Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 79: Poor people and short ambitions
The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month.

The snow stopped in the early morning, and in the morning the sun rose high in the sky, shining brightly on the earth. It was a sunny day with a clear blue sky.

Today is the day when an earthquake is predicted to occur in Zhongtaishan. Zhang Luan went to the Imperial College as if nothing had happened and visited his teachers and classmates. As soon as he sat down in the classroom, he was invited by the people from the Imperial Hospital to go to the clinic to plant medicine for people. What he said last night about having a good rest turned into nothing in an instant.

After working for a long time, Zhang Luan returned home when the sun was setting. At his door, he did not see Shen Lu, who was supposed to come and deliver the message.

The brothers Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling were chatting casually at the door of their house. When they saw Zhang Luan coming back, the two brothers immediately went to greet him.

Zhang Yanling asked with a smile: "Dad, why did you come back so early today?"

"Morning?"

Zhang Luan looked up at the sky, then turned his gaze towards the street corner, and said in surprise: "It's already late in the afternoon, and no customers have come?
"I specifically arranged a meeting with them at this time and also specified the address in detail on the invitation... Could it be that they got lost? Go, both of you go to the street corner to greet the guests."

This time, Zhang Heling seemed to have gotten smarter and refused directly: "We don't know the guests you invited, and we will miss each other even if we meet. How can we welcome them?"

There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.

"Hey! You keep making excuses when I ask you to do something. You're too lazy to move, right? You stay at home all day, doing nothing. You're almost becoming a street urchin. If I don't find something for you to do, you'll end up hanging around on the streets sooner or later and become a habitual criminal at the government office. I'll definitely find you a husband after the New Year..."

Zhang Luan just said it verbally, and he still ran to the street corner to greet the guests.

Looking at his old father's back, Zhang Heling muttered, "I think Dad is in a bad mood these past two days. He bites everyone he sees. It's best not to provoke him!"

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "Dad only bit you, but never bit me."

"The same to you……"

Zhang Heling glared at his brother, indignantly, "Second brother, you have been disrespectful recently, it's really outrageous... By the way, what have you done with Dad? What you can do, I can do too. Teach me, and I will accompany Dad in the future."

Zhang Yanling burst into laughter when he heard this.

Everyone in the family now wants to know what he is doing.

But there was really no way to explain this kind of thing to them clearly. As for teaching Zhang Heling... he didn't think he was cut out to be a teacher. He couldn't teach this naughty and willful elder brother.

"hey-hey."

Zhang Yanling just smiled.

"Hey, look at your silly look, I don't know what Dad likes about you."

Facing Zhang Yanling's dull expression, Zhang Heling seemed to have let down all his guard, but he still looked back at his brother from time to time and said fiercely, "You said that we would do something big to impress others... I have a sharp eye, if you dare to lie to me, I will beat you up."

Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "Brother, what do you have that is worth being cheated of? We don't have much capital, but we have strength. We should risk our lives to do something practical. Then our parents and sister will look up to us."

"That's fine, just come up with a set of rules and we'll start when the time is right!"

Zhang Heling's face was full of anticipation, and he was determined to do great things with his brother.

……

……

The guest Zhang Luan was waiting for finally arrived.

But there was only one person. When Zhang Luan led the guests to his door, his frustration and disappointment were beyond words, which made Zhang Yanling feel heartbroken.

"Laizhan, it's because you haven't studied in Beiyong for a few days, so you're not familiar with the people. Besides, everyone is busy at the end of the year. I tried my best to invite them for you, but they were all tied up in trivial matters and couldn't get away."

The visitor was Cui Ru, the first friend Zhang Luan made in the Imperial College. After all, Cui Ru was the son of an official, and not only did he ride in a carriage, he also brought a servant with him to the appointment. From his attire to his demeanor, he was like a wealthy family.

When Cui Ru was invited into the house, Zhang Yanling, who was following closely behind the two of them, pondered for a moment, perhaps because Cui Ru was a prominent figure and felt embarrassed to refuse the invitation.

After all, everyone knew that Zhang Luan's invitation was for the purpose of having good relationships with others when he studied at the Imperial College next year, and it was a way of testing the waters. However, he did not invite the guests at a tavern but held a banquet at home. Others were not familiar with him, and if they came for the first time, they would have to prepare gifts, so naturally they would not want to accept the invitation.

Zhang Luan was very friendly to Cui Ru, calling him Brother Cui all the time and being very respectful to him.

The two walked side by side, talking happily, and came to the main hall of the house together.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Luan called his two sons to appear before Cui Ru, so that his classmates could see his "masterpiece" of life.

"You two nephews are really handsome men."

Cui Ru looked at Zhang Heling at first glance.

After all, Zhang Heling is older and is the eldest son of the Zhang family.

In those days, the eldest son and grandson had special significance and enjoyed a natural priority in the distribution of family power and wealth. From the royal family to the common people, everyone agreed with the system of primogeniture inheritance, which originated from the Zhou emperor's patriarchal system. Otherwise, Emperor Chenghua would not have gone to such great lengths to depose Zhu Youtang from the position of crown prince.

As for the second son, he is at most a foil at home.

Hearing the compliment, Zhang Luan straightened his back at first, but then he became a little discouraged: "To be honest, my two sons are not very motivated, and their schoolwork is so-so. I'm afraid neither of them can make any achievements in the imperial examinations... The younger one is smarter, so maybe there is still a little chance, but the older one... is useless."

Zhang Heling had been standing there proudly acting as a clothes drying rack, but when he heard what his father said, his face suddenly fell.

snort!
unhappy!
The old father attacked him in front of others again!

Cui Ru asked with a smile, "I wonder if the two nephews have been betrothed?"

Zhang Luan answered simply: "Not yet."

When they lived in Xingji, their family was extremely poor and couldn't even afford the betrothal money, so Zhang Luan and his wife naturally would not consider their son's marriage.

Even though Zhang Luan later took the risk of entering the Wang family to prevent and treat smallpox, and had verbally promised a marriage to the head of the Wang family, after she came out, the Wang family only gave a gift money as agreed and no longer mentioned the marriage, because the Wang family did not want their daughter to suffer in the Zhang family.

Cui Ru looked at Zhang Heling and seemed to like him more and more. But in the end, he still shook his head with regret: "My daughter is still young, and it seems that she is not a good match for your son."

Then Cui Ru turned his gaze to Zhang Yanling, who seemed to be of a more suitable age.

Unfortunately, the problem still exists. The second son has no inheritance rights, and he will not be foolish enough to marry his daughter to a young man with an uncertain future.

Zhang Luan glanced at his two sons and said to save his dignity: "The two little ones are still young, so there is no need to rush to arrange their marriages... You two, go into your rooms and study. Your father wants to talk to the guests."

"Oh."

Zhang Heling responded and then took his brother out.

When they got to the courtyard, Zhang Heling was mumbling again: "What kind of book should I read? A comic book?"

Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "Dad is just pretending in front of others, you won't take it seriously, right? There are many books in the box in the room. If you want to marry a good wife, you can take a book and read it to show off, so that Cui Jiansheng will think that you are dedicated to learning."

Zhang Heling nodded heavily: "You are right. I think he likes me very much. Maybe if I leave a good impression on him, he will marry his daughter to me."

After saying that, he actually went into the house and rummaged through the cabinets to look for a book.

This made Zhang Yanling feel a little helpless.

(End of this chapter)