Rise From the Humble

"Mr. Zhou lives in the fourth rank of officialdom, but his simplicity of life is rare in the world." After listening to Zhang Captou's explanation, Zhu Pingan greatly admired Zhou Houjie's simple style.

Although the official salary of the Ming Dynasty was notoriously low among previous dynasties, the salary of officials was still much higher than that of ordinary people. Moreover, as a fourth-grade prefect, Zhou Houjie is a high-ranking official in the Kyoto area, half a level higher than his local officials, and his salary is half a level higher than that of the local fourth-grade prefect. His salary is also quite large, but he is willing to live a simple life. This It's very rare.

According to this year's salary standards, the salary of a fourth-grade prefect is 24 shi (meters) per month. The prefect Zhou Houjie is an official in the capital, and his salary is half a level higher than that of the local government, with a monthly salary of 25 shi (meters).

Here, "石" is pronounced as dan.

Shi, Dou, Sheng and He are all traditional units of measurement in ancient times. They are all in decimal system. Ten He is a liter, ten Sheng is a Dou and ten Dou is a stone. It is very convenient to calculate.

In the Ming Dynasty, the salary was distributed in "stone" as the unit. Before the Ming Dynasty, official salary was distributed in "do" or "sheng" as the unit. Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang believed that according to the regulations of the previous dynasty, "do" or "sheng" was used to calculate the salary. The payment of official salary showed that the court was petty, but not enough to show the court's loyalty and salary-oriented style, so "stones" were used to distribute salary. To give a simple example, it is equivalent to a company that used to pay wages in units of "corners" and "cents". The new boss felt that this was too petty and could not show that the company was loyal and valued employees' wages. He issued regulations on wages in the future. Use "yuan" as the unit.

One "shi" of rice is equal to 10 buckets, which is equal to 100 liters. One liter of rice weighs about 1.25 kilograms, and one stone of rice weighs about 125 kilograms. Zhou Houjie's monthly salary is 25 shi, which is 3,125 jins. According to this year's prices, it is equivalent to 13 taels of silver.

If calculated based on current salary, Zhou Houjie's monthly salary is about 8,000. With a salary of 8,000 yuan, he only eats cabbage, tofu, and salted radish strips every meal, without even a hint of meat. Only during the holidays do he have palm-sized crucian carp as a side dish. This is really very, very valuable.

"Zihou, you are from the countryside, so you are confused. Every meal has three dishes, and white flour steamed buns are enough. How simple is this? Think about it, how many people in Ming Dynasty still eat a lot of food? , I can’t fill my stomach. Compared with them, I am already a luxury." Zhou Houjie suddenly said seriously.

Zhu Ping'an smiled bitterly when he heard this, "What you are saying is that if you don't think about yourself, you should also think about your wife and Mr. Ling. It is also simple to reduce one vegetarian dish and add one meat dish to each meal."

"Zihou is too worried. Zhuojing and Quanzi are both in their hometown in Anhui. Although I am not from a wealthy family, my ancestors also left more than ten acres of thin farmland, where they grow melons, vegetables, chickens and ducks. The two of them have more food than I do. Convenient." Zhou Houjie waved his hand and said with a smile.

"Master Fu Zun has been an official in Beijing for many years. He is alone and has never brought his family with him. Last year, the young master originally planned to visit Master Fu Zun, but due to the long distance and lack of financial support, he was unable to make the trip." Zhang Captou had just finished speaking in the Zhou Prefecture and reluctantly I couldn't help but add something.

Well

When Zhu Pingan heard this, he turned his gaze to Zhou Houjie and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Naked official!

This is the naked official in ancient times!

Modern times are different. Modern naked officials are those officials whose spouses and children have immigrated abroad. Most of them line their own pockets and are ready to run away and defect to the corrupt other side of the country at any time.

The naked officials in ancient times were not like those in modern times. They did not go to other places to be officials and raise their families because the official salary could not afford to support their wives, children, maids and servants. This was the case for Zhou Houjie, who was alone and had nothing to lose. Therefore, most of the naked officials in ancient times were honest and upright officials, and every hair on their head was a hundred times more powerful than those of modern naked officials.

"Talk too much." Zhou Houjie glanced at Zhang Captou.

"My lord, it's not that I'm talking too much, I'm just aggrieved by your lord. Sir, look at how many officials are like you. To put it bluntly, my lord's dining table is better than yours. It’s much richer. Cabbage, tofu, and pickled vegetables. How can your body bear it for a long time? How can you be the great master of the people? No family members, no maids, only an old housekeeper. To put it boldly, you You are not an official, you are a monk." Zhang Captou seemed to have been holding back for a long time. This time with Zhu Ping'an beside him, he was bold enough to take advantage of the topic and spoke out what he had been holding back for a long time.

Haha, the words are rude or not, Zhu Ping'an nodded. It is true that Zhou Houjie's work is really close to that of an ascetic.

"It is easy to go from simplicity to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality." Zhou Houjie smiled slightly, took a sip of tea and said, "Although I am a fourth-rank official, my salary plus special salary and rewards are quite a lot. However, you don’t realize that firewood and rice are expensive when you are not a householder. Although the income is much, the output is also large. Me and Uncle Han need 2 taels of silver every month for food, and we have to spend 2 taels of silver every month at home to give to Zhuo Jing and Quanzi. Where can my parents be? You should also pay 2 taels of filial piety, 4 taels of filial piety to your grandfather, 2 taels of incense in the clan ancestral hall, and 3 taels of financial support for the descendants of the clan. These are all used up nine out of ten of the salary, and other expenses have not been counted. Now it is very good. "

Hearing this, Zhang Captou raised his head and looked at Zhou Houjie, mumbling for a long time without daring to speak out.

Zhu Ping'an knew what Zhang Captou wanted to say, and it was nothing more than gray income such as refining his pen and spending money on fire. It was right for Zhang Captou to keep silent. With Zhou Houjie's temper, Zhang Captou would probably be reprimanded if he said it.

"Ping An has benefited a lot from today's meal. Although Ping An may not necessarily be able to be as clear-minded and willing to live in poverty as you are in the future as an official, he must also learn from you to have a bright moon on your shoulders and a breeze on your sleeves." Zhu Ping'an sat upright and serious. He bowed his hands in admiration.

Zhu Pingan benefited a lot from this meal and learned a lot from Zhou Houjie. The fact of being honest alone inspired him a lot.

"Okay, what a bright moon on one shoulder and cool breeze on the other's sleeves! Zihou and I have known each other for a short time, but he knows me well and understands me." After hearing Zhu Ping'an's words, Zhou Houjie couldn't help but said, "I am a farmer." The reason why I have reached this point is because of the bright moon on my shoulder and the cool breeze on my sleeves. As an official, I do not seek to be remembered in history, nor do I seek to be famous as a saint, but only to serve the country and the people. I know that my talents are limited, and what I can do What I can do for our Ming Dynasty and the people of our Ming Dynasty is limited. Since I, Zhou Houjie, have not done much for the country and the people, I can't do much harm to the country and the people. I am an honest official not for the sake of reputation, but for the sake of being worthy of the heaven and earth and the people. I will be an official in the future. Even if it turns into a handful of rotten soil, it can also nourish the earth." Zhou Houjie put down his teacup and said with emotion.

When Zhu Ping'an heard this, he was moved by the scene. He couldn't help but think of a poem from the Qing Dynasty, which was very suitable for Zhou Houjie. Seeing the pen, ink, paper and inkstone beside me, I couldn't help myself. I took the pen in my hand and started writing.

For a time, the pen and ink flowed freely:

"Gift to the Prefect of Zhou"

The sun is setting in the mighty and sorrowful day, and the whip is chanting to the east and pointing to the end of the world.

Fallen flowers are not heartless things, into Chunni more quadrangle.