Chapter 365

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

Song Miao reached out and took it, and lowering her head to look, she saw there was no information on the outside of the letter paper, only the name Song Ji Food Shop written, along with the address outside Zhuque Gate at the end of Suanzao Alley, and then looking at the wax seal on the back flap, it was sent from Shouzhou.

She weighed it in her hand, and only felt that the letter was extremely thick, and a few guesses immediately arose in her heart, but because matters were busy at the moment, she didn't open it, first putting it away on her person, and then went to the back to fry ma tong and orchid strips with everyone for half a day.

By the time the food shop was tidied up, all the long-term and short-term hires had gone home respectively, at this time there was a carriage stopped at the entrance, and a person got down, who turned out to be Shen Xingniang.

As soon as she entered the door, she smiled and said to Song Miao: "I know you do business in the back courtyard during the day, and it's not good to have outsiders coming in and out, so today I specially chose the closing time to come — can I go in now?"

As she spoke, she also pointed to the bundle she was carrying, and said very enthusiastically: "I just made you a set of clothes!"

Shen Xingniang looked full of interest, her whole person looking much better than last time, not only was her complexion better, but her face had more flesh, and her voice also had full vigor.

Seeing this, Song Miao was truly happy for her, and couldn't help but smile: "Just for me? Then I definitely have to try it on!"

As she spoke, she closed the door, and brought the person back to the back courtyard room.

When they opened that bundle, inside was a set of light blue-green clothes, an inner shirt, an outer robe, outer trousers, and also a skirt.

The fabric color of this clothing was very tender, like willows just sprouting in the second month, light and pale, yet very pleasing to the eye.

Touching it, it was soft, smooth, and extremely comfortable.

Shen Xingniang took the initiative to take the outer robe, helped Song Miao put it on, and then straightened the fabric on her shoulders.

"I got this fabric early on, one look at the color and texture, and I felt it would suit you very well, only before my health wasn't good, I couldn't muster the spirit, recently it's much better, because I thought your food shop will open soon, and then you'll definitely need new clothes — with this set of mine on you, if anyone asks, you must mention me a lot!"

As she spoke, she stepped back two steps, looked Song Miao up and down wearing the clothes she made, looking completely satisfied, and couldn't help but sigh again: "Indeed clothes need a person to set them off — once on, my needlework looks even more beautiful!"

The clothes were indeed good, not only good-looking, once on you could feel the fabric soft and comfortable, wearing them didn't hinder doing things at all, Song Miao liked them very much.

But although the fabric wasn't kesi, such texture and color were already extremely rare, let alone Shen Xingniang's needlework being so good, the main embroidery was butterflies circling autumn chrysanthemums, with chrysanthemum borders.

Shen Xingniang was truly a formidable embroidered lady, she not only had superb weaving skills, her embroidery was also good, hard to say where exactly it was good, but it was just incomparably natural, from afar the embroidered butterflies seemed real, and up close they were even more lifelike, the butterflies' wings looked like they would flap on their own.

Such a thing, the price goes without saying.

Song Miao smiled and said: "Since Xing Niangzi just wants to give me clothes, I won't refuse, they're truly beautiful, only with your skill, where would you need others to praise — it's just such exquisite, precious work, I don't know how much effort it took, I'm blushing just accepting it!"

Shen Xingniang was unconvinced, went to the table to the side and took that copper mirror, placed it before Song Miao, pointing inside: "Look, look! Isn't this good-looking? Isn't it the person making the clothes look better!?"

Pity that copper mirror was very small, you could see the lovely face, but not the lovely clothes.

Shen Xingniang made a very regretful expression, and said: "If I'd known I should have brought my big copper mirror, so you could see clearly!"

And said: "Where did Cheng Erniangzi go? Where did Xiao Lian go? I really want to call them all over, to see if they stand on my side!"

After her spirits improved, she was a very lively character, tilting her head: "Where's the blushing? I see your face so fair — just needs a bit more red, just right, you don't even need to put on rouge!"

Song Miao was just taking off the tried-on clothes, seeing her argue so cutely, couldn't help but smile: "Today's clothes I'll accept, but what about me in the future? You send a screen one day, clothes the next, for the shop clothes you even give me such a big discount, you can't keep letting me take advantage of you every time, right? I also don't like hearing you say save-my-life-not-save-my-life those words..."

Shen Xingniang pursed her lips and smiled, and said: "You just close your eyes and accept it, won't that do?"

Song Miao went along readily, and at that moment closed her eyes, but only closed them for a while, then opened them again, blinked at her, and smiled: "Can close for a moment, but can you still make me close for a lifetime? Can't see heaven or earth, how would I walk?"

Shen Xingniang giggled, and said: "Then in the future when I make clothes for Niangzi, make things, I'll charge at price, give a small discount — I give other big clients discounts too!"

And said: "I take money, in the future when I come to the food shop to buy things, eat things, Niangzi will also charge money, right?"

The two sat chatting and laughing for a while, then Shen Xingniang said: "In a bit I have to go to Tianyuantang to find Doctor Lin, want to bring her something — does Niangzi have anything ready here that can be carried?"

Song Miao then said: "Just right, today we fried ma tong, and also have some orchid strips, these things can't be kept long, need to be stored very carefully, right now they're not for sale outside."

As she spoke, she brought Shen Xingniang to the back kitchen, walking and saying: "You take some back to eat, and send some to Doctor Lin — remember to tell her, best to eat within these two days, there are many people in the clinic, a little each, best to finish in one go!"

Because Shen Xingniang wanted to ask the price, she then said: "You send me such beautiful clothes and won't take money, I only return a few snacks, and you still want to talk price here?"

Shen Xingniang hurriedly made a zipping-her-mouth gesture, obediently stood to the side, and didn't dare make a sound again.

After seeing the person off, at this time Cheng Er was out on business, Xiao Lian was also still in Tianyuantang, the usually noisy and clamorous food shop, rarely left with only herself, Song Miao then took out the dried jasmine flowers Zhu Jie'er sent last time, brewed herself a cup, returned to her room, taking advantage of the daylight still there, opened the window, and by that window light took out the letter she had put away earlier.

Opening the folded pages, she slowly began to read.

The letter writer should have saved up for many days, like the leather-wrapped letter inside that goat milk box last time, it was written in fits and starts.

Also used vernacular, this time the content was even more rambling and boundless.

The characters were very beautiful, with bone and spirit, not the Guan Guan Ti style, a bit like Liu style, but harder than Liu style, not looking at content, just looking at the characters, it was very pleasing to the eye.

No wonder Chen Fuzi said, before there were wealthy merchants who asked this person to write characters, one character for one South Sea pearl as brush fee.

No wonder this person could save that much money, every move sending gifts — they all say starting a business is hard, keeping it is hard, he seems to not know how to keep wealth.

The letter says he arrived at a certain place, did a certain thing, saw a certain local specialty, originally wanted to send it back to the capital, pity recently both water and land transport are too crowded, blocked up badly, the goods are also fresh seasonal produce, can't be kept long, extremely regretful, but already noted it down, later when transport capacity is more ample, will think of a way again.

— Here he described the thing's appearance and taste in detail, then emphasized he hadn't eaten it, couldn't guarantee authenticity, only during investigation and inquiry, encountered local commoners, heard them mentioning it in passing.

The letter also says on a certain day he met up with Kong Fuyang, the other party scolded for a quarter-hour or more upon meeting, saying the boatmen on their ship cooked very badly, every day perfunctorily one big pot, although there was meat, almost all fish.

Every day using fish with the same method would be fine, but the boatmen often didn't even scrape the fish scales clean, sometimes gutting the fish they were too lazy to do properly, didn't handle it well, burst the gallbladder, one bitter pot.

He said the boatmen's cooking being bad was one thing, most annoying was the dirtiness, the pots weren't even scrubbed clean, painful to watch, because he couldn't be bothered with nonsense, simply had someone buy a new pot onto the ship, every day cooking thick porridge to eat.

"Don't know why, before also ate every day, now also eat every day, before didn't feel it was hard to endure, but now it's extremely hard to bear."

He said when going to check the sweepers' progress, he saw ants on the ground.

"Before never lowered head to look closely, now carefully observing, actually feel quite close, front and back, left and right, different interest in the midst of progress."

Also asked if Song Miao's food shop is set to open around Mid-Autumn, if truly so, afraid he really won't make it back to the capital in time.

"Never had an identity, inconvenient to act, originally hard to get such an opportunity, already drafted several plans in my belly, thinking how to arrange opening day, who to call to do what, if you agree to let me help, I'll openly exert effort outside, but now it's good. Now it's good."

— He wrote "Now it's good" twice.

But after writing, don't know if it was the next day, or only a moment later, he continued with even darker ink: "If can catch up, naturally best, if really can't catch up, then so be it, anyway days are still long, in the future opportunities for me to step forward and exert effort, presumably won't be few, right?"

Also said when he helped clean the river channel to do calculations, saw a former stele inscription, saw on top a "yi" character, carved very beautifully, after returning, couldn't help but also copied a page, after writing felt acting like this behind the back was a bit frivolous, hurriedly went to burn it — asking her when she would be able to not burn.

At the end of the letter, he honestly confessed again, saying this letter's first page was actually written twice, because the first time he habitually used Guan Guan Ti, actually finished writing it all, but that day he took out her previous reply to read, only felt her writing was like flowing clouds and water, following heart's desire, the more he looked the more he felt his previous writing style was not worthy to match, specially changed to a new version, asking her if she feels this newly used style matches or not.

Besides this, he asked again; although he knew she had many pet names, he dared not use them lightly, and now with letters passing back and forth, he dared not write them carelessly either, but he had been thinking of her for a long time in his heart, truly unable to bear it, and couldn't help but come to ask a single question — which one could he himself use.

The letter finished, he still didn't forget to include a set of "Opening Regulations".

Song Miao looked at those "Regulations"; besides writing clearly the shape of the turtle shell burned when asking for the day and the divination, there was also the full arrangement helpfully broken down by that Korean-surnamed writer.

That day inside the food shop, long-term and short-term hired hands were divided into several teams, what time each arrived at the shop, who was responsible for what during each hour segment, who did what, calculated by the quarter-hour, he gave a large sheet of paper, splitting the twelve hours of opening day separately, written clearly and distinctly.

Looking at it, one saw how painstakingly careful he was.

Song Miao read it word by word; since it was vernacular, it truly felt as if that person were speaking to her face to face across from her; she sat for a long while, her heart now thinking of the fresh seasonal ingredients mentioned in the letter, now of the turtle shell patterns, now of that exquisitely detailed "Opening Regulations", then of that so-called new script style.

Thinking back and forth, she then thought of someone saying she stood on the embankment watching ants; her mind unconsciously conjured that scene, and she only felt a faint sourness, a fine numbness in her heart, inexplicably as if a tiny ant were really crawling inside; she couldn't put the feeling into words.

She looked up and saw the setting sun sinking outside the window, the horizon suffused with a bluish-purple glow.

The autumn slanting sun was actually quite beautiful.

But Song Miao only glanced a few times, yet had no heart to appreciate it; instead she couldn't help lowering her head and reading the letter carefully once more.

She took white paper over, ground ink, lifted her brush, and facing that letter, read a bit, wrote a bit in reply.

By the time of lighting lamps, this letter still had not been finished.

She wrote of her newly made matong, of the Fan Envoy from the Four Directions Pavilion, of the beautiful clothes Shen Xingniang sent, of the sheep's milk she drank every day.

Writing further on, she also wrote of Xiao Lian receiving the wooden man, of the fish she fed, and also wrote of the slanting sun she saw at this moment.

The setting sun was very beautiful.

Then, Young Master Han, when will you return?

The letter all finished, Song Miao's tea still hadn't been drunk more than two sips.

But in Tianyuantang, someone was already secretly preparing tea for her.

And let us speak of Shen Xingniang carrying the food box, going herself to find Doctor Lin for a follow-up consultation.

But this time, as soon as she entered the door she heard coughing sounds inside, and voices reporting symptoms.

"... Day and night I cough, a dry cough with no phlegm... Master, why not prescribe me a little medicine?"

Immediately after came Lin Laodaifu speaking with the disciple beside him.

"This is the same as me having lung fire; you must learn from me and properly nurture your health, eat less fried food, no need to prescribe medicine, no need to take medicine, pay attention to diet, rest well for two days, and you'll recover on your own — medicine is three parts poison, you're a medical student, don't you know that?"

As he spoke, the old doctor himself let out two dry coughs.

When Shen Xingniang entered, she couldn't help but busily inquire after his health.

Lin Laodaifu waved his hand unconcernedly and said: "Nothing, just caught wind-heat a while ago, the lung defense has some heat, two days of light diet and it'll clear up on its own."

Then he carefully began diagnosis.

After taking Shen Xingniang's pulse and examining her, she asked about her condition over the past few days, deliberated and prescribed a new formula, smiling: "I see the pulse has already improved somewhat, your body is also much better; logically you yourself should feel it too — how do you feel?"

Whether the body is well or not, the person herself knows best.

Shen Xingniang said happily: "Already much better; last time the soup Song Xiaoniangzi made, I drank a whole bowl in the afternoon, at night I only got up to urinate twice, and I could even sleep a solid one or two double-hours!"

She also said: "My body also doesn't feel uncomfortable like before."

"Eat as you should, drink as you should, don't overthink anything else; take two more doses of medicine and you can switch to external medicine only, no need to take oral medicine."

After a few more instructions, Doctor Lin handed over the prescription, just about to tell someone to go to the front to fetch the medicine, when he saw Shen Xingniang with a look of wanting to speak but stopping, looking first at him, then at a bundle off to the side.