Chapter 105: Miao Chu Chapter 104: Flaw

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

A tiny tea-bowl's portion — she had barely tasted it before it was gone.

It was mealtime just then; He Lao Furen's stomach was empty, and not even enough to line it. She handed that bowl to a waiting maid and said, "Bring me another bowlful — and a piece of bone too... bring a few pieces, and more dried vegetable, I want to taste that bone and dried vegetable flavor."

Before long, another full bowl was brought over, but the bowl was too small; inside there was only a single piece of bone.

This piece was a pork neck bone.

They say nothing tastes better than meat clinging to the bone; the meat on a pork neck bone is exceptionally fresh and tender, and fragrant, salt-cured to a reddish-pink color, soft to the point of slipperiness.

He Lao Furen took a pair of chopsticks to tackle a large bone, which still had marrow inside — the marrow was rich, and after salt-curing and boiling in congee it had a particularly fine flavor, only it was very hard to get out, and she ate until she almost wanted to use her hands, unable to help saying, "This bone is delicious, that's true, but it's just too hard to eat!"

A seemingly contradictory sentence, yet it was also He Qi's innermost feeling.

If it weren't for all these people watching, he would have grabbed it with his hand long ago!

The steaming hot salty congee — one old, one young — after they finished eating, a thin layer of sweat rose on both their backs; after the sweat passed, between skin and pores there was instead a kind of comfortable breathable feeling, as if every pore had opened.

The grandmother, thinking of her granddaughter, didn't need He Qi to speak again; she immediately said, "Send this congee to Zhu Jie'er! See if she can eat it down!"

He Qi only said he would go keep Zhu Jie'er company and not return to the front to eat; busy, he followed along as well.

Not long after, a maid came running back happily to report.

"Her spirit has already returned quite a lot; she ate three full bowls in a row, and even fought Seventh Young Master for bones to gnaw!"

Hearing this, He Lao Furen finally set her mind at ease; only then did she have the people below call for rice.

She had been widowed for a long time; ordinarily she never made her daughters-in-law stand on ceremony before her, and she ate alone most of the time.

People get old, bad teeth are unavoidable; she often ate mushy, overcooked things. Today the kitchen's several meat dishes were either cloyingly sweet, or steamed and braised.

Dishes she usually liked quite well — for some reason, right now however she ate them, they didn't sit right.

Especially one dish of spare ribs in the middle — the flavor was actually quite good, but she just felt it was a bit greasy.

He Lao Furen couldn't help a thought arising in her heart: sometimes, those meat bones actually don't need sugar, don't need sauce, just salt, and they're quite delicious too.

Once this thought arose, it was like burning wheat stalks in autumn and winter — once the fire is lit, it can no longer be controlled, shooting straight up.

She ate a little perfunctorily, had the leftovers divided up, put down her chopsticks, stood and said, "Come, let's go see our Zhu'er!"

For a moment she brought the old women and maids to Zhu Jie'er's small courtyard.

Just inside the courtyard gate, she saw He Qi walking out.

Seeing He Lao Furen, He Qi hurriedly bowed, and said, "Zhu Jie'er has just finished eating; because she broke out in a sweat, and then grew drowsy, the maids are attending to her sleeping first."

He explained it very carefully.

When ill one must sleep more to recover faster; earlier Zhu Jie'er had fever, diarrhea, and vomiting, couldn't even sleep; now that she finally had drowsiness, He Lao Furen naturally wouldn't be fussy at this time.

She nodded, and couldn't help praising He Qi as most thoughtful, far more useful than her own sons and daughters-in-law, and so on.

After praising, she didn't disturb her granddaughter further; only had people go in to fetch a maid out for questioning, then turned to the old woman beside her and said, "I saw earlier that salty bone dried vegetable congee was a very large pot; Zhu Jie'er's appetite is small, she won't eat much; the remainder would be a pity to waste — send the rest to my room — I've walked these few steps, my stomach is empty too, I'll eat when I go back."

These words were perfectly reasonable, the very picture of a thrifty, food-cherishing elder.

He Qi at the side, hearing this, barely managed not to let out a full belch; he hurriedly excused himself saying he still had matters at home, oiled the soles of his feet, and ran off in a puff of smoke.

And when Zhu Jie'er's personal maid came out and answered one by one, sure enough the child had already improved a lot today; estimated after a few more days of medicine she'll be jumping around again.

He Lao Furen recited "Boundless Heavenly Venerable," her face instantly beaming; just as she was instructing the maids to attend well, the old woman who went to fetch the congee had already come out.

Only this old woman wore an anxious expression, both hands empty; arriving before her mistress, she hurriedly lowered her hands and head and said, "Please let the Old Madam know, that congee... is already finished."

"What??"

He Lao Furen simply couldn't believe it.

"You mean my salty bone dried vegetable congee?? Such a huge pot, I saw it with my own eyes; Zhu Jie'er is just a child, even if she ate desperately, how much could she eat??"

That old woman stood there embarrassed, could only say, "Truly finished; even the pot was washed clean; Xiao Qi Gongzi had someone take the empty pot away."

The old woman dared not say; it was the personal maid opposite who, fearing He Lao Furen would think she hadn't done her duty well, hurriedly said, "Old Madam! Please let the Old Madam know, Sister only ate three small bowls, and ate some bone and meat; the rest was all eaten by that He Qi Gongzi!"

And added: "We servants didn't dare let Sister eat more!"

He Lao Furen heard this, and almost instantly recalled He Qi's earlier words.

"I'll go see how Sister is doing, eat a meal with her, otherwise my heart keeps worrying."

"Another day I'll come bother Old Madam again!"

She practically stomped her foot!

Good He Qi! She already knew he was a glutton; who would have thought he wouldn't let even a single pot of congee escape! He had been eyeing it here early on!

Here He Lao Furen regretted not eating enough of the salty bone dried vegetable congee; in the Capital Prefecture Office, Han Li was regretting not keeping an extra bowl of Jianghua Portion for himself.

He was busy the whole day; first he distributed the information gathered from all sides, had people organize it according to regional maps, then pieced it back together anew; only then did he summon the Censors and the backbone Chai Guan of the Lantern Festival case to assemble and discuss.

But what others organized, once pieced together, naturally had to be verified; and from the complex information a few possible routes had to be sorted out; and the conditions along the way had to be checked in advance.

These matters he usually handed to Kong Fuyang; this time the other party was sent by him to write a comprehensive summary; others each had their own affairs; even those with nothing to do, in a short time, no suitable person could be found; Han Li had no choice but to do it himself after finishing daily business.

The Censors and Chai Guan were many old hands at solving cases, but they often deduced based on their own experience; moreover the cases they handled were mostly in the Jingji vicinity; rarely did they encounter a case like this Lantern Festival one, where the victims were all sold off to various places, hard to track; in truth they also found it hard to get a grip, no leads.

This time being summoned, most just wanted to give Han Li face.

But when everyone sat down, they saw Han Li call for a wooden screen to be moved over, first introduce each region's progress and intelligence gained, then point at the map on the screen and introduce one by one each clue's position, origin, and connections at various places; everyone was stunned.

It turns out it can still be done this way?

Prefecture and county names on the map were marked in different colors, and possible routes drawn accordingly; names on the same route shared the same color; where several routes intersected, a vermilion brush circled them separately, supplemented by verbal explanation — truly far more intuitive than text or mere oral introduction.

Everyone's minds naturally started turning.

For an entire afternoon, Censors and Chai Guan discussed without cease right there.

Bowl after bowl of Jianghua Portion was brought up, and quickly drunk dry.

It was only with great difficulty that Han Li finally finished this round of discussions on time, but by then that full bucket of Jianghua Portion and two large buckets of boiled sugar water had long since been eaten up.

As the one leading it, he naturally had to preside, and had very little free time, only managing to drink a bowl here and there; when everyone had finally dispersed, he was truly parched, and upon seeing the menials come to collect the empty wooden buckets, he felt a momentary, inexplicable sourness in his heart.

He had not even had a chance to rest when another menial brought out an invitation card; upon opening it, he found it was from Old Master Min, who wished to host a banquet to treat him and inquire about the time.

An elder's invitation, by rights, should not be refused.

But Han Li knew the other's purpose and did not intend to waste time on such social niceties.

He wrote a reply with a flourish of his brush, first saying that he had been seconded to the Government Office and was handling a case, so he could not casually attend banquets; if there was an urgent matter, he could wait if possible, and if not, they could just sit briefly at a Tea House.

After the reply was sent out, not long passed before another menial came back with a response.

"Prefect Zheng Prefect Zheng requests your presence when you have free time; he says two guests have arrived."

Han Li set aside his work and went to the Gongchang, where he indeed found Zheng Boqian Prefect Zheng sitting and drinking tea with Old Masters Min and Deng.

Seeing Han Li approach, Old Min actually stood up, stepping forward two paces to welcome him while smiling at Prefect Zheng Prefect Zheng: "I have some matters I wish to discuss privately with Zheng Yan—Boqian, could you do us the favor?"

Prefect Zheng Prefect Zheng hurriedly stood up and replied, "Where would you get such an idea, sir."

Saying this, Prefect Zheng Prefect Zheng nodded at Han Li, and while Old Min was not looking, he gave a strong wink; fearing Han Li might not see it, when he walked up to him he even blinked hard twice, before withdrawing.

Once Zheng Boqian left, the smile on Old Min's face vanished, he sighed, and said: "Zheng Yan, you were quite right last time; I received a letter from Dezhang this afternoon—there have been torrential rains upstream for days, the Embankment and dam is unstable, and a breach is likely within these few days; by now the relevant memorials are probably already on the road to the Capital."

"Digging a well when thirsty is naturally too late; when the upstream water is released, his position can only bear the brunt, and afterward someone must always clean up the mess."

"Zheng Yan, regarding all matters of hydrology along this River, no one compares to Old Fu; you inherited his mantle, so naturally you have a plan in mind; if you can lend a hand, we will surely have much more confidence—my previous proposal, have you considered it?"

"If you are willing to help, the earlier the preparation, the less flustered you will be when acting; I hope you will put your heart into it."

Before Old Min's words had even fallen, Old Deng interjected from behind: "Old Min, relying on your status to say such things is truly forcing the issue; Zheng Yan is currently seconded at the Government Office—if you want him to help, would others agree?"

"Whether they agree or not, I will simply set aside this face and go find Boqian—I will never make Zheng Yan uncomfortable."

Since hearing of the flood upstream, it was to be expected; Han Li had already promised before and had received instructions from the master while he was alive, so regardless of his own strength or whether it would be of any use, he had long planned to help.

But seeing Old Min act this way now, though not to the point of displeasure, he did not wish to simply let it be.

"I have already agreed; if Master Min comes to ask about early preparations, I also have a question."

"There is an old saying: a clever housewife cannot cook without rice; I am no clever housewife, and this matter with just me alone is even more impossible to accomplish, nor can I help much."

Old Min was about to retort when Han Li continued: "Brother Dezhang has been in office for several months and still cannot make the local officials and clerks obey him like his own arms; when I first arrive, naturally there will be no one to use—Old Min, having served as an official for many years and being renowned at Lushan Shuyuan, surely it is not difficult to summon a dozen or so experienced old friends to help?"

Old Min fell silent at once, calculating in his mind, and said embarrassedly: "In such short notice, gathering a dozen people is truly difficult, and besides, they may not all be in the Capital..."

"If old friends are hard to find, familiar guests, retainers, or disciples—any skilled hands who have done the work—will do; surely better than having no one at hand when the time comes, no rice for the pot?"

Han Li's words made Old Min's old face redden, and he said: "Quite right; actually, Brother Dezhang already has several of my former aides whom I am used to; when the time comes, I will go with them..."

"Old Min should remain in the Capital; if matters arise, you can still help mediate." Han Li said.

Old Feng beside him also hurriedly chimed in.

Once this matter was settled, they only waited for Old Master Min to gather the people and send the list; Han Li then said: "Besides the people you gather, I would also like to borrow a few capable arms; Han, as a junior disciple, will naturally do my best, but they have no objections—this hardship money, surely it cannot be withheld?"

The meaning was: I don't care who you bring, but the people I bring myself must be paid.

"Furthermore, upon arrival, the Court's silver may not be allocated in time, and the clerks will not lift a finger; I cannot wait, so I must recruit locals first—where will the money come from then?"

"Master, please consider it and write again—Han awaits your letter."

Thus, when Old Master Min left the Capital Prefecture Office, facing Prefect Prefect Zheng who came out to see him off courteously, he could only return a forced, bitter smile.

—He had thought that as long as he secured Han Li and got this man's promise, things would be easier; who knew that after this trip, the other threw back many problems, and now everything was kicked back onto himself.

But for a man doing things, asking for people and money is only natural and just.

Old Master Min could not find fault, and should even be grateful—if Han Zhengyan truly did not want to do his best, why propose these things; going himself to stir things up, he himself would also owe him a favor.

Then in such short notice, where to find people and raise money?

People are fine, but this money... if not handled well, it could be gone with no return.

Here Old Master Min had his own turmoil; at Sour Date Alley End, Song Miao tasted the Fuzi Cake she had specially saved from the morning, and quickly made a decision.

She said to Cheng Erniang beside her: "Er Niangzi, from tomorrow we will temporarily stop taking orders for this Fuzi Cake; we'll talk again after autumn when the weather cools."

Cheng Erniang agreed first, then asked: "Why suddenly stop? I see these days people come every day to place orders; for this kind of food I can help stir-fry the red bean paste and press the cake strips; you only need to roll and assemble; compared to others, it's much easier, and the price is good; truly not doing it would be a pity."

Song Miao said: "Recently the weather is increasingly stifling; mung beans and red beans both cannot be kept; previously, if made in the morning and stored properly, they could be eaten the next day without issue, but now what is made in the morning loses its freshness by evening; if someone gets sick from eating spoiled food, that would not be good."

Cheng Erniang nodded quickly, then said: "I just tried it myself, but couldn't taste any staleness—ai, this tongue of mine!"

She said regretfully: "Only a few days ago we stopped making Chen Pi Lu Dou Sha, and now this Fuzi Cake cannot be made either; fortunately the Glutinous Rice is not a problem..."

Song Miao smiled and said: "Glutinous Rice is eaten quickly, so it's somewhat better; but you are right; tomorrow I will also write a sign alone, explaining that the weather is getting hot and food does not keep, so no one will hoard it according to old habits."

Cheng Erniang naturally sighed: "Exactly, this weather is so stifling, and with constant rain, the stalls are not as good as on sunny days."

She continued: "When I was at Guangji Temple before, I heard people who have lived there for many years say that the Capital almost floods every year, and once flooded, the roads are impassable for a month—will our Alley not be flooded?"

Hearing this, Song Miao couldn't help but smile and say: "Right beside us is the Bian River, and further south there is the Cai River tributary; if not this Alley, where would it flood?"

"Then wouldn't setting up stalls be troublesome at that time?"

"Even if it doesn't flood, whenever the water rises, all Ingredients go up in price; the student business we do would not be suitable for setting up stalls anymore."

Ingredients go up in price, does what you sell go up or not?

If it doesn't go up, you lose money; if it does, students can't afford it; better to rest at home.

Seeing Cheng Erniang looked very worried, Song Miao couldn't help but comfort her: "It's fine; summer is almost here; afterward fresh fruits will come on the market and prices will be cheap; let me think of some new foods, and we'll set up stalls for a while, save some money, and when the water rises, think about how to get tables, chairs, plates, bowls, and such."

"Pushing a cart to set up stalls is not a long-term plan; first accumulate some customers, and the framework of our Food Shop can be slowly built up; a few tables, do a few tables; as we do it, word will spread; although the location is somewhat remote, we need not worry about customers—if all else fails, we can continue making student meals."

These words made Cheng Erniang quite excited—having been here these days, she naturally had full confidence in Song Miao's Skill, and had already started calculating how many tables could be set up in the front hall, wishing to immediately make the business big.

The two talked while working; when everything was done, it was time to sleep, and the night passed without a word.

The next day, after tidying up, it was another day of setting up stalls early.

That morning, upon going out they encountered heavy rain; by the time they had sold half a steamer of Glutinous Rice and one steamer of baked Wheat at Food Alley, the rain gradually lessened, and the students lining up to come out became more numerous.

Just as she was wrapping Glutinous Rice for someone, Song Miao suddenly heard someone behind her shout loudly: "You here selling Glutinous Rice, the one surnamed Song, which stall is it?"

The voice was fierce, full of hostility.

Song Miao frowned, looked up, and saw a group of three parting the crowd, striding toward her with aggressive momentum.

"You're the stall owner who sells mung bean glutinous rice, your surname is Song, isn't it?"

Song Miao handed the glutinous rice to the student opposite, then replied, "That's me. May I ask what business the few of you have?"

The one leading at the front was a man in his forties. He had been looking at Cheng Erniang first, but upon hearing Song Miao answer, he turned his head. Seeing Song Miao, he froze for a moment, and his tone turned even nastier. "Which family raised this little woman! The food you make isn't clean, who knows what's wrong inside it. It made my father eat and then have diarrhea and vomiting, a high fever all last night — if the old man has any mishap, you'd better be prepared to pay with your life!"

Song Miao did not rush to refute, only saying, "Customer, please wait a moment. I don't know what food from my place the old master bought, when he ate it, or how his condition is now."

The man gave a cold snort. "Early this morning he came to queue and bought your rib soup, glutinous rice, and also bought shaomai. He ate two shaomai in the morning, and at midday ate that glutinous rice. After sleeping a nap he couldn't take it anymore, vomited all over the ground — aside from your food, he didn't eat anything else all day, and you still dare not admit it?!"

"I called a doctor last night, and found another doctor this morning. Both doctors said it was from eating unclean things that he became like this — what else do you have to say?!"

Finished speaking, he turned toward the other queuing students behind and shouted, "What are you still queuing for? This family's food kills people, and you still rush to buy it. Don't you want your lives?!"

The students behind looked at each other in dismay, not a single one leaving, but many craned their necks to watch the excitement, as if waiting for an explanation.

Song Miao kept a bit of food every day for comparison. Hearing now that he ate shaomai in the morning and glutinous rice at noon, she was quite certain that in such a short time the food would not have spoiled.

She said, "Let the customer know: I've had a stall in this Food Alley for ten days and a month, and never once has anyone gotten a bad stomach from eating my food — if you say the old master ate too much cold glutinous rice and got bloated, that's possible. But if you say it's because my food is unclean, causing diarrhea and vomiting not to mention high fever, that I absolutely cannot admit!"

She pointed at the few characters on the signboard in front: "Glutinous rice causes food accumulation, please don't be greedy," and added, "My ingredients, since past Qingming Festival Festival Festival, meat and vegetables are all bought early at the market. When making them I wear a head covering, wash my hands, and am very careful. After they're made, both I and Er Niangzi eat them ourselves first. Yesterday we sold several hundred portions, and there was no abnormality."

Cheng Erniang behind was already anxious beyond measure. Hearing this, she stepped forward in a few strides, pulled Song Miao behind her to block, and interjected, "Not to mention me and Song Xiaoniangzi, my daughter is a five or six year old child. Doctors all say she has spleen deficiency and weak stomach. She eats home food every day and has never eaten anything bad — you must not randomly slander us here!"

Song Miao saw she was anxious, and hurriedly stepped forward from the side, saying, "The customer says the old master ate my food and got sick. An old person suffering like this is naturally pitiable. But to slap a baseless 'unclean' label on me without proof or evidence, that I absolutely cannot accept — let's go to the authorities!"

As these words came out, many of the students queuing behind all chimed in.

"I bought some yesterday too, ate it just fine!"

"Our whole dormitory ate it, not a single one had diarrhea!"

"I've eaten it for half a month. Only ever couldn't get a portion, never any leftovers — never heard of anyone getting sick from it."

"A black pot like this, you can't just pin it on someone with empty words, right?"

"Could it be seeing Song Xiaoniangzi's business is good, they came to extort?"

"Could it be the ones who fancied the Song family house last time have come again?!"

Relying on glutinous rice, shaomai and such, Song Miao has quite a reputation in Food Alley.

She spoke up for herself first, clearly and logically, with reason and sentiment, and even invited going to the authorities, looking full of confidence.

Added to that, Wang Chang and the others had gone to the food shop before, and the Song family's simplicity yet cleanliness, Song Xiaoniangzi's efficiency and so on, passed through Wang Chang's mouth like a storyteller, had long spread all around. Now seeing these people's fierce demeanor and unreasonable words, they couldn't help but chime in to help.

The making process everyone couldn't see, but the presented appearance was visible to all.

Song Ji's cart, signboard, steamer baskets, even the lotus leaves and bamboo tubes for wrapping food, all looked cleaner and neater than other shops. Two schools, thousands of people, eating for so long, never heard anyone say they got sick — only heard of eating until stuffed.

Trust was already born. Now with no evidence, only listening to someone speak recklessly, naturally they were unwilling to believe.

The leader hearing the students speak, however, grew both anxious and angry, and shouted, "See the magistrate then! Go! You come with me to see the magistrate!"

?? This chapter is the third update oh, I wrote five or six hundred more words, this part probably doesn't count as paid.

? Today's third update plus the extra words from the 3rd and 4th before, counts as making up the shortfall from the beginning of the month leave.

? Thank you everyone for all kinds of votes, thank you for subscriptions, grateful for rewards and comments~