Great Tang Idyll

Chapter 91: Change Tomorrow’s Meal Plan

 

Zhang Xiao’bao and Wang Juan were called over; they arrived quickly and also left quickly.
Father Zhang asked them a few things, and the two selectively answered certain questions without saying anything substantial.
This was mainly because Zhang Xiao’bao was afraid that if he said too much, his father would spend his entire day thinking about other things and wouldn't have the energy to study.
Even if people were found to help him in the Imperial Examination, he still needed to have true talent and intelligence.

The snacks were also taken back by them.
They were the ones that made the snacks, and they usually gave some to the people in the yard to eat.

“We did it, we’re going to make a lot of money this time.
This year, the whole county is designated as being affected by the disaster, and the output is cut by half.
There's no need to pay taxes and hand in extra silk.
Only a few weeks of labor needs to be contributed.
We can discuss with the Ge Manor and ask the magistrate to restore the river over there.

 

Using our own people to complete restoration projects is considered to be work that had to be  completed annually anyway.
We would also be able to get some project funding and more.
We should  make the river wider, but it shouldn't take up any fertile land.
Let’s go eat beef bone marrow, it’s still fresh.”

 

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Zhang Xiao’bao felt that he had helped the family accomplish a great task so he was happy.
While talking, he hopped his way to the kitchen like a child.

 

Wang Juan froze in place for two seconds, and then ran over.
“Stop thinking about the project funds.
Let’s restore the river properly.
What if there’s a flood tomorrow? We can’t fool around with our own home.
The money sent down to us might not be a lot.
An amount will be stripped away at each level, so by the time it reaches our hands, there might not be a lot left.”

 

The two were discussing how much money will be allocated to them this time, how much money Magistrate Cheng can distribute to here and how the little river would end up looking like.
Just like this, they arrived at the kitchen one after another.
Inside the kitchen, someone had already taken out the bone marrow from a few bones and put them on a plate for the two little masters to eat.

The cow died from falling and people were immediately found to check it out.
Junior Officer Qi and Elder Feng came and they saw that the bailiff from the administrative office was there too.
They had a look at the cow and confirmed that the cow did die from the fall.
Each of them carried two catties of beef given by the manor and happily left.

When the bailiff left, he also took the cow head and a small slice of beef so that when he returned home, he could cook some beef soup to drink.
Knowing that his wife was pregnant, they also gave him the tendons from half of a hoof to take home to eat.
When his wife has morning sickness, she would feel better if she chewed on it.

The bailiff’s eyes almost teared up when he received it.
Before leaving, he left a few words and told them that if there were any problems, they should go find him and they will tell his brothers to come help.
In the future, if another cow died, he would come over to confirm the death.
Even if the cow accidently fell onto a knife, he would still let them pass. 

The rest of the meat was taken back to the master family’s yard and some was sent to the Wang family.
The people in the inner yard had a meal of beef stew with radish.
There was not a lot of meat in it but there was more than enough radish.
The beef bones were saved for Zhang Xiao’bao and Wang Juan.
The remaining meat was chilled, and could occasionally be cooked for the family in the future.

“Young Master, do you think this amount of bone marrow is enough?” When the people in the kitchen saw the two little masters coming, all of the knives were put away, and the stove was also carefully watched.
The person in charge of the kitchen brought the plate to Zhang Xiao’bao and Wang Juan, and he respectfully greeted them.

Zhang Xiao’bao looked at it; there were six strips of bone marrows of different lengths and thicknesses on the plate.
He nodded, “Yeah, that’s good, it’s enough.
It’s enough for me and Juan’juan to eat.
Was this made recently? Make some more and steam it in the wok.
Then, mix in broth; don’t put in too much salt.
Add some green onion and coriander and then serve it to my family and the Wang family.
Oh, for one of the bowls, remember to not add coriander; my grandma doesn’t like it.
Instead, finely mince some ginger, my grandma likes that taste.”

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The person in charge of the kitchen immediately made the arrangements while lamenting that his grandson was also two years old, but he spends his entire day pestering his family for this and for that.
Never has he ever let his family have a taste of the food that he was about to eat.
On the other hand, the Young Master and the Young Miss would always think of their families when they had something good.
They even remembered the Old Grandmother’s preferences.
Comparisons cannot be simply made. 

 By the time Zhang Xiao’bao and Wang Juan had finished eating the bone marrow at noon and were taking a nap, Zhou Kong had already arrived at the Qin Family's village.
He was more urgent on his way back because he feared that those people would realize that he had left, and he would have to spend effort explaining himself.

He followed behind the bailiffs that were waiting outside the mountain.
When he entered the village while appearing to be travel-worn, Magistrate Cheng immediately greeted him, and then arranged a place for him to rest and food for him to eat.

The officials who are still working here were bone-tired and exhausted.
There was no spot on their body that did not ache.
When they ate last night, they were not picky anymore and ate whatever they were given.
When they slept at night, they were split up to stay at separate houses, so even until now, they did not realize that one person was missing.

The two Deputy Chiefs worked on easier jobs.
They wandered around together, and from time to time, they pointed out to the villagers what was good to plant.
In particular, the Deputy Chief of the Ministry of Work helped someone in the village to draw a picture of a noria and told them to build one based on the picture.
With that built, it would be easier for them to retrieve water from the pond.

Naturally, the food they ate was better.
Surprisingly, today at noon, they were able to eat a total of three dishes, two had meat and one had vegetables, and a soup.
For more than a day, they didn’t see the Cang Jun from the Prefecture and when they asked about him, they were told that he was arranged to do other work.

When Zhou Kong came back, he pulled Magistrate Cheng to the side to speak to him first.
The bailiffs and them were not in a hurry to make an appearance since they wanted the officials to do more work.
If they become more tired, they are less likely to make a scene.
The bailiffs knew that the officials were tired enough from walking such a long distance, but as long as they get proper rest on the next day, they would recover almost completely. 

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However, on the next day, they spent the entire day doing manual labor so they must be sore and in pain.
If they worked continuously for a few more days, they might get used to it.
But they only had to work for one more day, and then could return the next day.
That kind of sensation is beyond imagination.
By then, they might have to be spoon fed by other people because they can’t even lift their arms.

“Lord Zhou, have you settled the matter this time?” Magistrate Cheng asked Zhou Kong to sit down.
He poured some warm wine, and pushed the bowl to the front of Zhou Kong.

“Yes, there were two small affairs.
One was about Little Hu's business, but I’m not taking part in that and it’s good enough for Little Hu to just follow what they do.
The other was about the restaurant they’re building on the river since there is no water there right now.
Once it’s complete, I’ll go there to have a look and give them support.
As for the last matter, I would need Magistrate Cheng’s help.”

Zhou Kong was indeed tired and he was thirsty.
He picked up the bowl as he said these words, and then raised his head and drank the entire bowl.
He let out a long breath, and finally, he felt comfortable.

Magistrate Cheng helped him fill the bowl with wine again and asked, “I wonder what help can i offer? Could it be about the tax exemption because of the natural crisis? This is a small matter.
The county was indeed affected by the disaster.”

“It's not this matter.
When summer fall comes, I need you to accompany me.
It might be Tai’hang Mountains, or He’nan.
The drought at those two places and the surrounding areas are much worse than here, and there might also be a locust plague.
The Zhang Manor prepared a lot of grains and are waiting to use it to relieve the crisis.
They even have some chickens and ducks that can also be sent to eat locusts.

 

With this done, the lands of the one hundred residents can be saved.
Then, you can send in a report, and I’ll send in one too.
There were two auspicious omens, the curved plough, and the gifts you gave the people during the New Year.
You will definitely receive a lot of praise.
However, a bit more is lacking if you want to be given a new government position.
If you follow me this time, you will have enough achievements.
When the time comes, your ranking might even become higher than mine.”

Zhou Kong spoke enviously.
He was now helping Magistrate Cheng, and later, the people at the Zhang Manor from will also help himself.
In fact, the help they offered him last night was a significant favor already.
It turned out to be about the replacement of the prime minister.
If someone else told him this, he would naturally not believe it, but after seeing what those two masterminds have done in the past, he couldn’t help but keep their words on his mind.

Magistrate Cheng immediately understood what he meant.
It turns out that the people on the Manor had these plans.
No wonder he was asked to help delay until the summer and fall.
This was going to be a great accomplishment.
Regardless of who will supply the grain at that time, as long as it is from the San’shui County, he would get a share of the credit for just showing up.

“Thank you Lord Zhou for telling me.
I wonder who will be sent down to take care of the affairs this time? If you can say a few nice words, then the matters on my side will be more secure.
I wonder what the two masterminds look like?”

Magistrate Cheng also envied Zhou Kong now since he had an opportunity to be able to meet those two masterminds.

Zhou Kong shook his head disappointedly.
“I didn't get to see them either.
Those two were really amazing.
Before I even had the chance to say that I wanted to meet them, they had already sent someone to resolve my suspicions while I was enjoying my meal.
They were really good at making predictions.
I can’t tell you much about the rest, but you just need to remember that when you go over there during summer fall, don’t get too close to the Right Prime Minister1, just be a good subordinate to your superiors, and vice versa.”

“By saying that, you mean Yao…will retire successfully?” Magistrate Cheng was taken aback and he was a little puzzled.
Right now, that person was still well trusted by the higher ups, so why will he lose power? He still had suspicions on his mind.

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It suddenly occurred to him that the two masterminds of the Zhang Manor didn’t tell him about this, and instead they told Zhou Kong.
It had nothing to do with himself.
This also meant that those people felt that his position was too low and there was no need for him to know about this.
It was really possible that if he did not do a good job, he would end up like this too, so he had to be careful.

When Magistrate Cheng wanted to ask more, he realized that Zhou Zheng had started eating already, so he had to suppress the doubt in his heart.
He planned to somehow ask these questions when he accompanied him during the disaster relief later on.

The two chatted a bit more.
After eating, Zhou Kong laid down and rested, and Magistrate Cheng left.
When it was almost night, they found Village Chief Qin and whispered a few words to him.

When those officials, who had been working for two full days, dragged their tired bodies back to eat, they were told to gather together.
They suddenly realized that the food on the table had changed.
It was no longer the hard-to-swallow rice balls and instead, it was garlic chive pockets2.
It was no wonder that the area smelled so fragrant just now.

There were more dishes too.
The bitter and astringent pickled vegetables were gone, and it was replaced with three dishes— stir-fried meat with mushrooms, fried eggs with scallions, and steamed carrot with sauce.
There was also a bowl of wild vegetable soup with a lot of oil floating in it.
Bitter wild vegetables were not used this time; instead, cat ears, which was also called Qing’ming grass3, were used.
This was used in the garlic chive pockets and the cat ear soup to make it taste more savory and delicious.

The officials each sat there and did not dare to move their chopsticks because they feared that these people had ulterior motives.

“My lords, I have returned.
Tomorrow morning, all of my lords can enjoy the beauty of the mountains and rivers here without having to work.” The bailiff appeared in front of everyone at this time and explained.

 

Translator's Notes

 

Right Prime Minister 右丞相

In the Imperial Court, there were two prime minsters.
One prime ministers stood to the right of the Emperor and is called the Right/Main Prime Minister, while the other prime minister stood to the left and is called the Left/Vice Prime Minister.
The position of the Right Prime Minister is above the Left Prime Minister

 

Garlic chive pockets 小根菜盒子

This is a dish that slightly resembles calzones, but rather than being baked in the oven, it is cooked on the stove top and does not use leavened dough. 

 

cat ears, which was also called Qing’ming grass 猫耳朵，又叫清明草

This refers to the plant Gnaphalium affine D.Don.
The ground up form of this plant is commonly used in foods like mochi, rice-flour pastries, and scallion pancakes for the distinctive green color and unique flavor.