I was a god in the 18th century

Chapter 370 The Cook's Crisis

Xia Qingdai sang French songs with Owen several times, then played and sang "Singing the Motherland" several times, then stopped and sat by the fireplace, roasting sweet potatoes and chatting.

At about ten o'clock, Xia Qingdai followed Miss Bai into the classroom to study, while Owen went to his study to handle business.

The parish police officer came to Fucui Mountain Villa on skis in the cold wind to ask to see Sheriff Owen.

When Owen inherited the sheriffship from his uncle, he also inherited a parish constable. In just one year, he expanded the parish constable from one to ten.

The wages of these parish constables were in addition to the weekly salary paid by the central government, which was one guinea per week, plus an additional bonus.

The bonus mainly comes from the sponsorship of Fucui Villa, which is equivalent to Irving paying out of his own pocket.

In addition to the "formal employees" such as parish police officers, there is also a group of non-staff police officers similar to "auxiliary police", also known as constables, in the parish under Owen's jurisdiction.

Their wages are even more dependent on bonuses, after all, what they can get from the official sources is very little.

Previously, the reason why few locals in this parish were willing to work part-time as police officers was because the effort was not proportional to the income, and it was like paying the central government for work. Therefore, if there was no mandatory rotation, no one would be willing to do this job.

This situation was also reflected in the night watchman. Originally, there was one night watchman in the town.

But gradually it became increasingly difficult to collect salary from the parish. Finally, when the previous night watchman, who was over 60 years old, fell to his death on a snowy winter night, the town lost its only night watchman, and no one was willing to succeed him.

After Owen inherited Fu Cui Villa and the position of sheriff, he made timely expansion and arrangements for the clerks, accountants, police officers and constables to assist him, but he left out the night watchmen.

So far, there has been no night watchman in the town of Ifra.

On the one hand, Owen himself lived in the old castle in the mountain villa and had his own patrol team at night. Naturally, he would not pay much attention to the night watchman in the small town.

On the other hand, Owen had a bad impression of the night watchmen in the past. They always sang loudly to tell the time in the dead of night.

This is similar to the ancient Chinese night watchmen, who would shout even harder in the middle of the night: "It's dry, be careful with fire!"

European night watchmen go even further, singing loudly as they pass by other people's windows, cheerfully wishing them a good night's sleep.

Whether it is a sleep aid or a disturbance, insomniacs who have been woken up by the noise have the deepest understanding of it.

Not to mention the night watchmen, the parish constables and the detectives are very different from what they used to be.

Working under Sheriff Owen, the salary is good. For example, a regular parish constable can make 18 pounds a year, including bonuses. Auxiliary police officers make a little less, but it's better than farming.

The most important thing is that you don’t have to leave your hometown and go to the city to work. You can earn money easily by living in your hometown town.

Such a good thing is hard to find even with a lantern.

When there was a severe drought, their sheriff would pray to his family's patron saint for rain. Where else could be better than owning a god's territory?
This has caused everyone to rush to sign up and apply for the job.

So far, Owen not only has a security team that belongs to him, but also has parish police officers and constables who are very energetic. He can be said to be strong in both men and horses.

Even without the intimidation of God, no force around dared to provoke him.

As a local sheriff, Owen has the power to issue warrants. He has summary judgment over those found guilty of minor crimes and can impose fines, flogging or sentencing to a correctional institution. Yesterday, Charlotte, a small businessman, sold fake tea by passing off dyed blackthorn leaves as Chinese tea. The evidence was irrefutable, so Owen issued a warrant and sentenced him to a fine of 100 pounds and 100 days in a correctional institution.

This fine will go into the parish treasury and is also a source of bonuses for police officers, constables, clerks, accountants, etc.

Now the parish police have come to report the matter to Owen. They are responsible for supervising Charlotte's family to pay the fine and escorting Charlotte herself to the correctional institution.

Owen wanted to make an example of someone and curb this unhealthy trend. Since he was targeting merchants selling counterfeit and shoddy products, he would not do it quietly.

Distributing flyers and placing advertisements in newspapers are old tricks used by our predecessors.

Although the trick is old, it is effective, so Owen naturally uses it. In addition, he has many servants who love to chat, enough to spread Charlotte's "good deeds" to everyone.

Xia Qingdai came out of her French class and it was time to have breakfast at the castle.

Owen's official duties also came to an end. The parish police officer who came to report on his work was flattered to receive an invitation to stay for breakfast.

Xia Qingdai greeted the other party casually and sat down to the right of Owen. The parish police officer sat opposite her, and Owen's cousin Caroline sat to her left.

As for old Mrs. Irving, she did not go into the dining room, choosing instead to take her breakfast into her own room.

"French food for the morning? Not bad, not bad. I really like this cheese dessert."

"Well, thought you'd like it."

Xia Qingdai smiled and said, "I really like it."

The castle had a royal chef from France, so of course they served French food. Fish and chips, mashed potatoes, and all kinds of messy things were not worthy of being served in a formal dining room.

The parish policeman had never seen such a delicious French breakfast in his life and was amazed.

This is the wealthy Fucui Villa! He doubted that the breakfast in front of him might cost more than his annual food expenses.

It was normal for him to have such thoughts, because this was the third time that the court chef Durand had shown his skills after coming to Fucui Villa, and he had to show off his real skills as a royal chef.

What the royal chef Durand prepared today was not a French breakfast in the ordinary sense, but a top-notch delicacy that could be directly served at a state banquet. It took him three hours to prepare it, which was even more dedicated than when he served King Louis XVI.

The reason why he was so curly, besides wanting to show off himself, was also because he was shocked by the scene in the morning when the gods appeared and gave him food.

He never imagined that a small English country villa actually worshipped a real God!
Due to Durand's enthusiastic performance and the fact that he brought his assistant kitchen assistant with him, he immediately took control of the castle kitchen.

This made the castle's original cook Lily and Mrs. John feel very threatened, especially after Xia Qingdai ate the first dessert, she even sent someone to reward the chef with a piece of God-given cucumber.

Cucumbers in the cold winter are not ordinary vegetables. They are seasonal vegetables in summer, but they are extremely expensive when they appear on the table in winter. The most expensive ones are sold for ten shillings and six pence each, which is equivalent to Miss Bai's weekly salary.

The royal chef Durand was naturally grateful for his master's generosity, but the two cooks were heartbroken.

"Will we fall out of favor?" Lily whispered to Mrs. John worriedly.

"No way! My cousin likes the cookies I made!" But from her frowned brows, it can be seen that she is not as sure as she said.