Ordinary clear day

Chapter 70
It is thousands of miles away from Guangzhou to the capital, so naturally it is impossible to get a reply within [-] or [-] days, so Shu Ning had to calm down and wait.

Mrs. Tong is already confinement, and her health is well maintained, but she has to be busy with housework, taking care of her youngest son, and making friends with various officials. It can be said that she is too busy.

After Wang Ruibao and his wife left, Changfu and Zhou Zhoulin had less restraint in their work, which was naturally much more convenient, but Tong still felt a little unaccustomed to Ermo's absence.

It was at this time that Shu Ning proposed to be responsible for part of the housework to share her mother's worries.Although Tong felt that her daughter was still too young, she just couldn't resist her filial piety, so she finally agreed to hand over the food room to her.

There are three large rooms on the other side of the kitchen, one is the kitchen, the other is the firewood room, and the other is the food room.It is said to be a food material room, but in fact, not all food is stored. In addition to various food materials such as rice, noodles, meat and vegetables, this room also has clean dishes, cups, plates and other tableware.Shuning's task is to manage this place.

This task is not onerous, but it is very trivial. Tong's plan to give her daughter this task was based on the idea of ​​giving her daughter a preliminary training in housework management.

According to the usual practice, Shuning only needs to go to the ingredients room in the morning to watch the people take away the ingredients needed for the day, and then make sure that the dishes used are clean and proper before the meal. After the meal, people wash the tableware, After confirming that they were indeed cleaned and that none were broken, she could leave after everything was put away.

In addition, it is necessary to check every day that the high-grade porcelain tableware in a locked cabinet is not lost or damaged, whether there are leftover ingredients on that day, and what needs to be added the next day; every two or three days, count whether the tableware used on weekdays is There has been a decrease, do you need to supplement the rice noodle seasoning?Etc., etc.

However, with the help of other servants and the ability to ask Mrs. Tong for advice at any time, Shu Ning quickly got used to it.Not only did she get started, but she also made some small reforms to the place.

She found that after all the dishes were washed, they were put in the cupboard directly after drying the water with a cloth.Although the dish washer claimed that the cloth was clean, Shuning couldn't believe the gray water marks on it, not to mention that all the dishes hadn't been disinfected before eating.Thinking that she used to eat with such suspiciously clean tableware, she couldn't help but want to vomit.

So she asked someone to cut two bamboos in the back garden, cut them into thin strips, and weaved more than a dozen rectangular bamboo baskets with sparse eyes. Four small feet were woven at the bottom of the baskets. The good dishes and chopsticks were placed on top of the basket sparsely, allowing the water to slowly flow to the bottom of the basket and then flow out again.Wait until the tableware is dry before putting it in the cupboard.During the waiting process, all baskets should be covered with a clean white cloth to prevent dust from falling in.These cloths have to be washed once a day, so two copies are prepared and used interchangeably.

Before every meal, she has to supervise the servants who serve the food, and scald all the dishes and chopsticks with boiling water before serving them.

At the beginning, the people who worked in the kitchen were not used to it, and complained in private that it was superfluous, looking for things to do when they had nothing to do.When Tong heard about it, she also asked Shuning about it.Shuning couldn't explain bacteria and other problems to the ancient people, so she had to tell Tong that the Lingnan area is humid and rainy, prone to miasma, and the water is not clean. The purpose of scalding with boiling water is to prevent dirt in the water. Adults may not be afraid of eating food together, but children, especially babies, cannot stand it.

Tong was dubious, but because of the health of his youngest son, he ordered his subordinates to follow Shuning's instructions.

Most of the servants and servants came to the third room after their family arrived in the capital, and they didn't pay much attention to the quiet Shu Ning.But after a long time, they all found that the status of the third girl in the third room was no worse than that of the second girl in the capital in the mansion. Even the master and wife were willing to listen to her opinions, so they gradually put away their contempt Because of Shu Ning's prudent personality and generous attitude, he began to have real respect for her.

Shu Ning soon discovered that there is a great benefit in managing the food room.This room is connected to the kitchen, and she can clearly see Ah Yin and Chun Xing cooking from inside.So she stayed in this room except for doing needlework, reading, practicing calligraphy and spending time with her mother and brother every day.On the one hand, it is to do a good job in their own work, and on the other hand, it is to get along with Ah Yin more.

When she talked with Ah Yin, because the other party only knew a little Mandarin, she learned some Cantonese, and then used it to communicate with Ah Yin.Children learn everything quickly, especially languages.Gradually, Shu Ning was able to speak a few words with Ah Yin in Cantonese that was neither salty nor bland.

In this way, if she has any dietary ideas, she can directly mention them to Ah Yin.Ah Yin would think that she had learned or seen it before, and would not be suspicious; while others would think that the cooking knowledge she knew was taught by Ah Yin, and when they talked, it was actually Shu Ning who Ask Ah Yin for advice.

This can be said to be a beautiful misunderstanding, or it can be said to be Shuning's little trick.She believed that even if she came up with some modern dishes in the future, her family would not be suspicious.

Shu Ning quietly carried out her little plan like this, and the days passed day by day.Soon, it will be Chinese New Year.

The whole family was preparing for the first New Year after arriving in Guangzhou. Mrs. Tong had already asked other official wives about the rules of the past years, and learned some local customs from Ayin Adi, and she was determined to do it better.

As the New Year approached, Zhang Bao found that more and more people gave him gifts, and the gifts were very expensive. Porcelain and silk were nothing, but there were still people who gave him various Western items, pearls and gems.He didn't know it at first, but when he took a look at it, he was shocked. After discussing it with Mr. Su, he went to ask Su Tongpan for advice.

Su Tongpan told him that other officials are like this, and everyone will accept it, so let Zhang Bao accept it.He said: "The people who send these things are mostly rich local businessmen, most of whom are compradors of the Thirteen Banks, or merchants who rely on them. They buy goods for Western merchants, and they have their own business. At least tens of thousands of taels of income every year." Interest, there are as many as 10 taels. These gifts look expensive, but in fact they cost them hundreds of taels at most, and 1000 taels is the sky. Years, it should be some benefits."

Zhang Bao was still a little uneasy: "But this gift is too expensive. They gave us these, maybe they are asking for something?"

Su Tongpan smiled and said: "What can I ask for? It's just for peace of mind. I hope that the yamen everywhere will not exploit them too much, and don't make things difficult on weekdays. The most important thing is to keep their compradors. You know, inside and outside Guangzhou, together with the nearby Panyu, Nanhai, and Foshan areas, there are many well-known merchants, not to mention the big merchants from other provinces. There are countless people who want to do business with foreigners. We must do everything possible to keep our status. This is a fat mouth. As long as we don't harass them, we can accept these tributes with peace of mind."

Zhang Bao finally understood, thanked Su Tong and resigned.After returning, he smiled and said to Mr. Su: "Looking at it this way, it is similar to the property that the servants honored in Fengtian City before, but the value has been multiplied several times."

Mr. Su said with a smile: "Everyone thinks that the official position in the south of the Yangtze River is a fat vacancy. Never thought that this Guangzhou city is also so rich. It's ridiculous that when my lord got this vacancy, some people sympathized with him, saying that this remote place has no people. Oil and water can be fished."

Zhang Baodao: "That's all because of their ignorance. All trading ports are rich places. However, the sea ban has only been reopened for a few years, and the local officials have only received these properties in the past few years. It seems that the rumors have not spread to the inland of the Central Plains. go."

He looked at the gift box again, sighed and said: "Forget it, I didn't ask them to give it to me, and I won't help them do evil because of accepting the gift, I just accept it."

He distributed [-]% of the gift, except [-]% for Mr. Su, and distributed the rest to the Tongzhi yamen and others. In this way, everyone would praise him, and they would respect him a lot. Zhang Bao If you have any orders, you are willing to do your best.

Mr. Su was about to decline, but seeing Zhang Bao insisted, he accepted it.

Zhang Bao handed over the remaining [-]% of the property to Tong.Tong Shi was also taken aback at first, after hearing Zhang Bao's ins and outs, she took Suyun and sorted the things into the warehouse on the second floor.The couple discussed it all night, and finally decided to put away the things first, and then slowly find a reliable merchant, and take the unnecessary things to other provinces to sell them in exchange for money.

With money in hand, the Tong family will be more confident, and the whole family will live a happy life this year.

Although Shuning didn't know that her parents received many valuable gifts, she also found that the family had become richer.On the antique shelves in the flower hall, there are many precious porcelains; the new clothes made by parents and younger brothers and myself for the New Year are many times more beautiful than the ones I have seen before; even the maids and servants at home have been replaced with new ones. clothing.Chang Fu and Zhou Zhou Lin and his wife wore silk clothes, Su Yun, Qiao Yun and Chun Xing all got new jewellery, they looked at them fondly every day and showed off to each other. Although he didn't show it, he still put on a smiling face all day long, and he must have gained a lot of benefits.

Shuning was also worried about whether Zhang Bao would do something to accept bribes, so she asked Mr. Su in private.But Mr. Su said that there is no need to worry. All the officials in the city are like this. They are too clean and they don't fit in.Shu Ning was still worried, and asked Ah Song to go outside to find out the news.

Speaking of which, among the whole family, the one who learned Cantonese the fastest was not Shuning, but A Song who was next to Mr. Su.Shu Ning had a good foundation in her previous life, and now she can only speak a few half-salty local dialects, but Ah Song is already able to chat with people fluently.

Also because of his ability, Mr. Lisu didn't need him to accompany him on weekdays, but let him wander around the market and teahouses outside to inquire about some local gossip.

Shu Ning found out from Ah Song that her father's official status in the city was fine, and that the people in the city seemed to be accustomed to giving gifts during the New Year, so she was relieved.It's a bit funny to think back on her wild thinking. Could it be that she still doesn't understand her father's personality after getting along with her for so many years?He will accept benefits, but he dare not do things like exploiting the people and colluding with officials and businessmen to do evil.

In a blink of an eye, it was the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, which was the new year, but the Lingnan region didn't seem to value this day very much, so the Shuning family just celebrated casually.However, Ayin proposed to go home for the New Year, and Ahua Adi also resigned.Tong was very sorry, so she had to make an appointment with them to come back after the Lantern Festival.

Zhang Bao was going to be on holiday for the new year, so he brought Chang Gui back early to receive the things assigned by his superiors.When Tong saw it, there was half a pig, half a sheep, a stone each of rice and noodles, and a large basket of fruits and vegetables, but there were two bamboo baskets. It's live fish, and one is filled with live shrimp.

Zhang Bao said with a smile: "It's a rare winter in this winter. People here pay attention to eating fish for the New Year's Eve dinner, in order to have the auspicious meaning of 'surplus every year'. We have known this for a long time. But eating shrimp is fresh. Some, please Madam to cook together."

Tong's ordered everyone to go to the ingredients room in the kitchen, and Shuning wrote down one by one, and began to think about what fresh dishes to cook for the New Year.

(End of this chapter)