Chapter 205 Chapter 205 Proud Student
Over the years, the Xiao family has not only invited famous doctors from the Great Yan Dynasty, but also many doctors from the leading countries. But without exception, the poison in Xiao Hengzhi's body can only be suppressed but not eliminated. And this poison is also quite interesting. Not only will Xiao Hengzhi suffer from the poison once a month, causing unbearable pain, but over time it will also invade Xiao Hengzhi's internal organs, making him increasingly weak. Isn't this just to restrain Xiao Hengzhi and prevent him from having the ability to go to the battlefield?
Talking about the poison in his body, Xiao Heng was furious. "Which other country could it be? It must be the families in the Great Shang Kingdom. There's no other way. My presence keeps them awake at night. They have to find a way to get rid of me."
"How many more? Exactly how many? Uncle Xiao, this isn't the time to joke around. Since they dared to attack, we have to kill them. It's rude not to reciprocate."
Xiao Hengzhi propped himself up slightly and patted the bed with his left hand. "Well said, those who respect others will be respected in return; those who disrespect others should be treated in kind. Damn it! If I don't avenge this, wouldn't I be a coward?"
"So, what is the national defense strength of the Great Shang Kingdom? Who attacked you? What position does his family hold in the Great Shang Dynasty?" Xu Yunfan was going to take part in the imperial examination after all, and was no longer the overseas man who was ignorant of current affairs.
He knew that the history books of the Great Yan Dynasty recorded that the current situation was that there were four upper countries and five middle countries. These nine countries were the countries with the strongest power in this region. As for other small countries, there were actually quite a few of them, but their land area, population, national defense, etc. were far inferior to these nine countries. In the eyes of the behemoth, they were naturally nothing to be feared.
As for the upper four countries, they are the bosses among the nine countries. Naturally, the upper four countries are superior to other countries in all aspects.
The Great Shang Dynasty and the Great Yan Dynasty are two of the top four countries. Among these four countries, there is actually a ranking. The Great Yan Dynasty is the fourth among the four countries, and the Great Shang Dynasty is the second.
The second brother would attack the fourth brother simply because he is suppressed by the eldest brother above and has a third brother with similar strength below him. In addition, other small countries are isolated from the other three brothers. If he wants to annex other countries, he must ask for a way from other brothers. But the question is, will they give way to you? You don’t have to think about it to know that they won’t.
Today, the four countries are in a state of mutual checks and balances. The Shang Dynasty is ambitious and can only try to make moves against the neighboring Dayan Dynasty. Once the Dayan Dynasty can't help but take the initiative, they will also have a reason to mobilize troops.
In fact, the Great Yan Dynasty is not easy to deal with either. After all, the Great Yan Dynasty has a magic needle that stabilizes the sea. This magic needle, together with the Qin family army, has become the mainstay of the Great Yan Dynasty. If you want to take down this behemoth of the Great Yan Dynasty, you must pull out this magic needle. As for the other mainstay, when the magic needle is gone, the only mainstay is just a single tree. Since ancient times, a single tree cannot make a forest, and a single beam cannot make a house.
These things give Xu Yunfan the most headaches, but the building is about to collapse and one tree cannot support it. In an instant, how can the eggs remain intact when the nest is overturned?
He has settled in the Qin family, and his husband and brother-in-law are all from the Dayan Dynasty. Where can he take them to escape?
Xu Yunfan is a man who thinks long-term. Even if we put aside other things, Xiao Hengzhi is still his father-in-law. Can he just sit back and watch the fun?
I'm afraid Qin Run is going to divorce him.
So sad!
Xu Yunfan urged slightly irritably, "Hurry up and tell me, don't you know Run Ge'er is still waiting for me?"
Xiao Hengzhi blushed and stammered, "I... don't know either."
"I don't know!?? Listen to what nonsense you are saying." Xu Yunfan stood up suddenly. If it weren't for the fact that Xiao Hengzhi was a patient, he might have grabbed him and shaken him to wake him up.
Xiao Hengzhi: "My people have indeed found out that the person who assassinated me is from the Great Shang Dynasty, but it is difficult to determine which family it is. Do you think they are stupid? If they dare to send someone to kill me, they must have made every possible effort to ensure that I can't trace them back."
Xu Yunfan: "...Then continue investigating. Once we find out, we'll kill him."
Xiao Hengzhi: "Don't worry, we are still investigating. I am not such a tolerant person. If I don't take revenge, I will never be able to relieve the hatred in my heart."
In the end, Xu Yunfan didn't get any useful information out of him. When he took Qin Run back, Qin Run clearly hadn't recovered from the shock of knowing that Xiao Hengzhi was his father, but he still accepted him as his father.
Because of the blood relationship, Su Yan naturally wanted to intervene when he learned about Qin Run's affairs. With Su Yan and the Qi family's help, Xu Yunfan and Qin Run were able to free up their hands to do other things.
Qin Run was naturally relieved to let them help supervise the construction of the farm and food city.
After returning to Dali Village, the college's field holiday ended and Xu Yunfan had to go to class every day. In view of the fact that his teaching knowledge was well received among students, Jiang Lanfang intended to let Xu Yunfan teach two more classes, but Xu Yunfan refused.
"Why? If you think your monthly allowance is too little, we can discuss these matters."
Xu Yunfan: "That's not the reason, Dean. You have to think about it for me. I have an exam in February next year. Don't I need to review? Also, the teacher competition is coming up. Don't I need to read more books? As the saying goes, knowing yourself and knowing your enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles. I have to go back and study the teachers of other academies. In short, in one word, I'm busy. I've been so busy lately that I don't even have time to eat. How can I have extra time to teach other classes?"
Is Xu Yunfan busy?
Are you so busy that you can still carry a basket full of popcorn on your arm and chat with the women in the village when you return to the village every day?
Reviewing? That's nonsense. The books in his study are almost covered in dust, but Xu Yunfan doesn't even come to flip through them. Who is he trying to fool?
Jiang Lanfang clenched and unclenched his fists, and finally couldn't hold it in any longer. He slammed his hand on the desk, and lost his composure. "I believe you, so just tell me, how much do you want per month?"
Xu Yunfan spread his hands, feeling helpless. "This really isn't a matter of monthly allowance. I'm really busy. I've accepted a student who's a promising talent. You know, I value talent. After several months of my meticulous one-on-one instruction, his grades have improved dramatically, and he's expected to pass the imperial examination. I plan to take him with me to take the imperial examination next year, so during this time, I have to give him some special training, okay?"
"Who are you talking about?"
Oh, Xu Yunfan actually knows such a person?
Jiang Lanfang is also a person who values talent. If he didn't, he wouldn't be so worried about the tuition fees for poor students that he couldn't eat or sleep.
Xu Yunfan said proudly, "It's Xu Zhifeng from Xiaoli Village. You might not know this, but when you come over tomorrow morning, he delivers eggs to our cafeteria every day. He's a tall and handsome young man, and he's my favorite student."
The day after Xu Yunfan returned from the capital, Xu Zhifeng came to his door with a chicken in his left hand and a basket of eggs in his right hand.
The first time he saw Xu Yunfan, Xu Zhifeng immediately knelt down and kowtowed to him.
There was no other reason. He followed Xu Yunfan's instructions, took his medicine on time every day, and insisted on exercising as Xu Yunfan said. Just half a month ago, he was able to speak again.
Although he could not speak over the years, he could still hear. Therefore, apart from the hoarse voice at the beginning, Xu Zhifeng was not to the point where he could make sounds but could not speak. At most, he could only stumble.
"Yunfan, listen, I can speak now." Xu Zhifeng has a good memory. In just half a month, the stumbling situation he had before has been resolved.
Xu Yunfan shamelessly pulled Xu Zhifeng up and said arrogantly, "I told you my medical skills are top-notch. Do you believe me now? Come on, why are you being so polite now that you're here? You're making me feel embarrassed."
That's what he said, but the next second, Xu Yunfan turned around and shouted, "Brother Mu."
"Brother." Mu Ge'er ran over from the backyard, his voice coming before he even arrived: "What's wrong?"
Xu Yunfan nodded and said, "Put the eggs on the cupboard. Where's An'er? Ask him to boil some water. Then call your eldest brother back to kill some chicken. We'll have it for lunch this afternoon."
Listening to Xu Yunfan's clear arrangements, Xu Zhifeng looked down at his empty hands and felt that Xu Yunfan was a hypocrite. He said he refused, but he might have already figured out how to eat his chicken when he saw it.
Xu Yunfan said with a smile: "Don't be so polite next time you come over. Come and sit down. Let's eat later and then go back."
Xu Zhifeng said with a smile: "That's what you said, but aren't you very happy to see that I brought a chicken?" After hanging out with Xu Yunfan for a long time, Xu Zhifeng was more careful at first, but later, he just said whatever he wanted.
"Look at what you said. This is your intention. How can I refuse? The hens in your family are well raised. They will be delicious when stewed." Xu Yunfan couldn't forget this taste.
The Xu family has raised hens for more than two years, so they are naturally delicious when stewed. Xu Yunfan used to give Xu Zhifeng extra lessons, which made Xu's mother happy, even though she felt from the bottom of her heart that Xu Yunfan's tutoring was useless. After all, Xu Zhifeng did not go to school and had no teacher to teach him. He only learned some superficial things from Xu Yunfan. In the future, wouldn't he have to raise chickens and sell eggs with her?
But ever since Xu Yunfan appeared, Xu's mother had seen and remembered the changes in her son. Even though what Xu Yunfan taught her was useless, she was happy that her son had become cheerful and no longer gloomy and silent for a long time. Once she was happy, she specially asked Xu Zhifeng to bring a chicken over.
Xu Zhifeng pulled over a stool and sat under the eaves with Xu Yunfan, peeling the persimmons in the basket together. "So many persimmons, can your family eat them all?"
Qin Run planted persimmons in Xiao Qin's orchard, covering large areas. Persimmon trees do not require much care and bear a lot of fruits, so they are much easier to manage than pear trees.
After returning from the capital, Qin Run inspected several factories and found that there were no problems. He then focused his main work on the persimmons on the mountain.
For those who have suffered hardship and poverty, no matter how small a fly's legs are, they are still meat.
Qin Run would pick some persimmons every day and take them to the town to sell at the shops. He would also carry a basket on his back and set up a stall by himself. In short, the more he could sell, the better.
Xu Yunfan looked at the persimmons in his hand and couldn't help but sigh, "I can't finish them all. I can't finish them at all. I've been eating them as fruit after meals for the past two days. I'm tired of them. I really can't finish them all, so I plan to make all these persimmons into persimmon cakes."
It is no secret that persimmon trees are easy to manage, and there are also many persimmon trees in Xiaoqing Village.
Nowadays, as long as you enter Xiaoqing Village, you can easily see branches on both sides of the paths full of bright yellow persimmons. Some branches are even bent because of too many fruits. Even so, they are definitely unable to sell all of them.
Qin Run asked the workers at the fruit factory to collect some persimmons and process them into persimmon cakes. The persimmons from Xiaoqing Village could meet the needs of the fruit factory, so there was no need to send the persimmons from home to the factory.
Those people on the Qin family's side who were idle due to the busy farming season and were able to work, Qin Run either asked them to collect the corn stalks or cut the sweet potato vines and corn stalks. The sweet potatoes in the fields still had to be dug up. How busy can one describe how busy they were?
On Qin Run’s birthday before, Qi Xiu Ze and his friends drank sweet potato wine. Although they couldn’t drink much, the four of them said that if the sweet potato wine brewed by Xu Yunfan was put on the market, it would definitely be a big hit.
The speaker has his own intention and the listener takes it to heart. Qin Run always remembered this incident, so the man who was previously responsible for purchasing sweet potatoes had to run around the surrounding area.
Everyone was busy, so Xu Yunfan could only find time to make some persimmon cakes himself. There were still so many in the basket, and he didn't know how long he would have to peel them. Xu Yunfan glanced at Xu Zhifeng and said, "Would you like to take some back to eat later?"
Xu Zhifeng decisively shook his head and refused, "No, I have a persimmon tree at home, and I'm tired of eating them these days."
Hearing this, Xu Yunfan glanced at the half-full basket of persimmons with a bit of dejection, "Oh, forget it then. By the way, come find me tomorrow morning after you deliver eggs to the cafeteria. Our dean wants to see you."
As the peel of the long persimmon broke, Xu Zhifeng looked up. "President Jiang wants to see me? Why?"
For some reason, Xu Zhifeng suddenly became very excited.
Xu Yunfan: "I told him that you are my favorite student and that you will take the imperial examination with me next year. You are well aware of the rules of our Great Yan Dynasty. Although I am a teacher, I have no status and am not considered a qualified person. If we want to take the imperial examination, we must find a teacher to be our guarantor."
Xu Zhifeng knew many teachers, but those teachers didn't know him, so they wouldn't take the risk of being his guarantor.
The same is true for Xu Yunfan, who is slightly better off than Xu Zhifeng. He knows quite a few teachers, and those teachers also know him. Coincidentally, as colleagues, their relationship is just average and not close enough, so Xu Yunfan naturally can't bring himself to speak up.
According to the imperial examination system of the Dayan Dynasty, students did not need to guarantee each other, but they needed to have a teacher recommend them in a letter to prove that the student's knowledge level did meet the requirements for participating in the Tongsheng examination, and to guarantee that the recommended student met all the requirements of the reference conditions.
If there were no recommendation letters from the Master, the annual imperial examinations would have been in chaos.
Before, Xu Zhifeng learned that Xu Yunfan intended to let him participate in the imperial examination with him next year. Xu Zhifeng had thought about asking the teacher to be a guarantor. Although he knew Xu Yunfan, he did not want to trouble Xu Yunfan for everything.
Xu Zhifeng asked several teachers, but without exception, they all turned him away.
If a teacher wants to recommend a student, this student must be someone they know well. Otherwise, if the student cheats in the exam or does something bad, it will also implicate the teacher.
On the contrary, most of the students who can get the guarantee of the teacher will not be too bad in terms of knowledge, reputation and conduct.
Xu Zhifeng was rejected by several teachers in a row. He had expected this result. He was still looking for a teacher recently, but unexpectedly, Xu Yunfan had quietly helped him with some of the tasks.
The death of the chicken I brought was really worth it.
"How did you get the dean...to agree?"
To be honest, Xu Zhifeng found it hard to imagine that Jiang Lanfang would agree to be his guarantor. This was something he dared not even think about.
Compared to Xu Zhifeng's agitation, Xu Yunfan said calmly, "Why wouldn't he agree? I told him you're my favorite student, and you'll definitely be on the list next year. By then, we'll be famous. If he doesn't use this opportunity to make his presence known to you and help us out, who would care about that little extra icing on the cake when we're already on the rise?"
Xu Zhifeng: “…”
They haven't even taken the exam yet, and the two of them haven't even passed the examination to become a student, but Xu Yunfan's tone is as if they have already become second-rank officials.
An ordinary person would probably feel pressured by Xu Yunfan's words, but Xu Zhifeng wanted to roll his eyes, as if he was infected by Xu Yunfan's overconfidence and also developed a mysterious self-confidence. He felt that it was just an imperial examination, no big deal, they could definitely do it. Didn't Xu Yunfan say that people like them were born to be high officials?
"Okay, then I'll come to see you tomorrow." Xu Zhifeng was happy and secretly resolved that he must not let Xu Yunfan down next year. Others had already solved all the difficulties he had encountered on the road to the imperial examination, and it was up to him now.
When Qin Run came back, he had no idea what Xu Zhifeng and Xu Yunfan had boasted about. They both looked arrogant and cocky.
If he wanted to stay at Xiao Qin's house for dinner, Xu Zhifeng certainly couldn't just sit and wait for Qin Run to come back before he could start cooking. He could cook rice and kill chickens, but his cooking skills were just average. He stepped aside and said, "Run, you're back. Do you want to take a break?"
"No need, I'll take care of the rest." Qin Run took over Xu Zhifeng's position. Qin An and Qin Mu were not idle either, washing vegetables, cutting vegetables, and watching the fire. The kitchen was bustling with activity. Xu Zhifeng couldn't help at all, so he simply slipped out and continued working with Xu Yunfan.
Qin Run's cooking skills are beyond words. The old hen soup with dried mushrooms was so delicious that Xu Yunfan almost bit his tongue.
"Drink slowly, there's still plenty. I'll bring back an old hen tomorrow to make more soup for you, okay?"
"Okay, I also want to eat the spicy chicken you made." Xu Yunfan hadn't eaten the food made by Qin Run for half a month, so he naturally missed it very much.
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