Miao Chu

Chapter 29 Problem
From a young age, she was ambitious and greedy, and also fickle, often wanting to play this game one moment and that game the next.

But whatever he likes, his family fully supports him.

She doesn't remember how old she was, but for a while, she developed a liking for embroidery.

As soon as she finished embroidering a flat green leaf, her uncle praised her repeatedly, saying that she was exceptionally talented and would surely become a world-renowned embroiderer, leaving her mark on history.

When the second daughter-in-law returned and saw it, she held the leaf and looked at it again and again, saying that she wanted to put it away and hang it above her bed. She also urged people to go out and find her a master.

My uncle said that since we've already hired someone, we must hire a master of kesi (silk tapestry), because "an inch of kesi is worth an inch of gold," and if we're going to learn, we should learn the best.

The uncles from the Shen family next door came down the mountain the next day.

They split into two groups. The larger group went to Dingzhou and brought back an old embroiderer who was skilled at embroidering auspicious and lucky patterns; the smaller group went to Suzhou and brought back a young embroiderer who was skilled at embroidering flowers, birds, insects, and fish.

She studied for half a year, but she had only just begun to learn. However, children are not easily swayed, and she was especially so. Soon she lost interest in needlework and started to act spoiled.

Even if a child you raise in your own home smells bad, they still smell good.

Third Sister scolded Second Sister, saying that she didn't know how to choose. Needlework is difficult to begin with, and kesi (silk tapestry) is the most difficult of all. It might mean that one would be tied to the loom for life. If the child liked it, that would be fine, but with her personality, how could she be so restrained?

He then scolded his uncle for being out of his mind, saying that he had made a mess of things by making empty promises to others. He said that the most important thing for his own child is health. As long as the child can grow up safely and live a smooth and easy life, that is far better than anything else. If you really want to be remembered in history, you should jump into the inkwell yourself and roll your name on the paper. Don't mess with the child.

No one on the mountain would have the heart to force her to suffer, so they let her give up and go on to like other things.

But the master they invited did not resign.

The old embroiderer from Dingzhou had no children. As she grew older, her eyesight and back deteriorated. Rather than returning to her hometown and having to endure the whims of her nephew's family for food, she preferred life in the mountains. So she settled down there, teaching intermittently and making clothes for everyone.

Meanwhile, the Suzhou embroiderer developed feelings for Uncle Shen, who had invited her to the mountain.

The two got married and later had a daughter, whose given name was Xing—a name that Song Miao picked out from a box.

Unfortunately, the little duckling didn't survive; it died at the age of three.

Later, when my uncle had an accident, everyone rushed down the mountain, including Uncle Shen and his wife. They said they would write a letter to let everyone know they were safe as soon as things settled down.

But after waiting for many days, I still didn't receive a letter, and then...

Song Miao couldn't help but lower her head and look at her hands.

Having only been here for a few days, the hands of the original owner, who had never done any housework before, now bear many marks of labor.

There is a small mole at the base of the right thumb.

The color and size of the mole were exactly the same as the one that originally appeared on my hand.

The "Song Miao" of today and the "Song Miao" of Pingyang Mountain decades ago share the same body, yet they are clearly not the same person.

But at this time, the lost embroiderer was also surnamed Shen, and was also from Jiangnan East Road. Her name was Xingniang, and she was also skilled in kesi (silk tapestry).

Could she have some connection with Uncle Shen's family?

Song Miao didn't know, but she was willing to try anything as long as she could find out even a little bit of information about the mountain.

At this moment, the woman next to him had something to say.

She spoke with great enthusiasm: "There aren't many people who know how to do this kind of silk carving. The embroiderer is from Jiangnan East Road. Her family has been weaving and embroidering for generations. She is the most outstanding in this line of work. Especially the one who went missing. It is said that she went to another place to find a master and studied for more than ten years before she learned it. She does it even better than the one who taught her. The phoenixes, birds and butterflies she weaves are so lifelike that they look like they can fly!"

"But that day, she finally finished her work and was on her way to the embroidery shop to hand it in when, unexpectedly, she and her belongings were lost!"

Then someone asked curiously, "You just said she made a wedding gown for Minister Cao's daughter. Which Minister Cao is she?"

"That guy from the Ministry of Rites, he's a real figure, wearing a purple robe and a jade belt!"

Everyone present burst into laughter. "If the Minister of Personnel's daughter's wedding gown were lost, it might be found. But the Ministry of Rites... a powerless government office, who knows!"

Song Miao stood there for a while, listening to the crowd's discussion. Seeing that there was no more useful information, she carefully memorized the contents of the notice before heading back home.

As she walked, she carefully pondered the information she had just learned about Shen Xingniang.

The Kyoto government mobilized its manpower to search many times, and the embroidery workshop also kept searching, even posting notices with a reward, but there was still no news. As a newcomer with no money, no connections, and no status or influence, it was naturally impossible for him to get results so easily.

Although she was in a hurry, she wasn't in a rush.

At this point, there's no clear direction, and everything has its order.

Save yourself before saving others.

Right now, I'm in dire straits myself, so I need to focus on protecting myself and dealing with the troubles I'm carrying before I can free up my hands to look at other things.

***
At this moment, Song Miao was not the only one who was anxious.

At the Imperial Academy, the student Wang Geng finally received the food box that was delivered. When he opened it, he found it was full of hot dumplings that looked quite similar to the steamed dumplings he had eaten that morning. They contained three varieties: scallion and mutton, scallion and pork, and shepherd's purse, bamboo shoots, and dried tofu. They were all very fragrant. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with satisfaction.

He first picked up a piece of mutton with scallions.

But as soon as he tasted it, Wang Geng couldn't help but frown.

The scallion and mutton filling was naturally delicious, but perhaps it was just a preconceived notion, he felt that it was far inferior to what he had eaten that morning.

Wang Geng isn't a chef, so he can't tell the difference between the so-called mixed raw and cooked meat filling and regular raw meat filling. But he can tell that the filling is more fragrant and fresher in the morning, and even the scallion flavor is fresher and more invigorating.

Not only that, the outer skin was really beautiful this morning, so thin, it really looked like a little flower.

At this moment, the bag in the food box was also being pinched into a flower shape, but the petals didn't look as pretty and light as they did in the morning—and when I chewed it, the skin was indeed a bit thicker.

The seasoning wasn't quite right either; it seemed a bit too salty.

Each and every one of them is a detail, but once you take it in, it becomes quite different.

However, if the maximum score is 10, this mutton and scallion filling pouch would be at least a 7 out of 10.

But when he picked up another shumai with shepherd's purse, bamboo shoots, and dried tofu, before he even put it in his mouth, the smile on his face started to fade.

The skin was indeed very thin, but it had already broken in the short time it had been pinched up, fortunately the bottom was not broken.

However, after eating it, Wang Geng felt that whether the bottom was broken or not didn't matter much anymore.

—They actually added animal fat, making the soup a bit greasy.

This vegetarian shumai is all about that fresh, rustic flavor. Adding too much lard and some unknown seasoning ruins that refreshing taste.

If he hadn't eaten the shumai for breakfast, he probably wouldn't have thought there was anything wrong with it, but now that he compared it to what he had eaten, he was even a little embarrassed to give it to He Qi as an apology.

But this cannot be blamed on the Wang family's cook.

It should be noted that they have already relayed the story again and again. They did not see it with their own eyes, nor did they eat it. How would they know what the shumai in the morning was like?

Besides, Wang Geng isn't a chef, and his descriptions are mostly based on personal preferences, so the chefs can only guess—if they were allowed to follow their own methods, they would definitely make a lot of delicious food.

This is like a set essay prompt, and the person who set the prompt has provided their own self-righteous textual analysis, which is full of their own wild guesses. When students read it, they think it's better not to have it at all, so naturally, no matter how they answer, they will go off-topic.

But since the food had already been delivered, Wang Geng carried the food box back to the study. As he carried it, he was filled with apprehension—he himself was not very satisfied with the food, and who knew how many complaints He Qi, with his picky palate, would find.

Thank you so much, Miya, for the sachet and two amulets! ^_^
Thank you to McDullLovesLittleDu for the sachet, and thank you to book friend 20201004200215127 for the good luck charm =3=
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(End of this chapter)