Chapter 358: Vegetarianism

At noon, the Zhou family had chicken stewed with mushrooms, white rice, and cold cabbage. Zhulan asked Xinghua to bring cornmeal, cabbage and potatoes for the servants in the back room to cook for themselves.

Zhulan did not give any orders to anyone to be in charge, as she wanted to see what the twenty newly bought servants would do without any orders.

There were still queues at the gate of the yamen to collect grain. Although the grain distributed by the yamen was stale grain, it was real grain without any stones or sand mixed in to make up the amount. Many people knelt down and kowtowed at the gate of the yamen after receiving the grain.

The new prefect Zhou Shuren won the hearts of the people in just the morning. Those who truly serve the people are good officials. Zhou Shuren's reputation among the people spread quickly, and the people all knew that the food was brought by the new prefect.

Tongzhi Chen Chen felt a little unhappy. He worked hard for the people of Lizhou, but not only did he not gain a good reputation, he also got a lot of abuse. He pursed his lips into a straight line and then sighed in his heart. If he and Zhou Shuren exchanged identities, he would not have the courage to spend the 50,000 taels of silver given by the court on the road. Although he did not want to admit it, he had to admit that Lord Zhou was more courageous and thoughtful than him.

Zhou Shuren was already hungry, so after Er Yue had placed the food on the table, he said to Chen Chen and He Yun, "You two have worked hard today. Please sit down and eat."

Chen Chen's eyes fell on the chicken soup and he swallowed his saliva. In order to avoid being reported for eating extravagant fish and meat, he did not dare to buy fish and meat even though he had money at home. Later, for the sake of his head, he ordered his family to eat vegetarian food. They have been eating vegetarian food for more than a month. This morning he smelled the taste of sausage in Lord Zhou's mouth. It was really torturous.

He Yun, the judge, was also a vegetarian. Not only that, they also ate coarse grains. They hadn't eaten rice for a long time. He swallowed his saliva and said, "Master Zhou, the people are still collecting food outside. Isn't it not good for us to have chicken and sausage?"

Although he said this, his eyes were fixed on the chicken and sausage, which made it seem that his words were not convincing at all.

Zhou Shuren also learned today during the chat that all the officials in the government office are vegetarians. This is a method that they came up with out of fear. He said, why are the officials in Lizhou City so skinny? He was wondering, the situation in Lizhou City is aimed at the people who have no money and has nothing to do with the officials. After knowing the truth, he was speechless. If they can eat vegetarian food themselves, why don’t they donate some money to make the emperor happier? He guaranteed that if the officials in Lizhou City were vegetarians, the emperor would be angry!

Zhou Shuren coughed and said, "It's okay. There will be a lot of things to do in Lizhou City in the future. If we don't even have a healthy body, how can we help the people solve their problems?"

He Yun sat down neatly, "Your Excellency is right."

He was thinking that after having lunch at noon today, he would ask the servants to go to Chuanzhou to buy meat and vegetables when he got home. Lord Zhou was not only the savior of the people, but also his. He was a meat lover, and he had suffered a lot in the past month. All the meat in his stomach was gone!

Chen Chen also sat down. Since Lord Zhou, whom Emperor Yu valued, was sitting next to him, they just took a rest. "Lord Zhou is right. Lord Zhou, please come in."

Zhou Shuren was not polite. He picked up the chicken leg with chopsticks. He liked the meaty part. "You guys please."

Anyway, the chicken legs were in the bowl, and if he hadn't thought it was not good to eat two, the other one would have wanted to take some from the bowl as well.

Chen Chen and He Jun were no longer polite and started using their chopsticks rapidly.

The last five dishes were eaten especially cleanly, and the entire pot of chicken soup was finished.

In the afternoon, at Zhou's house, Zhulan did not take a nap and went straight to meet the newly bought servant.

Twenty people stood in the yard. The two little kids were not very big and stood very straight. Zhulan was not yet cruel enough to let the three or four-year-old children stand in the sun, so she signaled Xinghua and Jingchen to take the two kids to a shady place nearby.

Zhulan's action only reassured the Ding family, but did not move them. As a family that had experienced resale, and whose head had also been a housekeeper, this family was very rational.

Zhulan drank tea while looking at the eighteen people in the yard. They all had new clothes. Zhulan still provided the fabric for the clothes, but this time there was no one who was good at needlework, so the clothes were not as good as those made by Xinghua.

Zhulan already knew the situation in the cover room. Butler Ding had a natural advantage. He used to be in charge of the Wan family. The Wan family was small and dared not say a word. Zhulan put down her teacup and thought to herself that some people are born to manage people, while some people still cannot make money even if given the opportunity.

Zhulan said to Butler Ding, "Please introduce the people in your family!"

Steward Ding had been a steward for many years and knew that the mistress wanted to see their abilities. When he heard the mistress ask him the first question, he felt relieved and suppressed his joy. "I am Ding Yi, 38 years old this year. I was originally a steward. My wife is Liu Ya, 38 years old. She was originally a personal maid and later became a steward. I have three sons. The eldest son is 21 years old and is smart. The daughter-in-law is 20 years old and is good at cooking. The second son is 19 years old and a bit more honest. The youngest daughter-in-law is 19 years old and the youngest son is 12 years old."

Zhu Lan glanced at Steward Ding more and didn't say what she did in the past. She just described the characteristics of the family members. As for not mentioning their names, she hoped that the master would give them names.

Zhulan is a useless name. She really doesn't want to give it a name. Fortunately, there are still many of the 24 solar terms, except for those with snow, frost and dew.

Zhulan hummed and asked Butler Ding, "Please introduce the others!"

Steward Ding was completely relieved. Fortunately, he had asked everything clearly. His tone became more and more confident. "The Wan family has four members. Wan Jiu is 30 years old. His wife, Jin Hua, is 30 years old and works in the kitchen. The eldest daughter is 12 years old and has been learning needlework. The youngest son is 8 years old."

Steward Ding paused for a moment and continued, "There are three girls left. The oldest is ten years old. She lives in Xujia Village near Lizhou City and sold herself voluntarily. The remaining two girls, aged eight and six, were sold for money because their families didn't like girls. The three boys, except for the thirteen-year-old who was sold by her uncle and aunt, the other two fourteen-year-olds all sold themselves voluntarily and their families are all from nearby villages."

Zhulan was very satisfied, and then arranged new names and jobs. Steward Ding remained the steward, and his wife Liuya would follow her in the future. Steward Ding's eldest son had a new name of Guyu, his daughter-in-law Lixia, his second son Xiaoman, his second daughter-in-law Mangzhong, and his youngest son Xiazhi.

The eldest daughter of the Wan family has the Great Heat, the youngest son has the Lesser Heat, the three girls have the Beginning of Autumn at the age of ten, the Autumnal Equinox at the age of eight, and the Beginning of Winter at the age of six. For the boys, two are born on the fourteenth, one is the Winter Solstice, one is the Lesser Cold, and the Great Cold is born on the thirteenth.

Zhulan felt that thinking of names was more tiring than calculating. There were still two little kids, so there was no rush. She would choose one after they were born and had a job. She would not name them in the future. Whoever got them could choose one.

As for the tasks of these servants, Zhulan was not in a hurry to arrange them. She needed to think about where to arrange them. The three maids would be taken care of by Xinghua first, and the three servants would be handed over to Eryue. She was not in a hurry to take care of the Ding and Wan families.

At night, Zhou Shuren came back after dark. Zhulan told him about the process of buying the servants, and finally said quietly: "Master Zhou, will you become an official and make a fortune to buy a wife?"

There are two more

(End of this chapter)