……

"Master Hou...... Hou Ye ......"

Awakened in a daze, Chen Xu opened his eyes and saw Hu Kuan and Huangfu Que both standing in front of him, looking at him with strange faces.

"What?" Chen Xu sat up and rubbed his eyes and asked.

"Master Hou, the show is over!" Hu Kuan said cautiously.

"What?" Chen Xu stood up with a snort, his legs and feet were a little numb and almost fell to the ground.

Huangfu Que and Hu Kuan hurriedly supported him left and right, Hu Kuan comforted him: "Don't panic, Your Majesty has gone back to the palace, I told you not to disturb your rest, and all of you have left to return to the house......"

Chen Xu was stunned for a long time before he sat down on the chair and said, "The performance didn't go wrong, right?" ”

"Hou Ye rest assured, these two dramas have long been familiar, and they have been performed in Wancheng for a long time, although the actors have only started rehearsing for more than a month, but they are all familiar with it, today's performance is very successful, and there is no fault at all!" Hu Kuan hurriedly said.

"That's good, that's good!" Chen Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

Nima also dozed off in the court, and he could also doze off when he invited the emperor to dinner, and it was lucky that people like Lao Tzu could survive in the court.

After a cold sweat suddenly broke out in Chen Xu's heart for a long time, his emotions slowly calmed down, and he waved his hand and said, "Since you are all gone, you can also go to work separately, don't worry about me!" ”

"Yes, Master Hou!" Hu Kuan and Huangfu exited the room after bowing, and Chen Xu asked the two little tea ladies who had been guarding by his side, "How long have I been sleeping?" ”

"Master Hou, you slept for about an hour!" A little tea lady hurriedly said.

Chen Xu smiled bitterly, stood up to see Ying Shiyan who was still sleeping on the kang, and found that the breath seemed to be much more stable, so he instructed the two little tea ladies to fetch hot water for themselves to wash their faces and hands, and after washing, they picked up a white cloth on the coffee table to wipe their hands, but after wiping it, they immediately felt that something was not right, and when they looked closely, it turned out to be a piece of silk, soft and smooth, and there seemed to be a faint fragrance. The main thing is that there are still a few lines written in the blank space.

"I'll go back to the palace first, if my father summons you to the palace another day, you must come to me, I have something to ask you!"

Chen Xu stared at the handkerchief for a long time before asking, "Who put this handkerchief here?" ”

"Master Hou, this is sent by Princess Qingning to the maid, because Lord Hou is resting, the slave maid did not disturb Master Hou!" A little tea lady hurriedly replied.

Well, I don't know how much I've delayed this sleepiness?

Chen Xu had no choice but to smile bitterly again, thought for a while, put the handkerchief into his arms, and instructed the two little tea ladies to take good care of Ying Shiyan, and then put on and went out.

Although the banquet has long ended, more than a dozen kitchen workers in the kitchen are still busy, and there are several large pots of leftover leftovers, and some helpers are looking for delicious food in the vegetable bowls.

When Chen Xu entered, all the kitchen helpers and cooks hurriedly saluted.

Looking at a group of helpers who were hurriedly wiping their mouths, Chen Xu frowned and said, "What's so delicious about the leftovers, these things can't be eaten in the future!" ”

A group of helpers all trembled slightly, and one of them, a little older, said boldly: "Master Hou, we have never eaten such delicious food, wouldn't it be a pity to throw it away if we don't let it be eaten......

"Uh-huh!" A group of helpers all nodded together, and a bold helper also said: "Master Hou, you can give us these leftover meals, the little man is poor, and there are elderly parents, wives and children, and they can't eat anything good on weekdays, bring some leftovers back to them to eat!" ”

"Yes, Master Hou, why don't you give ......us a reward if you pour it out," a few other helpers also prayed.

Chen Xu was silent for a long time and said with a serious face: "Since you are already from my Qinghe Garden, naturally I will not treat you badly, if the matter of eating leftovers spreads, where will my face go, from today on, everyone is not allowed to eat these leftovers, ......what is the matter?"

"The subordinates are here!" A middle-aged man wearing blue overalls with the words "Steward Qiu Cheng" written on his badge hurriedly stepped forward from behind.

"Steward Qiu, instruct the staff canteen to have enough food every day, and the taste is also good, no cutting corners and deducting food, as long as it is a person from Qinghe Garden, regardless of identity, it is not allowed to eat these leftover food, if there is a family difficulty, you can pack and bring some clean food back that has not been eaten, but you are not allowed to deliberately cheat and take it, if I know, don't use me to say the consequences!" Chen Xu commanded.

"Yes!" The kitchen steward hastened to agree.

"Thank you, Master Hou!" A group of helpers also saluted Chen Xu excitedly.

"Hmm!" Chen Xu was about to leave as soon as he waved his sleeves, and the steward hurriedly followed outside the door and whispered: "Master Hou, these leftovers really have to be thrown away, it's a pity, there are still a lot to eat!" ”

"Anyway, people in Qinghe Garden are not allowed to eat, how do you think it is better to deal with it!" Chen Xu stood up and asked.

"Hasn't Master Hou been giving porridge to those beggars? There are still a lot of these leftovers, and they will be there every day in the future, so I think it is better to arrange for someone to send them to a fixed place to give alms to those poor people, which is better than throwing them out, because they still have to be transported outside the city! "The steward is cautious, yes.

"That's fine, you can arrange it!" This kind of trivial matter is that Chen Xu is naturally unwilling to care, and what the steward said is indeed a good method.

After Chen Xu left, the steward showed a happy smile on his face, turned around and went to the cafeteria to let people take away the rest of the meals, even if it was the leftover scraps in the mouth of the marquis, it was a lot of wealth, how could it be eaten by beggars, not to mention that some of them were still eaten by the emperor.

Therefore, after a while, a well-covered carriage came out of the back gate of Qinghe Garden, and after bypassing seven or eight streets, it drove into a small courtyard that looked very dilapidated, not only the stone bricks on the courtyard wall fell a lot, but even the courtyard door was crooked.

Although the yard and the house look dilapidated, there is also a small vegetable garden in the yard, planted with neat weeds and reeds, and a few chickens are digging and pecking at the soil.

"Uncle, why are you here?" A young man with a turban to describe Luotuo came out of the room.

"Hehe, Xiaoshun, I'll get you a good business!" The middle-aged man who was driving the car lifted his hat, and it was the steward who was in charge.

"How can I make a good living, my family is almost poor and can't open the pot, and yesterday I was still discussing with my mother whether to sell the house and live outside the city!" The young man said with a bitter face.

"You dare, this house was built by your father after spending a lot of money, don't be a loser, your uncle couldn't help you when he was poor before, but a few days ago I was introduced by a friend to Qinghe Garden as a kitchen steward......"

"Qinghe Garden? It's the Qinghe store that opened today, I heard that the emperor went to the banquet and watched the drama today, which is the industry of the Marquis of Qinghe! The young man couldn't help but change color and exclaim.

"Exactly!" The middle-aged man nodded slightly smugly.

"Uncle, you are a famous man in Hedong, how can you do these things of Bao Kitchen?" Young people may be puzzled.

"Hehe, how about celebrities, celebrities and gentlemen also have to eat and go to the toilet, not ordinary people, I can see through, read more books but still suffer, these half a month I have seen and heard in Qinghe Garden, far more than I have read half a lifetime of books, I wanted to receive Yuefeng to help you again, but today Qinghe Marquis ordered me to pour out the rest of the banquet, I thought of a ...... to make a living" The middle-aged man said as he spoke.

"What can I do with leftovers, I still study hard at home......" The young man stepped forward to help, and when he saw the few pots of leftovers on it, he twitched his nose a few times, shrugged his throat and swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said in surprise, "Hey, how can these meals be so fragrant?" ”

"Nonsense, this is the leftover delicacy eaten by the emperor and the princess and the three princes and nine kings today, how can it not be fragrant, fortunately, my uncle only had an idea, otherwise these things would have to be transported outside the city and dumped!" The middle-aged man said proudly.

"But these are just scraps, you can give me more than a stomach, if my mother knows that you sent us to eat these leftovers, she won't scold you?" The young man's face was a little ugly

"It's not for you to eat, it's for you to process these meals and then find a place to sell them nearby!"

"Sell?" The young man was even more uncalm, shaking his head vigorously and saying, "I can't sell things, let alone sell these leftovers, where will I put my face when others know it?" ”

"Hmph, pedantic, you are now married, do you want to talk about poverty like this for the rest of your life? Let your mother, wife and children suffer with you for the rest of your life? Uncle and I used to be too good-looking, from Hedong to Xianyang, the more depressed I became, I can't help you on weekdays, you have to listen to me in this matter, what about your mother and Xiaoyun? The middle-aged man said unhappily.

"Mother and Xiaoyun took Ju'er to Dr. Liu's house to help clean and mend clothes!" The young man said with a little shame.

"Look at you, you can't do big things, you don't want to do small things, you don't work hard and you don't divide the grains, and you have to rely on your mother and wife to support you, how can you have face!" The middle-aged man was indignant.

"You weren't like that before!" The young man muttered.

"You ......" The middle-aged man was speechless, his face was red and white for a while, and he said for a while: "That's it, these leftovers will be moved in and put away first, and when your mother comes back, tell her what I said, if she doesn't want to make a living, I haven't been here, if she wants, you go to the back kitchen of Qinghe Garden to find me early tomorrow morning, report my name, and the guards will naturally let you in!" ”

As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, there were two women wearing patched old clothes and carrying a child from outside, one was a middle-aged woman with rough skin and a frosty face, and the other woman was about eighteen or nineteen years old.

"I've seen my uncle!" The young woman carried a child less than half a year old on her back to salute the middle-aged man.

"Brother, do you want to come to our house to borrow money again?" The middle-aged woman said with an ugly face.

"Second sister, my brother is not here to borrow money today, I found an errand, and I specially sent you some things today, you see that's all!" The middle-aged man hurriedly pointed to a few pots of leftovers in the car and said.

"Brother, you're getting too much, these are leftovers from big families, and we're not at the ......point of begging," the middle-aged woman said, her eyes turned red and she began to wipe her tears.

"Second sister, don't cry, listen to me......" The middle-aged man was a little flustered, and told the origin of these meals, and then said, "You don't know, many people in the kitchen rushed to take these meals home, or I persuaded Qinghehou to stay and let me dispose of them, these meals are still delicious to sort, you just set up a food stall near the door of your house to sell it, even if it is three dollars and five dollars, it is more than ten times stronger than this kind of hard work, Xiao Yun has only been produced for a few months, I have not been able to help, and I feel very guilty!" ”

After the middle-aged man finished speaking, the middle-aged woman's face had completely changed, and she walked to the carriage and took a closer look before starting to move the vegetable pot, and the young woman also began to move.

"Mother, do we really want to make this kind of shameless and skinless business?" The young man hurriedly stopped and said.

"Don't worry about this matter, you can study with peace of mind, Xiao Yun and I will do it!" The middle-aged woman walked around her son into the room, and after going back and forth a few times, she finished moving several pots of food.

The middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Second sister, in the cold winter now, these meals can be kept for a few days without spoiling, you try to sell them, if you really can't sell them, don't worry, in a few days my monthly gift will be sent down, I will have someone send it to you, my sister-in-law is not here now, I will not let you starve like before, I have lived half of my life in a mess before, and this time I will definitely not continue to be ridiculous!" ”

"Thank you, brother!" The middle-aged woman's tears flowed instantly.

"Second sister, don't cry!" The middle-aged man was a little at a loss and reached out to help the woman wipe away her tears, then turned the carriage and said: "If it is easy to sell, let Xiaoshun go to Qinghe Garden to find me tomorrow, there will be every day in the future, if it is not good to sell, give alms to the beggars on the street, I still have a lot of things, so I will leave first!" ”

"Uncle go slowly!" Although the young man was not happy, he still yelled at the back of the middle-aged man, and then turned back to the room in a very depressed mood.

After about half an hour, the two women set up a food stall at the entrance of the courtyard with two old wooden benches and a few wooden boards, and began to shout and sell a pot of hot and fragrant vegetable soup, which contained reed and weed, and even tofu and minced meat.