Miao Chu

Chapter 279 Troubles
Seeing him eating noodles there, Song Miao moved aside and laid out the contents of her large bamboo basket and bundle one by one on the large table next to her, categorizing them.

Han Li finished the noodles and even drank the soup. After finishing the meal, he watched her divide the food for a long time.

As the soup entered his stomach, he sat in the front hall, watching the scene unfold, and gradually felt at ease. A breeze blew through the hall, carrying away the heat and seemingly blowing away all the fatigue and exhaustion from his journey.

Han Li quietly took the bowl to the back to wash it. When he came out again, he couldn't help but walk over and ask softly, "Is there anything you don't like?"

Song Miao was taken aback, then pointed to the items that were placed separately on the right side of the cloth and said with a forced smile, "These few are a bit unpleasant."

She half-jokingly said, "My bones are perfectly fine, I don't need to strengthen my bones and muscles, improve blood circulation and disperse stagnation, let alone loosen my joints and guide the medicine downwards—why don't you send these achyranthes, deer antlers, seahorses and the like over to Inspector Xin?"

Han Li smiled and slowly replied, "I'll listen to you."

Without thinking much about it, Song Miao carefully wrapped up the medicinal herbs.

She used to teach Xiaolian to identify herbs, but recently the child went to Tianyuantang to learn from a master and often talks about herbs when she comes back. She also occasionally brings back some scraps to identify.

Song Miao had been accustomed to using high-quality medicinal herbs before, and now, having been exposed to them all, she didn't know much about other things, but she had a general idea of ​​the prices of many. When she was counting them, she saw that the deer antler and achyranthes were of excellent quality and there was a lot of them, so she couldn't help but ask a question, pointing to them and saying, "They are a bit expensive - I wonder who sent them? Did the young master have time to present them as gifts?"

Upon hearing this, Han Li immediately took the bundle from the chair, took out a booklet from it, and said, "Lu Wenming helped to make the booklet, but time was too tight, and there probably wasn't enough time to check it carefully."

He walked over and checked the names and quantities of the items together, and then saw who had sent them. When he asked Song Miao and learned that she had nothing urgent to do that night, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief and even dared to ask where there was a scale in the house, saying that he wanted to take it out and weigh everything one by one.

—Not in a hurry to leave at all.

In the past, he was always decisive and efficient, preferring to do multiple things at the same time. But today, he was leisurely counting a pile of gifts, and even took out a pen and ink to grind the ink, test the pen, and introduce each item to Song Miao to her. He explained who gave it to her, what they said when they gave it to her, where it was bought, and why it was bought.

"...Grandma Huang and Grandma Li said that you left in a hurry last time, and they didn't have time to give you many things. The dried green beans, millet, and dried vegetables were for you and me. They also asked us to share the packet of chicken gizzard lining, saying that it was from a very good chicken, which was washed very clean and dried very carefully..."

"...While patrolling the river, I stopped to rest in a village and met an old woman sitting at her door making soft cloth shoes. After asking her a few more questions, she said she was saving money for her funeral clothes and coffin. I noticed she wasn't very mobile, so I ordered a lot. My senior brother has some, and you have some too. I also brought two pairs for Dabing..."

They dawdled and didn't say goodbye until it was almost dark.

Even so, more than an hour had passed, and it seemed that they hadn't said much. He felt that time had gone by too quickly, and there were still many questions he hadn't had time to ask, and even more things he hadn't been able to say.

Since Song Miao asked about his plans for the next day, whether he would come for dinner, he said, "I'm afraid I can't come during the day. Whatever you want to eat in the evening, just don't cook separately. Please save a bowl for me, okay?"

It forms naturally.

Before leaving, Xiaolian carried the bamboo box and followed Song Miao to the door.

After everyone had gone far away and returned to the house, she sat down next to Song Miao and opened the box.

Inside, there were several layers, including a bronze mirror about half the size of a palm, and seven or eight different kinds of small bamboo hairpins, small bamboo combs, and small bamboo fans.

To adults, the bronze mirror was too small, the comb was too small, and the fan was even less practical; the breeze it produced was only slightly stronger than a butterfly's wing.

But the child was ecstatic.

She had just washed her hair, and she kept combing it with one small comb after another, never getting tired of it. After trying out the combs, she looked at the hairpins, comparing bamboo hairpins and wooden hairpins in turn.

It was already dark, and the lamp was just an ordinary oil lamp, which didn't shine very brightly, but the child still kept looking closely at his blurry face in the bronze mirror.

While comparing, she hurriedly said to Song Miao, "Sister, sister! Next time I have a break, can I invite Zhu Jie'er over to play? I want to wear the new clothes you bought me last time, and then wear these hairpins and comb our hair together with her!"

On her last birthday, Song Miao gave her two sets of clothes, one pale yellow and one light green, both tops and skirts, with ruffles on the sleeves and hems, and they looked very beautiful on her.

The child loved it so much at the time, but was afraid of getting it dirty at the clinic, or tearing it, and was also afraid of having to wash it at home because of sweat, and that the color wouldn't be bright enough if washed too many times. So he cherished it very much and was reluctant to wear it easily.

Having received this bamboo box, Xiaolian was already so happy that she was running around in circles in the room just thinking about wearing the beautiful clothes that Sister Song gave her, along with this pretty little hairpin, and two little combs in her hair—or even sharing it with Sister Zhu and wearing them all over her head.

Song Miao readily agreed, smiling and saying, "These clothes are a gift for you, so wear them often if you like them. Otherwise, it would be a shame if they didn't fit when you grow up and taller."

He added, "Next time you deliver a letter to Zhu Jie'er, you can discuss with her what to wear. Wearing the same clothes will look good, and wearing different clothes will also be fun."

Xiao Lian's small eyes immediately narrowed into slits with a smile, and she hurriedly wanted to discuss with Song Miao whether she would look better in pale yellow or light green.

When he heard that Song Miao had chosen the pale yellow one, he was even happier, laughing and hugging the bamboo box as he went to find his mother.

Cheng Erniang was also pleased with the gloves and other items she was carrying.

The snow ointment comes in a porcelain bottle, quite large and very practical. As for the gloves, they are even better—firstly, they are made of straw and are not expensive, so they are easy to store without any burden; secondly, she has recently noticed that because there are often moving and carrying jobs in the restaurant, especially when delivering goods, it is easy for the person carrying the load to burn or injure their hands if they are not careful.

Although the calluses were thicker and she was less afraid of getting burned, she still thought of providing gloves for everyone in the restaurant.

It's just that it's hot in the summer, and thin cloth is not useful, while thick cloth is inconvenient and hot. I was just worrying about this when I suddenly had an idea - I can make straw weaving!

While she was mentally calculating the money, her daughter came over to show her the various gifts in the box. The first thing Cheng Erniang did was to appraise the value of the box of items.

After estimating, I found that it was either bamboo or wood. Although it looked quite well-made, it wasn't exquisite and was just a child's toy. I figured it wouldn't be too expensive.

She had just received her monthly allowance from the restaurant a few days ago, and had also received an extra bonus, which was a pleasant surprise. Now, after reviewing the bill and calculating, she felt that she could easily repay the debt, and the smile on her face became more relaxed. She was finally able to put aside all her messy thoughts and simply look at her daughter with a bamboo hairpin and comb in her hair.

Although she's a bit silly, in her mother's eyes, even the silliest daughter is still adorable.

But this silly daughter, besides showing her mother the gifts she received, didn't forget to ask questions.

"Mother, Brother Han gave me such a nice and beautiful gift. I can't just say thank you and that's it, can I? Like my sister, I should return the favor!"

Even a child remembers to return the gift!

Cheng Erniang wanted to laugh, but felt she couldn't discourage her daughter's thoughtfulness in returning the favor. Since proper etiquette was for adults to handle, she casually said, "You should learn diligently from your master at the clinic. If Young Master Han ever has a headache or fever in the future, you can cure him instantly, and that will be your way of returning the favor—he'll definitely be very happy!"

Xiaolian was very dissatisfied with the answer and cried out, "Mother!"

She added, "Even if Brother Han doesn't give me the box, if he's feeling unwell, I'll definitely be able to cure him instantly once I learn how to use it—what kind of return gift is that!"

Cheng Erniang said helplessly, "Then go ask your Sister Song, this is all I know how to do!"

Even if she didn't say anything, Xiaolian would still ask Song Miao. Sure enough, she ran back, snuggled up to her, blinked her little eyes, and called out "Sister Song" again.

Song Miao smiled and said, "I didn't know that—your brother Han is coming again tomorrow night anyway, so work hard tonight, think it over carefully, and ask him directly tomorrow what he wants, okay?"

So that evening, the child put the bamboo box aside, recited his books for a while, played with the hairpins inside, looked at the pictures of medicinal herbs, and then looked at the comb.

Even while she was sleeping, she would still take time to think about what would be the most appropriate return gift, and then think about which day was the closest, and whether she could invite Sister Zhu over to play together for one night even if it wasn't a holiday.

Little Lotus suddenly had a big, sweet trouble.

The child was sent back inside to study, and only then did the two adults begin their serious conversation.

The rain stopped, and business gradually returned to normal, but the backlog of orders couldn't be processed "gradually" as well.

The business of dried meat and dried cuttlefish is developing faster than Song Miao originally expected. In addition, there are many more orders for glutinous rice and steamed buns for breakfast. Surprisingly, most of them are coming from various academies.

Upon closer examination, the reason was that many students who had gone to Huazhou that day had all tasted Song Miao's cooking and the flavors of her steamed buns and twisted rolls. How could they not miss them?

Everyone returned to their respective academies, and they couldn't help but spread the word, not only using the Imperial Academy and Nanlu Academy as endorsements, but also bringing out Han Yu and Confucius to carry their sedan chairs.

"You may not know others, but you must know Han Li and Kong Fuyang, right? They are the first and second among the four scholars of the Imperial Academy!"

"These two people tasted Song's glutinous rice and shumai when they were at the Imperial Academy. If they didn't eat them for a day, they couldn't even sleep well! They were both temporarily transferred to Huazhou, and they even tried to invite that young lady Song over with them, just so they could have a bite to eat every day—you can imagine what that must taste like?"

"Brother! Brother! Do I look like someone with a lying mouth?! Steamed buns are only a few coins each, and glutinous rice is only a few coins a bowl, with small bowls costing only five coins. Even if you buy two bowls and two steamed buns, even if the taste is ordinary, how much of a loss can you afford?"

"Trust me! Once you've tasted it, I guarantee you'll come to me every day to try and make up the difference—I asked around, and that Miss Song requires a minimum order of thirty servings of glutinous rice and steamed buns every day, otherwise why would she go through all this trouble to collect them?!"

Similar conversations soon began to appear frequently in various academies.

And the students were right; once they tried it, eight out of ten wanted to come back and try to match numbers again.

Song Ji's reputation gradually spread to other academies.

The more orders we get, the more overwhelmed we become with tasks.

Because the South Slope Academy had sealed off the dog hole and had teachers and instructors patrolling every day, it was difficult for students to come out. Meanwhile, at the Imperial Academy, Song Ji had been supplying steamed buns to the kitchen for a long time.

Although the students from the Imperial College were already lining up to buy glutinous rice, rice noodle rolls, and other items, and the business was already overwhelming, she was starting to consider temporarily stopping her stall business—the shop was getting too busy.

“I’ve contacted four or five middlemen, and almost all of them have asked me if I need any refugees—I’m remembering what my wife told me before, the most important thing is to be ‘stable.’ I’d rather go through a bit more trouble and pay a bit more, but let’s find people who live in the capital year-round for our restaurant. At least we need to be able to find someone to vouch for us!”

Song Miao immediately nodded and praised, "Second Madam has considered everything very thoroughly, and I have the same thought."

If there aren't enough people, then you need to hire more.

Song Miao instructed Cheng Erniang to first try to find five or six short-term employees, just like the two long-term employees in restaurants today. She suggested that they try short-term jobs first, and if they were suitable, they could then switch to long-term jobs.

But refugees are inherently unstable. Today they may be in the capital, but tomorrow they may receive news that the disaster in their hometown has eased or that taxes have been waived, and they may be thinking about returning home at any time.

Song Ji has many requirements for making food, and you have to teach each thing from beginning to end. It takes quite a while just to become familiar with all the rules in the kitchen.

If you teach someone until they're familiar with you and then they leave, the small amount of money you save is definitely not worth it.

The two first talked about hiring people, then about ingredients, and finally inevitably circled back to the matter of finding a new courtyard.

Suddenly, Cheng Erniang sighed, "My wife and I have been looking at many places, but none of them are suitable. Some are too far away and have many problems. After looking around, the one across the street is still the best. If only we could rent the house across the street!"

Song Miao laughed and said, "Forget it, nothing in this world is perfect. Let's look at something else. That house across the street is only good for envying."

After discussing it for a while, the two realized it was getting late, so they locked the door, went back to wash up and rest.

Meanwhile, Han Li left Suanzao Lane and, instead of returning to the Imperial Academy, took the many selected top-quality medicinal herbs with him. He made a special detour along the way to buy some nourishing items, food, fruits, and other trinkets, and headed straight north to Junyi Bridge Lane, heading directly to the Xin family.

He personally visited Xin Feng the very day he returned, without even staying overnight. Xin Feng was so excited and moved that he couldn't stop talking and wiped away tears several times.

Han Li first inquired about the injuries, and upon learning that they were almost healed, he asked about the family situation, when the person would return to the government office, who had visited the person in charge, and whether they had discussed future job arrangements.

Xin Feng answered each question, and finally said, "I won't say any words of thanks—Zhengyan, just watch from now on. Consider my good life as a gift from you and Miss Song!"

After finishing their business, and seeing that it was getting late, Han Li was about to take his leave, but Xin Feng stopped him.

"Zhengyan, there's something I've been thinking of mentioning to you." Xin Feng hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Have you been to Lady Song's place?"

"I went there, and I ate before coming."

"Song's family has been looking for a courtyard house recently. Did she tell you?"

(End of this chapter)