Chapter 255

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

After both sides introduced themselves, Song Miao heard that it was indeed as she had thought — he was an instructor from the Xu Family Wuguan, and also Liang Yan's master — and she hurriedly welcomed him inside.

They had barely sat down when Master Cheng, almost without even time to sip his tea, impatiently asked about the food Liang Yan had brought.

"……One is pork jerky, right? But the other one I don't know what it is — many people at the martial hall have been longing for it……"

"It is pork jerky; the others are cuttlefish threads and squid threads — this squid we also call cuttlefish at home; it is roasted with charcoal and seasonings, pounded tender and shredded……"

Seeing the other party ask the price, Song Miao said: "The squid and cuttlefish are more expensive; the pork jerky is cheaper……"

She quoted each one in turn, then added: "Even the pork jerky is only slightly lower in price than the squid and dried cuttlefish; looking at the price alone, it is actually not cheap — because it uses a lot of meat and labor; five catties of pure meat yield less than two catties of jerky, and it also requires seasoning, drying, and roasting; the amount that can be made each day is actually not much……"

Master Cheng grew anxious at once and hurriedly said: "Shopkeeper Song, please rest assured — we are not the kind who don't know quality; we won't haggle with you recklessly — I once saw army cooks make meat jerky in the camp, and I know this stuff consumes an enormous amount of meat; a whole pig or a whole cow goes in, and not even a big sack of jerky comes out, unless flour is added!"

He went on: "Outside there are also those made with chicken or duck meat mixed with flour; they are nothing like the flavor of your jerky — one chew and they turn mushy and rotten in the mouth! It's all just seasoning; they really make you not want to like them!"

"We train every day; we can't do without meat; one bite and we know yours is the good stuff! Ingredients and seasoning are all top-notch! Young Lady, please rest assured!"

Master Cheng finished speaking, took out a paper covered in writing and handed it over, saying: "We had the account room help write up the quantities; can you pack them separately according to these headcounts?"

He handed over the paper, and while speaking, also unshouldered a heavy bazi bag.

"The money is all in here!"

The bazi bag hit the table with a "thud," and from the sound alone one could tell how full it was.

Song Miao glanced at the list, saw there were many items, and seeing the commotion across from her, hurriedly said: "No need to pay it all; a deposit will do — right now the food shop doesn't have this much ready stock, and there are still orders ahead, they have to be done in queue — I don't know if the various masters can wait? Even at fastest it will take two or three days!"

"Why couldn't we wait! Good things are worth waiting for!" Master Cheng said, then couldn't help asking: "Only — can we jump the queue? The whole group is pressing me hard; if there are less urgent orders, we'll add some silver……"

Song Miao hurriedly said: "Because this jerky, cuttlefish, and dried squid aren't sold openly to the public — they're all reserved by regular customers who also need them urgently — it's not good to jump the queue; but rest assured, I'll speed things up here and try to rush out the martial hall's order in these two days!"

As she spoke, she turned to the back courtyard and brought out a small basket of food — all jerky, squid threads, cuttlefish threads, and such — and right in front of Master Cheng wrapped them in oil paper, introducing each as she wrapped: what flavor this was, what that was; finally she also gave a small packet of amber walnuts, explaining: "The various masters have worked hard teaching Liang Yan day in and day out, and came to handle such a large order for me — though I can't lower the price — my goods have a rule: never any discount — but there should at least be a token……"

She handed over that small basket and said: "Consider it a complimentary gift; you can snack on it while waiting these two days! When it's ready, we'll deliver it to your door — who should we ask for?"

"Just ask for me, Cheng Zongwu." Master Cheng hastily accepted it. "Young Lady, you are too polite! Giving so many varieties, I'm embarrassed to take them all!"

Song Miao smiled: "I'm a merchant — no profit, no trade; I only hope customers taste everything in the shop, find it good, and come back!"

Master Cheng immediately laughed heartily and said: "Young Lady really knows how to do business — it's true — even though it's free, you give a bit of this, a bit of that, all flavors we've never had before; next time we'll just have to buy more of everything!"

Both sides verified the money and confirmed the ordered quantities; Master Cheng took the basket and took his leave. He had already gone out the door, but the further he walked the more he felt a bit embarrassed; suddenly he turned back and asked: "What else does your food shop sell? Only jerky and these snacks?"

Song Miao, seeing him return after leaving, was startled for a moment, then said: "Normally we also take banquet orders, and do on-site banquets; daily we push a cart out to sell, and also deliver meals — make glutinous rice, rolled noodles, meat-and-vegetable buns, snow steamed cakes, and also various drinks……"

Just from listening, Master Cheng didn't have much notion of glutinous rice, rolled noodles, or snow steamed cakes, but he knew meat-and-vegetable buns, so he asked about the flavors.

Song Miao explained each one.

"If you deliver meals, can you deliver to the martial hall? How many portions minimum for delivery?"

The Xu Family Wuguan is at Baokang Gate — not far, not near — but it's right on the way to the Capital Prefecture Office.

Song Miao said: "We deliver; except rolled noodles which can only be made and sold fresh, everything else can be delivered — for other customers, thirty portions minimum to start delivery, but the martial hall here isn't an ordinary customer, and it's on the way; whatever quantity you order, I'll deliver — even one portion I'll deliver."

Master Cheng thought of the other masters' complaints yesterday, saying the breakfast shop they were used to had lately been negligent; he also thought of the previous incident at his own home, when the other brothers helped out — not only covering his shift and teaching, but some even going everywhere with him to search for his sister.

Although in the end it didn't achieve much, and it was the government office that rescued her, the goodwill of everyone, he deeply appreciated.

He had originally wanted to go out and treat everyone to a meal as thanks, but recently the martial hall has had many matters, and his sister just returned not long ago, so he had to look after things at home, and it kept getting delayed.

Now hearing Song Miao say the food shop also does breakfast, he immediately got the idea.

A banquet can't be arranged for now — leave it for later — but breakfast, such a cheap thing, can be eaten first.

Tomorrow's is already set, can't be changed; the day after tomorrow should be fine.

He asked the price, and in one breath ordered a hundred buns of various kinds, and also ordered some of the other items like glutinous rice, saying: "Can you deliver by the end of the hour of Mao the day after tomorrow? I'm buying for the other people at the martial hall; we finish morning drills daily and have to eat during the gap — if it's late we won't make it in time."

"Can do!" Song Miao agreed immediately.

Because Cheng Erniang had gone out to purchase daily dried goods, Song Miao called Zhang Siniang out; the two sides recognized each other, and agreed on the time.

After seeing Master Cheng off, Song Miao didn't rush to work, but first asked Zhang Siniang how she had been adapting these past few days.

Zhang Siniang said: "Everything is very good; I originally in Hua Prefecture also worked with the Young Lady for two months — all familiar work — now coming to our food shop, Er Niangzi is also a straightforward person, very easy to get along with — no need to meddle, just do the work steadily!"

She added: "If there's any inconvenience, it's what the Young Lady mentioned last time — living in the temple is truly uncomfortable all over, but the money's already paid, so I have to grit my teeth and stay till the term ends — when the time comes, I'll find a suitable place nearby, even if it's a bit more expensive!"

The room walls are thin, and with many people and prying eyes, even a fart brings someone pressing against the wall to listen; washing and relieving oneself are inconvenient — often seven or eight people queue for one latrine……

The bad points can't be finished telling.

The only good point is there's a roof above and ground below — a place to sleep sheltered from wind and rain.

If she weren't still dragging along Wang Sanlang, she would practically hate not to move into the front hall of Song Ji and sleep on a straw mat, just to stand night watch!

Song Miao said: "Last time Auntie Zhu sent someone to say her mother helped ask — there's a street-facing room about to be rented out, but we have to wait another month or so; when the room is vacant, I'll have you go take a look."

Zhang Siniang was overjoyed.

Song Miao added: "There's another matter — right now the food shop has many miscellaneous tasks, and many breakfast orders; relying on Er Niangzi alone, it's already hard to deliver in time; since you've come and learn fast, if I have you share the deliveries, would you dare take it on now?"

Zhang Siniang hurriedly said: "Young Lady, just assign as you see fit!"

She added: "Only I've never done delivery runs before, so my courage is a bit lacking."

Song Miao then said: "Er Niangzi will take you along; even if she's not there, you can ask me anytime — I've done deliveries too, don't panic! I won't throw you in alone to fight bare-chested on your first day."

When Cheng Erniang returned from purchasing, Song Miao called the two together and explained the matter.

The former immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said: "These past few days the orders have really increased; it's not that I'm afraid of hard work or too many tasks — it's that I'm afraid the food will sit too long and the taste will suffer — the Young Lady specially instructed this before!"

Speaking of this, she added: "Another thing — yesterday Xu Shifu came to ask me; he said he's been here some days now, everything is familiar; when it comes time to formally start work, will there be a raise? He also asked if we can do full days; if full days, is it like the rest of us, with three meals included?"

Hearing it was about the cart driver Xu Shifu, Song Miao said: "I use the mule cart little; what matters most is how you handle deliveries — what do you think of his driving?"

Zhang Siniang had only been here a short time and rarely interacted with the cart driver Xu Shifu, so she didn't speak.

Cheng Erniang said, "The cart driver is passable, but there's something about him I can't put my finger on. I feel Shifu Xu is quite glib and very attentive, yet working with him just isn't comfortable. Still, we need help urgently right now, and he knows the roads best..."

"Then keep using him for now. If he keeps asking for a raise, just tell him there's none to be had."

"Tomorrow I'll take Siniang along to deliver breakfast; one mule cart is enough. But the day after tomorrow we'll be delivering separately—what do we do then?" Cheng Erniang asked.

Song Miao said to her, "Let's see if we can manage first. I originally thought one cart driver would be enough, but for some reason, every time it takes longer than I expected. Let's wait a bit longer; if it doesn't work out, we'll find another—one for the full day, one for half a day. For these few days, we can just shout for cart drivers on the street to fill in."

She added, "Er Niangzi, first count them and see where each household is, figure out with Siniang how to divide the deliveries to be fastest, and we'll try out a route."

For a moment, Cheng Erniang and Zhang Siniang both agreed. The two discussed it for a long time and finally settled on a division.

That evening, when Zhang Siniang returned to Guangji Temple, it was already dark, and there was no one in the room.

It wasn't until the end of the hai hour that Wang Sanlang returned, drenched in sweat.

The weather was truly hot. He first fetched a pole of water, found a corner to rinse the sweat off his body, used a little soapberry sparingly, and also drew some cool well water back to the room for Zhang Siniang.

The two told each other what had happened during the day, and Wang Sanlang asked, "Do we have any torn rags? Or anything that can serve as a pad?"

"What do you need that for?"

"To pad my back. The weight doesn't matter, but it's digging in a bit hard."

Knowing that Wang Sanlang usually valued his things and often carried poles and loads, but rarely complained, and that even he was saying this today, Zhang Siniang immediately grew concerned. "Let me see your back."

Wang Sanlang honestly took off his outer shirt and turned his back to her to look.

Zhang Siniang drew in a sharp breath.

She saw nothing but bruises stripe after stripe across his back, many places swollen high. The worst were two streaks near the right side of his neck and shoulder, swollen as much as half a finger high.

She was startled. "It's dug into you like this—why didn't you say a word?"

She then rummaged through a bundle at one side, pulled out a bottle of oil, and applied it to him. "Fortunately, my sister-in-law specially got me a bottle of medicinal oil, saying it might come in handy, and she insisted I bring it. I was going to say we didn't need it and not take it—how did they dig in so hard? Did the foreman bully you?"

Wang Sanlang said, "It's not exactly bullying. I'm new, so I definitely get the work others leave behind. It's just my bad luck. Today the boat assigned to us carried granite from the south. Not just me, several other newcomers carried it together—I don't even count this as much. One person accidentally broke something and was told they'd work for free today and tomorrow and still couldn't pay for it!"

"Sigh, I only said the laundry workshop was hard work. Who knew the dock would be even worse!"

Wang Sanlang said, "Having work right now is already good! Although I suffered a bit today, I earned quite a lot!"

As he spoke, he hurriedly pulled out the small pocket sewn into his pants. "It's all here. I only spent ten wen on two oil cakes for dinner, and bought some side dishes. At noon..."

He recounted exactly how much he had spent and how, item by item, and finally said, "The rest is here. You count it."

Zhang Siniang counted it honestly and without ceremony. The more she counted, the more something seemed wrong. She asked, "How is it less than half of what you said before?"

"The foreman said he's withholding sixty percent, to be paid next month."

Zhang Siniang wanted to curse.

She couldn't help but say, "That's too black-hearted! Doesn't that mean it'll take nearly two months before you get a full month's wages?"

"No choice. I'm new, not every place accepts new workers. Many places only want experienced hands." Wang Sanlang explained a few sentences. "It's already very good. Not every place is like Song Xiaoniangzi's. Do your job well. Although you don't earn as much as me right now, you actually have a real future!"

Hearing him say this, Zhang Siniang's heart stirred. "Sanlang, you say... why don't I ask the Young Lady if you can come work in our food shop?"

Wang Sanlang was stunned. "I'm only fit for manual labor. Everything in the kitchen is so delicate. Even if I wanted to and was willing to learn, the Young Lady wouldn't want me, right?"

Zhang Siniang became excited all at once, told him what had happened today, and added, "I think from the Young Lady's words, she probably wants to find another cart driver. Even if she doesn't now, once there are more customers, one cart won't be enough, and she'll definitely need to find another. You know how to drive a cart. I rode in Shifu Xu's cart, and it wasn't that steady. It's just that we don't know the roads. Once you get familiar with them, it'll be fine!"

Wang Sanlang still shook his head. "Not a good idea. You think of me whenever something good comes up, quietly passing word here. If Song Xiaoniangzi finds out, how will she think of you? If she thinks you only care about your own people and put the food shop's matters last, that would be trouble!"

Hearing this, Zhang Siniang hesitated. "Is it really that serious? We're all employees. Isn't it better to hire someone we know and trust?"

But she still couldn't be entirely sure. She sighed. "You really work too hard. Besides, you have to buy food at noon and in the evening nearby. Everything in Jingcheng is expensive, and you still won't spend on eating. You do physical labor—you have to eat more!"

Wang Sanlang hurried to comfort her. "What's there to fear about a little hardship? I'm young. This is the time to work hard and endure!"

Zhang Siniang had no choice but to take out a few hemp towels, preparing for him to pad his back tomorrow. She couldn't help but say, "It's dug in too hard. How will you work tomorrow? Why not rest for a day?"

How could Wang Sanlang agree? The next day he went out to work as usual.

The next morning, while the sky was still dark, Zhang Siniang waited early at the door. She waited left and right, but still did not see Shifu Xu's mule cart arrive.