Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 4 Iron Rooster

Zhang Luan came out of the inner courtyard and without further explanation to his two sons, he took them out of the courtyard without saying where they were going. They remained silent all the way.

Zhang Heling couldn't help asking, "How's the money-borrowing matter going? Is Second Master willing to lend us the money?"

Zhang Luan continued to remain silent.

After passing a few streets, the main gate of the Sun Mansion was not far away. Zhang Heling was in high spirits and was about to walk forward when Zhang Luan reached out and pulled him back.

"Don't visit someone else's house at noon. If it gets out, it will ruin your reputation." Zhang Luan spread out his palms, "Take out the two cents your mother gave you, and let's have a bowl of noodles on the roadside."

Zhang Heling was unhappy now, because that was the money he had extorted from his mother by his own skill, and it was definitely not for buying sesame cakes to fill his stomach. In the eyes of a thirteen-year-old boy, it was a "huge sum of money" that could be put to great use, but he never expected that his old father would target him first.

"Dad, the food and things at my brother-in-law's house are good, why don't we go to his house to eat?" Zhang Heling protested.

But the old father had a gloomy face and a frighteningly cold look in his eyes. He had no choice but to fumble around and take out two cents, but the old father snatched them away.

Zhang Luan took out two more cents from his purse and when he reached the street corner, he asked his two sons to find a seat and wait while he went to find the store owner. After arguing for a long time, he came back and sat down. Soon the store owner brought three bowls of wide noodles, only one of which had oil spots and a few slices of fat floating on it.

Zhang Luan pushed the bowl of meat noodles to Zhang Yanling, picked up the least amount of noodles, picked up the chopsticks and started eating.

"Dad, why is there meat in the second child's bowl?"

Zhang Heling looked at it with some reluctance.

Zhang Luan said: "Your brother is recovering from his injuries, so what's wrong with eating something good? It's all because of you, because you took your brother out and injured him..."

Zhang Heling swallowed his saliva and said, "Can you give me two pieces of meat too?"

Zhang Luan had a look of disdain on his face: "A bowl with meat costs three cents, and a bowl without meat costs two cents. I had to persuade the store owner to split two bowls of noodles into three. If you don't want to eat, then go hungry!"

Zhang Heling sniffed and a rich aroma hit his face. Suddenly, he felt that the steaming wide noodles were a good thing.

"Brother, you eat too..."

Zhang Yanling stretched out his chopsticks, wanting to take two pieces of meat from his bowl.

Zhang Heling was able to carry on the style of an elder brother at this moment, and stretched out his hand to stop his younger brother, "Didn't Dad say that you are taking care of your body? Eat your food, and I will save my stomach for a good meal at my brother-in-law's house."

As he said this, he started to scoop up the noodles in the bowl.

Zhang Yanling looked at the noodles in front of him. He had no appetite, but he admired Zhang Luan's bargaining skills. He bought the noodles that originally cost five cents for four cents, and divided it into three bowls... It was just that his cleverness was not used in the right place.

……

……

After the three of them finished their noodles, the two brothers were about to get up and leave, but Zhang Luan stopped them: "Don't worry, wait until the sun sets. I'll go get a bowl of soup - bring the bowl over..."

After saying that, he went to ask the shop owner for a refill of his drink in a very rude manner.

The three of them drank the noodle soup from their bowls as if they were sipping tea on the roadside.

Zhang Yanling put down his bowl first: "Did the Second Master say something? My elder brother and I have grown up, shouldn't we be informed of any family affairs?"

"Little brat, why are you worrying about that useless thing?"

Zhang Luan cursed, and seemed to think his youngest son's words made sense. Finally, he put down the bowl and sighed, "This year there is a drought, and our few acres of land have produced very little harvest, and we have not received much rent. If this continues, I am afraid we will not be able to survive the winter, and the whole family will have to starve.

"Your Second Master has arranged a marriage for your sister. If she marries him as a concubine, not only will all previous debts be written off, but he will also give her some extra money. Together with the betrothal gifts and other things, it will be enough for me to pay tribute to the village."

Zhang Luan finally spoke out what he had been hiding all the way.

Zhang Heling wiped his nose and said, "My brother-in-law's family is pretty good, and they are well-known in our place. Why does my sister want to marry someone else as a concubine? Dad, we can't agree to this."

Zhang Yanling said, "Second Master is nominally negotiating with us, but in reality he is using force after courtesy. If we refuse outright, he will ask us to pay back the debt, and we will probably not be able to borrow money from him again in the future." "How do you know?"

Zhang Luan looked at his youngest son in confusion. He didn't expect such words to come out of the mouth of an eleven-year-old boy.

Zhang Yanling did not answer, and asked again: "What family?"

Zhang Luan said: "The other party is quite powerful. Everyone in Northern Zhili knows him. He is Uncle Wan, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Wan Tong."

"Huh? Didn't Uncle Wan Guo die a long time ago?"

Zhang Yanling blurted out.

"What do you say?"

Zhang Luan was a little confused.

Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "Isn't he the one that people in the capital call Wan Er? He's been dead for several years. How can a dead person take a concubine? Also, he's older than Dad. Did you hear wrongly, Dad?"

"This... kid, don't talk nonsense. How could Uncle Wan die out of nowhere?" Zhang Luan certainly didn't believe what his son said.

Zhang Yanling couldn't help but shook his head and smiled bitterly.

The "Xianzong Shilu" clearly states:

"… (March of the 18th year of Chenghua) Wan Tong, the deputy commander of the Jinyidai salary, died. The officials were ordered to provide funeral expenses and burial sacrifices, with additional expenses according to the usual practice. Tong was the younger brother of the imperial concubine, the second in line. At that time, his official title was not mentioned, but he was called Wan Er according to his lineage…"

However, Wantong is still a romantic man who does all kinds of evil things.

"...There was a man called Xu Da, whose wife was beautiful and charming. Tong was attracted to her when he saw her, so he took Da in as a family member and married his wife. He ordered Da to work in Lianghuai to sell salt. When Tong fell ill, Da happened to be home. Tong heard Da's private conversation with his wife and choked with sobs until he died. Later, Da also took the remaining money he had obtained from Tong and was appointed as a commander of the Jinyiwei..."

It is said that Wantong robbed someone else's wife as his concubine, and also gave his ex-husband a large sum of money to go to the Lianghuai area to sell salt. When the ex-husband returned to Beijing, he was affectionate with his ex-wife in front of the seriously ill Wantong. Wantong died on the sickbed. The ex-husband used the money he got from Wantong to buy an official position in the Jinyiwei, and even became the commander of the Jinyiwei.

This is a story about "the ex-husband's brother sold his wife for fame, and the brother-in-law who took over died suddenly in anger."

Of course, the affairs of the royal family are not something that ordinary people can know. For example, Zhang Luan, who was far away in Xingji, did not know about Wan Tong’s death.

The same will be true in the era of information explosion hundreds of years later.

"Dad, I didn't lie to you. Wan Er has really been dead for several years. I heard it from a passing merchant. I think the Second Master is unwilling to tell us the truth. Let's not push our sister into the fire pit, right?" Zhang Yanling persuaded.

Zhang Luan looked displeased: "Your Second Master wouldn't lie to me... Who else could it be if not Uncle Wan? Could it be Uncle Wan's first and third uncles?"

Zhang Yanling said, "What if he is not the emperor's uncle, but some relative of the Wan family, or someone is using their name to cheat people? The Second Master has never seen the person in person, so how can he know whether it is true or not?"

"Aiya, your second master is quite insightful... Where did you hear so much gossip? Humph, you want me to trust you instead of your second master? Get up, pack your things, go to the Sun Mansion, show some spirit, don't let people think we are going to borrow money..."

Zhang Luan obviously lost all confidence because of what his son said, and could only rely on his fatherly aura to suppress his inner anxiety.

Zhang Heling grinned and said, "Why don't we go out to have fun instead of borrowing money?"

"roll!"

Zhang Luan cursed, "You are such a thief! You are worse than your brother! We are going to cancel the engagement. No matter who your sister marries, she can't marry a sickly man... I thought the Sun family was rich and powerful, but who knew it would soon become a ruined family. I, your father, can't let this precious child of yours go to waste."

Zhang Yanling also heard it now.

My elder sister is the stepping stone in my father's hand, and he will never give up until he gets wealth and glory.

But when I think of those two unlucky aunts in the past... and now it's my own sister's turn... I can only say that the Zhang family is good at political marriages, nepotism, and opportunism.

(End of this chapter)