Chapter 85 - 64: Never Forget the Original Intention
The official residence arranged for Sun Siwen by the county government was very large, with three courtyards, sixteen rooms, and a small garden in the back yard.
Such a big place could not only accommodate two more people, but also another ten, although it would be a bit crowded.
Entering the courtyard, Sun Siwen immediately called for help. An old man and an old woman came over, calling him an official. The old man quickly took the luggage from his hands.
“Chunmama, please clean up two rooms quickly. My good friend is coming and will be staying at home. Lao Gu, you help with the luggage.”
The two hurriedly responded and went to work.
Sun Siwen turned to Lu Yuan and said, “Chunmama and Lao Gu are the parents of that good student I told you about. Their family is poor, and in their early years, they sold almost all their property to support their son’s education.
When I arrived in Changning County, their family had already been forced to sell their house by debt and were about to be homeless.
At that time, I was investigating the family situation of the students in the county school. After learning about it, I took the responsibility of bringing them to my house and letting the student’s family live with me.
It just so happened that I was alone in Changning, and there was no one to take care of me on weekdays, so I let them help with cooking and cleaning for one silver tael a month.
In this way, I can solve my daily trivial matters and help the student solve their worries, which is a beautiful talk.”
With a complacent tone, Sun Siwen proudly boasted to Lu Yuan at the end.
Indeed, this story of good deeds and insightful discernment of talent made our Grand Tutor Sun feel quite proud and inspiring.
Lu Yuan looked at his friend with amusement, half teasing and half serious, and said, “Brother Sun is indeed dedicated. No wonder you got a good evaluation at the end of the year for the prefecture and were promoted. In the future, if Brother Sun can really teach a few Juren and Jinshi, I’m afraid today’s story will become an allusion and widely praised by the literati all over the world.”
At that time, Brother Sun would be considered famous for all ages.”
“Ha ha!” Sun Siwen laughed heartily when he heard this. In front of his friend, he always seemed relaxed and without any airs, unlike on weekdays: “What famous for all ages? Song Yun is just a newly promoted scholar, not even a Juren yet, still far away from becoming one.
To be famous for all ages, one must at least be a jinshi ranked Prime Minister.” My goodness.
Lu Yuan was just joking around, but Grand Tutor Sun took it seriously. He wasn’t even interested in Juren, aiming directly for jinshi Prime Minister. Could it be that he really thought he could teach someone like that?
Looking seriously at his friend’s expression, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but feel a little worried. His friend was actually serious.
‘Could it be that this good seedling is really so good that it can make Brother Sun think he has the talent to be a jinshi Prime Minister?’
He didn’t think it was because Sun Siwen’s teaching ability was that strong, and he knew how much his friend weighed. He believed that Sun Siwen knew his limits.
So the only thing that could give him this much confidence was that good seedling student.
‘That student is called Song Yun, right?’
For a moment, Lu Yuan developed a strong interest in Sun Siwen’s unseen student.
But there was no hurry, as they were all living under the same roof, they could slowly get to know each other later.
At this time, the room was tidied up, and Lu Yuan first helped Lu Qing to his room and put away his luggage. Then he turned around and left to get his own stuff.
By noon, Sun Siwen had Chunmama prepare a table of good food, and the long-separated friends chatted happily in the backyard garden, just like old times.
They had not met for two years, and both had a lot to talk about. If they could, they would continue lying around until evening, and even stay up all night.
But just after noon, Lu Yuan took the initiative to stop the feast.
The reason? He needed to find a doctor for Zhou Qing and have him checked.
When they left Dayu County, Zhou Qing had already suffered serious injuries, with broken bones all over his body, unable to move even by himself.
Although Lu Yuan had tried his best to choose to travel by carriage during the month to reduce Zhou Qing’s pain, the shock absorption function of the carriages in those years was just passable.
So after nearly a thousand miles of travel, Zhou Qing, instead of recovering, would consider it good if his body did not deteriorate.
If it wasn’t for occasionally taking him to see a doctor on the road and treating his injuries, this only son left by Dr. Zhou might have died halfway before reaching Changning County.
Fortunately, now that they had arrived in Changning and settled down, they no longer had to run around, and Zhou Qing could finally have a good rest and recuperate.
When Sun Siwen heard that they were looking for a doctor for Zhou Qing, he knew the matter was urgent, so he stopped drinking and asked, “Brother Lu, I see that Xiaoqing is still young and unable to move. What kind of illness is this that prevents him from walking even with help?”
There was nothing to hide from his friend, so Lu Yuan directly told Sun about Zhou’s family’s situation: “That day…”
A little while later, after Sun Siwen heard the whole story, he was furious and slammed his hand on the table, cursing, “I said long ago that those Jianghu martial artists do not obey the king’s law, indulge in private fights, hurt many lives, and are the source of chaos.
The Zhou family practiced medicine for good, benefited one side, and what a great kindness they were!
Yet in the end, they fell victim to the evil hands of these bandits.
For such bandits, if I truly one day have the opportunity to enter the imperial court, I will request for the emperor to ban the use of force. I will clean up those Jianghu criminals one by one and restore peace to the world.”
Sun Siwen was reminded of the courtesan who had been abducted in front of him in Fu City back then.
Now hearing of Zhou Qing’s ordeal, he couldn’t help but feel angry and empathetic.
He turned to Lu Yuan and said, “Brother Lu, you can rest assured that you two can live with me. What Iron Sword Sect? I just want to see if this so-called righteous sect dares to lay a hand on a court-appointed official like me.”
As a court official, Sun Siwen was quite confident when facing those Jianghu martial artists.
After all, no matter how powerful those martial artists were, didn’t they still have to obey the court and bureaucracy?
They dared to kill Dr. Zhou from their family, because he was just an ordinary civilian.
But if they dared to kill a court official, they would have to be prepared to be an enemy of the court, and not even ten Iron Sword Sects would dare to do so.
Seeing that his friend had not changed his original intention, Lu Yuan felt relieved, but still asked, “So are there any highly skilled doctors in the city that Brother Sun can recommend?”
Sun Siwen thought carefully and said, “There is an old doctor named Dr. Li in the city. I heard that he practiced martial arts in his early years and retired from Jianghu. He is very good at treating fractures. I’ll have Lao Gu invite him now.”
Having said that, he called Lao Gu to go out and ask the doctor to come over.
As a government official, just like those landlords and elderly, they were all masters.
Even when seeking medical treatment, the master would ask the doctor to come to their home. They would not go for a check-up in person unless it was absolutely necessary.
Although Sun Siwen had not been in office for long, he had quickly integrated into this class, and all his behaviors and actions were quite proficient..