As the saying goes, "the people take food as the sky", food is an indispensable necessity for everyone, like in the ancient imperial palace, the main role of the imperial dining room is to study the meals to be prepared for the emperor every day, these meals are very exquisite, the ingredients used, the equipment, one can not be bad, this meal down, the cost of the emperor's daily meal is unimaginable. According to historical records, the Kangxi Emperor once made a joke about wanting to experience a simple life at dinner, and the history books called it the "Golden Tower" incident
Once, the Kangxi Emperor and the ministers were chatting, and when it was almost time to eat at noon, as the emperor, he asked the minister in passing: "What do you usually eat at noon?" One of the ministers replied: "On weekdays, I eat very lightly, such as tofu and green vegetables, and occasionally add two nest heads and 3 copper plates to solve lunch." The Kangxi Emperor was surprised to hear that 3 copper plates could solve a meal? It was simply incredible for the emperor.
So he asked the imperial dining room to make a nest for him for lunch. After eating the nest for a period of time, Kangxi thought that such a simple diet could reduce expenses, and when he looked through the account book of the imperial dining room with great joy, he found that the expenses had not decreased, but had increased. Could it be that the imperial cooks in the imperial dining room embezzled excess expenses under the eyes of the emperor? This head-off thing is obviously unlikely. Under the explanation of the imperial chef, the Kangxi Emperor also understood the origin of the matter
Just because he is the emperor, so the production of the nest head is also exquisite, from water to flour raw materials to grind flour stones are strictly screened, and only the nest head that comes out of this way can match the identity of the emperor. Of course, not only is the production process cumbersome and laborious, although the emperor will eat a few nests at noon, but in order to give the emperor the best meal, the kitchen must prepare at least hundreds of nest heads for backup. If this is the case, the cost will naturally be much higher, and the national treasury will be empty after eating in this way.