Miao Chu

Chapter 292 Screen
Nothing more was said that night, and everyone went to sleep early.

The next morning, as soon as Song Miaogang set up her stall, she sensed that something was off about the atmosphere of the queue in the food alley.

People kept asking her how Song Ji Hui selected ingredients and made menus.

A student asked, "Stadium Master Song, do you select dishes based on the number of people who choose them? For example, if a dish is mentioned the most times and has the highest demand among all the dishes, will it definitely be selected for the menu?"

At this moment, Song Miao thought that Cheng Zijian was helping to collect suggestions from the students, so she didn't think much of it and replied, "It depends on what kind of dish it is. Some dishes are difficult to purchase ingredients for, or take too long to make and cannot be stored for long, so they may not be selected. But if the most people suggest it, we will definitely give it more consideration."

As more and more people asked, and some big mouths let it slip, she realized that in just one day and one night, a lot had happened in the Imperial Academy. It hadn't even reached Cheng Zijian yet; someone had already posted the so-called "Song Ji Restaurant Vegetable Requisition Order" early yesterday morning.

At this moment, some even tried to take credit for Song Miao, saying, "Shopkeeper Song, it was all thanks to me last night that we discovered that the people from the Nanlu Academy next door had secretly come to put up posters. If they had taken advantage of the situation, these people wouldn't even have a dog hole to crawl through, so how could they have come out to buy food?!"

Someone else said, "We've already set up a rule that everyone who proposes a new dish or seconds an old one must sign their name. That way, no one can sabotage us! We can collect the list in two days at most, and then we'll send the list of dishes to you, Madam, as 'evidence in court'!"

Although she didn't know exactly how it worked, seeing how seriously everyone was taking it, Song Miao could only express her gratitude.

After receiving confirmation from her, the students returned to their classrooms and began racking their brains and putting their skills to use. They either contacted each other to form alliances or used counter-espionage tactics to undermine each other's abilities.

Cheng Zijian, having known Song Miao the longest and having the deepest friendship with her, was naturally the first one targeted.

Although the rains in Beijing have temporarily stopped recently, it is unclear whether the upstream areas are experiencing torrential rains, which has caused the rivers inside and outside the city to rise continuously, forcing Beijing to release floodwaters several times.

Water is a matter of national importance, as the livelihood of the people depends on water sources, so it is of paramount importance.

At this time, students, who would later become court officials, could not simply study by rote. So the teachers took the students from each dormitory out of the city in batches to inspect the river embankment and to conduct inspections of their studies.

The teacher Cheng Zijian was assigned this time had very strict requirements, demanding that all students assemble before dawn and go out together.

He had been running around all day and felt sore back and legs. By the time he got back to school, it was already dark. To save time, he only ate two pieces of dried meat and a few steamed buns on the way. He was so tired and hungry that he put down his food, grabbed a bowl, and complained to his companions as he walked toward the kitchen.

"My legs are about to give out, I just hope the floodwaters recede soon! Working from dawn till dusk every day, I just can't take it anymore—I'm starving!"

"I wonder if the kitchen still has any food left!"

"Sigh! Even if there is any, it will only be leftovers! If I had come back an hour or two earlier, I might have been able to get a steamed bun from Song's..."

Someone familiar with the place said, "Zijian, I heard your sister works at Song's restaurant? Could you eat there for her? It's not far, if you could go and mooch a couple of meals a day..."

As soon as he said this, everyone in the group looked at Cheng Zijian with envy.

"Yes, Zijian, why do we rarely see you at Song's? Apart from breakfast, when you occasionally get some good dishes delivered, you usually eat with us in the kitchen—why don't you seize such a good opportunity?!"

Cheng Zijian quickly waved his hand and said, "How can you do that! My sister is working for Miss Song and she's also staying with her little niece. That's already a huge trouble and an exception. Adding me on top of that is ridiculous! There's no way you can be so unreasonable!"

He added, "But once Miss Song's restaurant reopens, we can go there together from time to time for a treat—as long as we don't eat anything too expensive. I need to be frugal and help out; for some reason, even paper and pens have gone up in price..."

Soon someone chimed in, "And you're right! Not only paper and pens, but ink has gone up in price too!"

The group then began to discuss the matter.

"I heard there's been too much rain lately, making it hard to cut firewood, and many things can't be transported, so almost everything has gone up in price..."

"Don't even mention that, the last time I bought a pair of cloth shoes, the price had gone up by five coins!"

"My uncle said that the canal transport from Jiangnan was disrupted—we're flooded here, but many places in the south are experiencing drought, and several sections of the river have dried up. They had to recruit people to serve in the army, and when the water level dropped, they would carry loads and transfer them to boats..."

"Which uncle of yours? The one from the shipping company?"

"Yes, he's almost driven mad with worry!"

"What do you mean? I don't understand. Does this mean the ship that was originally used to transport goods is no longer needed? And people still have to carry the loads? Is it that troublesome?"

"Without water, the boat can't cross, so how can we get the goods? We can only deliver them and then return."

"Can't we just tow it across?"

"It's not just one or two boats, it's many boats a day! Most of them are thin-bottomed boats, and the water is so low that the bottoms will probably tear before they even get into the water! What a pipe dream!"

As they were talking, a group of people came from the front.

Everyone quickly put aside matters of national importance and began to worry about their own stomachs.

"Hey, did you come back from the kitchen? What food is left in there?"

The people who came hurriedly said, "Hurry up and go, don't delay, the kitchen needs to be cleaned up!"

The group was so frightened that they ran away and managed to grab some food before the kitchen closed. It was indeed leftovers, which they managed to eat, before sighing and returning to the school dormitory together.

Cheng Zijian landed in the middle of the group, but as soon as he entered the room, he found that everyone in the room suddenly looked up at him.

Then came a series of greetings.

"Zijian! You're back? Have you eaten yet?"

"I bought some extra steamed buns here, knowing it's your turn to patrol the dike today, so I specially saved two for you—they're Song Ji's mushroom and cabbage steamed buns and pickled vegetable and pork steamed buns—they're still warm, want a bite?"

"Zijian, I have some mutton soup here! Drink my mutton soup!"

"I have fruit—eat my fruit!"

Everyone was full of enthusiasm.

The short journey back to his seat felt like an eternity for Cheng Zijian, as if he had traversed mountains and valleys for a lifetime. Once he finally sat down, steamed buns, fruit, soup, pastries, and all sorts of other treats were laid out on his table.

He had never received such treatment before, and hurriedly thanked them, saying that he couldn't finish it all and asked everyone to take some back.

Just as he was politely declining, the man serving the mutton soup chuckled and said, "Zijian, don't be so polite, eat up—but since we're from the same school, we're different from others. Could you put in a good word for us and ask Miss Song to take a second look at the dishes we've prepared?"

"Yes! Yes, I wrote braised chicken with chestnuts. It's a great dish, it absolutely can't be left out!"

"Zijian, what I wrote was..." "Zijian..."

Cheng Zijian felt that he had heard the name "Zijian" more often than he had in the past month. For a moment, he had the illusion that when one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

However, he dared not agree and could only beg for mercy, saying that he was just a messenger and had no other use. If others found out, they would curse him to death.

But nobody took it seriously.

Some brought their own ink, some offered fine paper, some even gave a new brush, others gave a turban, and still others offered to copy a book...

When Cheng Zijian saw so many good things, although he refused them resolutely, he had to admit that for a moment, he was shamefully tempted.

Aside from Cheng Zijian and Wang Chang, who were the copyists who "had more in common with Miss Song," almost everyone was surrounded and asked about them. There were also those who didn't care what new dishes Song Ji served, as long as they were available, they would eat them, or who thought that saving money by eating in the canteen was just as good. They were also repeatedly tried to win them over.

"Brother, you don't really care what you eat anyway—how about you write me a recipe for braised eggplant? Very few people make this dish, and I really want to try it!"

"Ignore him, write about my lotus root sandwich! Lotus roots are in season now—what kind of relationship do we have!"

"Hehe, who do you think you are? He and I have been friends for a long time! Brother Peng, do you remember the last time we didn't finish our homework and were punished by the teacher to copy books? We copied together until midnight."

"What nonsense! Who hasn't copied books before? Brother Peng, if you write about braised eggplant and Song's Restaurant opens in the future and they choose this dish, I guarantee I'll treat you to a meal!"

"Only one meal? That's so stingy! If it were me..."

……

When Cheng Zijian received the many sheets of paper filled with dish names the next day, he thought about what had happened in the past two days and truly felt as if he had a premonition of the turmoil in the imperial court.

He wasn't the only one who felt the same way.

Now that the dust has settled, everyone has taken the time to reflect on the whole incident.

"No wonder the gentlemen always like to form cliques and pursue personal gain... If I could have Song Ji make all my favorite dishes, I would also form a clique!" someone exclaimed.

Most of the people around remained silent, but they all felt a deep sense of sympathy.

After packing up and returning to her restaurant, Song Miao didn't have time to worry about how the students were enthusiastically creating menus for Song's Restaurant.

She's considering adding a few varieties to the steamed buns.

Recently, the price of firewood has risen too much, and many other ingredients have also increased in price, so it's not easy to make more char siu and roast pork buns.

In addition, all of Song Ji's steamed buns are available for delivery, which is fine now, but once the restaurant opens, the advantages of dining in will not be apparent.

Steamed buns are, after all, a staple food. If there were a few varieties that could become famous, but customers could only eat them by visiting the store in person, it might be a good way to attract customers.

Such varieties can be priced a bit higher, and the ingredients and preparation methods must be more refined. Needless to say, the taste must be outstanding.

Just then, she heard someone call out "Young Lady Song". When she looked up, she saw Granny Shen and a young girl with her face covered by a cloth walking in.

As if sensing something, Song Miao quickly got up and went forward to greet her. She first greeted Granny Shen, then looked at the young girl and asked, "And who is this?"

Before Granny Shen could speak, the young girl removed the cloth covering her face, stepped forward, knelt down, and said, "My surname is Shen, and my given name is Xing. My family calls me Xingniang. I think my aunt already mentioned it yesterday—thanks to your help that day, madam..."

He was about to kowtow when he said that.

Even with Granny Shen's previous experience, Song Miao still couldn't stop her. She couldn't pull her away or drag her, so she had to endure several kowtows from Granny Shen until she finished kowtowing before she could barely help her up.

Earlier, when she was far away, Song Miao had vaguely smelled a strange odor. Now, as she got closer and leaned on her, she realized that the odor seemed to be coming from Shen Xingniang.

It smelled of medicine that had been taken for a long time and had almost seeped into the body, along with a strong scent of incense on the clothes, and another indescribable smell, like a watery smell that had been left to sit for a long time, with a faint pungent odor. The various smells were mixed together, creating a somewhat murky aroma.

But looking at Shen Xingniang's clothes and appearance, they were all very clean. Although her face was thin and her hair was somewhat sparse, she was very well-groomed.

Just as Song Miao was about to invite the two to sit down, Shen Xingniang looked somewhat embarrassed and asked, "Where is the outhouse, madam?"

Song Miao led her people to the backyard.

Shen Xingniang went inside for a while before coming out.

When she returned to the front hall, Song Miao poured her some tea and chatted briefly with the two of them.

Shen Xingniang took a bundle and placed it on the table. After opening it, she laid it out flat and said to Song Miao, "This is the embroidery I made. I want to give it to you, Madam—you can use it as a screen."

Song Miao looked down and saw that the first picture was of pomegranate blossoms, with bright red flowers in full bloom and pomegranates that were also ripe and red, bursting open to reveal pomegranate seeds inside, creating a lively scene.

Besides the flowers, there were birds pecking at pomegranates, and other miscellaneous scenes nearby. If Shen Xingniang hadn't mentioned it, at first glance, it would have looked like a fine painting, without a single loose thread or even a trace of stitching. The flowers and birds seemed to leap off the canvas, truly lifelike.

Shen Xingniang said, "I don't have any other skills, I just know how to thread a needle. Right now I don't have the energy to make anything good, so I can only modify the old ones. I heard that Madam's restaurant is opening next month, and I may not still be in the capital by then, so I'm sending a few embroidery patterns as a congratulatory gift."

Song Miao carefully examined the pomegranate blossom embroidery, neither rushing to accept it nor refusing it, but said, "I also have a few questions I would like to ask Madam Shen. If it is convenient for you, please answer them; if not, you may simply ignore them."

Shen Xingniang said, "There's nothing inconvenient about this place, just say so, madam."

Song Miao thought for a moment and asked, "I just want to ask, is there a lady-in-waiting surnamed Yang among Madam Shen's elders?"

Shen Xingniang was taken aback. After thinking for a while, she shook her head and said, "I don't know about distant relatives, but among my close relatives and elders, there are really no people with the surname Yang..."

Ever since Song Miao learned the name "Shen Xingniang" and had just seen the embroidery pattern, she had been full of anticipation. However, upon hearing this reply, she felt a chill in her heart, but she still did not give up.

She opened her mouth to ask another question, but Shen Xingniang became embarrassed again and asked, "Madam, please wait a moment, I... I need to go to the outhouse."

Without waiting for anyone to lead her, she hurried off to the backyard.

Since entering the room, not even a cup of tea has been brewed yet, and Shen Xingniang had already gone to the outhouse when she arrived. She clearly hasn't had a drop of tea, but after sitting and exchanging a few words, she went to the outhouse again, embarrassed...

(End of this chapter)