In the Ming Dynasty 1498, my restaurant connects two worlds.

Chapter 111 Zhu Houzhao's Lesson on People's Livelihood (Part 2)

"Teacher Song, can cabbage and rice be cooked together into porridge?"

"Of course, vegetable porridge is more nutritious for refugees."

"Young Master Zhu, you deserve a top score for this lesson."

Zhu Houzhao was pointing to a porridge distribution point set up by the Capital Charity Hall not far away, where there was a long queue of ragged refugees and elderly people.

The old woman, holding the silver ingot, was so moved she couldn't speak coherently, only repeatedly kowtowing, saying, "Thank you so much, young master! Thank you for your great kindness!"

Encouraged and praised by Song Xiaoyi and Wang Shu, Zhu Houzhao said nothing more, turned around, and walked with his head held high toward the meat counter on the other side.

The butcher was wielding a large cleaver, chopping a piece of pork with a loud thud.

"How much is this meat, butcher?" Zhu Houzhao asked.

"Hey, good morning, young man! My best hind leg meat is eighteen coins a pound!" the butcher said in a loud voice.

"This is too expensive!" a woman nearby complained. "It was only twelve coins a few days ago, how come it's gone up by six coins in just a few days? This pound of meat is enough to feed my child rice for half a month!"

The butcher put down his knife, wiped the oil off his hands, and explained helplessly, "Sister-in-law, I don't want to raise prices either! You know, this winter there's been a lot of snow, and feed is expensive. The piglets are eating precious food and growing slowly. A few days ago, several pig farms in the suburbs of Beijing had an outbreak of swine fever, and a large number of people died. With the supply tight, the pig dealers are charging me higher prices. I'm just a small business owner; if I don't raise prices, I'll lose money and starve!"

The butcher then pointed to the grain store not far away: "Go and take a look at the grain store. Rice, flour, and cooking oil—which one hasn't gone up in price? With this snow, the roads are difficult to travel, and grain ships from the south can't get in. The grain reserves in the capital are limited, and scarcity drives up prices."

As Zhu Houzhao listened to the butcher's complaints, he recalled what Aunt Shen had said in the Guanglu Temple.

It turns out that every vegetable, meat, and egg in this market is connected to the timing, location, and transportation of the weather.

Human effort is so powerful that even a small change can have far-reaching consequences.

Zhu Houzhao then walked to a stall selling frozen pears. The stall owner was a young man who was constantly breathing on his hands to try to keep them warm.

"Hey sir, how much are your pears?"

"Three for five coins, how many would you like, sir?"

Zhu Houzhao picked up a frozen pear; it was rock hard, like a stone.

"How are we supposed to eat this?"

"You need to soak it in warm water until it thaws before you can eat it," the young man said with a smile. "This is a top-quality Beijing white pear. It's the best-selling pear at this time of year, and every household needs it when entertaining guests during the New Year."

"But today the snow is heavy and the roads are difficult to travel. It took me twice as long to walk back and forth as in previous years. Half of the pears were also damaged on the way. This cost..." The young man shook his head with a wry smile, hesitating to speak.

Zhu Houzhao looked at the young man's lips, which were purple from the cold, and felt a mix of emotions.

Zhu Houzhao continued forward and came to an old man's stall selling candied hawthorns. Looking at the bright red hawthorn skewers, he thought of the candied fruits in the palace. He bought a skewer and handed it to a little girl next to him who was watching longingly.

The little girl's mother hurriedly thanked her and pulled her child to kneel down.

Zhu Houzhao quickly helped them up, then turned to Wang Shu and said firmly, "Wang Taibao, only today do I understand why the rice in the palace is so white, the vegetables so tender, and the meat so fragrant. It is because countless ordinary people like this old man, this woman, and this young man used their blood and sweat to select, transport, and cook it layer by layer."

"Only now do I understand why Father Emperor reviews memorials until late at night every day, and why you always teach your students to be frugal and love the people." It turns out that this empire is not merely the magnificent splendor of the Forbidden City, but also the everyday life of ordinary people in the marketplace. Every grain of rice and every drop of water should remind us of the hardship involved in its production; every thread and every piece of cloth should remind us of the difficulty in obtaining resources.

Looking at the young crown prince before him, whose cheeks were red from the cold wind but whose eyes were exceptionally bright, Wang Shu's face, which had been serious all morning, finally relaxed. He stepped forward and solemnly cupped his hands, saying, "Your Highness's enlightenment is truly a blessing for the nation and a boon for all the people. This old minister is deeply gratified."

Song Xiaoyi and Gu Lan exchanged a glance, both seeing the joy in each other's eyes.

The snow fell heavier and heavier, but Zhu Houzhao's heart remained warm.

Zhu Houzhao did not return to the warm carriage. Instead, he chose to walk with Wang Shu and Song Xiaoyi on foot through the streets filled with the warmth of everyday life, trying to experience the most authentic and simple aspects of people's lives under the prosperous Hongzhi era.

This lesson on "people's livelihood" will be forever etched in Zhu Houzhao's heart, becoming his most precious asset as an emperor in the future.

However, no matter how well they performed, they still had to do homework upon returning to the palace and have their parents sign it!

The snow in the capital was falling even harder.

Gu Lan was exhausted after a long day and went to bed early after dinner. Tang Bohu, having drunk some wine, was in high spirits and was having a snow scene painting competition with Xu Zhenqing.

Song Xiaoyi sat alone by the window, gazing at the snow falling all around him, lost in thought.

After the Crown Prince finished his two-day "People's Livelihood" class, he planned to take Zhu Houzhao to stroll around the streets and alleys of the capital on the third day, give him another "Business" class, and then trick him into opening a restaurant with him.

However, due to the heavy snow, the arrangements had to be postponed. As for the location of the restaurant, Song Xiaoyi had already handed it over to Mou Bin. Coincidentally, the Jinyiwei system also wanted to copy the Nanjing model and open "Jinyi Fast Food" in the capital, and was making intensive preparations.

But with the snow, the canal froze and the post road was covered in snow. Not only could rice and vegetables from the south not get through, but even fast food containers and bowls from Shanxi were stuck on the road.

Living in the capital is truly not easy.

Wang Shu followed the procession for two days. Yesterday the snow was light, and he was indoors at the Ordnance Bureau, but today he was out in heavy snow all day and fell ill from the cold. Fortunately, Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao had already summoned the imperial physician, so he didn't need to worry about it for the time being.

Having already revealed his extraordinary martial prowess, if he were to also demonstrate his medical skills, the old man might become even more uneasy.

I wonder how Taoye Ferry is doing now.

How are Zhu Zhishan and Xiao Qiuying doing in Songjia Village, Moling? I imagine they have modern fireplaces there, so it can't be as cold as the capital.

Where has the Imperial Guard's letter been delivered? It must have been several days ago. Did Old Wu receive the letter? Is it possible to buy this house?

With his phone not with him and unable to return to the modern world, he couldn't even search for the top three candidates in next year's imperial examination.

The history of Emperor Zhu You differs from that written by people of the Ming Dynasty, and it seems that the next emperor, Zhu Houzhao, also differs from historical records.

Most importantly, what if I don't return to the modern world for a long time and Zhu'er can't find me? Will she overthink things? What if He Dayu wants to contact me? What if Uncle Cao's factory needs my approval for a decision? What if the Western Military Region wants to contact me but I can't get in touch for a long time? ————

Upon arriving in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, things became inconvenient at every turn.

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