Chapter 282: Miao Chef Chapter 304: Acrobatics

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

It was not until two more tea shops facing the street had closed that Han Li mounted his horse and rode slowly toward the Taixue.

In truth he had already traveled a full day; returning, he went first to Sanzao County Alley, then to Jun Yi Qiao Jie, and now back to Sanzao County Alley again, then on to the Taixue — back and forth, over and over, a great deal of running about.

But whether it was thanks to youth, or thanks to the joy in his heart, or both together, he did not feel tired in the least.

Although there was a trace of fatigue, that fatigue was swept away by the anticipation in his heart and vanished who knows where.

He had simply waited far too long.

In Hua Prefecture, when busy it was fine; once things slackened even a little, or even when not slack, there were always those inadvertent moments…

So it is said: the cook's life is truly no good.

People must eat…

Once they eat, how can one not think of this and that?

Sanzao County Alley and the Taixue are close in the end; before long he arrived at the Chen Residence.

Unexpectedly, though it was already past the zi hour, upon entering the back courtyard the study was still lit.

He knocked and entered, saw a single oil lamp and a bright candle burning inside, a man seated behind the desk — somewhat surprised, he called out: "Senior Brother!"

The one seated behind the desk was precisely Chen Fuzi.

Hearing the sound, Chen Fuzi narrowed his eyes and lifted his head; at first he was dazed for a moment, then seeing clearly who it was, his face instantly showed delighted surprise, and he stood up at once, stepping forward several paces to greet him.

He walked closer, but then his smile turned to anger; he reached out and struck Han Li on the arm.

The blow carried some weight, yet he was old after all, and no matter how heavy the hand, landing on a person it was light and floating.

"You little rascal, you finally still know to come back!"

Han Li just smiled and let him strike, then asked: "It's already this hour; why isn't Senior Brother asleep yet?"

Chen Fuzi almost simultaneously also asked: "How did it get to be this hour? When did you arrive? Have you eaten?"

He finished asking, then as if thinking of something, suddenly added: "Did you go to Sanzao County Alley?"

Han Li did not suspect anything, and replied: "I went. I ate noodles at Song Ji; I entered the city at the you hour, and also made a trip to Jun Yi Qiao Jie before returning."

"Ate noodles?" Chen Fuzi couldn't help muttering, "Entered the city at the you hour; by the time you reached Sanzao County Alley the sky was nearly dark, wasn't it? This late, and you still troubled Xiao Song to make you noodles — do you know what you're doing or not?"

Then he said: "Did you bring anything for anyone?"

Han Li nodded, but did not say more; instead he unstrapped a small bundle from his back, stepped forward, placed it on the table, and said: "Brought for Senior Brother."

Then he said: "There are still some other things in the luggage — still halfway, two more days before they can return."

"Ask you east, you answer west — I'm an old man, what good things would there be for me to bring!"

Chen Fuzi's mouth said so, but his old legs immediately followed over, and without ceremony he opened the bundle.

Inside was very simple: just a scroll, a brocade box, and additionally a leather-wrapped box.

He opened the brocade box first.

The box was not large, half a chi long, a palm wide, holding a single old ginseng with roots and whiskers all intact.

Then he looked at the leather-wrapped box; inside was a shriveled, dried-up, bronze-colored thing, looking like a gallbladder.

And that scroll — a painting by a master of the former dynasty, brushwork graceful, truly a fine piece.

Three items, each with its own merit.

But Chen Fuzi singled out the leather-wrapped box first, took it out, and asked: "What is this? Where did it come from?"

"Halfway, at the official relay station, I met a traveling merchant from Zhenzhou. He somehow heard my name, came to the door wanting to get a birthday greeting for his father; first he offered gold. I was in a hurry to return, so I didn't agree. Then he produced this box — said it was bear gallbladder, called copper gallbladder, extremely rare, able to remove cataracts and clear obstructions, clear and benefit the liver and gallbladder, and also clear heat and detoxify, promote tissue growth and heal sores."

Han Li paused, then added: "Earlier Senior Brother wasn't saying that these past year or two your eyes keep developing cataracts and don't feel quite comfortable? When you have leisure, take this to a few familiar physicians to examine; if it can be used, I'll find a way to get more for you."

Hearing the origin, Chen Fuzi set his mind at ease.

Taking Han Li's things, he naturally did not hold back; he carefully put them away, then pointed to the ancient painting and the old ginseng, and asked: "And where are these from?"

Han Li replied: "That painting was given by Yuan Jing, Yuan the Official of Hua Prefecture; the old ginseng was given by his wife's clan, the Zhang Family. That Zhang Lady's natal family deals in medicinal materials; they carefully selected fine ginseng. Both sides wholeheartedly want to pave the way for my son, originally intending to present them to Senior Brother directly, but fearing you would not accept, they entrusted me to convey them."

"I thought: if I declined, it would instead make them uneasy; better to just bring them back — in Hua Prefecture these two families assisted me greatly."

Chen Fuzi spread the painting open on the table, examined it carefully, then laughed and shook his head, saying: "Truly willing to spend a fortune."

Then he said: "I'll keep them for now; when those two children return, I'll return them then."

Han Li said: "Senior Brother just keep them; when they return, I will separately prepare gifts, and won't let them suffer a loss."

Hearing this, Chen Fuzi no longer stood on ceremony.

In his heart, all his own things were to be left for this junior brother anyway, so he couldn't be bothered with so many words; he simply took the ginseng from the box, looked at it, smelled it, and on a sudden whim said: "Such fine ginseng — you say I give it to Song Xiaoniangzi, ask her to snip off some rootlets, braise a soup for you to supplement yourself, how would that be?"

Han Li looked at him helplessly.

Chen Fuzi also knew this was a life-prolonging treasure, and could not indulge in such fancies further; he couldn't help sighing again: "Can't blame me for worrying; just a few months apart and you've darkened and thinned, already a bit not as handsome as before! At this time, a man's appearance is most critical!"

Han Li had no time to ask what "this time" meant; his eyes swept across and he had already seen the many diagrams spread on the tabletop.

The diagrams looked somewhat familiar — there were river maps and also territorial maps, all of the Hua Prefecture and Jingji routes. He pointed and asked: "Senior Brother not sleeping this late, looking at these for what?"

Chen Fuzi gave a cold snort: "I heard the Hua Prefecture dike breached, and also that the Wang Jing River overflowed twice; it frightened me so I couldn't sleep well, fearing you'd be washed away by the river water — later, down below, Master and Madam would beat me with a stick. Next time something like this happens, you'd best send me a letter every day; I'm old, I can't take the fright!"

Then he said: "Since you weren't actually washed away, if there's anything wrong with the river course that you juniors can't handle, do I not have to drag these old bones over to help out?"

Hearing this, Han Li had to defend himself a few sentences, then said: "The Yellow River discharged floodwater; the Wang Jing River merely diverted some water. Mutual aid for one area is already a stretch. All along the way there were new rivers joining and violent rains storing water; if one truly wants to alleviate the water disaster, it is still as Master and Madam said back then — restoring the Yellow River's nine courses is more feasible…"

Chen Fuzi shook his head: "Others may not know, but how could you and I not know? River control is not achieved in a morning or evening; ten or twenty years may not accomplish it. Truly restoring the nine courses requires investment of manpower and wealth beyond count; no one dares to make the final decision…"

"I urged you before to properly serve as an official, not to take shortcuts. Look now — at this time, even if you have eloquence and a brush, what use is it? Insufficient experience, insufficient credentials — others simply won't listen to you!"

"Look at Lv Zhongchang's Liu Ta He — given the rising trend of the river water in the capital, the situation in Chan Prefecture is extremely dangerous. If they don't urgently open the canal, perhaps they could hold out a few more days; if they rush to open the canal… forget it, let's not speak discouraging words!"

Han Li fell silent for a moment, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, only letting out a faint sigh and saying, "The hour is not early; Senior Brother should rest early."

Chen Fuzi acknowledged, then said, "I've had people tidy up two rooms for you in the East Wing — you're constantly coming and going on business these days, staying in the academy is quite inconvenient, so you might as well move out."

As he spoke, he seemed to think of something, and his expression suddenly improved considerably. He said, "The letter and chapters you had Xiao Song deliver to me last time, I received them all."

He then bent down and took out a small box from a cabinet nearby, handing it to Han Li, and said, "I've been eating her cooking all this time and truly enjoy it in my heart. The young lady comes of age next year, and this old man has nothing else to give. While there's still time, you come by every few days, spare some time, and help craft a jade pendant — I intend to give it then."

Han Li took the box, opened it, and saw inside a piece of very translucent white jade.

Chen Fuzi winked at him and smiled, "I originally wanted to give a hairpin, but I was afraid someone else might also want to give one, stealing his chance — is someone going to give one?"

Han Li didn't speak, only silently put the box away, stood up, and urged, "Senior Brother, the hour is not early."

That night, Han Li slept at the Chen Residence.

Early the next morning, as soon as he woke, he met Wu Gong halfway. The two split the work, and after a flurry of busyness, they indeed finished everything by the end of the You hour. They hurriedly changed clothes and headed straight for Sanzao County Alley.

Inside the Song Ji Food Shop, everyone from top to bottom had been busy all day.

Cheng Erniang's hands and feet were very quick. She had only finished speaking the day before, and the next day she had recruited five new people. After a half-day trial, she dismissed two on the spot, keeping only three who had memorized the kitchen rules within the allotted time.

She took the three out to make purchases, observing how they helped move things, whether they knew to handle items gently, whether they would close the door behind them when getting on and off the mule cart, and help hold the door — she dismissed another one who slammed the cart body door loudly with great force.

Back at the food shop, she arranged for the two long-term hired women to each take one, two people responsible for preparing mung bean paste, two for preparing crispy fried noodles. Although she didn't know how things would go later, for now they looked quite efficient, so she felt slightly more at ease. She also told Zhang Siniang and her husband, and Dabing, to keep an eye out, and if they saw anything amiss, to tell her immediately.

Seeing no mishaps, Cheng Erniang quietly sought out Song Miao and said, "Young Lady, today at the Meat Shop Entrance I ran into Auntie Feng's mother. She pulled me aside and talked for half a day — yesterday an old woman came to buy fish, and while buying, she kept asking about you, asking if you had a prior engagement, if anyone had come to propose now, what kind of people they were, and even tried to secretly slip her money..."

"She didn't dare acknowledge it, only pretended not to know, and asked me to bring back a message so you'd have a clear idea in your heart."

Song Miao replied, "Next time you see her, just say I know, thank her for the reminder, and invite her to come sit more often when she has time."

Ever since Song Ji's business gradually picked up, especially recently, with many orders for various steamed buns and dried meat, it attracted quite a bit of attention. Matchmakers had long started coming to the door to inquire about marriage.

Most of these families asking for marriage were also merchants, merely eyeing the business with greed. Song Miao didn't even need to say much; just stating her debts scared almost all of them away.

The Song family's debts were truly staggering.

Outsiders originally thought there was a house here that could offset things, mutually canceling out seven or eight parts of it.

Song Miao also had skills. Although the family had no elders to help, and she had broken off an engagement once before, getting such a person through the door, who even brought her own business, was like earning for free.

Who would have thought she could owe that much!

Outsiders didn't know how much Song Ji earned daily. They only thought that if they married her in, they'd have to repay debts for many years. By the time it was cleared, who knew what might happen? So they all beat a retreat.

Seeing this so often, Song Miao took it as the same old story and didn't take it to heart much.

This afternoon a guest booked two full tables for an elder's birthday banquet.

Song Miao, leading Zhang Siniang and Dabing, had started preparing slowly from morning, and the final table featured eight dishes and one soup.

Although Song Ji's prices were a bit higher than ordinary food shops, the ingredients and taste were truly good. After a full banquet, there were those asking when Song Ji would reopen, saying they would certainly patronize it often in the future.

By the time the guests ate and drank their fill, settled the bill, and left, and the shop staff finished tidying up, the sun was nearly setting.

After a busy day, seeing the hour had come, Zhang Siniang and the others packed up and all bid their farewells.

The crowd had only left a short while when a familiar guest arrived.

— It was none other than Xu Niangzi from the Xu Family Martial Hall.

This time she came not only herself, but also brought her nephew. It was on the way. As soon as she entered, after just exchanging greetings, she kept thanking profusely.

"All thanks to Young Lady's suggestion. I finally found a few students to help look, and yesterday we already found a suitable house for a storeroom — if not for meeting you, the two of us would probably still be staring at each other helplessly!"

That Xu Erlang, when they first met, was quite talkative. This time, for some reason, he spoke very little. He followed beside Xu Niangzi, occasionally raising his head sneakily, pretending to be casual, glancing at Song Miao.

A martial artist, last time at the Capital Prefecture Office he sat with legs spread wide. Today at Song Ji, sitting in a chair, he actually kept his feet together and shoulders drawn in, looking quite nervous and constrained.

But when eating, Xu Erlang quickly reverted to his nature.

Aunt and nephew, with hawthorn leaf tea, ate a plate of fried dough twists fried that afternoon, a full box of freshly pan-fried mung bean cakes, and bought two more boxes.

When it was time to leave, Xu Erlang finally plucked up courage to ask, "Song Xiaoniangzi, you... when is your shop usually free? Thanks to your suggestion, I don't have to stare at those many case files and registers day after day..."

"I heard there's an acrobat troupe at the New Gate Tile Market that's extremely interesting. If you're free, my aunt and I invite you to go watch the acrobats together!"

Song Miao was stunned. She looked up and saw the young man across from her with a face flushed bright red. His mouth was asking her, but his eyes kept darting to the stove, then to the menu board, looking extremely awkward.

She smiled and said, "I haven't seen an acrobat troupe in a long time. Unfortunately, I've been too busy lately, really can't spare the time — I still owe Xu Niangzi a lot of dried meat!"

Xu Erlang immediately wilted, agreed, and stepped out the door.

But he hadn't taken two steps when he looked up and saw someone standing outside, looking like they were about to enter. Seeing him, the person very politely stepped aside on their own initiative.

The other person was very tall, looked very spirited, had very upright features, very clear and upright eyes, and an extremely composed temperament, making one unable to help but want to look again.

Xu Erlang had already walked out, but still couldn't help turning back to look.

Then he saw that young man standing opposite Song Xiaoniangzi, opening his mouth to say, "Truly disturbing you. I returned a bit late today — wonder if there's anything to eat?"

One doesn't know if it was coincidence, but as the other spoke, he actually turned his head back, and their eyes met perfectly. He nodded in greeting.

For no reason, Xu Erlang suddenly felt as if he had shrunk a whole head shorter in an instant.