Miao Chu

Chapter 54 Tables and Chairs
When Song Miao saw Han Li handing her the silver, she didn't take it. Instead, she took a half step back and waved her hand, saying, "It's rare for a guest to come from afar. As the host, I should treat him well. Besides, the guest is Young Master Han, so I can't accept it."

Upon hearing this, all three people in the room were taken aback.

Qin Zong couldn't help but ask, "So you know Brother Han?"

Song Miao shook her head, then nodded again, and said, "Although we have never met, I have long heard of your great name."

Xin Feng, standing to the side, chuckled and said, "There are very few people in the capital who don't know Zheng Yan, right? He writes such good stories about chickens and dogs that even my wife has heard of him."

The same words, spoken by Xin Feng now, are similar in wording to what he said halfway there, but the emotion behind them is completely different.

At this moment, Xin Feng spoke as if Han Li's name was known to others and that it was related to him, and he even had a bit of pride.

Song Miao then smiled and said, "That's true and not true. Young Master Han's writing is naturally famous, but my gratitude today is not because of his writing."

He then asked Han Li, "Young Master Han, are you studying in the Cunxin Zhai of the Upper Academy? Do you know Cheng Zijian from the Lower Academy?"

Han Li already understood and nodded in agreement.

Song Miao took two steps back and bowed respectfully.

She said, "I haven't thanked Young Master Han for his guidance yet. Otherwise, how could I have obtained the 'Jianlong Detailed Edition of the Wei Criminal Code' in time?"

Han Li shook his head and said, "At the time, I didn't know it was for Miss Song. I only thought that Cheng Zijian needed it for his own use. I only gave him a few words of guidance. The borrowing and copying were all done by Cheng Zijian. There's no need for you to be so polite, Mr. Song."

"If we're talking about thanking you, Zijian has been sending over many breakfasts and dishes these past few days, all thanks to the stall owner, Song. Every single one of them tastes wonderful, and even the teachers often remember it—it's me who should be thanking you."

After he finished speaking, he returned the greeting.

The two men exchanged greetings, and the two people beside them, though unaware of the cause and effect, could easily tell from this that there was indeed a past connection.

Song Miao stepped aside, refusing to accept Han Li's courtesy, and turned to Xin Feng to explain the ins and outs of why she wanted to borrow the Criminal Code.

She spoke simply, but given the Song family's situation and her being a lone woman, who wouldn't help fill in the gaps in the story? They might even add more tragedy to it.

Even the students of the Imperial Academy knew that she was having a hard time, let alone Inspector Xin, who had seen the ways of the world.

Xin Feng already had a good impression of Song Miao, and felt even more sorry for her. He praised her, saying, "These students are quite righteous; they did a good deed."

As he spoke, he untied the large string of coins wrapped around his waist and handed it to Song Miao, saying, "In that case, I'll join you as a hostel here, just like Zheng Yan."

Song Miao could easily tell that his actions were an attempt to help her.

She conceded, "Inspector Xin is keeping watch here at night, which is also a help to me. Besides, Young Master Han is with me. If I accept this money, how could I possibly ask for your help again in the future?"

He then laughed and said, "I can afford to treat you to a few simple meals. If you all continue to be so polite, you are underestimating me."

Qin Zonggan, who was already anxious, said urgently, "Since we have such a connection, don't be shy. Miss Song, you can still make the bamboo shoot dish as usual, but you don't need to worry about the rest."

He rubbed his hands together, eager to get started, and said, "I've sent someone to buy some food. You can add one or two dishes to the meal. We appreciate your kindness, and we hope you brothers will appreciate mine too. What do you say?"

His desire to win over officials and magistrates was so strong that it was palpable.

Xin Feng immediately echoed this, and then instructed Qin Zong: "Be careful, always go in and out through the backyard, don't let anyone notice anything."

Seeing this, Song Miao agreed.

Knowing that everyone would be spending the night there, she led them to two other rooms and showed them around.

One of the rooms originally belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Song, but everything inside had been moved out, leaving only a bed.

The other room was originally where the eldest brother, Song Huaizhou, lived, but it was filled with a lot of miscellaneous items, mostly tables and chairs with missing arms and legs, and several broken cabinets. Because they were so dilapidated, no one would take them when debts were being collected. Song Miao also didn't have time to deal with these large items, so they were left unattended.

“There are only two empty rooms with beds, but no bedding. If you don’t mind, I will tidy them up,” Song Miao said.

Inspector Xin immediately replied, "When I'm out on official business, sometimes I don't even have a place to shelter from the wind and rain. I've even slept on graves. What's there to be afraid of?"

Then, turning to Han Li, he said, "Zhengyan, this afternoon you and Miss Song go back to the yamen to report. While you're at it, also tell Judge Qin about the situation here and ask him to arrange for some skilled men to come over. We've been keeping watch all night for the past two days, so we'll have to take turns. If the follow-up cases are big, we'll need to bring in more people."

He added, "Tell them to bring two sets of bedding. No more, we don't have much time for people to sleep."

Seeing him assigning tasks, Song Miao stopped listening and deliberately left the room, heading towards the front hall.

But just as they stepped out of the middle gate, they heard the sound of horses' hooves at the entrance. There stood a man with a basket in one hand, looking rather helpless. When he saw Song Miao come out, he breathed a sigh of relief and called out, "Is that Miss Song?"

He added, "I am Dongzhi. My master instructed me to fetch some pepper..."

Song Miao couldn't help but laugh.

He Qi was in such a hurry to take Zhu Jie'er away that he probably forgot there was someone left behind, which is why he came up empty-handed.

She said, "I have urgent business to attend to, so I will be leaving now. I don't need to use this pepper anymore, so please take it back with you."

Dongzhi hurriedly said, "Young Master specifically instructed that it be given to Miss Song, so naturally it should be handed over to her. If it is taken back, it will be difficult to explain."

Seeing two baskets on a bench nearby, he quickly put down his own basket as well, saying, "These are some spices commonly used in the kitchen. They can't be kept for long, so please use them as soon as possible, young lady, to avoid losing their flavor."

As he spoke, he seemed afraid that Song Miao wouldn't accept the money, and hurriedly ran outside.

Song Miao didn't chase after him; there was no point in doing so anyway. Besides, she had already accepted so many gifts from He Qi, so she didn't care about these. She just thought she would cook more dishes for him next time.

She lifted the cloth covering the basket and saw many porcelain bottles inside, each with a name written on it: pepper, Sichuan pepper, cinnamon, bay leaves, etc. There were also two bottles of mustard seeds and a small cloth bag of fresh wasabi roots.

The rest are fine, but pepper and wasabi root are both expensive, especially the latter, which is hard to buy even if you have money.

Wasabi root cannot be stored for long, but pepper, if stored properly, will not spoil for a year or two.

Song Miao carefully put away the remaining spices, then wet a clean cloth and wrapped the wasabi roots in it. She found a jar, covered it, and planned to give them to He Qi if he came to her door again in the next few days. If he didn't come, she would see what to do next.

She had just finished packing her things when she heard the sound of carriages outside. Looking up, she saw that Beizhi and Dongzhi had returned together.

“Miss Song.” It was Bei Zhi who spoke first. He chuckled and pointed to a mule cart behind him: “Young Master said that when he returns from his leave, he will come to eat sometime. So he asked me to prepare a set of tables and chairs to be placed in the hall. It will be convenient for Miss Song, and he will also benefit from it.”

Song Miao was taken aback. She went outside to take a look and sure enough, there was a long square table and three sets of six chairs on the mule cart.

The table and chairs were made of excellent materials and craftsmanship. Although she did not examine them closely, she could vaguely tell that they were made of sandalwood.

Sandalwood has been a luxury wood since ancient times, and the current Empress Dowager is particularly fond of it. She uses sandalwood for many of her living and sleeping furniture, which has led to its popularity and driven up its price even further.

With such craftsmanship, it's easy to imagine that this set is quite valuable.

Song Miao thought for a moment and asked, "It looks like sandalwood. Am I right?"

Bei Zhi smiled and replied, "Miss Song has excellent taste!"

However, Song Miao shook her head upon hearing this, saying only, "The other things are fine, but we can't accept these sandalwood tables and chairs."

She explained, "My family has a lot of debt, and there are many different creditors. It's not appropriate to keep this valuable furniture here. What if someone takes it away?"

Bei Zhi did not refute the claim that the furniture was valuable; she simply smiled and said, "Who dares to steal my young master's things? Don't worry, Miss Song, if they really are robbed, there are plenty of people to deal with them!"

"Even if we don't take it away, it would be a pity to smash and damage it. Besides, given my family's current situation, it wouldn't be appropriate for people to see such valuable furniture."

This time, Song Miao firmly declined.

She was burdened with debt, and creditors were always coming to her door to collect. Neighbors would also occasionally come over. How could anyone explain this?

If you then claim that a guest brought it to you to sit on, it always sounds rather forced.

It is said that one should not adjust one's shoes in a melon patch or straighten one's hat under a plum tree.

Sun Li was able to easily reconcile with so many creditors and get them to pay back the money in installments over a while. If he messed things up on his own, even if others didn't say anything, how could they not have doubts in their hearts?
If you owe a lot of money and have received favors from others, you should at least put on a respectable act. Even if you don't have to live on meager rations every day, it can't be unreasonable, right?

Furthermore, given He Qi's current behavior, if he sends tables and chairs today, he might send tableware tomorrow. If this continues, who knows what kind of place he'll end up decorating this house?

It was just a casual remark to him, a drop in the ocean, but while he meant well, it might not be suitable for him personally.

Seeing Song Miao's insistence and after hearing her explanation, Dongzhi and Beizhi exchanged a glance, looking quite troubled.

Song Miao then said, "Please take it back, both of you. If Young Master He asks, just tell him about my predicament. He is a man of deep feeling and understanding, so there's no need to say more."

The two had no choice but to say goodbye and leave.

When Song Miao turned around and went back into the house, she saw Xin and Han standing in a corner next to the middle door.

After the two branches from the east and north left, Xin Feng stepped forward and asked, "Which one is this Young Master He?"

"He is a student at the Imperial Academy."

Song Miao then briefly recounted how she met He Qi, and added, "Young Master He is a very good person, very loyal, and also loves to eat."

Xin Feng knew immediately that this must be the son of some noble family. He had only asked to confirm, and seeing that it was unrelated to the case, he stopped doubting and said, "I know a few craftsmen in the south of the city. They often have broken furniture and chairs. After this case is closed, I will take you to see them. If you find any suitable ones, pick them up and bring them back. Just give them a few coins as a token."

Song Miao listened, but she didn't take it seriously.

She had seen people make furniture before. The Xu family on Pingyang Mountain were born into the Mo family. Because they had no children, but liked children, they often made small things for themselves to play with.

The tables and chairs are only the size of a walnut, and can be changed in appearance with just a few flips. There are also moving wooden figures, small wooden houses that can be assembled and disassembled, and a little horse that she can sit on, press a mechanism, hold the ground and slowly rotate to walk forward and turn to the side.

Having seen so much, she realized that for craftsmen, there was no such thing as a bad product. Even if something was wrong, a little modification could turn it into a good product. Even if it was difficult to modify, selling it at a discount would still attract many people.

When Inspector Xin said he would "give a few coins as a token of appreciation," it meant that he was giving face in return.

Song Miao was too embarrassed to take advantage of this opportunity right now.

She simply smiled and thanked her.

Seeing that the three people had gone to the main hall's storage room to study the location of the wooden window and had other plans for the evening, Song Miao did not disturb them and just kept her head down and did her work.

Bamboo shoots grow quickly if they stay close to their roots; if they are separated from their roots, they age quickly.

There used to be a vulgar saying that you should never relieve yourself in a bamboo grove in spring. Otherwise, even if you specifically find a flat spot and squat down on it, before the grains have even been expelled from your stomach, your butt will be poked by a bamboo shoot that has just sprouted from the ground.

It was only a short delay before Song Miao noticed that the bamboo shoots in her hands were harder than when she had made bamboo shoot and egg omelets for He Qi that morning.

Fortunately, stuffed bamboo shoots can be enjoyed both tender and firm.

She cut the bamboo shoots into finger-length segments, leaving the ends intact, and used a thick needle to make vertical cuts through them. She made more cuts on the larger bamboo shoot segments and fewer on the smaller ones. She also wrung out all the grapefruit peels that had been soaked and rinsed many times before chopping the filling.

Since she didn't have any water chestnuts on hand, Song Miao made do with soaked wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms instead.

The pork leg meat is three parts fat and seven parts lean. After being minced, it is divided into two portions. One portion is minced together with wood ear mushrooms, and the other portion is minced together with shiitake mushrooms.

After chopping and seasoning, add only a little salt to the former and a small piece of fermented bean curd to the latter, and the meat filling is ready.

The bamboo shoots are marked with lines. Gently press the two ends towards the middle with your fingers, and the middle will become lantern-shaped and hollow, just right to stuff the meat inside. After it's done, the middle of the bamboo shoot segment will bulge out.

The grapefruit peel had been cut open long ago, and after the water was wrung out, the deep cut was just the right size to stuff the meat filling inside.

Both dishes are common home-style dishes, and apart from taking a little time, they are not difficult to make.

Once the wine was brewed, Song Miao didn't wait any longer and immediately opened the stove to add firewood.

Knowing that Qin Zong was going to order food from the restaurant, and judging by his behavior, he would probably order a lot of meat and fish dishes. Since she was just adding dishes, she would naturally focus on light and refreshing dishes to help everyone cut through the richness of the food.

Thinking this way, she didn't cook the stuffed pomelo peel with meat broth. Instead, she took a bowl, put a thin layer of the remaining shiitake mushroom and minced meat at the bottom, placed the stuffed pomelo peel on top with the meat filling facing up, steamed it, and then left it alone.

Thank you so much, b? useye and beautiful rich lady, for the amulets you sent me! :)
Thank you to Lulu from the bookstore for sending me this little gift =3=
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(End of this chapter)