kvmb Chapter 104 Ordering Mooncakes, Southern Rebellion (3 words added)
Chapter 104 Ordering Mooncakes, Southern Rebellion (3 words added)
After entrusting the task of selling mooncakes to Xiao Cui, Gu Lin really didn't interfere anymore. However, seeing the increasingly crowded Hao Yun Lou restaurant and the mooncakes selling out every day, Gu Lin knew that Hao Yun Lou's mooncakes were doing well.
During this time, Gu Lin received another letter from Zheng Hao. This time, it wasn't Peng Zhi who delivered the letter, but Da Zhuo who was delivering meals to the prefectural school who brought the letter back.
Gu Lin opened the envelope. The letter read that the mooncakes he sent to the academy had received unanimous praise from everyone there. Students and teachers alike said the mooncakes were delicious. Moreover, after tasting the mooncakes, many classmates, who were struggling to buy them, asked Zheng Hao for help in ordering mooncakes for them. Even the headmaster and teachers had asked him to do so. Therefore, Zheng Hao wrote a letter to ask Uncle Gu for help again.
After explaining this matter, Zheng Hao wrote at the end of the letter: "Uncle Gu's school will be closed soon, and I will be able to return home the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Holding the list sent by Zheng Hao, Gu Lin got up and personally went to Haoyunlou because the number of mooncakes needed by the students and teachers was quite large.
Seeing Gu Lin enter Good Luck Restaurant, Lin Xiaoyao and Xiao Cui called out, "Boss."
It was lunchtime when most people were taking a nap at home, so there weren't many customers at Haoyunlou Restaurant.
Lin Xiaoyao and Xiao Cui were a little surprised to see the young man come over at this time.
In the past, at this time, the young man would have been fast asleep on his bed after lunch. But now that the weather is getting colder, according to Sister Zhao, Lin is like a cat that is afraid of the cold. He would rather stay indoors to keep warm than go out easily.
As Gu Lin approached the mooncake counter, he watched as one employee after another carried mooncakes out of the kitchen. He then said to Xiao Cui, who was standing behind the counter, "Indeed, it was the right decision to entrust the mooncake sales to you. The reputation of our Haoyunlou mooncakes has spread throughout the streets and alleys."
Hearing the young man's praise, Xiao Cui said earnestly, "It's all thanks to my employer for giving me this opportunity."
Gu Lin shook his head slightly and said to Xiao Cui, "We are all one, and we help each other succeed."
Gu Lin never felt he was at a disadvantage. Perhaps many people thought that his initiative to give Xiao Cui a chance to show herself was impulsive or even rash. But to him, whether it was Yu Ge'er, Lin Xiaoyao, or Xiao Cui, their abilities were no less than anyone else's. In fact, given time to hone their skills, they would grow faster than others.
They and Good Fortune Building are complementary and indispensable to each other.
Not forgetting the purpose of his visit, Gu Lin asked Xiao Cui, "I have an order for a mooncake here, for the students and teachers of the prefectural school. Do you think you can finish it?"
Gu Lin handed the order to Xiao Cui.
Xiao Cui took the order and looked at it. After a moment, she said to Gu Lin, "I can make them, but when do you need the mooncakes on this order, boss?"
Zheng Hao had already told Gu Lin this in a letter. He told Xiao Cui, "Make the mooncakes three days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, and they will send someone to pick them up."
After a moment's thought, Gu Lin added, "If you don't have enough manpower, I'll have Xiao Yao transfer some more people over to help you."
Xiao Cui said, "Before the mooncakes went on sale, Brother Xiao Yao brought over a few reliable employees to help me. So far, we have enough manpower."
After handling the mooncake orders from the academy, Gu Lin felt relieved to see that Lin Xiaoyao and Xiao Cui had managed Haoyunlou in an orderly manner and planned to go home.
Before leaving, he took out ten taels of silver and gave it to Lin Xiaoyao, instructing them: "After autumn, it gets dark faster and faster. Don't stay at Haoyunlou for too long at night. Go home early and have a hot pot meal to warm yourselves up."
Faced with Gu Lin's thoughtful and meticulous care, Lin Xiaoyao and Xiao Cui felt warm inside and thanked him with smiles.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival drawing ever closer, the students and teachers of the prefectural school sent people to Haoyunlou to collect mooncakes three days before the festival.
After they left, Xiao Cui specially sent a waiter to inform Gu Lin, so that he wouldn't worry about the matter.
Gu Lin wasn't idle at home either. Lin Xiaoyao had prepared the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts for the employees of Haoyunlou, so he didn't need to worry about it. But everyone had been busy for half a year, and Gu Lin wasn't a heartless person.
Gu Lin would give bonuses to his subordinates during every holiday.
He sat on the edge of the bed in the room, with a table in front of him covered with loose silver, copper coins, red paper and thin rope.
The silver coins were given to Lin Xiaoyao, Yu Ercheng, and Xiao Cui, who were in charge, while the copper coins were given as bonuses to the employees of Haoyunlou.
Gu Lin reached out and picked up pieces of cut red paper or thin string, stuffing the gleaming silver coins into the red paper. After a moment, he picked up the thin string and threaded it through the holes in the copper coins, stringing them together.
With his fingers moving nimbly, Gu Lin kept his head down and didn't stop.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Gu Lin looked up and saw a faint reflection of a figure on the window paper. Before Gu Lin could ask, the person outside called out, "Uncle Gu, may I come in?"
Hearing the familiar boyish voice, Gu Lin replied, "Come in."
The dark-colored door was gently pushed open, and Zheng Hao immediately turned around and closed the door to prevent the biting cold wind outside from blowing in.
Seeing the boy walking towards him wearing only an autumn school uniform, Gu Lin asked, "It's so windy outside, why are you only wearing a school uniform? Do you dress like this at the academy?"
Unlike young men who are often weak and prone to feeling cold except in the summer, Zheng Hao, being young, felt no coldness at all, even when standing in the courtyard outside wearing light clothes.
Zheng Hao lowered his eyelids slightly and explained to Gu Lin in a gentle voice, "I stay indoors in the school and dormitories, so I don't feel the cold. But Uncle Gu, have you been going out or visiting Haoyunlou often these days? Your body can't stand the wind. If you really have to go out, you must wear a cotton coat and a cloak."
Even though Gu Lin was the one who showed concern for the other person first, Zheng Hao took the initiative and became so attentive that Gu Lin forgot what he had just said.
At the same time, when his eyes met Zheng Hao's earnest and concerned gaze, Gu Lin felt a little guilty, because every time he went out he would just throw on a cloak without wearing a cotton-padded coat underneath.
Gu Lin changed the subject and asked Zheng Hao, "Your classmates and teachers all took those mooncakes. Did they say there was any problem?"
Although Gu Lin was confident that his homemade mooncakes were fine, he still wanted to ask just in case.
Zheng Hao said, "The students and teachers are very satisfied with the mooncakes and have praised them highly. If it weren't for the fact that Haoyunlou launched the mooncakes in such a short time, the headmaster would have liked to order some mooncakes as Mid-Autumn Festival gifts for the students."
Hearing that everyone at the academy was satisfied, Gu Lin felt relieved and continued to wrap up the prize money.
Zheng Hao walked over, and Gu Lin didn't mind, saying, "Sit down. I'm preparing bonuses for Xiao Yao and the others. If you have time, help me out. It's really hard to calculate these copper coins."
As soon as Gu Lin finished speaking, Zheng Hao paused slightly. He looked around the table and saw that there was no other place to sit except for the bed. Given Gu Lin's carefree nature, he knew that Gu Lin was definitely asking him to sit on the bed. In the past, Zheng Hao would not have thought about it and would have walked to the bed and sat down without any hesitation.
But at this moment, smelling the unique fragrance of Uncle Gu's bedroom, Zheng Hao lowered his eyes, his emotions unreadable, and turned around to move a chair to sit down opposite Gu Lin.
Watching Zheng Hao's series of actions, Gu Lin cast a puzzled look at him.
Zheng Hao explained calmly, "I just came back from outside and I'm still chilly, so it's not advisable for me to sit on the bed."
Knowing Zheng Hao's personality, and how considerate and thoughtful he always was, Gu Lin figured that Zheng Hao's actions were probably to prevent the cold from affecting him. So Gu Lin stopped worrying and continued with his work.
Zheng Hao picked up a thin string and strung the copper coins together. With his amazing eyesight, he immediately noticed that the silver coins on the table were not right.
Zheng Hao glanced sideways at the young man beside him and asked, "Uncle Gu, there are only a dozen or so waiters at Good Luck Restaurant. With a bonus of five hundred copper coins per person, there shouldn't be so many copper coins on the table."
Gu Lin was used to the other party's keen observation. He said, "Xiao Yao mentioned earlier that the staff in the building was becoming increasingly insufficient. Last month, he told me that he wanted to buy some more people. After thinking about it, I agreed. So now, excluding Xiao Yao, Xiao Cui, and Yu Ercheng, there are a total of thirty staff members in Good Luck Building."
“Those newcomers have also worked for a month. If I give bonuses to others but not to them, they won’t say anything on the surface, but they will always feel uncomfortable in private. So I thought I would give them some, so that everyone gets one. Of course, the newcomers can’t get the same bonuses as the veterans, otherwise the veterans will feel disheartened.”
Looking at the pile of copper coins in strings of 500 on the left and the pile of copper coins in strings of 100 on the right, Zheng Hao nodded slightly and said, "It's not scarcity that's the problem, but inequality. Uncle Gu is right."
“Of course.” The young man, whose lower body was wrapped in the quilt, raised his head slightly and said, “Let’s calculate the prize money quickly. Good Luck Restaurant will be closed tomorrow, so we’ll send the prize money over later.”
Zheng Hao agreed, lowered his eyes slightly, and continued with what he was doing.
Zheng Hao had already learned about Lin Xiaoyao buying servants from Da Zhuo. Zheng Hao would not overlook the slightest changes in his living environment, especially matters like buying servants, which involved his and Uncle Gu's safety, and he believed that such matters could not be taken lightly.
After some time, seeing that the newly purchased servants were all honest and dutiful, Zheng Hao finally relaxed his gaze on Haoyunlou.
However, thinking about the origin of the newly purchased servants, Zheng Hao couldn't help but think of what Mr. Zhou and the two Zhen brothers had told him a few days ago.
Last year, the floods in the south were extremely severe, forcing many people from their hometowns to migrate north. Upon hearing of this, the imperial court took it very seriously and specially dispatched an imperial envoy to allocate funds and grain to stabilize the lives of the disaster-stricken people in the south.
However, when the imperial envoy arrived in the south, he discovered to the crowd of disaster victims that not only was the so-called silver made of tin, but even the life-saving food had problems.
On the grain cart, apart from the top few bags which contained real grain, the bags below were filled with mud.
The imperial envoy who was dispatched this time had been in officialdom for several years. He knew that once the disaster relief funds and grain were allocated, many people would try to make a quick buck. He couldn't care less about that, but he also didn't want to jeopardize his future because of it.
Therefore, before setting off, he made a point of checking the silver in the box to make sure it was silver ingots before closing the box. He then used his sword to pierce the grain bag to confirm that what flowed out was grain before the imperial envoy could leave the capital with peace of mind.
I was tricked again.
Facing a group of starving disaster victims, they witnessed the fake silver and fake food. Having just survived the harsh winter and spring, they were hoping for disaster relief from the imperial court, but their hopes were dashed once again.
The disaster victims were blinded by rage. Without relief food, they would die sooner or later. Having lost their parents and wives, they had nothing left to care about. They were unafraid of the swords of the soldiers guarding the imperial envoy, and they were not afraid of the blood and flesh splattered on them after others were killed by the soldiers. They swarmed towards the imperial envoy like locusts.
The soldiers protected the imperial envoy and tried several times to break through the encirclement to help him escape, but they were blocked by layer upon layer of disaster victims, like a sea.
In the end, the officials, soldiers, and imperial envoy were killed by the rioting refugees.
The next day, the local prefect immediately dispatched someone to deliver the memorial to the emperor via express courier.
When the court learned of this, everyone from the emperor to the court officials was furious. Ironically, however, their anger was not because anyone dared to embezzle disaster relief supplies, which led to a series of disasters, but because the ants they had always disregarded dared to rebel and kill the imperial envoy sent by the court to provide disaster relief.
The Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Revenue immediately advised the Emperor: "Your Majesty, these unruly people are difficult to control. They dared to defy their superiors and kill the Imperial Envoy. They are undoubtedly plotting a rebellion. We beg Your Majesty to severely punish these unruly people as a warning to others."
The Emperor nodded in approval and immediately issued an edict ordering the local prefect and the garrison general to send troops to kill the disaster victims who had murdered the imperial envoy.
However, to the emperor and his ministers' utter surprise, they received another urgent message during the morning court session the following day.
The local prefect's memorial was written in a panic: "Your Majesty, please forgive us. The unruly people openly resisted when the government troops tried to arrest them last night. They then killed the government troops, established an army, and called themselves the Red Army. They attracted people from nearby counties and villages with the promise that 'there is food to eat, clothes to wear, and we will not sell our children.' In just one night, they occupied a county town."
The emperor was furious and threw the memorial down into the courtyard. He then ordered the local garrison general to send more troops to kill the rebels. To this day, they still do not take the people's resistance seriously.
Half a month later, the Red-Clad Army decisively defeated the garrison, completely capturing the local prefectural city. They hung the heads of the prefect and the garrison general on the city gate, leaving the emperor and his court officials unable to sit down.
They seemed to realize belatedly that although ants are small, many ants can kill an elephant, and the court fell into a deathly silence.
Having been ill for many days and absent from court for a long time, the Grand Tutor stepped forward and addressed the Emperor, saying: "Your Majesty, I humbly request that you appoint the Imperial Censor as Imperial Commissioner and send him to the disaster area to join forces with the garrisons of the surrounding prefectures to quell the rebellion. I also hope that Your Majesty can show leniency. The Red-Clad Army were originally unarmed civilians who suffered the loss of their homes and families in the face of natural disaster. They awaited the court's rescue, but their hopes were dashed, leading to this great calamity. I beg Your Majesty to spare the lives of women and children when you send troops to suppress the rebels."
After the Grand Tutor made this statement, apart from the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Revenue who voiced their opposition and pleaded with the Emperor to suppress the rebels with an iron fist, no one dared to speak.
The current Grand Tutor is the former Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince and also the current teacher. Although the current emperor dislikes his self-discipline and adherence to etiquette and offers many remonstrances, he still respects him greatly.
Moreover, the Grand Tutor is the father-in-law of the emperor, the father of the empress, and the maternal grandfather of the crown prince. Unlike the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Revenue, who have princes to rely on, they do not dare to oppose the Grand Tutor.
Yesterday, it was because the Grand Tutor was ill that he failed to stop the Emperor from brutally punishing the rebels. Now that he is here, the Emperor naturally trusts the teacher who helped him ascend the throne even more.