At noon, the Zhou family had chicken stewed with mushrooms, white rice, and cold-mixed cabbage. Zhulan asked Xinghua to take cornmeal, cabbage, and potatoes for the servants in the back room to cook for themselves.

Zhulan did not order who would be responsible, and she also wanted to see what the twenty newly bought servants would do without orders. There was still a queue of people waiting in front of the yamen to receive food. Although the food distributed by the yamen was old, it was still real food. There was no stone or sand mixed in the food. Many people knelt and kowtowed at the yamen gate after receiving the food.

Zhou Shuren, the new zhizhou, had won the hearts of the people in the morning. Those who truly served the people were good officials. Zhou Shuren’s reputation among the people spread quickly, because the people all knew that the new zhizhou brought the food.

Tongzhi Chen Chen felt a bit disheartened. He, too, had worked hard and worried over the people of Lizhou, yet not only had he failed to gain a good reputation, but he had also borne quite a lot of curses. His lips pressed into a thin line, and then he sighed inwardly. If he and Zhou Shuren had exchanged places, he wouldn’t have had the courage to spend the fifty thousand taels of silver granted by the court while still on the road. Though he didn’t want to admit it, he had no choice but to concede that Lord Zhou was bolder and more resourceful than he was.

Zhou Shuren was already hungry. After Eryue had laid out the food, he said to Chen Chen and He Yun, who were standing there, “You two have worked hard today. Please sit down and eat.”

Chen Chen’s eyes fell on the chicken soup. He swallowed his saliva. To avoid being reported for lavish meals, he hadn’t dared to buy fish or meat even though he had money at home. Later, for the sake of his life, he ordered his family to go on a vegetarian diet. They had been doing so for over a month. This morning, he had already smelled the taste of sausage in Lord Zhou’s mouth. It was truly torturous.

Tongpan He Yun’s household also ate vegetarian meals, and not only vegetarian but coarse grains as well. He hadn’t eaten rice in a long time. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he said, “Lord Zhou, the common folk are still outside receiving grain, and here we are with chicken and sausage—doesn’t that seem a bit inappropriate?”

He said this, but his eyes were fixed on the chicken and sausages, greedy, making his words seem completely unconvincing.

Zhou Shuren only learned today during their conversation that all the officials in the government office were vegetarians. This was a measure they came up with out of fear of losing their heads. He wondered why the officials in Lizhou City were so skinny. He was puzzled. The situation in Lizhou City targeted the people who didn’t have money, not the officials. After learning the truth, he was speechless. If they were vegetarians themselves, why didn’t they donate some money to please the Emperor? He guaranteed that if the officials in Lizhou City were vegetarians, the Emperor would be furious!

Zhou Shuren coughed. “It’s alright. Lizhou City will have a lot of trouble in the future. If we don’t even have good health, how can we help people solve their problems?”

He Yun promptly sat down. “My lord is right.”

In his heart, he was already thinking: since he had eaten meat at noon today, once he got home, he would send his servants to Chuanzhou to buy meat and vegetables. Lord Zhou was not only the savior of the common folk but also his own. He was a man who couldn’t live without meat, and this past month had been hard on him—he had even lost the flesh around his belly!

Chen Chen sat down too. After all, Emperor Yu valued Lord Zhou, so they just needed to replenish their bodies. “Your Excellency is right. Please, Lord Zhou.”

Zhou Shuren wasn’t shy about it. He picked up a chicken drumstick with his chopsticks; he liked the meaty parts. “You guys, please too.”

The drumstick was already in his bowl, and if it weren’t for the fact that he felt uncomfortable eating two, he would have wanted to grab some too.

Chen Chen and He Jun didn’t hesitate; their chopsticks moved swiftly.

They finished the last five dishes, finishing the entire pot of chicken soup.

That afternoon, at the Zhou residence, Zhulan skipped her nap and went straight to meet the newly hired servants.

Twenty people stood in the courtyard, and two small children stood very straight. Zhulan, not yet heartlessly letting the three or four-year-olds stand in the sun, gestured to Xinghua and Jingzhe to take the two children to a shady spot nearby.

Zhulan’s actions only reassured the Ding family but did not move them. As a family that had experienced resale and whose head had also been a steward, this family was very rational.

Zhulan looked at the eighteen people in the yard while drinking tea. Their clothes were all new. Zhulan still provided the fabrics for the clothes, but this time, there was no one good at needlework, and the clothes were not as good as those made by Xinghua.

Zhulan already knew the situation in the backyard. Steward Ding had a natural advantage. He used to be in charge of the Wan family. The Wan family was small and dared not say a word. The Wan family did whatever Steward Ding arranged.

Zhulan put down her teacup and thought to herself that some people were born to manage others, while some people would not fight for the opportunity even if given one.

Zhulan said to Steward Ding, “Please introduce your family members!”

Steward Ding, having served as a steward for many years, understood well that since the madam had given no instructions, she was testing their abilities. Hearing that, she asked him first, and he finally set down the burden in his heart and suppressed the joy within.

“I am Ding Yi, thirty-eight this year, originally a steward. My wife is Liu Ya, also thirty-eight, once a personal maid who later became a household matron. We have three sons: the eldest, twenty-one, quick-witted, with a twenty-year-old wife skilled in cooking; the second, nineteen, a bit more simple and honest, with a nineteen-year-old wife; and the youngest, twelve.”

Zhulan glanced at Steward Ding for a moment. He didn’t say what they used to do, but just talked about the characteristics of his family members. As for not mentioning names, he hoped that the mistress would give them to them.

Zhulan was hopeless when it came to naming—she truly disliked coming up with names. Fortunately, among the twenty-four solar terms, apart from those with “snow,” “frost,” or “dew” in them, there were still plenty left to choose from.

Zhulan nodded and asked Steward Ding, “Can you introduce the others?”

Steward Ding finally felt completely at ease. He had asked everything clearly, and his tone grew all the more confident. “The Wan family has four members: Wan Jiu, thirty years old; his wife, Juanhua, thirty, who worked as a kitchen maid; their eldest daughter, twelve, who has been learning needlework; and their youngest son, eight.”

Steward Ding paused, then continued, “As for the remaining three servant girls—the eldest is ten, from Xu Family Village near Lizhou City, and sold herself voluntarily. The other two, aged eight and six, were sold by their family, who disliked having daughters and exchanged them for silver. Of the three boys, aside from the thirteen-year-old who was sold off by his uncle and aunt, the other two, both fourteen, sold themselves voluntarily. All of their families are from nearby villages.”

Zhulan was very satisfied and then arranged the new names. Steward Ding would still remain the steward, and his wife Liu Ya would follow her in the future. Steward Ding’s eldest son was renamed Guyu, his daughter-in-law Lixia, the second son Xiaoman, the second daughter-in-law Mangzhong, and the youngest son Xiazhi.

From the Wan family, the eldest daughter was named Dashu, the younger son Xiaoshu. As for the three servant girls, ten years old became Liqiu, eight years old Qiufen, and six years old Lidong. The boys: the two aged fourteen were Dongzhi and Xiaohan, and the one aged thirteen was Dahan.

Zhulan felt that thinking of names was more tiring than calculating. There were still two little kids, so there was no need to rush. She would name them when they grew up and had jobs. She would not name them in the future. Whoever they were assigned to was going to name them. As for the jobs of these servants, Zhulan was not in a hurry to arrange them. She needed to think about where to arrange them. The three maids were going to be taught needlework by Xinghua first, and the three servants were going to be handed over to Eryue. She was not in a hurry to deal with the Ding and Wan families.

At night, Zhou Shuren returned after dark. Zhulan recounted the process of purchasing the servants and finally said softly, “Lord Zhou, when one serves as an official and makes a fortune, do they also change wives?”

(end of this chapter)

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