It is another year to remove the old year, and Xijing City has been peaceful for many years, so every time the year is closed, it is naturally lively, and a wide street is bustling with people.

Although the drought in the first two years made the whole of Dachu difficult to live by, after two years of recuperation and recuperation, the life of the people of Dachu has gradually returned to normal.

In the crowd, a young scribe with a white fan and a white shirt poured into an inn with the flow of people.

"Yo, I'm back from shopping, let's still follow yesterday's dishes today?"

The young scribe had just stepped into the inn, and immediately a junior ran over to greet him before and after the saddle, from this it can be seen that this should be a gold owner, otherwise how could he be so attentive with the philistine vision of the shopkeeper?

However, there is nothing bad about such philistines, they are all just to support their families, and since small families are small households, they must not have the atmosphere that only those rich and noble families have.

"Yesterday, I was tired of eating those dishes, you went to Manxiang Mansion to run for me, bought me four dishes and one soup plus a pot of wine according to the previous rules, and gave you a reward of fifty wen at that time. ”

"Gotcha!"

Hearing the young scribe's orders, the shopkeeper ran out without even caring about the business in the inn, and fifty yuan was enough to cover his five days' wages, and he had worked hard for the shopkeeper for more than ten years without getting so much reward.

And the shopkeeper standing at the counter didn't stop him after seeing it, first, this shopkeeper is really smart and clever enough on weekdays, and his legs and feet are also diligent and neat, and he has attracted a lot of old customers, and today he has the opportunity to earn some extra money to supplement his family, so he will go with him.

Fifty yuan is naturally nothing for a big family like a young scribe, but if this fifty yuan is paid by him, I am afraid that I will be talked about by the mother-in-law at home for several days after I go back.

The second reason is that the shopkeeper does not want to offend the young scholar because of these inconsequential trivialities, he has been living in the inn for more than two months in a row, and he doesn't know how long he will live in the future, this business has made the innkeepers on the same street red for a long time.

If this makes him unhappy, he turns his head and changes the inn, isn't it still him who is crying, especially in these years for that little bit of family property, he has learned a lot, and he still knows the lesser of two evils.

The shopkeeper went and came back quickly, but after half a cup of tea, he ran back with a food box.

"Childe, this meal is still hanging on your account as usual, the shopkeeper of Manxianglou said, let you raise your feet to settle the account once in half a month. ”

The young scribe nodded slightly, and at this time, the shopkeeper hurriedly came to his table and set the meal for him.

"Childe, little dare to ask, what are you doing in the capital, I haven't seen Childe do anything serious for two months. ”

The shopkeeper who retreated to the side with the food box scratched his head a little embarrassed.

"Hehe, I'm not afraid of Childe's jokes, I may not have that ability to say that I want to help Childe do something, but I may know more about some of the twists and turns in the capital than Childe, if Childe has any difficulties, you might as well tell the little one, maybe I can think of a way for Childe or something!"

Maybe he felt that this reward came too easily, so the shopkeeper was extremely embarrassed to say his thoughts, but he himself knew that he was just a shopkeeper, and if these words fell into the ears of other guests, he was afraid that he would be ridiculed by the good students.

But this son is cultivated at first glance, and he shouldn't say those hurtful words, and it is precisely for this reason that he dares to speak.

"Little brother's kindness is in my heart, I didn't come to the capital to do something, but to wait for someone, now the time has not come, when the time comes, the person I am waiting for will come." ”

Hearing that this scholar not only did not blame himself for talking too much, but also called him a little brother, the heart of the shopkeeper was instantly sweeter than eating honey, and he seemed to be happier than he got a reward of fifty wen.

The young scribe stretched out his chopsticks and picked up a piece of crispy duck, which is the signature dish of Man Xiang Lou, and put it in his mouth to savor it.

And the reason why this dish can become one of the signature dishes of Manxianglou is estimated to be half due to its knife work, and its price is even more prohibitive for many people.

This crispy duck dish is only eighteen slices in total, but the slices are as thin as cicada wings, just one glance is enough to make people's tongue shine.

After chewing the piece of duck in his mouth and swallowing it, the young scribe continued.

"When the time comes, the person I'm waiting for should come. ”

It was at this time that a servant dressed as a servant ran in from outside the door of this inn, and he first glanced at everyone in the inn, and then shouted loudly.

"May I ask which one is the son of Lu Dongshu. ”

"I am!"

Lu Dongshu, who only had time to eat a bite of duck, replied softly, the little guy first glanced at him suspiciously, and only when he really felt that the person in front of him had the same bookish aura as his own master, he spoke.

"This evening, my lord is invited!"

"Brother Lao has delivered the news. ”

"Do you know who my master is?"

Lu Dongshu, who came all the way from Jiangnan, put down his chopsticks.

"Yes. ”

Hearing the answer, the little guy who originally wanted to show off immediately closed his mouth, if he lost this errand for the sake of a momentary addiction, he was afraid that he would find a pillar and die.

He turned around and left very interestingly, and did not stay for a moment, and it was precisely for this reason that he did not see Lu Dongshu's hand trembling slightly because of excessive force grasping the wine glass.

"Five years in Jiangnan and two months in Beijing, I got a chance to meet, but what made me most uncomfortable was that I was upset after knowing the news!"

He tilted his head and took a sip of wine, full of self-deprecation.

"It's still not good to be at home!"

......

When Lu Dongshu, who was only in his twenties, stood in front of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he suddenly felt that this was a little unreal.

At the beginning, he wanted to go astray, and wanted to become Chen Wang's disciple and then come to Beijing to win opportunities, but later the kid Chen Xici was waiting for told him a truth:

How do you know if you don't try it? Is it because someone has told you that it doesn't work? But even if you don't have a road, you can't dig a way out of it yourself?

Looking at the remnant sun in the west, Lu Dongshu didn't cover his eyes with his hands, but just squinted a little uncomfortably.

"Everything is difficult at the beginning, it depends on whether we can open an opening for that road today. ”

Step by step up the steps, Lu Dongshu opened the door before he could knock on the door, and the little guy he had seen during the day walked out and said respectfully.

"Childe, my lord has been waiting for a long time. ”

"I'm tired. ”

After leaving the inn during the day, the little guy reacted in hindsight, can the person who can be invited by his own master be a simple person? It is also good that he did not offend him during the day, if he said a few words in front of the master, I am afraid that he will be transferred to wash the latrine tonight.

Under the leadership of the Su Mansion gatekeeper, Lu Dongshu walked all the way to the depths of the Su Mansion, and in the garden, he saw a young man about the same age as him.

Neither of them spoke, smiling and nodding before they passed by.

When he walked to the courtyard where Su Wang's study was located, the little servant stopped in his tracks.

"Childe, the master is in the study inside, we can't go in without permission, Childe, you can just go in by yourself. ”

After nodding to the porter, Lu Dongshu raised his feet and walked into the courtyard, and when he came to the door of the study, he pulled up the ring on the door and knocked lightly three times.

"Enter. ”

After pushing open the door, Lu Dongshu directly saw Su Wang sitting on the main seat, the old man was still the same as five years ago, but his spirit was not as good as before.

A chair was placed in front of Su Wang's desk, and there were no books on the desk in front of him, but two dishes and chopsticks and a pot of green vegetable and tofu soup were surprisingly placed.

"Come and Sit"

After Lu Dongshu came over and sat down, Su Wang looked at the pot of green vegetable and tofu soup that was still steaming and said.

"I have hung you for two months in vain, what complaints do you have in your heart?"

Lu Dongshu was interrupted by Su Wang as soon as he wanted to speak.

"Don't say it, I won't listen to it anyway. ”

Lu Dongshu smiled dumbly.

Although there are some complaints, but fortunately, there are two restaurants, Manxiang and Fusheng, and I feel a little uncomfortable, but I finally satisfy some of my appetites. ”

"I called you here today mainly to invite you to a bowl of this green vegetable and tofu soup. ”

Su Wang really didn't pay attention to Lu Dongshu's feelings, but changed the topic by himself, and served Lu Dongshu a bowl of soup while talking.

"Governing a big country is like cooking a small fresh, just like this simple green vegetable and tofu soup, no matter how outstanding a chef makes it, it is a taste, but how to add some other flavors to its original taste, this is the foundation of whether a chef can be called a chef. ”

handed the soup that only half a bowl was in his hand to Lu Dongshu, and there was a vegetable leaf and half a piece of tofu floating in it.

"And if you want to be a chef, you must start as an apprentice, even if you already have the ability to be a chef, you have to endure it for me first, the position of the chef in the middle of the court is limited, if the people above do not abdicate, no matter how powerful you are, you can only endure it below, and the public cultivation is not bad at all compared to the world's knowledge. ”

"It's a good soup. ”

This time it was Su Wang's turn to laugh dumbly.

"I know you know the truth, but in the end you are still a young man, many things even if you understand how to do it is the most correct, but you will still involuntarily do things according to your own extreme ideas, this is a public taboo! Remember!

Pick up the piece of tofu and put it in your mouth, the mouth is tender and smooth, it is broken before you can chew it with your teeth, and then you mix it with a mouthful of soup and swallow it, it is really delicious.

In line with the attitude of drinking soup seriously when he was invited to drink soup, Lu Dongshu waited silently for Su Wang's next words, and after Lu Dongshu ate the piece of tofu, Su Wang continued.

"There are some things that you have to experience for yourself to know, now let's talk about why you want to become an official in the court! I remember you wanted to say it five years ago. ”

Lu Dongshu put the bowl back on the table.

"If it had been five years ago, I might have had a lot to say, but today, what I want to say is relatively simple: I have two sparse and one strategy for governing the country!

Lu Dongshu waved his long sleeves, and his arrogance was revealed.

"In the territory of Dachu, there is the Bianhe River in Bianzhou, and there is Huaishui in the south of the Yangtze River, but unfortunately the two are not connected, but if the two rivers can be connected by artificial digging, and then spread to Lingzhou, Yuzhou and other places farther away, at that time, the water transportation of Dachu will run through the world, from Liaodong to Xijing, and it will no longer be an empty word!"

After talking about the canal, Lu Dongshu was already extremely excited, it seems that Su Wang is not wrong about one thing, this Lu Dongshu is calm enough on the surface, but he is still a young man in his bones.

"Speaking of academies, Jiangnan literary style is the most prosperous, but the size of the academy together is only dozens, Jiangnan is still like this, you can imagine what the situation will be in other places, a few years ago I saw the opening of the Jinghua Academy in the court, and thought that the imperial court was to pass on the learning in the world, but unfortunately there was no movement after the Jinghua Academy. It's a pity!"

Su Wang would not tell him why the academy incident started and why it stopped, and when he encountered these problems himself, he would understand how difficult it was to accomplish something.

Not everyone in the DPRK is Lu Xiangrui, and not everyone is Lu Dongshu!

"Finally, let's talk about it!"

Different from the previous excitement, Lu Dongshu quieted down at this time, and even had some sadness in his tone.

Nowadays, the more officials and the richer the people are, the less taxes they pay, but the poor families who lack land pay more taxes! Just like the drought of the previous year, I dare to guarantee that the grain eaten in that whole year was less than half of the old grain in the world, but those who had grain in their hands would rather have rice rotten in the warehouse than take it out to save people! Why? I'd rather feed the grain and rice to Shejun than save the people of the world!" (Note: Shejun, another name for a mouse.) ）

Lu Dongshu's eyes showed some resentment, as well as that disgust with rotten policies.

"If there is a day when I can stand on the highest place, I will re-measure the land in the world! Every household is divided into grades and pays taxes according to the mu, and all officials, wealthy businessmen and businessmen are equal, and there must be no situation of underpayment and underpayment! Violators will be prosecuted!"

After listening to the first two items, Su Wang's eyes did not have any waves, and it was not until the tax policy came out that there was a different look in his eyes.

"Canals, academies, and taxes! These three are all good ways to benefit the country, and it is enough for an official to be able to do one thing well in his life, but are you sure that you have the ability to do all three things well?"

Su Xiang said this is a joke, the predecessors planted trees and the descendants enjoyed the shade, but the predecessors can't finish the work of the descendants, just those three things can create immortal feats for eternity, we only need to lay a good foundation for the descendants, and the slow improvement of the content will depend on them to complete. ”

Su Wang touched his whitened beard and nodded.

"Yes, you can't be a fat man in one bite, but there is one more thing I must tell you, you can eat as much as you can, I don't care about the canal and the academy, but you had better rot in my stomach first! Don't leak it before you become a chef, I don't want to finish talking to you tonight, and tomorrow you will be thrown into a mass grave." ”

"Thank you Su Xiang for your advice!"

This is a life-saving grace that must be remembered.

"Tomorrow morning, you go to the Criminal Department to report first, and someone will naturally arrange for you at that time!"

......

Fu Rui thirty-one years, winter.

After five years and two months of hard study, Lu Dongshu finally got his wish and put on the official uniform, the official rank is not high, and even some are not in the stream.

But he didn't think there was anything wrong, he thought that he had a lot of knowledge in his belly, and he had a lot of strategies, but just like Su Wang said last night, he could be said to know nothing about public cultivation.

Lu Dongshu remembered very well that when he walked to the door of the yamen of the Criminal Department, he was greeted by a member of the Criminal Department who was a member of the Criminal Department, and that person's attitude towards him was neither humble nor harsh.

It seems that Su Wang did say hello to the Criminal Department, but it is estimated that it is only a casual mention at most, not to mention the chief official of the Criminal Department, not even the squire has seen one.

The outsider took him to a desk and said a few words before turning around and leaving, while Lu Dongshu sat down and stroked every corner of the table.

The workmanship of this table is very rough, and it is not at all comparable to the exquisite nanmu desks at home, but this table carries his dreams.

"Finally came in!"