Chapter 87 Chapter 87 (Revised) The Bakery Shop is Prospering...
After the mother and daughter finished chatting, Baozhu asked her mother to help her father keep an eye on things, so that he would not lose money and have his reputation ruined.
Madam Xu nodded in agreement. After lunch, she immediately rushed back to the ice cellar, while Baozhu stayed busy in the shop. If the ice cellar was finished next year, they wouldn't have to worry about ice for their own use. Honestly, they only bought ice during the hottest days to cool down. After all, they weren't wealthy, so aside from buying ice to attract customers to the shop, they couldn't bear to spend several strings of cash a day on ice to cool down.
The ice cellar business is profitable, and Xu Niang listened to Baozhu and froze a lot of ice by boiling water. Eating this ice will not cause stomach upset. If this method works, it will be much cheaper than making ice from saltpeter. If she can negotiate this business with the beverage shops in the city, she can make a lot of money by selling this ice every year.
Whenever the mother and daughter met, the only thing they talked about was money or how to make money. Sometimes, Baozhu's eyes would light up with her mother's ideas. No wonder she was able to save so much wealth in just a few years.
Baozhu's constant flattery made Madam Xu blush. She had just landed the right job in Bianjing. As a real estate agent, she met many people. Those who could manage a business in Bianjing were often capable. Even those who simply rented a house were likely powerful figures. She was always courteous, so naturally, people trusted her. Once trust was established, she naturally had the upper hand in future business dealings.
Even Baozhu Restaurant has many regular customers who were introduced by Xu Niangzi.
The restaurant has more wealthy customers coming to dine there now, and Baozhu and Jiang Shi are both interested in maintaining relationships with these wealthy customers. Not to mention giving them gifts during the New Year holidays, they will also come to inform them every time there is something new or unusual in the restaurant.
This unusual treatment gave enough face to these old customers who were willing to spend money. With these big customers, the restaurant naturally had a way to do many things, and with this way, the restaurant's food naturally had sales.
This sales channel mainly includes the sales of pastries in restaurants.
The restaurant had started selling cakes a while ago, but if they were just sold as a side dish in the restaurant, it would not look presentable even if they were packed in the most exquisite boxes.
Baozhu wanted to open a high-end dim sum shop. Firstly, those who could afford dim sum these days must have lived well off, and secondly, only wealthy families would regularly eat dim sum. Although these wealthy families had good cooks, giving away high-end dim sum bought from outside was just a way to save face, Baozhu thought.
After all, you need a resounding signboard and a suitable shop. Baozhu asked her mother to look for a slightly larger shop, renovate it, and use it exclusively for making high-end snacks.
Since many people need to buy New Year gifts, the sooner the shop opens, the sooner it can make money. Xu Niang quickly found a good shop for Baozhu. The shop was already decorated very luxuriously, with windows inlaid with colored glaze. There was no need to make any major changes inside. She just had someone clean it up carefully, replaced the furniture such as tables, chairs and counters, and then opened the shop on an auspicious day.
This pastry shop offered many discounts this year, and when people saw the plaque of Zhenji High-end Dim Sum, it immediately attracted a lot of attention. The name was simple but inevitably made people feel proud. Looking around the whole city of Bianjing, there was no other pastry shop that had the word "high-end" on its name like this pastry shop.
The pastry shop had just opened and naturally there were a lot of things to do. Baozhu temporarily transferred two skilled waiters from the restaurant to help out in the pastry shop. The waiters recruited by the pastry shop were all selected by Baozhu. The waiters' figures were basically the same. After changing into the special clothes for the pastry shop, they looked neat and tidy.
As long as the reputation is spread, there will be no worries about sales in the future.
The pastries really tasted good. At first, people passing by this pastry shop thought that this newly opened pastry shop was arrogant and were just waiting to see when it would close down. But then they saw a few waiters at the door, dressed in the same clothes, clean even with their hair carefully wrapped, holding trays and calling people to try the pastries.
If it’s expensive to buy, then naturally you’d rather eat it if it’s right in front of you and free of charge.
I ate a small piece with a thin bamboo skewer, and my mouth was filled with the sweet taste of sugar and oil. The outer skin was crispy, and the filling inside could be seen layer by layer.
I wanted to eat more, but the tray had been taken away to give to others to try.
Anyone who has tasted the dim sum no longer boasts about the dim sum shop. Those who have tasted it think it is delicious and want to go in and buy some. As soon as they enter the shop, they are filled with rich aroma. They are even more shocked when they see the prices marked in front of these dim sum. Even though it has only been open for trial operation for three days, the prices are still shockingly high.
This price discouraged many people, but if someone really wanted to buy it, they would buy a lot at once. For wealthy families, the more expensive the item, the more decent it is to give it as a gift.
Sister Liu had been promoted to manager of the pastry shop, and since she had been transferred out, two more people had been brought in to fill the position at the restaurant. Baozhu was keeping an eye on things today, just in case anything urgent came up, but Sister Liu was still handling the main business of the shop.
Mrs. Liu had been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time. She was willing to learn everything in the restaurant, even helping out in the kitchen. Not only that, she also learned to read and do accounting in private. Although her handwriting was average, she never made any mistakes in the accounts she recorded. Even when she recorded them in the account book, Baozhu could answer any two questions she asked fluently.
She felt that Baozhu was willing to give her a chance. An ordinary shop would not want a woman to be in charge. Baozhu didn't know what she was thinking, but she felt that she had gotten a bargain.
Mrs. Liu was a very ambitious person. She had learned writing and arithmetic from her own children with humility. Baozhu only heard her say that her children had some talent in studying.
"If he can become a scholar, I'll sell everything I have to support his education. If he can't, he can become a cashier in a shop. I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, boss. It's because I see you have such ability that I've made up my mind to teach my children to read and write."
Studying in Bianjing was quite expensive, and it was even more expensive for a girl to study. Mrs. Liu begged for help and finally sent her daughter to a female teacher to learn how to read and write.
Baozhu praised her for her vision, saying that knowing how to read does not mean she is blind, and it is not easy for ordinary people to harm her. Madam Xu did not have such conditions when she was a child. Now that she works in a restaurant, her life has improved and she naturally has to make plans for her children. If she had known how to read from the beginning, the shopkeeper would have valued her more, and maybe she could have competed for the position of restaurant manager.
Baozhu's business is naturally not a door-to-door business. For such an expensive pastry shop, it would take a long time to wait for people to come. It still needs some regular customers to bring them in, so that it can be prosperous. Many families have already ordered cakes and pastries from her for New Year gifts in advance.
Baozhu asked Baorong to draw a book of cakes and pastries, and she paid her 20% more silver for each book than the market price. The cakes and pastries were painted lifelike. If a wealthy family wanted to order cakes, the shop assistants would come directly to their door, and the wealthy families could just order according to the styles in the book.
The pastry chef in the store was recruited from somewhere else with great effort. He was bullied in the pastry shop where he worked before, so he came to Baozhu's restaurant. He was the only one who did all the work in the kitchen, and there were no quarrels or intrigues. The salary he was paid was even higher than before, so he naturally stayed willingly.
After all, people are not cattle, horses or mules. Baozhu only earns the money she deserves. Most of the money earned in the shop depends on the guys under her.
As the twelfth lunar month approaches, the store has new cakes and pastries. The sour ones include those with hawthorn, jujube, and various sour fruit fillings; the sweet ones include those with jujube paste, red bean paste, and candied fresh flowers; the salty ones are the most common, including those with pepper and salt, pork floss, and salted egg yolk fillings.
There are many people who need to give New Year gifts and even more people who want to get married and celebrate. Baozhu drew a pattern and made a mold, and asked the chef to make four special snacks for these auspicious days: Fu Lu Shou Xi. She didn't realize it before, but after she started the pastry business, she realized that the profit was not small.
If you really count it, making snacks only costs some sugar, oil and other ingredients, which is actually not that high. When giving away a box of cakes, the most expensive part is actually the wooden box that contains the snacks.
Baozhu was busy at work, and Zhen's father had finally finished carefully examining the character of the chefs before signing contracts with those who were suitable. There were many who had been found originally, but now only three were left.
After signing the contract, they could not take any private work without going through Zhen's father. However, they could not even take any private work. Moreover, although Zhen's father took a commission, he would also teach them some skills. Different families have different rules. These are the experiences accumulated over the years. If they rely on themselves to figure it out, they will not be able to figure it out.
When mentioning this, Baozhu admired her father even more, as he had figured all of this out on his own.
There are the most banquets in the cold winter months, and even Zhen's father cannot handle them all by himself. If he meets a suitable person, he will recommend him to cook for the banquet. If the host is willing, the matter will be settled. With Zhen's father's suggestion, basically 70 to 80 percent of people are willing to be recommended by him. However, he still has not accepted official banquets for these chefs for the time being, and will wait and see how they act.
By the middle of the twelfth lunar month, all the properties and farm income from Pei Yanqing's hometown were delivered by the shopkeeper and the manager.
The shopkeeper who was in charge of the rent of the shop was also named Wu, and the village head who was in charge of the future of the farm was named Zhou. The two of them spoke one by one, and village head Zhou spoke first.
"My dear, you know, this year is really dry. I don't know what's going on this year, but many of the crops we harvest are just empty shells..."
Seeing Baozhu had no intention of interrupting him, he continued, "This year's harvest is indeed not very good, but some fields still have output, so we're saving most of the grain for now and not selling it. The rest of the grain and some of the farm's local products are being packed together and sent to Bianjing."
"That's right. Even wealthy families like us have reduced grain production, let alone the more ordinary families." Shopkeeper Wu sighed and handed over a small bag of silver ingots. "That's why it's difficult to rent out this shop this year."
Shopkeeper Wu handed the box and the key to Baozhu. Zhou Zhuangtou secretly cursed Shopkeeper Wu for being cunning and treacherous. He told Baozhu the difficulties first so that Baozhu would not get angry even if something happened later. If he told Baozhu the reasons last, Baozhu would think it was just an excuse if he gave the same reason again.
Fortunately, the new lady was not a shrewd person and did not suspect him. She just waved her hand and asked the two of them to leave first.
After everyone left, the maid came back and said, "These people outside brought some things and just left them in the yard. They said they were only responsible for delivering them. Madam, what should we do with them?"
Baozhu didn't go out to check, but just asked the maids to put aside some perishable fruits and vegetables for the time being, and then pick out some good, fresh ones and pack them into gift boxes to give to each family as a new year gift. After the maids received the instructions and went to work, Baozhu checked the account books brought by the stewards today. No matter how she counted, she felt something was wrong.
These managers are all elderly people who have worked in the Zhen family for many years. It is not a good idea to directly blame them for this mess. Besides, even if there is a problem, they are not his subordinates after all, so he still has to go to Grandma Pei and Pei Yanqing.
When she asked Grandma Pei, she was told she hadn't dealt with such complicated matters for years, and even Baozhu wasn't sure. Back when she was in charge of this matter, the amount of money she sent each year was actually about the same as it is now. But so many years have passed, and Baozhu looked through the records. The amount in the account books from previous years hasn't changed at all, and in the past two years it's even been less.
If this matter is investigated carefully, something will definitely be revealed. However, this concerns the old people of the Pei family in the past, and it is not known what the managers have done behind the scenes. Even if there is corruption, if it is to be dealt with, Pei Yanqing and Grandma Pei must be consulted first. Pei Yanqing's mother passed away early, and these fields and shops were left by his mother. The managers inside were also his mother's dowry. After all, these people have been managers for more than ten years. If it is considered as a relationship, Baozhu cannot interfere in this matter.
Grandma Pei is old and hasn't taken care of these chores for a long time. Baozhu doesn't want to trouble her, so she can only wait for Pei Yanqing to come back and ask whether to do it as usual or to check it out.
Baozhu asked the maid to put the fruits and vegetables into the warehouse. She thought that the quality was low, but after sorting through so many things, she could always find some good ones. But not long after, she heard the maid come in and report that
"Madam, those things sent from the manor..."
Seeing that she seemed to want to say something but hesitated, Baozhu asked what was going on.
"Not to mention the fruits and vegetables aren't fresh, the ones on top are still in good condition, but the ones underneath are all rotten. I opened a basket of fruit and it stank. And not only the fruits and vegetables, but the grain they sent has been dumped into the granary. I saw the fruits and vegetables were rotten, so I sent someone to check, and sure enough, the grain that was dumped into the granary is moldy. These people are really reckless. If we hadn't caught them today and entered the warehouse, I'm afraid we would have been cleared of any involvement with them."
As he spoke, he opened the handkerchief in his hand and showed Baozhu the grain wrapped inside. "You have lost all conscience! This moldy grain has entered the warehouse. If it's not discovered soon, the entire warehouse will be moldy. How dare you waste the grain? It's really a crime that deserves to be struck by lightning."
The Dong family is nice. If you really have difficulties this year, you can bring them up and they won't be too harsh on you. But you have evil thoughts in your mind and come up with this unscrupulous idea.
The old woman was quite careful in her work, so Baozhu handed the grain in the granary to her to deal with. She separated the good grain at the bottom and dried it in the sun, then put it back. As for the moldy grain, she left it out and waited for her instructions.
A few days ago, Pei Yanqing had a box of sweet persimmons delivered from a former colleague's home. Each one was crystal clear and flawless. He had originally planned to save some of these rare local specialties for New Year gifts, but now it looked like he had no intention of giving them away.
Baozhu took a look and found that it was just as the old woman said. Only the top layer looked good, and the lower layer was mixed with inferior ones. Not to mention, all of them were rotten with holes. Baozhu knew that it would be useless to find the person now. She could have a hundred excuses, and it was nothing more than that they were all fine when they left, and maybe they were bumped and hit during the long journey, so they became rotten.
Of course, rotten fruits and vegetables could not be stored again, but Baozhu did not throw them away. She asked her maid to leave them in the backyard to ferment as compost so that they could be used as fertilizer for flowers in spring.
Just when I was getting irritated and ready to take a break, Ah Man whispered outside the door, "It's Ah Zhong, the steward from my wife's farm, who's here to deliver the fish."
Baozhu changed her clothes and went to look for A Zhong. Compared with the basket of salted fish sent from Pei's farm, these baskets of fresh fish were all plump. Judging from the heads, they should be the fry harvested two years ago.
Madam Xu had already informed Baozhu when she gave the land deed that all the produce from the fields would belong to Baozhu and Baorong. There was not much rain this year, and most of the fish ponds were dry. Many fish died at the beginning. Ah Zhong knew that the landlord's family loved to eat fish, so he consulted a fisherman who specialized in raising fish and mixed some fish food to feed them. Only then did he feed the fish in the pond fatter.
"This half was sent to my aunt by my wife, and the other half has been sent home." A Zhong acted more and more efficiently and brought another message.
He said that his second brother would be back tomorrow and asked Baozhu to go to his house for dinner.
These baskets of fish are very fresh. A Zhong hired two helpers to carry them from the alley entrance. They must weigh about a hundred pounds. There is no comparison. Compared with them, the things sent by the managers in Hedong are simply not good to look at.
Baozhu has always been a person who cannot tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes. Although she is good to her own people, none of her subordinates will cheat or play tricks on her. The Pei family spends money every year to support these managers, but in the end, a lot of money is spent, but things are not done well.
I don't know if it was to take advantage of the newcomer, but it was only the first year that she was in charge of the Pei family's affairs, and he sent such things to fool people. Maybe if he could fool them, they would follow this standard in the next few years.
If that was the case, she would have to shake things up. For the past decade or so, no one had taken care of them, and they had all become so arrogant that they didn't take the new owner seriously.
In previous years, the interest and rent from the land sent by the managers were all received by Pei Yanqing. He was busy and never cared about these details. Even if rotten fruit was sent, he would just think that it was spoiled by himself. Any social interactions he had were just drinking and eating with his superiors and subordinates.
Baozhu picked out the fresh fish sent from home that were complete with tails and of the same size. She asked Aman to bring two fish with him and his family to send as gifts. The fish were plump and delicious at this time of year, and it was the right time to eat them. Although they were not worth much, they were there to show her the importance of frequent visits.
There are also local specialties such as winter dates and walnuts sent by others in the warehouse. You give me and I give you, and after a while, the relationship becomes close. Small officials like them are not from wealthy and prestigious families. They don’t need to give priceless treasures to be considered as a favor. Who can afford to give gold, silver and jewelry?
Pei Yanqing can only come back after the New Year. The letter he received yesterday said that he had a lot of things to do at the end of the year, and he had to report on his work and administration to the governor. He had to finish it quickly so that he could come back early to celebrate the New Year. Not to mention his return, Baozhu would also have to go there during the New Year. Pei Yanqing is now the chief official of the county, and he has to return the gifts sent by each family during the New Year.
Early in the morning, Baozhu went to the restaurant and the pastry shop. The waiters in the pastry shop had already officially started work, and the waiters from the two restaurants who had stayed had to stay for a few more days to prevent the new waiters from being too busy and causing trouble.
Baozhu came out of the dim sum shop carrying the new dim sum that had just arrived from the restaurant, and Aman followed her carrying the wine that Pei Yanqing had asked someone to bring back from Kaifeng County. When they arrived at the door of their home, they called out "Dad" and "Mom" as they did when they were at home before.
When I entered the courtyard, I saw Miss Kong with a bulging belly, walking in the courtyard. My second brother was carefully supporting her beside her. Seeing Baozhu's curiosity, Miss Kong waved away Zhen Erlang's hand and only spoke to her.
"The doctor said that the baby is now firmly seated, so it's best to walk around more and wait until the baby is full term for an easier birth."
She often came to Baozhu's restaurant to sit down. Her parents had given her a lot of shops as a dowry, but she didn't know much about how to run them. She was also afraid that those in charge would bully her because she was young, so she often came to Baozhu to ask for business advice.
There is no need to be polite to such people who bully the weak and fear the strong. For example, the manager of the silk shop was found to have embezzled money. Relying on his age, he thought that Miss Kong could not do anything to him, and he was sure that the silk shop could not do without him. Even though his embezzlement was discovered, he still looked arrogant. According to Baozhu, such things should be punished by killing the chicken to scare the monkey. The more such people are, the more severe the punishment should be.
Not only did Miss Kong punish the shopkeeper, she also asked Baozhu to accompany her on a tour of the shop. Baozhu saw that the young clerk was clever and perceptive. At first, he wanted to show off, but the manager bullied him so hard that he no longer dared to show off easily. Miss Kong asked about it and found out that the clerk had quietly learned all the skills just by watching the business.
He knew everything from selecting fabrics to storing them in warehouses and selling them, even how to display them beautifully in the shop. He talked about the silks and brocades in the shop, the weaving methods of each material, and how to store them. Miss Kong was amazed.
What surprised her even more was that even though the young man didn't seem to be doing well at the time, Baozhu could see his strengths at a glance. Miss Kong admired him very much. Although her mother taught her some housekeeping skills, she had never actually learned them.
"Promote this clerk to a manager, and tell your subordinates to spread the news." Even without spreading the news specifically, within three days, all the clerks in her shop would know about it. You know, if you are promoted from a clerk to a manager, your monthly salary will increase several times. Although the chance is not high, it is a carrot dangling in front of the donkey. Maybe as long as you have the ability, you will be the next one.
Miss Kong followed the instructions and promoted the young man to a manager. She also left a message saying that she knew whether the job was done well or not. If he did a good job, he would be promoted to a manager and get a monthly salary increase. If not, he should just leave as soon as possible.
Only when you learn a skill can it be yours. The young man originally planned to change jobs if he couldn't make a name for himself in this shop. Unexpectedly, the pie fell on his head and he was promoted to the manager directly from a young man.
For a moment, everyone working down there was full of enthusiasm. Once they started working, the managers began to get anxious. The managers, who had been pampered and self-righteous before, all "lowered their status" and were busy greeting customers in the store themselves, while worrying about whether Miss Kong would continue to chase people away.
The manager of the silk shop was originally asked by Miss Kong to do odd jobs. However, he was old and at the age when he wanted to take advantage of his seniority, so he was not willing to do odd jobs. He put down his job and went back to the Kong family.
Young Lady Kong was afraid her mother would hear the slander and blame her for being cold-blooded and heartless, but unexpectedly her mother praised her again and again, "I was worried that you wouldn't be able to stand up for yourself, but now it seems I was worrying too much. After all, you have grown up and become more capable. This fight and fight has made our family behave a lot better."
Mrs. Kong praised him for his excellent work, and the steward was directly driven away by Mrs. Kong to a remote village where no one lived to look after the forest. There was no one in the forest, so he had to boil water himself and patrol every day to prevent people from cutting down trees.
"It's all thanks to you teaching me how to act last time, otherwise I would have been laughed at by my mother again. Now the managers in the shop are much more honest. A few days ago, another manager was removed and someone else took his place. It was just empty talk at first, but now I really see what the people below do. Those slick guys before are now more honest. I thought that next year, I would pick a few smart and capable guys to be promoted to deputy managers. If the managers make any mistakes in the future, I will just ask someone else to take their place."
Baozhu shook her head. "I have my own agenda, but it's not a good idea to speak it out directly. The position of steward is very important to them. With the position of deputy steward, they will inevitably start fighting for power. In order to get the top position, they will inevitably frame each other. If the situation gets out of hand, even the business will be affected."
"If anyone wants to be promoted, just do it directly. There's no need to cause the guys to fight. After all, the shop is a business that makes money for us."
Madam Kong immediately understood, and Erlang nodded repeatedly as he listened. "If Baozhu were to serve as an official in the imperial court, she might be granted a title of nobility or become a prime minister in a few years."
Baozhu listened to her second brother's joking remarks and glared at him. "If I really became an official in the court, you wouldn't have any place in the world."
Ever since the Zhen family hired a worker, Zhen's father rarely cooks. Today, Baozhu came over, and Baorong was clamoring for shrimp, so he personally went into the kitchen and cooked a table full of dishes. It wasn't some fancy feast, just home-cooked meals.
The finger-long frozen shrimps shipped from Dengzhou were thawed early in the morning. I baked this plate of shrimps with homemade salted egg yolks. The deliciousness made people drool.
The shrimp wrapped in egg yolk is golden and crispy, and tastes salty and fragrant. The live frozen shrimp has firm meat and tastes delicious.
Baorong still held Baozhu and didn't want her to leave. It was getting late and Baozhu thought that she hadn't come back for a long time, so she asked A Zhong to take the old woman home and told her that they would stay at Zhen's house tonight and asked the old woman not to stay at the door.
There is no need to worry about what to buy for the New Year this year. She is familiar with the shops where the Zhen family often buys New Year's goods, so naturally the prices are the same for the Pei family now.
I still don't know what to do with those properties in Hedong. I wrote to Pei Yanqing, but he has been busy and hasn't replied yet. Anyway, I don't need the silver now, and Baozhu doesn't need to deal with it in a hurry. As long as this matter is resolved before the beginning of next spring, it will not delay the planting next year.
Without waiting for Pei Yanqing's letter, Nian Xia Baozhu had to go to the county.
Knowing that the trip to Pei Yanqing's place would take an unknown amount of time, Baozhu took advantage of the free day to get everything ready for the house. Then, along with Aman and the other women, she hired a carriage to go to the county.
Pei Yanqing is now the chief official in the city after all, and someone needs to take care of the social interactions during the New Year holidays and the welcoming and seeing off of guests at home.
The gifts prepared in Bian Jing were taken to the county. After arriving home and unloading the things in the car, Baozhu asked the maids to start wrapping the gifts one by one. The gift boxes were also specially made by someone Baozhu asked. As the New Year was approaching, each box was printed with the pattern of "abundance every year" and engraved with auspicious patterns.
The gifts from other people have all been delivered. Baozhu was not at home, so Pei Yanqing counted them one by one and put them into the warehouse. He also prepared a list of gifts for each family in case Baozhu would have to worry. Baozhu prepared the return gifts according to the list. The cakes, dried fruits and meat jerky were all packed in boxes. Baozhu added some return gifts according to the gifts sent by others. There was a fixed number of families that had more and less.
When he was in the Imperial City Office in the past, he seldom had any interactions with the younger generation. If anyone gave him a gift, he would just send them away. After all, he was an official at that time. Now that he is in the county government office, he has more social interactions. Since Pei Yanqing gained a foothold in the government office, he has more social interactions.
Even when it wasn't Chinese New Year, families would often send local specialties to her. They were so thoughtful, but if, after the New Year, she still only sent tea, wine, and silk, it would inevitably seem like she wasn't paying enough attention.
Although the county is quite prosperous, the dim sum brought from the capital is still somewhat rare. Let’s take Zhenji dim sum as an example. The common and popular dim sum has become more delicious after she improved the recipe. There are also so many new dim sums that people often try. If you stay the same, you will eventually be killed on the beach.
After being busy for three or four days and finishing this matter, I asked the people in charge in Pei Yanqing's hometown how to deal with it?
"If we consider our old friendship, we can be gentle with them, but they seem to be doing nothing this time, and they will surely act recklessly in the future. If we want to discipline these people, I'm afraid we will have to go there in person and find out their whereabouts before we can control them."
"I was too busy to take care of the things back home, and those who were in charge were the elderly in the family. They took care of everything when my parents were still alive. I just thought they treated me the same as before, so every year I just thought they did their job properly, with no improvement or mistakes, so I never said much. I didn't realize it had become so bad until now."
"People are selfish. They may be sincere at first, but as time goes by, or they each start their own families and careers, or they become short of money, they always become—"
At the beginning of the year, Pei Yanqing arranged the affairs of the government office, and took advantage of the fact that it didn't snow these days to go to Hedong with Baozhu and others.
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