Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 9 The Speculator

Zhang Yanling couldn't explain to his father where he got his knowledge.

But looking at Zhang Luan's reaction, he knew that this pedantic scholar father had shown great interest in his diagnostic methods. This was all due to the temptation of the so-called "mountains of gold and silver", and the driving force was still his father's desire for money.

"When my father took me to seek teachers and visit friends, I once saw a book in a certain gentleman's bookcase called 'Treatise on Febrile Diseases'," said Zhang Yanling.

Zhang Luan stroked his chin, thinking: "Father, I have heard of this book. Does it contain any information on curing smallpox?"

Zhang Yanling shook his head. "Then I saw another book that was a bit similar to that one. It had a paragraph about how to prevent and treat acne. It said that once you get the disease, there is no cure, but if you do some necessary diagnosis and treatment before the disease occurs, the symptoms will become very mild or even non-existent."

Zhang Luan was originally quite interested, but after hearing this, he lost interest and said calmly, "This is just nonsense."

Zhang Yanling was not in a hurry: "Typhoid fever is caused by the change of yin and yang. The patient feels heavy, short of breath, and has tightness in the lower abdomen. There may be cramps in the genitals, heat rushing up to the chest, a heavy head that does not want to lift, spots in the eyes, and tightness in the knees and shins. Shaofusan is the main treatment."

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Luan was confused by what he heard.

Zhang Yanling said, "Treatise on Febrile Diseases... didn't father say he knew it?"

Zhang Luan suddenly felt embarrassed.

A scholar like him who has spent his whole life studying classics, even if he had heard of "Treatise on Febrile Diseases", it would be impossible for him to study it seriously. After all, knowledge is expensive these days, and he is not a doctor, so what's the point of reading that thing?
"Father, the opportunity is right in front of you. If you don't believe it, you will have to go out and borrow money later... There is a plague in the city now, and no one may let you in, let alone go to Beiyong to study. I'm afraid our family will run out of food in the spring." Zhang Yanling raised a very realistic question to Zhang Luan.

Zhang Luan hesitated a little and asked, "What else does the Treatise on Febrile Diseases say?"

This is a test for my son.

Zhang Yanling said: "If a patient often sweats spontaneously, it means that the Ying Qi is in harmony. If the Ying Qi is in harmony, the external Qi will not be harmonious because the Wei Qi is not in harmony with the Ying Qi."

Zhang Luan widened his eyes and tried hard to write down what his son said, but found that he had no idea how to remember it.

"To treat smallpox, it is said that if the contact with the patient is less than three days, the patient should take the blister fluid from a cow with smallpox and prick the arm with it, and the disease will not occur. If the contact is between five and seven days, the disease may occur, but the symptoms are mild... If the contact is more than seven days, it will not work."

Zhang Yanling talked about the common sense of using the vaccination method to vaccinate close contacts of smallpox to prevent and control epidemics.

Zhang Luan frowned: "I have heard that it is not a big deal if a cow gets smallpox, and it will heal on its own after a while, but I have never heard that the disease of a cow can be transferred to a human. If a human is infected and dies, wouldn't it be..."

"Then why don't you go ask those who have raised sick cows? They usually have a lot of contact with sick cows. Has anyone ever been infected with smallpox and died?"

Zhang Yanling argued with reason.

"This……"

Zhang Luan pondered for a moment and said, "I will go and ask right away. If it really works, this is a great opportunity to make money. There are many wealthy families in the city, and I have some connections with the heads of each family. They still believe in me, but..."

Zhang Yanling shrugged: "Father just doesn't believe me, right?"

"No... Second brother, don't blame me for doubting you. Considering your age and your past behavior, it's really... Hehe, but you've suddenly changed your temper and can calm down and study, which is a good thing. Your eldest brother is not good at studying, so we can't rely on him in the future. We have to rely on you... You mustn't mess around with your eldest brother."

After Zhang Luan finished speaking, he gently patted his youngest son's thin shoulder.

However, Zhang Yanling noticed little stars in his father's eyes, which were the smell of money.

……

……

The father and son began to work on a plan to prevent and treat smallpox.

Zhang Luan first went out to inquire around Xingji City whether there was anyone with sick cows. When he came back, his wife asked him why he went out, and he answered frankly, as if he had done something great.

Jin, on the other hand, had a distressed look on her face and was almost about to cry again. She used the peach branch in her hand to hit her husband's clothes with even more force, as if to vent her inner dissatisfaction.

"Master, our family is in such a state. It is the doctor's job to cure illnesses and save lives. Do we really have to step in and take the lead?"

Jin comforted him rationally.

Zhang Luan said, "Madam, our family is poor now. Is there any other way to get money besides this? I originally wanted to make some quick money using the prescription for treating wheezing prescribed by Yanling, but the disease is not life-threatening. People will never come to us unless they are desperate. But smallpox is different. Even if it can't be cured, it's not our fault, right?"

When Jin heard this, she suddenly felt that her husband was very wise.

Yes, he went out to cheat people. No one would say anything even if he couldn't cure the disease. This disease is incurable anyway. Now I, Zhang, have stepped forward to save the people of the world. Even if I fail in the end, are you going to put the blame for the smallpox epidemic on me?

Zhang Yanling, who happened to be coming out of the door, heard his old father's words and suddenly understood why Zhang Luan became the epitome of speculation in history.

If it weren't for this mentality of giving it a try as long as there was a slight chance, how could the impoverished Zhang family have produced the Empress of the Ming Dynasty?

Sure enough, the medicine was the right medicine for the right disease, and what he said also accurately reflected the old father's temper. Zhang Luan had not been productive for a long time, and was always thinking about ways to get rich overnight. He was very gambling. If it were a cautious and strict father, he would have beaten him to a pulp. Would he still believe his "nonsense"?
Zhang Yanling asked, "Dad, have you found the sick cow?"

"Father actually found out about it."

Zhang Luan said excitedly, "It's just in Niu's shop, a little far from our home... There are many families raising cattle over there, I will go there tomorrow."

Zhang Yanling grinned and said, "I'll go with Dad."

Zhang Luan said, "Don't go. Our Zhang family is not very prosperous. It's also because I, your father, am incompetent. I can't let you go..."

"I will go alone this time. You tell me what is written in the book. After I get the medicine to cure the disease, I will go to the city to find Mr. Wang tomorrow. My father once studied with him under Teacher Sun. This time I will help him." Zhang Yanling thought to himself, you are not helping Mr. Wang, you are trying to gain benefits from him, right?

But thinking that Zhang Luan had some connections in the city and as a scholar his words were influential, and that it was rare for his old father to do what he said, he might as well let him try his luck.

If an eleven-year-old boy told him about curing diseases and saving lives, no one would believe it.

But if Zhang Luan took the initiative to step forward as the spokesperson, the effect would be different.

……

……

This afternoon.

The entrance to the Wang family, a wealthy family in the west of the city, is bustling with activity.

Zhang Luan brought his son Zhang Yanling into the city. At that time, he was carrying a bamboo basket on his back and staring at the open gate of Wang's family. To him, it seemed like a bottomless abyss. As long as he entered the door, it would be like jumping off a cliff and he would lose his life.

"Dad, don't worry. You've planted the medicine, so you won't get sick." Zhang Yanling saw that his old father was uneasy, and hurried to cheer Zhang Luan up.

Zhang Luan hesitated, obviously retreating: "My father has never had smallpox, is it okay for your mother to do it instead?"

Zhang Yanling asked in surprise, "Father, you don't want to push mother out to be a female doctor, do you? The head of the Fangzheng said that people who go in will not be able to come out for twenty days."

"..."

Zhang Luan naturally knew that this was unrealistic.

When something happens, the man doesn't take responsibility and actually pushes his own woman away?

"How about... Dad, I'll go for you?"

After Zhang Yanling finished speaking, he made a move to move forward.

Zhang Luan grabbed his son back and sighed, "You are indispensable to our family. I will do whatever it takes."

At this moment, Fang Zheng came over with two yamen runners. Fang Zheng was about forty years old, with a big round face and small facial features, just like a few pockmarks on a watermelon. With a mocking look on his face, he asked with a smile, "Master Zhang, didn't you say you wanted to go to the palace to treat your smallpox? We are all watching you. If you go in, you can't come out within twenty days."

Zhang Luan said, "I said come in, so you come in. Do you think I'm joking?"

Fang Zheng said: "Let me be frank. If you get sick in there, we will not be responsible for carrying you to the Yagu Temple. You can only come out after 20 days when no one in the house is sick. Otherwise, even if you die in the Wang family, no one will treat you. You will have to take care of food and drink by yourself."

"I know."

Zhang Luan was already nervous, and after hearing Fang Zheng's words, he became even more nervous.

At this moment, through the open door, a skinny man in his forties shouted to the outside: "Are you here to see my brother outside? You are so thoughtful. I understand you. Please go back and don't waste your time!"

Someone nearby said, "I heard that a dead body was just carried out yesterday. You still dare to go in. You are really brave."

Zhang Luan had just taken a step forward, but then he retracted his foot.

Zhang Yanling shouted, "Stop making noises. My father said that as long as you plant the medicine he prepared, you will be guaranteed not to die. If you keep joining in the fun, you will be the next one to bring disease back."

"hehe!"

The people around just thought it was just childish talk.

Zhang Yanling did this on purpose, as a way to advertise in front of people while also putting his old father on the spot.

Seeing that you are taking one step forward and two steps back, now it's up to your son to help you onto the donkey and pull the donkey to an open space, leaving you with no place to get off.

Zhang Luan said, "After I go, I will record everything every two days. Can you bring it home for me?"

Fang Zheng smiled and said, "It's okay. The master of the Wang family is very generous. Every two days, someone will send in food, meat, vegetables, eggs, etc. As long as your family members don't mind, you can take whatever is delivered."

"If it is really cured, how much silver will you give?"

Zhang Luan needs further verification.

Fang Zheng shouted into the door, "Master Wang, how much will you pay Mr. Zhang?"

The master of the Wang family, Wang Mingzhi, shouted, "Brother Laizhan, if you can really help my family out of this predicament, fifty taels of silver will not be less. Even if you can't help at all, twenty taels of silver will be sent to your house as resettlement expenses."

If the disease is cured, fifty taels will be lost; if the disease is not cured, twenty taels will be lost.

No doctor can get such high consultation fees these days.

Zhang Luan was a little hesitant at first, but driven by money, he had no choice but to take a chance.

"Son, go back and tell your mother that your father has not done anything great in the past forty years. Today I will do something gentlemanly here so that she doesn't have to worry about me. Prepare the wine and food and wait for me to come back."

Zhang Luan walked straight into the palace gate without recognizing any of his relatives, with the lofty spirit of a man ready to die bravely and never to return.

(End of this chapter)