Miao Chu

Chapter 39 Problem
When Song Miaoyi opened the door, she saw seven or eight students, each carrying a box and a pot, standing a few steps apart, standing properly outside.

Having already visited once at noon, the group was no longer as familiar with the place as they had been the first time. Especially after eating braised pork trotters and drinking mustard green and salted egg soup, they treated each other like family. Upon seeing Song Miao, they greeted her warmly.

The man asked, "Miss Song, where would be a good place to put this food box?"

The man said, "Shopkeeper Song, we've washed this pot three or four times, it's very clean now. Where should we take it to?"

Someone else said, "Miss Song, we've been washing and drying the steamer for ages, but it's still a bit damp from the cloudy weather. Should we put it upside down somewhere?"

Everyone was incredibly attentive.

Song Miao hurriedly let everyone in and asked them to help put the pots, pans, and baskets back in their places.

After everything was packed up, Cheng Zijian and Wang Chang each carried a bag of things and stepped forward first.

Cheng Zijian presented the bag in his hand to Song Miao, saying, "It wouldn't be right to come empty-handed. On the way, we saw someone carrying a load of early peaches for sale. It was getting late, and he was in a hurry to leave the city. Without any haggling, he quoted us five coins a pound. What a bargain! We simply bought a whole bunch and brought them to the stall owner, Song, to try—he cut one for us to eat, and it was quite sweet!"

Seeing that the bag was very large and made of straw rope, Song Miao estimated that there were probably five or six pounds inside. If that's the case, the two bags together must weigh at least ten pounds. She quickly said, "I can't eat that much by myself. I'll keep a few for you to take the rest back."

Immediately, all the students behind jumped up.

Eat slowly!

"This is nothing!"

"Exactly! That's only a few! The other day I was studying and eating oranges while I was reading, and I ate five pounds of oranges in one day—Miss Song must work so hard and use her brain to make so many delicious things every day, a few pounds of peaches is no problem for her, she'll finish them in two or three days!"

"There's no reason to take back what's been delivered!"

"Stall owner Song isn't giving us any face!"

Seeing that this group of people not only had a big appetite but were also incredibly eloquent, Song Miao had no choice but to accept their thanks and invite them to stay for a cup of tea before leaving.

Since the decent tables and chairs in the hall had long been moved away, leaving only a few tattered ones, which were not enough for so many people, she took a few futons and placed them on the ground, inviting everyone to sit down. She then moved a crooked bench out and placed it in the middle as a table, and asked, "Have you all had dinner yet?"

All of them should be.

"have eaten."

"I ate before I came!"

Someone took the opportunity to complain: "At noon, we could still have pork trotter rice made by stall owner Song, which made me so happy that my legs were about to give way. But in the afternoon, we were reduced to eating in the kitchen. It's true that times have changed. In less than 30 years, in just two hours, things have turned around. We are really pitiful!"

"Yes, when will Miss Song be able to cook lunch and dinner together to sell? If she cooks them earlier, we'll have something to eat and won't be in such a miserable state!"

"That's right. It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. In the past, we ate in the kitchen every day. Even if the food was bad, it was still bad. But now that we've eaten such good food, we really can't go back to those miserable days!"

Song Miao laughed as she listened, casually replied a few words, and then brought out hot tea and snacks.

She made some sugar-coated dumplings a couple of days ago. In the afternoon, thinking that the students would be coming to bring pots and pans for the pork trotter rice, she was afraid that it wouldn't be enough to entertain them, so she also fried some spiced broad beans. Now she took a plate, put several plates of them on the bench.

As soon as she put it down, she remembered what Cheng Zijian had said about getting a sore throat. When she looked at him, she saw that the pimples on his chin hadn't gone away yet. She also saw that there were two or three other people with pimples on their faces. She pointed to the dishes and said, "These snacks are fried foods that are very hot and cause internal heat. If you have liver or lung heat, please don't be greedy and eat something else."

As she spoke, she poured out the early peaches from the bag—the peaches were not big, and they were a mix of green and red, but mostly green and white.

She selected some slightly reddish ones, washed a small basketful, and took out a few small knives to make it easier for everyone to peel them.

Seeing that there were many people, seven or eight young men, who were at the age where they could eat more than oxen, Song Miao pushed over the pomelos that Cheng Zijian had given her the day before from the corner of the wall.

The pomelo was quite large. She used a knife to make a cross-shaped cut on the peel, and when she opened it up, she saw that the peel was indeed thick.

When everyone saw her opening the pomelo, they initially said they didn't need it. But after she made the cross-shaped cuts and realized the pomelo was beyond saving, they quickly took over and helped peel it, breaking it into pieces and distributing them to each other.

Besides pomelos, several people also ate spring peaches, but they didn't want the hassle and none of them were willing to peel them; they all ate them peel and all.

Before long, those eating pomelos were still eating pomelos, but those eating peaches stopped eating much.

Some people frowned as they held the peach in their hands, then went to drink tea and eat fried sugar-coated fruit; others frowned as they placed the peach on the bench in front of them, then went to eat a pomelo.

Song Miao saw this and was just about to ask when she heard Cheng Zijian say, "Miss Song, we've helped copy the books and eaten your braised pork trotters. We're practically family now. If you need any help, just say so. Don't be shy!"

Immediately, everyone around responded, patting their chests and nodding in agreement.

Song Miao thanked them and then said, "There's no need to help for now, but in ten or twenty days, no matter how things go, there will definitely be something I need to ask you all for help. By then, the civil service exams will be over, so let's see who is available and lend a hand. There's no need to force anyone; I just hope we don't cause too much trouble for everyone."

The young man was full of youthful passion and enthusiasm. Hearing Song Miao speak, he felt that she was such a generous and cheerful young lady who was well-liked. The two sides had a solid relationship of sharing glutinous rice, shumai, and braised pork trotters, and yet her family was still in such a miserable and pitiful state. He truly felt that if he took action, he would be the one to save her from danger.

A sense of heroism welled up in everyone's hearts, and they wished they could do something for her right then and there, so they all readily agreed.

Song Miaoshao had no choice but to express her gratitude again.

She chatted with the others for a few minutes, and noticing that some of their teacups were almost empty, she took the teapot and refilled their teacups before turning back to heat water.

However, she didn't know that as soon as she left, the students who had been sitting upright and looking very polite immediately changed their expressions and rushed to grab the things on the bench.

"Why are you trying to take it from me! Aren't you eating a pomelo over there?"

"A pomelo is a pomelo, when can't I eat it? Besides, does eating a pomelo mean I can't eat anything else?! As soon as Miss Song brought it out, I saw that plate of broad beans. I just regret that I was sitting too far away, I could only smell the aroma, and I was too embarrassed to reach out and take some. Don't block me, let me grab a handful before they come back!"

"What's that? Is it rice candy? Don't grab it so fast! Leave me a piece!"

The hall was in complete chaos.

Cheng Zijian knew that he wouldn't get any food while talking about etiquette, so he quickly grabbed two pieces of rice candy and remembered to share them with the classmate sitting the furthest away.

The classmate hesitated before taking it, saying, "I don't really like sweets, I'll just break off a small piece to try."

As soon as he said that, several people around him reached out their hands, saying, "Don't give it to me!"

Sure enough, the person broke off a small piece with their hand and popped it into their mouth with a light jump. With their other hand, they held the remaining half of the rice candy, about to give it away.

The others rushed to take it, but before they knew it, the man had only chewed a couple of times when his hand suddenly stopped and he withdrew it, saying, "It's not very sweet, it's actually quite delicious. Zijian is being kind, but I'll accept it anyway and won't give it to you."

Those men had been reaching out for quite a while, and were exhausted. They had almost fought in mid-air, but this was the result they had expected. They wished they could reach out even further and punch the man to teach him the lesson of going back on his word.

Cheng Zijian was also eating rice candy. Rice candy was actually a common food in the capital, and many shops sold it. Some even had walnuts or sesame seeds added, but Song Xiaoniangzi's version only had rice candy and nothing else added.

She fried the rice popcorn to perfection—not oily, fragrant, and crispy, with a satisfying crunch when you chew it, but not sticky at all.

The rice puffs already have a slightly sweet taste from the grains, and now they've added a layer of syrup made from maltose and granulated sugar.

The sugar syrup is mixed evenly on top of the fried rice, in an extremely thin layer that is almost imperceptible. The subtle sweetness perfectly brings out the natural sweetness of the fried rice, and a few tiny bits of dried osmanthus flowers are sprinkled on top, adding a touch of fragrance every now and then.

Sweet, crumbly, and won't scratch your palate—that's the true taste and texture of rice candy.

"I wonder if Miss Song sells these rice candies—if I get hungry in the afternoon, I can have them with a cup of tea, and then bask in the sun, and reciting my lessons won't be so hard!"

The student who had just said he didn't like sweets suddenly sighed as he ate.

Cheng Zijian couldn't help but laugh out loud.

But no one heard his laughter, and no one paid any attention to it.

The sound of "crunching" echoed throughout the hall as everyone ate broad beans.

The spiced broad beans, freshly fried for less than half an hour and just cooled completely, are even crispier.

The aroma of the broad beans has been locked into the outer shell by the hot oil, while the five-spice flavor has completely permeated it. After chewing a couple of times, you'll experience a salty, savory, and slightly spicy flavor, along with the natural sweetness of the broad beans themselves—it's all very natural.

Throw one into your mouth, and it's not hard, but rather crunchy.

As you chew, it becomes fragrant and crispy, with a rich and lingering flavor, though it is a little bit tough on your teeth.

But none of the young people in the room were missing teeth, so they started chewing and chewing, and couldn't stop. They ended up creating a crunching symphony with their teeth.

The snacks were quickly devoured, and in no time they were divided up. Several people were eyeing the remaining small handful, and they started arguing amongst themselves.

"You're still eating! You've already eaten so much!"

"I didn't! Wang Chang ate more!"

Seeing that he had been dragged into the mess, Wang Chang was furious: "I only ate a handful!"

"Miss Song already said that those of you with liver and lung heat shouldn't eat this, otherwise it will make you even more inflamed. Go eat some pomelos to cool down, or go have some tea!"

They even brought up Song Miao.

Wang Chang subconsciously pulled his turban down to cover the two red pimples on his forehead.

The pressure from the turban made his pimples ache slightly, and he retorted angrily, "You're the one who's getting a sore throat! It's people who have nothing to eat who get a sore throat!"

Several large plates of delicious snacks were almost full when Song Miaogang left, but when she came back with hot water, there wasn't a single bite left.

She was holding a teapot and was about to pour tea for everyone when she saw that all the students in the hall had stood up and were preparing to take their leave when they saw her come out.

Not only that, Cheng Zijian and Wang Chang also carried the remaining large bag of early spring peaches in their hands, leaving only the two reddest ones in the basket.

"Even if Mr. Song eats all of these by himself, he might as well take two to try the taste."

The people who had initially insisted that Peach stay had changed their tune.

"Exactly, peaches are bad for your stomach!"

"There are too many of us, it's not enough to eat, let's take it back!"

As they talked, some people were hiding behind their backs, because they couldn't leave the peaches they had only eaten a couple of bites of, so they had to carry them with them.

While washing the peaches, Song Miao noticed something was off about them; they were too hard and didn't seem very ripe. Seeing everyone eating them and witnessing their current reactions confirmed her suspicions. She smiled and asked, "Is it not very tasty?"

As she spoke, she took a peach from the basket, cut a small slice with a knife, and tasted it.

It wasn't cooked through as expected.

It's very sour, with a slightly astringent taste.

The students tried to stop her, but it was too late. Seeing that she had eaten, they were all embarrassed.

Cheng Zijian was particularly embarrassed and said, "Alas, we were greatly fooled. We don't know why, but when we ate them, they were very sweet. However, after we bought them, these peaches were so sour that we couldn't swallow them!"

"That vendor is so shameless! He's made us lose face!"

"Shopkeeper Song, stop eating now, or you'll hurt your teeth."

Some people even picked up the other one left in the basket, wanting to take it with them.

Song Miao laughed and said, "It's alright, leave them all to me. I can cook them and eat them. They're so heavy, it'll be hard for you to carry them back."

He added, "Once it's ready, I'll send you some to try."

Hearing her say that, the students were still a little embarrassed, but they didn't say anything more. They were curious about what to eat with the sour peaches, and they quickly unloaded the early peaches.

Seeing that all the snacks on the table were empty, Song Miao smiled and said, "Since everyone brought things, it wouldn't be good for you to leave empty-handed. Please sit for a while, and I'll pack some spiced broad beans and rice candy for you to take home, how about that?"

Everyone said "No need," "No need to trouble yourself," and "I'm sorry," but their feet seemed rooted to the spot, and not one of them moved.

Not to mention the students waiting for Song Miao to fetch the various fried buns, Lin Yiwen had been standing in a corner for half a day, his legs aching and swollen, but no one came out. He could only hear laughter and talking coming from inside the house from time to time, and he was quite displeased. As soon as the person left, he was about to go inside.

At that very moment, further away, across the street, in a courtyard overlooking the Cai River, a person hurriedly entered and rushed in to report.

"Master Liao, thankfully you reminded us to keep a close eye on things—that Song family daughter from Suanzao Lane is really not going to stay still. I heard she's been setting up a breakfast stall outside all this time, and she's told all the creditors that she'll pay back the money slowly, month by month and year by year. That's not all, she's even going around looking for laws and regulations, as if she's trying to find out the mistake in the transaction with Song Dalang that day!"

The man known as Boss Liao was burly with a square face and around forty years old. Just by looking at his appearance, one could tell that he was a capable and efficient person.

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, he was quite confident and first asked, "Was there anything wrong with the document you made that day?"

Thank you b? Useye kindly sent me this amulet =3=
Thank you to the bookstore owner, my cat is named Egg, and the two kind souls, Ten Happiness Laser Guide, for the small token of my appreciation :)

Director Wei's name is kind of cute, but it's a bit hard to type. It took me quite a while to fill it in, but I think I still made a mistake with one character. I don't know how to fix it QAQ
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(End of this chapter)