Training the Heavens

Chapter 311 A visitor arrives
Now it was winter vacation, and seeing that more and more people came to visit him, Zhang Xingjiu simply took his family back to Shaoxing. When passing by Hangzhou, he gave a lecture at Qiushi Academy. In the evening, he rested at Qian Junfu's house and talked with A Zhang and Li Shouzhi by candlelight.

Now that they've all passed the government-funded study abroad exams in Japan, they're preparing to start their studies. Zhang said excitedly, "We've already contacted the Konan class of the general education department at Hongwen College in Tokyo. We plan to spend a year learning Japanese before applying to a university of our choice. To strengthen our nation, we must first strengthen the people's physique, so I want to study medicine."

"Me too!" Li Shouzhi and A Zhang had similar ideas.

In fact, he went further in medicine than Zhang. He studied at Kanazawa Medical College (the predecessor of Kanazawa Medical University) and the Faculty of Medicine of Kyoto Imperial University in Japan, and successfully obtained his degrees.

After graduating and returning to China, he witnessed Guangji Hospital and Guangji Medical School, which were sponsored by the British Church at the time, defrauding patients and making huge profits. He then decided to open a hospital owned by Chinese people to compete with foreign hospitals and safeguard China's medical rights.

Li Suizhi, together with several medical classmates who had returned from studying in Japan, founded the first Western hospital, Zhejiang Hospital, on Yangshi Street in Hangzhou, which specialized in treating Chinese people. In order to run the hospital well, the doctors did not receive formal salaries, but only received the minimum living expenses. Li Suizhi also donated his other income to the hospital.

Later, with the support of his relative Shen Junru, he founded Zhejiang Medical School (the predecessor of Zhejiang Medical University) in June 1912, with Li Suizhi as the first president.

The school was the earliest specialized medical school funded and founded by Chinese people themselves. It offered courses that were basically the same as the pharmacy majors of Western medical universities at the time, and trained a large number of medical talents for the country. He is therefore known as the "Father of Western Medical Education in China."

Qian Junfu's ideas were different. "I believe that education is the foundation of a strong nation, so I want to go to Japan to study education. After returning to China, I will promote education and save the country. I will run a school like Zhouping and cultivate talents for China."

Although the paths they chose were different, they shared the same concern for the country and the people. They talked for a long time, until late at night before falling into a deep sleep.

When they woke up in the morning, they felt that the conversation they had last night was not satisfying enough, so Li Shouzhi and Qian Junfu simply followed Zhang Xingjiu back to Shaoxing. On the one hand, they wanted to pay New Year's greetings to their friend's parents, and on the other hand, they could take the opportunity to chat a few more times before leaving.

When he arrived at the Shaoxing wharf, Zhang Xingjiu saw several officials who had been waiting there for a long time. When they saw him, they congratulated him again and again. It seemed that the news that the court had granted him the status of Jinshi and the fifth-rank hat had reached his hometown. These people felt that he had a bright future, so they came to get to know him in advance.

Considering that his relatives still had to live in Shaoxing, Zhang Xingjiu could only suppress his impatience and deal with them perfunctorily. He finally sent these people away and took Li Shouzhi and Qian Junfu back to live at his own home. As for Ah Zhang, he had to go home first.

Zhang Fuqing also learned the news that Zhang Xingjiu had become a Jinshi and a fifth-rank official. He was very happy and felt that Zhang Xingjiu had brought honor to the family. As soon as he came back, he clamored to go home to worship his ancestors and tell them the good news.

He just didn't understand why Zhang Xingjiu didn't go to Beijing to be an official. Zhang Xingjiu had to explain patiently, "The situation in the court is unclear right now. If I rashly get involved, I might end up in jail. So it's better to wait a few years. It won't be too late to go to Beijing when the situation stabilizes."

"That's good, that's good!" Zhang Fuqing nodded repeatedly. He came from a small peasant family, and most people like him were very cautious. When he heard this, he immediately gave up the idea of ​​letting Zhang Xingjiu go to Beijing.

He thought that since Zhang Xingjiu was now an official and his family had money, it would be nice for him to live a peaceful life. He quickly took his family to prepare for the ancestral worship ceremony and stopped disturbing Zhang Xingjiu. Zhang Xingjiu took Li Shouzhi and Qian Junfu to pay New Year's greetings to Ah Zhang's mother. After leaving, he called Xu Xilin, Wang Ziyu, and others to the Xianheng Restaurant. They ate fennel beans and drank rice wine, discussing various national affairs. He felt very happy.

After staying in Shaoxing for a few days, Li Shouzhi and Qian Junfu returned to Hangzhou to celebrate the New Year. They were about to go to Japan to study abroad, and they would probably not be back for several years. While they still had time, they should spend more time with their family.

Not long after they left, Zhang Xingjiu accompanied his family back to his hometown in Jiangpu Village. When he came back this time, many of his childhood playmates were very cautious when they saw him, and called him "Master" the moment they spoke to him.

At this time, Zhang Xingjiu understood what Ah Zhang was thinking when he and he met again in the original history. There was a sad and thick barrier between them.

Zhang Fuqing enjoyed the feeling of returning home in glory, but Zhang Xingjiu found it very boring, so he stayed in Jiangpu Village for a few days. After the seventh day of the New Year, he left on the pretext of going back to Shanghai to pay New Year's greetings to his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

After returning to Shanghai, he did not disturb others and met with close relatives such as Ma Xiangbo and Ma Jianzhong. This time he also met several children of Ma Zongwen's aunt Ma Jianshu. The eldest son, Zhu Zhiyao, was quite successful in industry. Although the second son, Zhu Yunzuo, was proficient in English, French, and Japanese and had a photographic memory, he just didn't like running a business. Zhang Xingjiu persuaded him to teach at Aurora University, and he agreed.

After the fifteenth day of the lunar month, Aurora University reopened. While teaching, Zhang Xingjiu used various equipment purchased from Europe to conduct experimental research. He also selected several students who were talented in experimental operations to serve as his assistants.

After a few days of classes, A Zhang, Li Shouzhi, Qian Junfu and others also came. They were preparing to take a ship from Shanghai to the East. Zhang Xingjiu chatted with them for a few more days, and before leaving, he went to the dock to see them off.

"Ah Zhang, Shouzhi, Junfu, if you encounter any trouble when you go to Japan, remember to send me a telegram. If you are short of money, I can lend you some money first. It's not too late to pay you back when you finish your studies and return to China."

"If it were someone else, I might feel embarrassed, but I will definitely not be shy with you!" Ah Zhang said generously, holding his hand.

"Don't worry about things at home. I have already told my mother to visit your house more often so that she can take care of you if anything happens! But from what my aunt said, it seems that she really wants you to get married as soon as possible. She might even arrange the marriage for you. If you don't want to marry a wife without feelings, you'd better think about it when you receive the telegram from home. It's not too late to send me a telegram to verify it first." Zhang Xingjiu thought of Zhu An again.

After bidding farewell to Zhang and the others, Zhang Xingjiu returned to school. Just as he sat down in his office, another guest arrived. Seeing the visitor's name card, Zhang Xingjiu couldn't help but smile, "I just sent off a few people going to the East, and here comes another one going to the West."

　Two chapters should be updated on time tomorrow

　　
　
(End of this chapter)