Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 127: Adjustment (6th day of -word update, continue to ask for monthly votes.)
Inside the Qianmen Mansion

Zheng Guohui, who had just returned from outside, met Babutai. In the main hall of the front hall of the second courtyard, Dong Huanzhang was chatting and laughing with this man.

Seeing Zheng Guohui approaching from the front door, Dong Huanzhang quickly stood up and stepped forward to greet him, clasping his fists and greeting him. "Master, you're back! It's freezing cold, so come inside and warm up."

Beiziye Babutai was proud of his status, so he raised his butt, hesitated for a moment, and then sat back down.

Zheng Guohui glanced at Babutai, who was still sitting in the hall. His face showed no emotion, and he simply replied calmly, "Well, come here for a moment. I have something to ask you."

"Students obey."

The two men walked back from the courtyard without stopping, and their figures disappeared into the corner gate, and then there was nothing more.

These royal family members are really hard to deal with. They think highly of themselves on a daily basis. They act like they're the boss wherever they go and act like they're the boss even when someone comes to them to ask for help. They're nothing but shit.

Is this behavior a preparation for Zheng Guohui to come forward and pay his respects?
Take Prince Babutai, for example. He was sitting in the main hall of the second courtyard with the door open. The cold wind blew in and soon he was frozen all over.

No one came to serve us, no one came to greet us.

As the evening sky gradually darkened, the prince Babutai was about to die.

He knew in his heart that it was bad.

This pretentious and conceited behavior made people sick, so they just left him here without taking him seriously.

Youxin stood up and left.

But when I thought about the long-term income, I hesitated again and really couldn't bear to leave.

A penny of silver can make a hero fall.

The Beizi Mansion was a huge place with dozens of people. They relied on the annual salary of 1300 taels of silver and 1300 hu of rice from Babutai Gushan Beizi to make a living, which was really stretched.

If Yebutai lived frugally, a mediocre life would be enough.

But he loves food, fun, good friends, flying eagles, running dogs, and cricket fighting. He also likes to listen to music and make a little money. How can this family business be enough to ruin him?

I also owed several thousand taels of silver to creditors outside. These creditors were not easy to deal with, and I couldn't pay the interest by the end of the year.

At this moment, Babutai was filled with regret. He sat in the hall, feeling the cold wind. His originally passionate heart gradually cooled down, as he knew that he had messed up the matter.

It was such a mess, he wanted to slap himself twice.

In this cold winter month, it quickly gets dark.

Babutai sat in the hall like a lonely soul, neither knowing whether to leave nor to stay. He was so cold that he shrank his head. He smelled the aroma of food wafting from the nearby courtyard, and his stomach growled in protest.

No one else can achieve what he has done.

In the capital
This kind of situation of impoverished royal family members is not uncommon, and there are a lot of them. There are many who have sold their houses, land, and ancestral property. There are also some who have fallen to such a state that they have to pull tricycles, and there are countless people who have to go hungry every day.

It shouldn't be that serious.

The lowest-ranking third-class Fengguo general could receive 160 taels of silver and 80 dan of rice every year, which was enough for a whole family to eat and wear. However, there were too many prodigal sons.

This is still the case for the royal family members with titles. Those who are idle are even worse off. Those who can fill the vacancies in the army can get forty or fifty taels of silver a year, and five stone of rice as salary. Those who cannot can only starve.

Few of the idle royal family members were capable of anything. They indulged in drinking, gambling, whoring, and smoking opium, enjoying themselves today without caring about tomorrow. When they ran out of money, they borrowed money from everywhere, stole, robbed, cheated, and lived a life worse than that of dogs, becoming increasingly destitute.

With a "gurgling" sound, the stomach sounded like a bullfrog croaking.

It was unknown how long Prince Babutai had been sitting in the hall. He had been feeling elated by Dong Huanzhang's flattering words, but now he had fallen from heaven to earth and finally woke up.

He gave a bitter laugh and said, "Well, I'm in trouble again today."

He stood up, stretched his stiff legs, and his waist, which was a little stiff from sitting, then sighed and walked out.

I have no choice but to leave. It is obvious that they don't like me, so why am I trying to act like a big shot?
Just walked into the courtyard
Then he heard laughter coming from the corner gate on one side. The laughter was like an invisible rope that tightly bound Babutai's feet, preventing him from taking any further steps.

He looked around and found that he had gone a little astray. He was only two or three steps away from the front door.

Then he continued walking... four or five steps back.

Light came from the yard

Then four maids appeared with lanterns in their hands to clear the way. The light from the lanterns instantly dispelled the darkness in the front yard, revealing Beiziye Babutai standing in the front yard, who seemed to stop in surprise.

Jiaomenli

Dong Huanzhang came out, bowed respectfully, and led the way. As he walked, he said, "Master, there is a threshold at this corner gate. Please watch your step."

"Hahaha...just go ahead. I'm not an old man who can't move his legs."

Zheng Guohui's tall figure appeared at the corner gate. He had changed his clothes and was wearing a brocade mink coat on his upper body. In his hand, he held a string of Buddhist beads blessed by the Living Buddha of Yonghe Palace. His face was flushed as if he had taken a bath, and his body was filled with the fragrance of soapberries.

When the two of them walked into the courtyard, they suddenly ran into Beiziye Babutai, which made Zheng Guohui startled. He asked in surprise, "Uh... who is this?"

Even if Babutai was not very smart, he knew what to do. He immediately went up and made a thousand-legged bow, then knelt on one leg and leaned directly against the ground.

"Babutai pays his respects to Mr. Zheng. May you be blessed! Babutai does not know etiquette, so I hope you will be magnanimous and forgive me." The Qianer etiquette is to kneel on one leg with one leg in front and the other leg behind, and let the hands in front hang down, making a Qianer shape.

Generally, it is just a symbolic kneeling, but Babutai’s case was different, he really knelt down.

Such a great gift is second only to kneeling down with both legs.

"Oh, isn't this Master Beizi? I was wondering why he looked so familiar. He looks like a dignified and impressive man. He is indeed extraordinary."

Zheng Guohui said this, but did not reach out to help.

Instead, he turned to Dong Huanzhang and rebuked him, "Mr. Dong, this is your fault. Since the prince is coming to visit, why didn't you inform me and greet me early? This is impolite."

Dong Huanzhang suddenly realized something, clasped his fists and saluted with regret, saying, "Master, this is truly my fault. I was so happy to see you return home, and I was also busy reporting some matters at Nanfeng Hall. I made a mistake in my haste. Please forgive me, Master."

"Of course he will be severely punished. He will be fined three cups of wine at the banquet later. Can you send someone to check if the roasted venison is ready? Why is there such trouble?"

"My lord, the chef in this mansion uses a recipe passed down from the imperial kitchen in the palace. Each dish is meticulously prepared and meticulously crafted, so it naturally takes a little longer to prepare. I'll have someone rush over and it'll be ready soon."

The two of them were singing in unison, and Babutai Zaqianer knelt on the ground, knowing that the other party intended to humiliate him.

But thinking of his wives and concubines celebrating the New Year's Eve, and his children all wearing new clothes, he hardened his heart and said respectfully, "Babutai knows he was wrong. Please forgive me this time, General."

"Oh, what are you talking about? Please get up quickly, my lord, and don't kill this general." Zheng Guohui stretched out his hand to support him.

Babutai also stood up. He didn't want to continue kneeling. Apart from kneeling to the emperor and the ancestral temple, with the noble bloodline of Lord Bei, Babutai, who had he ever kneeled to in his life?

Since the other party had admitted defeat, Zheng Guohui stopped being polite. They returned to the front lobby, sat down, closed the door, and brought in two heaters and served tea and snacks.

The temperature in the room quickly rose and became cozy and warm.

Zheng Guohui took a sip of tea and placed the teacup on the table beside him. He then looked at Babutai. Babutai quickly clasped his hands together in greeting, waiting for further inquiries.

This is because he just suffered a lot, otherwise he wouldn't be so well-behaved.

"I also heard Mr. Dong's general explanation of Lord Beizi's purpose.

"You are just joking when you say you want to join me. From now on, I will not recognize you once you leave this sect. My small temple cannot support such a great Buddha like you."

Seeing Babutai about to speak, Zheng Guohui raised his hand to signal him to calm down, and then continued;
"Nanfeng Hall is short of a guest official, and the salary is not very high. If you are willing to accept the offer, it is not impossible to negotiate.

Guest officials are required to report to Nanfeng Hall every day. Their monthly salary is eighty taels. If they are absent for one day, they will be fined three days' worth of silver. This is the rule.

If you are absent from work for more than one week without a valid reason, please feel free to expel you from Nanfeng Hall. Nanfeng Hall will not serve such unruly gentlemen.

If a guest official does a good job, he will receive a bonus of 200 taels of silver every season, which is 800 taels for a whole year. This will be assessed based on his daily behavior and whether he is qualified for the position of a guest official, rather than just living a careless life.

If you cause trouble for Nanfeng Hall and I, a guest official, cannot handle it properly, please seek better employment. This general does not keep idle people here.

By the end of the year
Depending on your performance, this general will give you a big red envelope. If you do well, the bonus will be generous, but if you do poorly, forget it. There are plenty of people in the capital who want to take on such a lucrative job.

So, what do you think, Lord Beizi?"

This is equivalent to setting out recruitment conditions. It's not like giving you three thousand taels of silver a year. How can it be such a simple good thing?
Zheng Guohui broke down the position of guest official into a job salary, which was 80 taels per month. The guest official had to report to work every day, and his salary would be deducted for absence. For every day of absence, three days' salary would be deducted.

Those who fail to show up for a week will be kicked out.

The quarterly bonus of 200 taels is equivalent to performance-based wages. If Nanfangtang performs well and everything goes smoothly, there will be bonus silver, otherwise there will be no bonus silver.

As for the big red envelope at the end of the year, it can be regarded as a bonus.

This Beiziye Babutai is just like Monkey King. He does have abilities and status, but he is difficult to control. He must be put under a tight control and be restrained by a contract.

Babutai calculated that, not including the big red envelope at the end of the year, there would be 1800 taels of silver, which was equivalent to his annual salary.

The key point is that this thing is available every year after it is made, it is not a one-time deal.

With the double salary, life in the mansion immediately became comfortable.

Why are you hesitating?
"Babutai is willing to be a guest official of Nanfeng Hall. If there is anything inappropriate, please give me some advice, General. Babutai knows how to correct his mistakes." Babutai stood up, clasped his hands together and responded, finally straightening his attitude.

Zheng Guohui waved his hand generously and said with a smile, "That's great. Nanfeng Hall will draft a contract to hire a guest official. Once you sign it, you can start your post at Nanfeng Hall today."

"You are the boss, whatever you say is fine. Babutai has no objection."

"Hahaha... Mr. Beizi, please don't be so formal. From now on, you and I will work together, so just call me Brother Jinghai."

"In that case, General, please stop calling me Lord Beizi all the time. I, Babutai, am a straightforward person. You can just call me Babutai. Let's get closer as brothers."

"That's what I wish for, but I dare not ask for it. Mr. Dong, go check the kitchen and get some good wine and food. I want to have a few more drinks with Babutai today, until we're drunk!"

"Please keep it for me, sir. I will be back soon." Dong Huanzhang stood up wisely, bowed to the two of them apologetically, and left in a hurry.

The rest of the atmosphere became more lively due to Babutai's flattery.

(Although the update is late today, the number of words is not less. I would like to report that I got 19 monthly tickets yesterday. This must be because the author Grape Jun did not work hard. I will continue to work hard to update today.)
(End of this chapter)