Miao Chu

Chapter 257 Covering the Face
The day was busy but without any major incidents. The next morning, after the newly hired carriage arrived, Cheng Erniang and Zhang Siniang and their husbands went out to deliver food according to Song Miao's previous plan. As expected, they returned to the restaurant half an hour earlier than before.

As soon as Wang Sanlang returned, he volunteered, saying, "We left too quickly today, and many guests are waiting for our people to arrive. Let's set off earlier tomorrow and try doing what we did yesterday. We can use one of my cars, and the three of us can do the work separately, which will be enough."

Zhang Si Niang also said, "I'll go with Er Niangzi to deliver the goods, and San Lang can deliver the rest of the goods himself—he's already made the trip and knows the people there!"

She then clearly explained her plans, step by step.

The young couple were both focused on making a good impression, and Cheng Erniang could see it all too well. What was difficult was that they planned everything so meticulously.

She thought for a moment and said, "Then we'll leave a quarter of an hour earlier tomorrow, turn back and send off the patrolman again. We'll send him off the farther one first, then the closer one, so we won't have to wait for anyone else."

The matter was settled.

Around noon, a group of teachers came to eat, and they all leaned back in their chairs, groaning and complaining.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill and were resting, one of them called out to Song Miao, gave her a date, and sighed, "There's no need to prepare food for us that day."

Song Miao responded with a smile and asked, "Was something wrong at school that day?"

Master Chen muttered, “The Emperor wants to go down to inspect the dike, and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices insisted that I and Lao Cao and a few others go to make up the numbers—one or two of them are already in their seventies or eighties, and they still have to be bothered by others!”

Another person nearby said, "Stop complaining. It's easy for you all to leave, but there's a ton of work left at the school for us to clean up. We can't even come for a meal right now! At least they're welcoming the emperor over there. After the inspection of the dike, the emperor will hold a banquet, right? At least they'll provide a meal!"

"Why hold a banquet? We're not going back to the palace. Since we're out here, His Majesty will most likely be touring various places. We should naturally go back to our own homes and find our own mothers!"

Master Chen spat in annoyance and grumbled, "Besides, even if there's a banquet, what good food does the palace have? It's all steamed or stewed. The kitchen doesn't even dare to cook leafy greens on the way out, for fear they'll turn yellow. Last time I ate their steamed duck and braised goose, one was so tough and the other was so mushy that the meat had no taste. I don't know how many times they died on the stove! And yet, it was real meat. I didn't know whether to spit it out or swallow it. I was afraid of wasting it, but I also thought it was disgusting!"

Of course, Master Chen was not the only one who had attended the palace banquet. The whole table of masters, even those who hadn't eaten there in recent years, had all attended the Qionglin Banquet in the past, so everyone had something to say.

It's not the ducks' quacking that's scary, it's the ducks' literary skills that's scary. Suddenly, the whole table is filled with quacking and clamoring, trying to spout literary allusions and quote classics, as if afraid that their complaints are not as refined as the others'.

Song Miao was listening with great interest, but unexpectedly, Master Chen gently nudged her arm with the end of his chopsticks.

He coughed, made a gesture, and went to the backyard first. Halfway there, he turned back to wait.

Song Miao hurriedly turned around and followed. After exiting the second gate, she saw that Master Chen took out two cloth bags, each slightly larger than an adult's palm, from behind him and stuffed them into her hands.

"what is this?"

Song Miao unwrapped the two cloth bundles and asked in confusion, "What do you want with this money, sir?"

Inside were copper coins that were tightly wrapped and coiled together.

"It wasn't me, it was Lao Cao who gave it to him. He was too ashamed to come to you or even speak to you—haven't you seen how listless he's been these past few days? He hasn't even dared to grab any vegetables."

Song Miao naturally noticed, but she didn't dare to ask.

Master Chen then said, "He was determined to get you to send the steamed buns to the Imperial Academy's kitchen. He put in a lot of effort, giving everyone a chance to taste the buns, leading a group of people to sign a petition, and asking his acquaintances to go to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and several other places to urge the matter to be done."

"The last time he came to ask you, he heard that someone from the school came to inquire about the price, and he thought it was a done deal. Who knew that in the end, although the deal was done and the steamed buns were bought, the ones he bought from were not from your store—I don't even know which store they bought from. It's so embarrassing, I didn't dare to tell you!"

Song Miao suddenly realized.

But after Jiang Xia from the Imperial Academy came over last time, there was no further news. Although she hadn't received any notification, she had already guessed that the matter had most likely failed, so she laughed and said, "What's the big deal? Do you think I can do all the business in the world by myself? I'm so grateful to Mr. Cao for helping me like this. Even if it didn't work out, it's my fault. What does it have to do with him?"

He then returned the money.

Master Chen waved his hand and said, "You should accept it. If you don't, he'll feel even worse. He's so old, and he's already made such a big promise. He's so ashamed that he's trying to take advantage of him. He's probably thinking of doing something bad. Once he's done it, you can use the money to make him something nice to thank him!"

"It's best to ignore it. I'd be embarrassed if it ruined my mood. Besides, I've already received so many requests for steamed buns from various places because of this misfortune, I can barely keep up with the demand!"

Master Chen's laughter vanished instantly. He covered his ears and said, "Everyone else has food, but I don't! Don't let me hear that, I can't stand it!"

But he almost immediately turned around, hurriedly put his hand down, and asked, "Actually, even though you don't sell steamed buns at the other end of the food alley, you could still bring me a few, right?"

"Of course! Just don't tell anyone." Song Miao smiled. "But you only have one stomach. Young Master Cheng already brings you rice rolls every day, and sometimes he adds glutinous rice, steamed rice cakes, and soup. If you also eat steamed buns, how can you manage? You'll be coming for lunch again. What if you eat too much in the morning and can't eat at noon?"

"what……"

Master Chen opened his eyes wide, deep in thought. He had never struggled or been so conflicted as when he went to the Jixian Academy to compile books before...

Should we eat steamed buns, rice noodle rolls, or save some room for lunch at a small restaurant?

Oh dear! Why can't people have eight stomachs just to hold all the food Xiao Song makes? If that's not possible, four like a cow would be perfect!

Seeing that Master Chen was in such a predicament, Song Miao said, "I'll pack some smaller ones for you, one a day. The rice rolls were originally two strips, but from now on you can eat one strip. Try them out first and see which one you like. You can also tell me a day in advance, how about that?"

Master Chen found it too difficult to choose, and said, "I love rice noodle rolls too! Actually, that steamed snow cake is very soothing to the stomach. I didn't realize it at first, but I've come to really like it after a while!"

Seeing his worried and distressed look, like a child, Song Miao didn't urge him. She simply said, "Then I'll send them all tomorrow. Don't be greedy, and don't eat too many different kinds of food, lest you get an upset stomach. If you can't finish them, give the rest to You Xuelu to help you eat a bite, is that alright?"

"What do you mean he helped me! I helped him. If it weren't for my age and presence here, and if it weren't for my close relationship with you, Xiao Song, he would have to be twenty years older to be able to eat such good food!" Master Chen blew his beard. "Fine, he got off easy! But it's just that I'm troubling you again!"

Song Miao smiled and said, "It's no trouble at all. I also have something I'd like to ask you for help with!"

“You know Xiaolian from our restaurant, sir. She’s a very sensible and ambitious child. Although she’s young, she has already set her mind on studying medicine. A friend gave her some medical books, and she’s currently studying and memorizing them.”

“Learning medicine is not an easy thing. I have thought about it and realized that I have little experience. I might as well ask you, sir. First, do you have any suitable doctors you can recommend? If I could become your apprentice, that would be the best. If not, it would be good if my son could help out at a clinic or pharmacy and learn more about the herbs. It would be better than him trying to figure things out on his own at home and going down the wrong path without even realizing it.”

"Secondly, literature and medicine are two separate fields. If we don't have a suitable one, I wonder if you could help us ask around and see if anyone has a collection of herbal medicines? If you could get a copy with pictures, that would be even better. We'd like to borrow it carefully and copy it. We'll pay you or give it as a gift!"

Master Chen, who had been smiling, suddenly became serious upon hearing this and said, "This young man is eager to improve himself and has chosen such a righteous path. I must lend him a hand!"

He lowered his head, frowned, and stroked his beard for a while before suddenly saying, "Have you heard of Tianyuan Hall near Xiangguo Temple?" Song Miao nodded and said, "I've heard of it. It's said that several highly skilled doctors practice there, especially an old doctor named Qin and a doctor named Meng..."

"Everyone knows that the old doctor is very skilled, but they don't know that there is another one named Lin among them. When my wife was still alive, she often went to see her. Because she didn't have a white beard and was a female doctor, she wasn't as famous as the other old men, but her medical skills were excellent, no worse than the more famous ones!"

“I have an old friend who has practiced medicine for decades, but he’s too old now and doesn’t take on apprentices anymore—he’s her uncle. You can take a look, and if it seems alright, I’ll ask him to help me find out what the situation is and whether he’d be willing to take on an apprentice!”

Song Miao hurriedly bowed and thanked him, then said, "Sir, your recommendation is most appropriate. I won't rush to say anything; let's see how that Doctor Lin responds. If he is interested, I will then mention it to Xiaolian and the others, so as to avoid any hesitation!"

"Whether it succeeds or not, I am very grateful for your kindness, sir!"

Master Chen exclaimed "Ai!" and said, "At my age, I have no particular conscience. I just want to lend a hand to anyone who is ambitious. I'll help as many as I can. If I ever see someone truly rise up because of me, I'll sleep better that night!"

He then said, "I also have something I want to ask you—how much of your plum dew do you have left to spare?"

Song Miao did some mental calculations and said, "This was originally for making drinks for guests, and there's also some for making plum sauce later. If we want to distribute it evenly, we can only fill about twenty or thirty bottles. Did you finish them all, sir?"

"I still have half a bottle left, I'm drinking it sparingly. It wasn't me, it was Old Liu who got it last time, and he kept showing off when he got back!"

“Many people have come to ask you now. If you have extra, give me some. I’ll use it to buy some good stuff. Then we can split the profits equally!” Master Chen said, rubbing the back of his hands together, looking very eager to get started.

After saying that, he didn't forget to specifically remind them: "I'm afraid you can't keep this a secret for long. If someone comes to your door, don't let them take the things away!"

Song Miao laughed heartily, knowing that this was just the old men joking around. They weren't selling the plum dew anyway, so naturally they had to help their own people now, and she readily agreed.

***
A rickshaw driver left Songji's place, and it was as if nothing had happened. However, by noon that day, everything returned to normal. But for Master Xu, it was a completely different story.

After returning home, he felt increasingly regretful, especially since the streets and alleys were filled with patrolling soldiers and police officers, and various government officials were walking around. Many roads were blocked off, and there were very few people calling for a taxi. As a result, he earned more than half the usual amount of money.

He knew that Song Ji's wages were fixed, especially since Cheng Erniang had promised that he would get a raise once he passed the probation period. Now, the sure thing had vanished overnight, and he couldn't sleep at all, tossing and turning and waiting for someone to come and call him. But when it was already bright the next day, no one from Song Ji came to his door.

If the mountains don't come, I'll go to them, and I'll go to the mountains.

Mr. Xu was upset about the money, so he couldn't resist going to the door again at noon. However, he was not only turned away, but he didn't even get to see Song Miao. He was turned away by Da Bing.

He was not one to tolerate such behavior, and he started making a scene on the spot. Eventually, seeing that Song Ji had sent someone to report to the authorities, he slunk away.

Master Xu wasn't stupid; after experiencing so much, he knew perfectly well that Song's Shop was gone forever.

At this moment, besides regret, he became angrier the more he thought about it. He felt that without his hard work in delivering the goods, Song's business would not have been able to get to where it is today.

Seeing that everyone had left and the restaurant was in good order, while he himself was in a sorry state, he couldn't accept it. So, when there was no business that day, he went outside to chat with people.

He complained that the people at Song's Restaurant were bad and dishonest, but no one wanted to hear it. If he wanted to talk about matters of love and sex, the restaurant was still very small and the staff were not fully grown. Wang Sanlang had just arrived and was always running around outside, so no one would believe him. He simply took a different approach and started to find fault with other things.

"...You don't know, you just think that Song's business is good and the food looks decent, but actually the people there are very unscrupulous! The meat is rotten meat that others don't want, and the vegetables are leftover rotten vegetables from the day before. They are never washed, they are not even rinsed, they are just cut up and given to you to pick fillings to stir-fry—once they are cooked, you can't tell the difference!"

"It's filthy everywhere—the outhouse is right next to where the dried meat is drying, and it smells terrible. If guests saw it with their own eyes, who would dare to eat it?"

"I saw it with my own eyes. One of the workers inside, a boy who was about half a teenager, called Big Pancake, went to the outhouse, blew his nose, and without even washing his hands, wiped his snot on his face..."

He was about to speak when someone nearby couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Hey, buddy, you must be mistaken. Are you really talking about the Song family's restaurant in Suanzao Lane? It's one of the cleanest places there—many people have gone to check it out before and said even the stove is clean!"

"I've heard that too. They say the backyard is so clean you can hardly find a grasshopper!"

Master Xu choked for a moment, then his mind raced, and he asked, "When did that happen?"

"It was in the spring, someone got food poisoning and thought it was her family's fault. They even went to her house to cause trouble. In the end, they went to apologize with gongs and drums—that time, many people went to the kitchen to see what was going on!"

Master Xu suddenly perked up and said, "You know it's springtime! Things are completely different now! I've only been working there for a short time, how could I not know? They've hired a lot of new people, and that young woman is heartless now. She doesn't care about anything except money. I saw the vegetables right at her feet, and the new driver didn't even bother to avoid them, he just urinated right there. I couldn't stand it anymore, and against my conscience, I had to quit..."

He spoke with such conviction that those around him were momentarily skeptical and couldn't help but strike up a conversation to ask him questions.

When someone asked, he got even more excited, explaining how that young woman, in order to save money, would go to vendors to buy rotten pork and stinky chicken to make steamed buns, and even use duck meat to imitate mutton, making them terribly smelly and pungent…

Although it was a small tavern, it had about ten small tables, which were quite full. Everyone listened to him talking animatedly.

After cursing for half a day and praising himself for remaining untainted by the mud for the other half, Master Xu was thirsty and finally stopped. Just as he was drinking water, he heard someone come in and hawk alcohol.

The man, who recognized him immediately, called out to the visitor, "Give me a small bottle of wine!"

Another person said, "Isn't this Madam Lü? Didn't you go to work at Song's earlier? Why are you out delivering wine in the middle of the day?"

Upon hearing this, Master Xu was startled. He looked up and, sure enough, recognized the person. He quickly ducked his head to hide.

Lady Lü didn't see him, nor did she think too much about it, but she was full of bitterness and complained, "Ugh, don't even mention it. I quit after a few days—it was so annoying!"

"What's bothering you?" A busybody immediately perked up.

"I had to break off each vegetable leaf and wash it five times. I washed the bowls and chopsticks twice with a loofah, and that wasn't enough. I had to wash them again with a cloth and rinse them twice with clean water. I had to wash my hands every time I went in and out. My hands were practically raw from all the washing. In this sweltering heat, I had to cover my head with a headscarf and then cover my face with a cloth—I never had to go through this much trouble at home!"

"If you skip washing once or twice, are we going to keep watching you?"

"Everyone around is watching! I don't know what's going on, but they must have been reincarnated as loofahs in their entire lives! They're washing so diligently! Let alone washing vegetables and dishes, I only forgot to wash my hands twice, and one of those guys came over and started complaining. Then I forgot a few more times, and he said that if I didn't change, he would tell the housekeeper to make me write a self-criticism and fine me—I'm too lazy to serve you anymore!"

"But the food here is really good, and it's clean too. It's a shame that you can't eat their meals if you don't eat there!"

As Lady Lü spoke, not a single person in the room looked at her; instead, they all turned to look at a table in the center.

Behind the table, Master Xu held a large bowl in front of him and drank for a long time, still holding it high—but no matter how big the bowl was, it couldn't hide his face, which turned green, white, and black in turns.

(End of this chapter)