Chapter 10 Section 10: Treating servants kindly but being played by veteran officials

Soon after seeing off Chen Gongyuan, Mei Zengliang, Shao Yichen, Hu Linyi and other Hanlin officials all came to congratulate him. In order not to lose faith in himself, but also to be able to communicate normally with Shangxian, colleagues, and fellow villagers, Zeng Guofan took great pains. He kept the creed of accepting gifts but not accepting gift money, and not participating in other people's banquets, so that each of these Hanlin officials wrote a pair of couplets , In this way, everyone's happiness will not be spoiled, and the talk about accepting gifts will be avoided.The scene is not awkward, the host and guest are suitable, and everyone is happy.

The way of writing couplets and warnings at various banquets quickly spread among the dignitaries and nobles in the capital and gradually became fashionable.Some people say that the instigator was Zeng Guofan, while others said no, Zeng Guofan was just a poor imperial official in Beijing, and his influence was not so great.Whether it was true or not, Emperor Daoguang really liked Zeng Guofan a little bit. Hu Linyi, who always likes to be lively, said with a smile: "Dasheng, our brothers discussed it. Of course, we want to keep the ink stains, but we also have to give gifts. You are now a fifth-rank official." Let’s walk’, it’s no wonder that people are surprised, Qipin county magistrate still has a sedan chair! Let’s give you the money for the sedan chair! It will also give us a long face, and save some people from chewing the tongue of the Imperial Academy.”

Mei Zengliang also said: "We all have sedan chairs, but you don't have one. Our faces are also dull. How can there be a fifth-rank official in the Qing Dynasty who walks to the office? If you pass it on to the current sage, don't misunderstand that we did it on purpose. Isn't it troublesome to show the ugliness of the Qing Dynasty!?" Zeng Guofan smiled wryly and said: "Dear Hanlin, the salary of our fifth-rank officials in the Qing Dynasty is only eighty taels of silver a year, and eighty dendrobium of rice, plus the entitlement salary, it is only a hundred taels of taels. So little Money, other than clothes, food, and a few books to read, what do I use to support bearers! Xiangxiang has only a hundred acres of land, and half of it is a hillside. There are several large houses and dozens of people need to eat. It’s really worth the money. On the day of succession, I might not even be able to afford to rent this house! Poor Beijing officials, poor Beijing officials, aren’t you all living off the family’s accumulated wealth?”

This remark touched Shao Yichen's sore spot, and he said angrily: "The provinces have not been peaceful in the past few years. I think half of it is caused by ethnic differences. Banner people are born with a salary, and we Han people..." Hu Linyi took over the conversation and said, "Disheng, I heard that Yingzhongtang recommended a concierge for you, why didn't I see it?" Zeng Guofan smiled wryly and said: "I can't afford to use the people who have been used by the Prime Minister's Mansion! Everyone, please recommend me another one who is suitable. I have no family, so I can't always let the waiter in the guild hall run errands for me? If you still Living in the guild hall has nothing to do with it, but now I come out to set up the door and open the house, and let others run errands to learn the language, it is unreasonable!"

Shao Yichen said: "Ah, Disheng, we will pay attention to you about the door." After that, he changed the subject: "Didn't we book a banquet in the Eighth Courtyard to congratulate Disheng? Has the time come?" Hu Linyi said: "I forgot the business! Disheng, you should put down your airs this time! I ordered a bowl of Bazhen tofu just for you! None of us took a sedan chair!" Zeng Guofan knew that this time he could no longer refuse, and the Eighth Courtyard was not a famous restaurant in the capital. There was no good food and wine, and a meal would not cost a few taels of silver, so he said "wait a moment" and went into the bedroom to change into casual clothes , followed the crowd to go out.

Five days later, Chen Gongyuan introduced a fellow villager named Zhou Fulu to Zeng Guofan to be his attendant porter.Zhou Fulu looks very gentle and can read a few words. He is about fifty years old and has no beard. In order to prevent what happened to Chen Sheng from happening again, with Zhou Fulu's consent, Zeng Guofan changed his name to Zhou Sheng as a warning.As for Zhou Sheng, Zeng Guofan talked with him about the past and the present whenever he had free time, and taught him with reason and emotion, precepts and deeds; the master is still the master, and the servant is still the servant, but the gap between the master and the servant is getting smaller and smaller .This is also called strange by scholars.Because the line between Manchu master and slave is extremely clear, and no one is willing to confuse it. This is the rule set by the Manchu ancestors.

Because of this disregard for style, Yinghe Huanzheng'er's Eight Classics played a copy of Zeng Guofan, saying that Zeng Guofan, as an official of the Qing Dynasty, disregarded his status and did not understand the rules. According to the family law of the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty, and quoted scriptures, servants can be bought and sold, but can officials be bought and sold?If you let him mess around, the country will die!I implore the emperor to deal with this person again, so as to rectify the national style.Fu begs the emperor's holy lesson. Looking at this nondescript memorial, Emperor Daoguang sighed, picked up a pen and wrote on the notebook: "Yinghe is old and confused."Since then, all officials have privately called Yinghe "Fu Zhongtang" or "Tu Zhongtang".Since then, the relationship between Yinghe and Zeng Guofan has deteriorated.

On the 40th day after Zeng Guofan opened the house, the third brother of the Nan family, a long-term worker from his hometown in Xiangxiang, rushed over. The third brother of the Nan family had a partial relationship with the Zeng family, and he was said to be a long-term worker, but no one in the Zeng family regarded him as a long-term worker: when harvesting wheat, he and the Zeng family members cut wheat together, and when soaking hemp, they washed hemp together.At the end of the year, the Zeng family would share several hauls of food to pay him.Whenever the Zeng family had something to do outside, they always let him do it.He often goes to Changsha, and after Zeng Guofan visits the Imperial Academy, he also visits the capital once a year.

The third brother of the Nan family is not tall, but he has a pair of fast legs.This time when he came to Beijing, he brought five jars of pickled vegetables, five pairs of cloth shoes and fifty taels of silver to the young master.After the third brother of the Nan family handed over the money to Zeng Guofan, he pointed to the jar and shoes and said, "Young master, the old man said, these five jars of pickled vegetables are specially made for you, and all of them are made of high-quality vegetable roots. Spicy. You are small and weak, eat more vegetable roots, mend it! The shoes were made by an old lady and a few young ladies, and I don’t know if they fit.”

Zeng Guofan opened a jar of pickled vegetables and sealed it with yellow mud. Sure enough, all the pickles used were cabbage roots, bitter melon roots, etc. There were more than a dozen kinds of samples, colorful and very beautiful.He grabbed one with his hand and threw it into his mouth. While chewing, he said: "The past few years in the guild hall have made me so hungry. In the future, if someone comes to Beijing, I will often bring some. There is a shortage of fish in our place." It doesn't matter if there is no meat, but the pickled vegetables are indispensable, and we rely on them for food all year round. Third brother, why didn't you bring some bitter vegetables?"

"Ah, I don't mention it, the young master, but I forgot about the younger one..." The third brother of the Nan family opened the bag while talking, and found a small bag from the inside: "This is dried bitter vegetables. Let the cook put it away when cooking." Some, it clears the anger and appetizers! Eldest young master, I didn’t expect you to leave home for so long, and you still can’t forget the pickles and bitter vegetables. The old man and the master should feel relieved this time.” "Huh?" Zeng Guofan was taken aback by the words, "Did the old man and the master say anything?" The third brother of the Nan family said: "Actually, it's nothing. When the younger one left home, the old master specifically told the younger one to keep quiet and see if the young master likes or dislikes the pickled vegetables. If he likes it, take the bitter vegetables. Come out. If you don't like it, don't take the bitter vegetables out, the young master must have forgotten the book!" "Cough!" Chief Zeng Guofan sighed and said after a long time, "I used to not let my family bring pickled vegetables because the guild hall provided meals. I miss my own pickled vegetables day and night! The pickled vegetables from my Zeng family are The root of the prosperity of the Zeng family. In Hunan, every family makes pickled vegetables, but I am afraid that there is no one like my Zeng family!" "That's right, relying on dozens of acres of Susukida not only feeds dozens of people, but also provides for a big Hanlin! It's rare in the whole country!" The third brother of the Nan family was also full of emotion. The Zeng family's pickled vegetables are indeed different from other families' pickled vegetables, and the story begins with Zeng Guofan's great-grandfather Zeng Jingxi. Zeng Jingxi relied on the savings from working part-time for a wealthy family to buy a fifth of the land, and over the course of more than ten years, it has accumulated to more than 20 mu.In order to make more money for the vegetable field, the Zeng family's pickles are all made of vegetable roots and leaves.If there are few vegetable roots, wash them with melon rinds instead, and always fill more than a dozen tanks.Bitter gourd was originally the most common and cheapest commodity in Hunan. Almost every family in Hunan used the best vegetables to pickle, but the Zeng family sold all the good ones and only used the root of bitter gourd to pickle. The relatives and neighbors saw that the Zeng family was getting better and better, and they all thought that the Zeng family did not need to be so frugal.Zeng Jingxi said: "Vegetable roots nourish the kidneys, and bitter gourd roots are all treasures!" Everything in the Zeng family is changing, and the weather is getting better day by day, but the content of the pickled vegetables has not changed.People in Xiangxiang all said: "The Zeng family eats vegetable roots well!" How did they know that in order for Zeng Guofan to be an official in Beijing safely, the old and young Zeng family have been tightening their bellies to live.