Miao Chu

Chapter 200 Ashamed
Song Miao shook her head and smiled, "Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Auntie, but I'm currently in debt. It's just a small stall, and I already have help at home, so I don't have the resources to support such a large operation right now..."

Seeing that the person opposite her was about to speak, she continued, "I have always seen how well you have done things – you never spare any effort, you are meticulous, and you are quick and efficient. Last time, when you found that the bag of flour was wrong, you were partly responsible for finding the croton seeds."

"If my business ever grows big in the future, I will definitely come to you. I just don't know if you will still be willing to help me then!"

Upon hearing this, the person on the other end was both pleased to receive praise in person, and the praise was clearly sincere and not just empty words, but also somewhat disappointed to have been rejected.

He had a lot to say but dared not say it, since Song Miao had politely declined and left room for maneuver. If he tried to persuade her, the outcome would be worse and it would not be a good thing.

She sighed and said, "My lady, please remember, I can travel from Huazhou to the capital quickly, by boat or on foot, it only takes a few days. Just send someone to deliver a message, and I will set off immediately!"

Song Miao agreed for the time being.

Seeing this, everyone at the table couldn't help but follow suit. One person said that their family had no burdens, another said that their whole family could go to the capital. Each had their own reasons, and they all wanted to join forces.

There are about ten people here. After observing them for a month or two, Song Miao naturally has a good understanding of their personalities and how they do things.

They were able to help their relatives and friends come to their door to seek justice, or they learned about cases they had heard about. This was partly in response to Song Miao's request, and partly because they themselves always had a sense of justice and kindness. Although one cannot judge a person's character entirely based on this, one can at least see their true nature. Moreover, they had all lived in Huazhou for generations and their backgrounds were clear.

In the food and beverage industry, when it comes to recruiting staff, nothing beats the word "trustworthy".

Song Miao knew it was too early to say that, after all, she still had a lot of debts on her hands, but if the restaurant really reopened in the future and business was booming, and more manpower was needed, it would be a good choice.

***
Inside the official post station, everyone ate their porridge with vegetables, enjoying the meat and vegetables to their heart's content. After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they leaned back in their chairs to rest, regaining their composure and slowly sipping their porridge. Only then did the porridge and vegetables destined for the Huazhou prefectural government finally arrive.

Upon learning that the food had arrived, most of the officials, who had been busy for many days, simply responded with a murmur and said nothing more.

—There's been a lot going on lately, and everyone's been working overtime. Cen Dezhang isn't a mean person, so he arranges meals for everyone every day, and he even dines with them every time.

It was still early, and in the sweltering summer afternoon, the sun was blazing, making it hot and humid, which really dampened one's appetite.

But there were also those who immediately looked up from the files—Lu Wenming and two students.

The three of them were initially dizzy and disoriented, but upon hearing the news, they all perked up.

One student immediately asked, "Was it delivered by the official post station? Did Lady Song make it?"

The man responded, "Yes! It's Miss Song from the official post station. She specifically instructed me to come and tell you something—there's a dipping sauce that's all prepared, but it's best to mix it fresh before eating, otherwise, in this hot weather, it might spoil if it's left to soak for too long."

As he spoke, he pulled a slip of paper from his sleeve.

Without anyone saying a word, the three of them stood up with a "thump," "thump," "thump"—these three "thump" sounds were the sound of the chairs being pushed back by the back legs when they stood up quickly.

A student hurriedly asked, "Where are we eating today? Or are we eating in the next room?"

The messenger reported that it was in the side hall.

Of the three, Lu Wenming was the most composed, only quickening his pace. The other two, however, were students in their late teens and early twenties who didn't care about such things. As soon as they learned the location, they immediately took off running, shouting back as they ran, "Boss Lu, hurry, hurry!"

"Coming, coming! You guys eat first, no need to wait, just save me a seat!" Lu Wenming replied, then suddenly added, "Remember to get a portion for Leader Han!"

The two responded enthusiastically and ran off.

Lu Wenming stayed until the end. Seeing that the others in the room were not making any moves, he called out again, "Gentlemen, this meal is specially prepared by our Miss Song. It's sure to be delicious. There's always work to be done, so why don't you eat and then come back to continue?"

When faced with Lu Wenming, these clerks and officials naturally told the truth.

"Prefect Cen is here too, let's wait until he finishes eating before we talk!"

"I'm not hungry, and it's hot, so I can eat later."

When Qian Zhongming went to prison, his cronies and subordinates who were deeply involved were also arrested. Some were tried, and others confessed. The rest of them were still obediently compiling files and organizing evidence. They were either not good at speaking or not good at handling things, so they were not given important positions and thus were not implicated.

For a moment, Lu Wenming seemed to see himself again, someone who had clearly worked hard for a long time, but when the master came, he would only hide.

He understood these people's thoughts all too well.

Even though Cen Dezhang wasn't one to put on airs, given a choice, who would want to dine with Shangguan?

Moreover, this masked official, who used to seem weak and ineffective, managed to capture Qian Kongmu, whom several previous prefectural officials had been unable to deal with, overnight. His forces also scattered like birds and beasts, which inevitably made the officials and clerks who had little contact with him to begin with more fear.

"It's alright. Magistrate Cen is talking to Leader Han and the others. It won't be over anytime soon. If you don't go now, you'll just run into him!"

Upon hearing this, everyone stopped writing, reading documents, and doing their work. They hurriedly put down what they were doing, stood up, and rushed out, taking two steps at a time.

Upon arriving at the side hall, Cen Dezhang was indeed not there. Not only that, but none of the other superiors were there either; the hall was filled with his own subordinates.

The officials who rushed over were immediately relieved. When they looked into the room again, they saw several square tables put together to form a long table. Next to the table was a very large and deep pot, which was full of white porridge. The table was covered with food.

Many large platters were filled with poached geese, their skin glistening white with the meat facing down. Although only the skin was visible and not the meat, their beautiful appearance alone was enough to make many people eager to try them.

The other meats were prepared in various ways and laid out on the table. There was also a row of pickled vegetables. Even before you got very close, you could smell the aroma of the pickling jars. It was sour and fragrant, making your mouth water.

The servant who brought back the food was still announcing the names of the dishes, and at this moment he was announcing the name of the boiled pork belly.

He pointed to the large slices of meat and said, "Chef Song said that when this pork belly is cooked with goose, it absorbs the flavor of goose meat. Although it's pork, it actually tastes even better."

At this time of year, mutton is expensive and pork is cheap. Although there is no mutton on the table, goose meat is more presentable. We have already tasted this so-called "white-cut goose" and it tastes really good. Therefore, when people heard this, few paid attention and continued to busy themselves with picking up goose meat.

Only a few people muttered to themselves, "What's so great about pork? There's so much good meat here!"

"Pork, boiled in plain water, how good can it taste!" But Lu Wenming had been eating Song cuisine for a long time and knew that this young lady never wasted words. Just as he was about to step forward, he saw two pairs of chopsticks suddenly appear on the plate and reach for the pork belly. He looked up and saw that it was indeed one of his own.

The two students were eating meat when they saw Lu Wenming arrive. They waved to him and handed him bowls and chopsticks.

The latter quickly picked up two slices of boiled pork belly.

Fresh meat, boiled in plain water, is crisp and flavorful. Because it is cooked with a healthy goose, the goose generously shares its flavor with the pork belly, allowing it to fully absorb the essence of the goose broth. This makes the pork belly thoroughly infused with the fresh aroma of goose meat, making it far more delicious, fragrant, and sweet than boiled pork belly cooked alone.

The five-layered pork belly, with a perfect 3:7 fat-to-lean ratio, is not greasy at all when you eat it, and there is very little oiliness when you chew it. Since it is served cold, it feels refreshing even without any sauce. But after trying the salty, sour, and spicy dipping sauce, Lu Wenming didn't even want to say anything and just wanted to stuff one piece after another into his mouth.

The porridge was lukewarm, and almost all the dishes on the table were not hot, with no greasiness. Just looking at them made one feel that the weather wasn't so hot anymore, and it even whetted one's appetite.

There was very little talking in the room, and when it did, it was very quiet. But the sound of chewing was quite loud. Sometimes it was "quack quack" – that's chewing sour lettuce; sometimes it was "crunch crunch" – that's eating sour ginger; and sometimes it was "cluck cluck cluck" – that's eating sour green beans.

Almost every bite was extremely crisp.

Numerous crunching sounds converged from all around the table, making it hard to resist joining in.

Lu Wenming couldn't help but stand up and pick up a lot of pickled ginger and pickled lettuce. Just as he was about to eat, he suddenly saw a few cloves of garlic in the bowl and couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Can garlic be pickled too?"

As he spoke, he picked up the garlic with his chopsticks and glanced at it.

Soon, a constable in his early thirties across the street exclaimed, "Oh, it's scallions!"

He added, "I haven't had this since I left my hometown! It seems to be something only found in my hometown, Qiannan!"

But no sooner had he finished speaking than a student next to Lu Wenming exclaimed, "We have it in Ganzhou too! I've loved eating it since I was a kid!"

The two then began to chat remotely about what their families used to make with scallions when they were young, how delicious they were, and how they made rice more palatable.

This person says that the pickled version is the best, but it is also very delicious when stir-fried with white vinegar and maltose. Locally, this dish is also called "rice disaster".

Someone said you can also marinate it with white vinegar, but you need to add maltose at the end, which is a bit expensive. You can also use it to stir-fry meat, which is also a delicious dish.

As they chatted, they kept picking at the pickled scallions with their hands and mouths, prompting everyone around them to follow suit and grab some as well.

Lu Wenming then took a serious look at the so-called "scallion". It did look a bit like garlic, but slightly smaller. Because it had been pickled for a long time, the "scallion" had become almost translucent and moist. The outer skin was extremely clear and glossy. Just by looking at it, you could tell that it must be very juicy.

After putting it in my mouth and chewing it a few times, my mouth was filled with juice.

It has such a crisp texture; when you bite into it, it makes a sound like ice shattering, and it's incredibly crisp and tender to eat.

The taste was also amazing; it was something he had never eaten before.

This pickled scallion is almost purely sour, but after the sourness comes a very unique, refreshing sensation, followed by a very slight sweetness. It's a bit like garlic, but without the pungent smell of garlic, and a bit like scallions, but crisper and fresher than scallions.

After swallowing, my mouth, nasal cavity, and even throat felt incredibly refreshed, as if I had been washed.

Lu Wenming had eaten a lot of meat, and after getting these few scallions, his mouth was already clean. He couldn't remember the taste of the meat at all. He only felt a sour and refreshing taste in his mouth, and quickly buried his head and drank several large mouthfuls of porridge.

If pickled shallots are like this, then other pickled vegetables naturally have their own unique appeal.

The room was filled with people eating meat and vegetables, the sounds of eating vegetables louder than eating meat. The pickled vegetables were just as delicious as the meat, attracting everyone to grab them. Soon, the room was filled with the crisp sound of biting into things.

When Lu Wenming returned after trying all the different dishes, he still found the boiled pork belly to be the most to his liking. He reached out to pick up another piece, but his chopsticks stopped abruptly in mid-air. He asked in surprise, "Where's the boiled pork? How come it's all gone? There was more than half a plate just now."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw that the people who had been whispering earlier across from him all had embarrassed smiles on their faces. One of them, blushing, said, "We just ate a piece, and we didn't expect it to be so delicious. It tastes even better than goose meat. We didn't notice for a moment..."

***
While everyone was enjoying their meal, in a nearby house in the same back office, Cen Dezhang, the superior, had just finished meeting with his subordinates.

He earnestly encouraged them for a long time, and after the others left, he turned to Han Li, called out "Zhengyan", and said, "Fortunately, you suggested that the work on the river should be stopped for an hour at noon last time because the weather was too hot at noon in the summer. Otherwise, more than twenty people would have suffered from heatstroke this time."

Han Li said, "The weather is too hot, and there is no cover on the river. Even if there were, it wouldn't be very effective for working for a long time. However, there are doctors and medicines nearby, and the kitchen delivers heat-relieving drinks four times a day, which can help prevent it to some extent."

After the two exchanged a few words, several retainers sitting nearby naturally joined in and began discussing specific matters with Han Li.

After finishing speaking, one of them announced the latest news he had received.

“A group of merchants came yesterday and said that it has started raining again in the Weizhou area. They don’t know how long the rain will last or whether there will be flooding—after all, they are upstream.”

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the room immediately turned heavy.

Seeing this, Han Li said, "Summer floods happen every year. If it weren't for them, why would we have gone through so much trouble this time, digging rivers and building dikes?"

He added, "At the current pace, we should be able to finish digging the new river channel before the flood season. Even if we can't, we've done our best, and we have a clear conscience."

Everyone could only manage a wry smile.

After the matter was discussed, Han Li stayed behind. Only after everyone else had left did he take out a cloth bag from behind him and place it in front of Cen Dezhang.

Cen Dezhang was taken aback and asked, "What is this?"

"There was a wronged man whose ancestral land had been seized and whose daughter had been falsely accused of stealing. Now that Qian Zhongming is in prison, the old case has been reopened, the land has been returned, and his daughter has returned home. Despite the calamity that has befallen his family, he is still grateful for the magistrate's kindness. Since he has nothing else to offer but one thing, having made a living by weaving straw for many years, he wove two straw cushions and a pair of straw sandals for the magistrate..."

Cen Dezhang exclaimed "Ah!" and dared not open the cloth bag in front of him, only sighing, "I'm ashamed... I... Alas!"

(End of this chapter)