Miao Chu

Chapter 264 Companion
Friendly reminder: Hello fellow foodies, although I have tried my best to avoid describing details, it is still **not** recommended to read this chapter during mealtimes.

***
The scream had barely escaped Lin Yiwen's throat when he felt a strong force coming from his back, as if he had been shoved forward violently.

He stumbled, frantically grabbing at the air with both hands—and it worked—allowing him to hover for a moment before he could move forward.
With a "thud," he fell to the ground...

But it's not on the ground!
He plunged headfirst into the cesspool!
Because his hands were busy waving around, his face was the first thing to fall.

The mask he was wearing was made of rough material, but it still gave him a little time to breathe. However, as expected, the substance quickly seeped through the barrier, ran down his face, and then...

Lin Yiwen wanted to spit it out, but when he opened his mouth, even more seeped in.

He struggled desperately, screaming for help.

Speaking naturally requires opening your mouth, and once you open your mouth...

No matter how prestigious the academy is, no matter how much the scholars read about sages and virtuous men, they still need to eat and use the toilet.

Nanlu Academy has been established for many years, growing from small to large. The buildings were added little by little. There was a latrine next to the dining room. The first few separate small rooms were only added because the teachers repeatedly pointed out that they were uncivilized. The last one is the large room that has been left since the beginning. Almost as soon as you enter, there is a big pit with many long wooden planks in the middle. There are gaps between the planks, and people stand on them to relieve themselves. This is called "squatting pit" in ancient and modern times.

This time, the pit had been accumulating urine for several days. Originally, someone was supposed to come and clean it up this afternoon, but before they could do so, Lin Yiwen splashed around in it and had a good time.

When people panic, their minds go blank.

The pool wasn't actually deep; if he stood up straight, it wouldn't even reach his chest. But because of his fear, he struggled for a long time and ended up sinking in, almost drowning. Just when he thought, "I'm doomed," he suddenly felt a pain in his chest, as if something had stabbed him.

Like grasping at a straw, Lin Yiwen quickly grabbed the thing and crawled back. He crawled to the edge of the pit, struggled to tear off the mask from his face, and finally caught his breath. When he looked up, he realized that he was actually holding a bamboo stick—the other end of the stick was tied to the door, and the outhouse door was wide open.

When he hurriedly climbed out of the pit, he stumbled and walked out. It was broad daylight outside, with birds chirping and cicadas singing. There was only a cacophony of chirping, as if laughing at him, but there was not a single person in sight.

Turning my head again, I saw that there was only a burlap sack left beside the latrine.

Who put this trap on themselves, and who pushed themselves into this pit?

Having escaped his predicament, Lin Yiwen was filled with anger, resentment, shame, and annoyance. Afraid of being seen, he originally intended to quietly go back and wash up, so he took a side path.

However, no matter how narrow the path was, people still passed by. He reeked of excrement, and everyone who saw him covered their mouths and noses—so he had to cover his face and hurriedly return to his dormitory.

Such a body cannot be washed clean in a short time.

Having frequented the abalone market for so long, he had grown accustomed to the stench. After tidying himself up, he went to his teacher and tutor to complain and lodge a grievance.

The students' insulting act—pushing a classmate into a cesspool—left the teachers and instructors in a dilemma: covering their noses or not. When the matter reached the ears of Headmaster Xu, he was furious and personally intervened to investigate.

However, no matter how hard they investigated, they found absolutely no clues.

On the southern slope, every student claimed to be unaware of the situation, and all of them had witnesses to testify that they had not left.

Upon further investigation, if it weren't for a sack as evidence, Headmaster Xu would have even suspected that Lin Yiwen might have accidentally fallen into the cesspool and was trying to shirk responsibility out of shame.

The matter was left unresolved.

Lin Yiwen, still smelling of excrement, went back to class in the schoolhouse, where his classmates avoided him like the plague, pointing and whispering among themselves.

Within two days, my roommate moved out.

Nobody paid any attention to me, and I lived alone. If someone broke into my room at night and beat me to death, I wouldn't even know it.

Lin Yiwen pulled his roommate aside and appealed to her emotions and reason with her.

The other party was a freshman from out of town who had just entered the South Slope area. Hearing this eloquent speech, he completely ignored it and tried to leave several times, but was forcibly pulled back each time.

Unable to refuse, he grew increasingly annoyed and decided to break off all pretense of civility, saying, "Your family's actions are utterly unethical. I'm here to study too. What if I get too close to you, and others think I approve of your actions and am one of your kind?"

Lin Yiwen was stunned and said, "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want—where has my family been unethical? Who's making baseless accusations behind my back!"

"Regarding that young lady Song in the food alley, did your family do absolutely nothing wrong?"

Lin Yiwen protested his innocence, shouting, "Marriage is a major life event, decided by parents and arranged by matchmakers, and has absolutely no say in my life—what does it have to do with me? I've already tried my best to save this marriage, and I've been very caring towards that Miss Song..."

The roommate couldn't stand it anymore and retorted, "Do you think I'm new here and can just talk my way out of things? Someone already told me, and I've been your roommate for a long time, and you've never crawled through a dog hole from morning till night. What makes you so caring? Are you just talking to me from afar? Or do you think you're being caring in your heart?"

After saying that, he didn't bother with anything else, packed his bags, and headed out the door.

Lin Yiwen reached out and grabbed his bundle, saying, "Stop! Explain yourself, who told you this?"

Having already stepped across the threshold, his roommate turned back and angrily said, "Who said that is none of your business! I not only know that you treated Miss Song unfairly, but I also know that there is a Song Huaizhou in the school. Everyone can see how he took care of you and how his family treated your family. Back then, the Song family was in such a state, and Miss Song was so pitiful. When her father passed away, did you go to offer your condolences? Did you even send a word of greeting?"

Lin Yiwen was speechless for a moment, and after a long while, he said, "Those days happened to be during the exams..."

His roommate sneered, saying, "Everyone else told me—a lot of people in the dormitory climbed over the wall to give the condolence money. Do you think everyone else doesn't have to take the exam, but you do? Even if you do have to take the exam, did you ask someone to bring it to you? Did you give it to them?"

He then scolded, "Your family has received so much benefit, are you in such a hurry for this? Even if the marriage is not suitable, can't you wait three or five months, let things calm down, and then back out? Would it kill you?"

Seeing that Lin Yiwen was about to explain, the man really didn't want to listen anymore and said, "There's also your father—he went to the headmaster to complain, and now all the dog holes are blocked. It's fine if you don't like to go out, but everyone else can't get out either. You're lucky you haven't been beaten!"

"Take care of yourself! Be careful when you go out in the future—that's all I have to say, I've done my duty!"

Seeing his roommate turn and leave, Lin Yiwen felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet, chilling him to the bone, and his teeth chattered.

—Although he wasn't beaten, being pushed into a cesspool, losing all face, and being frightened, he fell ill as soon as he got back. How was that any better than being beaten?
But he clearly did nothing wrong, he did nothing wrong. It was clearly the father's fault, so why should he be blamed?

That's really unfair!

Lin Yiwen stood there, too cold to stand any longer. He turned around, went to the table to pour himself a cup of tea, but with a slip of his hand, the teacup shattered into two pieces on the ground with a "crash".

But he paid no attention to it.

My roommate has only been at Nanlu Academy for a month or so, and he has already heard so many things that have ruined his reputation. So how do other people see him?
Classmates are one thing, they're just students. As long as I achieve academic success, everything can be resolved immediately.

But if this gets to the ears of the gentlemen...

Every year, Nanlu has a quota for recommending students to the Imperial Academy. With my talent and learning, I originally had a good chance. I hope this won't affect my chances.
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He turned to his husband, who always valued him highly, and subtly inquired about the quota.

The other person looked embarrassed and after a long pause, said, "Xiao Lin, I have already submitted your name, but the selection process at the Imperial Academy is not up to us, nor is it a matter of simply recommending someone. They replied that they will assess three things: 'virtue, ability, and talent,' and that they want students to be steady and reliable, otherwise, if a student is frivolous, it will damage the school's reputation..."

—He's frivolous and has ruined his reputation…

Although these words weren't directed at him personally, they were clearly a veiled attack on him!

Unlike officials who have already obtained their positions, unsuccessful scholars value their reputation the most. Once their reputation is ruined, half of their path to officialdom is destroyed.

Upon hearing such comments from the master, Lin Yiwen stood there as if struck on the head with a blunt object, his vision blurred, and he almost couldn't catch his breath.

Why didn't you drown in the cesspool back then, instead of having to endure such humiliation one after another!
***
Baokang Gate, Xu Family Martial Arts School. Master Cheng entered the gate beaming with joy, carrying Song's breakfast menu.

It was lunchtime, and before he could even follow with one leg inside, a group of people noticed him and greeted him.

After greeting them, I first asked about the new batch of dried meat and dried squid.

Master Cheng said, "Miss Song said she's making it, and it will take two days before it's delivered!"

Ask about breakfast again.

Master Cheng then laid out the price list and called out, "Those who can read, come out and read it!"

Most of the people in the martial arts school were retired soldiers. Few of them were literate, but that didn't stop them from volunteering. Almost before Master Cheng finished speaking, someone stepped forward.

"Let me see!"

This person went up and read the list. As he read each item, everyone next to him called out how much they needed, and he would fill in a number to fit in.

At first, everything was fine, and no one noticed anything wrong. But as he read on, he seemed to encounter an unfamiliar word. After studying it for a while, he read it as "bird ten steamed buns," which immediately caused everyone in the room to burst into laughter.

"Brother, don't bother, where would you find bird droppings steamed buns? I'd rather have bird droppings steamed buns!"

"Call someone who can actually read! Otherwise, if they come and report this, the shopkeeper will probably laugh at us!"

Soon, someone went to fetch the accountant.

The accountant of Xu's Martial Arts School was the youngest sister of the school's director, a woman from Qingzhou. She was very straightforward and would come whenever invited.

She took the list, cleared her throat, and read it aloud as usual. Then she calculated the amount of food each person wanted to buy. As she was calculating, she suddenly exclaimed, "Huh?" and asked, "Whose steamed buns are these?"

"There's a restaurant near the Vermilion Bird Gate. Old Cheng bought some food for a dinner party the other day—didn't you get to eat there?"

When Madam Xu asked about the date, she found out that she had indeed gone out to settle her accounts that day.

She couldn't help but shake her head and said, "A bunch of spendthrift men, don't they even look at the prices when they buy things? The others are fine, the glutinous rice is reasonably priced, but why are these meat buns so expensive? Some are as high as eight coins each, and what is this roasted pork and char siu bun? Why is it priced at ten coins each? Even if it's pure meat, how big is a bun? It's not worth it at all."

This question left the others in the room completely baffled.

Which is the "roasted pork and char siu steamed bun"?

"I don't know, I don't think I got to eat any last time—was it just a coincidence that I wasn't allocated any? You're so mature!"

Master Cheng shook his head blankly: "I've never had this before. Is it a new dish?"

Seeing him like this, Madam Xu couldn't bear it any longer and said, "You didn't bargain, did you?"

Master Cheng hurriedly said, "None of the food sold in Miss Song's shop is priced lower!"

Madam Xu said irritably, "Buying so much, how can you not offer a discount—you just don't know how to negotiate!"

She counted the total on the bill, her confidence rising, and said, "At a normal steamed bun shop, two coins can buy a vegetarian bun, and four coins for a meat one. If you buy this much at once, you can at least get a discount of three cents—this shop sells meat buns for six coins, mutton buns for eight coins, and some kind of roasted pork and char siu buns for ten coins. It's really too expensive. They even leave room for you to bargain! Who knew they'd run into someone who wouldn't negotiate!"

Master Cheng hurriedly explained, "It's really not like that. That young lady said that she doesn't lower the price for her things. You get what you pay for, and the taste is just different."

Immediately, everyone else in the room said, "It is a bit expensive, but it's not the same as other steamed buns! It's expensive for a reason!"

Then he took out the dried meat and gave it to Madam Xu to eat.

Madam Xu, biting into the dried meat, asked the price and found it to be expensive. She sighed, "You lot really don't know the cost of firewood and rice when you're not in charge of the household. Let me help you out!"

She calculated the amount, noted everything down, found out the location of Song's restaurant, and asked who to look for. Finally, she put the deposit money in a bag and said, "I'll make a trip for you this afternoon! Wait till I explain the price clearly and show you!"

Master Cheng had just boasted to Song Miao that his group knew their stuff and wouldn't haggle, so he was a little embarrassed. But seeing Madam Xu's confident look, he said, "Sister, it would be best if we could negotiate a better deal. If not, don't force it—we still want to eat their glutinous rice and steamed buns!"

"Don't worry! I may not be good at other things, but I'm a master at bargaining. Last time when we built that new drill ground, it was all thanks to my bargaining skills. They were initially unwilling to budge, but I calculated the costs clearly and ended up getting a discount of two hundred strings of cash—wait for my good news!"

Madam Xu made a solemn vow.

She had been busy all afternoon, and seeing that it was almost time, she took the order form and left the martial arts school, heading west.

When she arrived at Zhuque Gate, it was all good, bustling and lively. But after wandering around two streets and turning into Suanzao Alley, she started to have some doubts.

—It's such a remote location. There are many shops on both sides of the alley, all with signs, but four or five out of ten are closed.

How can a restaurant do business in such a location?
No wonder they grab every customer they see and secretly charge them a slightly higher price!
Just as she was thinking this, and seeing that she was about to reach the alley entrance, she saw a carriage drive out from inside.

Although the other party had already avoided her, Madam Xu still quickly moved aside.

As people passed each other on either side, an extremely fragrant aroma wafted out.

The aroma was peculiar, somewhat unfamiliar. It was a distinctly roasted scent, but it wasn't just the aroma of roasted meat. There were also hints of sweet caramel, rich fragrance, savory sauce, and salty umami...

As Madam Xu smelled the aroma, she couldn't help but turn her head to follow the carriage, and even her feet couldn't resist turning around to follow it for several steps.

But she quickly realized what was happening, stopped and turned back to walk to the innermost part of the room. She thought about her bargaining strategy again and again, and came up with a plan so that she could present it logically when they met and ask the other party to lower the price.

After walking for a while, we reached the end of the alley.

Just as Master Cheng had said, Song Ji was easy to find—it was the restaurant opposite the sealed-off house at the end of the road.

Song Ji had hung up its signboard, but the paint was peeling off, and it looked quite old, which was rather pitiful. The door was also old, but the doors and windows were cleaned very well, and the entrance was also very tidy.

There was one strange thing though—two carriages were parked outside the gate.

Leaving aside the ones behind, the one in front was completely different from the one we had just seen. It was very large and spacious. Although it wasn't decorated with gold and beads like those of the wealthy, for some reason, perhaps it was because of the good wood used in the carriage, perhaps it was because the two horses were tall, majestic, and full of spirit, or perhaps it was because it was so clean and tidy, that one could tell at a glance that it was a carriage used by a powerful person.

Madam Xu glanced around again before turning back. Seeing the restaurant's doors were wide open, she simply stood at the entrance and asked, "Is this Song's Restaurant?"

Immediately someone inside said, "Oh, we have a guest. Beizhi, go and greet him."

A moment later, a man came out in response, gave a proper bow, and said, "It's Song Ji. Madam, are you here to buy something? Please come in and have a seat!"

He was a young man who looked like a servant, but he was very handsome, spoke very politely, and was very courteous.

For no apparent reason, Madam Xu felt a surge of shyness, and her voice became softer.

She curtsied and said, "Yes, I've come to buy lots of steamed buns and glutinous rice."

The word "的" was almost pronounced as "滴", and it even made a slight curve in mid-air.

(End of this chapter)