask for advice?"

Shopkeeper Qin said, "Mr. Zhang's family background is ordinary, but his cousin was once the governor of Liaodong and has many connections in the court. If he has any source of information, it must be from the main branch of the Zhang family in the city. Why don't I go directly to the Zhang Mansion to investigate, but go to find a student who deceives the world and steals the reputation?"

Xu Gong thought about it and nodded.

There is no way, this analysis is too reasonable and logical to be refuted.

How can a mere talent like him know the secrets of the imperial court?
It must be that Yuan Qi had a cousin who was a high-ranking official in the court, otherwise could it be said that he learned about it through his own connections?

Who believes?

Shopkeeper Qin was a little annoyed: "It's my fault that I didn't find out the connections of the local officials after I arrived in Xingji. I never thought that I would be defeated by the Zhang family. No wonder they say that among the local aristocratic families, the Zhang family may not rank the highest, but they have the most extensive interpersonal relationships. It's true. You should prepare a generous gift now. I want to go to the door in person and meet the head of the Zhang family."

Xu Gong asked, "Wouldn't it be... a little late to go now?" Shopkeeper Qin shook his head, "Even if there is no way to make up for what happened today, for the sake of future business and the interests of all Huizhou merchants, we need to make connections in advance, especially not neglecting the local gentry who have connections and eyes. This time, the Zhang family notified the Sun Mansion in advance without informing us, which was a warning. Unfortunately, we didn't listen to them at the time, but instead ridiculed the Sun family. It was really... wrong. The Sun Mansion also needs to apologize."

"This...it's clear that they broke the contract first..."

Xu Gong was very unwilling.

Shopkeeper Qin said, "Although the Sun family did not abide by the contract in this business, they were not blinded by money. They withdrew bravely when the grain price was high, and did not take advantage of us at all. They also warned us of the huge risks involved. They were very righteous. Do you think someone else would have warned us?"

Xu Gong said helplessly: "It would be better if he could explain it in more detail."

Shopkeeper Qin sighed, "Who would have believed it at the time? After all, this has been a practice for many years... Besides, how much inside information could the Sun Mansion know? The fact that they were willing to listen to the warnings of the Zhang family is enough to show that the wealthy families prefer to trust the local officials and gentry with high reputation. No matter how strong our background in the court was, we had never heard of it beforehand. Moreover, the time interval between the two events was more than 20 days. The background of the Zhang family... is really not simple."

Xu Gong said: "Then I will go and prepare it right away, and I will not neglect the Zhang family."

……

……

In recent days, Zhang's father and son have been temporarily living in a house outside the Yagu Temple, and their life has been very comfortable.

The neighbors around were so kind to the father and son that they knew they lacked winter clothes and bedding, so they picked out the best from their homes and sent them over. They also knew the father and son had no food or daily necessities, so they sent them water, food, and vegetables, and took care of them as if they were at home.

“It feels like home.”

That day, Zhang Luan was lying on a rattan chair with his legs crossed, holding a medical book in his hand. He glanced at it from time to time, shook his head, and had a bamboo stick in his mouth for picking teeth, not caring about his image as a scholar at all.

Zhang Yanling sat at the door, looking at the scenery outside and sighing.

"Second brother, what are you doing?"

Zhang Luan glanced at his son, "Have you been feeling depressed these past two days? You're not planning to go out and fool around with your big brother again, are you? Without your father at home, your mother is such a kind person, she might indulge him in something else! You got beaten last time, and I'm sure he'll have followed in your footsteps when you get back."

Zhang Yanling said, "Dad, I don't know how the epidemic outside is under control. Why didn't the government come to inform us?"

For Zhang Yanling, curing diseases and saving lives is a good thing, which benefits both others and himself, but being isolated from the world makes people very unhappy.

After arriving in the Ming Dynasty, he had lofty ambitions and was determined to achieve his goal of marrying his sister into the palace. What he was doing now had obviously changed the living conditions of the Zhang family, which could easily change the course of history. What if he was unable to arrive in Beijing in time, or if there were deviations in some links...

Then he would not be able to become the Zhang Guojiu in history who did all kinds of evil and counted money while lying down, but would have to be an ordinary citizen.

If you want to achieve a leapfrog class advancement these days, other than taking the shortcut of your sister marrying the prince and becoming the queen, other ways, including the imperial examination, are as difficult as ascending to heaven.

This is what Zhang Yanling is really worried about.

After all, according to history, my sister will be chosen as the Crown Princess in two months, but now the whole family is still staying in their hometown of Xingji. How can this not make people anxious?

Zhang Luan said: "At any time, you must have the courage and composure to remain calm even when facing a collapse of Mount Tai... Learn from your father, and see how calm he is."

"Dad, someone is coming." Zhang Yanling said suddenly.

When Zhang Luan heard this, he immediately spat out the bamboo stick in his mouth, stood up, walked to the door and asked, "Who is it?"

Zhang Yanling was a little uncertain: "It seems to be someone from the Sun family."

"Nonsense, why would they come here? The marriage is called off! The two families are no longer related. Could it be that he came here to ask his father to grow some herbs? Can't he just find any herb shed at the corner of the street?"

Zhang Luan was thinking that his son was teasing him, but when he heard footsteps in the yard, he didn't bother to say anything else and went out to meet them.

(End of this chapter)