Miao Chu

Chapter 287 Bamboo tube
Song Miao did not answer.

She hesitated for a moment, placed the bamboo tube in her hand on the threshold, untied the purse from her waist with one hand, and without saying a word, only looked up at the opposite side.

Seeing her take out her purse, Han Li stepped forward and stood about an arm's length away. Without needing any prompting, he extended his hand with his palm facing up.

Song Miao took a copper coin from her purse, placed it in his palm, and said slowly, "I'm a bit stingy, please forgive me, young master."

The copper coin was a little cool.

Han Li stood there, feeling a hard, cool object in his palm, but his heart felt soft and yielding.

He gripped the copper coin tightly and looked up at it again.

Even though it was dark and he still couldn't see very clearly, the eyes of the person opposite him were vivid in the dim light, making him even reluctant to breathe freely. He held his breath very lightly for a long time before whispering, "I'm going back—my wife should rest early."

Song Miao then said, "Thank you for the goat milk, young master. I have no other gift to give in return—come in and have a drink of water before you leave?"

Han Li shook his head, pointed to his boots, and said, "I went to the outskirts of the city today, and my feet are covered in mud. The restaurant has been cleaned so thoroughly, it's best not to step in and mess around."

Song Miao glanced down and saw that there was indeed a lot of yellow mud on her boots. After thinking for a while, she said, "Wait a moment."

She carried the bamboo tube of goat's milk into the house, took another clean teacup, poured a cup of hawthorn leaf tea, and brought it out again, saying, "It's a cold tea drink."

Han Li took the teacup, drank it all in one gulp, then returned it. He pointed to the bamboo tube on the table inside the room and said, "I'll come again tomorrow night."

After saying that, he slowly untied the horse's reins, first patted the horse's head, then combed the mane on the horse's neck, and then stroked the horse's back several times.

He kept soothing the horse with his hands, but his body was half turned to the side, and he turned his head back to look at the entrance of the restaurant. After a while, he finally mounted the horse. He had only run a few steps when he couldn't help but look back again.

The person had already gone back inside to put away the teacups, and could not be seen at all; only a faint candlelight could be seen.

Han Li didn't spur the horse's belly; instead, he gently pulled on the reins to slow the horse down. He then looked back at the horse while reaching into his waist pouch with his right hand.

He had held the copper coin in his hand for a long time, and it was still warm. He pinched it.

The horse had already quickened its pace.

He rode on horseback, the evening breeze blowing. It was clearly a blazing fire in the middle of the night, warm and cozy, yet it didn't make him feel any restlessness. Instead, he felt a little numb, a little sour, a little bitter, and a complex mix of emotions that he couldn't quite describe.

The horse galloped to the street, where a lantern hung on a shop front, illuminating the signboard with the words "Cow and Sheep Milk".

Thinking about tomorrow night, about being able to have goat milk delivered to his door again, and about whether he would receive another copper coin from the stingy woman, the feelings in his heart suddenly overwhelmed him, hot and burning like boiling water.

He couldn't help but ponder the words "a little" over and over again. Seeing that the horse had already run half a street ahead, he didn't rein it in, but let it go as it pleased.

very nice.

***
At the end of Suanzao Alley, Song Miao closed the gate, bolted it, and braced it with a door bar.

Just as she finished tidying up, she heard faint footsteps approaching from behind. She turned around, smiled, and called out, "Second Madam!" She then took a few steps forward, picked up the abacus paper, and spoke with Second Madam Cheng about tomorrow's shopping arrangements.

After finishing speaking, Cheng Erniang hurriedly helped tidy up the table, washing brushes and collecting ink. Seeing the bamboo tube, she asked, "Madam, what is this? Should we put it away as well?"

Song Miao said, “You’ve come at the right time. Just now, Masters Chen and Cao came in and sat for a while. Young Master Han also came and brought this bamboo tube of goat milk. I think it can be divided into several bowls. You can heat it up and we can share it later. It can replenish your qi and blood.”

Cheng Erniang agreed and laughed, "I've never drunk goat's milk before, and the first time I tasted cow's milk was at our restaurant—I'm so lucky to have you, Madam!" Then she asked how to make it.

Song Miao then said, "Goat milk tastes much fishier than cow milk. Heat it over a low flame, add a piece of ginger, and simmer it slowly."

After exchanging a few more words, Song Miao went into the backyard.

By the time she had finished getting ready, Cheng Erniang had already brought in a bowl of hot, boiled goat milk.

Song Miao took a bowl into the room and slowly drank it.

Compared to cow's milk, goat's milk is smoother and more delicate. After being cooked with ginger, most of the fishy smell is removed. When you drink it, it feels like silk gliding down your throat, with a very rich milky flavor.

After she finished drinking, she put away the bowl, washed up, and finally lay down on the bed.

Even after rinsing my mouth, the rich, mellow taste of goat milk still lingered on my lips.

Life is truly unpredictable.

When they were on Pingyang Mountain, Aunt Xu said that the child needed to eat more meat and drink more milk, otherwise he would not grow up or grow tall. Because she disliked the fishy taste of the goat milk on the mountain, she urged Brother Ximing to go down the mountain and buy a lot of goats.

After the sheep grew up, Song Miao drank a bowl of sheep milk every morning and evening without fail, and sure enough, the sheep grew up healthy.

Now that she's here, she's burdened with debt and constantly dealing with both big and small matters, so she has no time to worry about such troublesome habits.

Who knew that, no matter where I went, even in a different place, at night, there would still be a bowl of goat's milk in front of me.

Whether it was because the goat milk was truly effective or for some other reason, Song Miao fell asleep soon after lying down.

The next morning, everything in the restaurants was back to normal, with vendors setting up their stalls and delivery services delivering meals.

This time, the students queuing to buy breakfast had already noticed the change and couldn't help but come over to ask questions.

"Shopkeeper Song, are you opening your eatery soon?"

When will the restaurant reopen? And if it does, what will the prices be?

"Could we just do what we do in the morning—providing steamed buns—and have Madam take over our kitchen! Three meals a day, everything will be managed by Song Ji!"

"Now that you've opened a restaurant, do you still have a food stall here? I feel like the number of items you prepare to sell each day is getting smaller and smaller!"

Song Miao answered them one by one, and then said, "Once the restaurants open, I'm afraid we won't have time to set up a stall—but it doesn't matter much, we can still get Song's steamed buns in our kitchen, right?"

He added, "The kitchen staff also came to discuss this last time. In addition to steamed buns, they will also add glutinous rice, shumai, and snow cakes. I think it won't be long before we can all eat them in the kitchen..."

"What about rice noodle rolls? Don't you have any?"

"Does that mean we'll never see Miss Song again?! That won't do!! Can't we continue setting up our stall?!"

Song Miao smiled and said, "If you want, you should be able to make rice noodle rolls too. Just ask the kitchen staff to help you roll them; it's not difficult..."

"Whether it's difficult or not is one thing, but as long as it's not rolled by stall owner Song, the taste is just different!"

(End of this chapter)