The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

(Thanks to Xingxingcao 117 and Leisure Ronin for their rewards, thank you.)

Of course Su Jin wasn't drunk, but it's not necessarily a good thing if he has a good capacity for alcohol. Before, he fell down three times and didn't need to act at all. Last night, he consciously drank himself seven or eight glasses, but he was still sober, so he had to pretend to be drunk to avoid it.

Yan Shu was right, Su Jin just didn't want to be restrained, and when she thought of being dragged onto this boat with almost no resistance, Su Jin felt a little reluctant.

Su Jin believes that Yan Shu, the envoy of the third division, should be most concerned about the strategy of raising food, not the battle of phases; To deal with it is to deal with it, instead of rushing to find a solution when it is critical, or even using such a thing as a springboard to seek higher power; from this point of view, Yan Shu is not qualified as the third envoy.

What surprised Su Jin even more was that the imperial court actually allowed the emperor to issue an absurd food reduction order. The court plan is an extremely incompetent performance.

The effect of the meal reduction order is well known to everyone. A few people will force themselves to save food when they are hungry, and since the decree is promulgated, there should be supporting supervision and punishment measures to ensure its implementation. A decree like the present one, in fact It's just a piece of paper.

Su Jin observed the reactions of the people after the meal reduction order came down. In the beginning, people were afraid that violating the order would bring disaster. They were indeed starving for a few days, but within a few days, all of this was forgotten. Afterwards, the business of the restaurant is still booming. Each family has two meals in name, but actually bought a lot of pastries and pastries. Although there are no fireworks, they are still consuming food at all. The emperor's painstaking efforts are in vain.

It all deserves it!Su Jin was annoyed by such a stupid decision. The imperial edict blatantly stated that this was to resist the trend of extravagance. It is pure nonsense. Eating an extra meal is also called extravagance. What is the need for such a world to exist? .

Moreover, the worse consequences of this meal reduction order are not just the problem of hunger. If such a law is not abolished, it will bring a series of troubles.

All of this is what Su Jin wanted to say but didn't say. Originally, these words should be mentioned to Yan Shu, but after Su Jin saw that Yan Shu took this matter as a political speculation last night, Su Jin decided not to tell him these things, but to Report directly to the emperor, because it is very likely that Yan Shu will prohibit reporting these words to the emperor.

Because the meal reduction order can relieve the pressure of the food crisis to a certain extent, with this meal reduction order, the possibility of successfully overcoming this crisis will be much greater. As Yan Shu, who regards this matter as political capital, it is very Maybe all the words and opinions that are unfavorable to the food crisis will be automatically blocked by him. As long as he can get through this crisis, he can ignore all the harm caused by it.

Of course, all of this is Su Jin's conjecture. He just intuitively feels that Yan Shu is not the kind of person he can rely on. This person may not have any disgusting feelings and acts impartially, but he always seems to lack some generosity. Courage and the courage to take responsibility regardless of gains and losses.

Su Jin was very dissatisfied with Yan Biyun at that time about his marriage contract. For his own reputation and status, he allowed Yan Biyun to waste his youth, and even implemented a policy of suppression. The seeds of dissatisfaction in Su Jin's heart began to germinate from then on; And Bao Zheng, who was personally recommended by him, seemed to keep a certain distance from Yan Shu, and he didn't seem to have any deeper contacts other than business, maybe it was not unreasonable.

Su Jin also admitted that Yan Shu was good to him in his heart, not to mention what his purpose was, in the process of interacting with Su Jin, he was always giving himself a chance, there are many people with great abilities in the world Yes, there are a lot of people who have the ability but have no chance to show it. It is kindness to rely on him to think of Su Jin in everything.

Su Jin pays attention to affection, so of course he will handle this errand seriously, not only to achieve his desired goal, but also to repay Yan Shu's kindness.

As for what Yan Shu would get from it, Su Jin would rather not think about it.

After returning to the small courtyard, Su Jin didn't give Yan Biyun a chance to convey Yan Shu's words. He kept snoring with his eyes closed, until Yan Biyun reluctantly explained a few words to Xiao Sui'er and the others and left silently. Su Jin opened his eyes in the dark, The relationship between him and Yan Shu may need to be re-examined. He cannot tolerate everything about him being manipulated and used by another person, even if he is Yan Biyun's uncle, the world-renowned Yan Shu.

……

Time moved forward by an hour, in the side courtyard of the second Xia Mansion in Sock Lane, a servant was reporting to Liu Binhua who was lying on the bed.

"My lord, I followed them all afternoon, and finally found their residence."

"Oh? Where do they live?" Liu Binhua came to his senses, his half-drooped eyelids suddenly lifted, and the corners of his mouth trembled nervously.

"They all live in a small courtyard in Yulin Lane. There are six men and two women in total. The young man who scalded you is probably the head of the house. I haven't seen any old people. The young one secretly asked the neighbor next door and said They just moved in yesterday, and the yard is rented."

"Sure enough, as I expected, this kid is a foreigner. No wonder he dares to challenge the master. He is a rookie who doesn't understand the market. Have you seen other people coming and going? For example, officials and wealthy households."

"I didn't see it, but when it was dark, this Su Jin went out in a carriage, and the younger one followed for a while. His two legs couldn't keep up with his four legs, and he lost his follow."

"Idiot, won't you hire a carriage to follow?"

"The little one is penniless, how can I get the money to hire a car, besides, the little one hasn't even had a sip of hot water for a long time, so I can't bear it anymore."

Liu Binhua snorted, and struggled to find a cloth bag under the pillow, reached in and grabbed twenty Wen coins, threw it on the ground and said, "Take it to buy some food, follow me tomorrow, my master will be able to move almost tomorrow." Alright, let's bring more people this time, call the flower boss from Zaozi Lane, and see where this kid is going."

The young man weighed the twenty cents in his hand and said: "Grandpa, give me some more. With such a little money, a few steamed buns and a bowl of spicy soup will be gone. My muscles and bones are hurting all over. I want to find someone to loosen my muscles and bones." Woolen cloth."

"Loosen your mother's muscles and bones! I think you want to loosen your skin! I haven't seen you like this before, but you still have the mood to go to the brothel, and you want to make things difficult for you, don't you?"

"My lord, you are injured, so you can't keep your brothers from having fun, right? If you become paralyzed and crippled one day, will your brothers follow you to become a monk? Lord, give me some more, just [-] renminbi, just [-] renminbi will do." , the younger one will get half of the money, and Widow Pan is a dark liao, so when there is no business in the middle of the night, twenty yuan is definitely enough."

"Go to your mother, dare to curse that you are paralyzed and crippled. I beat you up first. Go to that dirty widow every day. Sooner or later, Hualiu's upper body will come to you. Don't blame me for kicking you." Open." Liu Binhua leaned over while scolding and grinning, took out a pocket of twenty coins and threw it on his head.

The boy picked them up with a playful smile, kicked them in his pocket and said, "My lord, you are lying on your stomach to recover from your injuries. The little one is gone, and I will show up at the door of Su Jin's house on time tomorrow morning; do you know if Widow Pan is dirty? Could it be that my lord is also going to visit her?" Pass?"

Liu Binhua reached out and grabbed a pillow and threw it at it, cursing: "Get out of here, I missed something tomorrow, I have to cut that thing of yours."

The little servant chuckled, quickly dodged the pillow, turned around and went out.

In the shadows, a small figure quietly left the courtyard and went straight to the back building. On the embroidered couch in the boudoir of the small building, Xia Siling was leaning on the bedside and reading a book. With the sound of footsteps, the small figure lifted the curtain and quickly Stepping in, the cold wind blows the candle light to and fro.

"Ku'er, did you hear anything?" Xia Siling sat up and asked.

"Nephew sent the three donkeys to keep an eye on them, and now they have detected the courtyard where Mr. Su lives."

Xia Siling frowned and said: "What kind of news is this, it must be the Yan Mansion in Tianshuijing Hutong."

"No, I rented a yard in Yulin Lane."

"Oh? It will deceive people's eyes and ears, and the tryst is also convenient, hum!" Xia Siling hammered her hands on the bed a few times, then turned her head and asked, "Then didn't they say how to deal with him?"

"Young master said that tomorrow he can act and ask some flower boss in Zaozi Lane to find his bad luck together."

"This lazy thing will bully people. Boss Hua is the head of the ruffian who demolished other people's tofu shop at the temple fair last time. He actually has contacts with local ruffians. It's really outrageous. I will talk to Dad about this matter tomorrow." Say, otherwise our Xia family will lose face sooner or later."

"The master is drinking in Lu Xiang's mansion, and he hasn't come back yet, but the master loves his nephew so much, I'm afraid he won't listen to you."

Xia Siling sighed and said: "I only hate that I am a daughter, and my father has no heirs. I want him to inherit the family business, but why is my father so confused? What can such a person do except cause trouble and ruin the family business? Zhenjiao It's chilling."

Xiao Kou'er comforted: "Miss, don't worry, Master won't be so foolish, he must have made arrangements, what should Mr. Su do now? Wouldn't it be unlucky for you to be beaten to death by your nephew and young master tomorrow?" very."

Xia Siling gritted her silver teeth and said: "He deserves it, why did he come to the capital and attack so ruthlessly, scalding people with boiling water."

"Miss……"

"It doesn't matter... Sleeping, both of them are not good people, let them bite the dog." Xia Siling lifted the quilt, curled up in the bed and fell asleep.

Little Button blinked his eyes, stood there for a while, sighed, blew out the candle, and went out lightly.