My Husband is a Drama King [Book Transmigration] 71

Chapter 71: The Ministry of Personnel

When Song Changxu and Shen Liang arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, Vice Minister Yun assigned them tasks. They were to follow the clerks and record the mines from the Yellow Registers. The Ningxing Dynasty was vast and rich in resources, so this was a huge undertaking.

Fortunately, the sale and purchase of mines were all registered with the government. Now, organizing them was just a bit of a chore.

Song Changxu traced the mines with his brush and ink, honestly doing a round of integration and summarization.

He and Shen Liang were used to working in the National History Academy. Now, organizing the mines was a skilled job.

Song Changxu thought to himself, As expected, a secondment is never a good thing.

No matter how good Song Changxu was at slacking off, in a place where it was clear at a glance whether you were working or not, he had to work honestly. The two of them dragged their tired bodies to eat, their minds full of numbers and names.

Pei Shengrong elegantly took a sip of soup. He was startled to see their dead-like appearance. “What have you two been doing? Isn’t the Hanlin Academy a clean yamen?”

Song Changxu: “It’s a long story.”

Shen Liang gave a rare bitter smile.

In Pei Shengrong’s eyes, Shen Liang was the most honest person. Now that even he was like this, it was clear that it was not a simple task.

Shen Liang: “We’ve been seconded to the Ministry of Revenue to organize the mines.”

Hearing that he had been seconded to the Ministry of Revenue, Pei Shengrong thought it was a great thing. But when he heard about the mines, his face showed sympathy. “That is indeed very tedious.”

The pitiful first-class graduates had no spirited appearance, only the resentment of being a beast of burden.

After they had had their lunch, they first went to their workstations to rest for half a shichen and then went back to work. While Song Changxu was writing about the mines, he specially noted down the people with many mines.

For several days in a row, they were all in the Ministry of Revenue. Song Changxu was a little shocked. The Xiao family’s mines already occupied half of the Ningxing Dynasty. The Phoenix Lord had said that half would be given to the national treasury, and the other half would be taxed.

The mines taken from the Xiao family could alleviate the deficit of the national treasury. Looking at the leopard through a tube, the extent of the Xiao family’s property was enormous.

Song Changxu thought of the jade pendant the Phoenix Lord had given to Xu Zhizhou and sighed in his heart.

Vice Minister Yun took the register and looked at it. He saw that one of them was particularly different. He curled his lips with interest. “Go and call Sir Song over.”

The clerk took his leave.

Song Changxu was soon brought over. He greeted Vice Minister Yun.

“Sir Song is very meticulous in his work. I see that the table of contents you’ve made is extremely accurate. You should pass this method on to the others.”

Song Changxu just felt that it was a bit difficult to flip through the register, and the content was messy, so he had written the names and the number of mines on the table of contents to make it easier. In addition, he had subconsciously arranged the names under the place names in alphabetical order, which had a certain regularity and was more fluid than the previous registers.

“I understand.”

Song Changxu taught his method to everyone.

After Song Changxu had left, Vice Minister Yun took a few sips of his teacup. “I don’t have such a meticulous person under me. In the future, I can ask the Hanlin Academy to have this top scorer work in our Ministry of Revenue.”

They would only enter the six ministries after they had observed them.

Song Changxu did not know that he had gained a good impression from Vice Minister Yun with just a piece of paper. Now he was still facing the mines, his mind full of numbers.

On the other side, Xu Zhizhou had prepared everything and opened his shop. He set off a few strings of firecrackers to celebrate. With Xiang Shu and Xiang Lan helping to make the Bobo Chicken, he still set out a few for the pedestrians to sample before they bought.

According to the prices in the capital, the Bobo Chicken also had to be raised. A meat skewer was seven copper coins, a vegetable skewer was four, and ten vegetable skewers were thirty-five.

This price was not expensive. Everyone who had sampled the Bobo Chicken thought it tasted good, and one or two customers came.

Xu Zhizhou was not discouraged. It was only the beginning. There was no need to be anxious. The customers would gradually increase.

There were a lot of samples this time. Now it depended on whether the taste could keep the customers.

“The taste is not bad, and the price is reasonable. Let’s go in and have a try.”

Only those who ordered a lot would find a place to sit. The customers who ordered less would take it and eat as they walked on the street.

Besides the Bobo Chicken, there was also herbal tea. Today, for the opening, he had made two kinds of herbal tea, one was jasmine tea, and the other was green tea. Both were five copper coins a cup.

The customers sitting on the chairs naturally ordered a cup.

A passerby was eating Bobo Chicken on the street. The fragrance wafted far away. Someone asked, “Brother, where did you buy the thing in your hand?”

“There’s a small shop next to the Weizhaiju on Chang’an Street that sells this.”

Hearing this, the person hurried to the small shop. The shop’s name was Bobo Chicken. They looked at the sign, knew the price, and first ordered a dozen or so skewers to try the taste.

The pedestrians who were eating on the street also helped to promote it. More and more people came to the shop. Xu Zhizhou helped to receive a few customers, smiling from ear to ear.

The shop had no rent. Xu Zhizhou was much more at ease. Now he was just working hard to earn back the money for buying the shop.

After a day of business, Xiang Shu showed Xu Zhizhou the money he had earned. Today, for the opening, they had earned a total of six taels of silver, which was already not bad. After they had made a name for themselves, they would earn more and more.

Xu Zhizhou returned home happily. He had a simple dinner. Xu Zhizhou told Song Changxu about the money he had earned today.

“At this rate, we’ll earn more and more in the future,” Xu Zhizhou began to fantasize. “We’ll have a lot of money.”

Song Changxu smiled and agreed. “We will.”

Xu Zhizhou rested his head on Song Changxu’s shoulder and looked up at the stars.

Finally, he fell asleep leaning against his shoulder.

Song Changxu picked him up, put him on the bed, and kissed his forehead.

For the next few days, Song Changxu continued to work at the Ministry of Revenue. The Bobo Chicken shop’s reputation grew. The main reason was that the taste was good. They could earn ten taels of silver a day. Xu Zhizhou was so happy that he was about to jump up.

He had handed the shop over to Xiang Shu and Xiang Lan, but he still did not relax. He made sugar at home. He could still earn money from it. When he opened a sugar workshop, he would earn even more.

Xu Zhizhou felt that he had fallen in love with being a boss. Every day, when he checked the shop’s accounts, he would smile from ear to ear.

“It’s so good to make money. The Bobo Chicken is on the right track. In the future, we’ll talk to a few dedicated vegetable vendors and butchers to supply us. That way, it’ll be even more convenient,” Xu Zhizhou’s thoughts gradually opened up.

After he had finished, he couldn’t help but sigh. “I’m so smart. To have married me is a blessing of eight lifetimes. With a husband like me, how can the family not be prosperous?”

The family’s affairs were all in order. Besides making sugar, Xu Zhizhou was also checking the accounts.

Song Changxu, on the other hand, was swamped with work at the Ministry of Revenue. By the time he had finished registering the mines, a month had passed.

It was the height of summer, and his workstation was like a hot stove. There were many people in the tea room. Song Changxu had brought his own herbal tea.

It was not good to drink hot tea in this weather. It was better to drink herbal tea. The best thing about lunch was that every two days, there would be some fruits, sometimes winter melons, sometimes grapes, which was still humane. What Song Changxu looked forward to the most was lunch.

This time, after he had finished the matter of the mines, he and Shen Liang were still at the Ministry of Revenue and had not been told to go back.

Shen Liang: “According to Sir Xie’s personality, he probably won’t let us go back until after the autumn harvest.”

Song Changxu sighed. “This secondment is really a training experience. We should learn a lot at the Ministry of Revenue. After all, so many people want to get in and can’t. It’s a great fortune that we were chosen this time.”

Shen Liang: “?”

Xie Yiyuan passed by them and nodded.

Shen Liang turned his head and broke out in a cold sweat. “As expected, you can’t talk behind people’s backs.”

Song Changxu: “You can talk behind closed doors.”

Song Changxu was used to taking a nap in the afternoon. He was just about to fall asleep when he heard hurried footsteps. A moment later, a sharp voice was heard. The officials in the imperial palace were all very sensitive to this voice.

Xie Yiyuan was called away in a moment. The officials of the Ministry of Revenue were a little anxious.

“What’s happened this time? There’s nothing major in the Ministry of Revenue recently.”

“Speaking of major matters, besides the mines, there’s only the disaster relief from two months ago,” an official said in a low voice.

“We personally put in the money and grain for the disaster relief. Could there be a fake?”

“I don’t know if it’s fake, but I think something has happened.”

…

Vice Minister Yun came out and said coldly, “As soon as Sir Xie is gone, you’ve become more and more unruly, haven’t you? Go back to your own positions.”

Song Changxu thought that the round trip would take a lot of time. He had been back for two months, and he didn’t know how the disaster was.

In the afternoon, Xie Yiyuan came back, looking dusty and disheveled, his official robe a bit of a mess.

“There’s a problem with the disaster relief in Yongzhou. The money and grain have been robbed by bandits. His Majesty wants us to prepare another portion.”

Vice Minister Yun’s face was bitter. The money and grain for the two prefectures had been squeezed from between their teeth. Where would they get any more?

He said it had been robbed by bandits, but he was more inclined to believe that it had been embezzled and blamed on the bandits.

This was not easy to say. He could only discuss it with Minister Xie in private.

Song Changxu went to get the Yellow Registers and was called to the Panlong Hall by a young eunuch.

After he had left the Panlong Hall, he had been in the Hanlin Academy, and then he had gone to the Ministry of Revenue. As soon as he had entered, he had run into Emperor Pingjing and had greeted him.

Emperor Pingjing: “Rise, Minister Song. You must know about the matter in the Ministry of Revenue. I’m afraid there’s a problem with the people I’ve sent this time. I have no one I can trust, so I want you to go. If the flood in Yongzhou is not dealt with, I don’t know how many common people will die.”

“It’s hard to find someone who won’t be won over, who has a clean family background, and who is not greedy for money. Don’t worry, I will not let you bear this alone this time. Minister Shen will be with you. You have no background, but he is the prime minister’s son-in-law. This way, you won’t be so conspicuous.”

Song Changxu: “I will not fail Your Majesty’s trust.”

“Also, I will send people to protect you, so that some blind dogs don’t get desperate,” Emperor Pingjing’s face was cold.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“After you come back, you can go to the Ministry of Personnel. They have the power of appointment and dismissal. You can be my eyes and see if the court is full of treacherous or loyal ministers.”

Song Changxu took the decree and went back. When it was almost time to leave, His Majesty’s decree arrived at the Ministry of Revenue.

He and Shen Liang received the decree and thanked him.

Shen Liang looked spirited. As soon as he heard the decree, he knew that His Majesty was going to use the two of them. This time, if he seized the opportunity, he would be on the ladder to success.

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue became warm to the two of them.

“Sir Song and Sir Shen, don’t forget us when you become successful in the future.”

“As expected of the top scorer. The second-place graduate will be heavily used sooner or later.”

The two of them left the imperial palace together. Song Changxu’s heart was also surging. At least it was His Majesty’s request. He had the thought of repaying his grace. Not to mention that, the disaster relief had to be done well. The common people were innocent.

When he returned home, he saw Xu Zhizhou and told him about the disaster relief.

“Then when are you going?”

Song Changxu: “I’m leaving tomorrow. This matter cannot be delayed.”

Xu Zhizhou knew what was important and packed a few sets of clothes for him.

“I’ve also heard about the flood in Yongzhou. It’s been a few months, and it still hasn’t been resolved. When you get there, you have to be good to the people.”

Xu Zhizhou: “Our village also suffered a drought when I was a child. We only survived by selling our land.”

***

Author’s Note:

Little Song: Be a good official. [Laughs]

Little Xu: [Pity]