Chapter 81

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Protagonist:

Song Miao

The Director replied, "You have an enterprising heart, which is a good thing. It's just that since you didn't bring it up yourself, next time the Capital Prefecture Office comes to borrow personnel again, the Xuezhong will also recommend you for the front."

He added, "You just focus on your studies. As long as you do your studies well, everything will come."

If these words were said to an ordinary student, they would mostly feel it was encouragement.

But Cai Xiu was sharp-witted; from these few words, he immediately sensed that the person opposite did not take this matter to heart and would not fight for him at all.

At such a time, without an exchange of interests, insisting was useless.

It was still that he was a nobody with little influence. If it were a true Shiyi disciple here, how would he be brushed off like this?

He would surely have been welcomed with a swept mat long ago, without needing to speak, everything would have been arranged.

Thinking this, Cai Xiu could barely maintain his expression, reluctantly agreed, and then took his leave.

However, he had not walked two steps before he was called back again.

The Director pushed the tea leaves and ink stick forward, smiling, "I am old now, drink less tea these days, and am not as particular about paper and ink as when I was young. As for you, it is precisely the time for the provincial examination and achieving merit; you should study more, practice more, and use good things."

After speaking, he took a small bundle of something from a cabinet beside him and placed it on the desk, saying, "This is a pastry a student brought when visiting me yesterday. Since you have come, take this pack and eat it."

Cai Xiu hurriedly thanked him, took the pastry, put away his own things, and left the Teaching Hall.

By this time the sky had already grown dark.

He carried the things in his hand, and whenever he happened to meet other teachers, clerks, or school officials, he would step forward to greet them, and intentionally or unintentionally reveal the bundle in his hand, claiming it was specially given by the Director out of care for students, and asking everyone if they wanted to try some.

However, after leaving the Teaching Hall and walking a long way, seeing that he was about to return to the Xue She, there happened to be a bamboo grove beside the road. Seeing no one around, he walked into the woods, tore open the outer oil paper of that bundle, and shook out all the pale yellow pastries with a faint mung bean fragrance onto the ground.

After emptying it, Cai Xiu stepped forward and stomped on them hard several times with his feet, crushing them into a mass of mud, then gave a cold snort, put the oil paper back into his pocket, and returned to his room to rest with his former upright bearing and head held high.

Early the next morning, he claimed to have a sudden illness and no longer cared about grading exam papers. He left the Guozixue before dawn and visited several old acquaintances in succession, all of them high officials and descendants of the Shiyi.

On the other side, at the Song Family Eatery two streets away, Song Miao also got up before dawn.

She prepared everything for setting up her stall, but today she also added sweet batter cakes and Snow Steamed Cakes—these two were prepared to sell along the way on the road to the Patrol Station.

As soon as she opened the door, sure enough, quite a few students were already sitting outside waiting, and there were even clever ones who had brought cloth pads to sit on the ground, holding books and reciting while nodding and swaying.

Seeing Song Miao open the door, everyone hurriedly put away their cloths or books, crowded over like blind chickens, calling out "Song Xiaoniangzi" and "Song Stall Owner" one after another to greet her.

Song Miao smiled and returned the greeting, then began working.

But after selling only a few orders, she felt something was not quite right.

The quantities were too large, much larger than yesterday.

Previously, the items at Song Ji had a limit per person per time.

Now that they were not selling in Food Alley, that restriction naturally no longer existed for the time being.

But seeing these people buying ten or twenty portions each, and some even bringing bamboo baskets and bamboo boxes, or even two people carrying a bamboo box together, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you buying these for others? Can you carry that much?"

"No problem, someone is keeping watch! We'll carry them slowly together!" Several students smiled with thieving eyebrows and rat eyes.

Just as they were speaking, from the wall hole behind at Nan Lu Academy, one after another rolled and tumbled out, and soon a very large bamboo box was passed out from inside.

Those people who came out of the wall hole looked somewhat at a loss, looking around left and right. When they saw the crowd and then saw Song Miao surrounded behind them along with the Song Ji Glutinous Rice signboard, they were overjoyed and called to each other to come over here.

Song Miao had an excellent memory and recognized the origins of two of them from afar. When the crowd lined up before her and she was about to ask, she heard those few people already rushing to complain, "Song Stall Owner, you've made us look for you so hard!"

"Aren't you all from the Guozixue? Shouldn't you be taking the public examination today? Why have you run so far?" she asked in surprise.

"The public examination still requires eating!" one student complained, "It's all because of you, Song Xiaoniangzi. Why haven't you set up your stall these past few days? If I don't eat your glutinous rice for a few days, I really crave it. When reciting books and writing, my heart feels empty and my hands shake! How can I take the exam like this!"

These words were naturally all exaggeration, but someone nearby chimed in like they were joining a crowd: "Exactly, if you don't come, you don't come. If you don't set up your stall, fine, but clearly the people from Nan Lu can still buy it, why can't we from the Guozixue?"

Just then, the students from Nan Lu behind were unhappy and shouted, "Are you buying or not? If not, leave quickly. What time are you wasting!"

Another sharp-eyed person said, "Where are you from? How are people from the Guozixue coming out from inside our wall?"

The few people who had been talking nonstop just now suddenly shrank their heads and necks like quails, not a single one speaking. They only quietly reported the quantities they wanted to Song Miao and urged her, "The exam will be over tomorrow. Song Xiaoniangzi, hurry back! Everyone is waiting!"

Saying this, after the goods were packed and paid for, a group of people actually carried that huge bamboo box and drilled back into the hole they had come from.

Some students from Nan Lu saw this and were extremely shocked. Many hurriedly followed and drilled back to stop them, saying, "You are not from our Nan Lu. What are people from the Guozixue doing here? Why are you coming this way? Take your main road! Are you pretending to take a route to attack Guo?!"

"What pretending to take a route to attack Guo? Can you read? Can you use allusions? Who is Yu, who is Guo?" The students from the Guozixue were unhappy.

"Our Shan Chang manages so strictly. You pass through here and get the good stuff for yourselves. If you are discovered and our route is blocked, isn't that pretending to take a route to attack Guo?!" The students from Nan Lu almost jumped up.

Is the dog hole easy to dig?

Once it is blocked, if one or two people guard it in the morning, do we still get to eat anything?!

"What are you shouting about? Aren't holes for people to drill through? You can drill, but we can't?"

There were also those who spoke nicely, unusually lowering their waists, saying, "Just drill this once or twice. Once Song Xiaoniangzi goes back to Food Alley to set up her stall, we won't drill anymore! Brothers, don't delay, go buy your breakfast. We're leaving now! Leaving now!"

Seeing that those students from Nan Lu Academy were still going to shout, someone else said, "Brother, stop nagging. If you make a scene here and really attract the School Instructor, at most we will run, and if caught we'll just say a few words to the school. But what about you—your Shan Chang really punishes!"

Having their lifeline grasped, the students from Nan Lu Academy were almost furious to death, but they knew this made perfect sense. They could only endure their frustration and make way, even agreeing to keep watch for them, so these fools wouldn't be caught by the School Instructor and implicate them.

The two academies were too close, and the students already had some grudges. After this incident, it was further spread by the Nan Lu students within the Xuezhong, saying only that the students from the Guozixue were hateful.

As for the students from the Guozixue, when they were about to take the exam, they still helped their classmates carry so much breakfast back. Doing such a good deed naturally drew endless praise and thanks.

Everyone also described the students from Nan Lu Academy as stingy. A few dog holes, and they acted as if... If it weren't for Song Stall Owner's breakfast, who would want to drill through? They have no magnanimity at all. No wonder they don't study well, and so on.

Both sides had their reasons. Rumors spread back and forth, making the conflict even greater.

This matter will be set aside for now.

What happened inside the wall, Song Miao outside the wall naturally could not see or hear clearly.

After she had more or less cleared the students at the door, the prepared breakfast was already more than half gone. When she pushed the cart out, she had only gone halfway when familiar customers from yesterday came to ask along the way, buying one after another. Sometimes when she stopped by the roadside, those who came to see the excitement smelled the fragrance and followed to buy. With great difficulty she arrived at the Zhuque Gate Patrol Station, but there was hardly anything left.

This time Song Miao had not yet managed to enter the back alley when a patrol officer guarding the door of the Patrol Station called out, "Wait! Song Xiaoniangzi, come over here! There are guests here!"

She went as told, but saw an acquaintance there—the one who had followed them to block the door of Song Family Eatery that day.

After getting to know each other on both sides, they had come and gone several times and were already somewhat familiar.

Song Miao pushed the cart over, first exchanged greetings, then asked what they wanted.

The patrol officer listed them one by one: how many shaomai, how much glutinous rice, how many drinks, and also set aside a tray on the side, looking very practiced, as if he was used to buying things for people.

Song Miao heard him, opened the steamer lid to count, then shook her head and said: "It might not be enough."

The patrol officer was stunned and asked: "Not enough of what?"

"The glutinous rice and shaomai are not enough, and the drinks are a bit short too. I also have some snow steamed cakes and sweet pastries here, but I don't know if the officials would be willing to eat them. Even if all are added together, the count might still not be enough."

The patrol officer simply could not believe it. When he saw the pitifully small half basket of food in the steamer, he cried out: "In broad daylight, were you robbed?!"

This was of course unreasonable.

Whoever robbed you would still leave some behind.

However, his expression and tone were truly vivid, and Song Miao almost couldn't help laughing. She hurriedly explained that someone had come to buy, and along the way there were also scattered customers buying small amounts. Actually, she had already made quite a lot today, and added new varieties, just to make it this far.

"If it goes like this, who knows about tomorrow or the day after. If more and more regular customers come, you might not even reach our place before you're sold out?!"

Song Miao said: "It might not sell that well, but it's hard to say."

This patrol officer really couldn't stand hearing such words. Seeing people coming and going around him, smelling the aroma, they were already eyeing the things in Song Miao's steamer basket. He hurriedly said: "I'll take them all, wrap them up quickly!"

After everything was packed and the bill settled, this man called someone over to pull the tray away. He himself was not in a hurry to go back, but led Song Miao forward along the alley for a stretch, pointed to a house and said: "Song Xiaoniangzi, how do you like that place?"

Song Miao followed his gaze and looked at the signboard, which bore the three characters "Zhengji Hall". A cloth banner hung on the door, reading "Medicine Rooms for Men and Women".

It turned out to be a medical hall combined with a pharmacy.

By this time, the doors of the shops on both sides had already opened, but this one still had its main gate tightly closed.

The patrol officer added: "This was originally a medical hall that had been around for years. It's just that a few months ago, that old doctor died, leaving a son who had no medical skill, loved gambling, and lost the family fortune down to the bottom. He was caught and beaten, but it was still useless. Last month he owed too much debt and was arrested by creditors. At home there was only an old lady. With no choice, they sold this ancestral property."

Song Miao felt the story of this house was indeed familiar. That son's conduct was exactly like Song Dalang's. For a moment she didn't know how to respond, so she just listened quietly.

"The buyer was originally a sworn brother of our patrol official. He runs business outside all year and has no time to look after it, so he entrusted us to keep an eye on it."

"He originally instructed not to allow food and drink business here, for fear of dirtying the house. But Song Xiaoniangzi is not an outsider. You take a look. If it's suitable, why not rent this house? We'll speak well to him and give a guarantee. I think there's no reason he wouldn't agree."

"Your current house won't be livable for many more days. When the time comes, move over here and do business right here. Not only sell breakfast, but also do business at noon and evening. Isn't that better than pushing the cart out every day to walk the streets and alleys?"

Speaking, he pointed to the shop beside them and said: "That house hasn't been vacated yet, but its layout and size are not much different from the one next door. You take a look and see if it's suitable."

If going by what was said before, Song Miao would have to move out of the Song family ancestral home by mid-month. At that time she would have nowhere to go. If there was such a place to settle down, and it was right next to the patrol station, naturally it couldn't be better.

But right now the Song Residence could probably be kept. She was only one person, unable to be in two places at once. This shop was far from home, so she couldn't manage both ends.

Furthermore, when those patrol officers came to the door that day, they were clearly acting on someone's orders. She didn't know if the person behind them would change their mind again.

Song Miao intended to refuse. After all, since others showed such kindness, she must first thank them. She also explained that the family house situation might still turn around, and pushed the matter aside.

Patrol officers are mostly shrewd people. This man then lowered his voice and said: "Are you afraid that someone in our patrol station will cause trouble for you? I can't explain it clearly to you, but that person is already useless. Who knows, after a while he might take off this uniform. You just go ahead and do your business!"

Song Miao was delighted upon hearing this and asked: "If I still set up my stall at the Student Food Alley tomorrow morning, would that be alright?"

This patrol officer's face stiffened. He couldn't agree, nor could he disagree. After a long while, he only asked: "You can go, but what's so good about that Food Alley? Just some students. Is their money more fragrant? Why not set up a stall in our alley instead!"

Speaking to this point, he sighed and said: "You go back and think it over carefully. If you wait a few more days, and someone suitable wants to rent it, we won't be able to hold it for you."

He added: "You saw that gambling was caught in the house opposite, and that quite a few people at the Tingjiao Hang were arrested. You want to wait a bit more? You're young and inexperienced. I've been in the patrol station for so many years and am used to seeing how those people act. I'll just give you a piece of advice: make more preparations. Even if those people are caught, your house has already been sold. Who knows who is watching it? It might not be possible to keep it."

Though not pleasant to hear, this was the plain truth.

Song Miao thanked him solemnly.