Wu Huaiyu returned to the Bureau of Economic Affairs again, but this time he did not come back alone.
Behind him were many people, some carrying grain, some carrying copper coins, others carrying pots, bowls, ladles, basins, and even some carrying a lot of meat and vegetables.
Everyone was surprised to see the money, food, meat, vegetables, etc. piled up one by one in the corridor of the Economic and Economic Affairs Bureau.
Zhang Chengde stepped forward and asked, "What is this?"
"I asked Mr. Pei for 100,000 yuan, and some paper, ink, pens and inkstones. I went to Dongshi to buy some kitchen utensils and some meat and vegetables for today's business."
"Let's help each other. Let's just set up a stove and make lunch."
In a short period of time, Wu Huaiyu not only got back a lot of money and food, but also hired some officials and craftsmen from other yamen.
So everyone immediately became busy.
If you have a pot, you can simply set up a stove for temporary use, arrange the firewood you picked up, light a fire, and boil water.
Several people over there have already fetched water to wash and cut vegetables.
The first meal of the Bureau of Economics and Management was quite simple, with officials and craftsmen preparing it together.
Cook millet porridge over there, boil water in a pot over here, add some rice wine, ginger and green onions to the water to remove the fishy smell of the pork you bought, then wash it and fry it in the pot first. After the skin is browned and oily, add a lot of water.
Just boil it in water.
The stew is almost done. Pour the yam and radish into it, throw in some Sichuan peppercorns, and stew until cooked.
"It's ripe, it smells so good."
After stewing for several hours, the meat is fragrant.
A group of people in the Economic and Economic Affairs Bureau were already salivating. In order to wait for this meal, everyone did not go to the Zuo Chunfang Canteen to eat. If you go there, you have to pay for it.
For Prince Literary Zhang Chengde, who was already in debt to Beijing, it would be great if he could save a little, besides, the food in the canteen over there is not as good as this.
When the lid of the pot was opened, the white yam and hob-shaped radish in the big pot were already soaked with the aroma of meat. The large slices of meat were already overcooked and just right.
Even the soup has a layer of yellow oily flowers.
"Chopped green onions, sprinkle some chopped green onions."
These green-robed officials, red-robed officials, and brown-robed craftsmen all gathered around the courtyard happily.
The midday sun shines in the courtyard of the Economic Bureau, which is quite warm.
The millet porridge was also cooked so thick that it even had a layer of rice oil crust on it.
Each person has a big bowl, fill it with half a bowl of millet porridge, then take another bowl, put a large bowl of yam and radish stewed meat slices, and add two spoons of oil soup, it's so fragrant.
There's no canteen, no tables and chairs, it doesn't matter.
Everyone squats on the ground to eat, and can bask in the sun while eating.
My body is warm, my stomach is warm, and my heart is warm.
Sitting on the cold bench in Qingshui Yamen every day, their hearts felt cold. Today's hot lunch made them feel a little warm.
Huaiyu was also very happy eating.
In fact, a clerk from Zuo Chunfang came over to inform him before, saying that he would go directly to the public kitchen for lunch at noon. As a fifth-rank official, the meals were not only free, but also pretty good.
But Huaiyu still worked hard to get money, food, pots, pans, and vegetables.
"It still lacks sauce," Huaiyu did not forget to comment, but Zhang Chengde was so sweaty after eating that he said frankly that he felt comfortable.
"Marquis Wu, will we have a public kitchen and dining hall in the future?"
"Um."
"Free supply?"
"Well, the expenses are from the public money."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengde ate even more happily.
Huaiyu saw that he was a sixth-grade official after all, but he was doing so poorly that he couldn't even afford to eat.
Pei Ju just took out one hundred thousand guan of public money, which was too little. Even if he lent it out, he would only be able to collect interest of 8,000 yuan a month on one hundred thousand yuan.
Eight thousand cash was not only needed to pay officials' salaries, but also to provide a free canteen for lunch, which was not much at all.
But Wu Huaiyu is not afraid. The Bureau of Economic Affairs is one of the six bureaus in Zuochunfang, Donggong. How can such a big sign make the officials in the bureau hungry?
Zhang Chengde and others did not get along well before. It was because of their scholarly thinking and no one took the lead. Furthermore, they all came from poor families in other places and were not descendants of aristocratic families. In Chang'an City, the level of sixth-rank officials was not high. In addition, they were still
Not to mention such a powerless person.
Wu Huaiyu is different. He still has some connections in Chang'an, not to mention that he has served in many yamen such as Shenji Camp, Ordnance Supervision, and Zhongshu Province.
This late lunch made everyone feel full.
In the past, several officials from the Economic and Economic Affairs Bureau came to the Yamen early every day. Soon after noon, they left the Yamen and went home. They served as heavenly monks and struck the sky clock. They also drank tea, read books and practiced calligraphy in the Yamen.
Today Wu Huaiyu not only made cakes for everyone, but also gave everyone a delicious meal of stewed meat slices with yam and radish.
After the meal, he assigned another task to everyone, asking them to go to the yamen in Chang'an and even the families of rich and powerful relatives to persuade them to donate books, even pens, ink, paper, and inkstones.
"Remember, be polite. When you go out, you are not only representing the Economic Affairs Bureau, but also the East Palace."
"We need to guide, but we must respect other people's wishes and not force them."
At first, Zhang Chengde and others were quite embarrassed after hearing this. How was this different from monks asking for alms? After all, they were also officials who passed the imperial examination.
But Huaiyu said that this was related to everyone's salary, daily necessities, and even money and food subsidies, etc. Zhang Chengde gritted his teeth and said, "I'll go!"
"Zhang Wenxue's attitude is very good. We can't just act on airs. Isn't this the right attitude to do things? Do you want to have a cup of tea and a book every day, and then wait here for death day after day, wasting your time?
We have to take action. If there are no conditions, we have to create conditions."
"Let me tell you, we not only want to restore the collection of books in the East Palace, but our purpose should be greater. For example, we will fill the Chongwen Hall with books, and one day even let His Majesty establish a new Chongwen Hall and establish a bachelor's degree.
, teaching students is just like the Xiuwen Museum in Menxia Province..."
When Huaiyu proposed that the books, paper, pens, and even money and food that can be brought back by the officials of the Economic and Economic Affairs Bureau when they go out, they will be given priority to pay for their salaries, miscellaneous expenses, and even annual bonuses. Those who cannot be brought back can only wait.
After hearing this, everyone was determined to fight until it was their turn if there was something left in the game.
The first workshop that Huaiyu restored was a cooked paper decoration workshop. The paper used for sorting, copying and binding books generally has to go through the cooked paper stage. If you just buy raw paper and cook it yourself, you can naturally save a lot of money, and you can even use it in the future.
For personal use, it can also process cooked paper for takeout, which in turn makes profits to subsidize the business and bureau.
Originally, everyone was going to leave the office and go home shortly in the afternoon.
But today, everyone who had eaten was very excited, and they all expressed their intention to roll up their sleeves and have a big fight. They no longer took a walk to eat after dinner, drank tea or read a book, but put on their coats and went out to visit.
Huaiyu made some arrangements for the aftermath at the bureau and then went out.
He is doing this very seriously.
"Ziyu will follow me in a minute."
Wu Huaiyu felt that Zhang Chengde was a man he could handle, so he deliberately cultivated him to facilitate the management of the Economic Bureau in the future.
The first stop of the Huaiyu alms trip was to visit the eighteen bachelors of the former Qin Palace. The first one was naturally Fang Xuanling, who is now Zhongshu Ling and Zuo Shuzi.
This bachelor is now the prime minister. Although the Fang family in Licheng is not a clan with a county surname, the Fang family can be regarded as a powerful noble family. Fang Xuanling's mother is the aunt of the Li family in Longxi. She is the real Li from Longxi.
My wife is Fan Yanglu.
He even got married to the Du Ruhui family of his close friends, and made a daughter of the Jingzhao Du family his fiancée for his eldest son, Fang Zhi.
Fang Xuanling's father is also a famous calligrapher.
His family has a large collection of books and is very famous.
Wu Huaiyu went directly to visit Fangfu.
Fang Xuanling's family lived in Wubenfang, south of the imperial city, west of Pingkangfang. He commuted very close to get off work and didn't have to get up early in the morning. Wubenfang was also where the Imperial Academy was located. In addition to many nobles and nobles, there were the most Naturally, they are scholars.
That area belongs to the school district and is close to Pingkangfang. It is equivalent to the Qinhuai River Confucius Temple area in Nanjing during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
But I heard that Fang Xuanling was afraid of his wife, so he would definitely not dare to go to Pingkangfang Sanqu, listen to the opera and drink wine.
As the prime minister, Fang Xuanling was very busy and had no time to take in concubines.
Huaiyu and Zhang Chengde came to Fang's house and handed over their names. When the doorman saw Prince Shouyang Hou Ximawu Huaiyu, he did not hesitate and invited him to the concierge for tea and then went to report.
Before Fang Xuanling returned home from duty, Mrs. Lu invited them to meet her.
Wu Huaiyu originally thought that Mrs. Xing Guogong, who was born in the Lu family of Fanyang, should be a very elegant lady, just like the women he had met such as Zhang Chuchen, Changsun, Yang, and County Lord Li.
But when they met, he was shocked.
Lu is actually one-eyed.
He couldn't help but think of a folk legend, but he only thought it was a joke before, but he didn't expect it to be true. It was said that Fang Xuanling was a talented scholar when he was young. Later, he passed the Jinshi examination in the Sui Dynasty, started his career as a Yuqiwei, and served as
A sesame official like the county lieutenant, but later in the turmoil in the late Sui Dynasty, Fang Xuanling abandoned his post and left.
During the turmoil, Fang Xuanling got married to his fiancée Lu, but he suddenly fell seriously ill shortly after their wedding. As soon as he couldn't afford it, he was about to die at a young age, so he called his wife Lu.
He said that his wife, Lu, was still young and he hoped that she could remarry after his death.
At that time, it was common for young widows to remarry.
But who knew that this Fan Yanglu family was from a famous family, and they, the old nobles, were generally more polite and strong-willed. When they heard what their husband said, they cried and refused to agree.
After Fang Xuanling said a few more words, she actually pulled out a hairpin and directly dazzled one of her eyes.
Although Xiahou Dun's arrow shot out his eye fiercely, it was still an eye shot by someone else, but Lu's eyes were blinded by one of his own.
Huaiyu was good at medicine and could tell at a glance that Mr. Lu's eyes were injured and not caused by cataracts, so he stared at them a few times.
Mr. Lu is quite generous.
"I heard that Wu Erlang has great medical skills, but I'm afraid that Wu Erlang won't be able to rejuvenate my eyes."
"Please forgive me, madam. It's really rude."
"It's okay to take a second look. I heard that Wu Erlang came today to look for books for the East Palace. I don't know what kind of books he wants? Erlang, just ask. As long as the Fang family has them, they will definitely donate them to the East Palace."
Faced with such a majestic Mrs. Lu, Wu Huaiyu no longer paid attention to her hurt eyes and briefly explained the situation, "We want to restore the collection of Chongwen Hall in the East Palace. There is no limit on all kinds of books, as long as they are not available yet."
Mrs. Lu waved to the housekeeper and asked for a hundred volumes of books, another three hundred pieces of paper, pens and ink, and many other things. Finally, she also asked for a donation of one hundred thousand dollars.
"Madam, this is too much. We just want to do something practical this time, but we don't dare to accept the amount of Madam."
Both sides made excuses, and finally Huaiyu accepted the Fang family's hundred volumes of books, plus a hundred knives of paper, and some pen and ink.
Mrs. Lu finally gave me 10,000 yuan.
Huaiyu read the hundred volumes of books and found that they were all excellent books. Books from the Tang Dynasty were very valuable. Even if you asked someone to copy a volume, a famous copyist would charge at least a thousand yuan for a copy.
Paper and ink are also very expensive, so a volume of about 10,000 words often costs thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.
The books Mr. Lu took out were copied very well and were obviously collector's editions. A volume of this kind would probably cost more than 10,000 yuan.
Huaiyu accepted this generous gift and specially wrote a note with the seal of the Economic Bureau and Wu Huaiyu on it.
After winning the first battle, Zhang Chengde's face flushed with excitement, "Hundred volumes of treasured manuscripts, 10,000 pieces of paper, 10,000 coins, and so much pen and ink, Mrs. Lu is so generous."
Huaiyu just smiled. Although Mrs. Lu was generous, there was a reason.
This is naturally not for Wu Huaiyu's sake, but for the Economic Affairs Bureau and the East Palace. No matter how young the prince is, he is still the prince. Although Fang Xuanling seemed to support Wei Wang Li Tai in history, he certainly has not taken sides now.
When they come out, they represent the East Palace. If they are willing to accept it, Madam Lu is willing to give not only ten thousand dollars, but also one hundred thousand dollars and one million dollars. As the new emperor's first confidant, he is still the prime minister, and Fang Xuanling is not in short supply now.
money.
"Let's go to Cai Guogong and Du Mansion,"
Du Ruhui was also the crown prince Zuo Shuzi and the Minister of War. Du Ruhui's family background was much better than Fang Xuanling. Jingzhao Weidu was five feet tall.
Although the Six Surnames in Guanzhong only rank at the bottom, slightly worse than Wei's, they are already among the first-ranking noble families in Guanzhong.
It's definitely no problem to ask them for some books.
Even paper, pen, ink, money and food, the Du family will definitely not give less.
"Marquis Wu, if we act like this, will we be impeached by the official censor?" Things were so easy, but Zhang Chengde became a little worried.
What would happen if someone were to impeach someone like this guy who was asking for books, paper, ink, money and food like he was asking for alms?
