Chapter 326: Making a Wish in a Dream

A closer look revealed that although the old man had a rosy complexion and looked strong, there seemed to be an indelible depression between his brows, and the light in his eyes was dim.

Yun Qingqing asked the old man to sit down first and said:

"Old man, please tell me in detail why you have such a request?"

The old man sighed and told the whole story.

The old man’s name is Zhuang Qinghong, and his ancestral home is in a remote village west of Longzhou.

His family has been farmers for generations, working from sunrise to sunset, and they can barely fill their stomachs after working all year round. They can see the end of their poverty at a glance.

Zhuang Qinghong has lived in such a place since he was a child. He thought that everyone lived like this and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

He was not called this name at that time. His family just gave him a random name called Ergou.

But ever since he had been to a nearby town and seen the only private school in the town, and realized that there was a way out in this world called "studying", an idea would never go away from his mind.

He was only four or five years old at that time, and his thoughts were very simple. He only knew that by studying hard he could pass the imperial examinations, become a high-ranking official, and have meat for every meal without having to toil in the fields every day like his parents.

So he went home and clamored to go to a private school. As expected, he was scolded by his father, who said that the family was barely making ends meet and they just wanted him to grow up quickly to help with farm work, so they didn't have the spare money to support a scholar.

He made trouble a few more times, and finally his father got tired of it and beat him up, and he finally calmed down.

But the desire to become a scholar in his heart took root and sprouted.

One day he went up the mountain with his brother to collect firewood. The mountain was close to the village and there was no danger. He was small and walked slowly, so he collected firewood slowly. His brother always walked ahead and would come back to find him when he had almost finished collecting firewood.

Not long after the two brothers entered the mountains, they gradually drifted apart.

At that time, he had already firmly remembered that his family could not afford to send him to school because they had no money, so he worked very hard, hoping that he could collect more firewood to exchange for some food and cloth, so that his family could save some money and he could ask his father to send him to school.

He was thinking about these things while picking up dry firewood, when suddenly he kicked something hard.

When he picked it up, he saw that it was a stone statue, only as big as his palm, and shaped like a fox.

He recalled that every household in the village worshipped statues of gods, and every family would worship and pray for peace during festivals. He also inexplicably thought of the fox spirits that often appeared in the stories told by the old people.

With an idea, he placed the small statue on a big stone, knelt on the ground with his hands clasped together, imitating the adult, and muttered to "Fox Fairy" to bless him to study. He also said that he would repay the fox fairy for his great kindness when he passed the imperial examination in the future.

He wanted to bow a few times and then continue collecting firewood, but somehow he fell asleep.

When he regained consciousness, he was woken up by his brother, who complained to him about being lazy and then took him down the mountain.

Before going down the mountain, he tried to find the statue, but found that the big stone was still there, but the statue that should have been on it was gone.

I asked my brother, and he said he didn't see any statue at all.

He was not sure whether he was dreaming or not, so he went home and never mentioned the statue again.

However, that same night, he got up in a daze to go to the bathroom, and suddenly a man who looked like a scholar appeared in front of him and asked him very kindly if he really wanted to study.

Of course he nodded his head as much as he could. The scholar then asked him if he was willing to pay some price for his studies. He answered truthfully that his family had no money.

The scholar burst into laughter and said that money was just the most insignificant price in the world. He had something more precious. As long as he was willing to exchange it, he could guarantee that everything he wanted would become a reality.

As long as he agrees to make an agreement, he can not only enter the school smoothly, but also pass the imperial examination, get promoted, make money, and live a long life. Why not do it?

However, scholars also need to receive some compensation.

He didn't really understand what the scholar said at that time, he just grasped what he was most concerned about.

Pass the exam, get promoted and make money.

He asked stupidly: Can that mean the whole family can have meat for every meal?

The scholar laughed until tears came out and said it was no problem.

So he did as the scholar said, gritted his teeth, pierced his index finger and gave the scholar a drop of blood.

The scholar said the contract was concluded, smiled and touched his head, and the man disappeared out of thin air.

He woke up suddenly and found that it was just a dream. He was still lying on the earthen kang, and his parents and brother were sleeping soundly.

But he felt a little pain in his fingertips. He looked down and found that the tip of his index finger seemed to have been pierced by something, and a little blood oozed out.

He thought with excitement that it seemed that the immortal in the dream really was an immortal, and he would soon be able to realize his dream of studying.

However, many days passed and nothing happened. Whenever he mentioned studying to his father again, he would still be scolded and sometimes even kicked.

As time went by, he could only accept with depression that it was just a dream that night, and gradually forgot about it.

It was not until five years later that the teacher of the private school in the town suddenly came to the village and said that a kind-hearted master from a wealthy family, in order to accumulate virtue, paid for the private school to recruit some poor but ambitious children to study.

Everyone in the village knew that the second son of the Zhuang family wanted to be a scholar, and he finally got his wish and was admitted to the private school in the town.

Perhaps because of his obsession since childhood, he was indeed very hardworking in his studies.

Although it was late for him to enter a private school at the age of ten, he passed the examination and became a scholar two years later, and finally became a scholar recognized by the government.

He changed his name to Zhuang Qinghong, feeling fortunate that he had such great ambitions since childhood and that they finally came true.

Later he passed the imperial examination and received a salary. Although it does not seem like much now, at that time, it was finally enough to bring his whole family out of that small village and settle down in a town, where their lives became much better.

His family was very proud of him. They started a small business or worked for wealthy families, devoting all their efforts to supporting him so that he could concentrate on preparing for the imperial examination next spring.

He did not disappoint his family. He ranked among the top three in the spring examination and became an editor in the Hanlin Academy.

Zhuang Qinghong discovered that he really enjoyed being with books, and his goal was no longer just to live a good life as naive as it was in his childhood.

He studied hard, and after many years, his whole family moved to the capital and became a respectable family of officials.

The dream I had when I was four or five years old has long since become vague and distant, and has been completely forgotten.

If nothing unexpected had happened, his life would have been perfect, bringing honor to his family and being respected by others.

However, since five years ago, accidents have occurred in the families of several of his grandchildren.

After several times, he gradually began to realize that something was wrong.