451 The Master is Back
On the second day after returning safely, I took Sanqiang to study in the study.
And show him the notes I made.
The gentleman and the old man have spent too much energy on him, and he doesn't want to let them down.
He was confident of passing the exam, and it would be fine if he ranked high. After all, he had worked hard in the past few years, but he still didn't dare to think about getting the top spot.
When Zhou Heng learned that they had returned, he quickly rushed over as well. In the past few years, he had been studying at the prefectural school in the morning and helping with accounting at Baicaotang in the afternoon. His food and accommodation were all provided by the eldest son.
"Mr. Zhou."
Zhou Heng smiled bitterly: "Call me Brother Zhou. I am seven years older than you. I can barely be your elder brother, but you don't dare to be one. Ping An, thank you for the banknote. I will return it to you later."
Ping An smiled and said, "Brother Zhou, you don't have to be polite to me. Just return it to me when it's convenient for you."
He once asked his master to bring two hundred taels of silver notes to Zhou Heng. If Zhou Heng really didn't want it, he would say that he lent it to him and he could pay it back at any time.
"Ping An, I quit my job at the clinic last month. Ping An, is it okay for me to move in tomorrow and study with you guys?"
"Of course, I have the notes I made here, you can exchange them with the top three."
Zhou Heng was overjoyed: "Ping An, thank you very much, those are the notes of Mr. Wang's lecture."
Ping An thought to himself that the notes that the teacher personally helped him to organize were really great. They also helped him guess the approximate range of possible questions in this provincial examination. No wonder the teacher didn't let him show them to anyone.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
In early September, Sun Sicheng arrived in Yong'an.
He just returned to Yingtian in the spring of last year, and in the autumn he had to deal with some matters in the south of the Yangtze River, so he hurried back there. After all the hassles, he finally arrived in Yong'an in early September.
When Ping'an was called back from the main courtyard, his father and uncle were sitting in the main hall talking with the master.
"master."
Sun Sicheng smiled at Ping An and said, "I haven't seen you for a year. How come you have grown taller? You can't grow any taller, or you will have to lower your head when riding in a carriage."
Wan Changsheng and Sun Hongyu both laughed.
Ping An is indeed quite tall.
Ping An also laughed: "Master, my height is just right, don't you think?"
He is currently 1.83 meters tall and weighs about 150 kilograms, which can be said to be a standard body shape, but the average height of men in this dynasty is around 1.7 meters, and there are quite a few who are even over 1.6 meters tall.
Sun Hongyu pointed to a cloth bag on the table and said, "Huo Zhi brought this to you. His grandfather passed away last fall, and now Huashou Hall has been completely taken over by him. He is also very busy."
He knew that Huo Zhi's grandfather had passed away. At the end of last year, he received a letter from Huo Zhi, which was full of helplessness.
The county town where his brother lives is quite far from home, so he cannot take care of family matters. He also needs to observe a year of mourning for his grandfather who passed away. However, the Huo family has a good influence in Jiangnan, so the ups and downs after a year will not be a problem.
His father was still a bit useless. Huo Xun was exiled, and not long after, a woman came with her illegitimate child. Huo Zhi had no choice but to find someone to investigate secretly. Finally, it was found out that the woman was here to blackmail the Huo family.
His mother didn't speak to his father for several months because of these trivial things.
Ping An took the cloth bag and found two hard-to-find books, almost rare copies, and a letter inside.
Sun Sicheng stood up and said: "I have to go back, otherwise the city gate will be closed."
Ping An said, "Master, I will go with you."
Wan Changsheng did not stay either. The eldest son had traveled a long distance, and what he needed most was to wash and rest, which was not convenient at the manor.
Ping'an said hello to his mother, picked up the things Huo Zhi gave him and prepared to go out.
Sun Sicheng raised the corner of his mouth. Ping An still couldn't bear to part with him as his master.
After getting on the carriage, Ping'an saw that his master had his eyes closed and looked very tired. He didn't ask anything, but took out Huo Zhi's letter and read it.
Huo Zhi said in the letter that he only realized how tiring it was when he actually took over the family business, as he had to resolve all the conflicts within the clan. As soon as the old ones were resolved, new problems would arise, one after another.
He told Ping'an to take the imperial examination and become an official as much as possible, and not to be reluctant to give up his medical skills. The medical skills had already been learned in his brain and would be useful throughout his life. It was not that they would be useless just by becoming an official.
It is difficult to start a business, and it is even more difficult to maintain a business. Moreover, maintaining a business is not a lifelong thing. Your descendants will have to continue to protect it, just like he did.
He was also going to take part in this year's provincial examination. As grandchildren only had to observe filial piety for their grandfather for one year, the year had just passed. However, he had seldom read books in the past year, so he was afraid that he would not pass. But it didn't matter now.
Ping An could see the deep helplessness in the letter. Huo Zhi had always been sunny in his heart. He was moved by his sunshine in the beginning. He would have to write him a letter to persuade him in the evening.
Huo Zhi also told him that he had finally bought him a three-story house not far from his home, and that the house was very nice, so he considered it a gift to himself for passing the imperial examination. The title deed was tucked between his books, so there was no need to negotiate money with him.
If possible, it would be wise to go to Jiangnan to see him as early as possible.
Ping An really found the house deed in the second book, and it was a red deed. He was not present in person, so he didn't know how Huo Zhi got the red deed.
Ping An felt warm in his heart and thought, just accept it. He and Huo Zhi don't need to care about it. Some love is for life.
When they arrived at the Sun Mansion, there was a busy moment. After an hour, Ping'an and his master leaned on the kang, and a cup of fragrant Jiangnan green tea was placed on the coffee table.
Ping An then asked, "Master, your trip to Jiangnan took so long, didn't things go smoothly?"
Sun Sicheng sighed, "Doctor Yu was too reckless. He was good at treating other diseases, but not so good at setting bones. However, due to some selfish motives, he still dared to set the bones for Old Master Zhang. Who knew that the effect was not good? When the old master saw that he could not get out of bed, he became angry and suffered another severe stroke.
If it were an ordinary family, they would just give more silver, but the other party was the old father of the Minister of Rites, who was also an old Hanlin. The family was so angry that they reported to the authorities, and Baicaotang became notorious in the city.
It was only after the master rushed over that the Zhang family finally calmed down, but the condition was that the old man's legs and stroke were cured.
What could I do? I could only stay and help them treat the disease. Both of these diseases were troublesome and would take a long time. I also took the opportunity to ask Wanli and his team to check various industries nearby and solve problems in a timely manner. In this way, we found many problems.
Ping An, I am worried now. It may not be easy for your brother Changqing to take over the family business in the future, and it will be even harder for the others. The master is already thirty-eight years old this year, and he can only manage it for a dozen years at most. "
"Master, you don't have to worry about this. In a dozen years, Brother Changqing will be about the same age as you are now."
"You don't understand. Your master and his grandchildren still doted on their grandchildren too much. Although Changqing is good at medicine and has opened a clinic, he didn't follow me around like you did since he was a child. One is like a flower, and the other is like grass. They have different resilience. Ping An, you may have to help the master take care of them in the future."
"Master, is Brother Changqing really not going to take the provincial examination?"
Sun Sicheng shook his head: "I do think so, but Changqing is only average in his studies, so it is unlikely that he will pass the imperial examination. If he takes the exam a few more times, it is still possible, but he is the eldest son and is destined to take over the family business. Where is the time to take his time?"
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