His immediate boss, Gong Shouli, was in his forties. He was strong, dark, pockmarked, and extremely ugly. He walked with a limp, like a sad duck.
His attitude towards Xiao Chen was also cold.
"You are a rare knowledgeable person among our eunuchs. The Emperor has also entrusted you with important tasks. You will do well in the future." The opening statement sounded like nothing more.
"You've just arrived and you don't know anything. I don't dare to give you important errands to do. Let's learn for a year and a half first."
This is not good, it is like hanging our Xiao Chen on the wall as a photo! It will take another year and a half...
"But we don't care for idlers. How about this? Aren't you literate? From now on, you will be in charge of the archives hall and organize the memorials over the years. All the memorials that need to be classified are clearly listed. I don't know when the emperor will read them. Yes, if you can’t find it by then, hehehehe..."
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Xiao Chen always felt that there was murderous intent in Gong Shouli's laughter.
"嗻!"
When he arrived at the archive hall where the memorials were stored, Xiao Chen's nose almost became angry.
There were seven or eight cold, dark rooms in total. There were hundreds of black wooden boxes used to hold memorials, and there were many scattered outside. They were piled in such a mess and randomly thrown on the ground.
"Ouch!" He almost tripped and fell to the ground accidentally.
"Grandpa, pay attention!" Several young eunuchs who followed quickly came over to help.
"Why is it so dark that there isn't even a window?" Xiao Chen lost his temper.
"Returning to Eunuch Xiao, our archive hall is an important place for storing memorials and archives. There must be no windows, and there must be no oil lamps." A young eunuch hurriedly replied.
Since it is an important place, why is it so messy inside? Doesn't anyone usually care about it?
No one really cares.
Because the founding of the Zhou Dynasty was not long ago, it had only been more than a year since he took charge of the palace, and the Supervisor of Ceremonies had not been established for a long time, so many rules and regulations had not yet been perfected.
Gong Shouli was born in the military and did not know how to manage the affairs of the department at all. He could ignore such an important matter.
If he didn't want to give Xiao Chen a slap in the face, he wouldn't have remembered that there was such a place in the company.
Except for those that are confidential and important, almost all the official memorials approved by the emperor's cabinet are sent to the archives hall. They don't even need to be registered, and there is no acknowledgment. They can just throw them in and it's done...
All the bastards in the archives hall, gather together for me!
Dozens of eunuchs, big and small, stood in the courtyard, all of them trembling with fear, because the newly promoted Eunuch Bingbi was obviously not in a good mood.
Everyone can't help but eat melon.
"Who is the hall master in charge?" Xiao Chen's majestic gaze swept over everyone.
"Reporting to Eunuch Xiao, the previous one of our hall masters got sick and died, so there is no one to take care of things now." An old eunuch in his fifties replied softly.
"What's your name? Do you know how to read?" Xiao Chen saw that this person was polite and well-mannered, as if he had studied.
"Replying to Eunuch Xiao, I know a little bit about Zhao Xicai." Since he said that, he must be someone who has read books.
"From today on, you have the right to act as the Hall Master and be directly responsible to me. Within seven days, you have to sort out all the memorials in the warehouse for me. They must be classified according to time, province, and person's name, and each of them must be registered!"
"Eunuch Xiao, there are tens of thousands of memorials here. There are only so many of us, and half of us are illiterate. We can't do it within seven days even if we lose our lives!"
Zhao Xicai knelt down immediately.
"If you are literate, you will do fine work, and if you are illiterate, you will do rough language. Do you still need me to teach you? I will give you the power of life and death. If anyone dares to slack off or be disobedient, you can do whatever you want. It doesn't matter if he is beaten to death. I bear the responsibility!"
"I want to see results within half a month! If you can't do it, you can go into the well yourself." Xiao Chen is not unreasonable.
"Hey!" Zhao Xicai didn't dare to say any more.
"Clean up a room for me. From today on, I will be sitting here... Why are you still standing there? Start practicing!" Xiao Chen's face turned slightly pale. This was not because of anger, but because of the cold.
It was freezing to death outside, and dogs were freezing to death inside. There were no windows in the warehouse, so no sunlight could come in, and no brazier could be lit. It was extremely cold.
Xiao Chen just stood and watched for a while, his hands and feet were numb from the cold, and the eunuchs who were working were even more miserable. They all hissed, stamped their feet and rubbed their hands, and the mucus from their noses flowed to their faces and instantly turned into ice... …
In this working environment, let alone half a month, I can't finish it in half a year!
It seems that we need to find a way.
At noon, several eunuchs ran to the kitchen and brought several large buckets of food. The staple food was steamed buns mixed with cold corn and white flour, and the vegetable was cabbage and tofu soup. There was not even a bit of oil or water in it, but the big guys devoured it hungrily and it was delicious.
Xiao Lizi and Xiao Fengzi also brought him lunch, but it was a four-layer sandalwood food box tightly wrapped in thick cotton cloth.
There was a roast chicken, a roast duck, a large plate of beef with sauce, a large plate of roasted deer tendons, and a casserole of mutton stewed with radish. They were all steaming hot and fragrant on the table.
There is also a pot of soju that feels hot to the touch...
Zhao Xicai and a group of eunuchs suddenly felt that the steamed buns and vegetable soup in their hands were no longer fragrant. They looked at him eagerly and swallowed their saliva one after another.
"I'm not hungry. Let's give it to everyone." As soon as Xiao Chen finished speaking, dozens of eunuchs swooped up and snatched up all the four dishes and one soup in an instant.
"If you let the horse pull the cart, you have to feed the horse. Little Plum, you go to the kitchen and pass my order. Our daily food in the deposit hall is five taels of silver, and I pay for it myself!"
"Hey!" Xiao Lizi took the order and ran away.
The eunuchs were stunned for a moment when they heard this, and then cheered in unison, almost lifting the roof off!
"Oh, Eunuch Xiao, how come you are so broke? Five taels of silver a day is too much!" Zhao Xicai snorted happily.
"Everyone is working so hard, how can we do anything if we don't have enough food... Xiao Fengzi, go to the Imperial Prison and the Shangyi Prison and find me the person in charge of them!"
Xiao Chen not only had to solve the problem of eating for everyone, but also the problem of heating.
When they heard that the newly promoted eunuch Xiao Eunuch was summoned, the two eunuchs in charge of the supervision department, Liu Fuhai and Zhang Dafu, did not dare to neglect and rushed to obey the order immediately!
Without saying anything else, he knelt down and kowtowed to express his sincerity.
"Zhang Dafu, look at their cotton-padded clothes. They are too shabby. They can't do anything in this cold room..."
Before Xiao Chen finished speaking, Zhang Dafu understood it and said hurriedly: "We have ready-made cotton clothes over there. Let me tell you the size later and I will have someone deliver them to you."
"This is something special. I will pay for it myself..." Xiao Chen nodded with satisfaction.
"Look at what Eunuch Xiao said! How much can this little thing cost you? The little one did it for you!" Zhang Dafu tried his best to flatter him.
"Well, in that case, I'll spare you the trouble." Xiao Chen nodded approvingly.
"Isn't this all the way it should be?" Zhang Dafu opened his mouth so big that it almost burst to the base of his ears.
