Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 48 "Great Ambition"

On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Luan went to report to the Imperial College.

After completing the admission procedures, Zhang Luan took his two sons for a stroll around Beijuxianfang. It was not until noon that they chose a noodle shop on the street, sat down, and ordered three bowls of noodles.

Zhang Heling said, "Dad, you love noodles, but you should also consider us kids, right? Can you not eat noodles next time?"

"roll!"

Zhang Luan picked up the chopsticks, tapped the edge of Zhang Heling's bowl, and shouted, "Stop talking nonsense. If you don't want to eat, feed it to the dog."

"Oh……"

Only then did Zhang Heling reluctantly start eating the noodles.

Then Zhang Luan glared at Zhang Yanling again and said, "It's all your fault. When I went to the Imperial College today, people everywhere were talking about Minister Li's prophecy of an earthquake. They all thought it was quite strange and most of them ridiculed it. If this thing goes wrong, I won't be able to find a backer, and I'm afraid I won't be able to protect myself."

Zhang Heling asked in bewilderment, "Dad, what are you talking about?"

"Humph!"

Zhang Luan was too lazy to pay attention to his eldest son.

Zhang Yanling, however, looked nonchalant and asked, "So, Dad, are you worried about the earthquake happening, or not?"

"nonsense!"

Zhang Luan said, "You said there will be an earthquake someday, and there will really be an earthquake in the local area? Can this happen? Now the news is spreading like wildfire, and everyone knows it. No matter how bold the local officials are, I am afraid they will not dare to cater to Minister Li casually. When the real information comes up, I, your father, will be in trouble."

Zhang Yanling said, "That Minister Li wasn't worried before he reported it, so what are you afraid of, Dad?"

Zhang Heling held a noodle in his mouth and nodded, "Yes, Dad, other people are not worried, why are you worried? It's true that the emperor is not worried, but the eunuch is."

Zhang Luan hit Zhang Heling on the forehead with a chopstick and cursed, "Who are you calling a eunuch? Do you believe I will castrate you and send you to the palace?"

Zhang Heling looked wronged, and said to his brother, "What earthquake? It was the second brother who said it, right? It has nothing to do with me. If you want to enter the palace to be a eunuch, shouldn't you send the second brother in first? Besides, there are only two boys in our family, me and the second brother. If we become eunuchs, who will take care of you in your old age and inherit the Zhang family's incense?"

"Okay, big brother, eat your noodles quickly."

Zhang Yanling couldn't bear to listen any longer and urged impatiently.

Zhang Luan seemed to think that complaining was pointless, but he held the chopsticks and did not eat anything.

Zhang Yanling said, "Didn't we agree to go out and look for a store today, to open a pharmacy or something? Let's fill our stomachs quickly, and then go find one... Dad will be admitted to the Imperial College in a few days, and he won't have so much free time."

Zhang Luan said: "I am about to go to the Imperial College to study, how can I have time to practice medicine to help the world? I finally figured it out. Don't take on porcelain work if you don't have the skills. I'd better wait to open a medicine shop...

"This incident is really too absurd. I don't know what has bewitched my mind. It's like I'm being led by the nose in every single thing."

Zhang Heling reminded enthusiastically: "Dad, was it the second son who did it?"

"Brother, can't noodles keep you from eating?"

Zhang Yanling picked up the meat from his bowl and threw it directly into Zhang Heling's bowl.

"Take it easy..."

Seeing the soup splashing in the bowl, Zhang Heling yelled, "You have no respect for your parents. It's fine if you harm your father, but you want to drag me down with you? Otherwise... Dad, let's send our second son to a shop as an apprentice and tell him not to come home."

Zhang Luan scolded, "Shut up, you are worse than the second one."

The father and his two sons fell into a strange silence, and then ate noodles in silence.

After a while, Zhang Luan almost finished the noodles in his bowl, and then he wiped his mouth with his hand and said solemnly: "In the next two days, your father will find a school for you, and you should study hard!

"You are still young, it is not time for you to earn a living... Besides, as the son of a student, you should at least be able to read and write letters, even if you are not well-read. How can you be an illiterate street kid? Study in a private school for a few years, and then you can earn a living after you leave."

Zhang Heling said, "Dad, we go to school but only know a few words. We are not proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics, poetry and songs. How can we make a living? I think it is better to find a master and learn a craft..." Zhang Luan said, "There is no extra land for you to farm at home, which means you have no way out... Learning a craft is equivalent to harming you. If you can't do it, you can carry a load and be a street vendor. There were merchants from Huizhou who visited our house before. They are very good at business. You can learn from them."

Zhang Heling slammed his chopsticks on the table and said, "I don't want to be a low-class businessman."

Not only Zhang Luan was surprised by this, but even Zhang Yanling was surprised by it.

Both father and son looked at Zhang Heling, this freak.

Zhang Heling said: "Mother told me that Dad, you have the opportunity to become a doctor in the Imperial Hospital. I want to be a doctor in the future. Dad, teach me your skills and I will inherit your legacy."

"Climb, climb, crawl!"

Zhang Luan cursed, "If you inherit me, who will I inherit? Eat and leave! Go home quickly, we can't afford to lose face!"

……

……

Zhang Luan was probably very confused about his future. He said he was going to visit Shen Lu halfway and left his two sons on the road to let them go back on their own.

Zhang Heling was in no hurry to go home.

He sat on a big rock by the road, looking around for something. After a long while, he asked, "Second Brother, what do you think we can do to make a living? It's not hard, but we can make a lot of money and be respected by others?"

Zhang Yanling thought to himself, you are absolutely right.

The work you will do in the future will be just making money by doing nothing, and it will be a waste of time. The only thing you will do is be respected by others... Have you eaten too much dog shit?
"It seems that the only thing that meets your requirements is to be a bandit..."

Zhang Yanling said casually.

Zhang Heling glared back, "Do you think being a bandit isn't tiring? With your small body, I'm afraid no one would hire you as a bandit. How about this, we go out and cheat people under the guise of Dad? Didn't Dad treat smallpox? I heard that the disease can kill people. Dad treated the master of the Xingji Wang family once, and he gave him dozens of taels of silver. There are so many high-ranking officials in the capital, how much can you earn by treating every household?"

Zhang Yanling nodded: "That does make some sense. Then... Brother, will you go and treat him?"

Zhang Heling waved his hand: "I don't know how to do that. Haven't you helped your father treat many people? Can't you go?"

Zhang Yanling rolled his eyes at his elder brother and was too lazy to pay any more attention to him.

At this time, an official carriage happened to pass by. Zhang Heling looked at it for a while and said with envy, "The capital city is really a place of good feng shui. Look at this carriage, it's magnificent and luxurious. I'm afraid I can't afford it even if I earn a lifetime of money... Do the dignitaries in the capital city eat and drink all day long?"

"Maybe." Zhang Yanling said perfunctorily.

"Then let's work for them, do you think it's okay?"

Zhang Heling suggested, "Rich families also need to keep thugs, right? If we help them fight, and they give us money, then we can also make a name for ourselves in the future, right?"

Zhang Yanling finally understood why the Zhang brothers were so out of place in history.

In this era, as a poor man without any land, it was difficult to survive in this society relying solely on his father's status as a student. To put it bluntly, his mentality was not corrected.

Once you have power and almost endless resources, you will think about cashing in everything you have. You will feel at ease only when you hold the money in your own hands.

A miser's mentality!
Then, relying on the support of the emperor's brother-in-law and nephew, he acted without restraint.

Zhang Yanling said, "That Minister Li said he would help my sister to be selected as the Crown Princess. If my sister is selected, and you become the emperor's uncle, what do you want to do after you have power and influence?"

"There are so many things I want to do."

Zhang Heling looked yearning and said shamelessly, "I heard that the people of the Wan family, the uncle of the emperor, are bullying the market. What I want to do in the future is - what I see is mine, and I will beat up anyone who steals from me."

"..."

Zhang Yanling was stunned and silent.

(End of this chapter)