Miao Chu

Chapter 246 Sending Letters
Although he was forced to make concessions by a group of old men, Jia Chang had already tasted the chicken broth buns and lost the food box containing seven buns. He was now somewhat concerned and thinking about other flavors.

The food in the kitchen was indeed unpalatable.

There are times when I don't have time to eat breakfast, so having some good steamed buns on hand is a good option.

He naturally wouldn't bother with such a trivial matter himself; he simply called over a trusted subordinate, gave instructions, and that was the end of it.

The subordinate, who held no official position and was used to doing menial tasks, immediately knew something was wrong.

It is no exaggeration to say that Song Ji's reputation is outstanding in both academia and academia.

Have you not seen the long queues in the food alley every day? And have you not seen the dog hole in the neighboring Nanlu that keeps getting dug bigger and bigger? I heard that the flowers and plants blocking the hole have been secretly replaced with bigger ones. In order to crawl out and line up faster, a group of students in Nanlu have almost had their footprints kicked so hard that they're practically dead.

He didn't have time to queue up himself, but he had eaten sticky rice and shumai brought back by his colleagues a few times as bribes to ask him to cover his shifts—they were really delicious!
Food stalls like this have so many customers that they can't even keep up with the daily business. You not only want to lower the price, but you also want a kickback?

Isn't this a joke?
But Jia Changlai had been at the Imperial Academy for almost two years, and his subordinates all knew that he wasn't the type to listen to advice. Besides, he had other people backing him, so his subordinates didn't dare to say anything and could only leave with gloomy faces.

He dared not delay, knowing that this matter would drag on. Seeing that it was neither early nor late, he quickly inquired about the location. He did not dare to send someone to deliver a message to the restaurant, but instead went to Song's Restaurant himself.

When he arrived at the end of Suanzao Alley, Song's shop was wide open. As soon as he approached, he smelled a wonderful fragrance.

The scent was indescribable, very unique, fresh, with a hint of astringency, and also quite sour. It entered my nose and then my mind, leaving my mind blank and completely unfamiliar—I'd never smelled anything like it before!

Before I could even react, my mouth was already watering from the tangy and fragrant aroma.

The man stood at the doorway and craned his neck to look. He saw two large stoves behind the door, both covered with lids, from which wisps of white smoke were rising.

The closer you get, the stronger the aroma becomes.

It smells so good even with the lid on, imagine how good it is when the lid is off!

What is this?

His curiosity took over, and for a moment, he even forgot what he had come there for.

"Sir, may I ask what brings you here?"

The servant looked up and saw a young woman standing behind the stove, dressed in plain clothes, with a cloth wrapped around her head and a veil covering her mouth and nose, only her eyes showing.

Her eyes were clear and bright, with black and white pupils that were distinctly black and white. She wore no other adornments and was very simple and plain.

The man quickly returned the greeting, introduced himself as Jiang Xia, and asked, "May I ask, are you the owner of Song's stall in the food alley behind the Imperial Academy?"

Seeing that the other party agreed, he added, "Because of the assignment from my superior, I would like to buy some steamed buns from Miss Xiao every day..."

"So it's Master Jiang from the Imperial Academy. Please have a seat, let me make some space..."

The young woman pointed to a seat in the hall, speaking politely. Although she hadn't removed her veil, her eyes were filled with a smile, which was very pleasant to look at.

The subordinate named Jiang Xia responded and took a few steps forward, but he was reluctant to sit down and couldn't help but look back one last time.

The lids of the two large pots had been lifted, revealing some dark, unidentifiable substance inside.

As soon as the pot lid was lifted, the whole room was filled with a rich aroma, with a distinct sweet and sour scent.

What on earth is it?!

He saw that Miss Song took a large ladle and stirred it thoroughly for a while, then heard her bow her head and instruct, "Big pancake, keep an eye on the fire."

"Don't worry, my wife, you go ahead with your work and leave it to me!"

Jiang Xia then discovered that there was an apprentice under the stove, sitting on a small table tending the fire.

Both pots were full, clearly indicating that they had been simmering for a while, but the stove was very clean, without any oil stains or food residue.

Since I arrived unexpectedly, the fact that the place is so clean now shows that it's usually this clean.

Although he didn't get to eat the steamed buns, all the teachers and officials in the school had tried them, and they all urged Master Jia to buy more, so you can imagine how they tasted.

Where else can you find food that is clean, delicious, and reasonably priced?
If we could get Song's steamed buns into the Imperial Academy, I might be able to buy a few to eat from time to time. It would be much more convenient to eat them at the academy than to go out and queue up!
That damned Jia!

What's the matter?
***
As Jiang Xia sat at the table, smelling the aroma and wondering what to say next, Song Miao brought over a plate of seasonal fruits, a plate of snacks, and tea.

Once the two sat down opposite each other, he first mentioned the types of steamed buns the Imperial Academy planned to purchase before discussing the price.

"Shopkeeper Song's steamed buns are certainly good, but the price is really too expensive—we're all students, and a meat bun costs eight copper coins; we really can't afford it..."

Song Miao then said, "Except for the mutton buns which cost eight coins, the other meat buns are only five or six coins each. Mutton is really expensive, so if we give enough meat, the cost will be high. If it doesn't suit your taste, I can offer you another variety."

"Can't we have less meat and make it cheaper?" Jiang Xia couldn't help but ask.

"They have small mutton buns for five coins each, but if you can't get a bite of meat and only have a little bit of filling, it's not very interesting to eat them. You might as well eat regular pork buns or chicken buns!"

"Yes, the small ones are too small. In the end, it's not as cost-effective as a regular large mutton bun!"

After rambling on and on, and seeing that the other person showed no impatience but also no intention of backing down, Jiang Xia had no choice but to say, "To be honest, my wife, I was assigned to discuss this procurement matter, and I have one more condition..."

Without offering any other reason, he simply took out a contract and placed it on the table, saying, "I know that you can read, young lady."

Song Miao took it and glanced at it, then asked in surprise, "Master Jiang just said that the mutton buns cost eight coins each, which is too expensive, but the contract also says eight coins. Does this mean that you won't haggle anymore?"

"The Imperial Academy will give the young lady eight coins per steamed bun, and the young lady will return two coins to her—two coins for a meat-filled bun and one coin for a vegetarian bun. We'll settle the payment one by one. Do you have anything to say about that?"

Song Miao frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Jiang Xia continued, "The higher-ups mean that if you agree, young lady, the quantity to be purchased can be increased. You can prepare one or two hundred buns every day as before, and for the rest, you can make the buns smaller, with less meat and vegetables. It doesn't matter. You won't lose out, and I can also report back to them."

Seeing that Song Miao remained silent, Jiang Xia had no choice but to persuade her again: "My lady, you do business outside, so you should know that sometimes, not to mention places like government offices and schools, even in ordinary shops, you often encounter shopkeepers or purchasing agents asking for money or bribes. Two coins for a steamed bun isn't really that excessive..."

He practically forced out the last sentence. A vegetarian steamed bun cost only three coins, but they would take one coin off the bill; a meat steamed bun cost between five, six, and eight coins, and they would charge two coins for each one.

This is a small business, and this kind of behavior is really not very respectable.

Upon hearing this, Song Miao shook her head and said, "Sir Jiang, I don't care what others do, but Song's shop is all about reputation. May I ask, if you buy steamed buns with little meat and vegetables outside, will you still patronize our shop in the future?"

Jiang Xia was speechless.

Remembering his superior's instructions, he had no choice but to say, "My lady usually has to take care of her reputation when doing business outside, but this time it's food to be sent to the Imperial Academy's kitchen to be eaten by the students, so it doesn't matter how much. As long as it's made, it will sell."

"Besides, the orders from the kitchen are very stable. Once the contract is signed, you won't have to worry about business for a year. You don't have to worry about sun or rain. Just prepare the food and deliver it to the kitchen. We won't ask you to sell it or worry about anything else. We will arrange for someone to come and collect the goods. Where else can you find such a good business?"

Song Miao listened helplessly.

“Song’s shop is well-known in the food alley because of its solid craftsmanship and reputation. Now that you’re saying you don’t care about reputation, it goes against my principles. There’s no need to bring that up again.” She pushed the contract back. “Besides, to be frank, I don’t lack legitimate business.”

Almost as soon as the last sentence was uttered, the sound of carriages and horses came from outside, and soon a person carrying several layers of steamers entered the room.

The steamer baskets were enormous and stacked high. The man carefully stepped over the threshold, and Da Bing, who was tending the fire, rushed over to help, calling out, "Second Madam is back!"

Then he called out to Xiaolian in the backyard.

The person who came was naturally Cheng Erniang.

The steamer blocked her view of the room, but Cheng Erniang was beaming with joy. Upon seeing the flatbread beside her and hearing his voice, she couldn't hide her smile and exclaimed, "Quickly go tell the lady! Quickly go and invite her out! You don't know, I took some steamed buns out today, and just delivered them to the patrol station. They said they were newly made by the lady, and every officer wanted as many as they could get! Luckily, I had a backup plan; I saved a few dozen to take to the capital's government office!"

"As soon as we arrived at the Kyoto government office, we barely mentioned it before it was all snatched up by a crowd. Before we could even collect the money and leave, officials came chasing after us, asking if there would be any left to sell tomorrow!"

"Everyone who asks comes to ask, and the government alone has ordered over a hundred—and this is only the first day! Once they've tasted it, there will definitely be more!"

Although Dabing had only heard about it and had never experienced it firsthand, he was still very excited and exclaimed, "That's wonderful!"

"That's not all!! On my way back, I ran into a few patrol officers who said they had intercepted me halfway! They said the steamed buns were delicious, and they have official business to do tomorrow, passing through Erliu Street, which is only a short distance from here. They said they would come and pick them up themselves—they ordered 240 of them! Oh my! We don't even have to deliver them ourselves!"

"I'll get up at 1:00 AM tomorrow! Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't have time to wrap it!"

As Cheng Erniang spoke, if it weren't for the many large steamers she was carrying and the need to walk carefully, she would have been dancing with joy.

She had just moved the steamer to the left, blocking the view of the table in the middle, and even more so of Song Miaotong's guest, Jiang Xia.

Although Dabing knew this, he deliberately didn't remind her. On the contrary, he kept trying to talk to her so that she could continue.

"Then I'll have to come early! Or I won't go home tonight? Oh dear! It's good to patrol the shop, there are times when we don't have to deliver the goods ourselves—but it's not good if too many customers order. There are only three of us in the restaurant, and we also have to prepare breakfast for the people in the alley, lunch for the old gentlemen, and banquets every now and then. We can't keep up with everything!"

The two chatted as they walked towards the backyard to put away the steamer.

Jiang Xia was left sitting there awkwardly, unsure whether to speak or remain silent.

Seeing his appearance, Song Miao said, "I know that you accepted the job and had no choice but to speak out of necessity. Please help me reply that I really cannot do what my superiors have asked for."

"As you can see, there are only three people, one of whom is a short-term apprentice. If we want to take orders from the Imperial Academy's kitchen, I'll have to add more people. If we don't try to lower the price, we can still manage, since it's close by..."

***
Song Miao gave him face, but Jiang Xia felt both ashamed and guilty.

He was just an ordinary person.

Those words were indeed not from his heart. He also felt that cutting corners was wrong, but people have to eat. When his superior assigned him tasks, he could only try his best to complete them, after all, he had a family to support.

Being pointed out by a young woman and then being so considerate only makes him seem excessively incompetent.

Jiang Xia slunk back to the Imperial Academy to report to his superior.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jia Chang's expression changed.

He said, "She's just a little girl! Why doesn't she go to heaven? There are vendors, shops, and eateries all over the streets. Does she think she's the only one in the world who knows how to make steamed buns?"

Jiang Xia, however, was both willing to say a few words in Song Miao's defense and also wanted to save Song's steamed buns, so he said, "That young lady Song's skills are indeed different from others—if she weren't quite so good, the teachers wouldn't be so interested—besides, it was quite noisy today, everyone saw it, and the rumors outside are all over the place..."

"Although you are not afraid, sir, these teachers are all getting on in years. If they cause trouble, it's no laughing matter. Perhaps you could give them some face and order some Song's steamed buns for them..."

These words, if left unsaid, would have been fine, but once spoken, they only fueled Jia Chang's anger.

He said, “It’s just a few steamed buns! Go outside and ask around, see which place makes them well, and tell them that the Imperial Academy’s kitchen needs to buy breakfast for several thousand teachers and students, and ask them to send over more steamed bun samples for us to try.”

He added, "I refuse to believe it! Without that butcher surnamed Song, I'd still want to eat hairy pork!"

***
The words spoken by Jia Chang, the Assistant Director of the Imperial Academy, were unknown to "Butcher Song," who was too lazy to know them.

Seeing that steamed buns had replaced shumai in a very short time, and that the number of buns sold was increasing day by day, increasing by more than 30% or 40% in just a few days.

Not only the Zhuque Gate patrol station and the Kyoto government office, but also many other government offices and departments, after hearing the news and trying it out, also started ordering breakfast from Song Ji. The order from the Imperial Academy's dining hall was still far from being finalized, but the three people at Song Ji were already so busy that they could barely catch their breath.

The recruitment was quickly finalized.

First, Cheng Erniang found a middleman to hire a maid to help with washing vegetables, dishes, and cleaning every day. Meanwhile, Song Miao wrote a letter and asked someone to send it to the official post station in Huazhou, intending to ask Zhang Siniang if it was convenient for her to come to the capital.

The letter was sent out, and the day after that was the day of Madam He's banquet.

Qingfeng Garden has its own kitchen, and the He family cook has prepared pots, pans, and other cooking utensils. Song Miao only needs to report the ingredients she needs and doesn't need to worry about anything else. Since Cheng Erniang needs to deliver the food and someone needs to stay at home to keep watch, she only brings flatbread with her.

As soon as she arrived at the place and entered the door, someone called out to her.

"Young Lady Song! Look who I am!"

(End of this chapter)