In a wing of Prince Ning's Mansion, Butler Wang looked at a stack of ledgers in front of him, with a slightly sad look on his fat face.
As a housekeeper who specializes in handling the palace's foreign business, he has the habit of thoroughly checking the account books once a month.
In this way, he can understand the monthly income of the palace. Compared with previous years, whether it has increased or decreased, and what are the reasons. If the income is too low, he will not be able to explain it to his superiors.
And this is also the problem he is struggling with.
It was almost the end of the year. He added up all the profits from the palace's business outside the palace, and it was only half of last year. Two months later, it would only be 70% of previous years at most. This was considered a dereliction of duty on his part.
If the prince takes the blame, he may not be able to keep his position as housekeeper.
Fortunately, the Ruyilu and spirits workshops have begun operations, and the shops in the city will officially open their doors tomorrow. These two businesses are his greatest hope.
But he was actually not sure how much profit he could make.
just in case……
Butler Wang felt anxious and uneasy, and when he was depressed, the door of the room was suddenly pushed open, and a naughty boy about ten years old ran in.
The naughty boy's little face was still a little immature, but he was very similar to Butler Wang, especially his chubby body shape, and his round face was even more similar. He ran up to Butler Wang and stretched out his chubby hand.
He held up his hand and said: "Dad, give me a few pennies, I want to buy candied haws."
Steward Wang was in distress when he suddenly saw the naughty child's round face, and an unknown anger arose in his heart, and he cursed: "Eat, eat, eat, just know how to eat, look what you've become like!"
The naughty boy was still thinking about going out later to try the "sugar snowballs" launched by Liu's Candied Haws a few days ago. Hearing from a few friends that the sugar snowballs are even more delicious than candied haws, he couldn't wait to run in.
I asked my father for money and was scolded for no reason. I was stunned for a moment.
"Have you memorized all the lessons that Mr. Wang taught you?" Seeing the naughty child standing there foolishly, Butler Wang became even more angry and asked with a straight face.
He was not a scholar, but he was admitted as a scholar. After that, he suffered many setbacks and got a job in the prince's palace. Over the past ten years, he has gradually reached his current position. Although those who were elected were not as nourishing as him, studying
After all, it was the right way. I thought about leaving my unfinished dream to my son to complete. Who would have thought that this naughty kid has no interest in studying, but he never forgets to eat... He is really his own son.
"I know how to memorize." The naughty boy still had some eyesight and knew that his father should not be messed with, so he stammered.
"Recite it again and let me listen."
I don’t know what happened to my dad today, but he suddenly wanted to test his homework. The naughty kid felt lucky in his heart. Fortunately, he had memorized those convoluted words yesterday, and he recited them straight away. Although he stumbled, it was good.
Nothing went wrong.
After listening to the naughty child finish reciting, Butler Wang's face finally looked better.
However, there are some doubts in my heart. When he was tested on his homework in the past, the naughty kid could never recite it completely. What happened this time? Was he possessed by an evil spirit?
I thought that if he couldn't recite it, I would give him a few words of reprimand, warning him to study hard and not just think about playing and eating all day long... Unexpectedly, the naughty boy showed his extraordinary performance, and the reprimands he had prepared suddenly disappeared.
It has no effect.
The good plan was interrupted, and Butler Wang's face became serious again. He pulled out a piece of white paper, picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on it, handed it to the naughty child, and said: "There is no end to learning.
Don't be arrogant and complacent, just memorize these sentences and I'll check them again tonight."
When we were on the mountain a few days ago, this was what the female gentleman asked the children to carry. Butler Wang's ears almost went numb when he heard it, so he accidentally wrote down those few sentences.
At this time, it is just right to use these few words to send the naughty child away. At least he will not bother me until he can memorize it.
"Go ahead, go ahead..." Shopkeeper Wang waved his hand and said impatiently.
The naughty boy walked out of the room with the paper in his hands. His ten-year-old little brain still couldn't fully understand why he got not a reward but a punishment for continuing to recite...
The naughty boy who had been tricked by his father sat under the eaves of the wing with a dull look on his face, looking up at the sky with an expression of despair.
After a long time, the naughty boy sighed leisurely and held up the paper in his hand. After attending private school for several years, he could already read a lot of words, and soon there was a sound under the eaves.
“Disciples’ rules and sages’ precepts are: first, filial piety and brotherhood, and second, sincerity.
Love everyone universally and be kind to others. If you have spare energy, study literature..., alas..."
The voice was clear and lively like a child's, but the sighs mixed in from time to time were somewhat incompatible with the atmosphere at this time.
…………
At the same time, a middle-aged man with a dignified expression walked out of Prince Ning's study and rubbed his brows. The cold autumn wind blew by, which actually made him sober.
"Master Prefect, shall I take you back to your home?" An old man wearing a housekeeper's uniform came over and said respectfully.
The middle-aged man waved his hand and said: "No need, I still know the road to the palace, just walk back by yourself."
Hearing this, the old man stopped insisting and watched the middle-aged man disappear before turning around and retreating.
At this time, the middle-aged man walking in the palace had a sad look on his face.
As the prefect of Qing'an Prefecture, he is in charge of all matters in the government. In two months, he will return to Beijing to report on his duties. At that time, the court will evaluate his performance, including the population, land reclamation, and taxation of Qing'an Prefecture during this year.
, food, public security, education, etc., and raise or lower penalties and rewards accordingly.
He wasn't worried about farming or taxes, but it was this education that really worried him.
Students from Qing'an Prefecture performed poorly in this year's scientific examinations, and the number of Jinshi candidates they received was far less than in previous years. As a result, his achievements in education will be greatly reduced.
Educational achievements cannot be achieved in a day. Although progress in other aspects can completely cover up the lack of education, in terms of face, there is still some difficulty.
After all, Qing'an Prefecture is the largest city in Jingguo besides Kyoto, and the number of students is second only to Kyoto. During the imperial examinations in previous years, the number of students who passed the examination was enough to compete with Kyoto, but this time, they were far behind.
opened.
Thinking about this matter in my mind, when passing by a certain wing, I suddenly heard an intermittent child's voice in my ears.
“Disciples’ rules and sages’ precepts are: first, filial piety and brotherhood, and second, sincerity.
Alas..., love others universally, and be kind to benevolence. If you have spare energy, study literature..., sugar snowball, sugar snowball, sugar snowball, alas..."
