Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Fooling Uncle Six
The cooked food that was originally intended to be distributed to beggars was snatched away, and there was no food left in the Huimin Canteen.
It was indeed a bit deserted at the beginning, but after two or three people came and tasted the cooking skills of the imperial chef, they went to call the neighbors. A bowl of mutton noodles cost two cents, and it contained several pieces of lamb chops with meat, which could not be bought anywhere else.
There is also the stew made from the broth. Just one bowl of it is enough to eat three steamed buns.
The weather in Beijing during the first month of the lunar year is very cold, but these two dishes from Huimin Canteen can warm you up instantly.
We were still discussing it on the way home.
"The tofu in that stew is better than the meat I cook at home."
"There's a meatball in my bowl. Tsk tsk...my family didn't even have meatballs for Chinese New Year this year."
"If the leftovers in the palace are so delicious, how delicious must the imperial meals be?"
"Two blocks down the street there's a place serving authentic imperial food, and there were so many people fighting for it. My husband didn't even get a drop of soup."
"Is it really an imperial meal? Then shall we go over there and wait tomorrow?"
The families of those who spoke could barely make ends meet; some husbands were blacksmiths, others had sons apprentices in pharmacies. They simply wanted to taste the imperial cuisine.
Everyone felt that this situation would not last for a few days. In the eyes of the people, the good things in the palace should first be given to the royal family, then to the ministers in the court, and finally to the common people like them.
The reason why this Huimin Canteen is open today is probably because there are too many leftovers from the New Year in the palace, so they make it and sell it to the people.
Fortunately, they live nearby, so they can brag about having eaten imperial meals in the future.
"I heard that beggars are given priority there."
"How does the official know who is a beggar? We just dress in rags."
"That's a good idea."
The people who were distributing food on the street packed up their stalls and rushed back to the palace to report.
In order to know how the first day went, Yonglian stayed in Changchun Palace after school to do his homework.
Qianlong came over from the Yangxin Palace and caught his son to test his homework, and also talked about some things that the teacher had not covered in class.
Yonglian thought to himself that it was a good thing that his elder brother didn't come, as having come would have been like attending one more class.
The Aisin-Gioro family had a strong desire for expression. Kangxi transformed his daily lectures on the classics into discussion forums, Yongzheng lectured on Buddhism, and engaged in conversation with ministers in memorials. Qianlong, not only used capital letters everywhere, but also enjoyed sharing his reading experiences with others.
Children's concentration is limited. After studying in the Shangshufang for a day, Yonglian was unable to concentrate on listening to Qianlong talk about examples of governing the country with filial piety throughout the ages.
As Qianlong was speaking, he noticed that his son's eyes began to become dull.
"Yonglian..."
"My son, remember this."
"Just remember what I said." Qianlong tapped him on the head. "Are you always distracted like this in class?"
Upon hearing this, Yonglian shook his head like a rattle and said, "No, no, no, my son is very serious in class."
Just now, Emperor Qianlong tested Yonglian's homework, and he really understood everything his master said.
"Master, you can listen carefully to what I say, but you can't listen to what I say?" Qianlong snorted.
Yonglian: "Khan Ama's explanation was a little difficult. I didn't understand one part, and then... I started to lose focus." The little guy said, eyes wide. "These insights are not what you experienced when you were six or seven years old, right? Khan Ama, you are amazing."
Qianlong: “…” That’s not really the case. I only understood these things when I reread “The Analects” a few years ago.
I told my seven-year-old son the truth that I only realized when I was in my twenties. No wonder he didn't understand.
He rubbed the top of Yonglian's head and picked up a piece of peanut crisps to feed his son.
Yonglian smiled secretly, thinking that Khan Ama was so easy to please. While he was eating peanut cakes, the people from the Imperial Household Department finally arrived.
The attendant in charge of this matter was called Luang Pu, who used to be in charge of handling the leftovers from the royal kitchen.
He knew best how much food was wasted in the imperial kitchen every day. Some dishes were cooked and heated up two or three times, but they had no chance to be served to the emperor before they were thrown away because they tasted stale.
Not to mention chicken soup and duck soup, those people in the imperial kitchen are tired of them.
Lumpu was very supportive of distributing these things to the people outside the palace.
In the past, cats and dogs were not rare, but the common people treated them like treasures. Today, he heard many words of praise, from the imperial chefs to the nobles in the palace, and naturally, praise for those who distributed the food.
The people all called him "Master", which was a pleasant sound.
The only thing that bothered Lumpu was that the cooked food was distributed too quickly.
Qianlong, the Empress and Yonglian were all a little surprised to hear the result.
Yonglian slapped his forehead. He had previously thought that only beggars who had no food to eat would eat other people's leftovers, and ordinary people would not eat them.
This is obviously the idea that only modern people who have no worries about food and clothing would have. In modern times, material life is extremely rich, and most of the time they can buy whatever they want to eat as long as it is not too expensive, so they are not keen on eating food that has been touched by others.
But the people at that time could not afford to eat anything good on a daily basis. Even if the cooked food was leftovers, it was still a delicious delicacy that the people had never seen before.
In addition, the people were curious about everything in the palace, and some wanted to eat the same food as the emperor and empress.
"It's not that I don't want these people to eat, but if they eat, the beggars will have nothing to eat and will still go hungry." Yonglian sighed.
The Queen said, "That's not a difficult question. Just find an elderly person who lives on that street and ask them to help identify the person."
Yonglian nodded and said, "Mother is right." These days, neighbors all know each other.
"I'm afraid the people will be dissatisfied." Lumpu said.
"Then let them try it for a few days. Once their curiosity has worn off, don't let them share it." Yonglian said.
In my previous life, I really wanted to eat the same snacks as a celebrity, so I asked someone to buy it for me. But after eating it twice, the obsession was gone.
Luang Pu did not dare to agree immediately and looked at the emperor first. If the emperor was not there, he could listen to the second prince. If the emperor was there, he would definitely have to listen to the emperor.
Qianlong nodded, feeling inexplicably complicated.
Normally, it was disrespectful for the common people to want to taste the imperial meal, but when Luang Pu said that these common people even wanted to share the soup, he felt a little uncomfortable.
As Yonglian said, the people had eaten leftovers for two days and had had enough of the imperial meals. They still wanted to eat something that could fill their stomachs and was affordable, so they turned to the Huimin Canteen to buy food.
Many families even changed their meal times in order to eat that bowl of stew.
Anyway, the Huimin Canteen usually opens at twilight hour, and many people who do hard labor and chores finish work at this time. On the way home, they buy a bowl of stewed vegetables or mutton noodles. Those who have more money can eat it alone to their satisfaction. Those who have to support a family and know how to live can take it home, add some water, and cook some noodles, which is enough for the whole family.
The noodles don’t sell as well as the stewed vegetables and mutton noodles. Occasionally, there are one or two left, and the people in Huimin Canteen will give them to the last customers.
The business of some vendors selling stewed vegetables has been affected to some extent, but the local tyrants on the street were arrested two days ago, so they don’t have to pay any money from now on. After half a month, they actually made more money than before.
The Huimin Canteen began to operate smoothly, and the concubines in the palace gradually found out about it.
"No wonder they asked the small kitchens in each palace to send their leftovers to the imperial kitchen." Nara suddenly understood and continued, "Your Majesty and the Second Prince are truly kind-hearted."
The Queen said, "But my sisters, please do not mistreat the servants around you because of this. The rewards they deserve should still be given."
Not only did the Imperial Concubine, Concubine Chun, and Concubine Jia not treat the servants in the palace badly, they were also afraid that the Emperor and the Empress would accuse them of being wasteful, so they deliberately let the servants eat more during this period and would return to their original state later.
Only Nara was stunned for a moment, then she replied respectfully, "I didn't know what the Imperial Kitchen would do with the leftovers before, so I just wanted to send more over. But after hearing what Your Majesty said, I think it's worth it, as the people can eat more."
Everyone present: “…”
The queen sighed in her heart. Nara was a simple-minded person. The first reaction of others was to guess the emperor's thoughts, fearing that he would think they were wasteful.
She didn't think about those things. If the imperial kitchen wanted them, she would just send them all over.
Similar things have happened many times. When asked to cater to the emperor's wishes, she either went too far or went against the trend.
The queen was really afraid that she would offend the emperor one day and be completely disliked by him.
After all, she was the concubine arranged by the late emperor himself. If the emperor treats her badly, his reputation will also be affected.
Moreover, although Nara was not good at observing the emperor's words and expressions or guessing his mind, she was very well-behaved and treated her, the queen, with respect.
The queen didn't want to see her living too badly in the palace, so she had to give her some advice.
When she met Emperor Qianlong, the empress took the opportunity to explain to him that Nara was not wasteful, but she heard that the imperial kitchen needed leftovers, so she did not dare to reward the servants and sent them all to the imperial kitchen.
Qianlong: “…”
Qianlong was speechless for a long while. "I told you, there are more leftovers in Yikun Palace than in Changchun Palace. It's totally unreasonable."
The Queen smiled and said, "I have given instructions. Those who deserve rewards should be given out, and the remaining ones can be sent to the imperial kitchen."
The Queen Mother was delighted to learn that the palace's leftovers were being given away to help the common people. She immediately said, "Shoukang Palace's allotment of sugar is unused, so use the remaining sugar to make pastries."
When Yonglian heard what the Imperial Madam said, he knew that the Imperial Madam also thought the snacks in Shoukang Palace were too sweet.
Hong Zhou wrinkled his nose when he heard this. "But the noodles don't taste good. Can you make shaqi ma for the people?"
Yonglian thought to himself, "This is another kind of meat porridge. The cost of shaqima is too high. Ordinary people can't afford it."
"Then give it to them." Hongzhou said. He often gave the leftover shaqima to the eunuchs around him.
"The palace doesn't have that much money," Yonglian said. "Sixth Uncle, how about earning more money and handing out shaqi ma to the people on the street?"
When Hongzhou heard this, his eyes lit up immediately, "Okay, okay!"
The Empress Dowager and Concubine Yu immediately praised him, saying that Hongzhou was a good boy who cared about the people.
After being praised like this, Xiao Hongluo became even more determined to do this.
"But how do I make money?" Hongzhou asked.
The Queen Mother said, "When you have a title, you will naturally have money."
The emperor has only two younger brothers, and as long as Hongzhou doesn't make any serious mistakes, he will definitely be able to become a prince.
However, Yonglian said, "The salary of a prince is not enough. One must master a skill or knowledge. Like my sixteenth uncle, he is proficient in mathematics. In addition to the double salary of a prince, he can earn more money by working as a teacher in the Shangshufang. He can also get another sum of money by taking the lead in editing the "Essence of Mathematics and Physics." The little guy took the opportunity to fool his sixth uncle. Khan Ama restricted the power of the royal family. It would be difficult for his sixth uncle to hold an important position in the court. It would be better for him to learn some useful skills, which would not only contribute to the court but also not be feared by Khan Ama.
He cited another counterexample, "My twenty-fourth uncle still hasn't understood the book, nor is he proficient in other subjects, yet..."
Yonglian didn't say anything else, as long as his sixth uncle understood what he meant.
Hongzhou was very smart and immediately said, "So I want to learn from Uncle Sixteen!"
"That's right!" Yonglian couldn't help but touch his sixth uncle Guang's forehead. This boy is teachable!
The Empress Dowager was amused watching from the side. Yonglian was still a child, but he knew how to teach Hongzhou, who was younger than him.
When Qianlong came to pay his respects, the empress dowager learned from him, "One can teach, and the other is willing to listen. Sometimes Hongzhou doesn't even listen to Liu's words, but listens to Yonglian."
Qianlong raised his eyebrows. The way his son fooled Hongzhou was very similar to how he fooled his twenty-first uncle back then.
Among Emperor Qianlong's younger sons, his 21st uncle was considered quite talented and learned. He was also of similar age and close to Emperor Qianlong. Khan Ama wanted him to assist him, but Emperor Qianlong only encouraged his 21st uncle to study calligraphy and painting diligently and develop his artistic talents.
Forget about assisting or anything like that.
Aren't the lessons of the reigns of Emperor Shengzu and the previous emperor enough? Imperial clans, if used well, are trusted confidants; if used poorly, they become a grave threat!
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