Traveling to another world and becoming a local owner

"Yes, Mom, what's wrong?" Zhang Ling asked with a confused look on his face.

"May God bless me, thank God for teaching my son..." Zhang's mother clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and murmured devoutly.

Wang Ma and Xiao Cui also followed suit, muttering to themselves.

Zhang Ling was speechless and could only eat.

The three of them talked for a while before Zhang's mother opened her eyes. She didn't even bother to eat and hurried back to the bedroom to take out a brocade bag.

"Ling'er, mother still has some silver here. Your uncle has been learning how to make wine from your grandfather since he was young. Since he can give you the silver notes to buy a servant, it proves that the method of making wine must never be learned by outsiders. Mother still has some savings here. In addition to paying back the money to your uncle's family over the years, mother also saved some for you. Originally, it was saved for you to get married, but now business is more important." Zhang's mother sat in front of Zhang Ling and said earnestly.

"Mother has a total of two hundred and thirty taels of silver. These thirty taels are for household expenses, and you can take the other two hundred taels first, and buy whatever you need with them. Don't be afraid of investing money when doing business. Your father once said that cheap goods are not good, and good goods are not cheap. We are not afraid of spending money, but we must never do business that goes against our conscience, understand?" As Zhang's mother spoke, she opened the tightly wrapped brocade cloth layer by layer, took out the two silver bills inside, and solemnly instructed.

"I know my mother. Even if she doesn't make money, she will never do business that goes against her conscience. Don't worry!" Zhang Ling knew that his mother was a decent person with a kind heart. Most of the people doing business these days are treacherous and will do anything to cheat, so she was worried that he would become like that.

"Even if I'm going to cheat, I'll just cheat the rich people. It can be considered as robbing the rich to help the poor!" Zhang Ling said to himself secretly.

After dinner, Zhang Ling returned to his room early and fell into deep thought in the dim candlelight.

"Oh, this life is so boring. I work from sunrise to sunset. I'm still so young, but why do I feel like I'm already living the life of an old man? No TV dramas, no mobile phones to play with, but at least reading two novels will be fine..." Zhang Ling felt bitter. He often stayed up late after graduation, and he had long been accustomed to the life and work schedule of the big city. Now it was estimated that it was only around eight o'clock in the evening. How could he fall asleep?

"Forget it, let's count sheep. I'll go to the county town to buy some books to read tomorrow. Otherwise, how can I endure this long night..." Zhang Ling blew out the candle, closed his eyes and began to count sheep...

The next morning, the rooster crowed, but it was still dark, and Zhang Ling had already woken up. He stretched out his body and began to get dressed.

Then he went to the yard, fetched a bucket of well water, and began to wash himself simply.

"I have to find time to make a toothbrush and toothpaste or something. This is too simple." Zhang Ling helplessly bit off a piece of willow branch with his teeth and fiddled with the soft tree fibers between his teeth.

After simply washing his face, Zhang Ling did a few morning exercises.

Just as she was about to go out, Xiao Cui rubbed her sleepy eyes and got up. She was startled to see Zhang Ling leaving. She looked up at the still dark sky, wondering if she was dazzled.

"Why did the young master get up so early? It's really strange..." Xiao Cui lowered her head and walked to the well, looking at the used willow branches and washbasin in a daze.

Zhang Ling had no idea what Xiao Cui was thinking. She was humming, "Little Erlang, carrying his schoolbag to school, is not afraid of the sun or the wind and rain..." She was skipping and jumping as she walked towards Daniu's house.

As soon as I arrived at the west end of the village, I saw Da Niu getting ready to go out.

"Danniu, I'm looking for you. Let's go to the county. I'll treat you to a delicious meal." Maybe Zhang Ling had a good sleep, or maybe it was the first time he got up so early, he felt inexplicably happy.

"Really? That's great, Brother Ling. We won't go to the mountains today. I'll go to the county with you, hehe!" Upon hearing this, Daniu was as happy as a child.

"Let's go find my cousin. If we don't take him with us, who knows what kind of trouble might happen!" Zhang Ling waved his hand and rushed towards the Liu family.

The two walked together and soon arrived at Liu's house. At this time, Liu Jie was still sleeping in, but Zhang Ling's aunt Sun got up early to prepare breakfast.

"Good morning, aunt. I'm here to see Brother Jie. We're going to the county dental clinic together." Zhang Ling greeted Sun with a smile and explained his purpose.

"Xiao Ling, you haven't had breakfast yet. Come sit in the room for a while. Liu Jie hasn't gotten up yet. Go call him and I'll make breakfast for you." Seeing her nephew coming, Sun greeted him with a smile on her face.

If it was yesterday, when Sun saw him coming to see her son, she would definitely not give him a good face, because these two people have never done anything good when they are together. But her husband came back last night and told her everything. Although he did not tell her the method of making the magic wine, Sun could hear that her nephew was bound to become rich in the future, so she changed her face to a good one.

"Don't bother, aunt. We can go to the county early. If we go too late, the better young men in the pawnshop might have been bought by others." Zhang Ling waved his hands and shirked responsibility.

"Well, that's fine. Come to my house for dinner when you're done with your work. Your aunt will cook some delicious dishes for you then." Seeing him say that, Sun didn't want to force him, so she could only smile and say politely.

"Okay, aunt. I'll go call Brother Jie to get up first." Zhang Ling agreed with a smile.

"This lazy guy is probably still dreaming. I'll go and wake him up right away." Sun said, picking up the broom by the door and rushing into her own courtyard.

Not long after, Liu Jie walked out of the door with a sad face and in tattered clothes, followed by his two servants Shunzi and Zhuzi.

The group walked for more than an hour and arrived at Yingyang County when the sun had completely risen.

Today is a double-digit day, and the county is in the middle of a busy market. There are many merchants coming and going, and small vendors have crowded the streets.

A few of them found a noodle stall on the corner, and Zhang Ling ordered a large bowl of plain noodles for each of them.

Liu Jie and Zhang Ling were fine, but Daniu and the other two had eyes shining and were enjoying their meal, but their eating manners were quite ugly.

"Eat slowly. If it's not enough, ask the boss to make more." Zhang Ling looked at the few people with a smile and shook his head.

"You country bumpkin, you're the reincarnation of a starving ghost, you're really disgusting." Just when the few of them were enjoying their meal, three young men dressed as scholars at the next table made inappropriate and disdainful noises.

Zhang Ling frowned when he heard this. Just as he was about to speak, Liu Jie slammed his hand on the table and cursed, "You can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth. Whose belt is not tied properly, revealing a thing like you!"

The three scholars were stunned when they heard this, and before they could react for a moment, Zhang Ling burst out laughing.

The three of them immediately understood what he meant, and their faces turned ashen with anger.

"You rude man, how dare you insult us? Today I will teach you a lesson." The man in green shirt who spoke earlier stood up suddenly, pointed at Liu Jie and shouted.

Liu Jie was used to bullying others, and he was not afraid of getting into trouble. He stood up and said with his nose in the air, "I'm insulting you today, what can you do to me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Da Niu, Shunzi and Zhuzi all stood up, ready to fight at any time.

When the stall owner saw that the men were about to fight, he quickly tried to persuade them in a gentle voice, bowing with both hands and saying, "Gentlemen, please be kind. I only run a small business, so please calm down and don't start a fight."

"Hmph, today, for the sake of the boss, I won't bother with you, a scoundrel. If you do it again, I won't let you off." The man in green turned his head away and said angrily.

"Tsk, you are the scoundrel, your whole family is scoundrels, if you have the guts, come at me, I just want to see what you can do to me today." Seeing that the other party was scared, Liu Jie immediately took advantage of the situation and did not let him off.

"You..." Upon hearing this, the man in green was about to rush towards Liu Jie, but was stopped by the two young men beside him.

"Okay, Brother Jie, a gentleman uses his mouth instead of his fists. It's not a big deal. Just eat your noodles quickly. Business is more important." Seeing that Liu Jie was about to make a sarcastic remark, Zhang Ling quickly stopped him.

"Okay, I'll listen to you and won't bother with him." Liu Jie raised his head and said this before sitting down.

"That kid, you just said that a gentleman uses his mouth, not his fists, right? If you have the guts, let's have a competition. You haven't even read the books of sages, yet you dare to call yourself a gentleman? Humph!" The man in green felt embarrassed and immediately pointed the finger at Zhang Ling.

"Heh, damn it..." Zhang Ling suddenly laughed out of anger, feeling that he had provoked someone and why was he suddenly dragged into this mess.

He was just complaining in his mind when the man in green shirt continued, "Answer if you are a man. Why are you pretending to be deaf and dumb? Are you afraid?"

Zhang Ling was furious when he heard this: "Let's compete, who's afraid of who?"

The literary style was prevalent in the Dayi Dynasty, and poetry and songs were especially respected by officials. The man in blue immediately offered to write a poem each to compete with each other. When Zhang Ling heard the comparison of writing poems, he gladly accepted.

"Listen carefully, this is my masterpiece from yesterday when I was boating on the lake. Telling you all this is truly a blessing for you. 'Red maple leaves are everywhere, the lake and mountains are reflected in the water, mandarin ducks are playing in the breeze on the lake, and the boat is being rowed by an old man.' The man in green said this, looking at Zhang Ling with a smug look on his face, as if to say, "You little brat, are you scared? Why don't you admit defeat?"

"Oh, it turns out to be a doggerel. Listen carefully, 'After all, the scenery of West Lake in June is different from that in other seasons. The lotus leaves connecting the sky are endless and green, and the lotus flowers reflecting the sun are exceptionally red.'" Zhang Ling recited casually "Seeing Off Lin Zifei at Dawn from Jingci Temple" by Yang Wanli, a poet of the Song Dynasty, from his sixth-grade textbook.

As soon as this poem came out, the three scholars at the opposite table were suddenly speechless.

"The lotus leaves reaching the sky are endless and green, the lotus flowers reflecting the sun are exceptionally red... What a good poem, what a good poem! The artistic conception is profound, full of spirit, and it is endless to savor!" The young man in white among the three spoke immediately.

"Sir, thank you for your courtesy. We were rude and offended you just now. Please forgive me. Is this poem really written by you?" The young man in white performed a scholar's salute and hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

"Of course. This poem was written in my spare time. It is not worthy of being published. Please don't praise me." Zhang Ling felt a little embarrassed at this time and waved his hands repeatedly.

"With your talent, you are definitely not an ordinary person. May I ask your name and when did you write this poem?" The young man in white couldn't help but ask with disbelief.

"My name is Zhang Ling. I wrote this poem last year by the lake at the west end of the village." As Zhang Ling spoke, he happened to recall the host's previous memories of the wild pond in the village, which seemed to have grown many lotus flowers in the summer.

"Mr. Zhang, you are polite. I am Zhou Yixing, the son of the magistrate of Yingyang County. I am sorry for offending you just now. As the saying goes, there is no friendship without fighting. I wonder if you have time. I would like to set up a small banquet at Yunlai Inn to entertain you as a token of my apology." Zhou Yixing bowed and invited with a humble smile.

"Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Zhou. I have important matters to attend to this time. If I come to Yingyang next time, I will definitely visit your house." Zhang Ling also bowed and rejected the other party's kindness.

"I'm sorry for being rude. May I ask what may I do for you, Mr. Zhang? It's still early and I have nothing to do. I wonder if it would be convenient for you to go with me? I may be able to help you in Yingyang County." Seeing that the other party was shirking his responsibilities, Zhou Yixing did not want to miss the opportunity to make friends with Zhang Ling, so he directly offered to go with him.

"Well, it's not a big deal. Since Brother Zhou is willing to help, thank you very much." Zhang Ling saw that he couldn't refuse, so he had to agree. Besides, the other party was the son of the county magistrate, which might be convenient for him to buy slaves from the pawnshop later.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yixing extended his hand in a humble manner: "Mr. Zhang, please!" Seeing this, the man in green shirt next to him did not say much. He immediately went to the stall owner to pay for the breakfast of several people, and then followed silently.

Liu Jie was a little unhappy at first, but he was shocked by the poems that Zhang Ling casually said. Although he didn't understand anything about it, he listened to a lot of operas and songs on weekdays. Although he couldn't fully understand the artistic conception of those poems, he could hear a sense of grandeur, neat antithesis, and great rhyme.

I wanted to secretly ask Zhang Ling if he had plagiarized it, but I didn't dare to ask more because of the three scholars beside me. Moreover, I didn't dare to say a word when I learned that Zhou Yixing was the son of the county magistrate. Although he was arrogant and rude on weekdays, he was a family member who knew his own business.

It would be fine if he was just a bit arrogant in Liujia Chong. His family had hundreds of acres of fertile land and an ancestral wine-making workshop. He could be considered a local rich man. But in front of the wealthy businessmen and gentry in the county, he was nothing, let alone the son of a great master who controlled the life and death of a county.

So Liu Jie didn't dare to make a fuss at this time. He followed Zhang Ling and Zhou Yixing timidly, shrinking his neck and pretending to be a quail, trying to make everyone ignore his existence as much as possible.

"Mr. Zhang, where are you going to do business? I'm quite familiar with this area of ​​the county. Whether it's official or personal, maybe I can help you out." Zhou Yixing walked side by side with Zhang Ling and asked again with a smile on his face.

"It's not a big deal, there's no need to trouble Brother Zhou. My family is planning to expand the winery, so we need some young and strong men. I came to the county this time just to buy some capable servants from the pawnshop to help with the winemaking." Seeing that the other party didn't seem to be polite, Zhang Ling directly stated his purpose.