Chapter five hundred and eighty third my master has a request
"What a pity. If you were on the same team as me, with Master Xiao Zhu's talents, Master Xiao Zhu's palm seal would be in Master Xiao Zhu's pocket."
Feng Bao, who was hanging under the willows hanging from the palace wall and dressed in gorgeous internal prison clothes, highly praised Zhu Ping'an's suggestions.
"Ahem!" Zhu Ping'an almost choked when he heard this. The Chief of Ceremonies was a eunuch, and he was not as interested in castrating himself to enter the palace as Wei Zhongxian.
"Haha, the Za family is not joking anymore. It is a blessing for us eunuchs that Mr. Xiao Zhu does not join our profession. Otherwise, we would have no way to survive." Feng Bao covered his lips with his hand and smiled, with bright eyes under his black eyebrows.
Glowing like a small flame dancing in the dark night.
After listening to Zhu Pingan's suggestion, Feng Bao completely let go of the burden in his heart. The Sword of Damocles above his head was also wiped out. He felt very relaxed. After this incident, his relationship with Zhu Pingan became closer.
, seemed to have become sworn friends, and couldn't help but joke with Zhu Pingan.
"My father-in-law is joking." Zhu Pingan shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "Ping An is just a fluke."
"Sir Xiao Zhu, there is no need to be modest. If it hadn't been for Mr. Xiao Zhu's guidance today, the Zajia family would have died soon. The Zajia family will never forget the grace of saving their lives, and their gratitude is beyond words. In short, whenever Mr. Xiao Zhu has something to do in the future, the Zajia family will never be embarrassed.
Raise your eyebrows." After the joke, Feng Bao, full of gratitude, solemnly saluted again and made a vow from the bottom of his heart.
After bidding farewell to Feng Bao, who was grateful for his kindness, Zhu Pingan turned back to the Hanlin Academy. In the eyes of everyone in the Hanlin Academy who were either gloating or showing sympathy, Zhu Pingan went to the library as usual after saying hello to all the Hanlin people.
When he came out of the Library Pavilion, Zhu Pingan brought two books, "Research on the Foreign Tribes of the Northern Barbarians" and "Ora Food and Goods Records", which were also registered on the Library Pavilion's borrowing list.
Regarding the library management system, of course you must lead by example.
After leaving the Hanlin Academy, Zhu Pingan went to the restaurant where he and other Hanlin officials had gone before. He had a simple lunch and asked about the banquet. The shopkeeper gave him a discount, and Zhu Pingan paid with satisfaction.
I paid a deposit of two taels of silver and made a reservation for the banquet ten days later.
No matter how many people from the Hanlin Academy came to the banquet, the process still had to go through. I was starting a family and starting a business in Xiahe, so I had to host a banquet and inform my colleagues.
Zhu Ping'an left the Hanlin Academy and took a detour to Zixuan Hutong to Zhang Siweina, intending to briefly explain to Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen about his visit to the Ministry of Punishment today. Zixuan Hutong was a very popular alley in the Ming Dynasty at this time. The street was wide and lined with both sides.
The shops are also large in size, and many official families have businesses on this street.
There was no urban management in the Ming Dynasty, so along Zixuan Hutong there were many hawkers, shirtless uncles carrying goods, and old men hawking goods, which made the whole Hutong extremely lively.
The melons and fruits in May are fragrant, and watermelons, melons, and lychees are all on the market, not much later than modern times. Wild river delicacies are rippling in the barrels, and farmer's snails are plump in May. Zhu Ping'an wants to buy some.
Brought it back to the Hou Mansion.
But thinking that I was staying at the Marquis Mansion, and that the Marquis Mansion had rules for purchasing ingredients, I put aside this idea.
"Watermelon, sweet and big watermelon!" A simple-dressed old man on the street pulled a cart of watermelons and stopped not far from Zhu Pingan, shouting one after another.
Watermelon has become very common in the Ming Dynasty. Li Shizhen, who is still working in Taiyuan Hospital, later wrote when writing Compendium of Materia Medica: "According to Hu Qiao who got the melon seed in Huihe, it was named watermelon. Watermelon first entered China in the Five Dynasties;
Today they are found in both the north and the south."
Hearing the old man selling watermelon, Zhu Pingan felt very cordial. In modern times, watermelon is one of Zhu Pingan's favorite fruits. In the hot summer dormitory, he would buy a watermelon, eat it with a spoon, and then soak it in a bowl.
The watermelon absorbs the excess fat in the instant noodles, and the instant noodles absorb the sweetness of the watermelon. Coupled with the time of brewing, an excellent watermelon instant noodles will definitely make people enjoy it.
The watermelons at this time are ten and a half months earlier than the watermelons that normally go on the market. The price is more expensive. It is estimated that they are early-season watermelons grown with hot spring water.
When Zhu Ping'an walked to the old man's watermelon stall, many people had already gathered around the old man to ask about the price. At this time, ordinary watermelons were not yet on the market and were rare, so everyone was very interested.
"Hot spring watermelon, six cents per catty, guaranteed to be sweet. If it's not sweet, you'll get your money back." The old man was very confident in his own melons, and he promised to the onlookers that they would not charge money if they were not sweet.
"Six articles?"
"It's so expensive, it's enough to buy three kilograms of peaches."
"The lychees shipped from the south are only five cents. These six cents per pound are almost as good as pork. Forget it."
After hearing the price, the onlookers backed down one after another, feeling that the price was too expensive and it was not cost-effective to buy at this time. If they had to wait another ten days or so for the watermelons grown by melon farmers in the suburbs of Beijing to come on the market, the price would be half the price.
More.
It was better to wait a little longer or buy some other fruits, so everyone shook their heads and walked away.
Seeing that people were leaving one after another, the old man hurriedly stretched out his hands to persuade him to stay, but the effect was not great, and people still shook their heads and left.
The uncle looked at everyone's backs and sighed in frustration. He also pointed out that these watermelons could be sold at a good price, and then he could find a wife for his son.
After discovering hot springs from the mountain last year, the old man was overjoyed. When he worked part-time at a wealthy family in Dongcheng District, he accidentally learned about the method of growing watermelons in hot springs from a steward. So, the old man bought an acre of abandoned farmland at the foot of the mountain.
In Shadi, I spent half the winter plowing the land and digging ditches with my sons, without even doing part-time work. I just hope that I can make more money by selling these watermelons that are on the market in advance, so that I can find a wife for my eldest son, and then my second son next year.
Then there is the younger son.
Fortunately, the watermelon cultivation was very successful. It ripened half a month earlier than other watermelons and tasted sweeter.
However, we encountered problems when selling watermelons.
We started selling watermelons yesterday. I pulled a whole cart of watermelons. Yesterday, I only sold five watermelons in one day. I was trying to be fresh. Today is not as good as yesterday. The place has changed to two, but not a single watermelon was sold.
go out.
"Old man, is this melon sweet?"
Just when the old man was feeling lost, he heard a young man's voice.
"Sweet, sweet," the old man replied repeatedly. He looked up and saw a young gentleman in official uniform, standing in front of the car and looking at him with a smile.
"Six cents per pound?" Zhu Pingan picked up a watermelon, knocked it, looked at the old man with a smile and asked.
"It's my blessing that the old man can take a fancy to the little old man's watermelon. He doesn't charge any money." Suddenly he saw Zhu Ping'an in official uniform. The old man selling the melons had a reserved look on his face, and his hands and feet felt a little confused.
Why did I let go? I was so nervous and scared.
It is the survival instinct of ordinary people not to fight with officials.
Anyone who is an official is superior, and it is not something ordinary people like them can afford to offend.
"Haha, if the melon is not sweet, I won't give it to you even if you ask me." Zhu Ping'an smiled, "If it is sweet, I won't lose a penny."
"Hehehe, it's guaranteed to be sweet, it's guaranteed to be sweet." Looking at Zhu Pingan's gentle smile, the old man also grinned.
"Master Zhu, my master has invited me, and I would also like to ask you to show me your face upstairs."
While Zhu Pingan was picking melons, a boy suddenly came over, walked up to Zhu Pingan, pointed to the restaurant across the street and invited him.
oh?
When Zhu Ping'an heard this, he looked up and saw a door opened in the private room on the second floor of the restaurant opposite, revealing a pretty face. (To be continued.)