Miao Chu

Chapter 105 Clean
Song Miao glanced at the man and said, "Wait."

"What, you know you were wrong? Are you scared?"

Song Miao said, "Sir, you're just making baseless accusations that my family's food is unclean. What will you do if the authorities find out that I have no connection to this matter?"

Before the man could speak, his companions shouted, "If it wasn't your family, whose family could it be? We asked very clearly, and the old man didn't drink a drop of water this morning, apart from the food sold by your family!"

Song Miao frowned slightly, ignoring him, and asked the one in the lead, "If it's not my family's fault, what are you going to do about it?"

"What if it's your family's fault?!"

"If it's my family's fault, I'll do whatever the court decides, pay what I owe, and admit what I should admit. Otherwise, you've come all this way here making a scene without any evidence, and you're ruining my family's reputation right here. If the other guests here weren't so discerning, they might have believed you. If it turns out that it has nothing to do with me, and you just casually say 'I was wrong,' who will compensate for my family's reputation?"

“You’re just a shabby street vendor, what right do you have to talk about reputation!” one of the people who came along shouted.

The students queuing behind them immediately stopped them.

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't know. Stall owner Song's glutinous rice, shumai, and snow cake are all very famous in our area—more people in the school who know Chief Instructor Deng than she does!"

It's quite remarkable that the students of Nanlu Academy actually put themselves in the same boat as the students of Taixue Academy.

“That makes sense—even if Headmaster Xu stood in front of me, it would take me ages to recognize him. I have no idea where his teaching building is, but I could find Miss Song’s breakfast stall with my eyes closed!”

"Please don't mess things up and ruin this business. I was hoping that Mr. Song would cover both lunch and dinner!"

It was only because both the Imperial Academy's Chancellor Deng and the Nanlu Academy's Headmaster Xu were absent that the students dared to speak so recklessly here.

The troublemaker, who had come with an air of superiority and was quite self-righteous, found himself losing face as almost everyone in the room sided with Song Miao. He forced a smile and asked, "So what do you want?"

"If it turns out that this matter has nothing to do with my Song family, this is the back alley of the two schools, and it's not a good place to cause trouble—do you see that outer street?"

Song Miao pointed to the wide street outside the food alley.

"Then you'll come all the way from your home, beating drums and gongs, and stand there to apologize to me, how about that?"

"Are you dreaming?!"

Song Miao said coldly, "Since you're so sure it's my fault, are you afraid of this apology that can't be fulfilled?"

Then he added, "If my family really eats unclean food, I can walk all the way from here, banging drums and gongs, to your house to apologize!"

She dared to say this because she had absolute confidence in the entire process of preparing food with Cheng Erniang.

At this moment, such strong confidence, especially with the echoes and agreement of many students around, and the fact that other stall owners were even neglecting their business and looking in this direction, loudly proclaiming that they loved watching the excitement, finally made the three men opposite them feel intimidated.

Finally, the one in the lead gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not trying to extort you, what do I have to be afraid of! I'll wait for you to come to my house with drums and gongs!"

Seeing that the man was about to urge her to leave, Song Miao said, "Although the food I have at my stall today is different from yesterday's, it's made in the same way. Don't you need to keep a record of it?"

Not only that person, but the other two who followed behind were also stunned, clearly not expecting this.

In front of everyone, Song Miao took a lotus leaf, wrapped all the food in it, put it in a basket on a stall cart, carried it on her back, gave an instruction to Cheng Erniang, and then left with the three people.

The students had to attend classes, and the other vendors had to do business, but in the streets and alleys, there were always idle people who would wander around aimlessly. Hearing the commotion, they would gather around to watch the excitement, and now they followed along.

At first, a few scattered people followed the four of them, but as they walked further, more and more unrelated people appeared.

They said they were going to see an official, but in reality they were just looking for the nearest patrol post.

Upon arriving at the location, the people on duty at the patrol post that day were all familiar faces. They were all somewhat surprised to see this group of people and Song Miao.

The three men stepped forward and recounted the story, each adding their own accusations that the Song family ate unclean food.

After they finished speaking, Song Miao said, "Gentlemen, they say that the food in my house is unclean, but apart from that old man, we sold hundreds of breakfasts yesterday, and there were also more than two hundred orders for delivery. We haven't heard of anyone getting sick from eating it..."

"The reason others don't come looking for you isn't necessarily because they haven't eaten something bad—if my grandfather hadn't only eaten from your stall, we wouldn't dare come knocking on your door like this!"

After listening, the police officers first asked about the origins of the three men.

The family originally belonged to the Tang family, who lived near the Zhuque Gate and close to the Bianhe Bridge. The three of them consisted of the fourth son of the sick old man, the head of the family, a neighbor, and his cousin.

"Tang Huo, let me be frank with you—if it were any other vendors or shopkeepers, it might be hard to say, but we order Song Xiaoniangzi's breakfast every day. Yesterday and today, I ate both glutinous rice and shumai, and so did all these brothers. None of them have gotten sick. Could there be some misunderstanding?"

Hearing the constable say this, Tang Huo showed no sign of being convinced. Instead, he became even angrier and glared at Song Miao, saying, "No wonder you kept saying you wanted to see the officials. It turns out you had already bribed the local officials and knew they would protect you, which is why you dared to be so arrogant!"

After saying that, he turned to the many onlookers who had followed behind and said, "Everyone, look! This dog of a stall owner is colluding with the government and turning black into white!"

Seeing that Tang Huo was so unreasonable, the faces of the patrolmen behind him were extremely ugly.

The man in the lead shouted, "Where is the favoritism?! Everyone else ate it and was fine. Did this young lady only make food for your father? Otherwise, why is it that everyone else is fine but she is not?!"

He added, "Don't talk nonsense here!"

Before Tang Huo could speak, someone who had been joining in the fun suddenly chimed in, "Whether it's clean or not, just go to her house and look at her kitchen, then you'll know."

Upon receiving this suggestion, Tang Huo, like a drowning man grasping at a straw, hurriedly exclaimed, "Exactly! Although we can't see yesterday's food, we can see what the kitchen looks like at a glance. If we go over there now, we can catch her red-handed!"

"Nonsense! Who goes around looking into someone's kitchen for no reason?" a police officer retorted.

"If her kitchen were clean, why would she be afraid of people seeing it?"

It looks like they're about to start arguing again.

Many people along the road from Zhuque Gate gathered to watch the spectacle, which made the police hesitant and afraid to act rashly, lest word get out.

Seeing this, Song Miao stepped forward and said, "If the kitchen is indeed clean after inspection, then what should we do?"

Tang Huo immediately replied, "Whether it's clean or not isn't up to me to decide; the neighbors have their own eyes!"

This brought in all the people currently following behind.

But Song Miao did not object.

The police officer said, "Why would anyone just casually look into someone's kitchen?" But Song Miao also thought that a perfectly good kitchen is precisely the kind of kitchen that needs to be casually shown to outsiders so that the words "perfectly good" can be known.

She was very confident.

If you do a good job, why would you be afraid of people watching? On the contrary, you hope people will watch.

With many people, there will be many mouths. The word "idle" in "idle people" is precisely the word "mouth" that is not closed. When the time comes, everyone will take a walk around their own restaurants. In the future, I dare not say everyone, but many people will definitely help spread the word.

Both parties agreed, so a constable from the patrol station, along with two patrolmen, followed along Suanzao Alley.

With the officials leading the way and many others following behind, it inevitably attracted more onlookers who discussed the matter and asked what was going on.

The team grew even larger in a short time.

Upon arriving at the Song family's residence, Song Miao took out the key and opened the door. Seeing everyone crowding inside, she hurriedly called out, "Everyone! Today, I would like to trouble you all to be witnesses. However, my family is in the food business, and cleanliness is our top priority. Please just look and don't touch anything, otherwise it would be bad if it got dirty or damaged!"

As he spoke, he stood blocking the way by the stove.

Hearing the commotion, Xiaolian rushed out. Seeing so many people, she was startled but dared not leave, instead huddling close to Song Miao.

Song Miao then whispered to her, "Go to the back and keep an eye on things, don't let anyone touch our things."

Upon hearing this, Xiaolian clenched her fist, and a surge of courage suddenly appeared from somewhere. She immediately ran back.

Tang Huo entered first, and upon seeing the front hall, he couldn't help but feel a sudden unease.

Although Song Miao had been running her stall for a month or so, she hadn't bought any furniture or decorations. Apart from ingredients, she only bought cooking utensils and other supplies for her stall. So the place was still as simple as it could almost be called shabby.

Tang Huo was surprised that the stall owner's family was so poor, and also surprised that such a poor house could be so clean.

He was illiterate and didn't know how to write the four characters "windows bright and tables clean," but following the directions of the onlookers, he naturally went to look at the doors, windows, and tables first on his way from the doorway to the entrance.

Although the paint on the Song family's gate was peeling, there wasn't much dust when you rubbed it with your hand. The wooden windows were cleaned very carefully, and there was no dust accumulating at the corners of the window lattice patterns. The floor of the front hall was clearly swept and mopped frequently, with no garbage or stains. Even with the most discerning eye, it was still very comfortable to look at.

The stove is also a source of comfort.

There were two stoves placed at the entrance. The stoves were spotless, without a trace of grease, and when you put your hand on them, there was no sticky feeling at all.

The knife rack and cutting board were hung upright on the iron rack, lined up in a row, with no water dripping from them.

The pot was covered, and the lid was washed until it shone.

There were several small pots by the wall, and the bottoms of the pots had been scraped clean, without even any soot.

Even the stove door was clean!
Just as Tang Huo was wondering if this place was just for show, he heard Song Miao say, "My second wife and I usually cook in the front hall, and this is the kitchen."

Everyone came to see it at once.

Without being asked, Song Miao proactively opened the pot lid, letting everyone see the clean and refreshing interior. She then moved the entire pot aside to show the stove inside. After looking inside, she uncovered another pot, saying, "These are some foods I specially saved this morning to compare when they spoil. If the weather is hot, I'll temporarily stop making any food that spoils quickly—I won't make the mung bean soup anymore."

The number of onlookers decreased and then increased, until finally about twenty people arrived, and everyone crowded around to take a look as if it were a rare sight.

Song Miao then introduced how she and Cheng Erniang usually prepare food.

She spoke in great detail and with clear logic, leading people toward the backyard as she explained.

The backyard is also very clean.

One well, and one large and one small stone mill.

The stone mill is standing upright, clearly having been used that morning and is being dried, but it hasn't dried yet because of the recent rain.

The yard was overgrown with mint and perilla, but they were kept far away by the stone walls, with very little soil exposed, and no insects or mosquitoes.

Even though Tang Huo knew he was there to cause trouble, for a moment, besides marveling at how clean it was—much cleaner than his own home—he didn't know what to do.

Soon, he heard whispers from the crowd.

"This young lady is really quick and nimble."

"Her mother is a straightforward person, and she's probably a biological mother—I was thinking of arranging a marriage for my nephew, but he didn't like her and instead chose a scholar. Now look what's happened! Those scholars are the most unethical people!"

"The Song family is pitiful enough. The whole family died, leaving only a daughter. She finally managed to make a name for herself by setting up a stall, but then she got extorted!"

Tang Huo was both angry and annoyed.

He believed he hadn't extorted anyone, he was just seeking justice, but seeing the Song family's state, he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

Just when they were at their wits' end, someone asked, "Stadium owner Song, don't you have many large steamers at your stall? Where do you usually keep them?"

Tang Huo thought about it carefully and suddenly became suspicious. He looked up and saw that Miss Song had pushed open the door to the side.

“This is my kitchen—this is the proper kitchen, but I only make breakfast now, so I don’t need it for the time being and have left it empty to dry things.”

“There has been a lot of rain lately, and it’s very humid everywhere. The steamer is made of bamboo, which makes it easy for mold and odor to grow. This kitchen is a bright and spacious room, so we lit a fire in the stove to dry the kitchen utensils.”

As soon as the door opened, before anyone even went inside, those standing at the door could feel a wave of heat surging outwards, dry, hot, and oppressive.

The first few people all took two or three steps back without prior agreement.

Someone went in to look and indeed saw that there was still embers burning in the stove.

The man couldn't help but exclaim, "Goodness, how much firewood do we need every day? It must cost at least ten coins!"

Song Miao did not answer the question about the price directly, but said, "We food business people can never be too clean and careful. We would rather earn less and work harder, otherwise we would feel guilty if our customers had a bad experience eating there."

Her words were, of course, meant to be polite, but when spoken in the kitchen, backyard, and house, they sounded pleasing to everyone present and very sincere.

—They weren't just saying it; they actually did it.

Then someone asked, "Where do you keep your food?"

Song Miao led everyone to the well and hoisted up two buckets. One bucket contained a covered basket filled with many fruits and vegetables, while the other contained a plate of raw meat.

The meat was covered with lotus leaves, then a bowl lid was placed on top, and then another layer of lotus leaves was wrapped around it to ensure that the meat oil would not leak out and pollute the well water.

When the lotus leaf was opened, it was indeed filled with fresh meat, clearly bought that morning.

This time, no one in the courtyard had anything to say.

Some people even started whispering among themselves.

"It's really clean, even cleaner than my hands and feet—next time when I'm too lazy to cook, I'll buy from this store."

"Song Ji's food is delicious, clean, and inexpensive. A small bowl of glutinous rice costs only five coins. Although the shumai is more expensive, it's full of meat. It's just that it's hard to queue up."

"I heard that you can order in advance at her place. If you have enough for thirty portions, a lady will come to deliver them the next day."

"Thirty portions is really too much."

"Let's have our two companies compete."

Someone nearby overheard this and asked again, "Where do you live? If you live nearby, could you share breakfast with me? There are six of us in my family, so we can share eight breakfasts."

A group of people who came to watch the spectacle ended up, and many of them were almost ready to take out their money to order breakfast on the spot.

The expressions on Tang Huo and the other two's faces grew increasingly grim.

Tang Huo, in particular, was deflated at this point, no matter how stubborn he was. He said, "You say you're clean, and I think you're clean too, but my old man really only ate the food from your stall!"

Seeing that he was still so insistent even after all this, Song Miao, who hadn't thought so before, was even less convinced now that he was trying to extort money from her.

Qiaotou Lane is neither too close nor too far from Liangxueshi Lane. Judging from the time that Tang Huo arrived, the rain was heaviest when he left home with the two people on either side.

If it's a scam, you can simply wait a bit before leaving.

He arrived in a hurry, his trousers and shoes were wet. He hadn't been in a rush for money before and was even willing to report to the authorities. Now, he even half-admitted his mistake.

Song Miao thought for a moment and said, "In that case, why don't we go and see Grandpa Tang together? The old man is getting on in years, and it's possible that he might have misremembered something. If we can find out the truth, it will be fine for me, but the doctor will also know the source and be able to prescribe the right medicine."

Tang Huo and the other two did not object, and silently led the way.

This time, the onlookers wanted to join in, but the police chased them away.

After walking for a while, we finally arrived at Qiaotou Lane.

The Tang family were also from the capital. Their house was only two-tenths the size of the Song family's, but since they didn't run a business, they could still manage to live comfortably.

Tang Huo led the way, and the group was about to walk into the inner room when they heard someone call out from the front door, "Brother-in-law!"

Tang Huo turned around, saw who it was, and asked in surprise, "Xiao San, what brings you here?"

The man was covered in sweat and panting as he spoke: "Brother-in-law, what time is it? Why are you still at home!"

Tang Huo frowned and said, "My father fell seriously ill yesterday. Tell your sister that I can't leave right now, and ask her to take the two little ones to stay at her parents' house for a few days. Once I'm done with things here, I'll go and wish my mother-in-law a happy birthday!"

The mistress wiped her sweat and said anxiously, "Who's rushing you like this! My nephew and niece are both in trouble. Maybe they caught a chill in the car yesterday. They had diarrhea and vomiting last night, and both kids have high fevers and are almost delirious. My sister is so worried, but she doesn't dare to make a decision, so she told me to come and ask her right away!"

"Brother-in-law, what do you think? Should we send a carriage to pick up the child, or should we seek medical treatment in our area?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Huo naturally became anxious, but the patrolmen and soldiers nearby immediately became alert.

If one person gets a fever or falls ill, it can be said to be a coincidence, but if an entire family is like this, there must be something wrong.

If there's nothing wrong with the food at Song Ji's, then what's the problem?
Tang Huo turned around almost as if he were running.

His cousin was taking care of Old Master Tang there. When he saw the man arrive, he hurriedly said, "I really have no other choice. Your father was just talking about you. He said he had a high fever, a headache, and couldn't breathe. He said he didn't want to live anymore and asked me to urge you to come and see him off."

Tang Huo was both anxious and flustered. He rushed to the bedside and called out, "Father!"

When Grandpa Tang heard his son call, he struggled a couple of times and turned over.

Tang Huo hurriedly asked, "Father, what did you eat yesterday? Besides the breakfast from Song's restaurant, did you eat anything else?"

It took a while before Grandpa Tang finally replied.

He said in a weak voice, "I ate breakfast at her house."

“But Zhongge’er and Qiaojie’er also had diarrhea and vomiting, and had high fevers. Did they also eat her family’s breakfast?”

Grandpa Tang was startled upon hearing this, and slowly said, "They ate it too. I specially lined up to buy it for them. The girl said she wanted to eat that cake... Zhong said he wanted... wanted to eat meat..."

As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to have a moment of lucidity before death, and his voice became louder as he said, "Zhong-ge said he wanted to eat meat. I saw a stall selling venison jerky by the roadside, so I bought him some jerky—I ate two pieces myself, and that was it."

The police officers hurriedly asked, "Where is this stall?"

Old Master Tang, however, had no strength left. He lay there thinking for a long time before finally saying, "I don't remember..."

Song Miao listened for a while and then said, "A few days ago I saw people selling venison jerky near Dezhou Bridge, Zhuque Gate, and Tonghua Lane. It smelled similar, so it was probably from the same place. But I haven't seen anyone selling it in the last couple of days."

She described the locations she had seen and then described the appearances of the people.

The police officers immediately went out to report back and gather men to bring the trafficker back for questioning.

　We've got 900 monthly votes! Thank you everyone. I've also updated a little more today, so I guess you could call it a small bonus.

　　(End of this chapter)