Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 808 The more you look at it, the more pleasing it becomes to your eyes

Zhang Yanling is leaving Beijing.

This time he is preparing for a long journey. In addition to going to Nanjing, he also plans to travel to Huizhou and the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. He plans to return in about three months.

When Zhang Luan heard about this, he was shocked and wanted to contact Zhang Yanling immediately, but was told that there were less than three days left before his youngest son's departure, and all preparations for departure had been made... which meant that he couldn't stop him.

"My son, what are you doing?"

He hurriedly summoned Zhang Yanling to the villa where Zhang Luan was staying and tried his best to dissuade him.

He simply couldn't accept his son's departure.

Zhang Yanling said, "There are three things I need to do on this trip. First, I need to investigate commercial projects in the south, promote money shops and other similar businesses along the way, and also open up transportation channels along the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal. Second, the ships that went to sea have returned, and I need to go and see them in person. At the same time, I need to make advance arrangements for the coastal defense of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas."

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Luan asked, puzzled, "You're going to go out to sea again? What's your motive?"

"No, I have no plans to go to sea."

Zhang Yanling shook his head directly, "Going to sea is so hard, and if we encounter a hurricane, we might not return. Why would I take the risk? The main purpose of this trip south is to investigate the business and investment environment, and more importantly, to think about the next step of economic development for the Ming Dynasty."

Zhang Luan frowned and said, "Your elder brother is being attacked by people in the court. Our family is in turmoil right now. Without you as our pillar of support, how am I supposed to cope? If something really happens, I won't even be able to find someone to talk to."

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "Isn't it the simplest and most effective way to go directly to the palace to discuss it with your sister and brother-in-law?"

"You want me to go directly to His Majesty if I encounter any problems?"

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "No, no, wouldn't that make me look incompetent?"

Zhang Yanling really wanted to say, "You don't have any real skills, so why are you pretending?"
If you encounter a problem that you can't solve... why not just lie down and give up?
That's what you've always done!
But Zhang Yanling said calmly, "I will hurry on my way, but I will not be back for about three months. By then, my sister will be giving birth, and it will be a lively three-generation family gathering."

"Your mind is... quite complicated."

Zhang Luan was somewhat annoyed. "Your father can't stop you, can he?"

Zhang Yanling sighed, “Father, you should know that it’s a small matter that my elder brother is being targeted, but once our channel for providing financial support to the royal family is cut off, it will be extremely difficult for our family to gain a foothold in the court, or even influence the political situation so that my brother-in-law can better realize his political ambitions.”

Zhang Luan asked in surprise, "You did all this for the sake of your family?"

"if not?"

Zhang Yanling said, "I have no official position. I am going south for inspection in a private capacity, so I will not cause any trouble for my family. And don't worry, Commander Qin will be going with me this time, so my safety is guaranteed."

"Huh? Wasn't Qin Yun already promoted to the position of Commander of the Northern Garrison by your brother-in-law? Why is he still only a commander of a thousand?" Zhang Luan asked in surprise.

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "Brother-in-law changed his mind and handed the position of Garrison Commander to my eldest brother... Father, you don't know about this yet, do you?"

"..."

Zhang Luan instantly felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

I went into hiding for two days. What happened in the court?

Why did my eldest son's status rise so rapidly, going directly from a nominal commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to the actual commander of the Northern Garrison?

Isn’t this a big change?

Zhang Yanling said, "My brother-in-law's protection of my elder brother is truly meticulous. Father, you should pay more attention to affairs of the court. Don't ignore what happens at home or what happens to officials who have pledged allegiance to you. It's not good to do that; you'll end up all alone sooner or later..."

"Don't exaggerate... I just haven't figured it out yet."

Zhang Luan was somewhat anxious and frowned as he asked, "Your elder brother is still lying in bed. Why would His Majesty appoint him as a garrison commander? What can he do? In that case, wouldn't the position of garrison commander of the Northern Garrison be created for nothing? Even if your brother-in-law really thinks that our family needs someone to step up and support the family, why not give the position to you? I... I really don't understand!"

Zhang Yanling sighed, "This must be my brother-in-law's favoritism towards my elder brother."

"What? Your older brother is so unreliable and doesn't like to use his brain, what does His Majesty favor about him?" Zhang Luan was speechless, and even felt that his worldview was being overturned. He almost wanted to bang his head against the wall.

It's one thing for my eldest son to be abnormal, but why does my son-in-law, who is an emperor, also not follow the conventional path?
Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "Father, you'll know once you spend more time with my brother-in-law that his protectiveness is off the charts... Do you think it's that easy for others to successfully impeach my elder brother? The more they impeach him, the higher the official position my brother-in-law will give him. It's just a matter of who can't withstand it first!"

"What a stubborn fool."

Zhang Luan blurted it out almost without thinking.

Don't say that!

Zhang Yanling quickly glanced around and whispered a reminder, "The crime of deceiving the emperor is no joke. If those civil officials knew you were so outspoken, they would definitely impeach you relentlessly. Besides, your son-in-law is protecting your son, so why would he be dissatisfied with you? I was just mentioning it casually, mainly to tell you that Commander Qin is accompanying me to the south, so you don't need to worry. Is it really necessary to make such a fuss?"

Zhang Luan said, "Then...the Qin family boy...won't he have any objections? A perfectly good garrison commander is gone..."

Zhang Yanling said, "Of course there's no objection, because my brother-in-law has already agreed to promote him to Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Of course, it will take some time. For Qin Yun, being a powerful commander at such a young age would be more than enough, let alone the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard! Besides, his current salary... hehe..."

Zhang Luan asked with a gossipy look, "He's just a commander of a thousand households right now, how much salary can he get in a year?"

“His base salary isn’t much, but I give him at least a thousand taels of silver a year,” Zhang Yanling said with a smile. “How could he not work hard?”

"How much? A thousand taels? Do you have money to burn?"

Zhang Luan was taken aback.

Zhang Yanling said, "How can you expect a horse to run without feeding it? Qin Yun has been helping us ever since he escorted us to the capital. If we don't give him enough, how can we expect him to work so hard?"

Zhang Luan said, "You gave me a thousand taels before, and I thought you were being filial. But you treat the people around you like this too? No, no, you can leave now, but bring me some more money! I need to spend some money recently..."

"What? A thousand taels isn't enough for you?"

Zhang Yanling frowned and said, "Back in Xingji, ten taels of silver could last for several months. Now, a thousand taels have disappeared in such a short time? You can't just squander money like this!"

At this point, Zhang Luan no longer cared about whether his son would go to the south. It seemed that everything could be left to fate. Compared to having money to spend at will, everything else was insignificant.

Zhang Luan started to act shamelessly: "If you don't give it to me, I won't allow you to go to the South!"

"Hey, what kind of father are you? At my age, I should be asking you for pocket money."

Zhang Yanling sighed repeatedly, then shook his head and said, "But thinking about it, it makes sense. You haven't had a good life these past two years, Dad. It feels like life finally has a glimmer of hope, but you're always held back because of a lack of money... Alright, then I'll give you some more..."

"How much will you give me?" Zhang Luan asked expectantly, his eyes shining.

"Five thousand taels! But don't ask me for the money back within a year, okay?"

Zhang Yanling probed the tunnel.

Zhang Luan couldn't help but swallow hard, and asked cautiously, "Five thousand taels, you... won't find that difficult? You gave Li Zisheng tens of thousands of taels before... no, it was three hundred thousand taels, right? But most of it was from outside... where are you going to get five thousand taels for me?"

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "Father, I give Commander Qin a yearly salary of one thousand taels. If it comes to you, five thousand taels should buy you a year of peace and quiet. That shouldn't be a problem... But when Mother asks me for money to cover household expenses, you can't gossip about it anymore."

"No problem, give me five thousand taels, I'll do anything with it!"

Zhang Luan said, "From now on, whatever your mother says to you, don't worry. With your father's support, you have nothing to fear! You can even be the one to make the decisions in our family from now on!"

In Zhang Luan's view, it was not unacceptable for his son to spend five thousand taels to become the head of the family!
What do I care about my eldest son or my youngest son? I'd sell my title to anyone who offers me five thousand taels a year.

Zhang Yanling said, "Father, you've handled a lot of money before, how come you act like you've never seen the world? It seems I gave you too much of this five thousand taels of silver."

"Get lost, you brat!"

Zhang Luan glared at his son and said, "Don't you know what it means to stay close to your parents? I've wasted my life raising you... When are you going to send the money? Don't leave without a word..."

Zhang Yanling laughed and said, "Does Father think I'm an unreliable person? I'll send it to you later."

"well."

Zhang Luan then thought of something else and asked, "When you head south, will you be passing through Xuzhou? Will you be going to see Li Zisheng? What will you do if he asks you for money?"

Zhang Yanling shook his head: "I won't meet with him when I go south, after all, I just allocated money and grain to him. When I come back, I'll see if it's necessary to meet with him! After all, it will be past autumn when I return. If possible, autumn and winter are the peak season for the construction of the Yellow River channel. I'll take the opportunity to go to the river embankment and see if Li Zisheng is just doing a perfunctory job."

"You little rascal, you make yourself sound like a foreman... But at least you have a conscience..." Zhang Luan joked with a smile, then asked, "Can the five thousand taels be delivered tonight?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yanling rolled his eyes and shook his head, saying, "Father, you really can't hold your temper... Fine, I'm leaving. I'll have someone send you some silver later! Consider the five thousand taels as my way of buying peace."

"Good son, our family is counting on you... Come, come, have a cup of tea before you go..."

After saying that, Zhang Luan picked up the teapot and quickly poured tea into his son's teacup.

What does age and status matter?

None of these methods worked on Zhang Luan.

……

……

The five thousand taels of silver were delivered to Zhang Luan's temporary residence less than half an hour after Zhang Yanling left.

A dozen or so burly men were responsible for escorting them; they were all Imperial Guards, dressed in flying fish robes and carrying embroidered spring knives.

After they entered, they neatly and efficiently put their things away, then bowed and took their leave.

Zhang Luan looked at the boxes and became more and more satisfied. He sent a servant to call Qi Niang over.

Qi Niang was also taken aback by the large chests displayed in the courtyard. After circling around them, she asked curiously, "Master, what are these? They're not all filled with... silver, are they?"

"Open it and take a look!"

Zhang Luan said with a smug look on his face.

After Qi Niang opened it and confirmed that it was indeed filled with layers of silver ingots, her phoenix eyes widened, and she asked, "So much silver...where are you planning to send it?"

Zhang Luan said with dissatisfaction, "What do you mean by sending it there? All this money is mine... As the emperor's father-in-law, I usually do so many things in court. Do you really think I'm as incompetent as I usually appear? Let me put it this way, this little bit of money is just a small expense for this year. There will be more next year!"

Qi Niang blinked, and asked somewhat uncertainly, "Your annual salary in court is this much?"

"What salary..."

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "As a third-rank official, my monthly salary is only thirty-five shi (a unit of dry measure). Even with my side jobs, it's less than sixty shi in total, which is only a little over thirty taels of silver, less than four hundred taels a year. And it's always delayed. How could I possibly receive so much at once... This is all my pocket money, you know?"

Qi Niang still couldn't believe her eyes and ears. She wondered what had gotten into this old master of hers, who was showing off his wealth in front of her.

"Then, sir, aren't you going to take this silver back to your residence?"

Qi Niang asked again, tentatively.

Zhang Luan said smugly, "Why bring it? This is all the money I use for expenses. Sending it back to the Marquis's mansion...wouldn't that just supplement the household income? Besides, His Majesty previously granted me a large amount of land, and the output is more than my family can consume! This batch of money will just be stored here to ensure that I can live comfortably for the next year."

Upon hearing this, Qi Niang became very excited and asked, "This was... sent by the Second Young Master, wasn't it?"

Zhang Luan's old face was somewhat embarrassed. He first blushed, then turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and scolded, "You're so clever! Don't bring up things you shouldn't talk about!"

Lady Qi smiled and said, "I understand, this money was all earned by the master through hard work..."

“You can’t say that. I can’t deny Yanling’s contribution… But even if it was a gift from my son…” Zhang Luan said, “it was earned through my prestige! I can’t always rely on Li Zisheng’s favor, can I? If this continues, won’t this courtyard fall apart?”

Qi Niang said, "Then, sir, with so much silver, shall I help you make some arrangements? For example, how about finding a few more maids from outside? Whether they're from the brothels or the surrounding areas of the capital... if they fancy one, we can bring her back?"

Zhang Luan asked curiously, "Is that alright?"

Lady Qi smiled and said, "With money, anything is possible. It just depends on how you want to spend it, sir..."

"You arrange it!"

Zhang Luan said, "I've said it before, I can give you everything except a formal title! Just consider it me enjoying the good fortune with my son, and you benefit from it too!"

"Thank you for your trust, sir."

Qi Niang looked at Zhang Luan with eyes full of envy and admiration.

Old man, why do you find me more and more pleasing to the eye the more you look at me?

(End of this chapter)