Chapter 289

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

The food shop had not yet opened, and the food stalls were still set up here, but someone already wore an expression of complete inability to accept it.

Song Miao was about to speak when a student hurriedly answered to help: "What's the rush? Don't we have legs of our own? Just go to the door to eat!"

"Exactly! Once the food shop opens, there's food for three meals a day, better than now where if you get up a little late, nothing is left—by then, those familiar with each other can privately rank them as jia, yi, bing, ding, taking turns to go to the door and buy for others, just acting as the duty person, isn't that good?"

"Even the gentlemen of the Two Prefectures have to enter the Imperial Palace for duty; can't you and I take turns?"

In one breath, they equated themselves with the gentlemen of the Two Prefectures, and Song Ji with the Imperial Palace.

Such an outrageous metaphor actually soon found people echoing it.

"That's good!" The agreement didn't forget to look at Song Miao: "Young Lady Song, nowadays you say every time you can't make many quantities; once the food shop opens, we'll go to the door to buy, surely you can't fail to make it then?!"

Someone else asked: "Those pig trotter rice, taro braised pork, and such that they used to eat—once the food shop opens, can we also eat them?!"

"I heard that Song Ji sends early food out to sell every day—if we order a lot, can lunch and dinner also be delivered to the door?"

Song Miao paused, not replying immediately.

Her reaction immediately made everyone alert.

"Young Lady Song, I heard last time that your food shop only does dine-in ordering, no delivery at all, not even takeout—I thought it was just a rumor—it's not true, right?!"

"What?!"

"Absolutely preposterous!!!"

"Absurd! Young Lady Song, this is nonsense, right? This must be nonsense, right? If you only do dine-in dishes, we might not be able to come every day! You really don't want us customers anymore?! How could this be?! How could this be?!"

Across the stall cart, voices rose and fell one after another, exclamations everywhere.

The large pancake stood on a small stool, busily trying to soothe them, advising this one and saying that to that, but a clever mouth at this time was hard-pressed to cook without rice; seeing the commotion grow, fearing he would instead cause trouble, he shrank back behind the steamer basket, hardly daring to raise his head, quietly making a mouth shape to ask: "Young Lady, what should we do?"

Suanzao Alley was deep, and the regular customers were scattered across the southeast and northwest of the city, perhaps not enough to fully support the scene, but if energy was placed on such eat-and-go meals, doing student business would still require thin profits and high volume, somewhat different from the current small table path.

With current manpower, trying to balance both was somewhat difficult; Song Miao had not yet thought of a solution.

She pondered for a few breaths, then said: "I won't hide it from you all; most dishes in the food shop are made individually, and dish prices are not low. You've already taken very good care of me for breakfast. Even if one is greedy for money and plucks every feather from a passing goose, one can't pluck from the same flock of geese every time, right?"

Once these words came out, the noise grew even louder.

"What what? What does 'can't pluck from the same flock of geese' mean? Did you ask the geese?! Why don't you ask first?!"

"What if that goose has many feathers? In this great heat of summer, it hates the heat and would rather lose a few more feathers?!"

"How much is 'not low'? Fifty wen per dish? Eighty wen per dish? We can pool together; can't a few people chip in and order something?!"

Someone stepped forward and shouted: "Stall Owner Song, treat everyone equally, treat everyone equally! Although we are students, not as wealthy as those high officials and nobles, we also have allowances; why can't you take care of our business? You won't deliver, and you won't allow takeout—aren't you completely shutting us out? Aren't we your own people?!"

"What? Not delivering is one thing, but not even allowing takeout?! Stall Owner Song! You! You're really hurting my feelings! I... I tomorrow, tomorrow if others say you're slow at the stall, lazy and unwilling to do more, I won't speak up for you anymore!"

Facing seven tongues and eight mouths, voices growing more and more numerous, the clamor growing, Song Miao's ears were practically buzzing; she simply couldn't take it, so she hurriedly picked the most urgent to stop first, saying: "There are a few dishes that can't be taken out, but foods like roast pigeon, braised chicken, roast duck—if left for a while, the flavor drops by seventy or eighty percent, which is why such a statement exists; most others can be taken out and delivered."

She added: "And let me think again about what to do—after all, noon and evening are proper meals; delivery or takeout is not as good as coming to eat in the food shop. In summer, fear spoilage; in winter, fear it getting cold. I'll first see if there are suitable dishes; if there are, I'll make some; if not, everyone can come to the shop to eat when they have free time, it's the same..."

Once she spoke, those across the way instantly quieted down, each tiptoeing and straining their ears to listen.

Someone hurriedly asked: "Then when exactly will the food shop open? Once it opens, will this food stall no longer be set up?"

Song Miao said: "Even if the food shop opens, the food stall will still be set up for some days; we can talk about the future later—no need to rush—as for the dishes in the food shop, if everyone has favorites, please trouble yourselves to mention them; we are currently planning the menu!"

These words made people breathe a sigh of relief, but also made the students behind them excitedly stirred.

"This is... finally our turn to order dishes?!"

"Hey! Young Lady Song! Braised mutton! Paired with some pickled vegetables! I love this dish so much; I could eat it for a year without getting tired. It has vegetables and meat, and it's not afraid of being kept for a long time! It goes with rice or pancakes; it's just that I've never run into one made deliciously. If Song Ji puts it on, even in the coldest days of winter, I'll brave snow and ice to come to the door and eat!"

Once one person ordered a dish, others hurriedly followed to order dishes.

"Pig trotter rice! Pig trotter rice is especially suitable! Ever since I ate it last time, I've been thinking about it—Stall Owner Song! Don't forget the pig trotter rice!"

Song Miao looked up and recognized this as an acquaintance who used to rely on helping copy Wei Xingtong and had eaten pig trotter rice.

"Sliced boiled fish! This is delicious! Just, can you choose fish with fewer bones? Stall Owner Song, can we use fresh fish? The canteen always uses dead fish, and eating outside you can easily run into dead fish; the fishiness would kill me!"

"Why is everyone talking about meat?! Young Lady Song, let's make some cheap ones; not necessarily all meat, we can have more vegetarian dishes. Zhu Yu fermented black bean braised tofu is very good; green beans are in season right now, stir-fried green beans are delicious too! Make more vegetarian dishes to sell, cheaper; I can come to the door three times a day. If it's all meat, my monthly allowance might not be enough; I'd have to scrape and save!"

"Can you sell noodles? I'm not used to rice; I like noodles!"

"I like noodles too! Just prepare more toppings. If I have money, I'll add more meat; if not, I won't. That way, running twice a day, I'll consider it labor for body and skin, exercising muscles and bones—didn't the sages say reading requires a balance of tension and relaxation? From here to Song Ji, round trip, about half an hour, just right for relaxation!"

"Mutton soup! Wait until the weather turns cold, you can make mutton soup!! I want to come to the door to eat mutton soup!"

"It's not winter yet; don't cut in line here—Stall Owner Song, make liangpi! Take advantage of the cucumbers being tender right now!"

By this time, Song Ji's food had already sold to the back; the students left in line were not many, perhaps twenty or thirty. At this time, they no longer bothered with the formation and all crowded over.

Everyone snatched a sentence, fought for a word, forcibly creating a feeling of Laba porridge, gudu gudu, gulu gulu; once the lid was lifted, it made a racket without stopping.

Song Miao said: "I've noted them down. When I return, I'll first try making them once, select the most suitable ones, and then sell them."

"No! Don't rush! I still have many dishes to say; it's just that Young Lady suddenly asked, and I couldn't think of so many all at once! There's more to add later!"

"Right! I still have more to add! I thought of another dish..."

Song Miao then said: "Everyone, think slowly; we can talk about it next time we meet. I'll also ask someone to inquire at the Xue Zhai, gather them all, and then slowly select."

The students then stopped.

Seeing the bell was about to ring, the group left reluctantly, still discussing various dishes along the way.

Song Miao called back the acquaintance who had eaten pig trotter rice before, and said softly: "Trouble Young Master to send a message to Young Master Cheng, asking him to come to the stall when he has free time; I have something to ask him to help with."

The student nodded quickly, then asked: "I don't know if Young Lady Song is in a hurry? If it's urgent, I'll run in now and call him out!"

"Not urgent, and it's not a big deal. I just want to ask him to help inquire about dishes among classmates—because there are some details, it's best to say face-to-face, so I asked him to come to the door."

The student patted his chest to guarantee it and ran off.

While Song Miao and Da Bing were packing up, the nearby stall owners who had a moment to spare all gathered over.

"Song Xiaoniangzi, are you really not continuing with the food stall after this?"

"Why not! There's no one in the world who dislikes having too much money — if you're opening a food shop, don't let the stall sit idle either!"

"If you leave, won't business be even harder for the rest of us here?"

Song Miao hurriedly said, "There's no such thing. Everyone has their own skills, and the things they sell are completely different. Right now, with Nan Lu's gate locked, things are tough, but I think they can't keep the gate shut forever. We just need to endure this period."

She said some polite words, then specially performed a bow, saying, "These past days I've received much care from all you stall owners, which allowed a newcomer like me to run a stall smoothly for half a year and catch my breath."

She added, "Though my place is small and very simple, it is a food shop after all. When it opens, I'll come invite each of you to come by for a cup of watered wine and taste my cooking!"

With the Song Family's heavy debts, and how pitiful Song Miao looked when she first arrived, and all the events she encountered afterward — the whole group of stall keepers had seen it all.

Her cooking was good, and she knew how to conduct herself. Not only did she deliberately choose foods different from others to sell, but even when supplying steamed buns to the Taixue Canteen, she supplied more at noon and evening, less in the morning. Though never explicitly stated, everyone knew this was because she didn't want to compete with Food Alley's business.

Now seeing she had weathered the storm and her food shop was about to reopen, to put it exaggeratedly, nearly half the street was happy for her.

"Definitely coming!"

"I live nearby. When I'm too lazy to cook in the future, I'll come patronize your business!"

"I've long known Song Xiaoniangzi's cooking is good. Half a year has nearly passed, and your queue is truly this long. I couldn't leave my stall, so to this day I haven't tasted a single bite of glutinous rice. I'll definitely come by and contribute my share!"

Song Miao thanked them one by one, then left pushing the cart together with Da Bing.

Once she left, the stall owners behind inevitably started whispering.

"Heard that Song Dalang owed over eighteen thousand strings of cash back then!"

"I heard it was over eighty thousand strings?"

"The more it's told, the more outrageous it gets!"

"Who knows how much. It's truly a sin. If not for such a father, how could she be this pitiful? I asked her last time, she said ever since she started the stall, she rises at the Ugly Hour. Sigh, I have a daughter and son-in-law helping me, but she's a young lady on her own..."

"Who knows when it'll ever be paid off!"

"Just hope her food shop does well, otherwise she might as well keep running the stall!"

"That won't happen. Song Ji's pork jerky and dried fish sell very well. Heard they've got a mung bean cake selling well lately, and char siu too. Heard the family hired six or seven people. Pity she probably doesn't earn that much herself..."

"How do you know she doesn't earn much?"

"Calculated it. The costs are right there. She uses good meat and vegetables, labor costs are high too. Heard the back kitchen standards are extremely high, clean to a frightening degree. Besides wages, she gives separate bonus money — my daughter's sister-in-law worked there before. She washed her hands until she was dizzy. When she got home, seeing stray cats and dogs on the road, she almost couldn't help but want to grab them and rinse their paws before letting them go!"

The group didn't know Song Ji's profit situation, nor how Song Miao increased profits. They just set up a gossip circle here, secretly calculating with their own costs, getting quite into it, until they heard customers calling, then hurriedly scattered in a rush.

And not long after Song Miao returned to the food shop, someone hurriedly came to the door — it was Cheng Zijian.

Seeing someone enter, Song Miao couldn't help but glance at the water clock. Even seeing the hour, she still hadn't quite reacted, and hurriedly said, "Things here aren't urgent, but Young Master, why have you come at this hour? Won't it delay your classes?"

"No, these past few days the teacher assigned me to go inspect the embankment, so I don't have classes — just need to meet up at the appointed hour."

Speaking of this, Cheng Zijian still sighed a bit, saying, "Brother Han is at the Du Shui Jian. I originally wanted to recommend myself to go with him, but he wouldn't agree, only told me to follow the teacher and talk later. I saw him at the embankment and dam just yesterday, leading several people, holding rulers and ropes, with another group surrounding him listening to his assignments. When will I ever get included in that inner circle!"

Song Miao smiled and said, "He's mostly afraid of affecting Young Master Cheng's studies. Once you've learned enough — probably by next year — I reckon you won't be able to avoid it even if you want to."

A few sentences painted a scene in Cheng Zijian's mind of that Brother Han later calling on him for help, entrusting him with many important matters to follow up on, how well he followed through, and how he received praise. He unconsciously grinned.

He grinned foolishly for a while, then quickly reacted and asked, "Does Song Xiaoniangzi have something? I heard you wanted to ask about dishes?"

"Yes, I wanted to ask Young Master Cheng for a favor — to see how to do this quickly."

Song Miao briefly narrated the reason, then said, "If I go ask one by one, it's truly too time-consuming. I thought of writing several official documents and having them passed around in the study halls, letting everyone add their favorite dishes at the back. Just don't know if the instructors would mind, or if it violates discipline."

"Young Lady, rest assured, it's no problem at all. Taixue doesn't have that many rules!" Cheng Zijian thought for a moment, "Doesn't have to be passed privately. If it's passed slowly and someone holds onto it for a day or two without us knowing, wouldn't that just waste time?"

He came up with a method, looking proud: "I've got it! Outside the dormitories there's a wall we use specifically for posting all kinds of notices. There's one outside the canteen too. I'll draft something and post it, and ask fellow disciples to just write dish names after it — how about that?"

Song Miao smiled, "Young Master thinks the same as me, but I didn't know we could post it. Thought we could only pass them around."

She took a drafted manuscript from the table behind her and said, "I've drafted a rough version here. Troubling you to look it over and help revise it!"

Cheng Zijian hurriedly nodded, put away the materials, discussed some details with Song Miao, then left in a rush.

During the day, he and his study hall mates followed the masters out of the city, walking all day on the embankments and river channels. Only after much difficulty did he finally return to Taixue. He eagerly took out Song Miao's drafted manuscript, intending to revise it, but on close inspection found it concise and clear, truly nothing to improve. So he simply picked up his brush and copied a clean version.

Once copied, he took the manuscript and the flour paste, his heart full of joy at being able to help, and hurried off to post it.

It was exactly meal time, so naturally he went to the canteen wall first.

Before he even got close, Cheng Zijian froze.

— Why are there so many people gathered! And every single one holding a brush and grinding ink!

Just as he was puzzling over this, he heard noisy voices from the front.

"Look clearly! If it's already written up front, don't write it again!"

"How to look? It's packed dense, can't finish reading!"

"Of course write it! Write a few more times so Song Xiaoniangzi knows lots of people love this dish!"

He walked a few steps closer. On the wall was a huge notice. The seven characters at the very top were black and large.

— Song Restaurant Menu Order?

Huh, there's a Menu Order there, so what's the one in my hand??

This task actually has someone secretly snatching it too???

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