Zhu Ping'an was led by Chu Xiong along the tree-lined avenue. Not far from the archives building, he saw a horizontal hall with five bays and two wings. The hall was a standard old-style official building, standing tall and steady. It consisted of the front hall and the back hall, connected by a patio and corridor in the middle, like the Chinese character "工".
The people of Chuxiong are too fat. After walking this distance, Zhu Ping'an deliberately slowed down his pace, but he already started to pant.
Perhaps, he is not only fat, but also a little weak... Zhu Ping'an silently put another label on Chu Xiong.
"Ahem... Brother Zhu, this is where our office is. This is the front hall, which is five rooms wide and is used for external affairs. Our daily affairs are in the back hall. Further back is the inner house, which has an independent building reserved for Brother Zhu. Brother Zhu can place his family through the side door later. Come on, I'll take you inside to meet Lord Neitai first."
The two men walked to the front of the main hall. Chu Xiong supported his waist with his hands and gasped for a few times, then said to Zhu Pingan.
Zhu Ping'an naturally followed the good advice.
"Where is our Lord Neita..." Chu Xiong considered his words carefully and reminded intentionally.
"Please give me some advice, Brother Chu." Zhu Ping'an bowed.
"Our Lord Neitai is the most simple-minded. Brother Zhu, don't be too surprised when you meet him later." Chu Xiong reminded.
"Thank you, Brother Chu, for reminding me." Zhu Ping'an bowed his hands in thanks, feeling somewhat puzzled. Could Lord Neita be so simple and frugal as to surprise people? !
When he met the Chief Inspector of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Zhu Ping'an understood why Chu Xiong had specifically reminded him.
The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Criminal Investigation Commissioner was a thin old man, even a little frail, and his figure was the opposite of Chu Xiong. As Chu Xiong said, he was simple, too simple. Not only was the official uniform he wore faded from starching and washing, but there were also two patches on the cuffs.
When Zhu Ping'an came in to pay his respects, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Chief Justice was having lunch. He must have been busy with official duties and missed the meal, because he was browsing the files in one hand and enjoying lunch with the other.
The lunch was also unusually simple, just a stack of steamed corn bread, a stack of pickled vegetable dumplings, and a bowl of boiled water.
Although the meal was simple, the Censor ate with gusto while reading the files. He didn't even notice Zhu Ping'an and the others coming in. When the crumbs of the steamed bread fell on the table, the Censor reached out and picked it up from the table with extraordinary skill and put it into his mouth without any disgust. His whole set of movements was smooth and seamless, and one could tell at a glance that he did this often.
No wonder Chu Xiong reminded himself not to be surprised.
It would be surprising if he, a third-rank judicial inspector, lived such a simple life.
"Your Excellency, the new assistant magistrate Zhu Ping'an is here to report." Chu Xiong led Zhu Ping'an in and said.
"Oh, our number one scholar has finally taken office. Good, good, our office is short of young people." The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner finally came back to his senses from the files and lunch, put down the files in one hand and the steamed bread in the other, took out a handkerchief with a sense of age and vicissitudes from his sleeve and wiped his mouth, then looked up at Zhu Ping'an with a smile and said kindly.
"Your humble servant Zhu Ping'an pays his respects to the Lord Neitai." Zhu Ping'an stepped forward and saluted. After the ceremony, he presented the name card and official documents from the Ministry of Personnel with both hands, and then stood aside respectfully like a junior student meeting his teacher.
"No need to be polite, Ping An, please take a seat. Wan Cheng, you should also take a seat. There is no need to be polite in front of me."
The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner pointed at the chair opposite and said to Zhu Ping'an and the other man with a smile.
"Wancheng" is Chuxiong's courtesy name, which is taken from the phrase "a great talent will be achieved late in life". Chuxiong was born in an official family. He was highly expected by his family since he was a child, but he never made much progress. It was not until he was over 30 that he entered the official career with the help of his family. In order to change his fortune, his family changed his courtesy name to "Wancheng", hoping that he would achieve great success late in life. Coincidentally, after Chuxiong entered the official career, he was well taken care of by his family and relatives, and he really lived up to the phrase "a great talent will be achieved late in life". When he was close to 50, he was promoted to the current position of the fifth rank assistant.
"Hehe, the Prime Minister is chatting with Ping An, so I won't disturb you. I will come to bother you another day."
Chu Xiong smiled and said goodbye.
"Okay. Oh, by the way, Wancheng, remember to inform the public kitchen to make two more dishes tonight, and we will welcome Ping An together." The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner nodded with a smile and instructed Chuxiong.
"I obey your orders." Chu Xiong accepted the order and said goodbye and left.
"Where is Ping An from? How many people are there in his family? What's his courtesy name? Are you married? ... "
The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner asked about Zhu Ping'an's basic situation as if he was chatting with him.
"Reporting to the Prime Minister, Ping'an is from Xiahe Village, Huaining County, Anqing Prefecture. He has two brothers. The elder one is married. Ping'an's courtesy name is 'Zihou'. He is also married at the behest of his parents and the matchmaker..."
Zhu Ping'an reported back one by one.
After learning that Zhu Ping'an was married, the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner said with some regret, "I have a niece, 28 years old, beautiful, intelligent, gentle and virtuous, and waiting to be married. Zihou is young and promising, and is a perfect match for her. I wanted to be the matchmaker, but I didn't expect to be a step too late... It's the time, it's the fate..."
"Thank you for your kindness, Lord Nei. I am a humble and country boy, not worthy of being called a 'young and promising' man, nor a 'good match'. It is your niece's blessing that I am not destined to be with you. Your niece is beautiful, intelligent, gentle and virtuous, and will definitely find a good match."
Zhu Ping'an replied humbly, expressing his gratitude to the Prime Minister for his appreciation.
"Zihou, there is no need to be modest. You are not even twenty years old, but you are already a fifth-rank clerk. If you cannot be considered a young and promising person, we old men would rather hang ourselves. Fate is something that cannot be forced. Zihou, don't worry about it." The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner waved his hand, and the matchmaking was dropped.
"Mr. Neitai is very humble." Zhu Ping'an bowed.
"Zihou is young and promising, so he should be full of vigor and vitality. There is no need for these stale officialdom atmosphere."
The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner smiled and shook his head.
"Thank you for your teachings, Prime Minister." Zhu Ping'an bowed to express his gratitude.
"It's not teaching, it's just some feelings from an experienced person." The Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Surveillance Commissioner smiled, and then continued, "Zihou, you came at the right time. This welcoming banquet can make you get to know your colleagues one by one. If you had come a month earlier, you could only meet me and Deputy Envoy Jiang. The others, such as Chuxiong, all went to Zhejiang East, Haiyou, Zhejiang, Jinhua and other places to govern in February, and did not return to the office until October. They all came back not long ago. We have only gathered in the office for these two or three months. If you miss it, you can only wait until next year."