The Ruyin County Bureau has learned the news of Biyu and Shu Yan's new appointments, and has long been ready to welcome them. When Shu Yan arrived at the county office, he knew that Biyu would not arrive so early, so he chatted with a group of officials first.

There is no county guard and county officer, and at present, the county office is temporarily staffed by a Gong Cao and a chief bookkeeper, leading the Cao Peng History, Shuzuo and other members. At that time, Zhou Juncheng and Huang Zhushu and others had already been sentenced for corruption and preying on the common people together with Qiu Shoutai, and the rest were also replaced by the new Taishou, so except for a few miscellaneous officials, Shu Yan didn't know him.

Back then, Shu Yan, Xun Bao, and Biyu punished Qiu Shoutai's corruption case, which shocked Ruyin officialdom. After many years, the influence is still there. The current officials in the county office, even if they had not seen it with their own eyes at that time, were also very admirable to Shu Yan, so although it was a casual conversation, they seemed very restrained.

Shu Yan saw that they were all unnatural, so he said to the first person: "Sir, your surname, what kind of position?" ”

"The contemptible Du Jian is the chief bookkeeper of this county." The man replied.

"Oh, it turned out to be Master Du. Long admiration, long admiration. Shu Yan arched his hand.

The rest of the people also introduced themselves.

Shu Yan met them one by one, and then reported to himself: "Contemptible Shu Yan, my home is in Shujiazhuang, Ruyin County, Ruyin County." We will be colleagues in the future, and we will get along for a long time, so please take care of it. ”

Hearing Shu Yan so polite, everyone couldn't stop but concentrating:

"How dare you, how dare you. In the future, I will have to accept a lot of advice from Shu Cheng. ”

"I have heard Mr. Shu's name for a long time, like thunder, like thunder."

"Mr. Shu is a famous person in my Ruyin County, famous in Luoyang, and his voice moves the government and the opposition, which is the pride of my Ruyin people."

Shu Yan is a pragmatic person who doesn't like to procrastinate in anything. He was anxious to understand the current situation in Ruyin County, and he didn't want to compliment each other with these colleagues, but the real protagonist, Biyu Taishou, had not yet arrived, and it was a bit inappropriate for him to inquire about political affairs first, so he could only chat with these officials first.

waited until the beginning of noon, and did not see Biyu arrive. Everyone was a little hungry, so Master Du said: "Shi Taishou will probably not come before noon, the kitchen has already prepared the meal, please Shu Cheng eat first." ”

At that time, most people had two meals a day. The first meal is around the beginning of the morning and is called the morning meal; The second meal, when it is not claimed, is called food. Among the two meals, the first meal is the main one. In the official office, this meal is generally provided by the official family, which is equivalent to a working meal, and a meal in the afternoon is privately solved by oneself.

Since it was a working meal, of course Shu Yan was not polite, and he also expected that Biyu would not come, so he would have dinner with everyone first. When we arrived at the restaurant, everyone took their seats, and the cooks served the food one after another. First a bowl of wine, two bowls of white rice, then half a crucian carp, a plate of boiled soybeans, a plate of egg custard, a plate of mutton, and finally a bowl of soup.

Shu Yan didn't move his chopsticks first, and looked at Du Jian and the others: "Is your usual food like this?" ”

Everyone was asked by Shu Yan for no understanding - does this mean that the food is extravagant, or is the food not good enough? If you want to talk about the children of wealthy families, such meals can't be seen at all; But if you are in the homes of ordinary people, being able to eat these foods is equivalent to the New Year. In fact, these officials usually can't eat these, but they know that Biyu and Shu Yan came on the first day today, and they deliberately added vegetables. They also know Shu Yan's background, a child from a poor family, such a meal should be very standard. But thinking about it again, Shu Yan came out of the imperial court office in Luoyang, and the food there must be so good that it must be difficult to get used to it when he arrives in the local area. Horizontal and vertical is the welfare of the official family, who doesn't want to eat something good? If you think about it this way, you must think that the food is not good.

Thinking of this, Du Jian said: "Shu Cheng has seen the world in Luoyang, and it must not be comparable in the local area, and now the official treasury of Ruyin is a little nervous, or I will make do with some food today and wait for tomorrow ......."

"There is wine and meat, two meat and two vegetables, four dishes and one soup, is this still called making do with eating? Hmph, do you all eat like this on weekdays? ”

Oh, after saying this, everyone realized that Shu Yan was disgusted with excessive food. Although Confucius Youyun is "too much", it is better to be too much than not enough, right?

"Shu Cheng is strict and thrifty to cultivate morality, his subordinates have been taught, and he is not an example, but I don't know what standard a daily meal will be based on in the future, please make it clear."

The subordinates asked themselves for instructions, this should have been a matter for Taishou to decide, but Shu Yan, Biyu's virtue, knew too well, how could he be patient with this little thing? Rather than waiting for the request for instructions, it is better to decide on the spot. This is the first problem I encounter after taking up my new position, and I must be cautious.

Shu Yan thought about the situation when he was an official in the two official offices in Luoyang. On duty at Shangshutai, it is the emperor's imperial kitchen and official office to provide food, and the standard is the highest, which is natural; When I arrived at Taifu Temple, the standard dropped a little, but it was still not low, after all, it was also the official office of the imperial court. In the local area, it is very different, not only the level is not reached, but the government treasury is not sufficient. Although he had been an official in Ruyin before, Ruyin at that time, as a feudal state of the princes and kings, had a set of financial revenue and expenditure system, which could not be completely compared.

After thinking about it comprehensively, he said: "The place is different from the imperial court, and even the servants are different according to the products of each place, and the standard of meals is not fixed. I will set this rule for the time being: cereals, vegetables, and fruits follow the season, and what is produced locally, our county office will eat it; Two vegetarian dishes, one cold and one hot, are eaten only once a month; The staple food of millet and wheat beans is cheap, and the noodles are more expensive than rice, so they cannot be eaten often; And most importantly, alcohol should never be drunk while on duty, except on a festive day. ”

Everyone has some complaints about this rule set by Shu Yan secretly: it doesn't matter if you restrict dishes and don't eat fish, why do you even restrict staple foods? But complaining is complaining, and no one dares to say it clearly.

"Uh-oh." Du Jian laughed twice and said, "Write it down, write it down." Tomorrow he will command the cook to do so. Let's eat first, lest it get cold. Shu Cheng returned home thousands of miles and took up his new position, and we will toast a bowl first. ”

Everyone also followed Du Jian and raised the wine bowl to Shu Yan.

In the face of everyone's sincere respect, Shu Yan was really embarrassed, and if he refused stiffly, it would be very unsympathetic. But if you deal with these people for the first time, and don't show your attitude and determination, how can you continue to implement the rules and orders in the future? After thinking about it, he also picked up the wine bowl, but instead of drinking, he said: "Since the rules have been set, they will be implemented today, why wait until tomorrow?" The wine was poured back into the jar. If you want to drink, I will bring my own wine and dinner in the evening, and if everyone can afford me, I am welcome. ”

Everyone was holding a wine bowl, and they could only smell the wine, but they couldn't drink it, which was very embarrassing. However, seeing Shu Yan's resolute face, he was at a stalemate for a moment, and there was no way. A small official came over the wine jar, and Shu Yan took the lead and poured the wine into the wine jar one by one.

"Not only can you not drink wine, but you can't eat fish and meat."

"Shu Cheng, the wine can be poured back into the wine jar, since the fish and meat are ready, it will spoil if you don't eat it."

"Serve it to the servants below." Shu Yan pointed outside.

"What, serve it to the messenger to eat?"

These officials were originally dissatisfied with Shu Yanding's food standards, and when they heard this, they were very angry, and the thief Cao Shi was a short-tempered person, so he couldn't help but say: "Shu Cheng would rather serve it to the servants than give us food, what is the reason?" What kind of fish do they deserve to eat? ”

Shu Yan was stern and replied, "What do you call this?" What kind of prince will Xiangning have? The servants are also people, you can eat meat once a month, and they don't smell meat for three months! After saying that, he no longer passed through Master Du's book, but directly ordered the kitchen to remove the fish and meat, and then distribute it to the servants on duty.

The thief Cao Shi couldn't resist Shu Yan, he lost face, and he was so angry that he flicked his sleeves and went. Although some people are not satisfied, the rules must be followed.

These people never expected that they would be disarmed by Shu Yan when they first came into contact. It was very gentle when I was talking just now, but I didn't expect it to be so tough. I can't complain that he can take down the deep-rooted Qiu Shoutai in one fell swoop!

After everyone had eaten in a simple manner, they all went back to their respective Cao offices first.

Shu Yan also had nothing to do, so he could only take a nap next to the desk. Because I was anxious about Shujiazhuang's study, I couldn't settle down. He suddenly realized that Ruyin County had been vacant for many days, and in addition to Zhenxue, did he have many other things that needed to be dealt with?

I guess Biyu may not come today. Shu Yan knew that the Shi Mansion was in this Ruyin City, not far from the county office, so he planned to go to the mansion to invite this Taishou in person. Just about to leave, I felt that it was inappropriate: although the government affairs were urgent, the group had traveled a long distance and arrived at home only yesterday. Biyu and the eldest princess are cowardly and always have to rest. Let's just delay it by a day.

That night, Shu Yan spent his own money to buy some wine and food on the street and beckoned his colleagues to drink. These people thought that Shu Yan's words during the day were casually talked, but they didn't expect him to do what he said and come to be true. Shu Yan didn't remember it, and personally invited the thief Cao Shi to come. Everyone was reluctant at first, but when they saw Shu Yan's sincere invitation, of course they were happy. invited this meal, not only spent the money for wine, but also ate all the food brought by Xiao Mo. Be impartial in the hall and gather in private. These people are both happy and afraid of this new county man.

The next morning, Shu Yan saw Master Du and asked, "The county guard is absent, is there anything important in the county that needs to be dealt with these days?" ”

A home cannot be left without an owner for a day, and a country cannot be without a king for a day. If you don't have the head of the house, you can't do anything. These days, there are a lot of things that need to be dealt with in the county, and these officials are temporarily prevaricating, so how can they not be in a hurry! However, Master Du said very tactfully: "It is true that there is official business to wait for Shi Taishou to deal with, and the following matters can be postponed, but the boss Yuzhou has a few official documents that need to be replied to, and I can't be lazy." ”

"The things above must not be neglected, and the things below must not be neglected either. But Shi Taishou is very idle, and if he doesn't invite him, I'm afraid he won't come today. We'll wait until noon, and if it's not there, we'll have to take you with me. ”

At noon, of course, Biyu did not arrive.

Shu Yan took Du Jian, each rode a horse, and galloped to Shifu. The whole Ruyin City is not very big, and the Shi family is in the east of the county office, and it will be there in a short time.

After Biyu and the eldest princess Yong'an returned, the old mansion of the Shi family, which had been silent for more than ten years, became lively again. Some local families with some identities heard that Shi Hui's father and son were mixed smoothly in the court, and they married the royal family, which was much more expensive than before, so they all came to stammer.

Even after Shi Hui's family moved to Luoyang, the Shi family who stayed behind has always maintained contact with the Ruyin County Bureau. Although he looks down on those assistant officials in the county, the county officials are not as good as the current management, and the relationship still has to be maintained.

Shu Yan and Du Jian got off their horses and walked to the vermilion lacquer gate and asked to see Biyu. Of course, the Shi family knew Du Jian, and some knew Shu Yan, so they hurriedly bowed their hands and said, "It turned out to be two officials." My son-in-law has been instructed to have an appointment with Zuo Gongzi today, and I will not see him. But you two are different, and I'll go in and get back to you right away. ”

The words of the doorman were very flattering, but in fact, they still looked down on Shu Yan and Du Jian. If you really look up to them, you should have been invited to the hall a long time ago, while entertaining, while returning, how can there be a reason to let the distinguished guests wait outside the door?

After going to have a meal, the doorman came back and said: "My son-in-law said, he is tired, and there are guests at home, so he can't get out, and he will go to the acting office tomorrow morning." ”

The two saw that in front of Shi's house, there were constant carriages and horses, not only visitors, but also various farms and shops in the house. The Shi family has a big business, and it seems that they can't get out. No way, tomorrow is tomorrow.