Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 432: The Hardworking Old Ox
Royal chef...selection contest?
When such a name was announced by the emperor himself, it spread like wildfire in the capital in an instant, and countless owners of restaurants and dining houses were shocked by it, and the guild halls in various provinces and prefectures were also in an uproar.
Over the years, many people knew about the activities of the Imperial Kitchen, which were all controlled by some old masters in the Guanglu Temple and even higher levels. Therefore, after the emperor cleared out the people in the Guanglu Temple and the Imperial Kitchen, many people hoped that the old system could be changed. However, no one expected that the change would be so thorough!
Many chefs were so happy that they cried, especially when they heard that the emperor would reward the imperial chefs in the imperial kitchen with a bronze medal and send them home in glory after they retired.
Although chefs who are good at cooking are very popular these days and will definitely have no worries about food and clothing, if they work in the homes of high-ranking officials, ministers, or princes, they will still be ordered around and treated as inferiors. When they get too old and can no longer work, they will be replaced. But looking at the drastic changes that the emperor has made to their treatment this time, how can the chefs who have always been regarded as inferior not be excited?
Some were happy while others were sad. When the chef world in the capital was about to explode, in the Shuntian government office, Duke Qin Zhang Chuan, who had just received the detailed plan for the Imperial Chef Selection Competition from Lu Sanlang, could not help but stare at the detailed activity plan and security plan in a daze.
The word "security" was not a new concept to him - safety and protection. As nobles, they were supposed to protect the emperor. He remembered that when the late Emperor Ruizong ascended the throne, nobles also had the duty of guarding the palace. Wasn't it also for security? But even for a common man like him, the Duke of Qin, it was the first time to see these two words being combined with ordinary people.
But after carefully reading the trend of various theft, kidnapping and even assault cases in the capital during festive occasions such as the Lantern Festival listed by Lu Sanlang, he finally put away his suspicion and became serious. So Zhang Chuan, who always believed in trusting people, summoned Song Tuiguan and handed him Lu Sanlang's plan that he had not finished reading.
Then, he said with a smile: "Since the case of the Imperial College's frame-up has been concluded, the mastermind behind the scenes does not need to be dealt with by the Shuntian Prefecture. Magistrate Song, you should not have too many things to do for the time being, right?"
Having met two superiors in a row who valued him very much, it was impossible for Tui Guan Song to say that he was not at all grateful for such a favor. However, what puzzled him most was that there were quite a few officials in the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen, but both Wang Jie and Zhang Chuan treated him like a hardworking ox who was willing to work hard without complaint.
Wang Datou's philosophy is, follow me, do it! As for Zhang Chuan's purpose, go for it, do it well, I'll block it if there is any problem! Although both of them can be classified as good bosses, and the comments given to him are also very good, but without exception, both of them control him like a spinning top. At this moment, he took the plan and hesitated and dared not look at it.
He was afraid that he would get into big trouble after taking a look. However, just because he didn't look at it didn't mean Zhang Chuan wouldn't say anything.
"The Imperial Kitchen is short of people, so the Imperial Chef had to be selected. The Emperor said that he wanted to hold a selection contest. Although it was a bit of a whim, just like the fairness of the imperial examination, if it can prevent the Imperial Kitchen from repeating the same mistakes in the future, this kind of selection is also desirable. Because the Emperor promised to allocate the money from the inner treasury this time, the old men in the court can't stop it. Too many people are implicated by a rotten Guanglu Temple."
At this point, Zhang Chuan seemed not to notice that Song Tuiguan was struggling to the extreme, and said to himself: "Although I don't know whether Lu Sanlang's plan was drawn up by order or he volunteered, I quickly glanced through it and found quite a few noteworthy points. The reason why they chose the probably because there were fewer people and it would be less likely to cause any trouble at that time."
"But the number of people in the South City Military Department may not be enough. You should pick some capable people from the three shifts. The security task will probably be very heavy by then." Zhang Chuan naturally followed the words mentioned by Lu Sanlang in the plan and said calmly, "After all, no matter how remote the place is, if such a large event is held, there will be many chefs, and people will always be needed to maintain it..."
Song Tuiguan felt his scalp tingling as he listened to Zhang Chuan's nagging instructions. The case at the Imperial College that could have caused chaos in Shuntian Prefecture was solved so easily, and he and his subordinates breathed a sigh of relief. But who would have thought that a bigger trouble would come to them in an instant.
Zhang Chuan used to be a bookworm who was devoted to editing books, so he might not have noticed the huge crowds that this might bring. How could he not know? Even though it was in a remote area outside the city, even if it was a small village outside the capital, that small village would definitely become a place where countless people would flock to, and they would be so crowded!
Who doesn't want to be famous? Who doesn't want to make money? Those restaurant owners and chefs who pride themselves on their cooking skills are probably going crazy!
And it's not just the chefs. The people of Beijing love to watch the excitement. It's not just one or two days! With such a big excitement, it's obvious that many famous chefs will gather here. Just to have a bite of delicious food, many people may flock here!
Although he had not read the plan at all and did not know that Lu Sanlang had cut out the parts about attracting people, creating business opportunities, increasing land value, and creating new business districts, Song Tuiguan, who was overwhelmed, still felt like a scholar meeting a soldier, unable to explain his reason. When he returned to his own criminal justice office, he immediately ordered someone to call Lin Lao Hu, the head of the criminal justice department, over.
Sure enough, when Lin Lao Hu, who had suffered a false alarm before, heard that he had to go to the outer city to manage such a matter, his face was immediately tangled and almost wrinkled. Like Song Tuiguan, he also thought that the matter sounded not troublesome, but it was actually very troublesome!
After a long while, he asked with a sad face, "My Lord Song, Zhang Dayin is from a noble family, and you know our sufferings. Can't this matter be postponed? Not to mention that the South City Military Division is originally stationed in the outer city, let's talk about the two county offices of Daxing and Wanping. They can't always ignore things, right? The most important thing is, the emperor might send the Ruiqi Battalion to maintain it."
If that were the case, small characters like them would just be ordered around! In that case, it would be better for them to stay in Shuntian Prefecture and avoid this hard job!
Tuiguan Song stared at Lin Lao Hu for a long time, until he lowered his head guiltily. Then he sighed and said, "Do you think I haven't thought about it?" Just when he was about to borrow Zhang Chuan's method of encouragement and use this simple and crude way of "I have high hopes for you" to spur Lin Lao Hu, he heard a voice coming from outside.
"Official Song, Doctor Zhang from the Imperial College sent someone to deliver the visiting card."
When he heard Zhang Shou, Song Tui Guan winked at Lin Lao Hu, who immediately ran out and came back with the visiting card in his hands a short while later, looking frank as if he hadn't read anything. Song Tui Guan had no time to care about his little thoughts, and when he opened the visiting card and saw the handwriting on it, his face was full of helplessness.
"Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. I have prepared some tea and snacks at Xinglong . Please come and enjoy it at noon. Zhang Shou."
In the opinion of Tui Guan Song, Sanlang Lu's reputation was all based on Zhang Shou. He never believed in the saying that a prodigal son could turn over a new leaf and become a genius - even though that was what the emperor said - after all, it takes time to become a genius. Just think about it, it took time for the notorious young villain Zhou Chu to turn over a new leaf, let alone the little fat boy in the Lu family?
Therefore, even though he hadn't read Lu Sanlang's so-called plan, he didn't believe it was written by him, and he thought it was Zhang Shou who was behind it. In this case, it would be better to go and see Zhang Shou than for him and Lin Lao Hu to worry about it!
Song Tui Guan insisted that Lin Lao Hu go with him to the appointment, and the head of the criminal department had no choice but to agree. He went back to the criminal department to give instructions to his subordinates, and without even having time to fill his stomach, he hurried to the criminal department to meet Song Tui Guan. He thought that since they were meeting at the teahouse at noon, even if they only prepared tea and snacks, Zhang Shou would not be so stingy as to not even treat them to a lunch.
However, when they actually got out of the city and found the place, they met a silly and strange young servant sent by Zhang Shou to greet guests at the entrance of the alley. Following behind Song Tuiguan, Lin Lao Hu, the captain of the police, who had decided to only bring ears and eyes without a mouth today, was stunned by the scene in front of him.
What Xinglong Tea House...it's basically just a tea stall with just a piece of oilcloth on the roof, selling a bowl of tea for one penny!
Who would invite guests to such a place? Fortunately, he took off the black skin of the police chief, otherwise if people knew that the police chief of the fast class would appear in such a shabby tea stall, there would definitely be a thousand and ten thousand kinds of messy rumors spread... Of course, if they knew that the people sitting at the same table were Song Tuiguan and the doctor Zhang from the Imperial College, the result would be different.
Lin Lao Hu secretly complained and worried, and when he came to Zhang Shou's table, he saw an old tea seller busy boiling water and didn't even come to serve him. He knew in his heart that Zhang Shou didn't reveal his identity. When he met Zhang Shou with Song Tuiguan, he saw the two of them sitting down after the greetings. He thought that he was just a captain, so he hesitated whether to sit down.
"Lao Lin, you can sit down too."
Zhang Shou smiled and raised his hand. Seeing that Lin Lao Hu hesitated for a moment, he sat down in the seat opposite Song Tuiguan, so he asked, "I think Song Tuiguan should have seen Lu Sanlang's plan?"
It really has something to do with you!
Judge Song was full of resentment, but under Zhang Shou's gaze, he had to pretend to be nonchalant and said, "Thanks to Judge Zhang's trust, of course I have already read it." Even though he just glanced at it.
Zhang Shou pretended not to notice Lin Lao Hu secretly looking at him, and said softly: "In fact, the outer city is different from the inner city. Not only are the houses cheap, but there are also many wastelands, such as this area. So whether you live there, farm there, or do business there, it is actually not as safe as the inner city. Even if many people are bullied and humiliated, they dare not report it to the government office."
When Lin Lao Hu heard Zhang Shou's pointed words, he could not help but feel a little nervous. He stole a glance at Song Tuiguan and saw that this veteran criminal lawyer, who had long since left the circle of scholars who only studied hard, also had a frown on his face.
Before the two of them could figure out what was going on, they heard a noisy voice: "Hey, old man Qin, you dare to open a stall again? Last time, the three of us drank your tea and had diarrhea and vomiting, and you haven't even paid for the medicine! Five or fifteen strings of cash for each of us three people, if you can't come up with it, you can forget about staying in this small piece of land in South City!"
Lin Lao Hu didn't know what was going on, and immediately felt the hair on his back stand on end. He couldn't help but glance at Zhang Shou. And Song Tuiguan, who was dressed in casual clothes today, raised his eyebrows and also looked at Zhang Shou.
Under their gaze, Zhang Shou calmly sipped his tea and said calmly, "Some places in the outer city are like this. The county government is far away and the government office is out of reach. The South City Military Department turns a blind eye. In six words, they can't control it and don't want to control it."
Although his voice was not loud, one of the three people who had just come to provoke him had very good hearing and immediately turned his head to look over. At this time, Zheng Dang, who had just brought Song Tuiguan and Lin Lao Hu, had disappeared. There were only Zhang Shou and the other three tea drinkers in the empty tea stall, and no matter who they were, they stood out.
Therefore, the man who happened to hear Zhang Shou's words rushed over angrily. Without asking any questions, he slapped the already dilapidated eight-immortal table hard and said, "Who said that weird thing just now? Huh?"
Seeing the man's fierce questioning, Lin Lao Hu finally couldn't bear it any longer, and slammed the table angrily, "So what if it's me who said it? If you have the guts, go to Shuntian Prefecture and show off your power. What's the point of bullying an old tea seller?"
The other two men who were still mocking the tea vendor looked over immediately, but the moment one of them saw Lin Lao Hu clearly, his angry expression immediately turned into cold sweat. He rushed forward in two steps and said with a smile on his face: "Captain Lin, how could it be such a coincidence..."
Seeing Lin Lao Hu's bad face, he dragged his companion who was frozen in an instant, and was about to hold him down to apologize to the head of the fast squad of the Shuntian Prefecture's prison, but he didn't expect Lin Lao Hu to shout in a deep voice: "Get lost!" He didn't dare to be dissatisfied at all, and hurriedly agreed, dragged the man and turned around and ran away. The other person saw that the situation was not good, and quickly slipped away.
The tea seller was stunned when he saw this scene. Lin Lao Hu forced a smile at Zhang Shou and was about to say a few empty words about rectifying the law and order in South City. But before he could open his mouth, Zhang Shou said with a smile: "But the reason why the Imperial Chef Selection Competition was held in this place is that such behavior cannot be tolerated. The emperor said that he would dispatch a group of elite troops to deal with such traitors who extort money."
Lin Lao Hu's scalp suddenly went numb. Are they really going to mobilize those gentlemen from the cavalry camp? If so, he wished that there would be a case recently so that he could avoid those guys who looked down on them! Not only him, but even Song Tuiguan couldn't help but coughed lightly and said, "In this case, if the South City Military Command and Shuntian Prefecture send more people, it will be easy to blame each other."
"That's true." Zhang Shou seemed not to have heard Song Tuiguan's evasion, and said with a smile, "Besides, Shuntian Prefecture is in the north city, which is too far away from the outer city in the south. Besides, the three shifts of yamen runners are likely to complain if they have to work in the outer city every day. Speaking of which, the Jiuzhang Hall of the Imperial College is going to recruit students again. Can Song Tuiguan help me with the preparation and marking of the examination papers?"
