Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 10 No Man at Home

Zhang Yanling looked at his old father's desolate back and suddenly felt that although Zhang Luan was usually a bit eccentric, he had the courage and responsibility to stand up when necessary, and was indispensable to this family.

Fang Zheng came over and teased in a joking tone: "Young Master Zhang, what's wrong with your father? Why does he have to venture into such a dangerous place?"

Zhang Yanling said: "My father took this step out of his desire to benefit all living beings... Summer insects cannot talk about ice, how can you understand?"

"Hahaha……"

Fang Zheng and a group of neighbors who were watching the fun laughed out loud.

Fang Zheng laughed so hard that he fell backwards. "You young boy don't know the ins and outs of this. Go home and tell your mother to prepare for your funeral, or remarry as soon as possible... From now on, your surname won't be Zhang. Maybe it will be Wang, Sun or something like that. It's not too late for you to find a new father now. Haha."

Zhang Yanling curled his lips: "Hearing what you said, I know you are not a good person. My father said that we should not associate with bad people."

As he was about to leave, he saw a man squeeze out from the crowd. He was in his thirties and had a shifty look. He rushed over and grabbed Zhang Yanling's hand: "My dear nephew, I'm not too late, am I? Come to see Brother..."

"Go in."

Someone reminded me.

"Alas, I am still late." The visitor seemed very regretful.

Zhang Yanling asked: "Who are you?"

The man said, "Nephew, don't you recognize me? I am your Uncle Song... Your father and I were good friends and studied under the same roof, but he passed the examination and became a student, while I was never able to enter school."

"Oh, hello Uncle Song, my father has gone to the house in front to treat a patient. If you have anything to say, just wait for him to come out and talk to him in person." Zhang Yanling knew very well that he was just a teenager and it was inevitable that he would be coveted by some people with bad intentions.

The man surnamed Song said, "It's too late. Your father and I have an agreement that if one of us is in trouble, we will support each other. His family's affairs are my affairs... The head of the Wang family said that he would give your family 20 taels of silver for the treatment, right? It's not safe for you to leave the city like this, I will go with you."

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "Uncle Song, I've heard a saying that goes, 'If you show kindness to someone for no reason, you're either a traitor or a thief. Are you thinking about the twenty taels of silver that my family hasn't received yet?'"

"What's wrong?"

The man surnamed Song said righteously, "I just want to protect you. How can you not know what is good for you, kid?"

Fang Zheng, who was standing nearby, came over and waved his hand to drive him away: "Where did this troublemaker come from? This young master Zhang, not to mention that he didn't get the silver, even if he did, he wouldn't need you to protect him... Get out of here, if you don't leave, I'll take you to the government office."

"You don't know how to appreciate a good person. You don't know how to appreciate a good person." Seeing that there was no advantage to be gained, and fearing the yamen runners who were eyeing Fang Zheng covetously, the man surnamed Song left in disgrace.

Fang Zheng asked, "Do you want someone to take you back?"

Zhang Yanling didn't expect that Fang Zheng, although he spoke harshly, was actually a kind-hearted person. He just didn't know if he would be the next person to "show kindness for no reason".

"No, thank you very much. My mansion is in the city, I can just go there." Zhang Yanling said.

"Isn't there a plague in your mansion? Don't go there, leave the city and go home early. If someone follows you on the road, run away or go back with your fellow villagers."

Fang Zheng said to the people watching the excitement, "Don't block the way here, disperse, the Zhang family student is treating patients, it's a commendable courage, what's there to see? If you can, go."

As they were talking, the neighbors dispersed.

Fang Zheng took advantage of the crowd to say a few words of comfort as they were leaving: "Some of my words were not pleasant to the ears, young sir, please don't take them to heart. In fact, even the officials in the county government would have respected your father when they heard that he had stepped forward to treat smallpox. Otherwise, why would they send officials to maintain order? You should learn from your father and be responsible."

Zhang Yanling thought to himself, is this a blessing for his old father because of his absurdity?

Obviously in the eyes of others, what Zhang Luan did was ridiculous, so how come he won the respect of others?
It seems that being the first to do something is also an excellent quality. In this cold-hearted agricultural society, the old father has unknowingly become a role model for the world.

……

……

When Zhang Yanling returned home, everything was fine, but he found that his family members were much colder towards him.

Except Zhang Heling.

The next morning, Zhang Yanling got up and was doing some simple rehabilitation exercises in his room. His sister Zhang Yu came in with a tray, put the bowl of rice on the long table by the window, and then said in a cold tone, "Eat it, or it will get cold."

Zhang Yanling asked, "Where's mom? I haven't seen her since I woke up this morning."

Zhang Yu said, "Mother went out to borrow salt. The salt at home has run out. Father is not at home, so mother has to take care of everything. You too, why do you make so many troubles? Mother knows that it was you who instigated father to treat people's illnesses behind their backs. Don't you realize that mother doesn't want to treat you as her son anymore?"

"Sister, I am innocent. I just told Dad that I had read a medical book that happened to have a prescription for treating acne. It was Dad who wanted to go there himself."

Zhang Yanling's face quickly changed to one of grievance.

"And you told Dad that you were going to cancel the engagement... If anything happens to Dad, no one in the family will forgive you. Take care of yourself!"

After saying this, Zhang Yu left angrily.

Zhang Yanling thought, don't think I can't see that you are taking this opportunity to express your dissatisfaction with me! You are a little girl, nominally older than me, but in terms of social experience you are far behind.

……

……

Although Zhang Yanling knew that Zhang Yu was trying to scare him, his old mother's reaction was not fake. Zhang Yanling did feel that he had fallen out of favor at home.

However, on the morning of the next day, which was the third day after Zhang Luan entered the Wang family, when it was time for him to deliver the letter, someone brought a note written by Zhang Luan to the door.

Jin first called her eldest son over, wanting Zhang Heling to explain the above content in detail, but unexpectedly this was far beyond the scope because Zhang Heling could not recognize a few words... In the end, Jin could only call her youngest son to the ear room.

"Mom, this is a letter from Dad. He said in the letter... My wife, don't worry. I had a great chat with Brother Wang. I was bored these past few days, so I tasted the fine wine stored in the mansion with him. Whenever we talked about the past, we always lamented the passing of time..."

When Jin heard this, she couldn't help but frown: "The family is so worried, but he still spends his time drinking and partying..."

Zhang Yu said, "Mom, Dad is stuck at Wang's house and can't get out. It's okay to have a little wine. After all, it doesn't cost us any money."

Jin glared at her son and said, "Keep reading." "Oh, Dad also said that I discussed with Brother Wang and promised a marriage. He wanted to marry his youngest daughter to my son Heling. I have agreed and promised to make the marriage happen after I leave." Zhang Yanling said, smiling at Zhang Heling who was in a daze, "Mom, I think I have a sister-in-law."

Jin was very unhappy: "You still have the mind to think about this now?"

Zhang Heling's eyes widened in surprise: "Mom, are you saying that I have a wife? Is the girl from the Wang family pretty?"

The thirteen-year-old boy already knew about love, and when Zhang Heling knew that the girl he would marry in the future might be the daughter of the Wang family, a wealthy family in the city, he was overjoyed.

"Read it again." Jin said.

"Oh, dad didn't say anything else. He just said he would write back in two days and asked us not to worry. But the letter also said that if the temperature drops in the near future, we should wrap up the winter clothes and other things in bundles at home, and someone will pick them up and deliver them to the palace later." Zhang Yanling said.

"Humph, it would be better to freeze to death in there."

While Jin was speaking these cruel words, she turned to Tang and instructed, "Sister, go in and clean up. Take out all the master's thick clothes and hang them out to dry. Have someone send them to the palace in two days."

Tang said, "Isn't it still warm today?"

Jin said unhappily, "If the weather suddenly gets cold, it will be too late to send it. It's better to be prepared."

After all, Tang was just a concubine, so upon hearing this, she hurried into the room to pack her things.

……

……

It is said that ever since Zhang Heling knew that he was going to get married soon, he acted as if he had picked up a gold ingot and kept smiling as he walked.

"Second brother, do you think your sister-in-law is pretty? Is she pretty enough like Erya from the village? I think the daughter of this wealthy family must be as beautiful as a flower. Dad's vision is not wrong." Zhang Heling looked forward to it happily.

Zhang Yanling was doing carpentry work. Hearing this, he couldn't help but look at his brother with a smile: "Brother, can we be more successful? A Miss Wang makes you so happy?"

Zhang Heling said, "That's the Wang family... The Wang family is a top-notch wealthy family in the city. I heard that they have more money and food than they can spend in a lifetime."

"It's not yours."

Zhang Yanling pouted and said, "She will live in our house for a long time after she marries. At most, she will bring a little dowry."

"Hey, are you jealous of me and blame your dad for not finding such a good marriage for you?" Zhang Heling said with a smug look on his face.

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "How do you know you won't be able to marry someone better in the future?"

Zhang Yanling did not lie about this. In history, Zhang Heling married Wang, the daughter of Princess Jiashan, who was also the daughter of Emperor Chenghua's sister, and it was Wang who married Zhang Heling because she was above her station.

Arranging the marriage so hastily at such an early stage would definitely be a burden to the Zhang family, the future in-laws. Should they marry the child or not after they become rich?

The two brothers were arguing when they saw Zhang Yu walking past them without even looking at them.

"sister."

Zhang Heling said, "I'm getting married."

"Humph!"

Zhang Yu just snorted lightly, leaving behind a handsome back view.

Zhang Heling glared at his brother: "Second brother, it's all your fault. You insisted on breaking off the engagement for me... Look how sad you made me."

"Then I'll go and talk to you."

Zhang Yanling said this and went straight into the inner room.

Zhang Yu looked back and saw her brother following into the room. She scolded him, "Who let you in? This is a girl's boudoir. Mother won't let you two in."

Zhang Yanling was very impolite and sat on the stool: "I am still young, there are no taboos, I can come and go as I please."

"You are playing tricks on me... I will call my mother right now!"

Zhang Yu looked very angry.

Zhang Yanling saw that she was indeed a beautiful girl who made him feel sorry for her. He said, "Sister, I asked you to break off the engagement with the young master of the Sun family, not only because he is a sickly person who could die at any time, but also because your future is much more than that."

Zhang Yu asked, "What future does a little girl want?"

"You can't say that."

Zhang Yanling said, "I think your sister has an extremely noble appearance. In the future, she can become the mother of a country, give birth to a prince for the Ming emperor, and become a role model for women in the world to admire."

Zhang Yu said angrily: "If you keep talking nonsense, I...I will ignore you!"

No matter how angry you are or how harsh the words you say, it's actually just this.

The brother and sister stared at each other for a while, but Zhang Yu was the first to give in. She turned her head away and said, "The emperor is so old, I won't marry him... Besides, the emperor has many wives and many sons. Who said that the one I gave birth to is the prince? You are talking nonsense."

When Zhang Yanling heard this, he knew that his sister was actually moved.

It is normal for a young woman who is just beginning to fall in love to have some fantasies about her future marriage partner.

How can marrying into a wealthy family and becoming a local landlady compare to the joy of being a queen?
"I didn't say you should marry the emperor. You can definitely marry the prince... Sister, I heard that the prince will be choosing a concubine soon. If you marry him and become the prince's consort, you will soon become the queen... As long as you can become a phoenix, our Zhang family will prosper." Zhang Yanling persuaded her patiently.

The contract should have been sent to you. Please hurry up if you want to invest! Please save it and give me a recommendation vote!

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(End of this chapter)