Miao Chu

Chapter 224 Incident
Song Miao paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Thank you for reminding me, sir. Such fine stones and seals, though I am not a romantic or famous scholar, I would not bear to let them be covered in dust."

Upon hearing Song Miaoru's words, Master Chen chuckled and stroked his beard repeatedly.

His long beard, which had been prickly and somewhat knotted just moments before, suddenly became smooth and obedient after he had just drunk a beverage and spoken a few words.

What changes as well is one's mood.

Just a moment ago I felt annoyed, but now it has changed—even thinking about the mountain of paperwork ahead doesn't seem so difficult to tackle anymore.

After Song Miao finished speaking, she pushed the sachet back and said, "This white jade... I really have no merit to accept such a gift. Besides, as you can see, I make a living by selling food and have heavy debts. Wearing such a fine jade would be inconvenient for me to go out and about. Moreover, if outsiders, especially my creditors, see it, even if they don't say anything, I will feel ashamed and uncomfortable."

Master Chen was in an even better mood upon hearing this.

He would naturally be very happy if Song Miao readily accepted his white jade, but since Song Miao refused to accept it and gave him such a reply, he was happy in a different way.

There's always a saying that people should get along well. Once you get along well, everything you do will be good.

The first time he visited and met this young woman, he felt an instant connection with her.

His actions and speech were very pleasant to behold, and he also had excellent cooking skills. As we gradually became acquainted, I and a group of people often went to his house for meals. Over time, we grew to like him even more.

He has excellent character and is a very good person.

Upon seeing the inscribed table and chairs, and now this shop seal, especially the name seal, Master Chen found it hard to describe the pride he felt.

He treated his fellow students as his own children.

How could there be such a good thing in the world when you can be with someone you like and also be with your children and nephews?
People often talk about marriage between equals, as well as social status, wealth, talent, and appearance. But as Master Chen grew older, he realized that nothing could compare to a person's character.

Only with good character can one shoulder all responsibilities, uphold one's family's honor, and safeguard and earn wealth and status.

He smiled and said, "Does a debt incurred now become a debt for life? Keep it for now; there will always be a time when you should keep it!"

Song Miao opened the sachet, took out the white jade again, and gently placed it back on the table, saying, "I know that you are kind enough to take care of the younger generation, but compared to such a beautiful jade, I would prefer your calligraphy."

"With the help of my second wife, my family has already repainted the walls. We'll definitely need to put up signs in the future. Although it's still far from being finalized, I'd like to ask you for a wooden sign with the names of the dishes in advance. I wonder if that's possible?"

“I already promised once before. I finally managed to snatch this job from Old Cao, why would I ask again!” Master Chen blew his beard and glared, about to put on a fierce old man’s expression, when he suddenly realized, “Then the Grand Secretary doesn’t need me to write it—who will write it?”

"Young Master Han said his calligraphy was more suited to writing the central scroll than others, and he even wanted to write a signboard as well. But I thought that since this signboard might last for a hundred years, it still needs to be written by someone of high moral character and prestige..."

When she uttered the word "virtue," Master Chen's head unconsciously rose higher, as if his "head" had transformed into "virtue." He looked at Song Miao with great anticipation, his eyes wide open, waiting for her to say what he most wanted to hear.

And Song Miao did not disappoint.

"After much thought, among all the people I know, only you truly deserve the titles of 'high moral character' and 'great prestige'..."

This sentence is like a mountain that crashed right into the pit it had just dug, fitting perfectly without shifting at all.

Master Chen felt so comfortable that he wanted to shake his leg.

"After I mentioned you, Young Master Han didn't say another word, only saying that you might not be available..."

"Who's not free?! He's the one who's not free!!!" Before Master Chen could even cross his legs, he hurriedly put them back down and retorted loudly, "The signboard is the most important place, the first thing customers see before they enter, so it must be carefully chosen—I'll go back and consider it, and choose the best and most suitable font..."

Song Miao smiled and said, "The most important thing about a shop is its storefront, and the most important thing about a storefront is its signboard—I'm entrusting everything to you, sir!"

***
Because she had other matters to attend to, and seeing that the Jixian Academy was also busy, even though she had already finished her shift and was only going to sit for a short while, people were still peeking in from time to time outside the door. Song Miao did not linger, delivered a letter and a stamp, exchanged a few words of greeting, and then took her leave.

Master Chen didn't insist on keeping her. After finding out when she would set up her stall, he immediately said, "You've had a long and tiring journey. Rest well at home for a few days first. There's no rush to set up your stall!"

He rummaged through the box again, found a few packages, grabbed a wad of cloth, and stuffed it into Song Miao's arms, saying, "These are some random dried goods and food given to me by others. I'm old and don't cook anymore, so you can keep them and eat them yourself!"

He then personally escorted her to the door.

After seeing the person off and returning to the house, Xiao You had already come out to help pack up. As she packed, she couldn't help but ask, "Just now in the inner room, I heard the master talking about stones and seals. What's going on?"

"Oh, you mean that 'swastika' stone? He picked it up a while ago, he got two of them..."

Master Chen suddenly became lost in thought at this point.

When my junior apprentice first became a disciple, his calligraphy already showed promise.

He was very competitive and studied non-stop from morning till night. Despite being the youngest, he always had to outdo others before he would stop. If he couldn't beat them, he wouldn't say anything on the surface, but when he got home, he wouldn't even spend much time eating. He would often swallow his food in a few bites and then continue studying.

Even after the competition, he doesn't show any extra emotions, as if all his energy is focused on preparing for the next round.

The Fu family takes in very few people, and everyone gets along very well. They help each other and have a good relationship. Knowing that he came from a pitiful background, they often show him more care and try to help him change his stubbornness.

Life is so long. If you're always tense, you can only taste the sour and bitter, and can't feel the sweet and beautiful. Wouldn't that be too pitiful?

But soon, everyone realized that he didn't not want to change, but rather that he didn't know how to change.

He's clearly a teenager, and I wonder if he's always pushed himself too hard, because he's lost the ability to relax.

The gentleman noticed something was wrong and tried to persuade him several times, but to no avail. So he simply started taking the man with him and traveling to various prefectures and counties, rural areas, river after river, dike after dike.

Over the years, he has become more mature, more meticulous and reliable in his work, but he still pushes himself very hard and never stops.

Until one day, he went out with his husband and brought back two stones.

It's unclear what he saw or heard, but from that moment on, he finally began to learn to balance tension and relaxation.

He treasured the two stones very much, carrying them with him every day and rarely letting anyone see or touch them.

It wasn't until his 80th birthday that his junior apprentice carved one of the pieces into a name seal as a birthday gift.

After the master passed away, the seal, as a keepsake, returned to his junior brother's hands, but from then on, neither the seal nor the stone was ever seen again.

Years had passed, and he had assumed that the two stones had been sealed away long ago. But to his surprise, he suddenly saw another one, carved into such a beautiful seal.

Master Chen naturally wouldn't say much. He, too, had been involved in romantic relationships.

Some things should be said by the person in question, and some things should be pointed out by the person in question. If you blurt things out or rush things, it just won't feel the same.

Besides, there's always the possibility of something going wrong.

I just hope that one of those things doesn't happen.

Master Chen was thinking when he turned around and saw that Xiao You was carrying an oil paper package and some plum juice and was about to walk to the back. He hurriedly stopped her and said, "Oh dear! Where are you taking that?"

Xiao You said, "Should we put it away for you, sir?"

"No need!" Master Chen quickly pointed to his desk. "Just put it aside. On such a hot day, the plum syrup is perfect for making a drink. And there's that egg roll roll—when I'm free, or when I can't stand looking at it, I'll take it out and eat one! Ah!"

"Could you urge Lao Lü for me to hurry up? Now that Xiao Song is back, it won't be long before the food stalls and small dining tables in the restaurants can reopen!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao You became even more anxious than Master Chen, and hurriedly said, "Wouldn't it be better to urge them more? I'll tell them to hand over everything tomorrow?"

He added anxiously, "It's already dragging on for so long. If this continues, it'll never end. I'm afraid Miss Song's restaurant will be open and her stall will have been up for months, and we'll still be here counting ant words on a book!"

However, after only a few words, as he spoke, perhaps because his eyes were fixed on the bottle of plum dew in front of him, as well as the box containing the egg rolls, and also because he thought of the many dishes he had eaten at the Song family's restaurant in the past, he involuntarily swallowed his saliva two or three times.

***
While the master and apprentice were busy working on the project, Song Miao left Jixian Academy, walked a short distance ahead, and went to find a mule cart.

The car was parked in the shade of a tree.

It was hot, and Song Miao had just drunk some beverages and wasn't hungry at all. When she asked the driver, he said that he had already taken the opportunity to eat soup noodles at a roadside stall to fill his stomach.

Seeing that it was still early before the end of the 5-7 PM, she didn't wait until the next day and simply asked the other party to go directly to Caomenwai. On the way, she bought some nourishing food and medicine, as well as seasonal fruits, intending to visit Xin Feng.

They arrived at the door shortly, but it took half a day before a woman came to answer it.

She looked to be in her thirties, dressed in a cloth shirt, a coarse cloth turban, and an apron tied around her waist. Her complexion was somewhat sallow, her eyes were bloodshot, and her brows were habitually furrowed, as if they had been furrowed for so long that they could no longer be relaxed. Her shoulders were slumped, which made her back appear slightly hunched.

Judging from her age and demeanor, Song Miao guessed that she was Xin Feng's wife. She quickly bowed and introduced herself, then said, "I have received a lot of care from Inspector Xin in the past, and I was asked by someone to come and visit you—but I don't know if it is convenient for me?"

The woman also gave her name, and it turned out she was indeed Du, the wife of Xin Feng.

After exchanging greetings, she quickly ushered Song Miao inside, offering her a seat and saying, "So it's Miss Song. I've heard Old Xin mention her many times. He said she went to Huazhou. When will she be back?"

"He returned last night. I wonder how the inspector's injuries are now?"

"You just got back and should be resting properly. Why did you rush here? I'm so sorry!"

As Du was calling out, she was about to pour tea when, with a lift of her hand, the teapot floated lightly, emptying completely.

Feeling momentarily embarrassed, she quickly asked, "What would you like to drink, young lady? It's hot, how about some cold drinks?"

Song Miao had heard of the Xin family before and knew that they were of ordinary means. Today, seeing that the house and furnishings were plain, she realized that they probably couldn't afford ice and would have to go out to buy it.

Xin Feng's parents had passed away. He had one son and two daughters. His son had joined the army and went to another place with the army. His two daughters were twins, only three years old, and still needed to be taken care of.

Du was raising a child alone and also caring for her seriously injured husband; she simply couldn't manage it all.

She smiled and said, "I visited an old gentleman this afternoon and just had a cold drink from him. I don't feel hot at all right now. If there is well water, I will fetch a cup myself."

Du hurriedly went to fetch water from the well.

Upon hearing Song Miao ask about Xin Feng's injuries, Madam Du sighed and said, "He's much better now. He was able to get out of bed a while ago, but he can't walk far yet. He's limping and looks very anxious. We can only let him rest slowly."

"But he always worried about the government office, and he was afraid that he would not be able to make a living in the future and would not know what he could do. He sighed all day long."

Song Miao said, "He was injured in the line of duty, so why would the inspector have such thoughts?"

Du's face showed even more worry, and she whispered, "Two brothers came to visit me a couple of days ago. They said that the previous human trafficking case had been approved by the authorities, and Old Xin had escaped the culprit. Although Master Qin spoke up for him, he still had to be punished—he was demoted one rank this time."

He added, "But since he was injured on official business, the government said that the allowance for the next few months will not be touched. It will be paid according to the new reduced allowance when he recovers and goes back."

Song Miao was speechless for a moment.

Before Du could speak, she heard someone calling from inside the room, followed by a series of "thump-thump" sounds. She quickly said to Song Miao, "I was so busy talking that I forgot he was worried inside."

He hurriedly went into the house and half-helped the person out.

Song Miao stood up and was genuinely surprised to see who it was.

They say it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, and Xin Feng had been bedridden for over two months. The once burly and strong man had become much thinner, and his clothes looked rather loose on him. Not only that, but he also exuded a sense of dejection, completely different from before, which was quite a sad sight.

He was leaning on his cane, his head covered in sweat, and he was slowly and laboriously making his way to the outer hall.

Song Miao quickly stepped forward to greet them and then helped move the chair opposite them.

When Xin Feng walked, he focused solely on walking and didn't pay any attention to anything else. Even so, he still walked with a limp.

When he finally managed to sit down, he looked up and saw Song Miao. His eyes lit up instantly, and all his dejection seemed to vanish. He hurriedly asked, "It's Miss Song? When did you get back? Where's Zheng Yan? Has he returned too?"

Song Miao only said that she arrived last night, and that Han Li would not be able to return to the capital for at least another ten days.

Xin Feng's smile froze halfway through. After a long pause, he said, "That's true. He's busy with important matters and can't spare the time right now. He can't come back either, so naturally he can't take care of anything else..."

"Although Young Master Han has not returned, he asked me to bring some nourishing items for recuperation to visit the inspector and also to pass on a few words."

As Song Miao spoke, she placed the gifts she had bought on the table.

There was a bamboo basket, a hamper, two gift boxes, and a bundle containing all sorts of things, mainly nourishing ingredients and medicinal herbs. When it was laid out, it was full and you could tell at a glance that it had cost a lot of money.

But Xin Feng didn't care about any of that and just asked, "What did you say?"

(End of this chapter)