Miao Chu

Chapter 12 Paste
Cheng Zijian hurriedly bowed and said, "Brother Cai, I have long admired your name! I am Cheng Zijian from the outer residence. Master Chen introduced me here..."

Cai Xiu was taken aback, then thought for a moment before exclaiming, "It's Zijian! You've come for the imperial examination essay, haven't you?"

Cheng Zijian nodded.

He was still a bit reserved, and after mentally urging himself on for a while, he finally said, "I heard that you are from Guanzhong, so I specially prepared some Guanzhong food for you. It's just breakfast, please forgive me..."

As he spoke, he handed over the food box he was carrying.

Cai Xiu took the food box from his hand and casually placed it on the table beside him. She sighed and said, "Zijian, I am really sorry about this. I spoke too quickly yesterday. When the teacher asked, I agreed without thinking much. Only when I got back did I remember that when I went to the literary gathering last time, I had already given the article to the second young master of the Yong'an Marquis's family."

"Zijian, if you don't mind, you can come again next time."

Cheng Zijian's smile froze instantly.

The civil service exam is just around the corner. If he does well, he might be promoted to a higher level; if he doesn't, he will have to return to his hometown after his three-year term.

He had asked his teacher for help this time, hoping to use the essays of the talented Cai Xiu to study them thoroughly, hoping that even last-minute cramming would be effective.

The other party says they'll come again next time, but when will that next time be? And on what day?
But their reasons were reasonable and their attitude was friendly, so it was best not to press them further.

Cheng Zijian felt bitter inside, but could only shake his head repeatedly and say, "It's alright, then I'll bother Brother Cai again next time."

Cheng Zijian was always a very thin-skinned person. If he had been rejected, he would have been extremely embarrassed and hastily said goodbye, never to come again. But today, he didn't know where he got the idea. Thinking of the promise he made in the food alley, he forced himself to say, "However, I have another favor to ask—I wonder if Brother Cai has the 'Wei Criminal Code'? If it's convenient, could I borrow it for a few days?"

“This is a small matter, of course no problem,” Cai Xiu replied immediately.

Before Cheng Zijian could even feel happy, he heard the other person say, "However, I haven't used that book for a long time and have already put it at home. I'm afraid I'll have to go back to get it—you can come and get it another day."

Another day.

Although Cai Xiu agreed very readily, Cheng Zijian felt uneasy for some reason and hesitated, saying, "It's so troublesome, then...maybe we should just forget about it?"

Cai Xiu just smiled and said it was nothing, repeatedly apologizing, but did not insist, saying, "It's really unfortunate today. I should have invited you to sit down, but I have to go to a literary gathering later. Let's get to know each other better another day when I have more free time!"

Cheng Zijian wasn't tactless; seeing that he was busy, he could only hurriedly take his leave.

He came here full of enthusiasm, but accomplished nothing. With the civil service exam just around the corner, he was in a daze. After leaving the house, he didn't know the way well and went the wrong way, ending up behind the school building.

When he reached a dead end, he realized what was happening and hurriedly turned back. Just as he returned to the window, he heard Cai Xiu speaking from inside the house.

"Zhengyan, are you really not going? We have invited Mr. Cao and Mr. Wei to come to today's literary gathering."

Upon hearing the phrase "Mr. Cao and Mr. Wei," Cheng Zijian paused, wondering to himself, "Could it be Mr. Cao Jie and Mr. Wei Defu?"
Next month is the 70th birthday of Deng Jijiu, and many of his students have come to Beijing to celebrate with him, including Cao Jie and Wei Defu from Xiangshan Academy.

These two men are both renowned scholars of our time. If one could gain their favor and receive guidance from either of them, it would surely be of great benefit. No wonder Cai Xiu is so concerned.

He was filled with envy. But before he could finish envying her, he heard someone inside reply, "I'm not going, you can go by yourself."

His tone was quite cold.

Cheng Zijian was so shocked that he couldn't move his feet.

Cai Xiu continued from inside the house, "I probably won't be back for the next couple of days. Since you're not going, this person brought some food..."

"As for matters of food and drink, you need not concern yourself with them."

"That's true. Zheng Yan, you've never liked these things. But I'm short on time. If someone comes, please help me share them with others. If no one comes, just throw them away."

"I was hoping to offer you this breakfast as a token of my appreciation, but even if you don't want it, please forgive me if the master asks about it!"

After Cai Xiu finished speaking, she carried a bamboo cage in her arms, the contents of which were unknown, and hurriedly left the house.

Cheng Zijian was left standing there, watching Cai Xiu's figure disappear into the distance. All he could think about were the words "throw it away" that she had just said, and he couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart.

His family had been farmers for generations. He lost both his parents at a young age, and the few acres of land they had left had been sold off to support his studies. After he was admitted to the Imperial Academy, the travel expenses to the capital were raised by his elder sister who helped others by washing clothes. After entering the academy, he dared not indulge himself for a single day and always saved money wherever possible.

While others ate at restaurants, he ate at the imperial kitchen or food stalls for three meals a day, alternating between steamed buns, cold noodles, and even carefully calculated how much he would drink, including a bamboo tube of tangerine peel and mung bean drink.

These yellow steamed buns might seem unrefined to others, but they represent his good intentions. For this, he was willing to skip a meal yesterday to scrape together more money to ask that young lady for help.

Gifts given out are, of course, left to the recipient to do with as they see fit; there's nothing more to say about that.

But why waste food?

It should be noted that Cai Xiu also came from a poor farming family!

If I hadn't heard the Master say that Cai Xiu was generous, kind, humble and polite, how could I have dared to visit him?
He didn't know if it was the letter he received from his elder sister before the New Year, informing him of his brother-in-law's passing, that had kept him uneasy; or the upcoming civil service exam that made him nervous and distressed; or perhaps it was the promise he made to that young lady that he couldn't help; or maybe it was his own pitiful and pathetic feeling, that he was so stingy with a few steamed buns that others didn't care about. Overwhelmed by his emotions, Cheng Zijian found himself involuntarily walking towards the study.

He knocked on the door forcefully.

There was only one person in the study, the one whom Cai Xiu called "Zhengyan," who was reading in a corner. Hearing the voice, he looked up.

Cheng Zijian walked straight toward the other person.

Having studied for many years, he hadn't forgotten basic etiquette. He bowed first, then pointed to the food box on the table beside him and said, "This...brother, knowing that Brother Cai is from Guanzhong, I specially asked someone to make this box of yellow steamed buns. The cook was kind enough to make mutton buns overnight, fearing that I might not have prepared enough. All the ingredients are of the best..."

"Although it's already been given away, could you please do me a favor and not throw this food away? It would be best if you could eat it, but if not, you can give it to someone else rather than waste it..."

As he spoke, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat, and tears began to stream down his face uncontrollably. His mind went blank, and he had no idea what he was babbling about.

(End of this chapter)