Wind rises time and space gate

Chapter 423: Subsistence work

Autumn has entered, and the nights are long and the days are short. But when Xia Pingzhang arrived at Huixian Tower, it was already dawn, and he took a breath of the morning mist, which was still a bit cold and sweet.

"Brother Lu? Are you here too?"

"Pingzhang?" Lu Zhaoshui was very happy to see him and pulled him to squeeze in at the door.

"Stand closer. When the door opens, you can be among the first to go in." He came for the table that could rotate by itself. He came before dawn, so of course he had to squeeze in the first row, otherwise There is no place to sit.

Lu Zhaoshui looked at Xia Pingzhang and saw that he was still wearing old clothes and didn't care at all about the glances of others. He couldn't help but admire his character.

He just came here in new clothes this morning.

Moreover, his family is in the suburbs of Beijing, and several of his brothers and sisters are married. The conditions of his family are better than those of the Xia family in Changping. He can still afford to eat at Huixianlou once or twice, but Xia Pingzhang...

"You are reluctant to eat the meat buns given out in the library. Hide them and take them back for your next meal." Lu Zhaoshui nudged him with his elbow. "Although breakfast at Huixian Tower is more affordable than Chinese dinner, it is not as good as lunch." It’s cheap, are you willing to give it up?”

Although Xia Pingzhang, like him, is employed as a book clerk in the library and has two taels of money a month, Xia Pingzhang still has to rent a house in the capital to support himself while studying, so the two taels of silver may not be enough.

"I painted a lot of small paintings for the building these days and saved some money. I was reluctant to part with them, but I always wanted to take a look. Only by seeing them in person can I draw the most spiritual paintings."

Students from poor families like Xia Pingzhang drew the dish plates for Huixianlou. It was Lin Zhaoxia who used Polaroid to take photos of each dish, and then gave the photos to the students from poor families to take pictures and draw them. There is a copy for every booth and every private room, and dozens or hundreds of small paintings will be drawn on each dish.

It was originally open, but there was no need for them to draw the menu cards for the time being. But Yingbinlou Wanfulou and others followed the trend too quickly, so Lin Zhaoxia often changed the theme and cuisine.

Today's Huaiyang cuisine may be replaced by Sichuan and Hunan or Cantonese and Fujian cuisine in a few days, and the menu book will have to be changed again.

As a result, people like Xia Pingzhang can't win just by painting small paintings of menu items. A small painting less than half the size of a palm costs three to five cents or ten cents a piece. Sometimes, if you are in a hurry, you can get a piece of ten or twenty cents.

Students from poor families like Xia Pingzhang, who painted menu cards for Huixianlou, saved a small amount of money.

In addition to painting menu signs, now I also have to paint various cultural and creative products. Huixianlou also encouraged them to express themselves freely, saying whose idea was the best, and if they adopted it, they would be rewarded heavily. Anyone with one, two or two taels of silver may get it.

Xia Pingzhang drew a few pictures of breakfast at Huixianlou, pictures of diners queuing up, and some moments when diners were happy eating. These pictures won praise from the princess, and said that they would be made into the next batch of cultural and creative products, and he asked for three of them. He was creative and gave him five taels of silver.

Xia Pingzhang was very happy.

Moreover, the princess also said that if he could draw more creative pictures and make them into large pictures, they would be framed and hung in the lobby and various private rooms on the first floor. If a customer wants to buy, he will share half of the interest.

After Xia Pingzhang tasted the taste of Huixianlou's food, he couldn't forget it. Now that he got recognition, he loves to go to Huixianlou more and more.

Sometimes Jiang Li would give him some convenience and let him observe in the lobby or on each floor so that he could paint.

Xia Pingzhang was grateful to Huixianlou for giving him and other poor students who went to Beijing to study a chance in life, and he wanted to repay Huixianlou even more.

He touched his chest and said, "Besides, Mr. Sun comes here every day, as well as the Imperial College and the heads of several academies in the capital. The shopkeeper has given me some advice. I can bring over the article. If I can get their advice, I will benefit greatly." shallow."

Lu Zhaoshui was stunned when he heard this, "Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

I am very upset that I did not bring my article with me. Although Mrs. Sun and King Lu often brought some people to the library to give lectures, there were too many students and he could not find a chance to strike up a conversation. However, Lu Zhaoshui preferred to study machines, so he wanted to find an opportunity to see how the table moved on its own.

"If you can win the favor of Mr. Sun at that moment, remember to drag me with you. I can do it even if I sit in for a moment or two."

"What kind of favor do you want from me?"

The two were startled and looked back, "Sun, Mr. Sun!"

Within a few days, Huixianlou’s breakfast business became even more prosperous.

Every day before the door opens, the outside is crowded with students who come to ask for advice. I couldn't find a place to sit in the building, so I packed my food and sat at the door. The benches at the door for queuing diners were full of people.

After Lin Zhaoxia heard about it, he gave VIP jade plaques to the great Confucians, Doctors from the Imperial College, and the headmasters of various academies who had accepted the students' homework and were willing to give them some advice. With the plaques, they could get a 20% discount on the price of vegetables.

As a result, most of the gentlemen in the city came to Huixian Tower for dinner.

Restaurants like Yingbin Building and Wanfu Building are so angry.

But after the emperor in the palace heard about this, he not only praised these gentlemen, but also praised Huixian Tower. He even wrote an inscription on Huixian Tower, "Use literature to make friends, use friends to assist benevolence."

As an aspiring emperor, don't you want Daqi to be strong? Don’t you want to see the literary style prevail in Beijing?

As soon as the emperor opened his mouth, Huixian Tower became more and more a favorite place for literati. With the emperor's inscription there, other restaurants no longer dared to make secret moves.

Lin Zhaoxia was not stingy when it came to making money in Huixian Tower. When he saw that Zhao Guangyuan had given autumn charcoal and clothing subsidies to the officials, staff and guards, he waved his hand and also gave an extra month's monthly payment to the servants in the house. .

The servants were very happy and became more active and conscientious in their duties.

In the courtyard of the palace, Mrs. Ma was chatting with several family members of the palace guards while cleaning up their affairs.

"You come from Changping and have never stayed in the capital. Maybe you don't know that it is cold here in the capital in winter. You have to get up several times a night to add firewood to the brazier. You must save enough firewood, otherwise you will have to buy it at the last minute. It’s much more expensive than usual.”

"Thank you for reminding me. Yesterday, my boss came back with the subsidy money. I just happened to go to the street to buy more today."

"Then let's go together. We can buy more together and it will be cheaper."

The family members who were also guards suggested with a smile that the head of the family came back with three taels of silver yesterday, saying that it was the charcoal and clothes given by the prince to supplement the money.

Three taels of silver is enough for the family to buy two new clothes, and the money for firewood is enough for a winter.

People outside say that the King of Yue is poor, how can he be so poor here?

The prince is so generous that no one else can be found in the capital. As for the two hundred palace guards, there are also those with official ranks who get more, and there are also those who belong to the official staff, and there are more than a hundred servants in the palace, which costs a lot of money.

A few people were talking about how lucky they were to come to the Yue Prince's Mansion, and Ma led them to say how good the prince and princess were, and everyone became more and more grateful.

"Does Lin Jingning's family live in this courtyard?" Suddenly there was a voice outside the door.