Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 562: The Sparrow Yearning for the Sky
“There is such a delicious food in the world!”
If it was the first time that Song Juren heard such an evaluation, he would be overjoyed, overjoyed... However, when he heard such praise for the Nth time, he was numb, and there was only one thought in his mind. That is - is this person who eats and drinks so much in front of him sure that he is not a pig?
After a few days of recuperation, Yang Qilang Yang Zhan was not as energetic as before, but at least he was no longer as weak as he was at the beginning. The first thing he did after getting out of bed was to ask for food, and he specifically asked for Mr. Song's sugar water, because he still clearly remembered the delicious taste of the sugar water he had been fed before.
So... Mr. Song was stunned to see people drinking three bowls of double skin milk, two bowls of red bean paste, two bowls of eight-grain sugar, and one bowl of almond milk... Although it was the first time in his life that he met someone who appreciated his cooking so much, he would never dare to let people eat and drink so much again. So, he righteously brought out the reasons Zhang Shou had used to persuade Yang Zhan.
"Your stomach hasn't adjusted yet. If you continue to overeat, you might lose your life!"
However, the same words were effective when Zhang Shou said them, but when he said them, he got a snort of suspicion from Yang Zhan. Song Juren, who was so angry that his teeth were itching, was about to make a few more sneers at him, but when he thought of Zhang Shou's instructions to him, and considering that he appreciated his sweet soup, he said unhappily, "Besides, Dr. Zhang didn't take you in to eat and drink for free."
"You have to grind out the lenses he needs!"
Yang Zhan, who was still reluctantly scraping the bottom of the bowl with a spoon, not wanting to leave even a trace of residue, suddenly raised his head. He put the bowl aside, then stared at Mr. Song with a sharp gaze and asked, "Doctor Zhang need that lens?"
Mr. Song was slightly startled when he saw that this hungry guy who was just greedy suddenly became serious, but after he reacted, he smiled and said, "That's right, Dr. Zhang asked me to tell you that the emperor is ordering people to recruit talents all over the world to test and re-establish the calendar. Although the calendar is mainly based on the sun and the moon, it also requires stargazing. If you can master stargazing..."
Before he finished speaking, Yang Zhan suddenly threw off the quilt and got out of bed. When he saw the man standing barefoot on the ground, staggering to his feet without even bothering to put on his shoes, he rushed over and held the man's arm.
Sure enough, the next moment he felt the heavy force dragging him down. If he hadn't hurriedly exerted force, he would have been dragged to the ground by such a weak guy. After finally pushing the man back to the edge of the bed and sitting down, he said angrily, "I've waited for so many days, do you have to be so anxious?"
Yang Zhan said unconvincedly: "Time waits for no one..."
Mr. Song laughed unhappily, "Time waits for no one, and you still need strength. Of course, you don't even have enough strength now . Do you still have crystals? Dr. Zhang sent people to your inn to clean up your things, but they only found a pile of crystal slag, not even a single finished product. They also asked you to grind the raw materials for the lenses, but there is nothing left."
"Most importantly, your two followers are gone along with your money."
Hearing this, Yang Zhan was stunned for a moment, his face full of disbelief: "Impossible, they are all the people my father left for me, they would not abscond with the money like this... When I was in prison before, they came to the prison every day to bring me food, how could they do that now..."
Mr. Song was just about to give this ignorant fool a good beating when he heard another fool's voice coming from outside the door: "Shuntian Prefecture's Song Tuiguan has just sent a message saying that Mr. Yang Qi's followers have been found. They claimed with snot and tears that they did not abscond with the money, but planned to let you taste the feeling of hunger and cold."
"They said that you had almost squandered all the wealth that the late Mr. Yang had accumulated over his lifetime, but you were still stubborn. They thought you would realize your mistake after being in jail, but you were still obsessed with studying those weird things. They really couldn't bear to see you continue to waste money like this, so they just left."
"They thought that after you became destitute and were driven out, you might come to your senses. But they didn't expect that when they were gone, you refused to eat or drink and almost starved to death."
Fang Qing walked into the house while talking. Seeing Yang Zhan dumbfounded and Mr. Song looking like he had a toothache, he said calmly, "I was originally asked by Dr. Zhang to ask the treacherous servant, but I didn't expect them to insist on denying it. And I heard from Captain Lin that the person lives very close to your inn, Mr. Yang Qi, so that he can get there in time if anything happens."
"If Captain Lin hadn't acted quickly, one of them would have almost hit his head against his head out of guilt."
Hearing this, and seeing Fang Qing looking at him with contempt, Mr. Song finally couldn't hold it in any longer, and angrily said, "This is all the Yang family's little family affairs, why are you looking at me!"
"I didn't do anything, I just thought, birds of a feather flock together!" Fang Qing continued to look at Mr. Song with contempt, and said word by word, "I just thought that in order to participate in the imperial chef selection, someone drugged his servants, tied his book boy to the bed, and even put croton seeds in his own mount! Being a servant to such a self-centered master is really unlucky!"
Mr. Song was immediately furious, and Yang Zhan, who was sitting on the bed, lost the initial redness on his face, and his lips were trembling slightly. He pinched his palm lightly and said nervously: "I am not wasting what my father left me. Money is something outside of my body. I just want to make something that can see far away, even see the stars..."
If it had been just now, Mr. Song would have definitely laughed and ridiculed him, but after being insulted by Fang Qing and seeing that Yang Zhan was obviously greatly shocked, he felt very uncomfortable.
He coughed lightly. "How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? As a servant, you should know the great ambition of your master! Master Yang Qi, you may have wasted some things, but you have also achieved some results, right? Even Dr. Zhang affirms your talent. Why do you still care about what a few servants say..."
Before he could finish his words, Fang Qing angrily rebuked him, "Song bastard, don't use this to evade me! Everyone has their own aspirations, that's true, but you should calculate for yourself, how much have you eaten and spent at home since you were a child, and how much have you given back? Besides, you have the spare time to learn cooking, isn't it because you were born in the Song family that you have the leisure time to do so?"
"If I were born in an ordinary family, I would be busy all day trying to make ends meet, so how could I have the leisure time to enjoy myself?"
"Since the Song family has given you a good life, you should give back to them! It doesn't make sense that you take it for granted when you are eating and drinking, but when your family needs you to study and become an official to bring honor to the family, you think it is too much to ask!"
Mr. Song was scolded by Fang Qing until his face turned blue. Compared with Princess Yongping who had argued with him but didn't grasp the real reason, Fang Qing's words hit him right in the weak spot. But he was not willing to show weakness, and he angrily counterattacked: "Why don't I get any reward? I have passed the exam, and there are still a lot of scholars in the Song family who haven't passed the exam yet!"
"How much convenience can a scholar bring to the family? How much grain can be exempted in a year? Not to mention other hidden benefits." He raised his chin and said proudly, "Just this one scholar is worth the money the Song family has raised me for all these years!"
Fang Qing was furious at Song Juren's argument that one Juren was enough, but when he was about to fight again, he saw Yang Zhan sitting there stupidly, mumbling something. Thinking of Zhang Shou asking him and Song Juren to take good care of this man, he hurriedly left Song Juren and went to Yang Zhan, and stretched out his hands to wave in front of him.
However, Yang Zhan, who was in a daze, did not react much to this, but muttered to himself: "That's right, I have been eating and using my family's money since I was a child. I was sent to Yuzhang Academy, but I didn't even pass the exam to become a scholar, and I caused my father to be laughed at by others. But my father never blamed me. Before he died, he was afraid that someone would seize my family's property, so he asked Chief Hong Shan to be a witness..."
"His mother is already rich and powerful and has become a noblewoman. She still goes to various farms to inspect the harvests in order to earn a few more stones of rice to support the family. If I leave her, she will definitely be very worried..."
"I shouldn't be so willful..."
Seeing that Yang Zhan actually began to reflect on himself, Mr. Song finally got anxious. He quickly stepped forward and pushed Fang Qing away, then put his hands on Yang Zhan's shoulders and shouted angrily: "Hey, don't listen to Crow Mouth's high-sounding words, he has offended so many people with this mouth, and now he dares to teach you a lesson!"
"You have put so much effort into your dream, do you want to give up now?"
Yang Zhan looked up blankly, his eyes unfocused as he looked at Mr. Song. After a long while, he spoke with difficulty, "Of course I don't want to give up halfway, but...but my crystal mine has collapsed. I was in a hurry to go to Beijing, so I brought the remaining best quality crystals and all my money with me. I've almost spent all my food and lodging during this period."
"How can I go on?"
This time, knowing that this guy was simply spending lavishly, Mr. Song was speechless. Glancing at Fang Qing who was looking at him mockingly, he felt a surge of anger rushing into his mind, and he blurted out "I will support you" without thinking. But as soon as he said this, he saw that Fang Qing's mockery became more obvious, and then he suddenly thought of his current situation.
His servants were still living in the Duke of Zhao's mansion, and Zhang Shou provided him with all his food and lodging. How could he support others? The Song family wanted to cut off all his supplies so that he could go back in disgrace!
After racking his brains for a long time, Mr. Song finally had an idea and clapped his hands, saying, "Got it! You haven't seen Dr. Zhang's underground workshop, Yang Zhan? No matter how capable you are, you can't compare to a group of skilled craftsmen! These people are amazing, especially the youngest one, Guan Qiu! Hurry up and change your clothes and follow me!"
Mr. Song kicked Fang Qing out without saying anything, and then began to help Yang Zhan change his clothes in a hurry. He had never done this before, and he was sweating profusely before he finally tidied up this confused Mr. Yang Qi. When he dragged him out of the room, he saw Fang Qing staring at him with disapproval on his face.
"Without Dr. Zhang's permission, do you dare to bring people to his confidential workshop?"
"He said that Yang Zhan is a smart and a good candidate, so he let me let him walk around in Zhang Garden." Mr. Song said confidently, but he was a little unsure in his heart, so he quickly added, "At worst, I can ask Madam Wu for instructions!"
Seeing that Mr. Song actually helped the staggering Yang Zhan to see Mrs. Wu, Fang Qing was extremely emotional. He didn't believe that Mrs. Wu would let an outsider go to the workshop casually - and he also felt that Mrs. Wu didn't have such authority. But to his surprise, after Mr. Song made his request, Mrs. Wu only hesitated for a moment and nodded readily.
Seeing that Mr. Song happily helped the dazed Yang Zhan and turned away, Fang Qing could not help but immediately come to Mrs. Wu and persuade her: "Madam Wu, should we wait until Dr. Zhang comes back before discussing this matter? That is a place that even the emperor has been to..."
"It's okay." Mrs. Wu smiled with a relaxed look on her face. "People brought back by Ah Shou himself and placed in our home are trustworthy. Besides, although our workshop is confidential, the things inside cannot be learned by just looking at it. Ah Shou said that in our workshop, from Guan Qiu to young craftsmen to apprentices, everyone learns both mathematics and physics."
"Although I don't understand this, he said that these young people are no worse than the students of Jiuzhangtang!"
Yang Zhan, who had just walked out of the house, happened to hear Wu's last words. His eyes, which had been dull, gradually brightened.
He was originally just passively dragged by Mr. Song, but he couldn't help but put his hand on Mr. Song's shoulder. Although his steps were still weak, he gradually gained some strength. The words that he could hear just now but had completely forgotten about came to his mind again, and his stagnant mind gradually regained its ability to think.
But even if he used his unlimited imagination, when he followed Mr. Song into the underground workshop and saw the countless crystals inlaid , he couldn't help but gasp. His first thought was to pick them all off and take them back for experiments!
When he was brought to the table clock that had been improved again and had a transparent dial, he was stunned for a moment again, and then he couldn't help but reach out to touch the crystal clear crystal dial.
The next moment, he heard a voice in his ear: "Crystal is too expensive to make the dial. These days, Senior Brother Zhao and Senior Brother Luo have been following Dr. Zhang's instructions to burn glass in the back yard. So far, they have burned many colors, but they are not transparent enough. I heard that if it succeeds, it will be the best substitute for crystal. After all, crystal is natural, and glass is burned from sand!"
