Fight the Giants

  Chapter 140 Can't afford official clothes

  After the delivery of the three-board truck, Yang and Yang Fu went home happily pushing the empty truck.

   "Xi'er, if you become a Jinshi, you can wear clothes made by the Weaving Bureau? Is it true that if you have money, you can open a weaving workshop?"

  Huo Xi was stunned, and Yang Fu told her about the situation in the alley just now.

  Huo Xi understood. It turned out that her mother was rushing to talk, and she also said why she asked this.

Then he said: "The weaving workshop is run by merchants. If you have money, you can open it. If you buy some looms and invite some weavers to weave, the weaving workshop will open. The Weaving Bureau is specially run by the imperial court. Baiguan produces all kinds of cloth and clothes."

   "Then Aunt Guan's man will be able to wear the clothes made by the Weaving Bureau if he passes the Jinshi examination and becomes an official?"

  Huo Xi shook his head: "No. Most of the official uniforms for officials are custom-made with their own money."

   "Ah, isn't that official uniform issued by the government?" Yang stopped working, a little surprised.

  Huo Xi smiled: "The artisans of the Weaving Bureau must be exhausted!"

   "There are so many officials?"

"Not really. Every three years in the spring, there are only 300 people selected for the first, second and third best Jinshi. But an official has court clothes, sacrificial clothes, public clothes, and ordinary clothes. There are several kinds of clothes. When I go to see the emperor, I wear public clothes. The yamen office wears regular clothes. They wear it every day, and it’s not enough to make a set. All officials, big and small, have to do it, so the craftsmen in the weaving bureau won’t die of exhaustion?”

   "God, do you have to buy your own clothes when you become an official? Mother thought that once you become an official, the government will give them clothes." Yang tsk-tsk.

  Huo Xi pursed his lips and smiled: "They are all custom-made by the officials according to the regulations of the court. The official uniforms are also very expensive. I heard that some officials have no money to buy official uniforms, so they borrow them from other officials."

   "Ah, still borrowing official uniforms? Will an official have no money?" Yang Fu was stunned.

"Some officials are very poor. As far as our dynasty is concerned, all salaries are paid in rice. Ninth-rank officials are paid five shi a month, eighth-rank officials are five shi and five dou, and seventh-rank officials are six shi. A catty of millet is five or six wen? Rice, There are good and bad, let’s count ten pennies per catty, the salary of the ninth-rank official is only a few taels of silver a month, how much is it a year? To support the family, socialize, and buy so many official uniforms, it’s too big to afford Someone is there."

   Be good, officials still can’t afford official uniforms?

   Seeing that the two of them forgot to close their mouths, Huo Xi smiled and said, "Don't the officials of our dynasty have a patch on their chest?"

   "A supplement?"

  Huo Xi gestured towards his chest: "It's the official uniform worn by officials. There is an embroidered piece on the chest. Different patterns will be embroidered according to different grades."

   "Oh, then I know, the Hebo officer has it on his chest!" Yang Fu tilted his head at Yang Shi, he had seen it!

   Was slapped by Yang Shi. What's wrong.

   "What happened to Buzi?" Yang asked.

   Oh oh, Yang Fuyi interrupted me and gave me a crooked floor. Huo Xi came back to his senses.

"Even the patch is expensive. I heard that an official in the previous court was reluctant to buy it, so he drew a piece of paper on his chest. He was going to have an audience with the emperor at the court meeting. He thought, anyway, he was a low official and stood far away from the emperor. I can’t see him, and everyone won’t stare at him. No matter what, it rained that day, and the paper was soaked by the rain, and the painting was blurred.”

   "Ah, what should we do then? Will he be condemned? Will he be beaten?" Both Yang Shi and Yang Fu sweated for that man.

Huo Xi shook his head: "He was considered a disgrace in front of the palace, and he was supposed to be dragged out to beat the board, but His Majesty the Emperor asked someone to investigate, saying that he was a clean and honest official with a good official style, and it was learned that he was because he had no money to buy an official. Fu did that, I was very moved, and even rewarded him with a lot of cloth."

"That's good."

  Ms. Yang patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief: "Officials who can't afford official uniforms must not take possession or be greedy. Such a good official will be punished, which will chill the hearts of the people."

Huo Xi nodded: "So you know, the official uniforms are ordered by the officials themselves. However, some officials will also get the clothes and cloth bestowed by the emperor. When it’s time, when the order is sealed, they will give you clothes and silks, all of which are woven by the Weaving Bureau.”

  Yang Fu and Yang Shi nodded again and again, so it was so. I thought that if I became an official, I would have everything, but I didn't expect that there are still officials who don't have the money to buy official uniforms. Tut tut.

  Mr. Yang took a look at Huo Xi. This child must have been raised by a rich family. It is estimated that the family also received the clothes given to him, otherwise he would not understand this. He sighed secretly, followed her home, and wronged the child.

  Yang Fu caught Huo Xi and confirmed: "Is it true that the ninth-rank official is only a few taels of silver a month?"

  Huo Xi nodded: "The Hebo officer may only be three or four."

  Yang Fu sighed with emotion: "Then we earn more than him selling goods these days?"

  Huo Xi covered her mouth and smiled: "Yes, uncle. We have earned much more than him these days."

   "What's so good about being an official? Everyone is vying to be an official."

"Uncle, haven't you heard the saying, 'Three years to clear the magistrate, one hundred thousand snowflakes'. Some people can earn one hundred thousand taels of silver after only one term of office. Many people can't earn those for several lifetimes. money."

   "Hey, one hundred thousand taels? Then, the honest and not greedy official will suffer?" Yang was stunned.

   "It's a bit of a disadvantage. But the reputation is good."

   "Then being a bad official will bring you a lot of money, and being a good official will make you poor. Is it better to be an official or not to be an official?" Yang Fu scratched his head wondering.

  Huo Xi laughed: "How to become an official is a kind of learning. Just look at it, uncle. Aren't we all students in this alley who have been in poverty for ten years and are rushing to become an official?"

Mrs. Yang patted her thigh: "That's not true. There must be benefits that we ordinary people can't see, so everyone is vying to be an official. Then we have to make friends with them, and things can't be sold too expensive. Wait for them to become officials in the future." Officer, maybe you can remember us. If something happens to us, maybe you can help us."

   "Sister, you have such a beautiful idea! They have become officials, do you know where the yamen will open? They live in other places, and you also ask them for help?"

  Mr. Yang choked, and made a gesture to hit him: "Anyway, there is nothing wrong with making good friends with them."

  Huo Xi nodded with a smile: "You can't turn against each other. Some people remember everything as big as sesame and mung beans. If something trips us, we don't know the reason."

   "Exactly, Xi'er is right." She glared at Yang Fu again, "Did you hear that?"

   "I heard." Yang Fu made a face at her.

   "Then do we want to lower the price of the things we sell?" Yang asked.

Huo Xi shook his head: "We already sell it very cheaply. We only sell the cotton cloth for four cents and five cents. When they go to the cloth shop, they may not be able to buy it for five cents. Besides, we bought all the firewood, vegetables and other things and sold them for a good price. If it is too low, it will damage the market, and it will not be good if the original sellers are dissatisfied."

   "Yes, yes. It's not easy for us to cut off people's wealth. They are all people who are begging for a living. Why don't we stop doing firewood business? Those who collect firewood and sell firewood are really hard, and they have to go to the city to collect a load of firewood..."

  Huo Xi thought for a while: "If someone chooses to sell it in our alley, mother will tell him when she sees it. We don't care about the outside. There are so many families in the capital, which one doesn't burn firewood? They don't lack customers."

   "Okay, the mother listens to Xi'er."

  The three of them then counted the copper coins to check the proceeds from selling goods this morning.

   Easter eggs were the common clothes of officials in the Ming Dynasty. It's not the clothes we usually wear at home or out. Regular clothes are also a kind of official clothes. Mainly for daily office wear, it is required to wear a black gauze hat, a team collar shirt, mending clothes, and a belt around the waist.

   Public uniforms are for some court meetings, such as the 15th day of the lunar new year when hundreds of officials go to the court to see, enter the palace to thank you, etc., wear it. The court dress is a kind of dress worn on important days such as Zhengdan, Winter Solstice and other ceremonies. At this time, instead of wearing a black hat, you have to wear a crown.

   Court dress and sacrificial clothes are accompanied by a crown, and official clothes and ordinary clothes wear a black gauze cap.

  (end of this chapter)