Miao Chu

Chapter 44 No Need
"Just eat! You always hide when there's something important to do, but now you're putting on an act!"

Zhu spat at him irritably and went to answer the door herself.

When she opened the door and saw Song Miao outside, she was quite surprised and greeted her, "It's Miss Song! You actually have time to come over today?"

He then said, "Come in and have a seat!"

Song Miao quickly declined, saying, "I have other things to do, so I won't bother you any longer."

As he spoke, he picked up the bamboo basket and presented it to Zhu, saying with a smile, "Last time, Auntie gave me a lot of Lipu taro, which was really good stuff. I used it to make some taro braised pork, and I'll give you two bowls of it. I also want Auntie to try my cooking."

"How could this be!" Madam Zhu quickly said politely. "No wonder I smelled a wonderful aroma as soon as I opened the door. I was wondering where it came from, but it turned out to be your delicious cooking!"

While saying "How can this be?", he had already reached into the bamboo basket to pick up the bowl.

Song Miao quickly moved the bamboo basket aside a little and said, "It's too hot to handle! Auntie, just carry the basket and go."

He then asked, "I wonder if Uncle Sun is home today?"

"At home, at home!" Zhu called out as she turned and entered the house, "Old Sun!"

Before long, Sun Lizheng came out wiping his mouth, and was also taken aback when he saw the person.

Song Miao had no choice but to greet them and then told the couple about the incident last night when a group of thugs broke into their home. She then said, "Because of such a big incident, a student who came to my house to return something was injured, and two others were also scratched. It was too late last night to do anything, but we have to report it to the authorities today."

"Before I went, I thought I should say something. Firstly, you two have helped me a lot, and you may have attracted their attention. Now that I know what those treacherous people have done, I can at least be on guard. Secondly, I also wanted to ask if it would be appropriate for me to report to the authorities?"

The so-called village head and yamen.

The village head often had to deal with the government offices. Besides helping to manage household registration, corvée labor, and taxes, he could also inquire about the security of the streets and alleys.

Upon hearing Song Miao's words, Sun Lizheng's expression immediately changed.

Zhu, who was standing nearby, immediately shouted, "How dare you! Are you out of your mind? Tell your Uncle Sun to go to the yamen with you to report to the authorities. You're young and don't know that it's easy to see the King of Hell, but hard to deal with his underlings. Those clerks are the best at treating people differently based on their status. If they see a young woman like you coming to the door, they'll probably just send you away with a few words."

Another call urged Sun, the village head, to hurry up.

Sun Lizheng frowned but did not respond.

Seeing his reaction, Song Miao smiled and said, "No need! I'll go report to the authorities first. If it's not appropriate, I'll come back and ask Uncle for help to inquire. Otherwise, if the two of us come to the door together and lose everything, it will be troublesome when we want to turn things around."

She bowed and was about to take her leave when she heard the village head Sun say, "You should go and report to the authorities first, but I'm afraid they might not be willing to pay attention to you—even if I go with you, it won't be any better."

He added, “Alright, you go first. Whether it works out or not, come find me. I’ll go talk to those patrolmen and ask them to patrol Suanzao Lane more often, day and night. It won’t be of much use, but it’s better than nothing.”

Song Miao had only come to say hello, but she was pleasantly surprised by this unexpected joy and quickly expressed her gratitude.

After thanking her, before taking her leave, she pointed to the bamboo basket and said to Zhu, "If there are only two or three people in the family, you don't need to cook meat at noon—this dish is still hot now. Keep it warm in a pot, and when you want to eat it, put a wide-rimmed, half-deep bowl upside down on the dish, flip it over, and you can eat it."

This is Guangnan cuisine. Zhu, a native of Beijing, had never actually eaten it, despite having owned countless fat pigs since childhood.

After hearing her description, Madam Zhu found it strange and asked for more details about how to "turn over" and "turn over" before letting her leave.

Once the person left and the door closed, Zhu's smile vanished. She said to her husband, "If you want to do someone a favor, you can go to the yamen with that young lady Song. Now you have to pay the favor yourself to find the patrolman, and then tell her to report to the authorities herself. How pointless."

"What do you know!" This time it was Sun Lizheng's turn to glare. "If I report this to the authorities, won't Liao Qingjiao and his gang hate me?"

"These lunatics dare to break into people's homes at night. I have a family to support, how could I dare to mess with them?"

"That Miss Song is really a bad person, and she's a good person. I feel bad about it, so I'll do her a favor to ease my conscience."

"Besides, she's eaten quite a bit of food during these few trips—what's in this basket? It smells amazing!"

Zhu slapped away her husband's outstretched hand, scolding, "What do you care what this is? It's not for you to eat! You should make me that candied taro first before you talk about anything else!"

***
Not to mention that Song Miao got up early to buy and cook vegetables and greet Sun Lizheng's family, on the other hand, in the food alley between the Imperial Academy and Nanlu Academy, there was already a long queue in front of Song Miao's usual stall early in the morning.

However, compared to the previous few days, there were noticeably fewer people today.

Especially since it was past the time when Song, the stall owner, usually set up her stall, hadn't come yet, so even fewer people were waiting. Instead, many people crowded at the entrance of the alley, craning their necks to wait.

After waiting in line for half a day, someone finally said, "I'm afraid they really aren't coming—could the rumors be true?"

"Whether it's true or false, we've already waited until this hour, what's a little longer? Who knows, you might just leave and Miss Song will be here right after!" Some people still held onto hope.

"Don't be silly, everyone disperse. Last night, the news spread throughout the Imperial Academy that Miss Song is going to the yamen to report to the authorities today—her house was forcibly broken into by a group of hooligans yesterday, but luckily someone helped chase them away."

"I've heard about it too. Apparently, it was our classmates from the south side who helped drive them away!"

"That's what I heard too. It's just that the student from the Imperial Academy is shameless. He took all the credit for us and even boasted about it outside!"

"In broad daylight, who would dare to trespass on a private residence?"

"A bunch of troublemakers. Last time, when Miss Song was still in mourning at the funeral hall, this group of people came and vandalized the place. This time, they heard that she has a good business and good relationships with us, and they are afraid that we will find fault with her."

"I heard that Miss Song asked someone to help her copy the 'Wei Criminal Code' last time. There was something wrong with the documents that were signed for her house that day. I guess she was trying to find some legal basis to rely on. Those who copied the book even got to eat a delicious pig's feet rice. What incredible luck! When will it be my turn to copy it?"

Someone suggested, "When will the law school reopen? Why don't we go back to what we said to that young lady Song, take the documents, and ask the lawyers at the law school to take a look? Maybe they can help us!"

"Are you stupid!" someone scolded him from the side. "The Law School is next to the Imperial Academy, and the teachers there are more familiar with the students. You're just going to bluff your way in, and who knows who will end up appreciating your favor!"

“I have an uncle who is a lawyer, but I don’t know if he will be of any use.”

"It might not be of much use, but it can at least help take a look—we'll go back and ask if anyone knows anyone who can help."

At that moment, someone nearby said, "I have a cousin in the Dali Temple, but he's just a registrar..."

"Being a registrar is good! After all, you work at the Dali Temple and are familiar with criminal cases and judgments. Next time you get the chance, quickly tell Miss Song that you don't need your uncle to do anything else, just help look at the documents and ask about the case. She might appreciate it—our uncle is easy to talk to, isn't he?"

"That makes sense! If we can save that house and open the restaurant, we can sneak out through the back door every day to eat delicious food. We can buy glutinous rice whenever we want, shumai whenever we want, and maybe even braised pork trotters rice—then what chance will those people from the Imperial Academy have!"

In an instant, everyone looked at each other and chuckled. Without anyone saying anything more, they were already imagining the future in their minds, like mice that had stolen oil, their eyes gleaming and their mouths chattering.

However well-intentioned they were, seeing that the stall owner Song was not coming for a long time, everyone naturally knew that he had really gone to report to the authorities. There would be no more glutinous rice and shumai to eat today. They couldn't help but sigh, and bought a few things in the food alley to eat as they pleased before going home.

However, since learning last night that Lady Song wouldn't be setting up her stall today, many people were too lazy to go out—especially the students of the Imperial Academy who only had two days left before their public examinations. They were truly up at the crack of dawn and squeezing in whatever time they could, so they just made do with whatever they could in the kitchen.

The number of students from the Imperial Academy was already the largest, so this made the food alley much emptier than usual.

It turned out that next to Song Miao's stall was a vendor selling shredded chicken noodles. He noticed that at this time in the past, he would have sold out by now, but today he had only sold less than half of his noodles. Moreover, fewer and fewer students were coming out, which made him very worried. He couldn't help but sigh.

The chicken noodle stall owner turned to look at the steamed bun vendor on the right and asked, "Grandma Duan, how's business today?"

The old woman was selling her noodles casually. When he asked her a question, she didn't answer in a hurry. She just lifted the lid of the steamer in front of her, made a "shh" sound, and said, "Take a look for yourself!" The chicken noodle stall owner looked over and saw that he had sold more than half of his noodles. He said, "You're better off than me! I have a lot of noodles left, and I have soup too. I don't know what to do with them."

He sighed again, "Strange! Ever since that Song's glutinous rice vendor came, her business has been good, and mine hasn't been bad either. In fact, I've sold more than I did in the past two years. Why is it that she didn't come today? Logically, her business should be even better, but instead, she's not selling anything!"

Granny Duan said, "You're so young and your eyes can't even see clearly, yet you come to ask an old woman like me?"

He added, "Can't you count how many more students have come out this time of year compared to before? They used to never come out to eat, but now they're lining up for her sticky rice and shumai. Since they can't buy hers, they're all out here buying ours!"

"But judging by the dates, those imperial examination students will be taking their exams in the next couple of days, so they might not have time to come out again. I reckon I'll have to do less tomorrow, otherwise business will be slow, and I'll have to go out into the streets and alleys to hawk my wares. That'll wear out my old bones..."

As she spoke, she grew annoyed and cursed, "I wonder which scoundrels are behind this. I hope that Miss Song's family matters can be resolved quickly. Otherwise, if they don't come today or tomorrow, how are we supposed to do business!"

The chicken noodle stall owner said, "I originally thought that since you sell steamed buns and she sells shumai and glutinous rice, there would be some clashes, and I wouldn't like her coming here. Speaking of which, Song's dishes don't look difficult to make, and her business is so good. Aren't you envious? Why don't you learn them?"

Granny Duan glanced at him and said, "You young man, you're so boring. Why don't you learn?"

"I only sell my noodles, I can't learn that!"

"I sell my own steamed buns. I'm too old to learn those new skills."

After saying that, Granny Duan turned her head away and ignored the other person.

Seeing the long queues at Song Xiaoniangzi's stall every day, how could one not be envious?

She had secretly asked someone to buy the glutinous rice and shumai before, and they were indeed delicious, so she went back and tried to make them herself.

It’s so troublesome!
The mung bean paste needs to be steamed and boiled every day, and the ingredients inside need to be fried and pickled—she bought ready-made ones, but the taste was completely different.

The most troublesome thing is the sauce inside. She doesn't know how it's made. There must be a secret recipe. She tried several times but couldn't figure it out.

Without that sauce, the glutinous rice is just ordinary glutinous rice. Anyone who has tried Song Ji's can tell the difference in just one bite.

If she only sold ordinary glutinous rice, she might as well sell her steamed buns and mantou. She has been selling here for many years and has gained some reputation. She can no longer compare with that young lady Song, but she can make a living.

As for shumai, it uses only the best meat and scallions, and the method is complicated. If you want to sell it, you need to add another person to help out—how much more cost will that add?
Not to mention, after trying it once, if she didn't have to run her own business, she would want to queue up every day to buy Song Ji's food!
As I said before, if you don't have the skills, why bother taking on a job you're not qualified for?

Song Miao's food stall was thriving, attracting many people like Granny Duan. After trying it, they realized it wouldn't work and honestly withdrew their foot. But there were always stubborn people who insisted on trying to break through. But that's a story for later.

Meanwhile, at the Imperial Academy, the kitchen staff never expected that overnight they would inexplicably gain the favor of the students. Early in the morning, every wooden window for serving food was crowded with people.

Compared to usual, there were at least three or four hundred more people that day.

Before long, all the food was sold out.

The cooks didn't have time to knead the dough to make steamed buns or mantou, so they busied themselves cooking dumpling soup in a large pot, and also made flatbreads to get rid of the customers first.

After finally finishing their work, the group collapsed, feeling quite puzzled.

"This scene came out of nowhere, completely unexpected, it was terrifying!"

"There weren't this many people in previous years' civil service exams!"

"The public exam isn't until the day after tomorrow, it's not time yet!"

"Did you change the seasoning these past few days? The mutton and pork buns you made taste so good that the students have been spreading the word, and now they're all rushing to try our cooking?"

However, the cooks who come to the Imperial Academy to find food are naturally not very good at cooking. The food they usually make tastes just so-so. Today, in such a hurry, and with such a large pot, it is even more difficult to control.

Meanwhile, at the tables and chairs in the dining hall where students were seated, many people were sighing and groaning as they ate their dumplings, flatbread, and steamed buns.

Those who were particularly heartbroken were naturally the group of people who were used to eating Song Miao's glutinous rice and shumai.

"They call them mutton buns, but there are hardly any pieces of mutton inside!"

"At least you have meat buns, but my flatbread isn't evenly salted, the outside is burnt and the inside is still raw!"

"If these ingredients were given to Miss Song, who knows what delicious dishes she could make..."

"Wang Chang, how's your dumpling soup?"

Wang Chang pushed the dumpling soup across to the other side: "You try it, I can't eat it—I can usually manage to eat it, but why does it taste so weird today!"

He frowned and said, "I still don't know what to do at noon. Yesterday we had braised pork trotters with rice, but today we're treated like this. Is it true that when Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on someone, it first puts them through hardship?"

Just as they were worrying, some busybodies who had watched them eat pig's feet rice and pickled white radishes for half a day yesterday started making fun of them.

"Hey! Why aren't we having sticky rice today?"

"Do you still have braised pork knuckle rice for lunch?"

"You're not going to eat in the kitchen with us, are you?"

"Why didn't you tell the stall owner, Mr. Song, that this tastes so bad?"

The crowd felt heartbroken and had no choice but to send the person away.

"Go away! Get out of here!"

"Drink your dumpling soup!"

However, their heartache stemmed from not being able to eat Song Xiaoniangzi's glutinous rice and shumai.

What's even more heartbreaking is Cheng Zijian's situation.

—Today, Miss Song went to report to the authorities and stopped setting up her stall, so there was no more glutinous rice or shumai. But we can't ignore Brother Han's situation.

He had no choice but to buy some food from other stalls in the food alley.

Just as Cheng Zijian received the article, before he could even glance at the annotations, he heard the person opposite him ask, "Have you had breakfast?"

He subconsciously replied, "I've already eaten."

For once, Han Li pushed the food box back: "The public exam is the day after tomorrow, eat more."

Cheng Zijian was still a little dazed. He opened the food box and saw that the mutton buns and red bean buns he had bought in the food alley were still untouched. He only took out a duck and goose bun.

There was still more than half of the soy milk left in the bamboo tube—but I poured a few mouthfuls into a cup next to it.

Han Li paused for a moment, then said, "As I said before, I don't really like that kind of food, so you don't need to bring me breakfast every day."

Thank you so much to the bookstore! My cat, Egg, sent me five little gifts. Thank you so much, sweetie! You don't need to send me things every day, I'll try my best to update! =3=
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(End of this chapter)