Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 667
"Come on, let's serve!"

As soon as the gong sounded, Ah Gui quickly lit the fuse of the firecrackers, and there was a crackling sound, and the gunpowder smoke filled the air.

Agui's father, this wrinkled, dry and thin man stood there nervously and shouted, "Fellows from all over the world, all guests and friends, thank you for coming to join us during your busy schedule. Today is my brother's return home in fine clothes. At the beginning of the fifth-rank martial rank, he was awarded General Ningyuan, and served as a middle officer (garrison rank) with the surname Guo as the admiral of the Henan camp. ,

Such great grace is so great, so I specially invite my friends and relatives to witness and thank the emperor...

Not much to say, poor hospitality, please forgive me,

Smoked tea on the table, please come along, now we will serve the dishes.

The first dish, golden rooster, the golden rooster announces the good news, the joy falls from the sky, the family is full of festive celebrations, and those who see it will be happy! "

The Chen family used a large black pottery bowl to put a yellow stewed chicken. The chicken was stewed golden, so it was called the golden chicken. There was a whole big chicken in a bowl, which was full of ingredients and full of grandeur.

The big black pottery bowl is very big, and the chicken weighs several catties. The big bowl is full, and it is golden in color. It looks good and smells good.

The banquet was placed directly outside on the drying yard, and the tables were borrowed from the neighbors. There were eight people at a table, eight bowls of vegetables at each table, and freshly steamed white flour steamed buns.

Although the folks said that thanks to the blessing of the Red Gun Association, life has been stable in the past two years, but life is not easy. Everyone is living a tight life. Who has seen this situation.

Even the county magistrates, mayors, and inspectors stationed in the market town couldn't help drooling when they saw this hard dish.

"The second dish, silver carp, folks and friends take it slow."

This is the second dish of silver carp. People in Yongcheng also love to eat fish. There are several big rivers here. The Yellow River used to flow nearby when it was not diverted. There are even four nostrils in Weishan Lake not far from Xuzhou. carp.Therefore, there is no feast without carp. Generally, carp from ponds in nearby rivers are used. If conditions are good, Yellow River carp is used. If you are more particular, you can buy carp with four eyes and nostrils unique to Weishan Lake. The surface of carp is like silver scales, so it is called silver. carp.

As soon as the silver carp from Weishan Lake came up, the grade went up a few notches.

Then one dish after another was served, all of which were full of black pottery bowls.

The third dish is copper elbow, the fourth dish is jade egg, the fifth dish is su dish, the sixth dish is tofu, the seventh dish is green onion and pepper, and the eighth dish is stir-fried.

The chef who cooks today is the chef specially invited from the big restaurant in Daqiuji. These eight big bowls are his specialties, and the master has given enough ingredients. The chef also knows that Chen Twelve is now prosperous. , so work extra hard.

This dish comes up one after another, and it is full of color, fragrance and taste.

Every dish is served as soon as it is served.

Everyone was not willing to eat at the banquet, and they all brought things in advance, some with pots, some with cans, and some with buckets, and each dish was divided into one.

Some tables were filled with gentlemen, even decent country gentry and officials, so it was natural to be polite, while some were filled with folks, so they immediately robbed them.

At this time, everyone can no longer care about who is the uncle and who is the aunt, and everyone shows their skills, all depending on their speed.Of course, there are also rules at the table, and the speed of the hand is what matters, but you can't just take it away with a bowl.

This kind of grabbing and dividing the food at the table is also an old custom. Chen Twelve, who has seen the world outside, felt very kind after seeing it.

A son does not think his mother is ugly, and a dog does not think his family is poor. The customs and habits of any place always have their historical origins.

Grabbing food and sharing food is still a difficult life and poor conditions. Even if you go to a banquet, you are reluctant to eat by yourself. You have to take it home to eat with your family. share to.

Chen Twelve toasted and smoked at the table.

Cigarettes and alcohol are expensive, but today he doesn't care.

He used to bend over desperately under the scorching sun in the wheat field for a day, and at most he could only exchange more than ten yuan for three meals. He is no longer the same.Hundreds of pens a box of good cigarettes are constantly scattered. It's not that he has forgotten Ben Piao, but he wants to thank the folks and let his mother, brother, sister-in-law and family members feel proud to share his life together. today's success.

The last dish of stir-fried cabbage was served, and everyone divided it up as usual.

After finishing all the vegetables, I started to eat steamed buns with the remaining juice at the bottom of the bowl.

Chen Twelve had also expected such a scene, so today there were eighty white flour steamed buns per table, and ten big steamed buns per person, all of which were very expected.

In addition to steamed buns, soup is also prepared.

It is said to be soup, but it is actually full of ingredients. There are big meatballs, bone-broken chicken, corn, tofu, radish, cabbage, shrimp, mutton, pork bones, etc. stewed into a big pot.

In fact, I also know that everyone has divided the eight bowls, and they are only eating steamed buns here.

Everyone didn't expect the Chen family to be so particular, full of admiration, and in the end they ate and drank enough, carrying a few cigarettes in their pockets, and brought home the food they had shared. In addition to the eight bowls, there were still seven or eight steamed buns, but they didn't eat them in the end. The finished stew was divided into a large pot to take away.

Come back fully loaded.

"Uncle, Zhang Xiancheng and Liu Xunjian from Daqiuji, as well as Deputy Envoy Liu of the Taxation Department, Deputy Envoy Zhao of Hebo Station, Deputy Envoy Wu Cang, Chief Zhu of the Zhenliang Station, and Mayor Ma, Chen The deputy mayor, Chen Baochang, and He Shuli all brought gifts."

Chen Twelve was a little drunk.

Very happy today.

The Chen family, which used to be poor, could not even go out at the same time in the winter, because there was not enough cotton trousers, and they would have nothing to wear when they went out. They even wore straw sandals in winter, and even covered the reed quilt with wheat straw. All kinds of hardships are painful to recall. Because of poverty, seven of his more than a dozen brothers and sisters died at an early age.

It was fate that Chen Twelve survived.

Who would have thought that he, Chen Twelve, could become a fifth-rank military officer now.

What Agui is talking about is the people with dignity in the town. Daqiu is the birthplace of the Red Gun Club, and the industry and commerce are developing well. Last year, Daqiu Town was established here. A county magistrate came to open the yamen and stationed there, and there was an inspection station in the town, who sent inspections and archers.

There are also post houses, delivery shops, post officials, etc., and dozens of post soldiers have been recruited here.

There are also purchase stations, granaries, righteous warehouses, etc., and even the county's tax department and Hebo Office have sent deputies to station them, and there are quite a few officials and officials here and there.

These people came to work in Daqiu, and they also visited Chen's family earlier, knowing that Chen Twelve has a status in the Guide regiment now, but this time Chen Twelve is directly the fifth rank, and he is even studying in the martial arts hall, becoming a sword bestowed by the emperor This is extremely unexpected for them.

So as soon as I heard the news, I took the initiative to come, and I wanted to give gifts.

"Invite them all to have a cup of tea." Chen Twelve said.

Invite all these people who eat public meals here.

"This is the tea I brought back from Tokyo. The Yunwu tea from Tiantai Mountain in Taizhou, the place where the sage prospered. The taste is quite good. Please try it."

There was no tea set, so I just poured the boiling well water into the black pottery bowl I had eaten just now, and then grabbed a handful of tea leaves in it.

Chen Twelve was still wearing the uniform of a military officer, and the big bear on his chest felt like it was baring its teeth and claws.

A group of people are very careful.

In fact, they are basically all from Henan, and they are basically appointed by the old sub-inspector Zhao Hongsheng, Mr. Zhao, and some are even directly appointed by the prefect of Guide.

In troubled times, there are not so many rules to pay attention to.

Some were born as local gentry, some were originally subordinate officials, some were from local rich families, some were former bandits and thieves, and some former members of the Red Spear were wounded and transferred to the local area.

In general, except for the county magistrate Zhang and Xunjian Liu, the mayor Ma and the deputy mayor Chen, the rest of the people are actually no-grade exiles or miscellaneous jobs, and even directly subordinate staff.

In today's Henan, especially in Guide, Yongcheng's one-third-acre land, no matter whether they are officials or officials, they are actually holding red guns and breathing.

Few are really officials sent by the imperial court.

Chen Twelve is not only a fifth-rank military officer, he is also Zhu Zhongyi's middle officer, he is an absolute confidant, and although Zhu Zhongyi was Xu Dingguo's adopted son before, he was originally a senior brother of the Red Spear Society, and was later bestowed by the emperor. The surname of the country is accepted as the righteous son of the emperor, so the Guide regiment has long been joined by soldiers from the imperial camp.

This has long been a direct line of the emperor.

Chen Twelve was naturally different from ordinary fifth-rank officials.

Everyone even felt a bit honored to have such a big shot under their rule, and coming to the banquet was not only to cheer, but also to take the opportunity to give gifts and strengthen the relationship.

"grown ups····"

Liu Xiancheng, the highest-ranking person among the crowd, just spoke, when Chen Twelve interrupted him with a smile and waved his hand, "I went to Beijing for the second time this time, and I trained in the martial arts hall for three months. It was not a long time, but I felt deeply and learned a lot.

Let’s just talk about this address. Over the years, everyone has been used to compliment each other with respectful titles that exceed their status. This trend is especially prevalent in Henan.

In the past, the chief officials of the imperial court, such as Shangshu, Du Yushi, Tongzhengshi, Dali Temple Minister, and the chiefs of local provinces such as governors and cloth officials, were honored as masters.

But later, some people called the governor the Grand Master.In Henan, even Buyan is honored as a great teacher, and even now there are people who call Daotai and county magistrates too old masters.

Those who have not yet obtained official positions, such as Juren and Gongsheng, are called uncles, and even scholars are called masters.

I even felt that the old man was too old to be flattering enough, and started calling my lord.

When I was in Beijing, I also went to the Guozijian to attend. The old masters of the Guozijian said that the word "adult" used to be used in the Tang Dynasty. It was a name for father. Father can also be called "adult" directly.

Now many of us call our officials adults, not only that, even this adult is like the old man, it has become more and more common. At first, we only called ministers, governors and governors, and later we called magistrates and Taotais. , are called adults, and those who have fame, no matter how talented they are, are called masters.

Our Henan is particularly prosperous.

However, this kind of situation in Tokyo is rare now, and the atmosphere is much more upright. The sages have personally written articles in the Beijing News, saying that it is a big mistake to call them officials and scholars, and they should be corrected. "

Liu Xiancheng didn't expect that when he just opened his mouth, he would be so refuted by General Chen, so he quickly bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

"Everyone will directly match their positions in the future. You can call me Chen Zhongjun, you can also call me Chen Shoubei, or you can call me Chen Twelve. Liu Xiancheng, I will directly call you Liu Xiancheng, or Liu Zanfu, Liu Zuotang , Liu Eryin, etc., I won’t call you Mr. Liu.”

"General Chen's lesson is that it's a little rudeness."

Chen Twelve drank the tea brewed from the black pottery bowl, and felt that the taste was also fragrant.

"There is another thing that I felt very deeply in Beijing this time, and that is the ceremony. It is normal to exchange favors, but now many officials use the red and white things to give gifts in the officialdom under the banner of etiquette.

This official gift is very sensitive, and if it crosses the line, it is a bribe.

So giving gifts and bribes is just a thin line of thought.

In the past, there were many bad rules in the officialdom, and all kinds of etiquette were particular about. The emperor has denounced these behaviors several times. Door respect, following respect, compensation respect, Fei respect, etc., are numerous.

He even sent 300 taels of silver for a poem by Mao.

This gift-giving has actually become a regular ceremony, with a fixed number, what number for any official, and what name.This kind of behavior, my pilgrimage to the emperor, is strictly prohibited. I want to get rid of these bad habits. Your majesty will increase the salaries and benefits of officials, and also provide subsidies such as maintenance money and food money, in order to let everyone stop doing this mess. something happened.

Tokyo is doing very well now. This time I came to Beijing with the surname of the country, and I also brought some special products from our Henan province, but the officials of the yamen and the ministries in the capital confiscated them, and even gave them to the yamen instead of individuals. They don't accept local products.

Because once you open this opening, you won't be able to close it.

In the end, most of the souvenirs we brought were sold, and only a few were left to give to friends, and they were all worth no more than one silver dollar.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are lagging behind in Henan.

Everyone is still the same as in the past, calling the officials my lord, addressing the scholars my lord, giving gifts to the officials, not forgetting the four seasons, and still sticking to the old bad rules.

We are different now, we have to follow the court closely and keep up with the situation! "

"Today, I entertain guests and set up a banquet. I don't want to take the opportunity to invite guests and win relationships, let alone take the opportunity to make money, so everyone don't pay any money today, let alone give gifts."

“What used to be used to do that doesn’t work anymore.

Mr. Zhao, the old master of our Red Spear Society, has now been promoted to the inspector of Henan. The prefect of Guide Mansion will also be replaced soon, and they are also sent by the imperial court. Everyone should get used to it early. "

"I also know that everyone takes good care of my family and is very grateful. We are also from Henan, so let me remind everyone that the bad rules and bad habits of the past have been quickly changed. What's more, the new governor inspects the cloth According to the division, the first thing to do after taking office is to check the fields. This is what Shandong does. Therefore, if you want to secure your seat, or even go further, it is best to start now. Be prepared, if you can handle this errand well, you will definitely be able to show your face in front of the new Shangguan, and even take a step forward in your official career."

These words are a bit revealing, but they are not against the rules. It is equivalent to pointing out the maze. Chen Twelve did this because these people are local officials. Giving them pointers is not only a personal favor, but also the son of heaven when talking about martial arts. Give them the tasks they have given.

Chen Twelve also told the county magistrates in detail what was done in Shandong, and they were a little stunned.

"That's the end of the talk, and the way has been pointed out for everyone, it's up to everyone whether they want to do it or not.

Thank you for coming today. If you have anything to do in the future, you can come to me at any time. If you can help, I will do my best! "Chen Twelve began serving tea to the guests.

(End of this chapter)