White-robed Minister

Chapter 140, Episode 0138: [Spring Festival Couplets, Firecrackers, and Braised Pork]

The first snow of the year in Yingtian Prefecture arrived late, even after the winter solstice.

The laborers packed up and left early. Since it was hard to get home in the snow, Xu Lai gave each of them two liters of wheat.

On the winter solstice, Xu Lai was inspecting the county and did not attend the official banquet in the prefectural city.

I heard it was a very lively event, and a lot of official funds were spent.

"You want to apply for official funds to reward the officials who built the city?" Gong Dingchen asked, somewhat surprised. This was Xu Lai's first time applying for official funds.

Xu Lai said, "I was extremely strict in supervising the repair of the city walls. Not only did those officials not receive any benefits, but they also worked in the bitter cold on the winter solstice. They deserve a reward. All my usual share of the profits was donated to the treasury of the ministers, amounting to nearly 40 kilograms per month."

"120 strings of cash. Currently, only 120 strings are being applied for."

"He definitely deserves a reward." Gong Dingchen signed the document immediately.

He knew, of course, that Xu Lai harbored resentment, and that this year's Winter Solstice banquet was a bit extravagant.

Xu Lai went to Zhuang Gongyue for his signature again, and finally received his official allowance.

He returned to the signing hall and called Zhang Kongmu over, saying, "Distribute the reward money according to this list. Tell everyone that I was not in the prefectural city for the Winter Solstice, so I'm making up for it now. It's not much, just a token of my appreciation, so they shouldn't think it's too little. Those who receive the money, please sign the list."

It's not much, but it's not too little either.

The one who contributed the most was Kong Zhen, the official in charge of the fortified village.

Kong Zhen began inspecting the city wall for damage in September and subsequently participated in the entire planning and construction process. He received a reward of 5 strings of cash for this.

There was also Zhao Qian, the military advisor in charge of purchasing supplies, who had followed Xu Lai throughout his investigation of the treason case. Knowing that Xu Lai was incorruptible, Zhao Qian purchased supplies quickly and cheaply, without embezzling a single penny. He also received a reward of 5 strings of cash this time.

Both of them are very capable and have a good attitude, and Xu Lai will ask Gong Dingchen to help recommend them.

They're sure to get promoted!

Xu Lai will not mistreat those who work diligently under his guidance.

Depending on the level of hard work and specific performance, most officials and senior clerks were only rewarded with 1 to 3 strings of cash this time. Lower-ranking clerks were only rewarded with tens or hundreds of coins.

But everyone was pleasantly surprised.

"Will Judge Xu also issue rewards?"

"Haha, the sun has risen in the west!"

"Let's go for drinks tonight, Judge Xu has distributed his rewards."

"At least he still has some conscience."

"...

""

The officials all regarded Xu Lai as a living devil and a miser, so this reward was a complete surprise to them, which in turn gave them a strange sense of joy.

This is more like a form of recognition, an acknowledgment of their hard work!

When a group of people are doing something seriously, even if there are various complaints along the way, they will feel a sense of accomplishment as long as they achieve results in the end.

At this point, giving a material reward, even if the amount is small, will amplify the sense of accomplishment and make the person feel that their efforts have been noticed.

Most of the negative emotions that had accumulated in the past few days were instantly dispelled.

Of course, the reason why such obvious results were achieved is because Xu himself acted uprightly.

Everyone knew he didn't take any under-the-table income, and everyone knew he was urging everyone to do their jobs properly. So, everyone was forced to work hard, but only received a small amount of bonuses, and their dissatisfaction gradually subsided.

If Xu Lai were to embezzle money lavishly as usual, the effect would be completely different. People would feel resentful: "You take the money, yet you make us boost your political achievements without giving us enough benefits. Why should we?"

One-sided strictness may only elicit obedience, but leading by example will win people's hearts and minds. If you then reward them, they will truly be convinced!

New Year's Eve is here in the blink of an eye.

The cook and cleaning lady were locals, and Xu Lai gave them leave to go home and reunite with their families, while he took Yu'er and Bu Chao to cook the New Year's Eve dinner.

The doorman Chen Dequan and his wife Li Guiniang naturally came to help start the fire and cook.

These people are all from Guangdong, and they're going to have a happy rice meal today.

As Xu Lai stirred the sugar in the pan, he explained, "When caramelizing brown sugar, remember that the heat must not be too high, otherwise it will easily burn and become bitter."

Before his time travel, Xu Lai studied at a university in Guangdong, but he was originally from Sichuan.

He learned all his cooking skills from his father; his mother's cooking skills were just so-so.

Unfortunately, without fermented bean paste and pickled peppers, most of his signature dishes were difficult to prepare.

The braised pork belly was simmering nearby, and Xu Lai started stir-frying twice-cooked pork. Since there was no fermented bean paste, he could only use soy sauce and fermented black beans, which made Xu Lai feel it wasn't authentic.

"It smells so good!"

Before the braised pork was even cooked, Yu'er started showering it with emotional value.

Bu Chao, Chen Dequan, and Li Guiniang were also secretly swallowing their saliva; the aroma was indeed mouthwatering.

Apart from Li Guiniang, who was in charge of tending the fire, everyone else was ready to assist at any time. Xu Lai made six or seven dishes in a row; although it was unknown how they tasted, the aroma alone was enough to amaze people.

After all, stir-frying and using iron woks have only become popular in the last few decades, and most classic dishes have not yet been invented.

With Xu Lai's culinary skills, he would be more than qualified to be the head chef in the homes of the powerful and wealthy.

"Wash your hands and eat. Yu'er, go and warm the wine," Xu said. "I'll write a few more Spring Festival couplets. Bu Chao, take them and paste them on the door."

Xu Lai left the kitchen, and the group whispered among themselves.

Chen Dequan, who was closest to Bu Chao, couldn't help but ask, "Young master, did you learn your cooking skills in Qingyuan County?"

"I don't know," Bu Chao replied, equally confused.

But Bu Chao quickly realized something: it must be the cooking skills that Su Gong taught him through a dream!

Yu'er said proudly, "My lord is the reincarnation of the God of Literature, so his culinary skills must have been learned from the Heavenly Chef God."

Yu'er enjoys studying constellations with Pianpian and has a good understanding of those stars.

Yu'er left the kitchen to warm the wine.

Bu Chao then ran to the study to get some Spring Festival couplets.

"Sanlang, you don't allow peach wood charms to be hung, so you're using this kind of paper instead?" Bu Chao asked in confusion.

Xu Lai continued writing Spring Festival couplets: "Peachwood charms are too wasteful and too troublesome."

At this time, the peach wood charms were made of peach wood boards that were about half a meter to one meter long. The boards were decorated with auspicious beasts such as Bai Ze, and the names of door gods such as Yu Lei and Shen Tu were written on them. Some of them also had auspicious words written on them.

Around the Five Dynasties period, people began writing couplets on peach wood charms.

Xu Lai felt it was unnecessary to go through all that trouble, so he bought some red paper in advance, cut it to the size of Spring Festival couplets, and wrote them himself.

"Paste the couplets on all the doors of the front and back houses. Paste the couplets on both sides of the door frames and the horizontal scroll on the lintel," Xu Lai instructed.

Bu Chao immediately took a stool and the prepared paste to paste up the Spring Festival couplets.

During the Lunar New Year, while most officials are on holiday, a few unlucky ones remain on duty, mainly to deal with emergencies such as fires and murders.

The clerk on duty was bored and, hearing a commotion outside, immediately ran over to check what was going on.

To the side of the main building of the courtroom, there is a passageway for family members to enter and exit. The door of that passageway serves as the main gate of Xu Lai's official residence.

"What are you posting, Mr. Bu?" the clerk asked curiously.

Bu Chao laughed and said, "Spring Festival couplets."

The official then asked, "Is this a custom of Lingnan?"

Bu Chao said, "My husband said that peach wood charms are both expensive and troublesome, so it's better to write couplets on paper and paste them up. He calls them Spring Festival couplets."

The clerk read aloud: "The old calendar of a thousand years has changed today, and the spring breeze is new tonight." They even included the Ming Dynasty calendar.

The Tomorrow Calendar, promulgated six months ago, uses a brand-new celestial motion calculation model to adjust the parameters for calculating the movements of the sun and moon. It also improves the method for calculating leap months.

However, if the variable is not set correctly and the constant is problematic, it will be abolished in two or three years.

Xu Lai didn't care about the Tomorrow Calendar at all.

He was saying he wanted to bring a completely new version of ancient times, but no one understood what he meant.

Just then, Yu'er brought over a couplet: "My lord instructed that this be pasted on the main door of the fortune-telling hall."

Bu Chao hurriedly ran to the entrance of the signing hall to continue posting.

The clerk, curious, followed along and read aloud after it was pasted up: "On the three-foot desk, straight and crooked lines are distinguished; in the four seasons, the wind whispers of mulberry and hemp. Peace and order are in sight. This couplet is well-written; it even includes the reign title. It's perfect for the ancestral hall!"

The official, being a scholar, found this object increasingly elegant and more pleasing to the eye than the ornate peachwood charms.

As soon as he finished get off work in the evening, he rushed to buy red paper. When he got home, he wrote Spring Festival couplets without even having dinner. He also moved the peach wood charms he had prepared to the entrance of the main room and pasted the newly written couplets on the front door.

In the days that followed, if any neighbors asked, they would say that these were Spring Festival couplets, and that the top scholar Xu Qianpan also put them up like this.

On New Year's Eve, Xu Lai had dinner with Yu'er, Bu Chao, Chen Dequan, and Li Guiniang.

Mr. and Mrs. Chen seemed a little awkward, as they had never eaten at the same table with their hosts before, let alone on New Year's Eve.

"Thank you all for your hard work. I'd like to offer you a toast," Xu Lai said, raising his glass.

Everyone quickly stood up.

Xu Lai stopped them, saying, "Sit down, everyone. It's New Year's Eve today, let's not be so particular about those things."

Even if you don't care about such things, Xu Lai is still the host.

Only after he started eating did the others dare to eat.

"Hmm!"

The moment Yu'er put the braised pork in her mouth, she was so surprised by the taste that her eyes widened.

Bu Chao took a bite and quickly asked, "Young master, could my aunt (Li Guiniang) learn how to cook these dishes? It won't offend Master Su—"

“Master Su won’t be upset,” Xu Lai interrupted. “Once the cook comes back, Aunt Li can learn from her. I’ll be free during the New Year holidays.”

Li Guiniang quickly stood up to offer a toast in gratitude.

These are all "secret skills not to be passed on." If she teaches them to her children and grandchildren, even if they no longer work as servants in the Yu family, they will still have a skill to make a living. If her children and grandchildren stay in the Yu family, they can work as cooks there.

"Oh right, we haven't lit any firecrackers yet!"

Yu'er suddenly stood up, and Bu Chao and Chen Dequan quickly followed.

They moved the brazier into the courtyard and took out five-foot-long bamboo tubes. First, they placed them on the brazier to heat them, then they held one end and smashed the other end hard on the ground.

"Bang bang bang!"

This is a firecracker; it has nothing to do with gunpowder.

The gunpowder-based firecrackers were called "explosive sticks," and they wouldn't appear for several more decades. It wasn't until the Southern Song Dynasty that "firecrackers" appeared.

As Xu Lai watched them set off firecrackers, he couldn't help but think of gunpowder.

His knowledge of gunpowder was limited to "one part saltpeter, two parts sulfur, and three parts charcoal." He vaguely remembered some kind of granular gunpowder, which seemed to be made by adding water to black powder and then drying it, but he had no recollection of how it was made.

When I have some free time and am in the same place as Shen Kuo, I can try to work on military equipment.

Knowing that gunpowder can be used in guns and cannons, wouldn't it be foolish not to make use of it?

"Bang bang bang!"

Yu'er, Bu Chao, and the other three were still happily banging firecrackers, while Xu Lai stood under the eaves watching with a smile.

The sound of firecrackers bids farewell to the old year, and the second year of the Zhiping era has passed.