456 Rushing to Tianguang Temple
Ping'an came out after washing up. Jixiang had already prepared the meal. He didn't have time to say anything and started eating with big mouthfuls. After finishing a big bowl of food, he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I feel better now, Master, Dad. These days, every meal is either steamed buns or flatbreads, and they are still hard. The provincial examination is really not something a human being can do."
He gestured and explained the situation inside. Sun Sicheng and Wan Changsheng were speechless. Sun Sicheng himself had only participated in the college entrance examination, which was much better than this. It only lasted four days, and he could go home every day.
"Ping An, how did you do in the exam?" Wan Changsheng couldn't help but ask.
Ping An grinned: "I feel it's pretty good, but I can't say for sure where I'll rank, and I don't know if the examiner likes my writing style this time."
"Have you checked carefully? You shouldn't come out so early."
Ping An looked at the master and said happily: "Master, I checked it carefully twice and confirmed that there is nothing to change. So I thought about coming out to eat lunch early and go to my own toilet."
Sun Sicheng laughed. This was a unique reason.
Wanli came over trotting, "Young Master, something's happened to the abbot."
Sun Sicheng was shocked: "How could it be? Not long after, Wu Qi wrote back saying that everything was fine."
He had originally planned to take some time to visit Tianguang Temple and then return to the capital immediately.
After receiving Wu Qi's letter, he only said one sentence: "The abbot is suddenly ill, and the clinic can't do anything."
"Ping An, come with me to Tianguang Temple. You don't need to bring too many people. Just make arrangements and leave immediately. Then go to the capital after you come back."
Ping An asked Wu Jun and Hu Zi to go to the examination room quickly to replace Er Qiang, Xiao Wu and Fang Wu.
He planned to take Lin Feng, Er Qiang, Fang Wu, Tong Lin, Xiao Wu, and let Qing Shi, Wu Jun, and Hu Zi stay behind. In case they couldn't come back on the day of the announcement, they would go and check the list. If they were really on the list, they would quietly take back everyone's money.
In addition, if Chen Xuan comes, arrange for him to stay and wait.
It takes at least eight or nine days to go to Tianguang Temple and back. If I have to spend some time treating the abbot, I will not be able to return for half a month.
Sun Sicheng left He Jin and some other people to guard here.
"Brother Wan, the old abbot's illness cannot be delayed. Please go back and tell my sister-in-law that I have taken him away safely. He should be back in half a month, no later than the tenth day of November. We will leave immediately after he comes back."
"It's okay. The abbot's illness is serious. But if you leave now, it will be afternoon already. Will it delay your stay at the inn?"
Wan Li said, "Master Wan, no, if we leave now, we can reach the next town to stay before dark."
"Wanli, take your men and get ready. We'll set off in a quarter of an hour."
A quarter of an hour later, two carriages came out, and Sun Sicheng also brought five people.
After waiting for an hour, Sanqiang, Zhou Heng and others were taken back home to the village. Ping'an and others had already been gone for more than an hour.
Wan Changsheng told his wife about this.
Although Mei Niang felt sorry for her son, she didn't say anything.
It's good that my son has nothing to worry about after leaving the examination hall. Tianguang Temple is not far away and will not delay his trip to the capital. If he really can't leave at the end of the year, the worst that can happen is that he can leave after the third day of the first lunar month, which will not delay the spring examination.
The old abbot is an accomplished monk. He heard from his son that he is close to the eldest son's family of three generations, so naturally he cannot delay.
In the carriage, Sun Sicheng frowned.
"Ping An, it's been several years since the last surgery of the abbot. This shouldn't be the case."
"Master, this should not be related to the last surgery. If it was going to get worse, it would have gotten worse long ago. It's obviously not a malignant tumor. The abbot is 76 years old this year. It could be a problem with the kidneys, liver, or heart."
Sun Sicheng frowned even more: "There is something wrong with his internal organs, and he is old. I don't think the abbot can handle this difficulty.
But there is nothing we can do about it, we can only do our best and leave some things to God."
Ping'an was worried about the old man in Yingtian. The old man was also very old. The doctors in the clinic in Yingtian Prefecture could not be said to be bad, but they were definitely not as good as his master.
"Master, I know it's a bit inappropriate for me to say these things now, but I still want to talk to you. I'm a little confused. Medicine is what I like, but seeing how difficult and hard it has been for you over the years, even Huo Zhi advised me not to start a business and not to trap myself in the industry.
I am eighteen years old now. I can't hide under your arm all my life. Will I really pursue a career in government, or just be a doctor, or will I still be like you, running a business and working myself to death?"
He has now participated in the provincial examination, and the next step may be the spring examination and the palace examination, but he feels more and more confused and doesn't know where his future lies.
Is it that my willpower is not strong enough and I am simply a wavering person?
This was the first time that Sun Sicheng faced the issue of his apprentice.
He looked at the struggle and confusion in his apprentice's eyes.
He has now expanded the business of Baicaotang to a very large scale, and even with the help of people like Wanli, he has worked very hard over the years, and he is even worried that Changqing will not be able to take over in the future.
Huo Zhi had the same problem.
If Ping'an didn't become an official, he would not be able to be just an ordinary doctor in a clinic in the future. He now has more than 30 people under him, not counting the farmers.
It’s not a matter of money. Even if he does nothing from now on, the current assets are enough for him and Awu to use for a lifetime, not to mention that Awu herself has a lot of dowry.
But starting a business is not an easy thing. Baicaotang, Huashoutang, Huichuntang, etc., have all taken the efforts of several generations to achieve their current status.
"Ping An, don't want to be like this for now, okay? Huo Zhi's advice is not without reason. If possible, you should try your best to pursue a career in government. Being an official doesn't mean you have to give up medicine, right?"
He even thought that if Ping'an was unwilling to be an official, he would discuss with his family and give some shares of Baicaotang to Ping'an, so that he and Changqing could take care of the family business together in the future.
From the current perspective, Changyuan and Changzhi are not good materials for studying medicine. Even if they can be a good doctor, they don’t have half of Ping An’s ability in dealing with people, including handling external chores.
What's more, Ping'an is Awu's husband, and he is also a child of the Sun family.
But these words cannot be said now. It’s too early and things haven’t reached that stage yet.
The topic changed and they were talking about the abbot's health again. This time, the master and disciple inexplicably felt that something was wrong, and they felt powerless and out of control.
Wanli and Lin Feng were sitting in the same carriage, both of them listening quietly to their master's words. They had been out for an hour, but they still didn't say a word.
"Wanli, Lin Feng, if there is anything wrong with the abbot, you can only think more positively. We have done our best. Birth, aging, sickness and death are the inevitable path for everyone. No one can escape it. According to the normal life span of a person, the abbot is already seventy-six years old, which is considered a long life."
Wanli nodded and said, "My Lord, I understand. I just feel very sad. I was abandoned by my family when I was born. The abbot is my family. Before I came to you, I stayed with him for ten years."
Lin Feng felt sad, and so did he. He followed his grandfather to the abbot's house when he was five or six years old, but his grandfather died within a year. A few years later, the abbot sent him to live with the young master.
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