Chapter 12: A Thousand Gold Pieces a Day

"All guards, come here!"

"The Sovereign has set an example for us; let us no longer idle away our days in useless positions!"

"From this day forward, we shall forge a mighty army!"

The guards responded in succession, letting out a roar that was as unprecedented as it was stirring.

"Forge a mighty army!"

Hearing Yao Jin’s boisterous shouts and the enthusiastic response of the guards, a surge of fervor rose in Zhang Bao’s heart. A faint smile played upon his lips. The look he cast toward Chai Xiao, though furtive, held a touch more admiration and significantly more awe than usual.

...

Chai Xiao entered the side chamber and sat before the long table already laden with breakfast, clicking his tongue in disbelief.

For meat dishes alone, there were roasted meats, fish sashimi, white-cut chicken, ginger-marinated duck, and roasted squab. For vegetables, there were mallow, spinach, shepherd's purse, and bamboo shoots. As for staples, porridges, and pastries, there were plain flatbreads, red bean paste cakes, meat pies, rice porridge, millet porridge, lamb soup, water shield soup, sweet cream mountains, and cherry-filled pastries.

"I am to eat all of this..."

Before he could finish, Zhang Bao hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, rest assured! Once you finish these, there is more! The kitchens are fully prepared; we can serve an entirely different table, with not a single dish repeated!"

Chai Xiao darkened his expression and cursed, "Am I a pig?"

As soon as he said it, he looked down at his enormous belly and immediately regretted it. If he didn't eat this much, would he have become like this? Wasn't he exactly like a pig? He was cursing himself! Though, it was the "past" him—it had nothing to do with Zhang Bao and the others.

Seeing Zhang Bao standing there, stunned by the rebuke, Chai Xiao softened his tone and asked, "How much silver does a table like this—plus the spare table you prepared—cost?"

"This..." Zhang Bao paused, signaling his subordinates to quickly bring over the account book. "Roughly thirty taels of silver."

"Thirty taels? Just for breakfast, that’s nearly a thousand taels a month?"

"Yes!" Zhang Bao held the account book with both hands. He didn't know whether to close it or put it down. He stood there foolishly, completely bewildered.

Chai Xiao gestured at the dishes on the long table. "Keep only one meat dish, one vegetable dish, one staple, and one pastry, and halve the portions. Now calculate again—how much is that?"

Zhang Bao looked from the dishes to the ledger, mentally calculating with lightning speed. "About two taels!"

Chai Xiao waved his hand. "Then that is how it shall be. Breakfast is breakfast—keep it to the point! By the way, do we have steamed buns?"

"Yes!" Zhang Bao hurriedly pointed to the red bean paste cakes and meat pies. "These are steamed flatbreads; the ones in reserve are steamed buns—the common folk call them baozi. They can be stuffed with meat or vegetables."

"Right, bring the reserves out so the Sovereign can see!"

"Yes!" A subordinate replied and hurried off to the kitchen.

Before long, piping hot "baozi" were brought out. They looked similar to those from the future, though twice the size. Naturally, being royal fare, the quality of the flour and ingredients was clearly superior. They smelled so savory that his mouth watered.

Chai Xiao considered the daily consumption. "Keep four, take the rest away. From now on, follow this portion size. If you want to ensure the menu isn't the same every day, put your effort into varying the fillings!"

"Yes!"

Chai Xiao asked again, "Do we have milk?"

"Yes!" Zhang Bao pointed to the 'sweet cream mountain' among the desserts. "That contains butter and milk!"

Chai Xiao nodded. "You can set aside a cup specifically, and serve it warm!"

"Yes!"

Chai Xiao picked up his chopsticks, looked at Zhang Bao, and delivered his final word. "Breakfast shall be as such—reduced in quantity but not in nutrition. Starting today, proceed accordingly! The twenty-eight taels saved daily will count toward my pledge for the one million taels. There is a twenty percent return on that, and it would be foolish not to earn it! Small as a fly may be, it is still meat. Moreover, twenty-eight taels a day is two hundred and eighty taels in ten days."

Zhang Bao was deeply moved and agreed repeatedly.

Chai Xiao waved him off. "Since it’s already made, don't waste it. Sit down and eat something, too!"

Zhang Bao was startled and hurried to bow. "Your Majesty, the hierarchy must be respected; I dare not!"

Chai Xiao, however, was unimpressed. "If I tell you to sit, then sit! Someone, bring a chair!"

"Many thanks, Your Majesty!"

In an instant, Zhang Bao’s eyes brimmed with tears. For so many years, receiving the honor of a seat—to share a breakfast table with the Sovereign—was truly unprecedented. Looking across the entire Great Xu, only Consort Shu and the Junior Tutor had ever enjoyed such treatment. Come to think of it, during yesterday’s enthronement ceremony, the Sovereign had offered three toasts: first to Consort Shu, then to the Junior Tutor, and finally to him, the Director of the Imperial Household. Could it be that the Sovereign had done this by design?

Zhang Bao sat gingerly on the chair brought by the servants. Not daring to overstep, he tremblingly picked up some vegetables, shielding his mouth with his hand as he chewed slowly.

Chai Xiao, however, ate with great gusto. "In the future, we can call Mother and the Junior Tutor to hold a breakfast meeting!"

A "breakfast meeting"? Zhang Bao did not know this was a common way of discussing business in later eras, but he found the idea quite novel.

"Yes!"

Chai Xiao then pointed to the ledger at Zhang Bao's side. "Calculate this: if we save twenty-eight taels on breakfast alone, what about lunch and dinner?"

Zhang Bao let out a long sigh. He felt as though from the moment he woke up, he had been led by the Sovereign and could not keep up with the pace. "Your Majesty, if you reduce your breakfast portions by this much, and then reduce lunch and dinner as well, I fear your body will not be able to bear it!"

Chai Xiao shook his head. He squeezed his large belly firmly, as if resolving to bid it farewell. "To make it shrink, I must reduce my intake and increase exercise, no? On the contrary, the more I eat, the heavier the burden on my body, and that is what I cannot bear. So, keep the quality and ingredients of the dishes the same, but reduce the portions—how about three meats, one vegetable, and one soup?"

Zhang Bao replied, "Yes!"

In his heart, he could not help but sigh boundlessly. For a monarch of a nation to eat only three meats, one vegetable, and one soup for lunch and dinner—while certainly better than many common families, it was far less than that of high-ranking officials. The young master before him was beginning to show faint traces of the style of the founding emperor, who had risen from humble beginnings.

However, in the eyes of the Director of the Imperial Household, Chai Xiao was doing this to lose weight and, more importantly, to invest money to earn even more. His original intent was "money-grubbing," not "frugality."

In a heartbeat, the Director grew nervous and began calculating again with the ledger. "Your Majesty! Lunch and dinner previously cost sixty taels of silver. Now, based on three meats, one vegetable, and one soup, it will only cost four taels."

Chai Xiao let out a long breath. "Sixty minus four is fifty-six. So, twenty-eight taels saved for breakfast, and fifty-six taels each for lunch and dinner. That is a total saving of one hundred and forty taels per day. In ten days, that is one thousand four hundred taels! Just from my own household, we can save this much! If this were implemented throughout the entire Great Xu, for expenses covered by the state, we could save a thousand taels a day—ten thousand in ten days."

Zhang Bao’s eyebrows arched high. "That is so!"

He suddenly felt that the Sovereign before him was becoming increasingly like a stranger. Previously, this young master had never been able to count; even when the Junior Tutor had people teach him, he would always shake his head. He was already so old, yet he could only count on his fingers. If it exceeded his fingers, he couldn't grasp the number!

Yet, just now, he had calculated the savings—twenty-eight for breakfast, fifty-six for lunch and dinner—and summed them up almost without a second thought. Could it be that the Ninth Prince had been playing the fool all this time? Had he been pretending while in the capital, only to reveal his true brilliance once he was sent away to his fief, free from the eyes of the Emperor, the other princes, and the various factions?