Man Bao simply said: "Then based on two cents, a person must eat one or two kilograms of vegetables a day, and meat, even if it is eaten every other day, now one kilogram of meat, even pork, costs twelve cents

One kilogram, chicken, beef and sheep are even more expensive, even if you only eat half a kilogram of meat every other day..."

"How can we eat so much? Two taels of meat is enough..." Liu Shangshu said: "And don't think that I don't know that twelve cents per pound of pork is good meat. We can buy some not so good meat.

Pig heads, some relatively lean meat, and sewers, etc., the cheap ones are five or six cents, and the expensive ones are seven or eight cents."

The emperor and other ministers were stunned. Is this how meat is sold outside?

Wait, why do they know so much?

Forget about Liu Shangshu, he is the Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue after all, and his subordinates will send him price lists every day. But Zhou Man, you are not from the Ministry of Husbandry, and you don’t have to go out to buy food. Why are you so familiar with it?

Man Bao naturally knew this from her father. Now that he has nothing to do, he goes to the vegetable market with his sixth brother or eldest brother and sister-in-law in the morning. Occasionally he buys some money for the family, and most of the time it is for restaurants.

During this period of time, she often lived outside the palace in order to take care of the three patients in Huangzhuang. When she got up early in the morning, she would sit and have breakfast with her father while listening to him talk about something that got a penny more today.

A little cheaper again...

After talking too much, Manbao memorized it.

The two of them were bargaining back and forth, and Xiao Yuanzheng and Dr. Lu were helping from time to time. Liu Shangshu probably felt that one hundred taels was too little, so he reluctantly mentioned six hundred taels.

However, the money was not given directly to the Imperial Hospital, or even to the Ministry of Punishments. Instead, he said: "When the time comes, the menus will be listed. Those who are willing to accept this can order three meals a day from these menus or take turns.

At the end of the month, the Penal Department will report it to our Household Department along with other expenses."

Still unwilling to give money directly.

"There are other methods, such as reducing the distance of exile, and the number of years will be calculated separately."

The Minister of Punishment felt that this was too troublesome, so he said that it would be better to pay the money in one lump sum, so that the national treasury would not be unable to get out even 600 taels, right?

Liu Shangshu, who is not afraid of boiling water, said: "That's right, it's just difficult to take it out. Otherwise, why don't you move it to another place? Your Ministry of Punishment will apply for a lot of foreign funds this year."

The Minister of Punishment immediately stopped talking.

Wei knew: "Your Majesty, in addition to this, you can also exile some felons to the border and directly change their military status. Their return to the civilian population may harm one party, but in the army, with sergeants watching over them, they should not cause trouble. Maybe they can still

Create a great career."

The emperor asked Lord Tang, "What do you think, Mr. Tang?"

Lord Tang frowned and thought.

Some felons in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment were sent to work in the mines. It was really miserable, even worse than exile. After all, they were treated like slaves, and most felons could not get out alive.

Mines are basically dead within ten years.

In comparison, joining the army seems to be much more tolerant. Although you still have to risk your life to fight, it is possible to accumulate merits to atone for your sins.

Even if the accumulated merits are not enough to offset the crime, life will be much easier than in the mine.

After all, he had to fight for his life, so Mr. Old Tang no longer had any objections and nodded.

So everyone tentatively decided on these reward methods and then took them to the Ministry of Punishment to recommend candidates.

The emperor was very satisfied with the results of Zhou Man's experiment. Knowing that they had been very busy these two days, he asked them to go back and rest.

Man Bao got two days of leave, which was to make up for the last ten-day leave. When she happily rode home with her medicine box in hand, Xiao Yuanzheng's carriage caught up from behind. He opened the curtain and said: "Zhou

Imperial Physician, please don’t be too busy with other jobs in the day after tomorrow. Go to the Criminal Department to find me first, and we will select someone together."

Man Bao nodded in agreement.

The carriage then drove off ahead of her.

When she returned home, she jumped off her horse and handed Chi Ji to her servants. She picked up the medicine box and asked, "Are Bai Shan and the others at home?"

"The young master and the second young master went out to the Zhuangyuan Building. They also said that if Miss Man comes back and feels bored, she can go to the Zhuangyuan Building to play with them."

"Have you not finished the official examination yet?"

In the first month of the year, the Ming Jing examination was held in the capital. After the results were released in February, the examination of the Ministry of Rites came immediately. It was very simple. Go in and let the officials of the Ministry of Rites see that you have an upright face, a suitable height, and that there is nothing wrong with your speech. You can pass. It is the easiest.

An exam.

Then there is the official selection examination for the Ministry of Personnel.

Bai Shan did not plan to elect an official, so although he passed the Jinshi examination, he did not even take the exam of the Ministry of Rites. However, the Chongwen Hall and the Imperial College still gave the students a holiday and allowed them to move around freely.

Yi Ziyang went to take the exam, but he didn't know how he did in the exam.

Man Bao thought for a moment, carried the medicine box back to his room, and then rode his horse to Zhuangyuan Building to find them.

Yi Ziyang was giving them exam questions from the Ministry of Punishment. He had a good memory and would not forget the questions after finishing them.

Moreover, the Zhuangyuan Building is now full of people discussing the topic. Even if he forgets it for a moment, if he goes out and walks around and hears them discussing it, he will remember it.

Bai Shan looked at the test questions and sighed: "It's not easy after all."

Yi Ziyang nodded, "Most of them are very basic questions. Most of the questions are about recommending officials, and there are also questions about persuading farmers. It is not difficult to complete, but it is not necessarily difficult to write it perfectly. Look at this

The two questions are about the header of the official document and the header and ending of the fold for His Majesty. To be honest, I was confused for a while, and I didn’t know if I wrote it correctly."

Feng Zongping said: "There is also an example of asking the Ministry of Punishment to write a recommendation. This is even more difficult."

Yi Ziyang nodded, "But I heard that the official selection test for the Economics Department is much simpler than that for the Jinshi Department. The main test for the Mingshu Department is the one from the Ministry of Husbandry, and the Mingfa Department is the one from the Ministry of Punishment, mixed with it.

It’s just some knowledge from other departments that they will use, but the Jinshi Department is much heavier than them. I don’t know how many people will be stuck this time.”

Bai Shan said: "Probably not. There are only a few people in the Jinshi department. As long as the rolls are not bad, you should be able to pass."

Yi Ziyang nodded, "Fortunately, there are not many difficult questions, but they are too detailed."

When Man Bao arrived, they had almost finished their discussion. When they saw her coming in, they all stood up, greeted her, sat down, and ordered her another meal.

Manbao asked Yi Ziyang, "How did you do in the exam?"

Yi Ziyang smiled and said: "Just so so."

Man Bao laughed and said: "You still have merit in going to Xiazhou this time. If you rank higher in the civil service examination this time, you will be at an advantage when selecting officials."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they remembered this. Those who had been to Xiazhou seemed to have received rewards from the imperial court. Zhou Man was better than them, and he also received rewards from the palace.

Feng Zongping perked up and asked, "So your Majesty also knows about us?"
Chapter completed!