The family sat in the main room and had dinner.

　　”Dad, you and Zhou Zhou should eat early. You don’t have to wait for me to come back. Just leave the food for me. Don’t go hungry.” Gu Zhao came back, having just taken off his official uniform and washed his hands and face before sitting down.

　　Li Da said, “I’m not hungry. I haven’t done any heavy work all day.” He had heard Lao Er^[1]Li’s second son say before that people in prefectures and counties ate with small bowls, and one bowl of rice was enough. At that time, he thought Lao Er was not telling the truth, because when he was in prefectures and counties, he also ate two bowls of rice in a large bowl.

　　Now that I’m in the capital, I eat less.

　　”Husband, did work go smoothly at the yamen today? Did you arrive late?” Li Zhouzhou was concerned about this.

　　Gu Zhao patted Zhou Zhou on the back of his hand and said, “I’m not late. I’m early.” The latter told his father what he said. Seeing that his father didn’t believe him, he explained, “I’m really not late. I was almost there when my father sent me there. I walked there for less than two quarters of an hour. When I got to the government office, I drank two cups of tea and sat there for more than an hour before my colleagues arrived.”

　　”Working so late.” Li Zhouzhou was surprised.

　　When Li Da heard this, he said that it was better to be an official as it was more leisurely than being in school.

　　Gu Zhao smiled and said to Zhou Zhou, “Yes, after I went there, I haven’t had much work to do recently. I just read books, wrote articles and drank tea all day.” He changed the subject and talked about the two servants at home, “Do you know their background? Our family has Fu Bao now, so we need to check and verify more.”

　　If you have children at home, you still need to pay more attention to them.

　　”I know. My father and I are always watching Fubao.” Li Zhouzhou told about Fang Liu and Lan Mama and where they were from. “I didn’t dare to look for him anywhere else. I listened to what my husband said. I’m not afraid of the broker taking the money.”

　　This year, I asked the pawnbroker to send a servant over, and the money just for the pawnbroker was one or two taels of silver.

　　Of course, the identities of the people sent by the dental clinic were verified to prevent some scoundrels or dishonest people from stealing the owner’s money. Some of them were careless in looking after the children, allowing the children to run away or be abducted. Employers must be careful and cautious.

　　You can’t save money on this tooth.

　　Neither Fang Liu nor Mrs. Lan were from the capital. Fang Liu’s hometown was flooded more than 20 years ago, leaving him with no harvest or food. He wandered to the capital with his remaining family members. He was originally a disaster victim, but after being settled by the court, he did not return to his hometown, because he sold himself to a family as a servant.

　　It should be a death contract.

　　The master trusts such servants the most, so why would he drive them out?

　　”The broker said that Lao Fang broke the master’s favorite vase, and that he was too clumsy to serve, so they kicked him out.” Li Zhouzhou finished speaking, and at that time he was also thinking, “But I see that Lao Fang doesn’t talk much, and he is honest and well-behaved. Husband, do you think there is a problem?”

　　Gu Zhao: “Did the Yuan family owner return the indenture to Lao Fang? Either the Yuan family owner is kind, or there is something else going on. No hurry, I’ll take a look. Anyway, Lao Fang is at the outer gate, picking me up and dropping me off at get off work on weekdays, cleaning the outside stables and other heavy work, so it’s okay for him not to go inside.”

　　Li Zhouzhou thought the same thing at the time. The broker brought five people with him, and of the two men, only Lao Fang seemed to be honest and well-behaved. He really didn’t like the other one because he was too slick.

　　As Mrs. Lan refused to sell herself, she was assigned to sweep the outside of the mansion or help in the kitchen. She changed jobs several times because she had to go back to help take care of her daughter-in-law after she gave birth.

　　Since they are not irreplaceable, it is easy for a large mansion to hire maids.

　　”Let’s just take a look. Mommy Lan just cooks and washes clothes, and Dad and I will take turns doing the shopping. It will be fine as long as there is always someone by Fubao’s side.” Li Zhouzhou has made up his mind.

　　Gu Zhao nodded and didn’t interfere in the housework.

　　After the meal, Mother Lan came to clean up and said that hot water was boiling in the pot and the master and mistress could wash up.

　　When Master Gu first heard the word Madam, he raised his eyebrows and looked at his own Zhou Zhou. Zhou Zhou knew that his husband was teasing him again, so he gently patted his husband’s arm. After Mama Lan left, Li Zhou Zhou said, “I said to call me Zhou Zhou, but Mama Lan didn’t listen. I guess it’s not proper to call me Mr. Li. It doesn’t seem right either. Everything has changed since we arrived in the capital.”

　　”Thank you for your hard work.” Gu Zhao held Zhou Zhou’s hand and said solemnly, “I shouldn’t have teased you about this.”

　　”My husband, you are not laughing at me in your heart. I know that.”

　　Originally, in the prefectures and counties, people were all low-class people trying to make a living. Whether they were boys or men, their lives were actually quite broad. For example, when doing business, there were no rules. But now it is different. Gu Zhao became an official, even if he was a small official of the seventh rank, but he had to be an official. He was put on the shelf, and the family members in the backyard house were also put on the shelf.

　　Li Zhouzhou was not used to it, but he was not the kind of person who complained. Instead, he quickly integrated into the society, adapted to the rules, and lived a prosperous life within the rules.

　　After washing up, the couple sat on the bed and chatted.

　　”I had thought of opening a small shop in Beijing to sell braised pork, but now my father and I definitely can’t show up and do it ourselves.” Li Zhouzhou patted Fubao and saw that he had fallen asleep. Just as he raised his arm to stop patting, Fubao’s clenched fist moved.

　　Gu Zhao saw him and said, “I’ll do it, you take over.” He then took his turn to coax his son to sleep. Then he asked in a low voice, “How much are our expenses now? I get three and a half taels of silver a month now, and I have to pay rice at the end of the year. I wonder if it’s enough for the family’s daily expenses, and how much is the difference?”

　　Officials in the Dali period had a dual salary system: monthly silver payments and annual rice payments.

　　The annual salary of a rank 7 was 43 taels, while the second brother of the rank 7 received 2 taels more than him, 45 taels. The annual salary was paid monthly. At the end of the year, he would also receive rice, one tael of silver equaled half a stone, which meant that his family would receive 21.5 stone of rice at the end of the year.

　　More than 2,000 kilograms of grain, including two servants, was definitely enough for the family. Some minor officials had few people in their families and were very poor. They could not finish the grain, so they would secretly sell the rice they received at the end of the year, and the price was lower.

　　”Mother Fang Lan’s monthly salary is 700 wen, which means 400 wen for one tael. Those who collect night-scented sewage get 50 wen per month.” Li Zhouzhou also thought it was expensive. In the past, when he was in the prefecture and county, 50 wen could cover three months of collection, but now it’s only one month.

　　Of course it’s because his house is big and it takes a lot of manpower.

　　”That’s one and a half taels.” Gu Zhao said with a smile: “Fortunately, I don’t have to buy pens and ink now.” He used all public funds.

　　Li Zhouzhou knew that his husband was worried about this, so he said on his behalf, “It’s not a big deal. It will be the end of the year in a few months, and we’ll just move here. Everything will cost money, and it will seem like the expenses are a bit high, but it will be fine next year. We’ll have rice and grain, and we only need to buy some vegetables, meat, oil lamps, candles, firewood, etc.”

　　His monthly salary was also tight, and if he had to do favors for others, he would probably have to dig out another 1 or 2 taels from his family’s savings.

　　”Don’t worry, my husband. There will always be a way.” Li Zhouzhou said softly.

　　Gu Zhao nodded. There was no point in worrying. Fortunately, his family still had some savings. His family was in such a tight spot. He didn’t know what Second Brother Yan’s family would do.

　　The Yan family’s courtyard was also in trouble.

　　When Yan’s father came back in the morning, he was so frightened that he couldn’t speak clearly, and the family couldn’t get any information out of him. Liu Shu was originally in confinement after childbirth, and he was so impatient that he almost got up and went to the Li family to find out what was going on, but he was stopped. Grandma Yan told Xiao Shu not to worry, your father-in-law is just such a nagging person, you don’t know yet, it’s nothing serious, right?

　　Grandma Yan herself was not sure, luckily Li Zhouzhou came over in the morning.

　　The Yan family gave a warm welcome. Liu Shu, who was in confinement in the east wing, could not sit still when he heard Zhou Zhou’s voice and wanted to come out to see what was going on. Li Zhou Zhou then went in and told Liu Shu to sit still and calm down, and not get angry or anxious, as it was nothing serious.

　　Everyone’s hearts were at ease. Liu Shu was not anxious either. He was anxious this morning because his father-in-law couldn’t say anything. But he looked so pale, how could he not be anxious?

　　”My father was also frightened today, it’s not Uncle Yan’s fault. The capital is not like the prefectures and counties, and it’s more like the countryside, there are more rules. Today my father and Uncle Yan are halfway back, I think it’s better to hire a driver to drive the carriage. I’ll go to the brokerage office to find a broker, and come to tell you, see if your family wants to invite one.”

　　The Yan family thinks it’s too expensive. They just bought a yard and a mule cart, which are big expenses. Now they don’t farm and can’t work, so why do they need to hire someone to drive the cart?

　　”We still need to find a driver.” Liu Shu made up his mind and asked Zhou Zhou to agree on his behalf, so that he could just find a driver. Facing the elders’ concern for money, Liu Shu hugged his son and said, “Jinxin is already an official. He can’t walk to and from work. Not only will he be laughed at, but if he is late for work, he will be blamed for any mistakes. We can’t save money on this.”

　　”It doesn’t matter how shabby our family is when we’re shut up. We can’t embarrass Jinxin when he goes out.”

　　Since it was about Yan Jinxin, the whole family was speechless and praised Xiaoshu for being able to make decisions, which was as he should.

　　However, at lunch, the broker sent people over. He first sent the Yan family because they were a little closer and Lord Yan had a high official position, so of course he came next to Lord Yan, even though the Yan family only needed one driver.

　　The driver sent three people, and Fang Liu was among them.