Chapter 85: Wonderful Kitchen Chapter Eighty-Four: Results

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

The next day at noon, Kong Fuyang followed several Censors into the Canteen.

In the days since arriving at the Capital Prefecture Office, although he had initially clashed with many people, after being scolded by Han Li and mediated, then being kept on with benefits, he had already changed his ways.

These days he helped Han Zhengyan during the day, calculating manpower across various places, scheduling Cells, and compiling information gathered after interrogations, etc.; at night he followed Xin Feng to interrogate prisoners. Kong Fuyang did this and that, though it was very hard work and far from the scene of making a stunning debut he had once imagined, he no longer dared to complain.

He also cared about face.

When Han Li did the same work as him, he did it faster and better, but when he tried to do the other man's work, he couldn't do it.

It wasn't that he wasn't given a chance, but that his own ability couldn't compare—what was there to say?

Just as he joined the line, a Chai Guan coming by with served food met him head-on, and Kong Fuyang heard someone ahead ask: "What are we eating today?"

That person handed over a rice bowl, frowning: "Look for yourself."

"It's these few dishes again! Wasn't the Cook changed?"

"The newly changed Cook is no better than the previous one; the Meat Bun has even become harder to eat!"

"Does cooking only mean boiling things in water? We work day and night for a bit of monthly pay, so how is their Gong Chu's wages so easy to earn?"

"Look! You all look! What have those Leeks been boiled into!"

"The Pork Belly could clearly be pan-fried like last night, so why cut it into big fatty slices and braise it with White Radish!"

A group of people were picking faults here.

That day the Left and Right Military Patrol Academy had summoned Song Miao to help with a meal; the Capital Prefecture Office had countless affairs, almost everywhere was busy, and other courts naturally had night shifts, so they inevitably enjoyed a good meal.

Everyone ate heartily, and the next day they happily spread various rumors among the Left and Right.

For example: "A pretty young lady has come to the Gong Chu!"

Also: "That Cook's Wife has superb skills; our good days are coming! We have blessings to enjoy!"

Again: "I heard that young lady has come, so our night shifts will have late-night snacks from now on—yesterday she had someone send sweet drink, and helped pour tea, drinking it was incredibly refreshing!"

This made a whole group of people wait at mealtime the next morning and run to the Canteen.

But where was there any pretty young lady? Only plate after plate of very familiar old-face dishes.

Though the seasoning had changed slightly, changing this way and that, the method never departed from its essence—either braised or boiled; the so-called "Fried Pork Belly" and "Stir-fried Bean Sprouts" were like a dream.

It is hard to go from luxury to frugality.

Those who hadn't eaten it were fine; the Left and Right found it hard to eat, but life had always been like this.

But those who had eaten it and made a comparison became hard to satisfy—the same ingredients, clearly could be made delicious, so why use these to make do?

Yesterday could be forgotten, but today seeing these same dishes again, after tasting a bite, it was indeed as hard to eat as expected, and everyone couldn't help but start clamoring and complaining to each other.

Someone suggested: "Aren't they changing the Cook? Let's all go back and tell our Superiors, ask them to make a suggestion to the official in charge of the Kitchen—it doesn't need to be very strong skill, at least put some heart into it!"

"Good Cooks aren't easy to find, right?"

"That young lady the day before yesterday was just right!"

"Mention it, everyone go back and mention it!"

A group of people made a racket, and indeed went back to find their respective superiors.

So when Zheng Guanren returned from outside, he hadn't even sat down before Prefect Zheng summoned him.

After entering the room and the tea-serving miscellaneous servant left, Prefect Zheng told him: "The office knows about your relationship with me and gives you some face, but you can't go too far in doing things. This time Tao Gongshi wanted to eat Stir-fried Bean Sprouts, but a whole room of Gong Chu couldn't even fry a decent plate. Zhao Fuyin only comes a few times a year; in front of him, where do you expect my old face to go?"

Zheng Guanren hurriedly explained that the Cook that day was temporarily called by the Left and Right Military Patrol Academy, and so on.

If he hadn't defended himself it would have been fine, but once he explained, Prefect Zheng, who had only meant to say a few words, immediately flared up and scolded: "The Left and Right Military Patrol Academy can temporarily find such a good Cook, but you, who manage the Kitchen every day, can only find some misshapen melons and cracked dates?"

"Don't you know that usually those below have many complaints about your Canteen? If it weren't for me suppressing them..."

"Wasn't it the Left and Right Military Patrol Academy that started it? They are used to making trouble, liking to..."

Zheng Guanren was about to say more, but when he looked up and saw the expression on Prefect Zheng's face opposite, he hastily swallowed his words.

"Today the Six Ministries came together, and even the Left and Right Courts have spoken up. I only ask you one thing—next time Zhao Fuyin wants to eat the Stir-fried Bean Sprouts from the day before yesterday, can he get them or not?"

Zheng Guanren was startled and hurriedly said: "Rest assured, I will definitely handle it!"

Prefect Zheng also said: "If tomorrow the Six Ministries and Two Courts come to find me again, you just take off your clothes yourself and don't be an eyesore here."

Zheng Guanren bowed his head and obeyed, agreeing to every sentence, not daring to drink tea, and hurriedly left.

He had asked two Small Workers and other miscellaneous servants yesterday, and none knew the origin of that young lady, only that her surname was Song.

Since he was unwilling to go to the door and seek boredom, Zheng Guanren gritted his teeth and went outside again to look for a Cook; this time he offered higher pay, thinking he would definitely find a good one.

Who would have thought that before finding a suitable one, a blow came here, not even giving a chance.

He had no choice but to lower his face to find Xin and Han, wanting to ask the name and address of that Song-surnamed young lady from the day before yesterday, find a way to bring her to handle the matter, and later have someone learn her stir-fry method before sending her away.

But Xin Feng was trying a case; once he went in, he didn't come out for half a day. Han Li was leading several Censors and checking the Judge in Qin Jie Gongshu; once the door was closed, no one knew what they were discussing.

Zheng Guanren dared not disturb them. After waiting a long time, he had to give instructions to his subordinates, and he himself dared not delay a moment, hurrying out again.

On this side Zheng Guanren was busy finding a Cook; on the other side, Kong Fuyang had packed food into a Food Box, just preparing to take it back to Han Li, when someone behind patted his shoulder and called: "Worthy younger brother!"

He recognized the voice as familiar, turned back, his eyes widened, and he exclaimed: "Cai Xiu?"

Cai Xiu smiled and said: "I didn't expect to meet you here."

Speaking, Cai Xiu pointed to a table behind and said: "I am also temporarily assigned to the Capital Prefecture Office; it's rare for old classmates to gather here. You and I should look after each other in the future."

Kong Fuyang was still surprised and for a moment couldn't speak.

Cai Xiu then asked: "You've been here these two days; what have you been busy with? I heard the Left and Right Military Patrol Office has a major case. How is the case progressing now? Why don't I see Zheng Yan? Isn't he here?"

He asked several questions in succession.

The matter involved the case, so Kong Fuyang wouldn't leak it anyway; besides, he had been following Xin Feng to interrogate prisoners for several rounds these past two days, exactly when vigilance was needed. The more he looked at Cai Xiu, the more he felt the other was up to something, so he merely perfunctorily answered and asked a few questions in return, then made an excuse of being busy and hurried away.

He returned to the Left and Right Military Patrol Academy office, and after much waiting finally saw Han Li return. Taking the food out of the food box for him, he sold the suspense and said: "Zheng Yan, guess who I met in the canteen just now?"

Before he finished speaking, without waiting for Han Li to guess, he hurriedly gave the answer: "That Cai Xiu actually came on loan too! I asked around, and it was the Legal Officer's side that issued the adjustment summons—what do you think he's here for?"

He sneered again: "Like a leech, the Legal Officer has plenty of case files; he really thinks there's some benefit to pick up? I'm just waiting to see him cry!"

Han Li heard a few words but didn't pay much attention; he wasn't in a hurry to eat either, only asking: "How is your paperwork coming along?"

Kong Fuyang hurriedly said: "It's mostly done! Just a few loose ends left."

"Whatever shape it's in, show it to me first."

Kong Fuyang didn't dare be slow; he hurriedly took over several sheets of paper.

The Upper Yuan Festival case had been interrogated until now, progress was already more than half, most victims hadn't been found, and had long been secretly smuggled out of the city and sold to various counties.

The suspect ringleader was surnamed Lv, originally an out-of-town merchant who had rented a house from Liao Meng, the manager of Tingjiao Hang, and had also spent money to bribe several small chiefs under Liao, claiming the city was under martial law and he was anxious to deliver goods, asking everyone to help transport them out of the city.

This person is not in the Capital right now and luckily escaped.

The Left and Right Military Patrol Academy arrested his subordinates and a group of Tingjiao heads for interrogation, compared the statements, drew a portrait of that Lv Mao, made a description, and notified various counties, posting wanted posters everywhere.

The main culprit is still at large, but even more troublesome is the whereabouts of the victims.

Because neither those Tingjiao heads nor the captured subordinates of Lv Mao knew where the victims were subsequently sold to; the Censors investigated afterward and only roughly found a few directions.

What Han Li had Kong Fuyang do was to find all prefectures and counties with over one hundred thousand households in those directions, and ask the people from the Ministry of War to help mark the garrison locations of the nearby militia, calculating the distance from the Capital to the garrisons, from the garrisons to each prefecture and county, and the time by horse, hurried march, and boat.

Handing over the results of his and that borrowed Chai Guan's busy morning to Han Li, Kong Fuyang couldn't help but ask: "What is this for?"

Han Li said: "If it were just ordinary kidnapping, that Lv Mao should operate in other prefectures and counties to avoid attention, but he specially came to the Capital and spent so much effort abducting people; now whether the missing girls or boys, all are well-born. If there weren't enough benefits, how could he bear to let them go?"

"In the countryside and wilderness, high prices are hard to get; better to first go to the wealthy prefectures and counties. The sooner we knock on doors, the greater the chance of finding them."

He said while looking through the documents in his hand, and asked Kong Fuyang a few details.

Kong Fuyang answered them one by one, and couldn't help but ask: "Then what are we looking for the militia for?"

Han Li looked at him and asked: "Do the Left and Right Military Patrol Academy only handle this case?"

Kong Fuyang was stunned.

"If too few people are transferred out, sending them out is useless; if too many are transferred out, can the daily duties still be done?"

"Can't we ask the local prefecture and county government offices to step in?"

"You want to ask the local prefecture and county government offices to investigate wealthy households?"

Hearing Han Li's counter-question, Kong Fuyang also felt something was wrong, but couldn't figure out where it was wrong for a moment.

Han Li then said: "Wait until this matter is finished, then think about why we can't have the prefecture and county government offices investigate."

After speaking, he put those pages back on the desk and said: "You first finish this document; can you finish it in two hours?"

Kong Fuyang immediately nodded: "I can finish it, I'll do it now!"

He asked again: "Who is this for? Do I need to organize it into a document?"

He said it casually, naturally not noticing that in just a few days, he had already shown signs of actively seeking trouble when doing work, completely different from before when he was unwilling to look at case files.

In the Capital Prefecture Office, everyone was busy in a flurry; on the other side, in Tai Xue Li, everyone was equally busy in a flurry.

The teachers personally took the field and conscripted many Shangshe students to seclude themselves and grade papers for several days, finally finishing grading the public examination answer sheets of both Waishe and Neishe.

As soon as the results were posted, all the students crowded at the bulletin board, each looking up.

Cheng Zijian was of average height, standing in the crowd, his view blocked, so he had to tiptoe and crane his neck to look.

His neck ached after craning for a long time, his eyes didn't dare blink much, and they also felt sore and swollen badly.

He was looking at the leftmost one.

This was the list for Waishe students advancing to Neishe, two long sheets of paper.

Knowing his own ability, he looked from the end toward the front.

He looked for names one by one; many were familiar classmates.

However, he had already looked at half a sheet and didn't see his own name; his heart was already panicked, and now he was nervous to the extreme, his hands and feet all sweaty, sweat on his head too; the sweat flowed into his eyes, he hastily wiped it, but had no time to care more.

He looked carefully for a long while; sometimes he had to look at a name twice, still not recognizing what character it was or how to read it; it entered his eyes but couldn't enter his brain.

Finally, after looking through the last sheet of the list, he still didn't find himself.

Cheng Zijian's heart turned cold; still unwilling to give up, he clung to a sliver of luck, yet felt it was truly impossible, only refusing to give up, and looked at the previous sheet again.

This time he looked even more trembling.

Just as he was looking, someone squeezed over from the side and grabbed his hand.

Cheng Zijian didn't even dare turn his head; he had no time at all to care who was grabbing him.

"Zijian!"

It turned out to be Wang Chang's voice.

Recognizing the old acquaintance, Cheng Zijian perfunctorily said "Ai."

However, soon someone beside called out: "Wang Chang! Found it! Found it!"

Wang Chang immediately let go of Cheng Zijian's hand, hurriedly squeezed over, and asked anxiously: "Where? Where?!"

"Last row at the end of the first sheet, second from the bottom; did you see it?"

Wang Chang was clearly tall enough, but still had to jump to look; he looked several times, repeatedly examined and confirmed his own name, then looked at the affiliated Shezhai behind it, fearing it was a same name; after confirming everything was correct, the corners of his mouth immediately split into a grin, and he foolishly laughed: "Saw it! Saw it! Found it! Found it!"

He also said to the person who reminded him: "Thank you! Thank you!"

Not knowing how many times he had looked at his own name, no less than twenty or thirty times, Wang Chang only then put his heart back in his belly, and turned back to look for Cheng Zijian.

"Zijian..."

He called out once, saw Cheng Zijian's expression was off, reached out and grabbed him; the other's hand was cold; he hurriedly said: "I'll help you look too!"

While saying this, he went to look.

However, Wang Chang started looking from the beginning.

He hadn't looked for long when he suddenly grabbed Cheng Zijian's hand and shouted, "Zijian!!"

Cheng Zijian was already dazed from looking; his mind seemed to have thought of many things, yet also seemed empty and hollow, those names flashing before his eyes, flashing until his heart panicked, his brain as if on the name list, as if it had already flown off to who knows where.

In just a brief moment, while he looked at those names and couldn't find himself, he had already planned out all his future affairs.

If he failed the provincial exam, it didn't matter either; he would return to his hometown, no longer needing to single-mindedly grind away, the family burden too heavy, he would see if he could ask a teacher to help recommend him, write a letter of recommendation, return home to seek an official, enter his service, serve as a Mufu for two or three years, wait until he saved enough money, then come back to study; this way, Elder Sister could also have it easier——and could also help save up a dowry for Xiao Lian.

Although he was a failed outer student, if he asked for less and did more work, it wasn't impossible that someone would be willing to take him in.

This thought actually only flashed by in an instant, but the more he thought, the more he felt it was reliable; for a moment his heart calmed down considerably, only feeling this was Heaven's will, that studying here was forcing things, and being a Mufu was also a perfectly good way out.

Just as he was thinking, his speed of reading names unknowingly slowed by two parts——much of the reason being that his trepidation grew heavier, only afraid that once he finished looking, it would really be finished.

Still counting, his hands and feet went even softer, yet he heard Wang Chang beside him shout, "Zijian! Zijian!"

Wang Chang called once, then called twice more; seeing Cheng Zijian not answer, he hurriedly pulled him hard again, saying, "There it is! Isn't that you! Third row, first one!"

Cheng Zijian's ears buzzed; he only felt he had misheard, let out an "ah," and hurriedly went back to look at the second posted list, searched for a while, didn't see Cheng Zijian, and blankly thought to himself: I already looked over it early on! There isn't any.

(Chapter complete)