Chapter 297

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

On one side was a young lady she regarded as family, who had reached out a helping hand in times of danger; on the other was a nobleman who had helped her younger brother greatly, and whose fame spread far and wide.

Once she sensed something was wrong, although she could not yet confirm it nor know the inside story, Cheng Erniang refused to say more, fearing it would affect the two's reputation, and fearing meddling would make things awkward.

She smiled and merely used a few superficial compliments unrelated to the matter to gloss over it.

Yet even just these perfunctory praises, upon learning Han Li's identity and origin, were enough to make Xu Erlang feel ill at ease all over.

It was already too late in the day; he did not return to the Wuguan but went straight home.

Hardly had he sat down inside the door when Xu Niangzi came upon hearing the news, smiling as she asked: "Little Second Young Master! Why are you sitting there so foolishly—where's my Meat gan?"

Xu Erlang made an "oh" sound and said: "There was too much Meat gan, two full baskets; I went on horseback and couldn't carry it all back at once. Storekeeper Song said someone would deliver it to the Wuguan Li tomorrow around noon, telling me not to trouble myself..."

His voice was listless, his shoulders slumped, a picture of dejection.

"What's wrong now?" Xu Niangzi wondered. "Just the other day you asked me what ordinary young ladies usually like, today you said someone would deliver goods tomorrow, and you eagerly scrambled to go to Song Ji, went and came back, and now look like this? Who didn't give you a good face?"

"Nothing of the sort!" Xu Erlang was as if his tail had been stepped on, nearly jumping up. "Song Xiaoniangzi has a very good temper; she's been very good to me!"

"Then why are you so listless?"

Xu Erlang sighed, recounting how he had sent flowers today, been tactfully refused, then Song Miao's words, and then what Cheng Erniang had said about Han Li, one by one, before asking: "Aunt, tell me, he's a man of the brush—can I compare to him?"

As he spoke, he lifted his head, looking at his aunt with eager eyes.

Seeing her nephew's gaze full of such hope, Xu Niangzi was momentarily speechless.

If it were an ordinary Taixue Xue Shi, she could still find a few words to remedy the situation, but now it was someone whose name even she, a complete outsider, had heard; no matter what, Xu Niangzi could not say a single insincere word.

She had no choice but to force herself to say: "What's there to compare! What's on your mind, and what's on hers? Cheng Erniangzi said it herself—Young Master Han likes Song Xiaoniangzi's skill, that's why he comes to eat every day. Do you only like the skill?"

Xu Erlang's face flushed at once, and he said in a low voice: "Naturally not just that... she's so kind-hearted, and born so beautiful... whether she has skill or not is secondary..."

Xu Niangzi's heart immediately ached in sympathy, and she sighed: "She really is born beautiful—how can someone's face grow like that? She looks beautiful when she smiles, and beautiful when she doesn't."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but glance at her nephew, but in the end she held back and didn't say it.

Others just sit there, and they're pleasing to the eye; where is this boy like that, sitting here, looking so foolish!

Hearing this, Xu Erlang couldn't help but chuckle. As he chuckled, he seemed to think of something, and his expression froze. "I look at that Han Li, Han Xiu Cai Gong—no matter how I see it, he doesn't look like someone who only likes skill..."

"He hasn't even said anything, and you're already panting for him?"

Xu Erlang had no choice but to describe the scene of meeting Han Li that day once more.

"She only glanced at you, nodded, said hello, and here you are acting all flustered—how embarrassing!"

"Aunt! You don't understand! The way he looked at me was obvious!" This time, Xu Erlang was too lazy to explain further. "Aye, this needs to be told to Brother-in-law for him to understand a bit!"

But upon reaching this point, he immediately became alert and said: "Aunt, you must not tell Brother-in-law, or anyone else at home!"

Xu Erlang's attitude and reaction made Xu Niangzi realize a thing or two.

She racked her brains and said: "Aye! Literati have their merits, and we martial folk have ours too! What is your great strength for?"

"Since Song Xiaoniangzi runs a food shop, and she herself said she usually can only focus on business, you should go help more often—carry what needs carrying, move what needs moving!"

She added: "Back then, your brother-in-law ran escort trips for our family, panting all the way! You just send a few lotus flowers—what do you expect people to say?"

"I know, I know! Even without Aunt saying it, I know what to do!" Xu Erlang sighed. "But Song Xiaoniangzi won't accept flowers, won't let me bring back local specialties from Luoyang. If Young Master Han truly has intentions, he's at Taixue, close by, while I'm at the Wuguan, far away—how can I compete!"

"In my opinion, precisely because he's such a formidable Xiu Cai Gong, you have a chance!"

Xu Niangzi counted them off one by one.

"He writes well and is capable, so he must be very busy usually. We hired a few refugees from Chan Prefecture to help move cargo recently, and they said this Han surname stayed in Hua Prefecture for several months and did many things. Now people in Chan Prefecture are clamoring for him to manage affairs there too—such a person, how could he possibly stay guarding a food shop all day!"

"Furthermore, this kind of scholar—eight out of ten are aloof, and definitely won't deceive people. You learn to speak like that, learn to be shameless, be quick about it—grab what needs grabbing, bend when you need to bend. To win the young lady's favor, being shameless is paramount! He's a talented man, he must care about face—can you compare to him?!"

"Furthermore, people like us are just making a living; everyone at home is easy to talk to and won't be picky. He's a scholar, who knows if he's from some high and mighty family, looking down on people with dog eyes—can he compare to us?"

"And what does far or near matter anyway! You'd best go there every couple of days to get your face known, let Song Xiaoniangzi get used to seeing your face. Once familiar, who knows, she might naturally develop a fondness for you! In the future, whatever flowers you send, she won't refuse!"

Speaking this, Xu Niangzi couldn't help but praise: "Not to boast, but our family has good judgment—it's precisely because Song Xiaoniangzi's character is solid that she told you clearly not to send things, isn't that right?"

This whole analysis made Xu Erlang's spine straighten up all at once, his head lifted higher, his chest puffed out.

That's right!

Marriage is a union of two surnames. Song Xiaoniangzi is such a good person, but those great clans might not understand; they'd surely insist on matching social standings—if standings matched, our family runs an escort agency and Wuguan, while Song Xiaoniangzi runs a food shop!

A match made in heaven!

That night, Xu Erlang tossed and turned in bed, daydreaming about how he would visit and flatter her in the future. Meanwhile, in Sanzao County Alley, at the Song Family Eatery, Song and Cheng were already up early.

After washing up, Song Miao held a lamp and went out. Raising her hand to shine it, as expected, there was an ice box placed in the corner of the left wall.

She picked it up to weigh it—still quite heavy.

She carried the box inside, placed it on the desk, took the key, and opened it.

The bottom of the box was padded with plenty of ice; it must have been placed there not long ago, almost none of it had melted. Among the large chunks of ice, besides the old acquaintance—a large bamboo tube of sheep's milk—there was also something wrapped in oil paper, unknown what it was.

At that moment, Cheng Erniang came out to the front hall with her sleeves rolled up, about to check the stove. Seeing the familiar ice box on the desk, she couldn't help but pause in her steps. After a few breaths, she came forward, smiling and asking: "Young Lady, is it sheep's milk sent by Young Master Han again?"

Song Miao responded, handed over the bamboo tube of sheep's milk as usual, and said: "Boil it, we'll drink it before working—remember to leave a bowl for Xiao Lian."

Cheng Erniang responded verbally, hurriedly reached out to take the bamboo tube, and secretly glanced over again, and again.

Song Miao didn't know Cheng Erniang was observing her reaction and expression.

She unwrapped the oil paper and found another layer inside; in the very center was a small leather bag, inside which was yet another layer of oil paper wrapping—four or five layers in all, wrapped tightly, not letting a bit of moisture in.

Opening the innermost layer, she found it was a letter written by Han Li.

The letter paper was a thick stack, all in vernacular, with many characters, very neat.

The content was written in great detail.

First he said that lately the water levels of both the Bian River and the Huang He had risen sharply, and the Court wanted to open sluice gates and regulate the river to drain and divert water; everyone at the Du Shui Jian was busy above and below, so he could not get away and could only stay behind for now to help, which was why he kept coming back late.

Then he said that according to current progress, at most in another two or three days the situation would ease somewhat; by that day, if he could not make it back in advance to speak in person, he would write a letter, still placing it inside this box, asking "Storekeeper Song" to see it, help keep a mouthful of rice, and ask whether it was convenient.

If it was inconvenient, just pretend this never happened; if it was convenient, have him place one pebble in this box, and she would know when she saw it tomorrow.

He added that this afternoon he had received word that the racks for the roasting ovens were nearly finished, and at most in another four or five days the craftsmen from the Ironware Shop would bring them over; he asked everyone at the Food Shop to be informed of this and pay some attention.

After saying all these miscellaneous things, he again asked Song Miao whether she had gotten used to drinking goat's milk these past days, whether her stomach and intestines had adjusted, and whether she felt uncomfortable anywhere.

He also said that lately he had been inspecting the banks of the River Regulation, and happened to enter a village where two households were very skilled at making charcoal.

He had tried it several times; that charcoal burned especially thoroughly, was especially dry, lasted long, had a steady fire, and produced no smoke; most importantly, the price was not high, half a Portion per dan cheaper than in the city.

Knowing that Song Miao's two ovens, large and small, sometimes used firewood and sometimes charcoal, and that last time he heard her talking to someone asking where to find good charcoal, saying that the charcoal they currently used had charcoal heads from time to time, filling the ovens with smoke and being hard to use, he made up his mind and ordered a cartload from those two households.

He gave them the address of Sanzao County Alley and had those two households come deliver it; the money had already been paid, telling her not to pay again—when he returned, the two of them would carefully settle their private accounts.

Use it first; if it really works well, then negotiate with those two households to have them deliver charcoal regularly, and so on.

After saying all this, he again asked Song Miao whether anything new had happened these past few days, how business was, and how the carpenter's progress on the tables and chairs mentioned last time was going.

He said that when he returned home, he had picked up several old turtle shells collected by his senior martial brother to burn patterns, studied them according to the divination book for a while, and finally the divination signs said that among certain days, certain days, and certain days, one could be chosen to open for business, each with its own advantages.

He also said what those advantages were.

He added that he had already consulted several senior officials at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and asked the old man how best to open a food shop; he had made a list and only then realized there were so many rules and formalities.

Opening a food shop was a major matter; when he returned he would slowly tell her all those complicated rules; if he could manage it, on the day of opening it would be best for him to come in person to help supervise for a while—first, regardless of whether it was useful, what should be done could not be wrong, lest others see it and laugh that no one in the family understood how to do things.

Song Miao had been looking at it seriously at first, but later, seeing turtle shell divination, all sorts of formalities, and his preparation to come in person to supervise all the ceremonies, she could hardly hold back her laughter without realizing it.

Cheng Erniang, while boiling the goat's milk over a small fire, turned to look at Song Miao; knowing who had written the letter, seeing Song Miao's reaction to reading the letter, although she did not know what was written in it, she really had many things she wanted to ask, but she swallowed them back.

Her heart was itching like a cat scratching, when she heard Song Miao call her once.

Cheng Erniang hurriedly agreed.

Song Miao then told her about Han Li's letter: that the racks for the two roasting ovens were nearly finished, and that he had bought charcoal from some place on the road, which would probably be delivered in the next few days.

She said: "Er Niangzi, tell everyone too: if anyone comes to the door, help receive them—the money has all been paid."

Cheng Erniang immediately had no heart to think of anything else.

She said: "A cartload of charcoal—surely that's at least forty or fifty baskets? I must first have everyone count them together, and quickly clear out a space, so that we're not in a rush and end up with a messy pile!"

She also asked: "Can we tell the people at the blacksmith shop to come in the afternoon instead? Otherwise, if they come in the morning or at noon, the ovens will have just been used and be too hot to clean, and those racks might not be easy to install!"

Song Miao said: "I was just thinking about this matter too—only Young Master Han has many things to do; these two days he might not have time to come back early. I'll leave a letter too and ask him."

She then went on to say exactly how many baskets were in a cartload of charcoal, the size and dimensions of each basket, roughly how many jin each weighed—all of which Han Li had already explained clearly in his letter.

"The southwest corner should still be able to hold them," Song Miao calculated in her heart, "but it would be best to put up a shed."

Cheng Erniang said: "I'll put it up, I'll put it up this afternoon—only, Young Lady, in the past I didn't really notice, but these past few days, more and more I feel this house is not big enough!"

"Bear with it for a while; I've already been looking at new places."

Song Miao said this, put the letter away, and returned it to her own room.

And Cheng Erniang watched her return to the back courtyard, her eyes involuntarily turning to the bamboo tube on the table.

Inside the bamboo tube, several lotus stems hung their heads.

She looked at the box also placed on the table, then turned to look at the goat's milk boiling on the stove, thinking of that letter, and also of the racks to be delivered soon, and that cartload of charcoal.

Looking and looking, Cheng Erniang unconsciously sighed in her heart, and couldn't help but glance at the lotus flowers again.

Truly pitiful.

By now Song Miao had put things away, picked up a basket of clean hemp cloth, and come out to the front hall, preparing to take a couple of bites of something before starting work.

Looking up, she saw Cheng Erniang looking at the lotus flowers; she naturally followed her gaze, saw the appearance of the lotus flowers, and was startled, regretting: "Last night there were too many things going on; I actually forgot to wake these lotus flowers!"

Cheng Erniang said: "Young Lady, tell me about it; I'll find some free time later to do it—how do you wake them?"

"They need deep water..." Song Miao thought for a moment, "Forget it, I'll take them to the fish tank to wake them first; you go about your business—this thing takes too much effort!"

She took the flowers to the back courtyard, turned the lotus flowers upside down, poured water into each flower stem one by one, plugged the hole at the bottom of the flower stem with her finger, set the flowers upright again, quickly stuck them into the fish tank, then took scissors and trimmed an inch or so off the lotus stems at an angle underwater, and took something else to prop them up, so the flower buds wouldn't fall into the water.

A group of fish had been sleeping soundly; it wasn't even dawn yet, and these many lotus flowers suddenly stuck in there frightened them into jumping up and down in the tank, running here and there.

The flowers were indeed beautiful; if it were before, she would wake the flowers, trim them, and arrange them slowly and leisurely, without feeling the slightest trouble.

But right now, she really had no free time.

Song Miao hurriedly tidied up, had no time to worry about too much, washed her hands, went to the front to drink a couple of mouthfuls of goat's milk, and started working with Cheng Erniang.

Not long after, Wang Sanlang drove a cart, bringing a group of people to the door.

The crowd entered the door, greeted each other warmly, each went to their own place, and went to work without further mention.

?? Damn it, I was too tired yesterday and forgot a very important thing; everyone, please save your monthly tickets! Operations Officer Xiao Tu applied for a monthly ticket event for us; this time there are especially, especially many slots, lasting until the 7th of next month. Friends, be sure to wait until after the post is out and you've replied before voting; keep an eye on the comment section, and let's try to grab more for ourselves!