Chapter 278: The Marvelous Kitchen, Chapter 300: Movement and Stillness

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Li Zhai had long since walked away, and Feng Deju still stood by his side, bundle in hand.

He was extremely anxious in his heart.

Earlier, he had volunteered to go to Hua Prefecture, naturally wanting to put on a good show before the Emperor.

Though the flood was perilous, not entering the tiger's den, how to get the tiger's cub?

As long as he endured a month or two of hardship and handled his duties well, the Emperor was benevolent and would surely not shortchange him.

By then, rewards were secondary; if he could make His Majesty see his competence and receive an appointment to serve outside the capital, establishing some merit—he dared not dream of rivaling those palace attendant seniors who gained fame through martial exploits, but if he could leave even a star or half a point in the annals...

Though rootless, it was better than having roots!

Right now Hua Prefecture had nothing happening—even without seeing the memorial, but having heard Li Zhai's presentation just now and seen the Emperor's expression, how could Feng Deju not realize that the situation in Hua Prefecture had mostly been settled?

If so, his own efforts would very likely be in vain.

He had wanted to grab meat from the hot pot, but ended up grabbing a handful of hot shit; he couldn't afford to lament his clumsy fate and bitter luck, only desperately thinking of countermeasures.

Hua Prefecture was far away; even at the fastest, going back and forth, plus figuring out the local situation, it would take a month or two at least.

Being gone for so long, who knew what dog would cozy up to the Emperor by the time he returned!

Feng Deju narrowed his eyes, seeing the newly accepted disciple standing to one side.

Among the new batch of little yellow gate attendants, this person was the most nimble and the most capable of handling affairs; he had taken him as a disciple, first because he was handy to use, and second because keeping him close made it easier to watch him, lest he find some loophole at some point and worm his way to the Emperor's side.

—Just like now.

This thief of a servant, indeed the more one looked, the more he had a thief's eyebrows and mouse's eyes, with not a single spot that wasn't offensive.

Feng Deju's thoughts turned, and he stepped forward half a pace, saying: "Your Majesty, though the Hua Prefecture memorial speaks of only one place, it is detailed enough that it surely isn't falsehood; why not wait for the memorials from Weizhou, Weicheng, and other places as mutual verification..."

After speaking, he weighed his words and cautiously suggested: "Right now Hua Prefecture isn't so perilous, but the Bian River is rising fiercely; I think, whoever goes to Hua Prefecture doesn't matter much, but Jingcheng is the heartland—why not send someone north to arrange for me to inspect the embankments day and night, lodging on the embankment dams, so as to know the water conditions and have people report back to the palace at all times, to ease Your Majesty's anxiety..."

Zhao Yu heard this and couldn't help but nod inwardly.

The Hua Prefecture situation was urgent, but the Bian River flood was right before their eyes, equally urgent.

Jingcheng entirely relied on this grain transport water; for now, sluice gates could still balance the water level, but if the rain didn't stop, or there were more violent rainstorms upstream, once the water level exceeded capacity, they would have to use the River Regulation to save the city within.

No matter how closely he monitored the river flood, he couldn't stand guard on the embankment dams day and night; most of the time, he just waited for reports.

And the reports from various places were worded differently; sometimes he wanted to know the details, but the reply from that place was rough, and those below couldn't always observe thoroughly.

If there could be a knowing palace attendant to help keep an eye.

But Hua Prefecture couldn't entirely listen to local words; even officials from other prefectures and counties might be in league, deceiving him, and even cases of Walking Reception being bought off by locals were not uncommon...

The longer one stayed away from the Imperial Palace, the less controllable people became.

He raised his head and swept a glance over the yellow gate attendants nearby.

Among those on night duty, most were unfamiliar faces, few were familiar.

The one standing closest seemed to be a disciple Feng Deju had recently taken, who had been very proactive and attentive lately.

Zhao Yu's heart stirred, and he called out: "That, who..."

He suddenly couldn't recall the other person's name.

And Feng Deju immediately reminded him: "Liu Gao Ban!"

His disciple stepped out, both surprised and delighted.

Zhao Yu pondered for a moment.

Though Jingcheng was the most important, after all it was nearby.

He raised his head and said to Feng Deju: "The Yellow River only changed course at Hua Prefecture; what the actual situation is there, entrusting it to others, I am not at ease—Deju..."

Feng Deju's heart boiled hot.

He immediately knelt and kowtowed on the ground: "Your servant is here!"

"You handle affairs; I have always been very assured. Hearing what, seeing what, how the commoners are, how Wang Jinghe is, how the new Yellow River course is—you must carefully discern each one."

Feng Deju immediately swore an oath, willing to be crushed to dust for the Emperor without fear.

Only then did Zhao Yu turn to that Liu Gao Ban just now, saying: "I have seen you several times; you look like a nimble person. I cannot personally inspect the embankment dams at all times—river affairs inside and outside the city, you must investigate well and report at any time."

Liu Gao Ban was so excited he could hardly contain himself, also imitating his master's words and actions, kowtowing on the ground, willing to be driven at the Emperor's side.

After daybreak, Zhao Yu finally received memorials one after another from Liyang, the Anli Army, Weinan, and other places; carefully comparing them, he verified each point against what Hua Prefecture had reported, and indeed there was not half a false word.

That day, Feng Deju, together with the disciple he had only recently accepted—Hall Head Liu Gao Ban, that someone—left through Xuan De Gate one after another, each leading a detachment, one rushing to Hua Prefecture, the other going to the river embankment dams outside the city.

Also leaving the city one after another were the various detachments heading to Chan Prefecture.

Some carried verbal messages, some delivered food and clothing, some brought money, and even many wealthy families sent entire carts, bringing both goods and their servants along.

Not long after, among the many students seconded to the Chan Prefecture Prefecture Office, there finally came attendants and servants.

—When everyone had set out earlier, each had been instructed that, knowing river management was strict and no relatives or retinues were allowed, they had tucked their tails between their legs and set out honestly on their own.

But after arriving, everyone gradually discovered that it didn't seem so strict after all!

Not only was it not strict, but because Cai Xiu, the Taixue scholar in charge of coordinating student affairs, mediated in the middle, they hadn't suffered any hardship, and life was actually quite comfortable.

That Brother Cai was very capable and knew how to act, understanding how to strike a proper balance between handling affairs and conducting oneself.

But no matter what, Chan Prefecture ultimately couldn't compare to Jingcheng.

Although everyone hadn't suffered much hardship from working on river affairs, they had endured some wear and tear in daily life.

For example, although they had relatively clean dormitories, they still had to wash their own clothes and manage their own quarters; because there weren't enough houses, some people even had to share a room.

How could this be tolerated?

So they had no choice but to discuss it with Brother Cai, letting him handle it to quietly learn the court's intentions; finally everyone plucked up their courage, one by one they moved them out, and it was a world of complete freedom.

Now servants and attendants had been sent from home, with someone to help wash clothes and fold quilts, cook and make soup, and life was all the more comfortable!

The group laughed and joked, meeting by chance on the street one moment, and encountering each other in wine houses and Chu halls the next, feeling that although Chan Prefecture was remote, it had its own charm.

Among the students similarly seconded here, those living in the sheds by Liu Ta He were a different picture entirely.

The sheds were built right beside the river channel, originally full of moisture, and with more rain lately, the water grew deeper day by day, making the dampness increase day by day; though not as bad as the southern plum rains and returning dampness, once they lay in bed, the bedding smelled of dampness.

Some developed red rashes, terribly itchy, and others got fleas—because there were few sheds, there were even large communal bunks, and if one person had fleas, everyone got fleas.

The fleas were fair in bestowing their favor, dew and rain evenly shared, not missing a single person.

Thus complaints filled the sheds.

Aside from lodging, food went without saying—cabbage and tofu did not fill anyone up.

And most important was the work—the students in the sheds worked from morning till night, never idle, and that was bad enough, but they were often pulled out for a private scolding over a small mistake, and repeatedly urged to speed up progress.

Everyone felt they could not go on like this, merely forcing themselves to endure until now.

That afternoon, the students in the large shed were gathered together tallying water depth figures from all places, still comparing them, when they heard footsteps outside, and immediately someone hurried in through the door, beaming: "Fellows! Fellows! Come quick! My family sent me food!"

Everyone put down their tasks and crowded over.

"Xu Da, what did your family send?"

"Is there enough to share? If you share with us, do you still have food left for yourself?"

Xu Da took down the basket behind him and placed it on the table, opening it for everyone: "Enough! Enough! A big bundle, all Meat gan and dried cuttlefish—said to be bought from Song Ji—Sanzao Alley's Song Xiaoniangzi!"

Among them were Taixue students, and the oil on their faces immediately brightened—"When did Song Ji have Meat gan and dried cuttlefish? Doesn't Song Xiaoniangzi only sell glutinous rice, shaomai, and yinzi?"

"Wasn't it said she went to Hua Prefecture!"

"She's back in the Capital already? Is Hua Prefecture's embankment repaired? When will ours be repaired quickly too!"

"When can we eat Song Xiaoniangzi's glutinous rice and shaomai again!"

There were also students from other academies in the room, and they inevitably asked what Song Ji and Song Xiaoniangzi were.

So someone introduced Song Xiaoniangzi to everyone, and said Song Ji was a very famous breakfast stall in Food Alley behind the rear gates of Taixue and Nanlu Academy, and so on...

"... If you grab ten students at random in Taixue Xuezhai, there might be some who don't know Lord Du, but surely every one knows Song Xiaoniangzi!"

"Xu Da, how did you buy so much!"

At once Xu Da had taken out the packages of Meat gan from the basket one by one, opened one, and was about to distribute them to everyone.

Hearing this, he hurriedly said: "My family lives at the end of Linxiang Alley, next to Sanzao Alley, and we are neighbors with that Song Xiaoniangzi; my parents just sent word through someone, telling me that if I eat it and think this Meat gan is good, when it's nearly finished, to quickly send word back, and they will buy more and send it over!"

Everyone took a piece of Meat gan, carefully put it in their mouths, and all chewed it very preciously.

How fragrant Song Ji's Meat gan and dried cuttlefish were, and what flavor they had, need not be said; besides, everyone had not eaten proper meat for a long time, and suddenly getting this bite, some almost burst into tears.

At once everyone asked: "Can we still buy it? Can we ask our parents to buy more?"

"How much per package?"

"Come, come! Let's pool some money! Who knows how long we'll have to stay in this godforsaken place!"

The students were registering and settling accounts, but outside the door another person stomped in, slamming the door.

"Xie Er, what's wrong? Did the door offend you?"

"Come over quickly, Xu Da's family sent a lot of Meat gan, from Song Ji! We ate it and all want to buy some—do you want to try a bite too, and chip in?"

Xie Er was in a terrible mood.

He walked into the crowd and said hatefully: "I went to the Zhou Ya to deliver official documents, passing Jingkai Avenue, and guess who I saw?"

No need for others to guess; he blurted it all out at once—"We are here working hard from morning till night, while Cai Xiu, Tian Min, Liu Guan, Lv Dingyang, Feng Sifeng and their group of ten or so are eating wine and having fun inside Listening Wind Tower!"

"How do you know?"

"Could you be mistaken?"

"Mistaken my foot! They opened the windows and stood by the window sticking their heads out, ordering the entertainers to sing a song on the theme of 'Sudden Rain'! Why don't they just drown in the rain! They've been here for months, what work have they done? Everything is done by us!"

The room fell into complete silence, no one had the strength to speak.

After a long while, Xu Da silently pushed a package of Meat gan in front of Xie Er.

"Forget it, don't think about it, just pretend we didn't see—what else can we do anyway? Eat Meat gan! Eat a piece of Meat gan, and forget that 'Sudden Rain'!"

Xie Er felt stifled in his heart.

But seeing Xu Da hand over the Meat gan, he could only honestly take it, not in the mood to eat, holding it in his hand; turning his head, rain pattered outside the window—if it hadn't rained for so many days, it was truly a "Sudden Rain."

He looked at the heavy rain outside, not knowing if on his way back he only cared to shield the official documents with his umbrella and forgot to shield himself, letting water get into his eyes; now his eye sockets were wet and hot, very uncomfortable.

Inside Chan Prefecture Zhou Ya, Lv Zhongchang, who oversaw Liu Ta He river affairs, and several chief officials sat together in a room.

Everyone's expression was not good.

"I heard Hua Prefecture's embankment breached..."

"I heard too, the report from Walking Reception Li Jiwen—he is in Weizhou, right?"

"Just one river away—it is said that Palace Attendant saw the neighboring Yellow Dang Dang waters, vast and surging, so it must be true!"

"Hua Prefecture's embankment breached, and we don't know the water situation; we are already watched closely here, I'm afraid we can't escape this time."

"Lu Guanren, will Liu Ta He be activated this month?"

Lv Zhongchang frowned, and only then said: "The upstream water is so great, and with nonstop rain, if we don't use Liu Ta He, Chan Prefecture's embankment will breach too..."

"Delay a bit more, wait and see!"

The rain did not stop not only in Chan Prefecture.

Jingcheng rained for a full twenty days.

In Sanzao Alley, Song Miao first only covered the fish tank in the back courtyard with a large umbrella to keep rain out, so that when the water overflowed the fish wouldn't escape with the water; but seeing the wind and rain grow stronger, the umbrella was torn and tattered, not very usable.

Cheng Erniang volunteered, taking advantage of the lighter rain, using her past skills from growing vegetables and building trellises in Fuzhou, and built a shed for the fish tank too.

The shed was quite stable, finally saving the lives of a tank of fish.

But that moss needed no special care at all—it had already grown greener and greener, thicker and thicker.

Jingcheng was in the Central Plains region, where the climate had been drier in previous years, but one morning, when Xiao Lian was feeding the fish, she could not help shouting and kept calling out "Sister" without stopping.

Song Miao heard the sound and went to look, and saw that under the thick pole Cheng Erniang had brought to build a shed, a small cluster of white-capped, white-stemmed mushrooms had grown.

"Can this be eaten!"

Xiao Lian looked on enviously.

Things she did not recognize, naturally she dared not eat.

And besides the mushrooms, moss had even grown by itself at the foot of the wall.

Jingcheng suffered severe flooding, had released floodwaters many times already, and River Regulation had been activated; the roads of the Inner City were all underwater, and several times the water surged backward, destroying a large area of houses in the Outer City.

But who knew if it was Heaven's favor—by late July, the rain gradually stopped, and the water slowly receded.

One early morning, the sun finally struggled to leap out of the thick clouds, and all morning long, the street was filled with neighbors happily running to tell each other the news.

Song Ji also gradually resumed normal business.

That evening, after seeing off a table of guests and tidying up everything in the shop, Zhang Siniang and the others each went home; since Cheng Erniang was still tidying the courtyard behind, Song Miao went to the front.

She was about to sit down and look at tomorrow's procurement list when she suddenly heard faint horse neighing from outside the door; her heart stirred, and she got up and went to the door.

Outside the door, one person had their back to her, changing their outer garment; as if hearing the noise, they turned their head.