Don’t raise unruly people in extreme cold weather

Chapter 22 Zhumen wine and meat stink

In Langton City at night, workers who had been busy all day in the outer city returned to their small and humble homes. They ate a dinner that was neither warm nor sumptuous. After barely feeding themselves a half full, they dragged themselves tired and dirty. The body fell asleep.

Although the empire is now powerful and its productivity has increased countless times compared to the past, the lives of ordinary people have become more difficult.

The development of industry has brought about population growth. Although agricultural output has increased, it has not kept pace with population growth.

Although the empire relied on large amounts of food imported from overseas colonies to feed its rapidly growing population, it was obvious that even today's empire on which the sun never sets could not feed everyone.

Generally speaking, the main food of a working-class family is bread and oats, but obviously it cannot be high-quality white bread, and oats cannot be cooked into dry rice like Easterners do.

Usually, what they can eat is brown bread and oatmeal that are not much different from those before the industrial era.

The development of the industrial age has not brought about changes in their diet structure, but generally speaking, if a family's income can barely sustain food and clothing, they will at least have enough bacon and some vegetables on the table to eat a day, man We can enjoy some butter to fuel up for a hard day's work.

Of course, a must-have at the table are drinks for men.

In the past, it might have been a glass of beer, which not only provided the body with valuable calories, but also provided the trace elements and minerals the body needs.

But after His Majesty the previous emperor issued a ban on alcohol, coffee and cocoa began to replace beer on ordinary people's tables.

After all, the empire's overseas colonies import a large amount of coffee beans and cocoa beans to the empire every year. These things can very well boost the spirit of the empire's people and replenish their energy.

This also changed the eating habits of ordinary people in the Victoria Empire, from a glass of beer for dinner to a cup of coffee for breakfast.

Of course, if the men in the family can earn twice the salary of ordinary people by working on the railway, they can still have eggs, sausages, and even rare cakes on their tables.

But even so, it is difficult for the vast majority of people to fill their stomachs. People starve to death on the streets every day in Langton City. The vast majority of workers suffer from malnutrition, and the children...

They are lucky to live to adulthood. More children will leave this world prematurely due to diseases caused by hygiene problems.

After all, in this era, whether it is a delivery of a pregnant woman or a surgical operation, it is very rare to be clean. Medical disinfection? That is a new concept that has only been proposed in recent years.

Medical care is in such a situation, and the standard of living and hygiene of ordinary people can be imagined.

The lack of running water, the inability to use hot water, and the need to reserve daily water brought by regional water supply have made taking a bath, especially a hot bath, a very luxury for ordinary people. More importantly, use a pot of hot water to clean your body as much as possible in the morning.

Living in such an environment, without the habit of drinking boiled water, coupled with the lack of medical resources and the fact that ordinary working-class families have no money to see a doctor, one can imagine how high the morbidity and mortality rates are.

But in contrast, there is the luxurious life of the aristocrats.

Just like tonight, a luxurious feast is being held in Windsor Castle.

Not to mention the exquisite and luxurious decorations and banquet utensils, just the delicacies placed on the exquisite porcelain and gold and silver plates imported from the East are already popular among ordinary workers and other people at the grassroots level of society. Out of reach.

After all, just the ingredients for one of the dishes are enough for a working-class family to spend an entire month's income. This is a luxury that they can't even imagine.

The golden and tender lamb chops are grilled with spices that are more expensive than the ingredients themselves. They are brushed with sweet honey and placed on exquisite oriental imported porcelain. This is enough to serve as a small banquet even for a wealthy family in Langton. main course.

But at today's dinner, they don't even qualify for a prominent place on the table.

On the long dining table, which is long enough for the entire playing band to lie side by side, and where musical instruments are displayed, there are piles of all kinds of delicacies and delicacies. They exude an alluring aroma, and all of them have been carefully prepared by the chef. cooking.

But compared with the roasted peacock as the main course, these foods all pale in comparison. After all, no matter how bright the colors of the food are, they cannot compare with the spread of the peacock's tail feathers.

"To be honest, I really don't understand why you have to put the peacock's tail feathers back in after roasting it?" Purficott, who was wearing a white evening dress, held a red inlay in one hand. With a jeweled cane and a delicate crystal cup in one hand, he complained to Princess Anne boredly: "Is it just for the sake of looking good? The aesthetics and food-making skills of these cooks are really not that good. Auntie Anne, why aren’t you willing to consult my advice and hire some Oriental chefs to cook?”

"Oriental chefs do cook delicious food, but they are not suitable as banquet chefs." Princess Anne wore a dark red evening dress today, which made her graceful figure more colorful and made her look more colorful. She felt very constrained. She had not worn a corset for many years, and she couldn't help but feel that she had gained a lot of weight over the years: "At least they are not suitable for noble ladies! The food is too delicious, but it will make those ladies' slender waists It’s stretched so big.”

Princess Anne once tried to hire a chef from the East at Purficott's recommendation, but the price was that she gained twenty pounds in three months.

After tearing out twelve long gowns and even failing to button her military uniform, Princess Anne had to change to a larger military uniform. Princess Anne also had to change back to her original job as a cook to quickly lose weight. .

However, after making a harmless little joke with Purphycott, Princess Anne also chatted with her about serious matters: "Little Purphycott, are you ready? You are the protagonist of tonight's dinner. Don’t get stage fright when you give your speech.”

"Stage fright? It doesn't exist." Looking at the well-dressed gentlemen and the charming ladies at the banquet, a confident expression appeared on Purficott's face, mixed with a hint of disdain: "They are actually very good. You just need to throw out some benefits, and these people will surround you like jackals asking about the taste of meat, and it doesn't take any skills to convince them."

(End of this chapter)