Chapter 270

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Song Miao

At this time in the food shop, Song Miao was hanging up menu signs and setting up folding screens together with Zhang Siniang.

Recently, more and more customers came to the shop; although most did not come for meals, but for dried meat, pastries, and so on, yet once they arrived at the shop, even if they were old customers.

In Song Miao's view, someone who came to place an order or pick up goods today might come for a meal tomorrow, a second visit. "Old customers" who had tasted Song Ji's craftsmanship were more likely to patronize the business than new customers who had only heard introductions.

She had saved enough money in advance to repay three months of debt, and kept some aside for emergencies; the day before yesterday she went with Cheng Erniang to find a carpenter, first asked someone to come measure the dimensions, planning to replace the doors and windows that were already somewhat shaky, and ordered several square tables, a number of matching chairs, then selected some bowls, chopsticks, plates, and cups, as well as various kitchen utensils.

The other things were still being made by the craftsmen and could not be finished in a short while; only the kitchen utensils and tableware had already been brought back, washed, and boiled.

The two of them now hung up the menu signs, so that when people entered the door, without asking, just by looking they would know that this place could already take orders for meals.

Besides Cheng Erniang, the food shop now also had helpers Zhang Siniang and Da Bing, plus two long-term hired hands; the scale of serving tables at noon and evening could be appropriately increased.

Still moving the folding screens, they heard someone arrive at the door.

Song Miao went forward; before she had said a few words, she saw an old man getting down from a carriage behind.

That old man wore a Taoist robe all over, wore a cap on his head, walked with measured steps, raised his head and saw the Song Ji signboard, then looked at the shop front, his face clearly showing some suspicion.

The attendant waiting for the arrival hurriedly said: "Sir, it is this place."

Since Song Miao came to this place, half a year had passed; first she set up a stall, then went out to take banquet orders, then ran small tables, then went to Hua Prefecture; she had seen many people and things. At this moment, upon seeing the old man in the Taoist robe, she felt a sense of familiarity.

This person somewhat resembled Master Chen, Master Cao, and a few other scholars, but compared with them, he had an even more obvious official air, and also somewhat resembled Wang Shuji, Wang Guanren, whom she had met at the Hua Prefecture Official Post that day.

Upon closer inspection, his appearance was also somewhat familiar; obviously they had met before, but now he had grown fatter by a circle, to the point that people hardly dared recognize him.

She tentatively called out: "Are you Guanren Liu of Jixian Yuan?"

The old man laughed hehe and said: "Little Young Lady, you still remember this old man! Last time I heard you mention your family's food shop; I happened to pass by and came over to take a look—what kind of business does your food shop do?"

Song Miao led the customer into the front hall and asked him to sit down.

Seeing that this Guanren Liu was not young and also had a belly, with two layers of thick flesh on his chin, she guessed at his teeth and taste; while asking someone to serve tea, she replied: "My family runs a mixed shop; since it is not yet properly established, we do all kinds of business."

"Now that we can take banquet orders and point to dishes, we usually sell dried meat, dried cuttlefish, sweet and salty pastries; once a day a fresh batch of grilled meat chashao comes out of the oven—there are black chashao and honey-glazed several kinds, salty and sweet flavors, the meat is very tight and tender; it is marinated for a sufficient time with Xiao Sauce, fish sauce, fermented bean curd, malt sugar, etc., then simmered and roasted; soft inside and crisp outside, not hard at all—if you cannot bite it, the small shop will not charge money……"

"……We mainly serve early food, with mung bean paste glutinous rice—this is our shop's signature, quite popular with customers; also various steamed buns, among them cornel tofu steamed buns, suan pa cai steamed buns, mutton steamed buns sell very well; we also newly launched grilled meat chashao steamed buns; this steamed bun, once eaten, half of ten customers will come back to buy again—this is the number we just calculated, very accurate, not empty boasting……"

Old Man Liu entered the door, originally intending to observe the interior situation and layout; but because Song Miao introduced it here, speaking in detail, not only reporting names but also mentioning flavors and methods, although there was self-praise, that self-praise was very tactful, making people not feel offended, and very easy to listen to.

He first politely kept one ear, then pricked up one ear, then both ears were pricked up; finally, he simply turned his head to listen attentively to her introduction.

Song Miao, calculating the time, finished saying everything; just then Zhang Siniang came up carrying tea and delivered it to the old man in front.

"Our family's early food, chashao, and pastries can all be delivered; after the Beginning of Autumn, dried meat and dried cuttlefish can also be delivered—depending on whether the guest official likes them."

Old Man Liu laughed: "You shopkeeper really know how to do business; you keep saying things that make people's mouths water; hearing it, I want to buy everything!"

He did not even ask the price, but turned to the attendant: "You count the number of people and order some steamed buns and glutinous rice; have them delivered to the courtyard tomorrow morning; in a while, send someone to pass a message, telling them to keep their stomachs empty tomorrow morning to eat this breakfast."

Zhang Siniang, hearing this, immediately went forward, connected with the attendant, and introduced to him in detail the various types of Song Ji early food.

Old Man Liu picked up the cup and bowl in front of him, took a sip of tea, and tasted it, saying: "What tea is this? Although not particularly light, drinking it has a unique wild charm."

Song Miao smiled and said: "It is Hawthorn Leaf Tea."

She briefly introduced the method and origin once.

Old Man Liu was obviously quite interested in the taste of this Hawthorn Leaf Tea; he asked several more questions, and Song Miao answered them one by one.

While speaking, a female attendant from the back courtyard came out to the front hall, poked her head around and looked; upon Song Miao raising her head to ask, she then said softly: "Young Lady, the dried meat and dried cuttlefish in the back have been taken in; we and Da Bing have looked them over; it seems several baskets are not dried enough; they seem dry enough, but again seem not as hard as the others—Young Lady, if you have spare time……"

Song Miao knew this batch of dried meat was urgently needed by customers; she said to Old Man Liu: "Guest official, please wait a moment; truly sorry; I am being rude and leaving for a moment; I will go and return soon."

The latter was easy to talk to; he waved his hand and said: "Little Young Lady, go busy yourself; it's fine; I will sit here and rest."

After Song Miao left, Old Man Liu put down the cup and bowl in his hand, stood up, first walked to the wall side to look at the newly hung menu signs.

He stared at the characters on them for a good while, then turned his head again to look at the few folding screens not far away, studying the characters and paintings on them for a while.

Zhang Siniang saw him coming and going; she hurriedly followed him forward and said: "Guest official, do you need any help?"

Old Man Liu pointed at the menu signs and folding screens and said: "I see those characters and paintings are all very good; are they made by your food shop yourselves?"

Hearing the customer praise them, Zhang Siniang did not think much; she immediately smiled and answered: "They were made with the help of our food shop's customers—all old gentlemen from Taixue, very learned!"

Old Man Liu then asked: "Besides this Hawthorn Tea in your food shop, do you have other drinks? In the great heat of summer, if there are Sour Plum Drink, Green Plum Drink and such things that generate fluids and relieve summer heat……"

The customer asked like this; Zhang Siniang naturally could not ignore it; she hurriedly said: "There are; Young Lady previously pickled many Green Plum Drinks, sour and sweet, very delicious—I will change a cup for the guest official!"

She said this, carrying the tea cup to the back courtyard.

When Song Miao finished the business in the back and returned to the front hall, just as she sat down, she saw Old Man Liu smiling and asking her: "Young Lady Song, do you sell your Green Plum Drinks?"

If Song Miao previously only had a slight guess in her heart; upon hearing this sentence now, she had completely figured it out; she replied: "To let the guest official know, Sour Plum Drinks are what my family uses to entertain guests; they are not easily sold."

"Then what counts as not easily?"

Song Miao smiled and was about to speak when she heard a voice outside the door interrupt: "Already said 'not sold'; Old Liu, normally don't you know your ears are deaf to this extent!"

"Old Liu" suddenly stood up.

——Over there, Master Chen stood at the door stroking his beard.

Before the two had come close, they were already arguing across the door.

"Old scoundrel! Old Liu! You secretly asked Xiao Sun and others behind the scenes, came to Song Ji; what does this mean?!"

"I need to ask? I saw the main person that day; it was just that you kept it from me; I didn't know that Green Plum Dew was also made by this little young lady; what do I mean, don't you understand?! A bottle of Green Plum Dew; what price did you sell it for?! Last time I brought my hand-copied 'Songshu Jiwen' to exchange with you; you said it wasn't enough and wanted me to add a painting by Dong Mi—is this Green Plum Dew made of gold?! If I don't come to your door to find you, should I just wait dryly for you to knead and flatten me?!"

"Clearly marked prices, no deception to young or old! Don't think I don't know how you price Green Plum Dew to them in Jixian Yuan—'Chunxu Lu' of the He family edition from the second year of Tianxi can only exchange for half a bottle; your capital-less business still isn't enough?! Find some excuse!"

"I! I won't talk to you; this Green Plum Dew wasn't made by you! You, a profiteer who buys low and sells high!" Liu Hanlin, at a loss for words, then turned his head and said to Song Miao: "This little young lady; how much did you sell it to him per bottle that day; I will offer you ten times the price!"

Master Chen screamed in anger: "Shameless!! Declining morals!! To this extent, to this extent!! That day I gave you the 'Xin Feng Brick' of Zheng Yan; how many calligraphy, paintings, and writings did you earn; do you think I don't know?!"

He also shouted at Song Miao: "Xiao Song, don't pay attention to him!"

The two of them first quarreled through the door, then drew closer to quarrel; as they quarreled, they planted their hands on their hips, pointed at each other's noses, and traded insults — at first still about the green plum dew, but slowly it turned into all sorts of past matters, such as Liu Laotou demanding to know why Chen Fuzi, in a certain year while away, wrote letters back but only gave them to Tan Someone, not to himself, and Chen Fuzi retorted that when the other returned to the Capital he brought fried sparrows but gave only one jar to himself, yet gave Feng Someone two jars.

"That's because you don't usually open for business, and besides Old Feng's household has many people — haven't you also been running a private kitchen with Old Cao here at the food shop for a long time, with the menu and screen both written with so many items, eating delicious food every day, and never thought of me at all!"

Seeing the two old men here turning red in the face and ears, arguing endlessly over trivialities, and every so often calling out "Xiao Song, you judge for me" or "That young lady, look, is the surnamed Chen one picking a fight!"

Song Miao inexplicably had an invisible Wu Xing Xie Guan placed on her head, as if presiding over a trial in the food shop; she could only prepare tea and small pastries, sit to one side, and listen to the two of them talk without stop.

At noon that day, Liu Laotou stayed at the food shop to mooch a meal.

Last time at Jixian Yuan they had only met briefly; today, with Chen Fuzi's proper introduction, Song Miao learned that this old man with a double-layered thick chin and a full belly was actually a Hanlin Academician.

Liu Hanlin was superb at eating — char siu, roast pigeon, picking dishes, dipping steamed buns — he excelled at it all.

When the meal was finished, just before leaving, he asked Song Miao: "Can the young lady come to the door to cook?"

Naturally she could.

Liu Hanlin then said: "In two days, I want to go with."

He quoted a very generous price.

Song Miao calculated the time; it happened that day the Taixue had a holiday, so she didn't need to prepare the noon meal; she turned to look at Chen Fuzi, saw him blinking and nodding at her, and agreed in one breath, first asking everyone's tastes and the dining venue, then drafting a menu on the spot for Liu Hanlin to choose.

The latter flipped through it a while, then suddenly asked: "Everything else is fine, just one thing — today we ate roast pigeon and char siu; can we not eat them again that day?"

Song Miao thought a moment, then said: "Because it's in the outside courtyard, there most likely won't be a stove; even if there is, in the rush there's really no time to test its temperament, and I don't know if I can control the heat — if you want to eat them, I'll change the cooking method for the gentleman, don't know if that would work?"

Liu Hanlin was set on eating them, and just kept nodding.

After he went out the door, Chen Fuzi stayed behind last, first admiring the menu board already hung on the wall, confirming the man had gone far, then quietly called Song Miao over and asked: "Last time I heard you say you found a carpenter to come to the door, wanting to redo the doors and windows, and also make many tables and chairs — how much money in total will it cost?"

Facing Chen Fuzi, there was naturally nothing to hide; Song Miao told him frankly.

Chen Fuzi then fished a balled-up thing from his sleeve; it looked wrinkled; he secretly stuffed it into Song Miao's hand, smiling: "Your share — take it to pay the bill!"

Seeing Song Miao about to refuse, his smile turned sly: "Just take it, no nonsense — it's what I fiercely knocked out of Old Liu using that green plum dew of yours; he relies on Zheng Yan articles and green plum dew, and has squeezed plenty of benefits from others; we're just skimming a bit of oil now!"

He sighed again: "Pity this can only be done once; now that he knows your place, next year there'll be no excuse to find, we'll have to properly sell it."

Song Miao unwrapped that wrinkled cloth bundle.

Inside was a gleaming yellow expanse, very eye-catching — actually two gold ingots each slightly longer and slightly larger than an adult's fist, heavy and sinking in the hand.

Such similar dialogue, such a familiar scene — this was not the first time Chen Fuzi had given money and silver.

If the previous few times Song Miao could still persuade herself to accept, the value of these gold ingots was truly too great, and genuinely made her heart uneasy.

But looking up, seeing Chen Fuzi's self-satisfied look, his beard bristling, she truly could not bring herself to speak a refusal, and could only say thanks.

Seeing the man out the door, Song Miao returned to her room, used the original wrinkled cloth to wrap the gold again, marked the sequence on the outside, ground ink, lifted brush, wrote clearly the source and destination of these gold ingots, then filed the characters in order, and only then put them away.

At this moment, she truly rather hoped that old acquaintance far away in Hua Prefecture would hurry back, so he could help take charge of handling this sum of hot money.

Also muttering about that Hua Prefecture old acquaintance was Xin Feng on Junyi Bridge Street.

No one would understand the shock he suffered.

He prided himself on sharp eyes; when trying cases, not a single concealment by a criminal escaped his eyes, but now, a change of heart grew right under his eyelids, expressed so obviously, and in retrospect it was simply arrogant — he actually detected nothing at the time, and even at the end still relied on Haoniang's reminder!

He circled the table round after round; each round he muttered "How could it be so", another round, another sentence "How did he deceive me!"

Walking back and forth, he walked until Du Haoniang's head spun.

She said irritably: "Whether Young Master Han has second thoughts or not, what does it have to do with you? Are you surnamed Song??"

"How is it not related to me!!" Xin Feng grew anxious, "Can't I help? If it succeeds, you and I are both at the main table! If it fails..."

As he spoke, his voice suddenly dropped, his two thick black brows furrowed, looking very conflicted.

Du Haoniang was mixing ointment in her hand, didn't raise her head, and said: "Whose help are we helping? Whose main table are we sitting at?"

"Naturally helping Xiao Song! Her household has few people, and no maternal relatives — doesn't she need someone to back her up? Even by Zheng Yan's words, he would let me sit on the maternal side..." Xin Feng suddenly choked.

Right, if helping Song Xiaoniangzi, one must make things difficult for the man's side, naturally picking faults — no father, no mother, no elder brother, no younger brother, family declining... pui pui! Carelessly one scolding would curse both sides!

"Sort out your own affairs first before talking! Still helping! Did Young Master Han ask you to help? You don't even know if Song Xiaoniangzi is willing, yet you're the one getting anxious here!"

"I see you're just idle! A matter without a single stroke of the eight characters!" Du Haoniang dragged him over, applying medicine on one side, instructing on the other, "Listen to me, I'm a woman, I understand better than you old roughneck — this matter you must not meddle in, just pretend you don't know, still treat them the same as before, succeed or fail, it's up to them to handle, outsiders must not interfere!"

After the medicine was applied, she handed the daughter to her husband to watch, then went into the room, wound the pure gold around her waist, changed into loose clothing, carried a Bei Lan Zi as cover, went out the door herself, hired a carriage, and headed for Suanzao Alley.