Chapter 49

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

The Song family at this time could truly be described as bare walls and empty rooms; even finding a few more chairs was difficult.

Song Miao, just as she had when hosting Cheng Zijian and his group last time, took a bench to serve as a table and placed cushions under them.

The hearty scallion meat shumai were eaten by nearly every patrol officer at eight pieces minimum; some preferred mutton, some preferred pork, while the vegetarian shumai were rarely asked for.

And ever since one of them had tasted the glutinous rice, the others all followed suit and wanted some too.

All things added together, Song Miao only symbolically collected some money.

The patrol officers were naturally not fools; if it were usual times, they estimated they would have half-heartedly accepted this kindness.

But all of them were on duty at Zhuque Gate, and someone had died in the Song family on Sanzao County Alley, and it was a drowning death; naturally, there had been more or less talk of it in the patrol station, and they knew this family had only a lone daughter left, with no one to rely on, though they had never had contact with them.

However, today they came in person and saw with their own eyes how simple the Song family's furnishings were, and that the solitary young lady was busy here and there early in the morning, and they all felt somewhat uncomfortable in their hearts.

Human hearts are all made of flesh.

Everyone insisted on paying according to the numbers on the signboard.

Song Miao had no choice but to throw in soup and drinks as a complimentary gift.

Taking someone's hand makes one short 【of words】; eating someone's mouth makes one soft 【of speech】.

After eating until seven or eight parts full, the leader let out a satisfied burp, stood up, shook his sleeve, wiped his mouth, and then said to Song Miao: "You, you—you clearly look like a clever person, so how can you be clever one moment and stupid the next? If you're going to report to the authorities, just report; why keep urging us, and use those Taixue students as an excuse to put on airs? The superiors fear causing trouble, so they all come to urge us, and we had no choice but to come find you early in the morning."

"It's not that we mean to make things difficult on purpose; it's just that the patrol station has its set rules, and scheduled items cannot be changed at random—what a pity that you made such delicious shumai; I'm afraid they'll spoil."

When had Song Miao ever urged them?

But she did not retort, only smiled and said: "Anyway, they won't sell well when I get back—I don't know how many magistrates are in the patrol station? Is there a public kitchen?"

"Just a patrol officer who works like an ox and a horse; where would there be a public kitchen? It's not a government office, and not everyone has such good luck!" a patrol officer behind him snorted.

Song Miao then said: "If that's the case, I'll pack some shumai in a food box and take it to the patrol station; rather than letting them spoil, it's better to have the various magistrates give them to the others for breakfast, and if they get hungry themselves, they can take them to fill their bellies—consider it making full use of things."

She was so courteous and considerate that the several patrol officers felt even more embarrassed.

If it weren't that this time was a task specially assigned by their superiors, and everyone couldn't give a discount, the leader almost wanted to make his own decision and tell this young lady Song to sell out before coming up—after all, it was just asking a few questions, and delaying a bit was no problem.

But it wasn't that they couldn't do a favor in the middle.

He thought for a moment and asked: "How many shumai do you have in total?"

Song Miao gave a number.

"A bit few—how many bowls of glutinous rice are there?"

Song Miao said again.

The man then said: "If that's the case, no need to pack them; just take the whole lot away."

As he spoke, he said to the person beside him: "Weren't they saying today that several squadrons of patrol soldiers were coming? When I went out this morning, I heard the superiors urging people to call Dongyuan to send a few more people quickly, to go buy breakfast for those patrol soldiers—so rushed, I estimate they might not be able to buy any; you go back and ask around, and if they haven't bought well, this here is about enough; tell the accountant to settle the bill by the count."

A patrol officer behind him heard these words and was not very pleased; he snorted and said: "What, we've always eaten our own food, eaten for so many years, and no one has ever managed it; now suddenly outsiders come, and the superiors are suddenly so attentive—even a dog licking its rear isn't this anxious!"

The leader helplessly turned and rebuked him: "Say a few less words; we're outside right now!"

That person then stopped speaking.

The leader then asked Song Miao: "You can write out a purchase list here, right?"

The Song family ran a food shop; how could they not have one?

And the patrol officer who had received orders nearby was about to leave, but suddenly turned back and asked: "What if the people in Dongyuan have already bought theirs?"

The leader hesitated for a moment, turned to look at Song Miao, then looked at the situation inside the Song house, sighed, and said: "If they've bought them, they've bought them; what's there to do about it?"

Speaking of which, he turned back to Song Miao and said: "If they can't be sold, put these foods in the back courtyard of the patrol station; after we finish asking our questions, we'll take them out to sell, saving another trip back."

He really thought it through very thoroughly.

Song Miao hurriedly thanked him, then for a moment followed the cart out, and locked the door again.

The group headed toward the patrol station.

Although only the time it took to eat breakfast had been delayed, by now there were already some pedestrians on the road inside and outside Sanzao County Alley.

Song Miao, a young lady, pushing a cart, with several big gentlemen patrol officers standing beside her—looking like an escort, yet not quite—drew many passersby to watch.

And there were those neighbors, some worried that Song Miao was involved in something, some worried about being implicated; quite a few came up to ask questions.

Song Miao answered them one by one, only saying that someone had intruded into their home at night the day before, and that she had reported it to the li zheng, asking if they knew about it, asking everyone to be careful individually; then saying that the patrol station had come to look for her in the morning, because the goods couldn't be sold in time and would surely spoil; fortunately, the patrol officers were kind-hearted, and she was going to push them to the patrol station to put them there first.

She spoke so well that the patrol officers naturally wouldn't stop her.

So in no time, the whole street knew that the Song family had been intruded upon by thieves at night the day before, and that patrol officers had come to their door today.

This matter actually had to blame that patrol officer Ma who had taken heavy gold from Diao Zi.

This man had not explained the reason beforehand, only told the story of the day before with the head and tail cut off, ordering his subordinates to bring Song Miao over early in the morning, not to let her set up her stall at the Taixue Gate again, and not to incite those students to cause trouble.

He thought to himself that as long as he explained what to do and how to do it, everything would be auspicious; so he couldn't blame his subordinates for misunderstanding his meaning and doing it their own way—wasn't it just a matter of not setting up a stall at the Taixue Gate?

Just like that Liao Qingjiao, not thinking of his subordinates, only thinking everything was simple, assigning tasks down with a single sentence, always thinking it was very easy; actually, the subordinates had their own ideas and their own hardships; of course, they took a street stall worth a few dozen wen to replace an expensive lawsuit master.

From ancient times to the present, how many things have been ruined or saved by the truly working little people at the very bottom?

Sanzao County Alley was not very close to the Zhuque Gate patrol station; after pushing the cart for a while, several patrol officers couldn't bear to watch and came up to help themselves.

When they arrived at the place, they were actually very lucky; the people in the East Courtyard of the patrol station hadn't had time to buy so much breakfast yet and were worrying; hearing that someone had helped solve it, they were truly grateful to heaven and earth; after asking the price, they urged Song Miao to deliver it over.

Several patrol officers turned a blind eye, pretended not to see, and did not stop them.

Song Miao then brought several chayi, divided the glutinous rice into portions one by one, then had them deliver it in batches; she also left some food for the other patrol officers as a favor, and explained to the accountant that if it couldn't be entered into the accounts, it didn't matter; these were given by her alone to the various magistrates in the patrol station.

Early in the morning, a whole group of people were distributing breakfast here; the back courtyard of the patrol station was truly fragrant beyond endurance; those who came early came over to watch; hearing that they had a share, they all stared with covetous eyes.

The accountant in the patrol station was a confidant of the dutou; he knew this was an opportunity to win people's hearts, but he wasn't a fool either; he immediately said: "Just a few wen; even if the patrol station doesn't have this precedent, our dutou himself can pay the money—it's just treating the brothers to breakfast; why should the stall owner make up the difference? Count it! Count it all together!"

Speaking, he opened the white note by count, telling Song Miao to bring the purchase list next month to settle the bill.

Doing business for the government office, settling accounts has always been delayed since ancient times, so it is nothing strange; although troublesome, it is far better than having the goods spoil at home.

One could say that although the patrol officers suddenly came to the door this morning and caught them off guard, upon closer inspection Song Miao had not delayed anything at all, and even had someone helping push the cart.

After the cartload of goods was all distributed cleanly, she returned to the side room to answer the patrol officers' questions from the morning.

This time, as soon as she sat down, she had tea water that she had not had even after sitting for half a day yesterday.

Not to mention Song Miao asking and answering with someone here, inside Taixue Food Lane, the many students who had waited in vain all day yesterday and were waiting again today simply could not bear it any longer.

"Wasn't it said only that they wouldn't come for one day yesterday?"

"Look, isn't that Cheng Zijian? Since those who eat pig trotter rice and taro braised pork are all waiting, then Song Xiaoniangzi must certainly come to set up her stall today."

"The time has long passed."

"Did she get up late?"

"Sigh, she should have gone to bed early; getting up late makes us early risers wait in vain for so long!"

"Why blame the Song stall owner? Isn't it the fault of those rascals? It scared people so they couldn't sleep well at night."

"It's already this hour; surely nothing else has happened, right?"

"Did they run into those rascals again?"

The crowd discussed in a clamor, and even some impatient ones had already gone to ask Cheng Zijian and the others.

"You are familiar with the Song stall owner; do you know if she's coming today or not?"

Cheng Zijian was just feeling strange and had grown somewhat anxious from waiting, so he said to the person beside him, "Whoever runs fast, why don't we go together to Sanzao County Alley to take a look?"

Wang Chang and a student beside him, relying on their long legs, ran off first.

Cheng Zijian had someone else help carry the food box he had originally prepared to return, and he himself quickly followed behind.

He hurried and caught up slowly; just as he was about to enter Sanzao County Alley, he saw Wang Chang and the other standing by a food stall on the side of the road talking to someone, and he hurried over.

As soon as he got close, he heard the stall owner point in a direction and say, "She was taken to the xunpu by the patrol officers early this morning."

He asked again, "You are Taixue students, right? What do you want with her?"

Wang Chang was quick-witted but said no more, only saying, "We ordered food from the Song stall owner, and seeing she hasn't come, we are very anxious!"

The stall owner then said, "That's not good; I saw three or four patrol officers come to arrest her, and they even took the cart away together. It doesn't seem like a good thing—the Song family has had many troubles lately over that house, causing a scene several times, and just the day before yesterday some rascals came to cause trouble at midnight. If you want to order breakfast, next time come to my place; my tofu pudding and fried mian jiao are top-notch. Buy some to try?"

Hearing him say nothing good, several people were unwilling to pay attention, gave two perfunctory replies, hurried away, and went to ask another shop ahead.

However, this shop had also seen the daughter of the Song Family Eatery being taken away together with her cart, but upon asking more, they did not know the reason.

For a moment, all three changed color, and hurried to find a secluded spot to talk.

Wang Chang said, "What should we do? We don't even know what happened; if it's something bad, would it do any good for us to go make a scene?"

The student beside him said, "How would you make a scene? The public examination is tomorrow; if things go badly, we'd all be arrested, and we couldn't take the exam."

"Perhaps it's not a big deal; maybe they just went to ask some questions?" This student tried to think on the bright side.

But after thinking for a while, he overturned his own thought and shook his head, saying, "That wouldn't involve taking the cart away; taking the cart must mean it's not a good thing."

He then said, "Why not report it to the teacher?"

Cheng Zijian shook his head and said, "It's not good to report it; what would we say—that the Song stall owner at the door was caught by patrol officers? The teacher wouldn't care about that."

"Those rascals are so arrogant; if it weren't for us going to their door..." This person kept talking but couldn't continue.

If one were not involved in it, who else would bother meddling in others' affairs?

Moreover, if one really went to find the teacher, the teacher would surely ask why they went to the door and what trouble was caused; in the end, they would still suffer a loss.

"What good would finding the teacher do? Can the teacher speak up at the xunpu? Even if he could, he wouldn't bother to spend effort for Song Xiaoniangzi." Wang Chang also shook his head. "It would be better to ask among the students if anyone has influence; perhaps a relative or friend of some family could lend a hand and clear things up."

"Taixue is hard to say, but Guozixue surely has someone who can help." This student also said.

Cheng Zijian was racking his brains; hearing this, he immediately perked up.

He hurriedly said, "I know someone from Guozixue, though I don't know if he can lend a hand—Xiao Lu, you run fast; go to Guozixue once and just say you want to find He Qi. Explain Song Xiaoniangzi's situation to him clearly and ask if he can help!"

He then said to Wang Chang, "You know many people; go back and ask who can help gather news."

He also arranged a task for himself: "I will go to Shangshe and look for people too, though I don't know if it will be of any use."

With this division of labor, one could only say they were doing their best, trying a dead horse as if it were alive; actually, there was no other way.

The three hurried back running.

Wang and Xiao Lu had fast legs, but Cheng Zijian had slow legs and hated himself for it. Since it was the breakfast rush, the line at the roadside stalls was very long, and he didn't even care to buy anything. Gritting his teeth, he simply went straight to Shangshe Xuezhai.

He was now familiar with the place; as soon as he entered, he saw Han Li not sitting at the desk reading as usual, but standing at the table packing things, with a large book box beside him. He did not look like he was tidying the desk, but rather like he was moving out.

Cheng Zijian's heart tightened, and he hurried forward and called out.

Han Li turned around, saw it was him, and was not surprised. He only instructed, "I received an adjustment summons from the Capital Prefecture Office and will report today. Starting tomorrow, I won't be at Xuezhong. Fortunately, tomorrow is the public examination, so you don't need to bring me breakfast anymore—I'll eat out."

As he spoke, he handed over a sheet of paper and said, "After the public examination is over, while I am away, arrange your reading and writing according to what's written above. I will check when I return."

He had only just said the first sentence when, in the time of a breath, Cheng Zijian's hands, feet, and back broke out in cold sweat, and his heart was as if being tightly clutched by a hand, about to be slammed hard onto the ground.

However, before it hit the ground, he suddenly heard Han Li's next words behind him, and that heart, as it landed, was gently caught by a thick piece of cotton, rolling lightly two or three times.

His hands were no longer cold, his feet no longer cold. He hurried forward to take the paper, thanked him repeatedly, and then, feeling truly guilty, said, "If I cannot pass the public examination, I'm afraid I will have to return home. By then, I would have let down Brother Han's great efforts..."

Cheng Zijian's words had not yet fallen when he saw Han Li opposite him already furrowing his brow.

"I have shown you so many essays, revised them many times, and you have read the policy questions. If you can't even pass the public examination, you don't need to come see me again in the future. You may have the face, but I do not."

As he spoke, he added, "The essay I had you revise yesterday—where is it?"

Cheng Zijian hurried forward, just taking out the essay from his sleeve to hand over, when he suddenly reacted and said, "Brother Han, I came in a hurry today and didn't buy breakfast..."

Han Li had just taken the essay; hearing this, he immediately looked up.

Cheng Zijian hurriedly added, "To be honest, I mentioned it to Brother Han once or twice before. These past days, breakfast and side dishes have been made by a Song stall owner in the food lane..."

He quickly recounted Song Dalang's drowning, the Song family's debts, the sale of their house, and the night intrusion by rascals the day before yesterday, and finally said: "Today she had agreed to set up her stall. I have long ordered her roasted wheat, glutinous rice, and soup drinks for Brother Han. Who knew that on the way she was taken away by the xunpu along with her cart, and I don't know what the situation is."

"I heard that the xunpu handles people very roughly. A young lady caught and taken in—I don't know when she'll come out, or if she'll suffer. Because we have had much dealings these days, she has taken very good care of us, and is very meticulous about food and drink. Although I want to help, I am only a student and don't know what to do. I am truly anxious."

"Taking advantage of the present moment, I might as well ask Brother Han if we can find some way to get in touch with the Patrol Station at Zhuque Gate? Even if we can't get the person released, we should at least find out what's going on, or perhaps help keep an eye on them inside."

Hearing this, Han Li frowned slightly and asked, "The stall owner of the Song Family Eatery at the end of Sanzao County Alley?"

Cheng Zijian nodded quickly.

"Are you sure the ones who took them away were from the Patrol Station, not the Patrol Soldiers or the Government Office? You didn't make a mistake?"

Cheng Zijian hurriedly said, "I asked several people, and they all said it was the Patrol Officers from the Patrol Station who took them away. I didn't make a mistake."

Han Li showed a look of surprise, took up a brush, and wrote several lines quickly on that essay, while his mouth did not stop, asking again, "What did you originally plan to do?"

Cheng Zijian felt somewhat embarrassed and said, "I originally wanted to impose on you, to see if Chen Fuzi could step in and say a word at the Patrol Station?"

He had not failed to think about it seriously.

Chen Fuzi had a reputation for being easy to talk to and did not care much for rules; besides, seeing how much he liked the things from the Song Stall when he ate that Pig Trotter Rice last time, he might be willing to help.

But before his words had finished, he saw the man opposite shake his head and say, "Why go to such trouble?"

Na Han Li said this while handing over the essay in his hand, stood up, but pointed to the desk and wooden box behind, saying, "You help me clear the table here; no need to tidy it, just put everything into the box. When you're done, go back to class."

He added, "Revise this essay well; after you're done revising, have Chen Fuzi look at it."

Saying this, he flicked his sleeve, looking as if he were about to go out.

Cheng Zijian took the essay and hurriedly asked, "Then what about that Song stall owner..."

"I'll go take a look; you don't need to worry about it. Tomorrow at the Examination Hall, be careful and write faster—your movements are still too slow."

Saying this, he walked out.

And miraculously, with this sentence "you don't need to worry about it," all of Cheng Zijian's anxiety and worry along the way seemed to fly away in an instant.

Originally he had no ability to manage it; Brother Han dared to scold gentlemen and imperial relatives, and since he said he would go see, what did he have to be uneasy about?

A great stone fell from his heart; Cheng Zijian hurriedly glanced through the comments written on the essay, put it in his pocket, honestly washed the brushes clean, carefully put away the books and essays on the desk, and for a moment even felt a bit of secret joy.

—Brother Han actually asked me to put away his books and essays for him; he must really trust me, right?

On this side, Cheng Zijian happily organized his essays; on the other side, just as Han Li walked out of Taixue, he bumped into Qin Zong, who was hurrying over.

Qin Zong had stayed up all night, his eyes somewhat dark; seeing Han Li now, he hurriedly said, "Brother Han, I hired two Censors to make arrests and also called the local village head to help identify people. They've been guarding the entrance of Sanzao County Alley for a long time. In just one night, more than ten people who don't live in the alley went in..."

Saying this, he felt rather proud and was about to say more, but heard Han Li opposite say, "The young lady of the Song Family Eatery was taken away by the Patrol Station. Do you know?"

Qin Zong exclaimed "Ah."

It was indeed a coincidence.

After guarding for a night, at first there was a Tea House to sit in; later the Tea House closed, so naturally they had to find an Inn by the street, taking turns to keep watch.

He was very tired; seeing that it was daybreak, he couldn't help but sleep for a while, and just missed Song Miao and those Patrol Officers coming out.

The other Censors only paid attention to watching the pedestrians coming and going. Song Miao, a young lady, clean and tidy, pushing a food cart, with several Patrol Officers standing beside her. When asked, she was also a resident of Sanzao County Alley, doing business at a stall every day. Who would think too much—even if they did think too much, they saw the signboard and were curious what mung bean paste glutinous rice was, and what scallion meat shumai tasted like.

Thus, Qin Zong, whose eyelids could barely stay open, whose heart was already beating fast from lack of sleep, now felt it almost jumping out of his chest.

"Taken away? Which Patrol Station?"

"You guarded for a night; I should be the one asking you. You turn around and ask me; I won't answer."

Han Li said this while walking without stopping, already heading straight toward the Zhuque Gate Patrol Station.

Qin Zong was tired and hungry, his mind in a complete muddle. He originally wanted to treat this Brother Han to breakfast, but now had no mind for it. He dared not ask more, dared not say more, and only hurried to follow.

Inside the Zhuque Gate Patrol Station, after Song Miao answered for a while, the Patrol Officer in charge came back and said, "I originally wanted to ask a question from above, but someone had an urgent assignment and went out, and actually couldn't find anyone. They said they won't be back until tomorrow. Since that's the case, you go back first. If there's anything, we'll come find you."

He added, "If you go back, don't set up your stall at the Taixue Gate these few days, so we won't have trouble explaining to our Superior."

Another Patrol Officer beside him said, "Push your cart over here to us. The brothers ate your shumai and glutinous rice and all said it tastes good. Go to the Back Alley, not the Front Alley, so as not to attract attention. For these few days, come sell at our place."

Song Miao accepted the favor and naturally wouldn't make things difficult for people. She nodded quickly and added, "Except for going out to buy vegetables, I have some miscellaneous matters and am generally at home. If there's anything, you officials can come to my door to find me."

After speaking, she thanked them politely and pushed her cart away.

After leaving the Patrol Station gate, although Song Miao didn't know what exactly had happened behind, she knew there would surely be twists and turns in the future, and slowly thought about how to deal with it.

As she walked, she saw a porter ahead carrying a pole on his shoulder, selling spring vegetables along the road.

This porter did not look like a small vendor who did business professionally; rather, he looked like a farmer who grew and sold his own produce. The items on his pole were not many in quantity, but the varieties were quite mixed.

A small bunch of wolfberry sprouts, a few handfuls of celtuce leaf tips. There were many leeks, but they all grew pitifully, looking not very spirited. There were also radishes, mustard greens, and so on.

Song Miao liked that the wolfberry sprout tips grew very tender, and the leaves were also beautiful. She stopped her cart, asked the price, and bought them all together.

The porter wrapped them in large leaves for her while asking, "Do you want anything else? Mustard greens? Leeks? These are all grown in my own field, very fresh..."

Seeing Song Miao shake her head to all of them, he was still unwilling to give up and asked again, "I still have bamboo shoots here, young lady, do you want bamboo shoots?"

Saying this, he moved aside the lid of the bamboo basket.

Below were all small bamboo shoots.

Different from ordinary thunder bamboo shoots, these shoots were thin, one by one. Some shoot shells were brown, some were red-brown, with fine downy hair. Even the large ones were only as thick as a thumb. Some long ones were as long as two palms, and some short ones were only as long as one palm.

"These are good shoots. Others don't recognize them and all dislike them for being small. Actually, after blanching in water, they taste just as good!"

Saying this, he pinched off a shoot tail to show Song Miao: "Very tender, young lady. Look, these shoots were just broken off this morning. Very tender!"