Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 50 The Desire to Climb Up
Song Qingshu's two cows were not brought back after all.

People want to slaughter cows, but it takes a lot of work. First, they need to ask for instructions from Baochang Jiachang, and then go to the county to approve the note. The cattle are already dead, and the yamen servants will take the opportunity to blackmail them again. In short, it’s not enough if they don’t peel off the skin, but this group of officials is good. Xu Yongyi curled his lips lightly, and Song Qingshu’s two young and strong black cattle were labeled as sick cattle. , The kitchen was slaughtered after the delay.

Listening to the mingling of cups and chips in front, a large group of officials are talking about the emperor's sageness, and telling each other how many troublesome people they ruled. The emperor is so virtuous, and my lord loves the people so much. There is a lot of Guanyin soil on the mountain, so go eat it!Delaying the official tax collection is a big deal!
It sounds like parents and officials from Xianning County or Zhouzhi County are still enthusiastically discussing more than ten eating methods and tastes of Guanyintu, and the chef is behind him, cooking the French red stew learned from the foreign monk. Song Qingshu's hands trembling for the beef, he wished he could sprinkle a handful of rat poison in it, and make these moths roll their eyes on all fours.

It's so easy to say, what kind of beef do you eat?You can eat dirt!

The banquet lasted until the sun went to the west, and then Xu Yongyi got drunk and arranged the main content of calling the officials to the meeting. One was the governor of Shaanxi, the famous doctor Wu Zhiwang. The civil uprising was frightened, and he died in office. Yang He, the new governor of the three sides of Shaanxi, has arrived in Tongguan, and everyone is ready to welcome the new boss.

The other one is Zuojia, the thief king of civil rebellion. Miao Mei's rebel army has approached Hancheng, everyone in the counties of Xi'an must be careful!
Such two important military and state affairs, just like this, everyone nodded and agreed in the drunkenness. Looking at the confused adults at the banquet, Song Qingshu wondered how much he could remember when he woke up.
The "Municipal Work" Conference of Xi'an Prefecture ended "successfully" in this way. Xu Yongyi, the prefect with a drinking face like a monkey's butt, sat in the official sedan chair in a daze. After sending each other off like dogs, they strolled back to Xi'an City again, and followed out, carrying the two taels of silver as a reward, Song Qingshu didn't know whether he had earned or lost, followed out, his eyes were straight Looking at the scattered market.

"Okay, if these animals can give you some leftovers, you can be content!" I never knew who borrowed a wheelbarrow to push one-sixth part of two cows, cow bones, cows, etc. Seeing Song Qingshu's confused look of not being able to find Bei, Scarface couldn't help but also sighed behind him to persuade him.

Finally regaining his senses, Song Qingshu nodded heavily, but stretched out his hand to hold Caiwei's little hand, and said bitterly, "Let's go home!"

But before he could take a few steps, another loud commotion came from behind. Turning around in shock, Song Qingshu immediately frowned.

It’s really a report of the present world. At noon, a group of villagers who besieged and blackmailed themselves were arrested and escorted in twos and threes, and they were also escorted in the direction of the provincial capital. But behind them, women and children were crying and wailing, and they couldn’t drive away after chasing them. , that miserable cry, the hearts of those who listened trembled.

What are completely different from these villagers are the catchers who have just finished raiding their homes. They all look like ghosts entering the village. Some carry chickens in both hands, some carry rice and flour bags, and there are even a dozen pigs. A sheep was driven ahead, and it can be said that the whole village was hollowed out by this move.

In the end, the arms could not hold back the thighs, and the women and children who followed closely fell into the dust amidst the whips and scolding of the yamen servants like wolfs and tigers. Around this, an old lady was still crying loudly. He stretched out his hand, as if he wanted to grab something back, while the old man in front of him was still looking back frequently.

When the hustle and bustle cleared away, the market became dead silent again, only soft sobbing remained, women sat on the ground decadently with their children in their arms, while farmers and traders passing by with their cattle and fodder shook their heads and sighed All of this was reflected in the dumbfounded Song Qingshu's eyes.

"Brother!"

The sudden shout made Song Qingshu turn his head in shock, but it was Zhang Xianzhong who drove a few sheep over from a distance, and greeted them as he walked, and when he walked in, seeing Song Qingshu's blank face, Zhang Xianzhong slapped again Putting it on his shoulder, he whispered persuasion: "Okay, brother, this gang of officials is like this, like locusts, they can eat whatever they see, isn't there a shortage of fresh milk in our shop? I just found it for you, brother." A few dairy goats should be useful, and we’ll hunt for good cows another day, so don’t worry about it.”

"Brother, we, are we going too far?" Song Qingshu pointed at the relatives of the villagers who were still crying on the ground in confusion and asked: "Here, they took away their food, these ordinary people, How will you live in the future?"

"I don't care how they live?" Hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong actually grinned happily, and then patted Song Qingshu on the shoulder and said, "Brother, you are a benevolent Taizhai. The world is peaceful, no one has an easy life, if this old brother hadn't come out and allowed the gang to kill, this time it's this girl and your red girl who are squatting here and crying."

Pointing to Caiwei, Zhang Xianzhong spat heavily and snorted coldly: "These days, if you want to live and live comfortably, you have to be cruel to everyone!"

Hearing Zhang Xianzhong's words, Song Qingshu nodded solemnly again.

…………

The next day, the western food shop opened as usual, and a melodious and crisp tune echoed in the shop. The Jesuits who went to China to preach these years are really versatile, with a long beard, playing the violin The monk was as brisk and cheerful as a young man.

Goat's milk can indeed replace cow's milk. Although it has a stronger smell, it can be suppressed by adding some spices. Moreover, goat's milk has a high fat content, making it easier to whip into cream.

The cakes and pastries to be sold in one day have already been baked early in the morning, and the cream is also whipped with the hand mixer brought by the foreign monk. Nowadays, there are more scholars, scholars and some young ladies who come to eat desserts in their spare time , near the meal, there is a car from rich merchants or rich landlords and rich family officials who come to order a big meal. Caiwei is busy making shifts, serving desserts and drinks, cleaning her face with scars, and removing tableware. As the boss and part-time chef On the contrary, Song Qingshu became more relaxed.

However, lying on the dark glass counter, Song Qingshu didn't feel at ease at all, as if he hadn't recovered from his senses, he stared blankly at the door of the store.

What happened this time touched him a lot. As Zhang Xianzhong said, it was fortunate that he was there this time. What if Zhang Xianzhong wasn't there?

At this time, either everyone will go bankrupt and go to the yamen to redeem themselves, or they will be exiled for three hundred miles, Yulin, Ningxia, Guyuan, these evil remote towns are their destination for the rest of their lives. Take Zong Qian Zong seriously, if you are unlucky, you will die halfway, or you will be easily used as cannon fodder in the confrontation with the militant army.

Although at least I have escaped from abject poverty, lived a life of food and clothing, and still have the hope of becoming well-off, but now in the hands of those high-ranking and corrupt officials, I am still a dish, and I can eat whatever I want. After climbing up and down, at least I can't let mermaid flesh!

But how to climb?Looking for Zhang Xianzhong to seek a fast arrest?What about the store?Also spending money to donate officials like Zhao Yuanwai a while ago to be a member of the wolf?It did have some effect. The last time Zhao Yuanwai and his son were released after only half a day in prison, he almost died in prison.

However, donating officials is too expensive! ! !
The third way is to take the imperial examinations like the civil servants of later generations, but thinking about the dizziness of the last provincial exam, and thinking about the Four Books and Five Classics of this era, Song Qingshu felt a headache.

But it's more like killing people than this. What can't be done in the imperial examination?Caiwei was educated by the scholar-bureaucrats of the system, and perhaps asked this little girl to teach herself something.

Thinking about it, Song Qingshu turned his gaze to Caiwei who was busy at the side, but at this moment, there was a burst of hearty laughter from the door of the small shop.

"It's here. People here have said that the vegetables and dim sum here are good. Mr. Heng Jiu just didn't believe it. Haha, he came here by himself now. Silly master, one cake, six pancakes, three Glass of beer!"

The ones who came were considered regular customers. Liu Shiyang, an official of Xi’an Fu Zhaomao, was a 27-year-old eighth-rank official, followed by two middle-aged men in their thirties who had never seen him before. The one in front had a neatly combed beard. His complexion is slightly dark, and he is of medium build. He is from the south at first glance, and the other Song Qingshu has to admit that he is definitely a handsome guy in ancient times. Newborn favor.

Although the two of them dressed simply, they were full of elegance, besides, Liu Shiyang, an official, was naturally an official, so he didn't dare to be negligent, so he put his thoughts aside, and Song Qingshu just wanted to say hello when he came up.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered the store, the slightly dark-skinned middle-aged man walked around twice, and suddenly greeted the foreign monk who was ecstatically playing the violin with great excitement. When I met an old friend, the students said how can there be Western dishes in Xi'an Prefecture in the northwest, it turns out that Mr. Tang is here, and it has been a long time."

Monk Yang suddenly came back to his senses, looked at the dark official, and laughed with a trembling beard: "So it's Mr. Hong. It's been a long time since we left Nanjing. Ruowang misses him very much!"

Listening to the weird and obedient Nanjing Mandarin translator, Song Qingshu almost fell to the ground.

No wonder this foreign monk knows everything, he is actually Tang Ruowang!One of the most important figures in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, who was one of the most important figures in the advancement of Western learning to the east, I really misjudged him!

(End of this chapter)