"Don't you think the food is too good? To be honest, I was just as amazed when I first came here. I've never eaten dry rice before. It's so fragrant. I'd be willing to work here for the rest of my life if they didn't pay me. You'll get used to it after a couple of days. Dinner is the same as this, and breakfast is good too. This morning we had meat patties and fried rice with lard, and everyone got a cup of soy milk."

Dongzi talked as he ate.

He smacked his lips.

Their mouths were dripping with oil from the food.

Jiang Dafeng was indeed taken aback.

From morning until now, he feels like he's dreaming. First, there's the monthly wage of three taels of silver, and then there's the excellent food.

It's no different from being a god.

Only after Dongzi urged him repeatedly did he take the chopsticks off the wooden lid and start eating.

I burst into tears after taking the first bite.

It's so delicious!!

I never knew meat could smell so good.

If this is a dream, he really wishes he would never wake up.

He took three bites before putting down his chopsticks.

"Dongzi, can I take this food home?" Jiang Dafeng asked him.

His family was so poor that they could hardly afford meat, and he wanted to bring some back for his wife and children to try. As for his other family members, well, forget about it.

They wouldn't appreciate it even if I gave it to them.

And such good white rice.

He has eaten this dish very few times in his life.

It's so soft and fragrant, and it doesn't hurt my throat like brown rice.

"Don't bring your lunch. You still have to work in the afternoon. How can you have the energy if you're not full? Besides, there's nothing to put the food in, so it's not easy to carry. If you don't eat enough, you won't be able to work well, and Steward Jinyu will be angry. You can bring your dinner, but the wooden box must be put in the bucket. When you come tomorrow, bring a big bowl from home, and pour the food into it in the evening before taking it home. Steward Jinyu won't say anything if he sees it. Originally, dinner wasn't provided here, but the master saw that the workers were reluctant to eat lunch and secretly took their food back home, so he asked Steward Jinyu to have an extra meal. Steward Jinyu and the master are both very kind people."

Dongzi explained to him, not forgetting to praise Yan Xia and Jin Yu.

Jiang Dafeng was overjoyed to hear that he could take dinner home.

His home was very close to the school; it only took him about half a cup of tea to walk home. If he went home to get his bowl when dinner was served in the evening, wouldn't he be able to take his meal home tonight?

But then I thought, he just arrived today and he's already so impatient, it's really annoying, so I'd better not.

It's not too late to bring it tomorrow.

Jiang Dafeng ate while thinking.

Soon, the two people's wooden box was completely empty; not a single grain of rice was left, and even the vegetable soup was licked clean.

"Come on, put the wooden box in the bucket. I'll take you to a good place to sleep for a while, so you won't be too tired to work this afternoon." Dongzi picked up the wooden box, stood up, and said to Jiang Dafeng with his head down.

"The wooden box hasn't been washed yet. Is it really okay to put it in like this?" Jiang Dafeng said, looking at the dirty wooden box in his hand.

"No need, we'll wash everyone together. Hurry up, or we'll have to get back to work."

Dongzi urged.

"Okay." Jiang Dafeng didn't ask any more questions.

The two walked to where they had just gotten their food and put their wooden boxes inside.

They found another corner.

He plopped down and leaned back to sleep.

The same applies to everyone else.

Outside the school.

Jin Yu and Yan Xia had just finished eating. After leaving the restaurant, Yan Xia got into the carriage alone. She was going to a clothing shop to have her school uniform made by a familiar shopkeeper.

Twenty sets of each of the three types, please.

These clothes are loose-fitting, so people who are a few years apart in age or weigh around 20 pounds can all wear them. Therefore, Yan Xia only ordered one size. If any students are too short, too tall, too fat, or too thin in the future, she will order new ones.

Yan Xia is not worried about not being able to recruit students.

Because she had her eye on Magistrate Lu's daughter.

Lu Baozhu.

That day, a disturbance occurred at the restaurant. Lu Baozhu suffered an undeserved misfortune for speaking up for Yan Xia, and was slandered by that scoundrel. It was also on that day that Yan Xia discovered Lu Baozhu was a thoughtful person, and thus she conceived an idea: she would invite Lu Baozhu to teach in the graduating class at the school!

I've heard that Lu Baozhu is very talented, has read hundreds of books, and is no less learned than any man. Lu, the county magistrate, is a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). He has been guiding his daughter in her studies since she was a child. If Lu Baozhu were to take the imperial examinations as a man...

Scholars and those who passed the imperial examinations were no match for him.

Magistrate Lu was powerful, and Madam Lu was wealthy; both of them doted on her.

Such a family environment is rare even in modern times. Therefore, Yan Xia was not surprised that a woman like Lu Baozhu was raised in such a family.

only...

The daughter of a county magistrate is not someone who can be easily persuaded.

While I was thinking, the carriage had already arrived at the clothing shop.

Yan Xia got off the carriage, took the booklet, and went inside.

When they came out, an hour had passed, and the booklet was left at the clothing shop.

Yan Xia did not return to the school.

Instead, he headed home.

In the afternoon, as the evening glow appeared, all the workers in the school stopped what they were doing and walked to the door in twos and threes.

People lined up to wait for their meals.

Most of the people were holding bowls or basins in their hands.

They probably all brought their own food home.

Carpenter Huang was the first to take his food and sat down on the steps to wolf it down. In ancient times, carpenters were considered craftsmen, and their wages were much higher than those of ordinary laborers. Their lives were also better than those of ordinary people.

Therefore, craftsman Huang did not bring any food.

Dongzi, who came from a poor family, also squatted down and ate his meal.

Jiang Dafeng was a little confused. "Dongzi, why didn't you bring any food?" he asked.

“Oh, I live alone. My parents passed away early, and I'm all alone now. My only sister got married and moved to Aoshan Town ten years ago. She only comes back once every three or four years. I'm not well-off, so no one is willing to marry me. That's why I always eat before I go back home. Anyway, the house is always empty.”

Dongzi is several years younger than Jiang Dafeng.

He's only twenty.

When he wasn't working at the school, he would help out and learn the craft at his master's house, or go out to work with his master. After deducting food and drink, he could save one or two taels of silver a year.

It's barely enough for him to live on.

Huang the carpenter is a good man, unlike other masters who would rather exploit their apprentices to death than take all the money.

That's impossible.

It's good enough if they don't charge you.

Therefore, Dongzi greatly respected Huang the carpenter.

As he spoke, he picked up two pieces of spicy stir-fried chicken from the wooden box and put them into Huang the carpenter's wooden box.

Carpenter Huang ate without even looking up. When his apprentice put food on his plate, he didn't refuse and just picked it up and ate it.

After Jiang Dafeng received his meal, he sat down next to Dongzi and ate with him.

The number of people in line has decreased by more than half.

They poured the food from the wooden box into the bowls and basins they had brought with them and went straight home.

"Brother Dafeng, let me tell you, when I get paid next month, I'm planning to find a matchmaker to find me a wife. If it works out, you absolutely have to come to the celebration!" Dongzi's face lit up with excitement when he mentioned the word "wife."