Chapter 625 Gift to Magistrate Zhou
"Master Zhou lives in the fourth rank of officialdom, but lives a simple life that is rare in the world." After hearing 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 official salary 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. His monthly salary is 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.
The Ming Dynasty used “stone” as the unit to distribute salary. 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, “dou” or “sheng” was used as the unit. "" or "promoted" to distribute official salary, it would show the court's petty attitude, but not enough to show the court's style of loyalty and emolument, so "stone" was used to distribute the 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 "stone" 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 the 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 came from the countryside, so you are so confused. Every meal has three dishes, and white flour steamed buns are enough. How simple is this? Think about it, now we in Ming Dynasty still have How many people have enough food to fill their stomachs? Compared with them, this is 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 simple to reduce one vegetable 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. Last year, the young master originally planned to visit Master Fu Zun, but due to the long distance and lack of transportation, he was unable to make the trip." Zhang Captou said in Zhou Zhi As soon as Fu finished speaking, he couldn't help but add something.
Uh
Hearing this, Zhu Pingan 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 join the rotten country's moths 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 take care of their families because the official salary could not afford to support wives, children, maids and servants. This was the case for Zhou Houjie, who was alone and had a breeze. 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 stalwart 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, take a look, how many officials are there like you? To put it bluntly, my lord's dining table is better than yours. It’s so rich. Cabbage, tofu, pickles, how can your body handle it for a long time? The great master of the common people has no family, no maids, and only an old housekeeper. To put it bluntly, 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 speak out what he had been holding back for a long time.
Haha, the words are rude or not, Zhu Pingan nodded. It is true that what Zhou Houjie did as an official was 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 will still be rewarded. , which is quite a lot. However, people don’t know that firewood and rice are expensive. Although the input is much, the expenditure is also high. Every month, Uncle Han and I need 2 taels of silver, so we have to give 2 taels to the family every month. Jing and Quanzi, they have to pay 2 taels of filial piety to their parents, 4 taels of filial piety to their grandfathers, 2 taels of incense in the clan ancestral hall, and 3 taels of support for the descendants of the clan. Nine out of ten of these are used for the salary, and other expenses have not been counted. . It's very good now."
Hearing this, Zhang Captou raised his head and looked at Zhou Houjie, mumbling for a long time without daring to say anything out loud.
Zhu Ping'an knew what Zhang Captou wanted to say. It was nothing more than gray income such as refining pens and spending money on fire. Zhang Captou was right not to say anything. With Zhou Houjie's temper, it is estimated that Zhang Captou would have to say it even if he said it. Got scolded.
"Ping An has benefited a lot from today's meal. Although Ping An may not necessarily be able to be as clear as water and happy with hardships 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 Pingan sat upright and looked 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 is someone who knows me and understands me." After hearing Zhu Ping'an's words, Zhou Houjie couldn't help but strike the case and said , "I, a peasant boy, have been able to reach this stage because of the bright moon on my shoulder and the cool breeze on my sleeves. As an official, I do not seek to make a name for myself in history, nor do I seek to be famous. Your Majesty, I only want to serve the country and the people. I know that my abilities are limited and I can only do so much for our Ming Dynasty and its people. Integrity is not for reputation, but for the sake of being worthy of the people of heaven and earth. In the future, when I turn into a handful of rotten soil, I can also nourish the earth." Zhou Houjie put down his tea cup and said with emotion.
Hearing this, Zhu Ping'an was moved by the scene and couldn't help but think of a poem from the Qing Dynasty, which was very consistent with Zhou Houjie's. 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 Magistrate of Zhou"
The sun is setting in the daytime of the majestic separation, and the whip is chanting to the east and pointing to the end of the world.
Falling red is not a heartless thing, it turns into spring mud to protect flowers. (End of this chapter)