July 1st, Chaozhou Government Office.

As soon as the rooster crowed for the first time, Yu Men got up.

The doorman's professional habits make him sleep later than the chickens and get up earlier than the chickens.

What’s more, today is my big day, how can I sleep?

Yes, after a long wait, Master Zhao finally gave the order, ordering him to take charge of the government affairs from today!

But don’t take bean buns as dry food, because the doorman is one of the two kings among the master’s attendants!

As for the other one, it was the Manuscript Signing Master. But Mr. Zhao's long-serving master was different from others, he had a strong and professional management team, all of them were serious scholars who helped him handle the manuscript signing of the documents in the signing room, so there was no need for a long-serving master in the signing room.

Therefore, there is only one master in the prefectural yamen, and that is Master Yu, the doorman.

His status is roughly equivalent to that of the Grand Chamberlain, and he is the only leader of all the permanent servants!

Although his subordinates affectionately called him "Dun Diao Zi" behind his back, which means "big long follower (broken large intestine)", in front of others he was still a respected and beloved big brother!

Big Brother has someone to take care of his daily life. The three boys who run errands for him are the "trainees" among the servants, the servants of the servants. They are all smart, sweet-mouthed, and good-looking boys. These boys start by serving the big uncles and learn the tricks. When there is a chance, the big uncles will slowly promote those who perform well and know how to flatter.

Knowing that today was Mr. Qin's big day, how could the three boys not flatter him desperately? They got up at four o'clock in the morning and started to work, ironing and fumigating his uniform, preparing brand new soft cotton towels and scented soap mixed with stalactite powder for him... There were also toothbrushes made of bristles from the back of the neck of a young sow, tooth powder mixed with green salt and pearl powder, combs of various sizes, small scissors for cutting nose hair, nail clippers and small razors for trimming nails. Everything was prepared and neatly placed for use.

Finally, dilute the face wash and mouthwash to the most suitable temperature.

Someone asked, what if it gets cold? Of course, I just kept adding hot water to the wash basin.

Another question is, what if it is full?

Of course, I scooped it out using a toothpick.

This way the water for brushing your teeth can remain at the same temperature, killing two birds with one stone.

Anyway, as long as no one tells me, Uncle Yu won’t know that I have always used the water for washing my face to brush my teeth.

Yu Men first kicked his cousin who was sleeping like a dead pig out of bed, then walked to the outer room, washed his face, brushed his teeth and combed his hair with the help of the three boys, and ate with relish the hometown breakfast specially prepared for him by the kitchen chef - stewed intestines, bean juice and stewed piglets!

Needless to say, soybean juice is the eldest princess' favorite besides Mr. Zhao's favorite. It tastes just like sour milk. Mr. Zhao hates it so much that he calls it "devil's bile."

The stewed intestines are made of pig intestines, which are made black with soy sauce and thickened with starch to make it very sticky. To put it simply, it is a bowl of sticky pig intestine soup, which is called "witch's breakfast" by Mr. Zhao. In fact, the taste is still good, but it is added with mashed garlic to relieve the greasiness. As the gatekeeper, Mr. Yu represents the image of the government, how can he eat garlic so early in the morning?

So I specifically ordered that garlic should not be added to the stewed sausage, and it was served in this greasy way, and I ate it directly.

As for stewed pig intestines, it is to stew pig intestines, pig lungs and pig hearts together. This big pot of hodgepodge is only seasoned with soy sauce, so it is very fishy when served, and most people can't eat it. It is called "feed for the three-headed dog" by Mr. Zhao...

Anyway, Master Zhao couldn't eat anything, especially in the morning.

The three boys who were serving Yu Men breakfast were all from Jiangnan, so how could they stand the taste? But they didn't dare to show it at all, and had to force a smile and pretend to swallow their saliva, as if they were craving it...

"Have you tried it? You're welcome to eat it. These three are the favorites of our emperor and the princess. They're the authentic favorites of old Beijing." Yu Men was sipping soy milk and chewing the stewed pork in big mouthfuls. He was enjoying it so much.

The three boys didn't believe it. Oh, the emperor likes to eat large intestines filled with feces? The princess likes to drink spoiled soy milk? How is it possible? Are they trying to kill themselves? With such a royal family, wouldn't all the ministers be so scared that they would retire and return home?

"Why, you don't believe it?"

"Why don't you believe it? What you said is definitely more real than gold. The emperor is also a human being. Can't he like to eat pig intestines?" The third son apologized with a smile.

"The emperor doesn't eat pig intestines." Uncle Yu shook his head.

Everyone thought that this was reasonable.

But he said seriously: "The emperor likes to eat donkey intestines."

"Hahaha, sir, you really know how to joke!" Everyone burst into laughter, but naturally no one believed it.

"Oh." Yu Men shook his head. If he didn't believe it, then forget it. He concentrated on eating his large intestine with soy milk.

~~

After a delicious meal, Uncle Yu rinsed his mouth and washed his face again, trimmed his nose hairs and shaved his face, dressed neatly and walked to the full-length glass mirror hanging on the wall.

This is a gift given to Master Yu by the servants in the mansion who pooled their money together.

After all, Chaozhou is next to Zhangzhou Yuegang, and there are many more Western goods in Chaozhou than in Jiangnan, and they are much cheaper. A full-length mirror like this, which is 1.2 meters high, would cost more than 1,000 taels in Jiangnan… and the price only dropped after the Jiangnan Glass Factory started selling domestic mirrors.

Here, it only costs 500 taels to buy it. The price difference is really jaw-dropping. Of course, it is also possible that the seller knew that this mirror was to be given to Mr. Yu...

The doorman is so prestigious!

Looking at the energetic young man in the mirror, wearing a fluttering scarf, a green silk and white silk collared gown, and sandals and clean socks, Yu Men was intoxicated. He was so successful! How could he be so outstanding?

This is not because he is narcissistic, but being able to become a doorman of a government office at such a young age is indeed a remarkable achievement.

Normally speaking, the attendants must be from the "two lists" to be qualified to be the "rich and noble" doorman.

In the context of the long-time followers, being a follower for the master is called "being a juren"... Because when the master goes out, the follower is the one who holds an umbrella for the master, so it is abbreviated as "juren".

Once you enter the signing room and become the second master, you are a member of the two lists. Because the signing room is a confidential place, you must at least know the document rules and understand the writing style. If you don't have enough knowledge, you really can't do it, so you have to be a "Jinshi".

In theory, only those who have worked as a footman and signed a deposit can be qualified to be a doorman. Because the doorman needs to know the importance of official business, the master's likes and dislikes, and the closeness of the master. If you want to do this job for a long time and be popular with everyone, you must have experience in these two positions.

So no matter which government office you go to, you'll see that the doorman is at least thirty or forty years old.

I am so young, but I have already been a doorman for three years, and I was promoted to the government doorman so quickly. I am so lucky and outstanding.

From now on, even the county magistrates would have to treat him as their brother and act according to his wishes.

"You're great!" Uncle Yu praised himself silently, but his face remained calm, showing the demeanor of a great man.

When he heard the first seven knocks of the cloud board in the government office, he decisively stopped his wandering thoughts, adjusted the silk belt around his waist, and adjusted the wooden sign hanging on his left waist!

That was the gatekeeper card of the government office. It was used to open and close the gate. It had been in the hands of Zhang Bantou, the head of the express shift, and was only delivered to him after the gate closed yesterday. As for the gatekeepers who received wages and food silver, they could not even touch it.

Because if you are in charge of this card for one day, you can collect the door fee for one day! How many people come to the government office every day? At the end of the day, collecting a few dozen taels is considered a small amount, and a hundred taels or more is considered normal.

Although the money was to be shared by everyone, the lion's share would definitely be his, and everyone had to be in his good graces. So no one dared to offend the gatekeeper. If you offended an outsider, you wouldn't be allowed in; if you offended an official in the government office, people who came to see them wouldn't be allowed in; if you offended the servants, it would be even worse, as they would not get any money at all...

Oh, it's really a huge power. We must reflect on ourselves and not be too arrogant.

Didn't you always say, 'If you want to destroy something, make it swell first. If you want to destroy it quickly, make it swell twice as much?'

Thinking of this, Yu Men completely regained his calm state of mind and walked out of the back room of the yamen with square steps.

His cousin Yu Xu then came out yawning, greeted him good morning, and followed him staggeringly, ruining the mood.

"Alas, this unpromising guy, I was planning to recommend him to the provincial government after the New Year. It's almost like sitting for a while..." Yu Men cursed inwardly, hating his little brother for not being motivated. Then, he walked around the screen wall and walked into the gate of the government office without making a sound, surrounded by the crowd.

Yu Men stood solemnly, looking seriously at the closed gate of the government office.

All the three young men and the dozen or so doormen dared not breathe, fearing that they would ruin Master Yu's feelings and make him hate them.

I don't know how long I waited, but suddenly five long sounds of the cloud board were heard in the government office. Yu Men then shouted in a loud and clear voice: "Be honest and diligent in government, carry on the tradition and spread the virtue! Open the government gate!"

The doormen who had been waiting for a long time quickly pulled out three bolts as thick as calves, and then slowly opened the gate of the government office inward.

At this time, the golden crow just started to rise, and the first ray of morning light illuminated the gate of the government office, and also made the pair of huge tin rings on the prefectural office shine brightly.

According to regulations, the doors of the sixth to ninth-rank government offices use black iron door rings. The doors of the third to fifth-rank government offices use black tin door rings. The doors of the first and second-rank government offices use green door animal rings and tin door rings.

Therefore, the main gate of the government office was a black door with tin rings, which was much higher in rank and status than the black door with iron rings of the Kunshan County Office.

Yu Men touched the tin ring that had become cold after a night of work, and finally confirmed that he had made a big step towards his life goal of becoming the best doorman in the world.

He felt that he was injected with infinite power, and his eyes became more determined and his ambitions became greater. He said to himself: "Next step - Hall Official!"

According to the rules, the family members of high-ranking local officials such as governors, prefects, and prefectural governors were called "tangguan". The family members of local officials below the rank of prefect could only be called "changsui", and the same was true for the doorkeeper.

So we still need to go a step further!

"Young Master, Master, please keep up the good work..." Yu Men encouraged those who needed to work hard.

As for Uncle Yu, of course he just sat back and reaped the benefits.

At this time, ten people came to pay their respects to the acting prefectural magistrate, and they came from their residences one after another. After getting off the sedan chair, without exception, they first greeted Mr. Yu and introduced themselves. They handed him their name cards and generous red envelopes to congratulate him on his first day in office.

What is a winner in life? This is a winner in life!