Chapter 269 Chapter 269 Treasure Land? Ghost Land?
"Let me take a look. Don't be nervous. This is a matter of life and death. Everything else needs to take a back seat." Xu Yunfan peered into the child's pants, felt around, and soon put the child down, tidying him up. "This kid is... atavistic."
He stood up and called over several yamen runners. "Take this father and son to County Magistrate Zhou. I'll go over there when I'm done. Big brother, go back with them first. I'm not sure what caused the child's condition, but I don't think it's serious. Don't worry too much. A child is just a child, a lovely little man. Don't worry too much about it."
Hearing Xu Yunfan's words, He Gusheng was so excited that tears started streaming down her face. She held the timid and skinny child in her arms and cried uncontrollably.
Qin Run and his three children were placed in the Zhou family. Mrs. Zhou cleaned the guest room early. After chatting with Qin Run for a few words, she saw that the three children were very tired, so she quickly asked Qin Run to take them to rest.
Zhou Qingge: "Mom, have Run'er and the others settled down?"
"Well, we've been traveling for a few days. Not only the children, but even the adults can't stand it. Remember to tell the kitchen to make something delicious later."
"I see." Zhou Qingge laughed. "Mom, did you hear just now? Run'er said that the Qin family's first start-up capital came from me."
"You, they are just being polite to you." Mrs. Zhou was not stupid. What Qin Run said just now was just a polite remark. If they believed it, it would be bad if they got into trouble. After all, it didn't matter who they were selling their things to. Zhou Qingge was just the first customer.
When County Magistrate Zhou returned home, he happened to see a yamen runner leading a beggar toward his residence. "What's going on?"
As soon as the bailiff saw County Magistrate Zhou, he hurriedly told him that Xu Yunfan had asked him to bring people back.
"I see. Then go back and I'll take them in."
County Magistrate Zhou glanced at He Gusheng, a little surprised. There was something wrong with this man. When ordinary people saw him, which one would not kneel down?
He Gusheng seemed to see through County Magistrate Zhou's confusion and said, "Sir Zhou, I am He Gusheng, a scholar from Zhoulai Prefecture in the 679th year of Dayan."
There was no "zi" in the Dayan Dynasty. As long as one passed the examination to become a scholar, he could be exempted from corvee labor, military service, and taxes, and he did not have to kneel when meeting officials.
"So it's Mr. He, please come in quickly." County Magistrate Zhou glanced at the child in He Gusheng's arms, "This child... I'll have someone take him to wash him, and then I'll let him see him when Master Xu comes back."
He Gusheng thanked him sincerely, "Sorry to bother County Magistrate Zhou, but there's no need to bother anyone else. I can do it myself."
The fewer people who know about the child's condition, the better.
"Father~" After washing himself, He Weichen had a pair of black almond-shaped eyes, a small and upright nose and a pink little mouth. When he called people in a baby voice, it really made people feel soft-hearted.
He Gusheng looked at his clean but skinny son, forced a smile with tears in his eyes, and kissed him, "Dad is here."
Xu Yunfan and County Magistrate Zhou were having dinner outside when they came over to see He Weichen. They exclaimed in surprise, "This child is really cute, but a little thin."
"Doctor Xu!" Seeing Xu Yunfan coming, He Gusheng hurriedly stood up. He Weichen hid behind He Gusheng's legs, carefully poked his head out, and looked at Xu Yunfan furtively, but his little hands were just pulling at his pants.
"Come here, cute little guy, let uncle take a look." Xu Yunfan leaned over, propped up his legs on his knees, and coaxed with a smile: "Come over to uncle, don't be afraid, uncle is so handsome, he won't eat people."
"Father is being conceited again."
He Weichen had become very timid and introverted because of his wandering life in the past few years. No matter how beautiful Xu Yunfan's smile was, he didn't dare to come out. Instead, the childish voice that sounded a bit disgusted from outside the door aroused his curiosity.
He Gusheng was also frightened by the sudden voice of the child. When he looked towards the door, he saw a child looking at him from outside the door with a sneaky look.
At just one glance, He Gusheng could tell that it was a very beautiful child, generous and confident, unlike his seven-year-old son who was timid and shy.
Xu Yunfan turned around, took a few steps over, and rudely picked up the little guy outside the door. "Didn't I tell you to follow Daddy? Why are you here?"
Xiaobao noticed the little brother hiding behind the strange uncle. His mind was completely focused on him, so he didn't care about answering Xu Yunfan. He answered irrelevantly, "Dad, who is that cute little brother? Can Xiaobao play with him?"
Xu Yunfan put Xiaobao down in disdain and waved his hand, like chasing a duck. "Play with your ass, go back to your father. Father has something to tell your uncle. Don't bother me, or I will make you eat bamboo shoots and fried meat later."
Xiaobao looked up and said eagerly, "Father, my little brother is very scared."
Xu Yunfan looked over and found that the little guy was indeed very timid. When he wasn't looking over, he would sneak his head out, but when he looked over, the kid would just like playing whack-a-mole and quickly retract his head.
This won’t work!
Before coming here, Xu Yunfan had met Qin Run. According to Qin Run, He Gusheng had been seeking medical treatment everywhere over the years and was no different from a homeless person. After learning that Qin Run was Xu Yunfan's husband, He Gusheng gritted his teeth and handed over the only land deed that was worth some money to Qin Run.
Why do you say it's only worth a little silver? It's clearly the title deed to several mountains.
Because these are a few abandoned hills covered with weeds and wild trees. Even the small basin surrounded by the hills is overgrown with weeds. If it is used for farming, it will take time and manpower to open up the wasteland, which is not cost-effective. Moreover, I heard that the place is very evil.
As for what kind of weird method it is, as far as outsiders know, the place is haunted. Some people were curious about why the He family spent decades digging a well with a diameter of only a dozen or twenty centimeters in that land, but did not allow outsiders to get close. Some men were curious and sneaked in to take a look. They were almost scared to death when they saw it. They said there were ghosts there, and they described them vividly. There were brave men who went there to seek excitement, but no matter how many groups went, every time they came back, these men looked scared. Some families even invited fortune tellers to come.
As time went by, no one dared to go there anymore, and that place became the He family's ancestral property. Unfortunately, in the eyes of outsiders, it was not as attractive as a few hundred taels of silver.
He Gusheng told Qin Run, "That's not a ghost, it's man-made. The He family deliberately hired people to pretend to be ghosts to scare people, in order to keep people away."
As for why outsiders are not allowed to approach, the reason is that there are treasures there.
But what kind of treasures were there? Not only He Gusheng didn't know, even the ancestors of the He family didn't know. Anyway, they only knew that there were treasures there, and that the treasures there might be able to save the lives of the descendants of the He family in the future. If they didn't take good care of the treasure land, their He family might be wiped out.
In his early years, the ancestor of the He family saved a master by coincidence. No matter what era, there are always some strange and supernatural phenomena. Some strange things in modern times cannot be explained by science, let alone in ancient times.
In the eyes of the people, the master has a high status.
In order to repay the He family, the master whose life was saved spent a year looking for a place that was said to make the He family rich, and asked the He family to do as he said. The master said that the place he found was not a Feng Shui treasure land, but it was comparable to a Feng Shui treasure land, and it might even save the lives of the descendants of the He family in the future. Otherwise, the He family would have no successors in a few generations.
The ancients often said that there are three types of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no descendants. This shows how important descendants are to a family.
Upon hearing this, the ancestor of the He family was extremely obedient. He dug a well just as the master asked him to. In fact, for this reason, the He family had originally settled in the county town and was considered a wealthy family in the county town with no shortage of food and clothing. Because the master said so, the ancestor of the He family sold his property and went to the provincial capital to develop.
It was not easy for people from the county town to make a living in the provincial capital. Precisely because of this difficulty, the ancestor of the He family did not dare to have many children. Even his son followed his father and worked hard to earn money to buy the precious land and dig a well. In this way, He Gusheng became the only male heir in three generations.
He Gusheng told Qin Run that the He family spent decades digging a well, but the water in it was not drinkable and was completely different from ordinary well water. However, the master said that it was a treasure land, so the He family believed it. Moreover, the He family had invested most of their money in digging the well for generations. Even if the water dug out was not drinkable, He Gusheng had never thought of selling the land.
When Xu Yunfan heard what Qin Run said, he immediately laughed. Touching his chin, he couldn't help but sigh, there is a saying that goes, good people will be rewarded.
He wanted to take possession of the He family's ancestral well.
However, Xu Yunfan still felt a little guilty. If it was a deal, he would be the one who made a fortune. He would eat the meat, but he had to at least give He Gusheng some soup.
You don't even need to get to know some people whether they are good or evil by looking at their faces.
Lin Duoduo just had an extra little finger, but it was considered an ominous sign and was cruelly abandoned. According to Lin Erhu and many tenant farmers on the farm, in some places, children who carry such an ominous sign are not allowed to grow up.
He Weichen was even more miserable, as he had a "tail". He Gusheng said that everyone there said that He Weichen was a ghost, and asked He Gusheng to drown He Weichen and burn him. He could not bury him in the ground, but had to completely eradicate the problem.
In such a situation, He Gusheng was able to give up his family property, ignore other people's obstruction, secretly take his son away to seek medical treatment everywhere, and abandon the pride of being a scholar, just to give his child a chance to be reborn.
If someone has such deep fatherly love and has decent character, Xu Yunfan doesn't mind cooperating with him.
If they cooperated, the father and son would have to go with them.
Xu Yunfan looked at the timid Gu Weichen and said, "Pick up the child and let me take a good look at him. I wasn't sure why the little guy had this tail before, so I have to take a closer look now."
He Gusheng picked up Gu Weichen, his eyes fell on Xiaobao, and he hesitated to speak. He was worried that the child would speak without restraint and tell others about Gu Weichen's long tail.
Although the imperial doctors he had met before were shocked, they did not say much else. They only told him that the world is so big and full of wonders, and that the child was not a ghost, so he should not believe in rumors and abuse the child.
But after consulting so many doctors, not all of them were as knowledgeable as the imperial physician. Some doctors, upon seeing Gu Weichen's tail, immediately told them to get out of here with disgust. Some kind-hearted doctors even advised He Gusheng to burn the ghost. It was because Gu Weichen was a ghost and an ominous person that he ended up in this situation today.
He Gusheng has experienced so much that he can't help but feel anxious.
Xu Yunfan waved his hand at Xiaobao, "Go, go, go play somewhere else, your father has to get busy."
"What's the serious matter? Can't Xiaobao watch it?"
"cannot."
"Why?"
Xu Yunfan rolled his eyes, showing no patience. "Why? I told you to get out, so just get out. Why are you asking so many whys? Get out of here right now."
He Gusheng, who was standing by, suddenly felt heartbroken for Xiaobao when he heard this. How sad and upset would he be if his father kept telling him to get out?
Xiaobao is still a child over three years old.
"No, I want to stay here and watch my little brother." Xiaobao blinked his round eyes, "Father, are you afraid that I'll say something? I heard everything Uncle He said to Daddy. My little brother has a tail, right?"
Xu Yunfan: “…”
The veins on Xu Yunfan's forehead bulged. "Good boy, you deserve a beating, don't you? You don't want to learn good things, but you insist on learning bad things. You even know how to eavesdrop on adults' conversations? Is it because your father hasn't spanked you recently, and your butt is itching?"
He Gusheng's face changed, and he quickly grabbed Xiaobao's hand, "Master Xiaobao, can you please keep this a secret for your brother and not tell anyone else? Uncle is begging you."
"Why? Brother is so amazing, why can't he let others know about it?"
"Very powerful?" He Gusheng was confused. What was so powerful about his son? It was good enough that he was not described as a monster.
Seeing He Gusheng's bewildered face, Xiaobao couldn't help but sigh in a condescending manner, repeating a few of Xu Yunfan's casual complaints, "It's terrible to be uneducated, Uncle He, I heard you're a scholar, how come you're still so ignorant? Little brother has a tail just like the Monkey King, isn't that amazing? Do you know who the Monkey King is? But I guess you don't know either, so Xiaobao will show you."
Xiao Bao dug into his clothes, took out a picture book, flipped through a few pages, and then showed it to He Gusheng: "Look, this is the Monkey King, isn't he very cool and domineering~"
He Gusheng only took a glance and immediately understood, "Yes, Master Xiaobao is right, Weichen is indeed very powerful."
His son, who was hungry and cold all the way, never complained. Instead, every time he was rejected by the doctor and felt disappointed, he would comfort himself in his childish voice and tell him not to be anxious or sad. Although his son was young, he was more capable than him in some aspects.
Perhaps, in the future, he could consider following Xu Yunfan, letting the child interact more with other children, and letting his timid baby regain his confidence.
"Uncle He, don't worry. Little brother is so powerful. Xiaobao won't say anything nonsense. Otherwise, Erlang Shen will hear it and chop off your brother's tail. That would be too painful. Xiaobao can't bear it."
Xu Yunfan, standing by, felt hopeless. His well-behaved son, after reading too many picture books, not only learned a lot but also became a chatterbox. He was so annoyed that he couldn't help but urge him, "Hurry up and leave."
Xiao Bao pointed his index finger at He Weichen's hand, and said helplessly, "Little brother won't let me go."
Although He Weichen was timid, he was seven years old, and children had their own unique ability to distinguish between good and evil. He could hear that this chubby and handsome brother was not afraid of him like other children, which made him very relieved. Moreover, the picture book of the Monkey King that his brother had just opened was said to be very interesting, and he wanted to see more of it.
Because he was a scholar himself, He Gusheng knew the importance of studying. During the years of wandering around looking for medical treatment, He Gusheng could not even take care of food and shelter, but there was one thing he never neglected, and that was the education of his children.
Xiaobao naturally saw that He Weichen wanted to see his sketchbook, so he generously took it out and said, "This is Xiaobao's treasured possession. Do you want to see it, little brother?"
Seeing He Weichen nod eagerly, Xiaobao handed over the picture book, "Then I'll lend it to you. Remember to return it to Xiaobao when you're done."
"Okay." He Weichen, who was being held by He Gusheng and with his little head poking out from under He Gusheng's armpit, responded softly.
While He Weichen was distracted by the picture book, He Gusheng took off his pants. Xu Yunfan observed it carefully, turned it over a few times with his hands, and finally pinched the base of his tail. He found that it was soft and there was no bone at all.
Xiaobao reached out and tried to pinch it, but Xu Yunfan slapped him away, "What are you doing?"
Even though his hand was slapped away, Xiaobao wasn't angry. "Xiaobao just wanted to touch it. Father, my tail looks a lot like Brother Duoduo's extra little hand. Are you going to cut off my tail, like what happened to Brother Duoduo, where you chopped off his extra little finger? Father, are you a pig butcher? Why do you love cutting up my brothers' things so much?"
He Gusheng, who was paying attention to the conversation between the father and son, suddenly had his eyes lit up. Before he could say anything, there was a snap, and when he looked again, Xiaobao was already jumping around Xu Yunfan, holding his buttocks like a shaman.
"Can you speak? When did your father chop off Duoduo's hand? How did you use words? You are so uneducated, so terrible. Go, go, go find your father quickly. It makes me sad to see you."
"Father, you hit Xiaobao again. Xiaobao is going to tell daddy and let daddy deal with you." Xiaobao covered his buttocks. Before leaving, he did not forget to look at He Weichen who had been put down by He Gusheng. The other party was looking at him eagerly, so he simply pulled the man away.
Seeing that both children were gone, He Gusheng hurriedly asked about the child's condition. Xu Yunfan explained all the possible reasons why He Weichen had a long tail. "Because of these reasons, the child has a tail. I examined the child and found that apart from the extra tail, there is no other abnormality. It can be removed, but little Weichen's current condition is not suitable for removal surgery."
"Is it a child..."
"No, I said, the child has no major problems in other aspects. The reason why he is not suitable is that he has no major problems, but he does have some minor problems. You can see that Xiao Weichen is much thinner than the other children. Such a thin child may have problems such as malnutrition. These problems are not serious, but they cannot be ignored. I will make arrangements when the child's body recovers to its best condition. However, by then, you have to come back to the capital with me."
"Go to the capital?" He Gusheng hesitated. He had no money left. The property he had sold two years ago had been spent.
It's not that he hasn't been cheated over the years. Some doctors said they had a way and asked him to buy a lot of medicine. They prescribed him hundreds of taels of ginseng and said he would get better after drinking the medicine. He Gusheng gritted his teeth and bought medicine for half a year, rented a house there and lived there, spending more than a thousand taels. Finally, he found out that he had been cheated.
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