Chapter 27 Hei Fu asks for help so that the First Emperor can see how Hu Hai squandered his wealth...

Just after the roosters crowed a few times in the early morning, Zhou Yu and his men appeared in the office of officials again.

Zhou Yu didn't say "the spring breeze caresses the face."

That's about right. After all, he's the only one recruited during the Three Kingdoms period. He can not only change the fate of his friends, but also earn money to change the future of Eastern Wu and realize his dream of conquering Jiangdong.

Even though he worked in Songyang County during the day and had to return to Eastern Wu to handle political affairs at night, Zhou Yu was still in high spirits.

It can only be said that those who can leave their mark on history are not ordinary people; their physical strength alone is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Yuchi Jingde and Qin Shubao's expressions weren't very good, but no one could be blamed for that. Magistrate Jiang said he wouldn't have instant noodles for lunch, but would try braised chicken and rice instead.

If it weren't for the need for new food, His Majesty wouldn't have complained about wanting more.

After all, I've eaten instant noodles several times. Although I still crave them occasionally, nothing is as fresh as something new.

Yuchi Jingde had just reported this matter to Li Shimin.

As expected, Li Shimin's appetite was whetted by the braised chicken and rice, and he insisted on trying it, leaving Yuchi Jingde and Qin Shubao at a loss for what to do.

After working together for a while, we all got to know each other's personalities.

It's normal to exchange a few greetings.

While it was still early, Zhou Yu looked at Hei Fu, whose face was noticeably somber, and asked, "Didn't you see Qin Shi Huang? Why do you look like this?"

If Zhou Yu hadn't mentioned Hei Fu, things would have been fine. Yuchi Jingde and Qin Shubao were both lost in their thoughts and hadn't noticed that Hei Fu, with dark circles under his eyes and a droopy face, looked utterly dejected.

"Oh dear, Hei Fu, could it be that the First Emperor dragged you to build the Great Wall?" Yuchi Jingde was startled by Hei Fu's appearance. He had always said that the First Emperor was a tyrant, look at what he had done to his subordinates.

Their Emperor is still the best.

I just had a bit of a craving.

Overwhelmed by the concern of those around him, Hei Fu finally broke down, his eyes reddening: "The king said he wants to watch TV, but where would I get so much money to buy a TV?"

What if you can't buy a TV?

Nine Clans Elimination Game...

The group looked at each other and asked, "What is a television?" There was a huge booklet; how could they possibly read through all the products? Even if they did, they would only get a general idea, and there were many terms they didn't understand.

This is the first time I've ever heard of this kind of television.

After thinking about the king's words, Hei Fu said, "It seems that we can learn about historical stories starting from the Qin Dynasty." It wasn't that Hei Fu didn't explain clearly.

During the Qin Dynasty, there were performing arts such as singing, dancing, and acrobatics, but there was no "opera" form with role-playing and complete narrative, so Hei Fu had no idea about the concept of opera.

Zhou Yu's eyes flickered after hearing this. Could it be similar to the variety shows of the Han Dynasty?

"It's just a traditional opera performance!" Yuchi Jingde shouted, about to burst into song, but Qin Shubao quickly stopped him.

They focused their attention and eyes on Haf.

Hei Fu was terrified. Just imagining Ying Zheng's angry face made his hands tremble uncontrollably, and he automatically translated the subtext of the king's words.

"I want to watch television." The unspoken implication was that if he didn't watch it, you know what would happen.

Ying Zheng glanced at the price; it was only a little over a thousand coins. Although the slave didn't seem to have much ability, the amount of money wasn't much, so he should be able to afford it.

So when Ying Zheng went to the television, he was both unreasonable and arrogant.

He knelt on the ground in fear and whispered, "I only have three hundred and forty-three coins."

"What?!"

"You don't even have a little over a thousand coins?!" Ying Zheng was shocked.

Ying Zheng could have imagined that Hei Fu's wages wouldn't be very high, but he hadn't expected them to be this low.

But a gentleman's word is as good as his bond. The words have already been spoken, and so many ministers have heard them; it wouldn't be appropriate to take them back now.

"I don't care, you'll have to figure something out yourself."

In the last sentence, Ying Zheng was also being shameless.

Who told him to be the king? The king has the right to act like a rogue, but Hei Fu doesn't. This diligent Qin Dynasty official was just a minor yamen runner in Songyang County.

How long will it take him to be able to afford a TV?

Hef was in pain, Hef couldn't sleep.

"Don't worry, there might still be a way." Seeing Hei Fu's emotional breakdown, only Zhou Yu gently comforted him and patted him on the shoulder.

In fact, Magistrate Jiang is a very easy person to talk to. Hei Fu encountered this situation and asked Magistrate Jiang for help. Perhaps she would help him solve it.

Zhou Yu thought this way and said this way.

Unexpectedly, Hei Fu shook his head in horror as soon as he heard his solution, "No, you don't know, Magistrate Jiang is a bit strange."

Hei Fu didn't know how to describe it, so he told everyone what Django had told him about who Qin Er Shi was.

Before hearing what Hei Fu had to say, everyone thought that Magistrate Jiang had done something to Hei Fu, but unexpectedly, he only told Hei Fu that Qin Er Shi was Hu Hai.

Oh, it's nothing.

“It’s a good thing to tell you. If your king knew that Qin Er Shi was Hu Xiaozhu, wouldn’t it be perfect to nip the danger in the bud?” Yuchi Jingde said with a smile, not at all thinking that what he said was cruel.

Hu Hai is still a baby.

Hei Fu shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I always feel that Magistrate Jiang and the King are the same." Hei Fu had a hunch that Magistrate Jiang and Ying Zheng seemed to have the same blood flowing through their veins.

Zhou Yu and his men would never understand this kind of animalistic intuition.

Just like when an earthquake strikes, small animals like ants will sense it a few days in advance and evacuate from their original habitat, while large animals like tigers are often unaware of it.

Although he didn't understand what Hei Fu was talking about, Zhou Yu still tried to solve Hei Fu's problem. "This morning I'm going to the tofu market with Magistrate Jiang. I'll talk to Magistrate Jiang about this and see if he can do me a favor. Alright, you should go to work now."

In any case, Heifetz's troubles were resolved, and his burden was instantly lightened by more than half.

These days, the mornings in Songyang County always begin with the sound of grinding soybeans.

Before dawn, Aunt Li from the east side of the city had already pushed open her wooden door. Beside the large stone mill in her yard, piles of soybeans soaked the night before lay. Her husband had left early, leaving her and her two young sons alone. Ever since Magistrate Jiang taught everyone how to make tofu, every household in Songyang County had set up a tofu stall, and Aunt Li was no exception.

"Dazhu, Erzhu! Get up and grind the grain!" Aunt Li called out into the house.

The two boys came out rubbing their eyes. The older one was fifteen and the younger one was only twelve, but they were quite strong. The two brothers held the millstone handle one in front of the other, and the millstone creaked and turned. The milky white soy juice flowed down the millstone into the wooden bucket.

As Aunt Li added soybeans to the mill, she muttered, "Grind them finer, grind them finer! Yesterday, Aunt Liu's tofu sold out quickly because it was ground finely, resulting in a tender texture."

The ground soybean milk was poured into a large pot to boil, the firewood in the stove crackling loudly. Aunt Li stirred the pot with a long wooden spoon, the steam making beads of sweat appear on her forehead.

The aroma of soybeans gradually filled the courtyard. Granny Wang from next door called out over the low wall, "Aunt Li, is the tofu pressed a little firmer today? My old man has bad teeth and prefers it soft."

"I know! I'll save you a piece of tender meat!" Aunt Li replied with a smile.

After cooking, the soy milk is filtered through a fine gauze to remove the soy pulp, and then brine is added. Slowly, the soy milk coagulates into tofu pudding.

Aunt Li scooped out a bowl, sprinkled some sugar on it, and handed it to Erzhu: "Eat it while it's hot, so you can grow tall and become a yamen runner when you grow up."

Erzhu held the bowl and gulped it down, leaving a ring of white foam at the corner of his mouth. Dazhu looked on with envy, but Aunt Li laughed and scolded, "What's the rush? I'll cut a piece for you to dip in scallions after the tofu is pressed."

The tofu was poured into a wooden frame and weighed down with a stone slab, water seeping out slowly. By the time the sun was high in the sky, the tofu had set. Aunt Li lifted the gauze, and the snow-white tofu trembled. She cut it with a knife, and the cross-section was as smooth as jade.

"It's done!" Aunt Li nodded in satisfaction, stacked the tofu pieces into a bamboo basket, covered it with a damp cloth, and prepared to take it to the market to sell.

The market in Songyang County is located on the crossroads in the center of the town, and it gets lively as soon as it's light. Vendors selling vegetables, meat, and needles and thread call out their wares one after another. Aunt Li's tofu stall is set up on the street corner, next to Aunt Liu's tofu stall, and across the street is Old Man Zhang's tofu stall.

"Aunt Li, your tofu is pressed very well!" Aunt Liu peeked out and smiled.

"It's alright. I ground it a little longer yesterday, so the soybean pulp is filtered out." Aunt Li wiped her hands, arranged the tofu, and took out a small dish with her homemade pickled scallions. "Here, have a taste. Buy tofu and get the scallions free."

Soon, the neighbors gathered around.

"Aunt Li, cut me two pieces, the tender ones!"

"I want three pieces to take back and make soup."

"These scallions smell delicious! Give me another one!"

Aunt Li worked nimbly, cutting tofu, wrapping it in oil paper, and collecting coins. She was sweating profusely, but happy nonetheless. Since learning to make tofu, the family had an extra source of income, and life had become a little easier.

In the morning, Jiang Ge and Zhou Yu walked by on the street and saw her tidying up, so they asked with a smile, "Aunt Li, how's business today?"

Aunt Li quickly bowed and said, "Thanks to the two gentlemen, we've sold out!"

Jiang Ge nodded: "Okay, okay. Songyang County's tofu is now famous in neighboring counties. In a few days, caravans will come to buy it. The more you make, the more you can earn."

This caravan was contacted by Zhou Yu, and it wasn't just one company, but several. They were going to hold a tofu banquet in Songyang County to entertain merchants from all walks of life.

During his time as chief clerk, Zhou Yu handled a lot of backlogged government affairs, relieving Jiang Ge of most of the pressure. Otherwise, the two of them wouldn't have had the time to host a tofu banquet.

As Zhou Yu and Jiang Ge walked down the street, shy young women and married women craned their necks to look at them. Apart from a few looking at Jiang Ge, most of them were looking at Zhou Yu.

Yu was tall, strong, and handsome; this is recorded in historical books and cannot be lied about.

“Magistrate Jiang, I have a favor to ask,” Zhou Yu suddenly said.

"What is it?" Jiang Ge asked, turning his head in confusion.

Zhou Yu recounted to Jiang Ge all the difficulties and problems Hei Fu had encountered. He had just finished speaking when...

“No need for Heifu to pay, I’ll pay for it.” Jiang Ge smiled, as if he didn’t feel like he was at a disadvantage at all, and even seemed to have encountered some great good thing.

Something seems a little strange...

Zhou Yu was slightly taken aback. Jiang Ge had agreed too readily, even with a hint of impatience. Considering the strange things Hei Fu had said, Zhou Yu couldn't help but glance at the magistrate a few more times.

"What?" Jiang Ge blinked. "Wouldn't it be interesting to let the First Emperor see how Hu Hai squandered his wealth?"

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Author's Note: I originally wanted to write a long chapter, but I felt it was a good time to stop here, so I'll deliver the long chapter next time! [Cat emoji] My business trip was too rushed; I didn't get to the hotel until after 10 PM every day, so I could only squeeze in time to write. However, the trip should end in the next couple of days, and I'll make up for it by updating more frequently later. Thank you all for your support and encouragement! [Cat emoji][Cat emoji]