Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!

Chapter 358: Chapter 358 Vegetarianism_1

Noon at the Zhou residence, a small chicken stewed with mushrooms was served along with white rice and cold mixed cabbage. Zhulan had Xing Hua take ground cornmeal and cabbage and potatoes to the servants in the back house so that they could prepare their own meal.

Zhulan did not command anyone to take charge—it was her desire to see how the newly purchased twenty servants would manage without explicit orders.

The queue for food distribution at the entrance of the government office remained. Although the food provided by the government office was old grain, it was genuine food without any filler such as stones or sand. Many of the common people, grateful for receiving the grain, kneeled and kowtowed at the entrance of the government office.

In just one morning, Zhou Shuren, the new prefect, had won much public favor. A sincere official truly devoted to the people’s welfare, Zhou Shuren’s reputation among the common folk spread quickly as they all knew the grain was brought by the new prefect.

Deputy Magistrate Chen Chen felt somewhat displeased inside. He had also put a lot of effort into caring for the people of Lizhou Province but had not earned a good reputation; instead, he had gained a number of curses. His lips were pressed into a line, and then he sighed internally. He knew if he switched places with Zhou Shuren, he wouldn’t have had the courage to spend the fifty thousand taels of silver provided by the imperial court on the road, even though he hated to admit it, he still had to recognize that Prefect Zhou was bolder and had more ideas than him.

Zhou Shuren had been hungry for a while. Once Er Yue had set the table with food, he addressed the standing Chen Chen and He Yun, ”Both officials have worked hard today, please sit down and eat.”

Chen Chen’s gaze lingered on the chicken soup; he swallowed hard at the sight of the ginseng chicken soup. To avoid being reported for indulging in luxurious food, despite having silver at home, he dared not buy meat or fish. Later, for safety, he decreed that his whole family should be vegetarian, and they had been for over a month. That very morning, he had smelled the scent of sausage on Prefect Zhou’s breath, a true torment.

Circuit Intendant He Yun’s household was also vegetarian and consistently ate coarse grains. They had not had white rice for a long time. Swallowing, he said, ”Prefect Zhou, with the common folk still outside getting their grain, wouldn’t it be improper for us to be eating chicken and sausage?”

While saying this, his eyes fixed greedily on the chicken and sausage, making his spoken concerns seem wholly unpersuasive.

Zhou Shuren had only found out today through conversation that all the officials of the government office were vegetarians. They had done this out of fear for their lives, and he had been wondering why the officials of Lizhou City were all so lean; he was puzzled since the plight of Lizhou City did not concern the officials, who were not the penniless common people. After learning the truth, he was speechless. Why bother with vegetarianism when they could have donated some silver and pleased the Emperor even more? He would bet that the vegetarianism of the officials of Lizhou City had surely angered the Emperor!

Zhou Shuren coughed, ”It’s fine. There will be a lot to do for Lizhou City in the future. If we don’t maintain good health, how will we be able to help solve the common people’s problems?”

He Yun sat down promptly, ”The official is right.”

He thought to himself that after indulging in meat this afternoon, he would have his servants go to Chuanzhou Province to buy meat and vegetables. Prefect Zhou was not only the savior of the common people but his as well. He was a person who could not live without meat, and the past month had been difficult; he lost the weight he had put on!

Chen Chen also sat down. After all, with Prefect Zhou, who was highly regarded by the Emperor, taking the lead, they could justify strengthening their bodies, ”Prefect Zhou makes sense, please help yourself.”

Zhou Shuren was not the sort to stand on ceremony; he used his chopsticks to pick up a chicken drumstick. He always liked the meatier parts. ”Please go ahead.”

Since the drumstick was in his bowl, if it weren’t for the fact that it would look bad to take two for himself, he would have wished for the other one as well.

Chen Chen and He Yun didn’t hold back either, their chopsticks moving speedily.

In the end, the five dishes were cleaned out completely, and the pot of chicken soup was emptied.

In the afternoon at Zhou residence, Zhulan did not take a nap but went straight to meet the newly purchased servants.

Twenty people stood in the courtyard; two little fellows who were not very big stood quite upright. Zhulan was not heartless enough to make three- or four-year-old children stand in the sun, so she signaled to Xing Hua and Jing Zhe to take the two little ones to a shady spot.

Zhulan’s action was only to reassure Ding family, but it would not move them. Having experienced being sold before and the head of the family having been a steward, the family was very rational.

Zhulan sipped her tea while looking over the eighteen people in the courtyard. Their clothes were all freshly changed, given by Zhulan herself, but this time there was no one skilled in sewing, so the clothing was not as well made as what Xing Hua made.

Zhulan already knew the situation of the servants’ quarters. Steward Ding had a natural advantage, previously managing the Wan family, where the members were few and dared not speak out. Whatever Steward Ding arranged, the Wan family would do.

Zhulan put down her teacup, thinking to herself that some people are born to manage others, while some still won’t seize the opportunity even when it’s given to them.

Zhulan said to Steward Ding, ”Introduce your family to us!”

Knowing the ways of stewardship well, Steward Ding realized that the mistress had not made arrangements, meaning she wanted to see their capabilities. Hearing the mistress ask him first relieved him; suppressing the joy in his heart, he stated, ”This humble one is Ding Yi, thirty-eight years old, formerly a steward, my wife is Liu Ya, also thirty-eight, originally served as a personal maid before becoming a steward’s wife, and we have three sons. The eldest son is twenty-one, clever and sharp; his wife is twenty and skilled in cooking. The middle son is nineteen, more straightforward, with a nineteen-year-old wife, and the youngest son is twelve.”

Zhulan gave Steward Ding an extra glance; he hadn’t mentioned what he had done before but merely highlighted each family member’s characteristics. As for not mentioning names, it was because they hoped the master’s family would give them names.

Zhulan was terrible at naming; she truly hated coming up with names, but thankfully, excluding the solar terms associated with snow, frost, and dew, there were still plenty left.

Zhulan hummed in acknowledgment and then asked Steward Ding, ”Introduce the others!”

Steward Ding felt completely at ease now; having clarified everything, his tone grew more confident, ”The Wan family of four, Wan Jiu, thirty years old, with his wife Juan Hua also thirty and skilled in the kitchen. Their elder daughter is twelve and has always learned needlework; the younger son is eight.”

Steward Ding paused, then continued, ”The remaining three girls, the eldest being ten from Xu’s village near Lizhou Province, volunteered to sell herself for servitude. The other two girls, eight and six, were sold by their families who disdained female offspring in exchange for silver. Of the three boys, besides the thirteen-year-old who was sold by his uncle and aunt, the other two fourteen-year-olds volunteered for servitude, all from nearby villages.”

Zhulan was very satisfied and proceeded to arrange new names. Steward Ding remained the steward, his wife Liu Ya would follow her, Steward Ding’s eldest son was named Goo Yu, his daughter-in-law Li Xia, the middle son Xiao Man, the middle son’s wife Mango Seed, and the youngest son Xia Zhi.

The Wan family’s elder daughter was named Da Shu, the younger son Xiao Shu. The three girls: the ten-year-old was named Li Qiu, the eight-year-old Qiu Fen, and the six-year-old Li Dong. The boys: the two fourteen-year-olds, one named Dong Zhi, the other Xiao Han, and the thirteen-year-old Da Han.

Zhulan felt that naming was even more exhausting than calculating; the two little children were not urgent; when they grew up and had specific tasks, they would be given names. From now on, she would no longer name them; let whoever takes them in do it.

As for the servants’ assignments, Zhulan was in no rush to arrange them; she wanted to consider where to place everyone. The three girls would first learn needlework with Xing Hua, the three boys would be given to Er Yue, and there was no hurry with the Ding and Wan families.

In the evening, Zhou Shuren returned home after dark. Zhulan narrated the process of purchasing the servants, and lastly, she said pensively, ”Zhou Shuren, do officials fatten their wallets and change wives as they please?”