Miao Chu

Chapter 31 Pain
Song Miao said, "My family is all gone, I'm all alone, and there's no one to help me."

Silence fell over the room, and many people glared angrily at the person who had asked the question.

Another customer suggested, "Why don't we hire one or two people to help?"

Song Miao said, "Thank you. It is indeed a good idea. However, I still have a lot of debts on my hands. I should pay them off on time for a while first to put my creditors at ease, and then we can see if it is possible to hire someone later."

Imagine you're still heavily in debt, yet you have the money but don't pay it back, instead hiring someone to do it. Even though you know it's like sharpening your axe before chopping wood, which small creditor would be willing to do that?
Of course, it's like saying, "I don't care if you die, just pay me back the money first."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent again. They wanted to ask, but didn't dare to, and could only glare at the one who had suggested hiring someone.

At this moment, another person asked, "Miss Song, I heard that your family used to run the Song's Restaurant at the end of Suanzao Alley, but I wonder if that's true?"

Song Miao nodded in agreement, "That's right, it's true."

Hearing her answer, the questioner immediately perked up and said, "In that case, why does Miss Song have to push her cart here to set up a stall every day? Why not run a restaurant at home? Besides breakfast, you can also serve lunch and dinner! We will definitely come and support you often!"

“Exactly! With your skills, young lady, you could easily make delicious food from just a few blades of grass picked from the wild. Why limit yourself to setting up a breakfast stall here? You already have a ready-made eatery at home—it’s a bit out of the way at the end of Suanzao Alley, but it’s not far from us. We can get there just by going out the back door. It’s quite convenient! Hehe!”

As soon as this person finished saying "hey," many people around him nodded and said "hehe" in unison.

At that time, many places in the Great Wei still ate two meals a day, but the capital was prosperous and almost every family ate three meals a day, so this person's suggestion was quite reasonable.

But as soon as he finished speaking, while his friends were still chuckling together, quite a few people around them were already cursing at them.

"Hey, you guys, from Nanlu Academy, right? Don't push your luck! Your academy's back gate is always locked. If you tell Miss Song not to set up her stall now, who's she going to cook for?! Is she going to leave the door open all day to swat mosquitoes?!"

There were quite a few people from Nanlu Academy in the room, and they quickly formed a faction, speaking up for the person who had spoken earlier.

“Everyone else has restaurants, ready-made entrances. If you don’t open a restaurant, and instead push this cart here and there every day, going back and forth, aren’t you tired?”

"That's right! That's right! Miss Song, you just need to run your restaurant at home. As long as you open the door, I guarantee you'll have no shortage of customers, and it will be packed every day—even the students from our Nanlu Academy alone could fill it up!"

The students couldn't contain themselves any longer, fearing that Song Miao might actually go back and open a family restaurant, and they quickly objected.

"What's with the 'full'? How many people can crawl out of a dog hole? Be careful your instructors find out and block up all these holes. No matter how loudly you talk today, you'll still have to eat in the kitchen in the end!"

"That's right, you can eat in the kitchen, but what about Miss Song?"

"Young Lady Song, please don't listen to these scoundrels' nonsense. This business still needs to be maintained; Nanlu can't be relied upon..."

"Who are you calling unreliable!"

"So what if I said you guys crawled through dog holes?!"

Seeing that the crowd was about to start arguing again, Song Miao quickly stepped in to stop them, saying, "Thank you all for your kindness, but the restaurant will not be open for the time being, although the stall will definitely be set up—it's getting late, so you should go back to school soon!"

Hearing her answer, the students from the Imperial Academy breathed a sigh of relief, but the students from the Southern Hills Academy still wouldn't give up and hurriedly asked, "Why is it so hard to open a business? Is there some difficulty? Do you need our help?"

According to Song Miao's previous plan, she did not intend to reveal the full situation of her family to everyone so soon.

But since she had been asked directly, she naturally wouldn't hide anything. She simply mentioned that her father was a gambler, which had caused some disputes over the family's ancestral property. If things didn't go well, the family's property would probably have to be handed over to someone else within a month or two at most.

She didn't ask for anyone's help, nor did she say much more; she simply mentioned it and that was it, urging them to go back to class.

A young woman, beautiful and with such culinary skills, is bound to arouse curiosity. How could people not feel a sense of fondness and curiosity when they eat her cooking every day?
Hearing that there was trouble with her family's ancestral property, but without her explaining the situation, it was like bringing a watermelon soaked in ice water on a hot summer day. Just as it was being cut open, there was a soft "thud," and the watermelon split open on its own with a crisp sound. The skin was thin, the flesh was red, and the texture of the flesh at the opening was extremely beautiful. Even the juice barely spilled out. It was perfectly ripe, and the watermelon was very sweet. But just as you were about to eat it, and your mouth was just about to touch it, the watermelon was taken away by someone else—how could you not feel regretful!

But if the melon won't come to me, can't I go and go to the melon?

People say that women love to gossip when they get together, but men are even more so.

Since it wasn't appropriate for people to ask directly, they simply dispersed. As for how they would go back and whisper among themselves, asking each other questions and making random inquiries, that was another matter entirely.

***
Song Miao persuaded everyone to leave, but instead of rushing back, she waited a while longer.

She sold out so quickly today that several customers who had made reservations haven't come to pick them up yet.

As she was slowly packing up her stall, she saw Cheng Zijian's head emerge from the back gate of the Imperial Academy.

Seeing that Song Ji's stall was almost completely packed up, he was clearly a little anxious. He initially jogged along, but after a few steps, he slowed down and walked over obediently.

Song Miao then noticed that he was carrying a large cloth bag.

The bag looked very heavy. He initially carried it with one hand, but later simply put both hands around his stomach.

As they drew closer, Cheng Zijian ignored everything else, called out "Miss Song," and placed the cloth bag he was carrying on the side of the cart. He untied the tightly tied rope, opened the bag, and showed Song Miao what was inside.

He said happily, "I got quite a few pomelos yesterday. I've already tried them, and they taste great. I specially brought a few over for stall owner Song to try!"

The pomelos were quite large, a dull yellow color, and just a few filled a cloth bag completely.

Song Miao was taken aback and said, "So many? How can I accept this..."

"It's not mine, I'm just borrowing it to offer to Buddha!"

Cheng Zijian hurriedly recounted what had happened yesterday, and then laughed, "If it weren't for your continuous help in preparing these things for me, such as mutton buns and shumai, I wouldn't have gotten these pomelos, let alone the opportunity to ask you for advice every day!"

He added, “I said I brought this pomelo to you, but it’s really just returning it to its rightful owner—you clearly traded it with Brother Han for the shumai, glutinous rice, and soup!”

Song Miao found it amusing and didn't argue with him, but simply made room on the cart to put the pomelos.

Cheng Zijian helped carry the heavy bag back and forth, weighing about twenty pounds. He was sweating profusely and hurriedly wiped it with his sleeve. But as soon as he wiped it, he hissed and made a face of pain.

Many thanks to book lovers 20201004200215127 and miya爱古言 for sending me two peace charms each =3=
Thank you sdapx123 for hanging a good luck charm for me! ^_^
And then, my fellow foodies, it will be available tomorrow!
After it's published, I'll aim for at least 2,000 words, striving for 4,000 words a day. I can't really add more—I simply can't keep up with the demand...

This article was first published on Qidian.com. Food lovers are welcome to visit Qidian.com and chat with me!

Also, this is a farming story, mostly about eating, drinking, and cursing. There won't be any major plot twists. It's mainly meant to be entertaining while eating, so please don't have too high expectations for the plot.

As I said before, I hope everyone enjoys watching.

Finally, to all my readers who've been waiting for this story to finish, it's getting quite long and will be going to be a pay-to-read story. You can stop reading now, or the earlier chapters will start charging! Hurry up and finish reading it! Ugh, no matter how loudly I shout, you won't see me...

P.S.: There was a slight mishap during communication, and it was accidentally published ahead of schedule! Help! I was completely caught off guard and had no preparation whatsoever. I can only post a single update today, and I'll post a double update tomorrow. I'm so sorry everyone!

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(End of this chapter)