EBE Chapter 219: Death of Mr. Zhang
Chapter 219: Death of Mr. Zhang
It turned out that someone had hanged himself in the yard, and the neighbors rushed over after hearing the news.
But the people Zhou Chang brought blocked the door, causing the onlookers to start talking for no reason.
Zhou Chang arranged for Qin Shou and the other two to leave, and then he retreated to a distance. However, he was still worried about Zhong Yu, so he had to wait.
Not long after, Zhong Yu also came out.
"Mr. Zhong, do you know that person?" Zhou Chang couldn't help but ask when he saw Zhong Yu's pale face.
Zhong Yu looked sad, and took Zhou Chang away before speaking: "Your Majesty, do you still remember that more than half a year ago, there was a fire in West City, and I borrowed money from you, and later you directly gave 100 taels to support a certain Mr. Zhang?"
Zhou Chang's heart skipped a beat.
Zhong Yu looked at Zhou Chang's expression and nodded: "Oh, it's Mr. Zhang."
Zhou Chang still didn't understand: "Haven't we already given him silver? It should be enough to help him solve his life difficulties. One hundred taels of silver, even if the two children are infected with the disease, they just need to wait for treatment, and they won't..."
Zhong Yu shook his head: "Mr. Zhang is upset not because his children were infected with the disease, that was just a trigger."
"Why is that?" Zhou Chang didn't expect there was a hidden story behind it.
Zhong Yu sighed, frowning even more tightly: "I don't know who to blame for this matter. It was all caused by the one hundred taels of silver."
"Where do you come from?" Zhou Chang didn't want to do something bad with good intentions, so he wanted to get it clear.
Zhong Yu stopped talking and just coughed, sighed and shook his head.
Zhou Chang was anxious: "Mr. Zhong, what's going on?"
Zhong Yusi wondered whether he should say it or not, but he couldn't resist Zhou Chang's probing gaze. "More than half a year ago, I gave 100 taels of silver to Mr. Zhang's family. My original intention was to let him use the money to treat his illness and take care of his health. The remaining money can be used to send his son to school or to support the sweet soup stall. Even if he has no livelihood for a while, he doesn't have to worry about money in the short term. He should be able to participate in this year's imperial examination with peace of mind."
"So that's how it should be. Then what?" Zhou Chang's patience was almost exhausted.
"Oh, it's also my fault that I was busy afterwards and didn't care about him anymore." Zhong Yu just shook his head and sighed, but didn't answer directly, "When I gave Mr. Zhang a hundred taels of silver that day, he was very surprised. He had never seen so much silver in his life and didn't dare to accept it. Later, I forced him to accept it. He swore at that time that he would pay it back in the future. Oh, I didn't care about it. I thought that if he could pass the imperial examination and get a job, everything would be fine."
"Well, that's the point. Then what?" Zhou Chang never got the point.
Zhong Yu sighed again: "Alas, I didn't expect that after he got the 100 taels of silver, he didn't focus on treating his illness, but was obsessed with how to repay this kindness with such a large sum of money, and actually invested all the money in the 'Lishengyuan' business."
"What is that?" Zhou Chang had never heard of it, and Prince Yi had no memory of it either.
Zhong Yu did not explain, but continued: "This is complicated. At first, Mr. Zhang made a small profit from the 'Lishengyuan' business, but later he started to lose money. The day before yesterday, I learned that he lost everything."
"Is that some kind of... gambling?" Zhou Chang wanted to guess that it was some kind of "investment", but there was no such term in ancient times, so he had to change it to "gambling".
Zhong Yuze said, "Well, it wasn't gambling. I don't know anything about business, so I can't say much. I only know that Mr. Zhang invested in 'high profits', so he lost all his money at once, and couldn't even get his capital back. He lost such a large sum of money all of a sudden, and yesterday he suddenly found out that his two children were also infected with the disease. He couldn't bear it all of a sudden, so he committed suicide."
It was another story of "When it rains, it pours", and Zhou Chang probably understood it.
But he felt as if someone was holding his heart in his hands: "No one urged him to pay back the money. If he could have kept such a sum of money and cured his illness, since he was already a juren, even if he failed the imperial examination, he should have been able to find a job. Why did he choose such a path?"
Zhong Yu sighed, "It's natural that the prince can't understand. Mr. Zhang is used to being poor, and it's normal that he can't control himself when he gets such a large sum of money. It's me who didn't think it through and just sent the money. It was really negligent, negligent."
"Mr. Zhong, why should you blame yourself? You have walked this path yourself." Zhou Chang didn't care. He turned around and saw that the group of people were still waiting not far away. He walked deeper into the epidemic area while talking, "Sir, don't think too much. The epidemic is the most important thing now. There are more living people waiting for us."
"Yes, Your Majesty is right." Zhong Yu followed, but could not help but sigh, "Silver, silver, it's all silver that caused the trouble. Throughout the ages, it has been said that heroes can't resist the temptation of beauty, but I didn't expect that scholars can't resist the temptation of money. It's all that one hundred taels of silver that caused the trouble."
Hearing this, Zhou Chang couldn't help feeling uncomfortable: "Mr. Zhong, why do you say that?"
Zhong Yuyun sighed to himself: "It is said that 'there are all kinds of writings that I have never seen in my life, and meanings that are beyond your ability', and even if Mr. Zhang has 'the wealth that he has never seen in his life, it is beyond his ability'. It also proves the saying 'A gentleman avoids difficulties with frugality and virtue, and should not be honored by salary'."
Zhou Chang didn't quite understand the first half of Zhong Yu's fancy words, but he also understood that sometimes people are like containers. If the capacity is not enough, they cannot contain wealth and honor.
Originally, he felt that he had no responsibility, but after changing his mind, he felt a little more sympathetic: "Mr. Zhong, if that's the case, Mr. Zhang's funeral should still require a lot of money."
"Not appropriate, not appropriate." Zhong Yu shook his head unexpectedly, knowing what Zhou Chang meant. "It is an emergency period, so it is not necessary. He is in the epidemic area, no matter how he died, he will be handed over to the plague hospital for treatment. Your Majesty, don't worry. I have just given a few taels of silver to Zhang's wife. Now there are only orphans and widows left, and it is not appropriate for them to have a large sum of money. There is still a long time to go, and I will help you slowly when the time comes."
Zhou Chang nodded. Zhong Yubi saw things more deeply than she did.
As they were talking, the group was already walking on the loess road in the shantytown.
There was smoke all around, and the houses on both sides of the road were uneven and of different heights. Many of them had tiles that could not cover their heads and windows that could not block the wind. Some were even shivering in half-open wooden houses.
Fortunately, it was winter and the air was cold, and mugwort was being burned. Otherwise, we would have seen ragged people lying on the roadside, cats and dogs running around, and sewage and feces everywhere. If it were summer, the smell would have been terrible.
Zhou Chang was guarded by Cui Bian, and was also guarded by people from the City Patrol in front and behind.
Although there were many beggars and refugees on both sides of the road, no one dared to approach easily.
Many of them, either sick, hungry, or cold, collapsed on the roadside under the shacks. When they saw Zhou Chang and his group passing by, they groaned and cried for help.
Others lay on the side of the road with their eyes closed and not moving, and it was unclear whether they were dead or alive.