Su Wan carried the roasted lamb and took the warrant given by the Shangshen Langzhong. This time she could leave the palace openly.
I used to think that I might not be able to leave the palace for several years, but now I can go out every few days.
After coming out of the Shangshenjian, I greeted the officials from the Guanglu Temple opposite. In fact, this place is considered the back door of the Guanglu Temple, but because of the good relationship with the Shangshenjian, people often come and go through the back door.
Along the palace road, we passed by the medical study room, where most of the students were the imperial doctors, and they were having their afternoon classes. The young men there were not very old.
After passing the medical school, we arrived at the Dong'anli Gate, which was the place where palace servants were checked to see if they had any smuggled items. Compared with the West Kitchen, the rules here were naturally stricter.
After all, the government offices here are three or four times as many as those over there, and there are always some restless palace servants who will smuggle things out. The function of this place is similar to that of Lingtai Gate.
After passing through Lingtai Gate, you will be outside the palace. After passing through Dong'anli Gate, you will also be outside the palace. Opposite is Nanxunfang, which is a large market town, much larger and more lively than Anqingfang outside Lingtai Gate.
In order to prevent it from being too busy there, there is a road between Dong'anli Gate and Nanxunfang, but no ordinary people are allowed to pass by on this road.
Either the palace maids came out to do their work, or the officials walked here. This road was very convenient for entering the palace or going to government offices.
Su Wan walked along Bianyu Street from north to south, preparing to go to the Ministry of Rites headquarters outside the palace.
In fact, just by looking at the name, you can know its function. Needless to say, "Bian" (side) is a homonym for "Yu Street", which is almost the street next to the imperial palace.
Following this road from north to south, the road is flat and most of the people you see are palace maids or officials wearing palace uniforms.
Walk to the end of Bianyu Street, cross a small stone bridge, and go a little west to reach the offices of the six ministries.
The Ministry of Rites, Ministry of War, Ministry of Revenue and others are all here.
The Hanlin Academy, the Imperial Clan Court, the Imperial Medical Bureau, the Imperial Observatory, and the emperor's carriage are all in this place.
Judging from the location of the imperial palace, it is basically adjacent to the Nangong wall on the right side of the palace.
Based on the central axis of the imperial palace, these government offices are located on the right side of the central axis, while on the left side are the military governor's offices of several armies.
In other words, judging from the map, if you want to enter the palace, you have to start from Tianxiang Gate. On the left are the offices of military officers, and on the right are the offices of civil officials. Going north, you will reach Chengtian Gate mentioned earlier.
Entering through Chengtian Gate is the outer palace of the imperial city, where Su Wan is. Needless to say, going further north is the inner palace.
The entire Kyoto was basically built around this imperial palace.
The government office was right in front of the imperial palace, which made it convenient for ministers to attend court and handle government affairs. It was also convenient for them to leave the palace and go to the government office after court.
Anyway, it only took Su Wan less than twenty minutes to get there.
These government offices are all very close to each other and even share the same courtyard wall, so they are relatively easy to find. Even if there is no one to lead the way, you can just ask.
However, it is not an exaggeration at all that anyone working in this area could hit a Jinshi by throwing a stone at random.
When Su Wan entered the gate of the Ministry of Rites, she was only stopped by Xu Xu. After all, the clothes she was wearing could not be fake.
After hearing Su Wan say that she was delivering official documents to the head of the Imperial Food Department, the young man at the door pointed the way and immediately went to do his work.
Recently, the Ministry of Rites has been very busy because of the imperial examination. Everyone wishes they had a few more hands, otherwise they would be too busy to handle it.
Su Wan delivered the things as usual and then went to the library of the Ministry of Rites.
It's noisy in other places, but it's quiet here.
The official who was in charge of the library was surprised to see that she wanted to borrow books and asked, "Why are you from the Shangshi Department borrowing these books for the imperial examination?"
"It would be better to look at the ancient books on elegant food and the rules of the four banquets for the imperial examinations in previous years."
"If they are not our own, we will not take them out."
Su Wan smiled: "The commander ordered us to take a closer look."
The old official stroked his beard and nodded, "Yes, it is correct to read the works of ancient sages and scholars."
"I'll go look for it for you."
Su Wan nodded. This time she only selected the first four or five books on the list. She thought it would be a waste of time to read so many books at a time, so she decided to finish reading them first.
Unexpectedly, the senior official found several versions and introduced them: "This version has annotations, so beginners can read it. This version is a bit more in-depth and needs to be read several times. The latter version needs to be understood by yourself."
Wow, there are several editions of one book. Su Wan just feels that the number of books in her hands is increasing.
In the end, seeing that she was too young to lift it, he gave up.
Su Wan wanted to laugh in her heart, but she still thanked him respectfully on her face, and then she opened the lid of the food box containing the naan pit meat.
The moment you open it, the fragrance comes out immediately.
The older official who was still registering books looked over subconsciously. Before he could ask, Su Wan said, "Thank you for borrowing the book, sir. This is the roasted lamb with Western flavor that I made myself. I used the best lamb ribs, cut them into pieces, and then simmered them over low heat. I'm going to give this as a thank you gift. I wonder if it's appropriate."
"That's right, there's nothing wrong with that!"
The older official wanted to taste it but was afraid that the mutton would dirty the book, so he wrote quickly. He knew at a glance that the roasted mutton must be delicious.
Now that he is about to retire, he has a lot of free time every day and usually likes to eat a good meal.
This must be all right for him.
Su Wan smiled and put the food box aside, away from the books, which made the older official nod slightly.
The palace maids in the Imperial Kitchen are really good.
You have to know that when the Shangshisi was first incorporated into the Ministry of Rites, some people looked down on it. Not to mention that it was a place for cooking, but how could a group of women, especially female officials, work with the Ministry of Rites?
But there is no need to explain everything that Shangshisi has done, as it has already slapped many people in the face.
This is due to our own efforts, and we are able to stand on equal footing with other departments in the Ministry of Rites.
This senior official also felt that the palace maids and female officials of the Imperial Food Department were all good.
After the books were registered, Su Wan took her own warrant and signed it, and then she could take all the books back with her. As long as there was no damage, it would be fine to read them for a year or two.
After all, we are all family.
But when Su Wan thought about the list of books her superior gave her, she was afraid she wouldn't dare to spend so much time reading them, otherwise she would definitely not be able to finish them!
Just as Su Wan was about to leave, Cui Hucheng from the Ministry of Rites came over to borrow a book. Unexpectedly, he stared at the food box Su Wan had put down, and then asked, "Did you make this?"
Cui Hucheng, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites, was the official who worked in the West Kitchen. He was from Fujian and had stayed in the West Kitchen ever since he had eaten the braised pork trotters with taro made by Su Wan. Now when he saw Su Wan, he immediately knew that there was something delicious going on!
Seeing Su Wan nod, he decided not to lend the book and immediately opened the lid of the lunch box.
The official who borrowed the book raised his eyebrows.
Seeing that the two were about to fight, Su Wan immediately slipped away as a sign of respect!
If you guys fight, don't let the blood splash on me!
It’s worthy of being the first day of work after the Spring Festival, it’s so lively.
Su Wan had just walked out of the six ministries with a book in her hand when she heard an official behind her say, "What is the Third Prince doing in the Ministry of Personnel? Aren't the other princes in the Ministry of Rites?"
"Who knows? This prince is very thoughtful. Even a saint cannot guess his thoughts."
"strangeness."
Su Wan was startled. Ministry of Personnel? Did she just pass by there?
But she also felt it was strange. The most important thing in the court right now was the imperial examinations in February and March, but he chose to go to the irrelevant Ministry of Personnel?
I feel like no one can guess what he is thinking.
Su Wan just went through this matter and continued to do her own thing after returning to the Shangshenjian.
After dinner, most of the female officials of the Imperial Kitchen left the palace and went home to rest, and Su Wan also prepared to continue reading.
But unexpectedly, someone whom I hadn’t seen for a long time came over, and it was Wei Jun with a sad face.
When Wei Jun saw Su Wan, he sighed subconsciously, but he felt that this was not a good idea, so he said, "Su Wan, can I ask you for a favor?"
Wei Jun rarely said such things, so Su Wan quickly asked, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Naturally, Wei Jun was accompanied by his bodyguard Zhuo Hui.
They were all from the Imperial Household Department of the Western Outer Palace, and at this moment, they all had indignant expressions on their faces.
Only after understanding it did I know what was going on.
It’s still a matter of errands in the palace.
As mentioned before, the Imperial Household Department is responsible for the four seasons’ decorations in the palace, and is busiest during the change of seasons.
Although it is the beginning of the first lunar month, we have already started preparing items for the inner palace in February, that is, winter items, and gradually replace them with spring items.
Su Wan saw them do this when she first entered the palace, but at that time they replaced all the spring screens and vase ornaments with those for summer use.
The Imperial Household Department was extremely busy during that period.
And it happened when spring turned into summer last year.
That was Wei Jun's first time to enter the inner palace to perform duties. He did a great job, so he was able to enter the inner palace many times afterwards.
But I didn't expect that this time, it was on the object that spring.
The items used by Chunri were taken away by the people in the Imperial Household Department and put away carefully. Wei Jun was in charge of the various vases. Although these vases were not very valuable, they were used in the palace after all, and their sizes and weights were all registered.
When spring turned to summer last year, Wei Jun remembered that he had put everything away properly and collected them all.
But this year, when winter turned to spring, the things disappeared.
After tracing all the way, it was proved that it was Wei Jun who collected it and registered it. Now trouble is coming.
Fortunately, this was a self-inspection by the Imperial Household Department, so if they replenished the items before the matter was exposed, it could be considered as making amends. At most they would be fined a little on their monthly salary, but there wouldn't be too much punishment.
But after a careful calculation, the total value of the lost items was actually two or three hundred taels of silver.
For many dignitaries, this may not be a big deal.
But for a young eunuch like Wei Jun who has to support a family, it is an astronomical figure.
He earned four taels of silver a month, and even if he worked for many years, he would never be able to save enough money.
Fortunately, the deputy chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, Master Wei Jun, paid the money first, otherwise Su Wan would not be able to see Wei Jun at this moment, and he would definitely have been arrested and imprisoned.
Wei Jun said with a sad face: "This is a lot of money. I know in my heart that this is all my master's retirement money. He will be sent out of the palace in the summer. He will either live with the old eunuch who specializes in taking care of the eunuchs, or live alone."
"But what kind of place is that old prison? So many people are waiting to die there. No palace servant with money would go there."
"Master has a house in the capital, but if he has no money, it would be hard for him to live alone."
Most of the eunuchs in the palace were lonely and helpless, without any children around them. Those with less luck even had no relatives or friends.
There are many people like the deputy general manager of the Imperial Household Department. This time, he took out two or three hundred taels to settle the account with his apprentice, which was indeed his pension money.
Su Wan sighed: "What should we do now? Should we investigate this matter?"
Wei Jun shook his head: "It happened last year. No matter how bad it is this year, I am the only one who has to bear the loss. But I can bear it, but Master can't."
How could it be possible to find out what happened after such a long time? If any palace servants had done something dishonest during this period, it would be even more impossible to find a clue.
It's because too much time has passed and the problem was not found in time during the regular inspection.
But this is not the point. The point is his master.
"I can't let him suffer because of me, so I want to ask you for a favor."
"That's right, can you give me some advice and let me do the cold noodle business too? Then I can make back the money and I will definitely give you the money to buy a house." This was the idea that Wei Jun came up with after much thought.
It wasn't a sudden idea on his part.
But Wei Jun saw everything. The Li family's pig's trotters in Anqingfang got Su Wan's recipe, and everyone liked the braised pork rice. Many people from all over the capital came to eat it.
As for Gan Xing and others who carry tea bottles, they have also made a lot of money in the past six months. Anyway, it is more stable than carrying tea bottles.
Finally, there is the matter of the Su family.
Wei Jun also helped Su Wan deliver things several times. Although he didn't know the inside story, he knew in his heart that Su Wan's father's improvement in pastry-making skills was also related to her.
So I shamelessly come here to ask for help.
Moreover, he would not take Su Wan's things for nothing. He would definitely give Su Wan money for the prescription.
Su Wan didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing the last part: "You are still talking about paying me back, have you ever thought that if you give me the money, won't you be in debt again?"
How could Wei Jun not know this?
But this was the only way he could think of to make money quickly and provide security for his master.
In fact, he was desperate and came up with this stupid move.
Su Wan comforted him, "Don't worry, the recipe is a small matter, but I want to know, it can't be that you go out of the palace to sell food, right? Have you thought about this?"
"I've thought about it. My mother and sister are at home. I can help them when I'm out on business." Wei Jun said, "But this is hard work. I always feel that they are not up to it."
Su Wan knew that Wei Jun's family was poor. If they were not really so poor, she would not have sent her son to the palace to be a eunuch.
In the past few years, Wei Jun supported the family, and his mother and sister also did some odd jobs. In fact, they would be happy if they had a regular livelihood.
Wei Jun had thought of several solutions before, but in the end nothing came of it.
This time, we were together again because of Master’s matter, and I couldn’t help but think of Su Wan.
It seemed that these things could be solved quickly in Su Wan's hands.
Su Wan thought about the current situation carefully and had an idea in her mind.
After all, I still don’t have money and I still want to make money. She is the same.
Seeing Wei Jun and Zhuo Hui sighing, Su Wan said, "There's no point sighing. I actually have a recipe that I can make into food and sell. I don't want the money for the recipe, but I have a small request."
Wei Jun looked over immediately, and Su Wan continued, "That means I want my biological mother to start this snack business with your family, is that feasible?"
In fact, Su Wan has been thinking about how to get her aunt out of the Su family.
It's okay when she's outside the palace, but I can't take care of her inside.
The last time I went home, I found that my aunt now has some confidence in the Su family. Wouldn’t it be better if she could still go out and make money on her own?
It doesn't matter how much money it is. What matters is that the money is earned by herself. Since you can't stay idle at home, why not go out and try?
But Su Wan couldn't find any suitable method.
As soon as Wei Jun mentioned his mother and sister, Su Wan came up with an idea.
It would be nice if they were together.
Wei Jun and Zhuo Hui would always look after it, and now that I had the walking order, I could also go and take a look.
Wouldn't this not only solve Wei Jun's urgent problem, but also make me feel at ease?
The reason why it can solve Wei Jun’s urgent problem is simple.
What Wei Jun lacks now is money, but her food is the most profitable.
The food Su Wan wanted them to cook was the one she had made a few days ago, and she thought it would be better if she went to the store.
Malatang.
When she was cooking, Su Wan thought that this kind of food is rich in variety and acceptable to everyone. Although it is simple to make, the ingredients at home are always not rich enough. It is still most comfortable to eat in a restaurant and eat whatever you want.
But at that time, the thought just flashed through my mind and I didn't think too much about it.
Now that the thought has come up again, I have already made a plan.
Wei Jun really didn't expect that Su Wan's request was to let her biological mother do it together.
So what? Even if Su Wan accepted his money for the prescription and asked him to bring Aunt Su Wan along, so what?
However, Wei Jun said: "This is of course the best. With only my mother and sister, we don't have enough manpower."
"Don't worry, my aunt has a maid by her side. The four of them together can definitely support a small food store." Su Wan confirmed, "It's just that you may not have heard of the food I'm talking about, but believe me, this thing will definitely sell well."
It would be fine if he said anything else, but he mentioned that he believed in Su Wan.
Wei Jun and Zhuo Hui looked at each other and smiled, then immediately said, "I will definitely trust you on this matter."
"Yes, we definitely trust the food you make."
"If I still don't trust your craftsmanship, I won't come here."
Wei Jun really didn't expect that he was just trying any possible means to cure his illness, but Su Wan actually gave him a solution.
In fact, if you think about it carefully, if he asked for help from a young palace maid who was younger than him and had been in the palace for a shorter time than him, probably no one would believe him.
At this time, Su Wan even gave a method, but she was afraid that others would not believe it.
But if you have been with Su Wan, you will know that what she says is basically true.
Now that the matter was confirmed, Su Wan smiled and said, "Then don't be so sad. We have such a good relationship, there's no need to be so grateful."
This made Wei Jun and Zhuo Hui laugh.
The thing that they had been worrying about for so long finally had some solution.
Wei Jun is now only concerned with making money, as only by making money can he support his master. This is the only way he can repay his master's great kindness to him.
But Wei Jun looked at Su Wan again. This time it was all thanks to her.
Otherwise, I don’t know what to do now.
There was nothing wrong with Su Wan herself. One of the first friends she made since entering the palace was Wei Jun. The dark dishes she ate in the west kitchen were the pickled vegetables that Wei Jun had given to his mother.
How can a relationship like this be so restrictive?
Besides, she is very confident about the Malatang snack shop that is about to open!
It’s just making food, they can do it!
You will definitely make money!
In her time and space, there were only a few malatang restaurants in every city and street.
This is not one of those internet-famous stores that will go bankrupt after reaching its peak.
The restaurants that have passed the test of everyone are the ones that are truly delicious and can really make the food.
If it can continue to operate in the future, even if it is criticized by modern people, it will surely be possible in Tianxiang Country.
The last time several officials from the Guanglu Temple loved malatang, that was the best example.
For a business like this that is almost guaranteed to make a profit, what else is there to consider? Why not get ready and get started?
Su Wan smiled and said, "Then let's discuss how to open a store?"
I was already busy enough, but I didn't expect to be busy again.
But when I opened my own snack shop, I suddenly didn’t feel that hard anymore!
Now Wei Jun and Zhuo Hui were dumbfounded. They actually just came over to ask, but they didn't expect that they would start discussing the store matters right away.
However, Su Wan was so decisive, so the two of them couldn't show weakness!
Come!
discuss!
How to open this store?
But they were dumbfounded again.
To open this store, the two of them will have to rely on the younger Su Wan, right?
Sure enough, Su Wan had already taken out a pen and paper, and said with a smile: "Opening a store is actually not difficult."
Not difficult?
You're the only one who thinks it's not difficult!
The two suddenly discovered that no matter what the matter was, Su Wan could handle it with ease without being anxious or impatient.
She is obviously a palace maid who is younger than them, but she is so confident about everything?
But Wei Jun Zhuohui has already sat down, so it will definitely be right to listen to Su Wan!
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