Xuzhou's governor, Niu Zhenghong, had two greatest fears in his life. The person he feared the most was his father, Niu Bula, and the thing he feared the most was that his official career advancement was too slow! He was both a filial son and an official enthusiast!

  In ancient times, if a person was not filial to their parents, it would be extremely difficult for them to establish themselves in officialdom. Political enemies only needed to attack him, and they would use his lack of filial piety as the reason, attacking him with precision, making anyone fall. Therefore, generally speaking, officials were all filial sons, or at least appeared to be so on the surface!

  Niu Zhenghong is an official fanatic. His greatest hope in life is to enter the Ministry of War and become a real prime minister. For this, he works tirelessly and never relaxes.

  Everything has two sides, although being an official is not good, but because he wants to be promoted, he must work hard. Now it's the Zhen Guan years, wanting to rely on flattery and bootlicking to get promoted isn't easy, you also need achievements.

  Niu Zhenghong is considered a good official. Under his governance, Xuzhou has no miscellaneous taxes and no forced labor, the people live in relative peace!

  It's easy to talk about officialdom, but what's worrying is family matters. Niu Zhenghong was born in extreme poverty, he was the sixth child, and his five older brothers and sisters all died prematurely because of poverty. His father, Niu Bulao, worked hard to support him, even begging for food to send him to school, being a parent is not easy.

  Niu Bula's father gave him the name Niu Bula, hoping that his son would not have to live a life of hardship like an ox pulling a plow every day. However, Niu Bula's fate did not change because of his name, but he hoped that his own son could live a good life. Niu Zhenghong did not disappoint his father and made him proud, passing the imperial examination as a young man and rising to become a high-ranking official.

  So Niu Zhenghong was the most filial, after his days were good, the first thing he did was to bring his father over to enjoy the blessings. However, after his days were good, Niu Bu La no longer had to work hard and his weight gradually increased, and his temper also became more and more violent, often scolding his son. When Niu Zhenghong was young and made a mistake, Niu Bu La would punish him by making him kneel down and recite the Analects of Confucius. Now although Niu Zhenghong had become a governor, when Niu Bu La looked at him with disapproval, he still punished him in the same way.

  Today, Niu Zhenghong accidentally provoked the wrath of Niu Bula, and after being scolded severely, he came out to kowtow. This kind of situation is nothing new to the servants, who have long been accustomed to it. As soon as they hear someone getting scolded inside, they prepare the cushion and ruler outside.

  Niu Zhenghong complained for a few sentences and then continued to recite.

  Just then, a green-robed official came in from outside and saw Niu Zhenghong with his head bowed and reciting the Analects of Confucius. He thought to himself: "The rules of this household are really strict, having to kneel every other day. But this also shows that Old Man Niu's way of teaching his son is effective, he has managed to train a xiaoshi (a minor official). Alas, why didn't my father discipline me like this when I was young? If he had supervised me more closely, maybe I could have become a xiaoshi too!"

  The green-robed official came to Niu Zhenghong's side, also running down, but found that due to his own tall stature, while Niu Zhenghong was short, the two knelt together, he was actually half a head taller than Governor Cishi! This wouldn't do, how could he let his superior look up at him? He hastily bowed his waist, forcing himself to be half a foot shorter than Niu Zhenghong, only then did he begin to speak.

  "Your Excellency, recently due to the floods in Songzhou and Bianzhou, many refugees have fled to our Xuzhou. With so many people, it's inevitable that grain prices will rise, making life difficult for the people of Xuzhou as well. This is a matter of governance, if prices rise too much, someone might take note and report it to Chang'an, which would be a great embarrassment to Your Excellency. Therefore, this matter must be dealt with promptly, to prevent trouble before it arises!"

  Niu Zhenghong nodded and said, "Not bad..." As he nodded, the ruler on his head fell off with a loud clatter. He quickly picked it up and put it back on top of his head.

  Suddenly a voice came from the building: "Little rabbit, if you have something to do, roll away and come back to recite books after finishing your business!" The voice was old and it was actually the father of the governor, Niu Bula!

  Niu Zhenghong hastily said: "I'll do whatever you tell me to, Ah-ye!" He put down the ruler and stood up. He called Niu Bu-la 'Ah-ye', which was a dialect left over from the Northern Dynasties era, meaning 'father' rather than 'grandfather'.

  The green-robed official stood up with him, thinking to himself: "I scolded his son as a little rabbit, so isn't he an old rabbit? I remember last time it was clearly 'son of a bitch'!"

  Niu Zhenghong stepped down and quickly walked towards the front hall, asking: "Is there anything else besides this?"

  The green-robed official hastily said: "Yesterday, the mountain master Qiu Wen of Xiangtang Academy sent a name card, saying that he would come to pay his respects to your lordship today. He has already arrived and is waiting in the side hall!"

  Niu Zhenghong hummed and said, "This official knows about this matter. You say it's strange, Qiu Lao has always been proud of his integrity, never coming to see me, why did he come today? Is there something he wants from me?"

  It's not that there aren't good things, it's just that there aren't good people!

  This green official and Qiu Wenpu had no grudges, but he was quite at odds with the academic administration of this province. Upon hearing what Cishi Daren said, he immediately chimed in: "Qiu Laoer and his disciples have been manipulating the list of nominees for the imperial examination in this province, every time they directly send it to Chang'an without consulting you, sir. This is a great disrespect! I am indignant on your behalf, it's really too presumptuous!"

  Niu Zhenghong nodded and thought for a moment, "That's right. So, what do you think Qiu Lao'er came here for today?"

  The green-robed official said: "According to the officials' conjecture, it must be that there was a problem with the list. He didn't put which young master of a wealthy family on the list, resulting in dissatisfaction, and he couldn't solve it, so he came to ask the adults for more quotas!"

  "How can this be? The number of tribute scholars is fixed by the imperial court, how can it be increased at will? Who does he think he is? I detest officials who only seek fame and do not take care of real affairs. Besides causing trouble, they are useless!"

  The green-robed official smiled and said, "Who says it isn't?"

  Niu Zhenghong stopped in his tracks and said, "Don't go to the side hall anymore, let him come to the study to see me. Also, you just guard the door outside, listen for the sound of this official slamming a cup... hmm, listen for the sound of this official coughing, then come in and say that there is something important up front, so this official can get rid of him!"

  The green-robed official hastily said: "Yes, I will definitely make arrangements for Your Excellency to be comfortable and at ease!" With a smile on his face, he quickly walked away.

  Niu Zhenghong turned around and went to the study room, picked up a book from the bookshelf at random, pretended to read it, and soon Qiu Wenpu arrived!

  Qiu Wenpu took the first volume of "Xiangtong Yehua" to make a block, and after handling things properly, he came to visit Niu Zhenghong to ask for an apprentice quota for Wang Ping'an.

  As soon as he entered the house, Niu Zhenghong stood up with a smile on his face, repeatedly apologizing for not being able to go out and greet him. Qiu Xunpu was naturally polite, and the two men took their seats as host and guest.

  After drinking two mouthfuls of fragrant tea and exchanging three polite sentences, Qiu Wenpu led the conversation to the main topic, saying: "Sir, I have seen many refugees arriving in Xuzhou recently. I am worried that there will be an outbreak of plague after the disaster. Fortunately, I obtained a good prescription, which is why I came to offer it to you today!" He handed over the prescription for Huixiang Zhengqi San.

  Niu Zhenghong took over Fang Zi and looked at it for a few eyes. He didn't understand medicine, couldn't see the pros and cons of this prescription, and even what disease it was treating was unclear.

  Qiu Wenpu said, "This prescription has cured several patients and is very effective. I think that if there is an outbreak of plague in the future, using this prescription will surely cure many refugees. This prescription was given to me by a nameless disciple named Wang Ping'an, who is young and ambitious, wanting to serve the imperial court, but unfortunately his name is not on the list of tribute scholars for next year's imperial examination..."

  Niu Zhenghong thought to himself, "Here it comes, he's going to use that prescription as an excuse to talk about his shady business!" He didn't want to hear it and loudly cleared his throat several times.

  The green-robed official who had been standing guard outside entered at once and said: "Your Honor, there is an urgent matter ahead. Please go quickly to deal with it!"

  Niu Zhenghong's face turned unpleasant as he pretended to scold, "What urgent matter could there be? Can't you see that I'm in the middle of speaking with Old Master Qiu?"

  Qiu thought to himself, "Today's visit is not timely!" He couldn't continue the conversation, and if he lingered any longer, he would inevitably become a nuisance. So he got up to take his leave, planning to find another time to come again and ask for a quota for Wang Ping'an. The green-robed official escorted him out.

  Niu Zhenghong took another look at the prescription, hummed, and thought to himself: "It's Songzhou and Bianzhou that are affected, not my Xuzhou. Even if a large number of refugees flood in, all I need to do is stabilize grain prices. Plague? Where did so many plagues come from! Even if there is a plague, the countless doctors in the city can handle it!"

  He casually tucked the prescription between the pages of a book, sneering: "If I could use this prescription, I'd write the word 'cow' upside down from now on!" He carelessly tossed the book onto the bookshelf and stormed out of the study.

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  Here is the translation:

  Special thanks: Thanks to book friend Qinglin for his generous rewards, thanks to book friend qq9328 for his generous rewards, thanks to book friends Wo Shi Xiao Xiao She, 100106183041448, Xiaomaner for their continuous enthusiastic rewards, thanks to book friends Shiguang Liushui He La La, Yun Ceng Kongjian, Da Yu for their enthusiastic rewards. Wishing you peace and safety, I sincerely thank you all!

  Barramundi

  Recipe: 1 live carp (500-1000g); ginseng 5g, floating wheat 20g, Chinese truffle 10g, lean ham 1000g, egg 1, raw lard 25g, chicken broth 500g.

  Method: Cut off the head of the live turtle, drain the blood, scald in boiling water for 3 minutes, then remove and scrape off the black membrane on its back and edges with a small knife. Remove the white skin from its legs and cut off its claws and tail. Place the pot over the fire, add clear water and the turtle, boil for half an hour, then scoop out and place in warm water to remove the yellow oil. Remove the dorsal shell and abdominal armor, cut into small pieces, and arrange in a bowl. Cut the ham into small slices, and the ginger into small pieces, cover on top of the turtle, add scallions, ginger, salt, Shaoxing wine, and clear broth as needed. Wrap the floating wheat and Chinese angelica in gauze and put them in the bowl. Sprinkle the powdered ginseng on top, cover with wet paper towels, and steam for 2-3 hours until cooked through. After the turtle is steamed, remove the scallions...

  Function: Tonifying Qi and nourishing Yin.

  Usage: Take with meals.