Miao Chu

Chapter 239 Burden
As soon as "Old Liang" finished speaking, someone immediately chimed in, "That's what I think too! Everyone eats glutinous rice and steamed rice cakes. I don't mind the texture of the rice noodle sheets. If the sauce isn't good, I'll just use less. I'll try it to see if it suits my taste."

After finishing his sentence, he added, "I'm not greedy for what everyone likes. I'll just eat the rice noodle rolls that nobody eats. I can always buy them, right? Besides, as long as it's made by Miss Song, it can't possibly be bad!"

As soon as he spoke, everyone around him immediately fell silent.

He was initially pleased with himself and was laughing heartily when he suddenly sensed something was off about the atmosphere. Looking up, he saw many people nearby staring at him with varying expressions—some seemed thoughtful, while others glared at him angrily.

The one glaring at me looked strangely familiar—it seemed to be one of those who had been shouting the loudest and most enthusiastically yesterday.

Yesterday, everyone said that Song Ji's rice noodle rolls tasted ordinary and told everyone not to buy them. They also said that even if you really want to try them, you should only buy one roll at most, or you can all buy one roll together to try the taste.

At this moment, they stared at him as if they had stumbled upon some great secret, each of them looking at him with a look of utter disappointment and disdain, as if saying, "You little brat, you don't even care about selling your grandfather's land."

The man was stunned for a moment, then a thought struck him, and he suddenly realized what had happened. He was filled with regret, and without saying a word, he slapped his forehead and said, "Oh dear, I forgot! We have a recitation test today. I haven't finished reciting. I need to hurry and buy breakfast so I can go back and study!"

As he spoke, he walked quickly outside.

As soon as this person left, everyone around changed color. They smiled at each other at first, but then, without prior arrangement, they secretly quickened their pace and hurried after him.

If one is a step ahead, the other will naturally have to catch up.

So you get one, I get two, I get two, he gets three, he gets three, and you get four.

What started as a brisk walk quickly turned into a sprint. Before we even got out of the back door, we saw a group of people chasing each other like piglets running to their trough or ducks jumping into the water, rushing out in a flurry.

The Imperial Academy was a little better off, since they could just rush out and run, but the situation on the southern slope was much worse.

There were only a few dog holes, and as more and more people lined up behind them, the "wise people" immediately realized something was wrong.

"What's going on? Why are there so many people today?"

One of the students, who had been diligently relaying messages all day, couldn't help but exclaim anxiously upon seeing the scene: "Didn't I tell everyone that the rice noodle rolls were bad and that no one should buy them? Didn't you all say you weren't going either?"

"You think you can just tell me not to go? You think you can just say it's bad and it's not good?" Someone nearby immediately scoffed, "Do you think you're Headmaster Xu??"

Upon hearing the words "Headmaster Xu," people around him turned around and chuckled.

"It's no use telling Headmaster Xu not to go—weren't all these dog holes dug out to deal with him?"

"Whether it's good or not, I have to taste it myself to know! Not only am I going, but I'm also going to buy a roll of each flavor to try!"

"Do you think we're fools?! We gave you face yesterday and didn't expose you, and you actually thought we were putting on a show?!"

Someone else hurriedly said, "Don't shout so early in the morning! Keep talking about Xu Shan, be careful you don't attract attention!"

But this cheerful atmosphere didn't last long.

It takes time to crawl through a dog hole.

As the line for the dog hole grew longer and longer, experienced people realized something was wrong.

"We need to hurry, the Imperial Academy Instructor will be coming to inspect soon!!"

"Hey, hey, do you guys in front even know how to crawl through a dog hole?! Slouch down, head down, shoulders back—don't stick your butt out, that big butt's blocking the way!! Oh my god, I'm so anxious!!! You're a grown man, and you call yourself a scholar?! You can't even crawl through a dog hole properly, where has all your knowledge gone?!"

"If you can't crawl through a dog hole, then go to the back of the line! You're wasting so much time! It's one thing to not be good at studying, but you can't even crawl through a dog hole properly! If I don't get to taste Song Xiaoniangzi's rice noodle rolls today, I'll come back and give all of you idiots a good scolding!"

Logically, someone cursing like that should have angered the person in front, but the person being cursed was stuck in the dog hole, and the whole group had the same thought as the person cursing, so they kept urging him on.

But the one that was stuck was exceptionally large, with a big frame and a lot of flesh, and it remained stuck there for half a day without moving.

The people behind were getting impatient, and someone urged, "No, we're really going to be late—give him a push!"

When they couldn't push it, the people started to kick it.

Believe it or not, kicking is actually more effective than pushing.

The man emerged from the dog hole with a patch of grayish-white footprints on his buttocks. He didn't even bother to pat them off; instead, he crouched down and peered back into the hole to say to the others, "Brothers, thanks!"

As he spoke, he grabbed his belt, which had just been accidentally knocked off, and swayed left and right as he ran toward Song's stall.

Seeing how fast this person was, the person behind him immediately became anxious.

"Hey brother, when I'm crawling, give me a kick to help me speed things up!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"Brother, could you wait for me outside for a moment and give me a hand?"

A group of people pooled their wisdom and strengths here, and the final result was that the students who crawled out of the hole on the south side left many footprints behind them in order to save that one breath.

Because they were all in a hurry to queue up, they didn't have time to wipe themselves clean, which made the other students and stall owners who saw the group of students with footprints on their clothes and pants start to have doubts.

—Why are there suddenly so many gray and white footprints on the back of the school uniforms on the south slope? Is it some new color or pattern?

***
With students from both schools in such a state, practically swarming in, one can imagine the immense pressure Song Ji must be under.

On this day, the speed at which he served the flatbread and glutinous rice was clearly much faster than the day before. However, facing the dense crowd behind him, he was so frightened that he didn't dare to lift his head too much, for fear that seeing those hungry and anxious expressions would make his hands tremble and delay serving the rice.

We prepared extra portions of rice noodle rolls and glutinous rice, but even more people came.

The two of them sold out all the food in less than half an hour.

The speed increased, and the waiting time for customers decreased, but the number of unhappy people increased.

"Miss Song, how can you do business like this! It's been two days since you came back, and I haven't been able to buy anything even once! Before you went to Huazhou, I went out at the same time and could clearly buy anything. How come things have changed after this trip? Do you not want your regular customers? I always have to queue up, and I can't buy anything every time! How can I speak up for you or praise you in the future if you keep doing this?"

"Exactly! I'm already this early, even when I was studying hard for the civil service exam, I couldn't have come this early! If I still can't buy rice noodle rolls tomorrow, I'll! I'll! I'll get mad at you!"

"If you keep doing this, I'll... I'll... Sigh, you'd better prepare more ingredients! If there's too much food and you can't push the cart, you can call us, and we'll take turns pushing it for you!"

"This is outrageous! Miss Song! If you keep this up, I'm really going to yell at you! You heartless stall owner, not only do you not let people eat the rice rolls, but you also won't prepare enough glutinous rice!"

Song Miao practically fled amidst the insults, not daring to make any promises before leaving. She could only stammer and urge everyone, "Come again tomorrow, come again tomorrow!"

As soon as Song Miao left, the other stall owners in the food alley were all smiles.

Especially the two shops on either side of Song's restaurant, which were the only ones to be treated like this, were queued up. Even as the students grumbled and complained, they didn't forget to chime in.

"That's right, that Miss Song didn't prepare enough! I wanted to buy some rice noodle rolls, but I couldn't even buy any from the stall right next to hers! We'll have to talk to her about it later, how can she leave business unsold!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, we'll reserve this spot for her tomorrow too. You can just come here and line up!"

On this day, almost all the breakfast stalls in the food alley sold out early.

The stall owners were so busy that their hands ached, but they all smiled and chatted. Taking advantage of the rare free time, they took turns exchanging words and expressing their feelings.

"Phew, Mr. Song is finally back! What have we been living these past two months!"

"I'm just too timid. Business has been so bad lately, selling less than half of what it used to be. I haven't dared to stock up on ingredients. I thought that even though Song Ji is back, it would take a few more days to get back in business. Today I only stocked up with 30% more! I should have made more—at this rate, even if I made 70 or 80% more, I wouldn't have to worry about not selling them all!"

"Hey, I'm so smart! I made half more today, thinking that even if I don't sell them all, I can still get them by going to the docks! I still have some regular customers there, but they won't be able to get any this time!"

They all started complaining to the vendors on either side of Song's stall.

"Hey, Aunt Liu, you can't just hogging Song's stall every day, can you? Is this stall your family's heirloom? Is Song's stall your family's heirloom too? At least give us a break and let us stand on the side!"

The crowd either laughed or grumbled, but they were all happy. Only the cooks from the two school canteens looked around blankly at the large amount of leftover breakfast food.

what happened?

Is this all left for today?
What should we do?
Well, we can't waste it! We'll just heat it up at noon!
As a result, many students who couldn't get breakfast from Song Ji arrived at the dining hall at noon, sighing and complaining. What they found were leftover steamed buns, meat and vegetable buns, porridge, and other staple foods that had been reheated and put back on the table. There were also a number of dishes that looked rather unappetizing. Their hearts were filled with new wounds on top of old ones, and they could only keep crying out, "It's so bitter!"

***
Between the two schools, the students were either reminiscing about or imagining the various foods from Song Ji's restaurant. Meanwhile, at the He residence, in the middle of the day, a large ice platter was placed on the table in front of Old Madam He.

Large chunks of meat coated in sweet and sour sauce were placed in the middle of ice, topped with bright red apples. The presentation was beautiful, and the meat was steaming with icy white vapor.

The cook's wife stood aside and introduced, "Since I haven't eaten it before, I only heard our young lady talk about it and heard the description from the person who went with me. I guessed how it turned out. Although I don't know how similar it is, the taste is indeed quite good. Madam, please try it and see if you want to change it next time."

He added, "I heard that young lady uses pork. Since she runs a business, she naturally has to consider costs. For our own consumption, besides pork, I also made some mutton..."

At present, pork is cheap, and people consider mutton to be expensive. As a member of the He family, the old lady in the family naturally eats mutton and other meats more often than pork.

Madam He nodded and immediately picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks.

Sure enough, the meat chunks were crispy after being coated in batter and fried, and coated with a sweet and sour sauce. Because they were chilled, they were cold on the outside and hot on the inside, making them taste very good.

She tasted a few pieces, smiled, and said, "It's a bit like sweet and sour pork."

"You have to admit the old lady is insightful—she made it exactly the way she described, only she cut it into small pieces and coated it with a thicker batter. How did you find it?"

"It tastes good, but since it's been fried and the meat is big, it's a bit tough. The batter was also fried a bit too long, and my teeth can't chew it properly. It could be a bit more sour."

He added, "This dish is quite rare; pork is actually more palatable than mutton."

As Madam He spoke, the cook took notes, and finally said, "I'll try to change it next time."

When Zhu Jie'er came back for dinner that evening, a plate of freshly made chilled sweet and sour pork was placed in front of her.

This time, things were indeed much better. The meat was fried more properly, cut into smaller pieces, and the sweet and sour flavor was just right.

Grandma He smiled and said to her, "See, Grandma wasn't lying to you, was she? I told you you'd get to eat this chilled sweet and sour pork today, and now you've got it!"

Zhu Jie'er was overjoyed and hugged Madam He, calling her "Grandma" repeatedly.

Children love sweet and sour flavors, and during the meal, Zhu Jie ate quite a bit of this dish.

But when it was time to go back to her room to rest, she still lingered in Old Madam He's arms and asked, "Grandmother, when are we going to find Sister Song? I want to eat that chilled sweet and sour pork, and I also want to play with Xiaolian—I've already found all the medical books!"

Madam He was somewhat surprised.

She wasn't surprised that her granddaughter wanted to go to Song's Restaurant; after all, children are playful and would definitely think about it every day when they meet someone their own age. But—

"Didn't we just have chilled sweet and sour pork tonight? If you haven't had enough, I'll have the kitchen make it again tomorrow?"

"It's different!" Zhu Jie shook her head vigorously. "What Sister Song makes is different from what we make at home!"

"What's different?"

Just as Zhu Jie'er was about to reply, her mouth opened, but then she suddenly closed it again. She turned her head to look around the room and saw that there was no one in the kitchen or nearby. Then she leaned closer to Old Madam He and said, "I'll tell you quietly, Grandmother, don't tell anyone else, or they'll be sad—our kitchen makes delicious food, and Sister Song's food is especially, especially, especially delicious!"

Three "special" remarks in a row heightened Madam He's anticipation.

Although children sometimes have strange tastes and don't eat the same things as adults, the salted bone porridge that day was really good!
The chilled sweet and sour pork that the kitchen made tonight was already quite good in terms of taste and texture. Just how "extraordinarily delicious" was the one that Song Xiaoniangzi made last time that Zhu Jie'er couldn't forget it?

The messenger's reply this time said that an invitation had been delivered to the door. Miss Song said that starting tomorrow, the evenings would be convenient for the next few days. She just asked that the household should arrange the date and time a day in advance, and make sure to clarify any dietary restrictions, etc.

Madam He had just sent someone to reply and made an appointment for the day after tomorrow, but now she was starting to regret it.

—I should have booked it for tomorrow!

Could it be that the great reputation that Sister Zhu speaks of is actually undeserved?

***
In Suanzao Lane, after seeing off the messenger from the He family who had come to deliver the message, Song Miao was about to close the door when she heard the sound of horses' hooves.

A moment later, a horse stopped at the door, and a person dismounted.

The man looked around and saw the Song Ji sign. He hurriedly stepped forward and first asked Song Miao if this place was Song Ji. He then asked about Song Xiao Niangzi. When he learned that it was right in front of him, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and then introduced himself as a staff member of Cen Dezhang from Huazhou.

"Our master is going to the capital on business, and Young Master Han Li asked him to help deliver something to Miss Song at the end of Suanzao Alley..."

As he spoke, the other person took a small bundle off his back and handed it to him.

Song Miao thanked him and accepted the gift with both hands. She wanted to invite him to sit down and at least have some water before leaving, but the man said that someone was waiting at the alley entrance and that he had other urgent business to attend to and could not delay any longer, so he took his leave.

Song Miao packed her bundle, but she was also very curious. She closed the door and, without delay, lit the lamp and opened the door.

　Thank you, Qingmei Shou, for the sachet for Zhu Jie'er. Little Zhu Jie'er says thank you, sister!
　　Thank you to the four friends, 20200221010953408, Hanshan Hui, 20210301105364913388, and Kekeke Ran, for each of the four amulets that you sent me :)

　　Many thanks to my cat, Egg, for the three little gifts I received, and to Baka_Rufuy and Dingdong797 for one little gift each! =3=
　　Thank you everyone for all the votes! ^_^
　　(End of this chapter)