"Sir, please sit down in the hall for a moment. The servants are not able to move well, so I will rush you!" Zhu Youzhuan arranged for everyone to sit down in the main hall, then resigned. Mei Siyuan was new to Anxian and wanted to know more about the people's livelihood here, so he refused the arrangement of the Salt Administration Department of the state government and led his eight personal guards to ask questions as they walked, slowly groping along the way. It has been less than two moments since we arrived at Shanpotou Village. The whole Zhu family has finished their lunch. Where can there be so many ready-made meals for nine people? So as soon as I heard what the old steward said, I hurriedly sent the old lady and the old long-term workers to boil fires, boil water, and kill animals and poultry. It’s not that the servants are being lazy on purpose, but it’s just that making rice and cooking food cannot be done overnight. You have to turn it over when it needs to be stirred, and stir-fry when it needs to be stir-fried. If half of the effort in the pot is missing, how can the dishes be delicious? Zhu Youzhuan naturally knew this and understood the truth, but how could he dare to tell it to everyone? I was afraid that the adults would be displeased by waiting for a long time, so they hurriedly got away and went to the kitchen to supervise the work in person.
"Yiqing, there is something here that I have sent you to take care of." Mei Siyuan brought four personal guards with him on this trip, and Gu Yiqing was one of them. According to the law of guarding courtiers in the Dahua Dynasty, officials of the third rank and above have personal guards assigned by the leading guard office. Four years ago, Mei Siyuan moved to the right to serve as an inspector in Qingxi County and received the rank of third-grade officer. These four people were his bodyguards. Now he moved to the right to the Anxian Salt Transport Administration Department, and was promoted from the first-grade position to the second-grade title. The number of guards also increased to twelve, so these four people were transferred from the Chasi Mansion in Qingxi County.
"Sir, please speak!" Gu Yiqing left his seat and bowed, clasping his fists. Among the four, Gu Yiqing was the oldest and now took the post of captain of the bodyguard.
"In a moment, you go to see Li Baozhang and ask him to accompany you for lunch. I have something to say with him. Order, please ask him to bring the tenant farmer who discovered the salt cave with him. I'm afraid the court's reward has not yet been given. Today I Since the leader, Anxian Salt Administration, has come here, I should give him a private reward first as a token of my gratitude."
"My subordinates have received orders, let's do it now!" After saying this, he led the three of them out of the hall.
"Uncle Yun?" Mei Siyuan called, but no one answered.
"Sir, my father said that you may stay here tonight, so I went to check the nearby terrain first!" Yun Yao took his father's place at this time and protected Mei Siyuan personally.
"Haha, Uncle Yun is too careful! This place is so secluded, I don't think there will be any thieves." Mei Siyuan said, expressing his approval of Yun Yuan's caution in handling things.
Yun Yao did not dare to think so, and replied solemnly, "My lord's safety must not be careless in the slightest. The Yun family, father and son, have all received the kindness of Mei Mansion. Even if I die, I will not cause any harm to you! Before leaving, I can't do anything to you." His Highness the King has informed you that your coming here will certainly damage the interests of the important people in the court, so you must not relax with half a cup of tea."
"The original intention of Siyuan here is to control salt. But I am in the court, how can I escape from the entanglements between political factions? People's livelihood is so difficult, why not work together to relieve the people's sufferings? When will the political disputes in the court stop?" Mei Siyuan He sighed sadly.
Zhu Youzhuan's family was rich and he raised three poultry and five livestock, numbering in the hundreds. After some inquiring, I learned that the middle-aged man in fine clothes who was traveling to this world was actually a first-rank minister of the current dynasty. I was surprised and happy for a while. What is surprising is that this middle-aged man seems to be in his prime, so how can he reach such a high position? Previously, I secretly estimated that he was a third- and fifth-grade Lord of the county and state government. Fortunately, it was a great honor for Yipin to stay and eat at his own house. The clan history will be passed down to future generations. In addition to having a small family fortune, he seems to be in ordinary poverty: he has neither entered the official position to obtain an official position, nor has he risked his life to save the world. This is the most book-worthy thing in my life, and it needs to be done with every possible care and attention, so I wish that all the ingredients on the table in the house would be cooked and served. "This garlic duck, you have to remove the duck feathers. Hey, that suckling sheep cooked ground soup has to blanch the mutton smell of the sheep." Zhu Youzhuan usually pays attention to his diet, so he is very good at cooking here. At this moment, I wish I could grab the pot and spoon and cook it myself, "When it's done, quickly take it to the stove to heat it!"
There are twenty-three dishes on a table, four soups, five steams, six stews, and seven roasts, with a roasted whole pig in the middle. This is a lunch that the entire Zhu family spent an hour preparing for Mei Siyuan and others.
"Haha, Master Mei, I've been waiting for a long time! You can take your seat and enjoy your meal!" Zhu Youzhuan said with a strong smile, but he thought in his heart, "It is really disrespectful to make Master Mei wait for an hour, I can only hope you can be considerate. "
Mei Siyuan stood up from his seat, held his hand and said, "Mr. Lao Zhu is here. I made my own decision and invited the old steward and a tenant farmer to share the table with me. I hope Mr. Zhu won't be surprised!"
Hearing Mei Siyuan's words, he didn't seem to be angry. Zhu Youzhuan felt relieved and hurriedly replied, "Where is it! How dare you, a humble citizen? Master Mei is really polite!"
"Then I'm sorry for bothering you," Mei Siyuan smiled back, then called Gu Yiqing, "Go and invite the old steward and the youngest brother to the table."
Recently, the youngest just felt like he couldn't use up all his strength, so he got up early that day and went to dig water chestnuts in Zhu Youzhuan's paddy field at dawn. Nowadays, the neighbors, old and young, call him "the youngest", and there is an incident of "exploring salt in the blind mountain". The young people call him "the youngest uncle", and those of similar age call him "the youngest brother". The youngest always has a smile on his face. During the lunch break, my mother-in-law brought me millet porridge and a few spoonfuls of pickled vegetables and dried radish in the rice tube, which my youngest licked clean. Not even a moment after he had finished working in the fields, he heard the old steward calling him from a distance. The old steward explained the reason and was very obedient. It turned out that his boss invited him to the mansion for lunch.
"What can we do? There's no way a person like this can get through the boss's house in this muddy state." The youngest got anxious and was about to resign. The old steward was unwilling, so he ordered the youngest to wash up in the ditch and then hurriedly took him away. When they arrived at the village, they saw two officers waiting. The youngest's legs went weak and he almost bumped into a fence. He thought, "Could something go wrong in the salt cave and the officers want to arrest me to make amends?" I saw the official officer walking quickly, clasping his hands and saying harmoniously, "My lord, please invite the youngest and eldest brother to join us at the table!"
"Are you inviting me to dinner? Where can such a good thing come from?" The youngest felt a little calmer and doubtful, but he followed behind to the Zhu family's residence. On the way, he felt uneasy in his heart.
"Brother, please take a seat!" Hearing the official call again, the youngest, who had been waiting in the side hall for half an hour, believed more than he suspected, and stood up with a bow. Fu Zhen made several invitation gestures, but the youngest just looked at him, with a confused look on his face, but stopped and hesitated. Fu Pun had no choice but to go ahead. The youngest looked around, meandering along.
