Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

Wuchang at the end of February is not as warm as Xiboni and Lingyamen located on the edge of the equator. The so-called spring freeze freezes people to death. Facing the temperature that is still near the freezing point, poor people with thin clothes hope that they will not have much heat in themselves. The nobles in fur jackets also want to stay in the warm spring-like house and do not want to go out. [~]

But it’s one thing to think about it, and it’s another thing to do it. In addition to the idle dandy who can spend time at home, the poor have to work for their daily necessities, merchants have to open their doors, and even officials have to run around. Traveling between various yamen.

Of course, wealthy people can sit in the same warm high hall to deal with government affairs and business affairs, and they can also ride in four-wheeled carriages with heaters and two-wheeled mule carts while walking. Walking with my feet in the cold wind, I was crowded with a lot of people in a shabby room without a fire pit.

Ouyang He is just such a small official. Although he was promoted to a higher level because of his meritorious service in the secret peace talks with the Qing court, the capital officials are worthless and the capital city is not easy to live in, so he can only commute between the public office and the distribution office every day. between places of residence.

Speaking of which, the city of Wuchang has already been empty because of the war, and it happened that Zheng Kezang allocated a large number of unoccupied houses and land to the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Industry opened up similar ones to become government The separate ones were converted into official dormitories and leased to officials at all levels, and the land that was too late to be bulldozed and rebuilt was hoarded for future use.

Ouyang and the office where he works are about half an hour (15 minutes) walk from the small courtyard that the Ministry of Industry lent him for free, and Zheng Fan's working hours are also changed to morning hours (9 o'clock) every day because of Zheng Kezang's habit It is at Shenshizhong (18:[-]), and late arrivals and early departures are not allowed, so when I get home every day, it is already the time when the lights are on. This is thanks to the short distance between the public office and the home, and some colleagues live far away. More than a quarter of an hour.

The courtyard where Ouyang He lived was built according to the specifications of a seventh-rank official. There are only three halls in one entrance.

Because Ouyang He had no family members, he brought a couple of old servants from his hometown. [Ye*][*] These two lived in the concierge, and set up a kitchen in a corner of the backyard. Using the well nearby, cooking, laundry and washing were all done here.

It should be said that if there are more people in the family, the living environment is still very restrictive, but there is no way, in the place where King Xia is present, can the seventh rank still be regarded as an official?

"Master is back." Looking at the tightly wrapped Ouyang He standing outside the door dragging his tired body, the servant who heard the knock and came out to open the door hastily let him in. "Master is exhausted. Fortunately, I can take a bath tomorrow, just in time to rest."

Zhu Hongwu believes that all officials should be public servants, and public servants should not rest, so they completely destroyed the rest and mu system that began in the Han Dynasty, and after the Manchus entered the customs, they took pictures of cats and tigers. Other than year-round.

But Zheng Fan was different. Just like the change of working hours, Zheng Kezang, who was used to five days off and two days off, hated the Ming and Qing abolition of the system of rest and bathing.As long as the number of people on duty is guaranteed every day, no one cares whether you take a break every five days or take two consecutive days off at a time.

As for taking more than two days of rest, you must ask for leave. For sick leave, a doctor at the Tai Hospital must issue a leave note. For personal leave, the number of times and days per month is limited. Failure to ask for leave is considered absenteeism.

The basic salary is not deducted for leave, but the allowance is deducted on a daily basis. If the sick leave exceeds a certain number of days, the allowance for the current month or even the whole year will be deducted.

Absenteeism will be deducted together with the basic salary. After a certain number of days, the future official rewards will be reduced first, and if the absenteeism continues, they will be removed from the list.

"Honey, bring me a bowl of hot tea quickly."

Seeing Ouyang He look weak, the nagging servant stopped knowingly, and waited until Ouyang He drank a bowl of hot tea and returned to the world from hell, then took out an invitation card from his arms and handed it over .

"Master, this is Master Guan who moved in from next door, please come over for a drink at noon tomorrow. [~]"

"Master Guan?" Ouyang He opened the invitation and looked at it. It was written very humbly, saying that he was new here and wanted to get to know the neighbors around him, so don't shirk it. "When did the Guan family move here? Why don't I know?"

"Master, didn't you go out of town a few days ago?"

The concierge replied: "That's when the Guan family moved in. It is said that they were a big merchant in Fujian. They bought a large courtyard around them in one go. It has been repaired for half a month. The neighbors who have seen it all said that the Guan family built a large courtyard. It's the same as the palace."

Just like the Wangfu, Ouyang He smiled slightly. Who has the courage to build something like the Wangfu? Isn’t he afraid that someone will accuse him of a crime of usurpation? The courtyard looked like a palace.

Of course, then again, Wuchang might become the imperial capital of the new dynasty in the future, and the land price is naturally not cheap. To be able to buy such a large area from the Ministry of Industry, the strength of this maritime merchant is really not small.

It's a pity that no matter how powerful I am, it doesn't matter to me. I am no longer the owner of the pharmacy. Based on this idea, Ouyang He wanted to throw the invitation aside and ignore it.

But before he could take any action, his drooping eyes fell on the words "distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors". Suddenly, his heart moved, and he asked, "Is the Guan family just inviting me?"

Ouyang He was not narcissistic, but just wanted to confirm, and as expected, he heard the servant say: "How can it be, the neighbors have already gone to the banquet, but you have not been free, no, I sincerely asked you to rest. It’s that day, so come here and invite, otherwise, how do you think outsiders know that this house is built like a palace.”

Ouyang He smashed his mouth for the same reason, but besides one or two families of Wuchang natives, as far as he knows, there are also seven or eight families of officials, including the head of the Ministry of Rites Mo, the Chen Office of the Supreme Court of Justice, and Li Limu of the treasury office. People, if he has been to every family and he doesn't go, will someone whisper behind his back that he is unreasonable?

Besides, to be able to enclose a large piece of land from the Ministry of Industry, I think this maritime merchant also has a background. If I offend him, even though I don't care about my official career, I don't want to wear small shoes.

Thinking of this, Ouyang He took out a few coins from his sleeve: "Go and tell the Guan family that I will definitely pay a visit to the mansion tomorrow at noon. This is how much money you have. If you go to buy four-color gifts tomorrow morning, I will not be empty-handed." Come to the door."

The concierge retreated in response, and after a while his wife and the cook brought the food, Ouyang He took care of him before picking up the chopsticks: "Tomorrow morning, boil a few buckets of water, and go out to visit guests tomorrow. It would be impolite not to take a bath."

Time flies, and in a blink of an eye it is already the second day. After bathing, Ouyang He, who put on a new cotton robe, came to the gate of Guan Mansion with snacks and other gifts for visiting relatives and friends. Although the gate was painted black, there was a copper ring in his mouth. The animal head looks particularly dazzling.Ouyang He didn't feel that he was qualified to be greeted by the middle door, so he went to the side door and knocked lightly.

The door opened, and Ouyang He was taken aback by the servant who came out of it. His strong figure and restrained aura made him mistakenly think that he was facing the imperial guards guarding the front of the palace.Ouyang He couldn't help sighing, after all, he was a maritime merchant, and he did have some force in his hands.

But what surprised Ouyang He even more was that after receiving the invitation, the servant immediately greeted him with a smile, and invited him to enter through the main entrance, and said that it was the owner of the family who told him.Why is this merchant so polite?With a feeling that something seemed wrong, Ouyang He entered the Guanfu.

In fact, the Guan Mansion does not have too many luxurious places. After turning around the screen wall and passing through the sedan chair hall, the eyes suddenly open up.

This is probably the reason why the Guan Mansion was rumored to be the Prince's Mansion, because what suddenly appeared in front of Ouyang He was a garden in the south of the Yangtze River with winding paths.

Passing through this weird front garden, a hall with upturned eaves appeared in front of Ouyang He.

"Nanyang Hall?"

Is this hall number?Shouldn't the hall names of Guan's surname be Longxi Hall, Donghai Hall, and Puyuan Hall?

Ouyang He was even more dissatisfied, until he was led into this Nanyang Hall by the steward, he never saw the master come out to greet him.

"I'm not invited to visit, why treat guests like this."

Ouyang He was thinking about it, and the manager said rudely to a person who came out from the back of the hall: "Master, Mr. Ouyang has arrived."

Ouyang He's eyes fell on the person who came, and his first feeling was that he was taken aback. It wasn't that he recognized Zheng Kezang. In fact, as a low-level bureaucrat, he was not qualified to meet Zheng Kezang at all. I didn't know that what I was facing was the supreme ruler of Zheng Fan.

It's just that he felt that this person was too imposing, and the coercion had already come to his face before he arrived, making him mistakenly think that the other person was a general who killed Yingye instead of a mere maritime merchant.

Obsessed by the other party's aura, Ouyang He put away the unhappiness just now, and said rudely first: "My neighbor Ouyang He has met Master Guan."

I only heard Zheng Kezang say: "Master Ouyang is polite, come, please sit down and talk."

Ouyang didn't care about the other party's attitude at this moment. Perhaps in his opinion, the other party had the right to ignore him as an official in the district, so he did it very obediently. This is because he didn't know Zheng Kezang's true identity, otherwise how could it be possible? Sit down, at least you have to sign to show respect.

"Master Ouyang works in the Department of Internal Affairs?" Zheng Kezang asked knowingly. "He is a close minister of King Xia, and he will have a bright future in the future."

"Don't dare, I'm just doing my best for the king." Ouyang He replied honestly. "It's a joke to say, I have never seen King Xia Zunrong, and my close ministers said it was absurd. As for the future, I think that I can do my job well."

"Lord Ouyang's words are very true."

Zheng Kezang nodded in satisfaction. Judging from this conversation, at least this person is not exaggerated, which makes me feel a little good, but it is not enough to cheat his precious daughter away like this.

"That's right, as long as you do your job well, the officials will be able to see clearly." Having said this, Zheng Kezang changed the subject. "I heard that Lord Ouyang's ancestral home is in the south of the Yangtze River?"