Miao Chu

Chapter 33 Rare (Two Chapters Combined)

At this time, a line of one and a half had already formed on the ground in front of Song Miao's usual stall location.

The term "one and a half lines" refers to a line consisting of people and a line of food containers and other utensils. Some people had been waiting, while others had grown impatient and left, using the utensils to stand in line instead. Some people had been away for too long and, fearing they would miss their turn, returned and stood next to the food containers and other utensils.

As Song Miao and her group arrived, everyone readily made way for the cart, making it move as smoothly as if a divine sword were cleaving through ocean waves. One by one, they called out, "Young Lady Song!" "Young Lady, why are you so late today?" "Good morning, Stall Owner Song! How much stock have you prepared today?" "Will I be able to buy anything if I line up here?" "Is it true that we can't buy more than we need starting today?"...

Suddenly, a noisy commotion erupted, like a flock of wild ducks scrambling for food, quacking and squawking as they all crowded around, exchanging greetings and asking questions. Many others, having just received the news, hurriedly ran back from the back, ready to return to their original positions.

Some people who weren't originally in line couldn't resist squeezing in, either to cut in line, to ask questions, or both.

A quick glance revealed a truly chaotic scene, making the excitement of the previous few days seem insignificant in comparison.

Seeing so many people rushing in, Song Miao was truly astonished.

The sticky rice did taste good, and the shumai was delicious, but it's just breakfast, so why are so many people queuing up?

She didn't realize that people have a herd mentality. The Nanlu Academy and the Imperial Academy together have at least two or three thousand students, but Song's food stall only prepares two or three hundred servings of food a day. Only a very small number of people have actually tried it. After all, many customers come back for more, which inadvertently squeezes out the opportunity for other newcomers to try it.

As a result, the greater the reputation, the more interested people become. However, since it is not available for purchase, it naturally whets people's appetites, and everyone wants to try it.

Her announcement yesterday that starting today, each person can only buy three portions has become a gimmick, attracting even more people's interest.

This is an analysis after the fact. Song Miao naturally couldn't react so quickly on the spot, so she had to hurriedly set up her stall and start selling.

Fortunately, Cheng Zijian's classmates came to help. One student helped serve soup and collect money, while the other helped maintain order at the back. Although it was their first day helping out and they were a little unfamiliar with the task at first, they quickly got the hang of it.

The three of them worked much faster than they had a few days ago, and before long, all the food was sold out.

Those who didn't manage to buy anything were both annoyed and angry, and rushed to ask Song Miaoming about her stall opening hours—how could anyone have predicted that?
Song Miao had no choice but to give the answer according to the usual time, adding that she couldn't be completely sure, but it would be close.

A group of people were gathered around when Cheng Zijian finally emerged from the back gate of the Imperial Academy.

He had a companion, and the two of them, each with one hand on each side, carried a bamboo basket together, and each also carried a bamboo basket on their backs. When they arrived in front of Song Miao, they bowed together.

Song Miao returned the greeting, exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile, and then solemnly bowed to everyone to express her gratitude, saying that she was thanking them for helping her copy the book the day before.

The students dared not mention the matter of Song Family Restaurant and Song Dalang, and could only say "no, no" and "you're too kind" while being somewhat awkward.

Song Miao didn't delay them. Seeing that the bamboo basket was very large, she pointed to the two large steamers on the cart and said, "The glutinous rice is already served and it's all in here. I heard that Young Master Cheng went to borrow a basket, so he didn't pack the shumai separately. It would be better to just take the steamers with us to save the trouble of moving them around. I can come back to pick them up at noon. But I don't know if that's okay?"

Upon hearing this, everyone stepped forward to move the steamer, and when they tried putting it into the bamboo basket, it was the perfect size.

There was also a pot of tangerine peel and mung bean drink, and a pot of radish and pork rib soup. The two bamboo baskets were just right, one for each pot.

Finally, everything was packed. Cheng Zijian stepped forward first, then turned to look at his classmates behind him. Seeing that everyone nodded, he took a small cloth bag off his shoulder and handed it to Song Miao, saying, "Shopkeeper Song, this is what we all contributed..."

The bag was heavy, and when it was unloaded, it made a loud metallic clanging sound, clearly indicating that it contained strings of money.

Before he could finish speaking, Song Miao took a step back and said seriously, "There's really no need for that."

A student nearby quickly said, "We didn't give you a single extra coin; we just followed the price!"

Song Miao took a step back and said, "It was agreed that I would treat you to both meals today. If you all treat me like this, how can I ask you for help again in the future?"

Seeing Song Miao's insistence, the group could only exchange glances and then look at Cheng Zijian, urging him with their eyes.

Cheng Zijian was at a loss and was about to step forward to persuade them again, but the whispers among the group could be heard by the crowd that had been surrounding them.

These two large steamers, filled with who knows how many shumai, glutinous rice, and drinks they contained, were all taken away by a group of people. How could they bear not being able to buy them?

Someone immediately shouted in protest, "Stadium owner Song, didn't we agree that starting today, each person could only buy three portions? How come they can buy so many at once? If you want to sell in bulk, just name a number. Don't we have the capacity?"

"Didn't you say they were sold out? How come there are still so many? Miss Song is usually very fair, how could she let them cut in line today? This is outrageous!"

"Exactly, exactly! I'm so angry!"

Song Miao hurriedly said to Cheng Zijian and his group, "Really, don't give them any more, or there will be a rebellion here!"

As he spoke, he urged them to leave, then stepped forward to explain to the crowd that he had asked them to help him copy a book, and they had copied one book in one night, which had been a great help to him. He said that he was giving them gifts to express his gratitude, and that it was not a sale, but a special reservation that would not take up his daily sales quota.

Hearing that they could get so many good things just by copying a few books, everyone's eyes practically turned red with excitement, and they hurriedly asked what books they were.

Song Miao answered.

This only made things worse and more chaotic.

"Just one copy of the 'Wei Criminal Code'? And it was copied by so many people together? Why didn't you say so sooner, Miss Song! I have one on hand, I can lend it to you, you don't need to pay it back for ten or eight years, why do you need theirs!"

"Anyone can copy books! If there's going to be such a good thing in the future, can't you at least let us know in advance? How can we let them snatch it away? That's just too unfair!!"

"Exactly, exactly! I'm so angry!"

Having been infuriated twice, the man, having finished his rant, stood at the front, straightened his sleeves, and cleared his throat, saying, "Miss Song is being too kind. Miss, please remember my face. I live in the Imperial Academy, and my surname is Zhang..."

—They had already introduced themselves, stating their names, hometowns, and origins.

"Next time something like this happens, remember to come find me, Mr. Zhang, in my inner quarters!"

Song Miao was both amused and exasperated, and had no choice but to agree.

Although everyone complained verbally, they couldn't really find fault with it.

A drop of water in need is repaid with a spring of water in return; this is a truly wonderful thing in the world and something that a gentleman would strive for. For them, copying this book was a drop of water, while the glutinous rice and shumai were, to the students who were craving them, a spring of water.

So they whispered amongst themselves, watching in full view of everyone as Cheng Zijian and his three companions walked proudly into the back gate of the Imperial Academy, some carrying bamboo baskets and others carrying bamboo hampers. They were filled with envy, and when they returned, they naturally spread the news far and wide.

***
Meanwhile, Cheng Zijian and the others brought breakfast to the study, where a room full of people were eagerly waiting to be fed. When they saw the group carrying the food in, they practically swarmed around it.

The food portions were actually more than enough. Everyone knew to count the number of people beforehand, but food tastes better when everyone is scrambling to eat it. Especially when the steamer was opened, the aroma of scallion, pork, and mutton shumai was simply irresistible. How could anyone resist?

Before long, there was no sound of talking in the hall, only the sounds of swallowing, chewing, and slurping soup. Everyone was busy eating, not wanting to waste time talking, for fear of missing a bite. Only from time to time could someone let out a satisfied and happy sigh from their throat or nose.

Everyone was enjoying their meal, scrambling to eat the meat-filled shumai. Only Cheng Zijian ate a few shumai to satisfy his craving before quickly swallowing the glutinous rice and drinking a few sips of soup—he didn't dare drink too much of the soup, for fear of having to go to the toilet later.

After finishing his meal, he specially set aside another set of breakfast—for He Qi.

When I delivered breakfast yesterday, the student wasn't at school. I heard that they had taken leave to go home because of some family matters, and I don't know how long they'll be gone.

Although Madam Song had instructed that he could eat as much as he wanted if she wasn't around, Cheng Zijian still felt a little guilty, so he left an extra set today, just in case.

After putting away the breakfast given to him by the man surnamed He, Cheng Zijian washed his hands and face and straightened his clothes.

After everything was taken care of, he carefully folded the article he had written the day before, put it in his pocket, took a separate breakfast, packed it in a food box, and hurriedly delivered it to the upper dormitory.

Upon arrival, Han Li was indeed already in the study.

Cheng Zijian knocked on the door with practiced ease, greeted everyone, put down the food box, and then presented his newly revised article.

Han Li didn't waste any time. He took the food box and the essay, casually wrote down a few topics, crumpled the papers into balls, and said, "You pick one, and write whichever one you pick—this time you only need to build the framework. I'll come and see after I've had breakfast."

Cheng Zijian agreed, then reached out his hand, hesitating between the crumpled pieces of paper. After a long while, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Brother Han, could I... write them all?"

Han Li looked at him and said, "Not very capable, but quite greedy."

Despite being scolded, after a few days, perhaps because he had become familiar with the other party and knew his temper and abilities, Cheng Zijian felt not only not embarrassed, but not even a little bit ashamed.

He mustered his courage and explained, "The civil service exam is in a few days, and I figured even if it's last-minute cramming, if I don't put in the effort, even Buddha won't know I'm the one cramming for him..."

Hearing this, Han Li glanced at the article he had just received, thought for a moment, and said, "Just pick two, any more and your brain won't be able to handle it. You still need to set aside some time for the classics—I don't know how you've been studying these past three years. It's one thing if you can't memorize the criminal code, but the classics only test about ten books, yet you've..."

He paused, but ultimately said nothing more.

Even though Cheng Zijian's skin had become much thicker than usual in the past two days, he still felt embarrassed at this moment. He couldn't help but think to himself: If no one in the lower dormitory could memorize those more than ten books, let alone the lower dormitory, how many students in the inner dormitory could memorize them?
—Besides, are there only a dozen or so books? How many annotations and explanations are there?

If I could recite it, I would have changed my name to Han Li long ago. Why would I still want to be Cheng Zijian?
However, no matter what he thought, he still honestly took two and dared not be greedy anymore, and went to the front to write his article.

Cheng Zijian was not known for his quick wit; even though he was only writing a framework, it took him almost half an hour to write two articles.

During this time, Han Li came over twice to knock on his desk to urge him on. After receiving the article, he used a pen dipped in cinnabar to revise it one by one. After finishing, he threw it back to him, but frowned and said, "Too slow - it's not that you can't write fast. For the first half of the time, you were just writing nonsense on the paper. Later, I knocked on the desk and forced you to write something. There are a few usable points."

As he spoke, he pointed to the handwriting on the draft and asked, "What were you thinking when you wrote this?"

After recalling for a while, Cheng Zijian recounted his thought process. He first thought about which perspective to take and what example to use. Later, he felt that the example was not quite right and wanted to change it. However, there was no time left, so he had to use the previous example again. Fearing that he would not be able to explain his intention clearly, he cited some classics to help support his point.

Han Li said, "You've written too much."

He thought for a moment and said, "The policy questions are not about length, but about length. Look at the ones that have been passed down to this day, which one is long? With our abilities, the so-called policy questions are nothing more than shouting a few nice or unpleasant words. If you shout shorter, more forceful, and clearer, it will be easier to leave an impression. If the text is too long and full of nonsense, who would want to read it?"

Cheng Zijian hurriedly said, "I've been used to padding my word count since I was little, and I've become verbose without realizing it. I'll try to correct it when I get back."

Han Li pondered for a few moments, then picked up a book from the table, flipped through it, took out paper and pen, copied the page numbers, handed it to Cheng Zijian, and said, "Go back and compare these articles, using only the most concise words for each paragraph, and see how you can condense them—bring them to me tomorrow."

Pointing to his article, he said, "Besides revising the article, the writing should also be more concise. Don't be afraid of it being short. You write short articles first, and then I'll teach you how to write longer ones."

Cheng Zijian stood there, speechless except for expressing his gratitude. He felt as if he could repay the debt by sacrificing himself for the greater good.

He choked for a while before finally managing to say, "Brother Han, I really don't know how to thank you... There will be lunch... Please remember to save room for me to bring it to you..."

He then briefly recounted Song Miao's situation in a few words.

Han Li then realized that the breakfasts he had been eating these past few days had all been made by a stall owner in the food alley.

The other party specially prepared food this morning and noon to express their gratitude, because they thanked me for pointing out the location of the "Wei Criminal Code" and for the other people who helped copy the manuscript.

After hearing this explanation, Han Li didn't ask why a stall owner would use the "Wei Criminal Code," nor did he refuse the food offered to him. He simply said, "Since the stall owner makes a living this way, there's no reason for her to eat for free. You pay my bill."

Cheng Zijian wanted to say a few more words to the stall owner, but seeing that the other party was not interested, he had no choice but to shut up. Seeing that it was getting late, he quickly took the article and said goodbye.

***
Not to mention that Cheng Zijian was hurrying to the school, outside a classroom in the outer dormitory, there was also a person in a hurry. When he arrived, he didn't knock on the door, but just called out "Old Duan" through the door. As he called, he pushed the door open and went in.

Upon entering, he found the man he called "Old Duan" sitting at his desk reviewing student essays, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a mosquito. Hearing the commotion, he didn't even look up, only replying, "Can't you see I'm busy—what are you doing? You're already finished reviewing them?"

The person who came immediately replied, "It's approved."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but chuckle twice.

Hearing that his tone was very strange and his reaction was even stranger, Old Duan finally raised his head and said, "Although the essay submitted by the student from the outer dormitory this time was a bit too forced, it shouldn't be enough to make you see something wrong, right?"

The visitor laughed heartily, handed over an article, and said, "Never mind the rest for now, read this article first—it's rare, truly rare! The iron tree has finally blossomed! There's finally someone enlightened among the students in the outer dormitory!"

Thank you so much, madoka1013! You kindly sent me the He Shi Bi jade, which is heart-shaped. I've kept it safe and sound. Mwah! :)

Thank you to Yellow Scorpio Palace and Miya Loves Ancient Words for hanging the sachets for me. They smell like osmanthus; I think I was tricked into coming out to harvest fresh osmanthus before the temperature dropped. They smell wonderful! =3=
Thank you b? useye for the lucky charm! May everyone be safe and sound! ^_^
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(End of this chapter)