"Is this the new kid picked up by the pavilion chief?"
Taigong Liu looked at the half-sized baby in front of him.
It is not a secret that Cao Xiu adopted orphans. For this reason, he built a wooden house in the back mountain called Qidian Orphanage. According to Cao Xiu's explanation, these orphans are all in their infancy, so they were named Qidian.
Well...he is indeed a learned person!
Look at this name, how artistic it is!
"Er, let me ask you." Qin Shihuang stepped forward. Although he was not tall, he was very imposing, "The money he paid for wine was only 3,500 yuan. What do you mean by giving him 4,000 yuan?"
"Ahem, I just mean it."
"What's the meaning?"
"I'm not interested."
"Well, you look quite interesting!"
Looking at the childish child who couldn't help but sneer, Old Madam Liu suddenly realized. Turning around and looking at Cao Xiu, "Come to think of it, this is all the intention of the pavilion chief? I understand everything, Ji'er!"
"clear."
Liu Ji also understood and took out two more strings of copper coins.
"..."
"..."
Cao Xiu couldn't help but cough. Obviously, Mrs. Liu thought he was dissatisfied. So I asked Ah Zheng to come out and put on a show, deliberately asking for more money. In fact, he really didn't mean it. Even if he was really putting on a show, he wouldn't look for Ah Zheng.
"Okay, okay, let's go."
Cao Xiu waved his hand and asked Cao'er to see the guests off.
An extra two hundred dollars for no reason is considered a profit.
Qin Shihuang was petrified on the spot, dumbfounded. He originally wanted to rush out and teach Ban Caoxiu a lesson, but he didn't expect that he would help this guy instead, which made him quite uncomfortable.
"Xiu'er, do you know that you have made a big mistake!"
"I know." Cao Xiu calmly handed the copper coins to the servant, "The law of Qin says: Those who know a lot of money should be tattooed as the Dan of the City."
"You know how dare you do this?!"
Qin Shihuang wanted to jump up and beat Cao Xiudun.
Qin's laws were strict, and they were even more harsh on Qin officials. It doesn’t matter how much money you have embezzled. Even if you just embezzle a small amount of money, you have to get a tattoo first and then work as a chengdan!
"You do understand the laws of Qin very well, but you are still young and naive after all." Cao Xiu looked indifferent and slowly said: "If you were in Xianyang, you would not be so presumptuous. But this is Pei County, which is far away from Xianyang. One hundred and eight thousand miles away. The Qin State now adopts a system of prefectures and counties. The governors and magistrates are all from the Qin people, but the officials in the townships and pavilions are mainly local people. This means that the imperial power does not go to the countryside."
This is reality and a shortcoming of the Qin system.
Like county magistrates, Qin can choose Qin people to serve as officials. But it is impossible to completely eliminate local people as officials. Firstly, there is a shortage of manpower, and secondly, there is a language barrier. The local dialects are extremely complicated. How can we govern the place without the help of local people?
"so what?"
"So it's okay to go a little bit beyond the rules." Cao Xiu patted Azheng on the head and said calmly: "Mr. Liu gave me more money, which is actually a disguised form of flattery. After all, I will target them later, and they won't feel well either. . There are not many people in the neighborhood of Xiangting, but there are many doorways inside."
"fallacy!"
In Qin Shihuang's view, this was just an excuse.
Could he not know these things?
It's just that this is the first time for someone as honest as Cao Xiu.
What a treacherous Qin official!
"Go, call Xiao Wang over for dinner." Cao Xiu said displeasedly: "You are not as hard-working and willing to work as Xiao Wang. You find ways to be lazy after working for only two days. How will you get a wife in the future?"
"..."
Qin Shihuang staggered and almost fell.
His eldest son Fusu is older than Cao Xiu, so he is still worried about him marrying and having children?
…
…
Complaints are complaints, but you still have to eat.
"Xiu'er, why are there no beans and rice today?"
Qin Shihuang looked at the ordinary corn rice and tapped his bamboo chopsticks slightly displeasedly. He likes this mutton-fat bean rice. He can eat a full bowl without vegetable soup and meat sauce.
"How can I eat it every day?"
"Only three meals..."
"What's so delicious about beans and rice? Try these potato chips."
Cao Xiu picked up a large piece of potato slices and chewed it carefully. Because it is stewed with pork, it is quite soft and smooth. He still doesn't like this kind of cooking, and prefers spicy and sour potato shreds.
After all, it is a hometown dish from more than two thousand years ago!
"Didn't you say that this potato is more important than your life? Then why do you still eat it?"
"Are you going to eat or not?"
"eat!"
"Depend on……"
There are two ways to grow potatoes. Most of them are to cut the potatoes directly along the buds and wrap them with plant ash seeds. In fact, potatoes can also bear fruit and have seeds, but this method of planting has flaws. First, it grows slowly, which affects later production. Moreover, using seeds will be very unstable, which will eventually lead to unstable shape and quality of potato tubers.
The potatoes we eat today are of poor quality and are not suitable for use as seed potatoes. It would be a waste not to eat it, so it is better to satisfy your appetite first.
"Hey, it does look a bit like potato."
"what?"
"You've never even eaten potato?"
Wang Jian looked at Cao Xiu in disbelief.
"Have you ever eaten chili?"
"chili?"
"Have you ever eaten a tomato?"
"without……"
"Have you ever been slapped?"
"How dare you, Shuzi?"
The furious Wang Jian stood directly on the chair, as if he wanted to overpower Cao Xiu in this way.
"Beishan Sutra says: Three hundred miles to the south is called Jingshan. Looking to the south is the Salt Trader's Lake, and to the north is Shaoze. There are many grasses and sweet potatoes on it, many Qin peppers on its grass, many ocher on its yin, and many jade on its yang. .”
Qin Shihuang stroked his chin and spoke loudly.
My beard is gone, so I can only enjoy myself by touching my chin.
"Damn, you're talking about yams."
Cao Xiu thought it was something novel, but it turned out to be yam. The yam in their mouths is actually yam, a yam commonly eaten by people in later generations.
"Yam?"
"Heh, I guess that's the name of Peixian County."
"No, this is the name of my hometown."
"From Shanfu County, Dang County?"
"Go, go, let's play."
Cao Xiu waved his hand angrily, which was like playing the piano to an ox.
"Speaking of which, why don't I see you, the foodie in the house?"
"Is there anything delicious..."
Cao Xiu felt a chill when he mentioned Qin's sauce. Nowadays, because there is no cooking method, many people cook with water. This method definitely has no flavor, so it is often paired with sauce. Confucius once said: Don't eat if you don't want to eat it!
However, there are many sauces that are simply dark dishes. Bolognese, bean paste, etc., Cao Xiu would definitely accept it. But there is also ant sauce, frog sauce and crow sauce, which can be used for everything. For example, this ant sauce is now called 賳醢, and it was a gift from the emperor last week!
"You don't have any sauce, do you?"
"There are cute animals, birds, and toys in my house..."
Wang Jian listened for a long time with curiosity on his face.
"Is it... delicious?"
"Quite good looking."
"There's something wrong with you!!!"
