On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, snow was falling.
The prices of various commodities on the market have risen again, and buyers are cursing as they pay.
The shopkeepers paid the employees in various shops and businesses today, and they took the day off.
His home was far away and he couldn't go back. He took the money and looked at the snow outside in a daze, as if he didn't know where to go.
In the library, the homesick students secretly wiped away their tears. The wealthy students who lived in nearby prefectures had already gone home, and the rest were celebrating the New Year in Nanjing.
"Brother Sixi, did you cook the wrong dish today?" At noon in the lunch box restaurant, people still came to eat, and they had to work all day.
If there is a job tomorrow morning, then work all morning and stay at home after noon.
"We won't open tomorrow. It's the last day of the year. I'll cook a good meal for everyone to make everyone happy." Zhu Sixi, the chef here, responded with a smile.
The dishes given today are Mushu pork, fish-flavored shredded pork without chili, pot-wrapped pork, stir-fried pork with yuba, and carp soup.
It's all three cents, don't sell it for five cents, you can eat whatever you want.
"Is this a meal to pay back all the money we made from us before?"
"Xiaqiu Village sells lunch boxes to take care of us."
"Xiaqiu Village Renyi."
"I heard from others that at the head of Xiaqiu Village there are three memorial arches erected by the imperial court: Loyalty, Renyi, and Liangshan."
"There are also pillars of the Ming Dynasty given by the Holy Spirit!"
“The dried pickles sold in Jubiqi’s store are cheaper than making them at home.”
The diners talked about the things in Xiaqiu Village and praised them all, but none of them had bad things to say.
After being in contact for a long time, they already understood the business in Xiaqiu Village.
Taking out any one is more profitable than selling lunch boxes, including libraries. Rich students who need something usually buy it in the library.
When I went back during the Chinese New Year, I heard that many scholars bought several sets of hardcover books.
There are also beer, Jubiqi, vegetables, drunken crabs, broth, oyster sauce, and cooking wine sold to Fuhua House.
Only the lunch boxes are three or five cents, and even the vegetarian dishes are fried in oil.
"Sixi, will you still sell box lunches next year?" Some people are worried that if others want to take a break, what will they eat?
"Sell it, recruit workers next year, and bring apprentices. Then the apprentices will cook, and we will have other things."
Zhu Sixi told everyone that the village had indeed arranged this, bringing a group of apprentices and teaching them simple dishes.
After working for two years, you can leave the profession and open your own shop outside. You are not allowed to leave within two years, otherwise you will have to pay the training fee.
Of course, we won’t teach you how to prepare soup stock, make cooking wine, and make oyster sauce, nor will you teach about sauces, marinades, and stir-fried meat sauce for noodles.
Noodle making tutorials, including how to make canopy ash, opening a shop outside, and you can come to the master to buy meat sauce.
"It's good to have disciples, teach more disciples."
"Is it okay for my second son? I know the rules. I just need to take care of the food and accommodation."
"I have a nephew..."
Everyone started talking about the apprenticeship in the box lunch restaurant again. According to the rules, no money was given during the apprenticeship. After completing the apprenticeship, he would work for the master for free for two years.
This is a craft for making a living and cannot be taught casually.
…
"It's time to eat, come and get food." Wang Shu greeted the students in the library.
Students who are homesick forget about home in an instant and come to receive their meals with their own plates.
The food here today is the same as the lunch box restaurant. Other students who made reservations in advance also came over. If they don't come, they won't come. If they don't come, they won't come. If they throw it away secretly, they will be kicked out directly. They are not allowed to enter the library again and they will be blocked!
So far, no student has been blocked. The key is that the food in Xiaqiu Village is delicious.
"There's a lot of meat today, and there are two dishes I haven't seen before."
"It's thirty tomorrow, can they still give us food to eat?"
"They should be given. Where should we buy food during the Chinese New Year? Fuhua Building is open and we have no money."
"Firecrackers are set off in the Imperial City on New Year's Eve. We can see the fireworks."
"What should I do if I fail to pass the exam after the Chinese New Year? Just go home like this?"
"Oh! I don't have the nerve to go back. Are we going to stay in the library forever? I guess they will find a reason to persuade us to leave!"
As soon as the topic changed, everyone felt that the food was no longer delicious and they were filled with sadness.
…
Outside Donghua Gate, in the tent area of Xiaqiu Village, Prince Zhu Biao and King of Qin Zhu Xi have both left. New Year's Eve is approaching, and there are many things in their mansion.
The villagers felt relaxed and no longer had to cooperate with Hanhan's performance.
"Are you drinking rice wine, silly?" The mayor brought over a jar of rice wine.
"Drink!" Zhu Wentian took it, opened the mud seal, and poured it into a wine-warming vessel to heat. This was bought and has been cellared for more than ten years.
The children were responsible for the skewers, and the pregnant women and those too old and too young had finished their meals and went into the tent to warm up.
On one side of the tent, the cloth was unrolled and put on a wooden shelf with glass on it, making it look much brighter.
"Next year, among the scholars, who do you think will pass the exam?" The director took a mutton skewer.
"None of them. Those admitted this year make His Majesty very uncomfortable. When you ask about current affairs next year, Your Majesty will be angry and will not accept them from now on."
Zhu Wentian told the historical situation, and now he felt that Zhu Yuanzhang was even more angry because there was a superior person comparing him.
The children in Xiaqiu Village studied well, but they were not in a hurry to take the imperial examination. Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were both waiting.
Li Chang: "..."
"In this case, why do we care what they do? If they fail to pass the exam, His Majesty says they won't be admitted, so they can't stay here forever, right?"
"I don't care about the others. We can use the 260 people and put them in the department store, as well as the bridge and road from Xiaqiu Village to Nanjing.
We have made a lot of money, so we can learn from them and learn from the craftsmen, starting from the basics. Isn’t that what the children in our village are like!
After the New Year, I taught them the Great Ming Law. I haven’t finished it yet, but... I can guess some. "
Zhu Wentian has already arranged a path for those students. Work should not be wasted. Learn while doing and increase your knowledge.
"Okay! So good! What is the current policy?" The head of the village approved Hanhan's arrangement and asked about the term again.
"Ask, there are few people in Peiping and it's cold in the winter. What should I choose?"
"Of course it must be managed well and developed. It is against Beiyuan, which is right next to the canal and has access to the sea. Further north, there is loess and grassland, which is not suitable for normal farming life.
Don't be afraid of the cold, you can burn coal when it's cold, coal... hanhan! Is there any coal there? It is really impossible to transport coal from Henan because of the Yellow River.
When it is not frozen, we can take the canal from the Yellow River and send it to the local area for burning. There are many medicinal materials locally but not in the south.
In winter, we are still transporting ice! As long as there is a basis for survival and the circulation of goods, everything else will be easy to handle. "
The li leader answered this question. Peiping cannot give up, but must in turn strengthen it.
"Your Majesty likes to hear what you say. He thinks you can be admitted, but those students can't. They won't."
Zhu Wentian affirmed, just know this and then consider the writing format.
"What's so difficult about this? It's clearly a simple thing right in front of me. I don't need to think too much about it, because I usually..."
The head of the village paused as he spoke, turned around and looked around. Everyone in Xiaqiu Village looked at him with that look, including the kid who was grilling skewers.
"Alas!" He sighed: "I see! No wonder those who were high officials in the past found it easy for their children to take the imperial examination."
Without today, brothers and sisters with monthly votes and recommended votes cast their votes, and the farm family bows! Thanks!
(End of chapter)
