Miao Chu

Chapter 181 Not as good as
The square table wasn't large, and the two sat next to each other, taking advantage of the brief moment they had free time to drink some warm tea and chat.

Song Miao naturally asked Han Li if his trip to Weizhou went smoothly. She also mentioned that the menu for today had been decided and there was no choice. She asked him if there was anything he wanted to eat tomorrow, and then asked if there were any other arrangements for the rest of the day.

Actually, even if she hadn't asked, Han Li would have taken the initiative to speak. But now that she had asked, he felt as if he had never been so eager to talk before.

He had so much to say, he wanted to tell everything: the people he met on his way to Weizhou, what he did, and why he wanted to do it. Finally, he achieved a good result, and although it was a bit of a journey, he was very satisfied.

As for what we'll eat tomorrow, it doesn't matter. I've been eating at the stall for so long, and there's never been a dish that I didn't like. I'll just let them do as they please, but I won't have to work too hard. The river will be open tomorrow, and I'll have to go to the construction site's kitchen to cook the first day. If I'm too busy, we can just come back and eat at the official post station.

After he finishes his business in Huazhou and returns to the capital, he can find a place to eat in Suanzao Lane on his own later. There's plenty of time; a little delay won't make a difference.

He then asked Song Miao if she had encountered any other troubles in Huazhou these past few days.

Song Miao replied that there was no trouble at all, only briefly mentioning that the cooks previously recruited by the yamen were unusable because they had done some disgusting things, and that she had found some more reliable ones.

"Young Master said that I was in charge of the kitchen affairs, so I took it upon myself to hire some aunties and young women. They've been working for two days already, and they've picked it up quickly. They're all clean and have impeccable manners. Regardless of age, they can all memorize all fifty-two rules in one night—and you should know, they're all illiterate!"

“Even a student who is seriously literate and has nothing to do all day, just reading and memorizing the text, may not be able to memorize it completely in half a day. They will inevitably look around and be lazy and distracted. But the aunts and sisters, even though they all have many other things to do, rely on taking time out of their spare time to memorize and learn, and they can remember it so clearly. You can see how much effort they put in!”

As she said this, her tone was one of genuine admiration, showing that she admired him from the bottom of her heart.

Han Li watched from the side, finding her facial expressions incredibly vivid. For a moment, he was so engrossed in watching and listening that he even forgot to breathe.

His voice unconsciously softened as he said, "It's clear you have a knack for recognizing people. Not only are all the aunts and ladies capable, but if you hadn't known their abilities, they wouldn't have had a chance to demonstrate their talents, would they?"

Song Miao couldn't help but laugh and said, "Is the young master praising himself, or praising me—actually, he's secretly praising himself, isn't he? 'If it weren't for my ability to recognize talent, how could you, stall owner Song, have had the opportunity to showcase your abilities?' Isn't that right?"

Han Li found it hard not to smile. Although he couldn't see the mirror, he felt that his eyes were brimming with joy.

He loved these moments so much, loved sitting and talking like this. In fact, even without saying a word, it was just like before. Once, when he went to Suanzao Lane, he felt comfortable just sitting and watching the stall owner, Mr. Song, cook noodles.

On the way here, there was another time when we stayed at a villager's house. The stall owner, Song, was picking vegetables while he was washing dishes. He just wished there were more dishes than he could wash.

He smiled and said softly, "I overheard Kong Fuyang's explanation outside just now, and I learned that the recruitment stalls here have already recruited three or four hundred people, all thanks to the stall owner Song's idea, which has saved me a lot of trouble!"

At this point, Han Li paused, then smiled again and said, "I was going to say I was extremely grateful, but I was afraid that Mr. Song would make fun of me again—that's alright, it just might seem too formal, so I don't want to say it, but I'm really happy."

As he spoke, he took out a cloth bag from behind his back and gently placed it on the table in front of Song Miao. His smile faded slightly, revealing only a hint of nervousness. He said, "When I was in Weizhou, I met someone selling straw sandals and straw hats on the road. The old man had woven the rice straw very carefully, and the side that touched my skin was quite smooth. His hands weren't rough, so I bought some on the way back."

"The weather has been getting hotter lately. It's fine on sunny days, but on rainy days, most of us are wearing boots, which are very hot and inconvenient."

Song Miao took the cloth bag, opened it, and saw that there were two sets of straw sandals and two sets of straw hats inside.

Han Li pointed to one of the portions and said, "This is for you and Dabing. If other people don't care about cleanliness, they can just throw something together and leave it as is, since they're dirty anyway. But Master Song is always very clean. I put a little mark on it, see if it's easy to tell the difference?"

Upon hearing this, Song Miao carefully examined the two sets of straw sandals. One set was large and the other small. One pair of straw sandals was made of flatbread and had the character "Liu" pasted on it with a paper label. The other pair of straw sandals had no markings at all, except for a slipknot on each side. Each slipknot was tied with some kind of seed, which was red, like red beans, but a little larger and round, and very conspicuous.

With this special snap button, it's hard for others to mistake it.

"I don't know what size shoes you wear either. Luckily, straw sandals aren't that particular about size. I compared them to your measurements, and that's how my sister-in-law estimated them to make them. Try them on tonight and see if they fit," Han Li added.

Song Miao smiled and thanked her, then went to get the straw hat.

A thin string was attached to the bottom edge of the straw hat for easy adjustment. A red seed was placed where the string ended, with two holes drilled on the left and right sides through which the string protruded.

It looked like a set with the shoes.

Although there were no words written on the straw hats and straw sandals, and they didn't look any more refined than flatbreads, with only a few more seeds, it was still easy to tell that there was something special about them.

Since the shoes weren't suitable to wear in public, Song Miao took the hat, put it on, and asked with a smile, "What a practical thing—how do I look in it? Does it fit?"

A large straw hat, a face almost the size of a palm, the head tilted back, eyes that are dark and bright, containing the most beautiful stars in the Milky Way.

Han Li was speechless for a moment.

He took a slow breath and replied with a smile, "Perfect, just right."

***
That evening, the students responsible for registering names outside took turns eating, but Kong Fuyang only ate a little something and didn't eat. Instead, he went to eat in place of the others.

He was busy until the very end, and when everything was almost done, just as they called for dinner, he finally let go.

He entered the room with several others who had also not eaten. He was extremely surprised to find that only half of those who had gone to Weizhou had returned. He hurriedly asked what had happened and where Old Lu had gone. The others replied that half of them had been left in Weizhou to help recruit laborers.

Only then did the two sides communicate properly, asking each other questions, or even asking and answering at the same time, making it noisier than the croaking of frogs in a summer pond.

Han Li quickly stopped the people, saying, "There are other people in the hall, so keep your voices down and don't make noise."

The crowd immediately lowered their voices, turning into a buzzing sound.

However, the buzzing sound disappeared immediately as soon as the food was served.

The man who had just returned from Huazhou was busy calling out "Miss Song," and said, "These past two days, every time it's time to eat, all I can think about is you and Dabing!"

That person said, "It felt like we were counting down the days, and we finally made it back!"

Then someone else asked questions, "Did Miss Song prepare more dishes today? Is there any left for us?" Another person said, "Why are you all just talking? Hurry up and get the bowls and chopsticks! Do we really need Miss Song to bring them out for us?"

There were a few people who hadn't eaten yet, especially Kong Fuyang. As he watched the dishes and bowls of food being taken out of the basket one after another, he immediately spotted the bowl at the very bottom of the basket.

Upon seeing the mushroom and sliced ​​pork soup inside, he was initially delighted. Then, his eyes darted around, and he glanced at Han Li beside him. He didn't say anything, but instead joined the group in devouring their dinner.

The student next to him patted his stomach and sighed that it was good to be back. With a meal and soup, he could look forward to it every day. Hearing the others echoing him, he didn't interrupt. Instead, he quietly got up, went up to Han Li's sleeve, and gestured for him to go to the back together.

After finishing the meal, some empty bowls and plates were left over. Everyone had already cleaned them up and put them in a basket. Han Li casually picked one up and went to the backyard with Kong Fuyang.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Kong Fuyang hurriedly recounted how he had received guidance from Song Miao, how he had acted foolishly before, and how he was able to recruit so many people only after Song Miao helped him set up the framework. Finally, he said, "If recruiting people can be counted as merit, I would like to give all the credit to Miss Song. Zhengyan, what do you think?"

Han Li said, "If things can be accomplished, everything will be fine—you write the memorial in a nicer way and give it to Judge Cen, and I will explain the advantages and disadvantages to him. I don't think there will be any problems."

He added, "Don't worry, even if you don't mention it, I'll still think about it. Just the food at the construction site has already done a great job for vendor Song."

Upon receiving his answer, Kong Fuyang immediately calmed down, uttered a few "uh-huhs" and then changed the subject, eagerly asking him in detail how he had recruited so many people in Weizhou and how he had obtained so much grain.

Han Li naturally didn't hide anything and explained the whole story in a few words.

Kong Fuyang was so engrossed in listening that he could barely walk. He held Han Li's hand and kept asking about the details, sighing and admiring. Finally, he said, "Only you can use this method. If it weren't for Master Chen's great reputation, how could the school official have gone to such lengths, and even his in-laws have been scrambling to get involved!"

Han Li shook his head and said, "You're usually so smart, why are you suddenly so clueless today?"

“Master Chen has his uses. If not Master Chen, are there no other Masters like Master Li or Master Zhou? I remember that Mr. Liu and Mr. Wen in the study greatly admire you. If you were to ask them if you could bring a few students back to study under them for half a year before you leave, it would be free and you would even be running errands. Since it is for water control, it is not a troublesome matter if you ask. You just need to inform the school. Do you think they would refuse?”

"Both of you are renowned for your literary talents. If one official isn't enough, then find two. As a student of the Imperial Academy, what's wrong with saying this to your own teachers?"

Kong Fuyang felt a little awkward and said, "What if the master doesn't agree to this?"

Han Li said, "If it's difficult, you will naturally refuse, sir. If you refuse, will you suffer any great loss?"

Kong Fuyang was stunned for a moment, thought about it carefully for a long time, and then stammered, "It's just losing some face..."

"What do you, the person in charge, care about saving face? If you can only rely on losing face, will you be able to get the river flowing smoothly and the dikes strong?"

Kong Fuyang immediately retorted, "Don't even mention face, I can even get skin off my feet..."

He felt nauseous as he said this, and quickly shut his mouth.

Han Li replied, “Don’t think of yourself as a student. Right now, you and I are in charge. We should use whatever we have on hand, and even if we have nothing, we should find a way to replace it. As long as things can be accomplished, it’s all worth it.”

He added, "Besides, all interests in the world can be exchanged. What you usually consider ordinary may not be without value if used in the right place."

"for example?"

Seeing that Kong Fuyang was pressing him so hard, Han Li slowly said, "For example, I told the students in Weizhou that there is a student named Kong Fuyang here who is good at the six methods of poetry and prose, understands the classics, and knows how to memorize and recite quickly. Although it is an immediate method, there are still some merits to it..."

Kong Fuyang hurriedly said, "What six principles of poetry and prose? They're just my own random summaries, not worthy of serious consideration. As for those quick memorization techniques, they don't really require any real understanding and can only be used for emergencies—you're praising me too much!"

Even so, his smile stretched almost to the back of his ears!

Seeing that the fellow was still not quite there to react, Han Li continued, "Whether it's an exaggeration or not, we'll find out soon enough—when they learned that you were here and had such abilities, they all wanted to hear from you. They all volunteered to come to Huazhou for a few days, saying they didn't need to worry about food or lodging, they just wanted to be taught by this talented Kong for a day or two."

"Kong Caizi, you can start preparing the Six Methods of Poetry and Prose and the Shorthand of Classical Texts when you have time—they will arrive in a few days after they finish recruiting people for Linghe Town."

***
However, after asking a few questions, he ended up having another task to complete, but Kong Fuyang was still very enthusiastic.

He felt as if he had grasped the key to the problem.

—So even scholars have their uses.

Today he went to the front to help copy the roster, and the calluses on his hands were three times thicker. Although he was faster than others, he was only four or five times faster. How much of a help could that make?
But if you use it like this, taking yourself to the state school to promote yourself, you can gain many students in just two days of teaching. This is many times more effective than you working hard and foolishly!
When I become an official in the future, I may not be able to copy everything exactly, but I can certainly learn from the methods used to do things.

Feeling that he had learned something useful and had received several praises from Han Li, Kong Fuyang was very pleased. He grabbed the basket and hurried ahead to the kitchen.

As soon as he entered, he called out "Miss Song," put down the basket, and then spoke of what he had been thinking about for a day and a night: "I heard that yesterday's meat and egg soup also had fried shrimp balls in it, and it tasted especially good. I just don't know if it's troublesome or difficult to make?"

"Not only did I not get to eat it, but Zhengyan didn't get to eat it either. He just heard about it and said he really wanted to eat it! There were also quite a few others who went to Weizhou who didn't get to eat it either. Miss Song, when they come back in a couple of days, if you have some free time, would it be convenient for you to make it again?"

Song Miao had just finished tidying up the stove when she heard this and looked up to see Kong Fuyang. She couldn't help but smile and say, "It's not too difficult, but I've been busy lately and may not have time every day. I was thinking of making 'exploded shrimp' next time—if Young Master Kong would like to try the shrimp and egg soup..."

Upon hearing the words "exploding head shrimp," even though he didn't know how it was made, Kong Fuyang felt inexplicably powerful and domineering. He quickly said, "Let's follow Miss Song's original idea for now. We can eat the shrimp balls and poached eggs later!"

***
Kong Fuyang was in a hurry to eat the prawns. In a house in the city, Chief Ding, holding a whip, entered the door and immediately cursed, then lashed out at the person standing closest to him.

Before the man could react, he was struck on the head, feeling a burning sensation. He covered his head, not daring to speak or even get angry, and immediately knelt on the ground, repeatedly begging for forgiveness.

Ding, the head constable, cursed, "You still have the nerve to apologize?! I told you to bring back a woman, and you arrested a deputy envoy! Fine, but you led twenty men on a mission, and you ended up guarding that Han guy's recruitment stall?! Is this how you run a mission?!"

"Even a dog knows who its owner is, you're not even as good as a dog that eats shit?"