Miao Chu

Chapter 6 Seizing Food
Cheng Zijian only lost a bowl of glutinous rice, but in the Nanlu Academy just across the alley, a student carrying a whole basket of Songji glutinous rice ran all the way, but before he could even enter the study hall, he was stopped by the instructor.

The student had placed the bamboo basket in front, intending to block the view, but the instructor pointed out, "What's in that basket? Open it and take a look."

When the basket was opened, it was filled to the brim with stacked bundles of lotus leaves, leaving no room to hide anything.

"Where did this come from?" the instructor demanded sternly. "Is there an approval slip?"

"I...the student...the student ate it himself..."

The instructor snorted and said, "The headmaster has said time and again that no one is allowed to enter or leave without permission. Are you just ignoring him?"

He added, "Leave the basket. Come find me after class at noon to accept your punishment."

The student hung his head in dejection and had no choice but to agree.

The instructor picked up the bamboo basket and found it quite heavy. When he returned to the back, he saw that it was almost time to ring the bell, so he hurriedly put the basket down and went out to inspect the area.

He had only been patrolling for half the distance when he unexpectedly encountered the school magistrate who came to see him about something important. By the time he finished, it was past noon. Just as he was about to return to his office, he turned the corner and saw a student peeking out from not far ahead. Upon closer inspection, he recognized him as the very student whose bamboo basket of lotus leaf bundles he had confiscated that morning.

The instructor, known for his strictness, couldn't stand it and immediately said with a dark face, "Enter and leave as you please! Have you wasted your time learning etiquette? Why are you behaving so slovenly and hesitantly?!"

The student was startled and quickly turned around to bow.

The instructor stepped forward, about to reprimand them again, when he caught a glimpse of several colleagues gathered inside the door, each holding an open lotus leaf package and eating with their heads down. On the table next to them was the bamboo basket they had confiscated from the student—the basket, which had been full, was now completely empty.

He was taken aback and unconsciously turned to look back at the student.

The other person quickly lowered their head and put their hands down, looking as if they dared not meet his gaze.

Hearing the noise outside, the people who were eating looked up and, upon seeing it was him, all felt a little embarrassed.

One of them chuckled sheepishly, "Oh, it's Old Shen. It's cold today, so I didn't expect to get up late. The headmaster has an early morning meeting, and none of us had time to go to the dining hall. When we came back and saw you with a basket here, and since you hadn't returned for a while, we took it upon ourselves to do it..."

In the past, most of the food that Shen Xueyu brought back was food that students had secretly bought from outside. Now that it has been confiscated, it can't just be thrown away, can it?

Everyone knows that every grain of rice on your plate represents hard work and dedication.

It has become a habit for everyone to help digest the food and share it. People often take it without asking and don't think much of it. But today, seeing that he didn't look well, I had to make up an excuse.

Xueyu was a native of Dengzhou, and was of a tall and strong build.

He stood in front, completely blocking the students behind him.

Once this person started talking, the others, not seeing the students behind them, quickly followed suit.

"You know what, what's Old Shen eating? It tastes pretty good."

"You're so ignorant! You've never even seen sticky rice before?"

"Who hasn't seen sticky rice before! But this looks and tastes completely different from what we usually eat—have you ever eaten anything like this before?"

"I've never had this kind of rice before, but there's a shop in the west of the city that also sells glutinous rice. I heard the owner is from Guizhou. I bought some to try when I passed by last time. Although it doesn't taste as good as this, it's still quite delicious. Old Shen, where did you get this?"

"It really tastes good. I don't want to eat all of Lao Shen's food in one go. How much is it? We'll pay you."

Shen Xueyu felt awkward, unsure whether to agree or not.

The student behind him, however, held back for a while, but finally couldn't help but peek out a little and whisper, "It was bought from the food alley outside..." Everyone was taken aback when they saw a student's head pop out from behind.

The student continued, "It was a young woman selling things from a cart. She had a sign that said 'Song Ji,' and it was called 'Mung Bean Paste Sticky Rice.'"

The student paused, then continued, "A small bowl costs five coins, and a large bowl costs eight coins. Both of these contain a whole salted duck egg, and each salted duck egg is oozing with yellow oil—a bowl like this costs ten coins. The young lady said that glutinous rice shouldn't be eaten in large quantities, otherwise it will cause indigestion and bloating. She also gave me a tangerine peel and mung bean soup drink, which costs three coins in a bamboo tube. I tried both the drink and the glutinous rice, and they were quite delicious..."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but swallow, his eyes fixed on the sticky rice in everyone's hands.

Whether it was because his resentment was too strong or for some other reason, everyone could see a hint of regret in his expression at having his food snatched away.

***
Song Miao was unaware that her glutinous rice had gained a small reputation among students at Nanlu Academy and the Imperial Academy.

With so many students, even if the food is terrible, it won't sell too well.

She arrived at the beginning of the morning, and today was just a trial run. She only prepared thirty servings of tangerine peel and mung bean soup and a large pot of glutinous rice, but they were all sold out in less than half an hour.

Originally, they were all new customers, but quite a few of them bought food and ate it as they walked. They finished it before they had gone far, then came back to get more, and asked her what time she would arrive the next day, telling her to come back again and order more.

With business going smoothly, Song Miao felt a little relieved. She packed up her things and pushed the cart back home.

When she arrived in the morning, it was still dark and there were very few pedestrians. Now the sun had risen, and businesses along the street were gradually opening their doors. As she pushed her cart past, many people turned to look at her, and even neighbors and acquaintances who had come to pay their respects to Song Dalang a couple of days ago greeted her.

Song Miao simply smiled and exchanged pleasantries with everyone. Occasionally, when someone came to ask a few more questions, she would reply to each of them about the items she had sold, and say that she would send them a portion another day.

Her neighbors all knew she was in dire straits, so none of them dared to agree. They all offered to pay her to buy her off.

In just half a day, the news that the youngest daughter of the Song family had gone out to sell food early in the morning spread throughout Suanzao Lane.

Meanwhile, Song Miao returned home and first tallied up her earnings for the day. She had thirty tubes of tangerine peel and mung bean drink, which brought her a total of ninety coins. She also sold glutinous rice and salted duck eggs for six hundred and three coins, bringing her total to six hundred and ninety-three coins.

At this time, the copper coins of the Great Wei Dynasty were "simplified," with only 770 coins per string. Based on today's sales, even if the quantity tripled tomorrow, there would be no shortage of buyers, and nearly 3 strings of coins could be earned in one day.

It sounds like a lot, but glutinous rice has always been more expensive than regular rice. Although the other ingredients are cheap, some of them need to be fried or stir-fried, and oil and firewood are also costs.

Although a small portion costs five coins, the cost is more than one coin and two cents when averaged out. This business is feasible, but it's not very profitable.

At this point, we're using glutinous rice because we have it at home, and it's relatively simple to make and easy to produce. If we're considering profit, we'll need to make more other types of products.

After calculating the money, Song Miao finally felt much more at ease.

She rested for a moment, then got up to wash her hands.

These past two days, people have been coming to my door demanding payment; I can't possibly cook for each one I see.

To outsiders, she was an orphan girl who had not yet reached marriageable age and had never shown any special talent, so naturally no one listened to her.

Whose words will everyone listen to?
After much thought, the only person who might be willing to speak up now, and the one who had spoken up for her that day to secure a few more days of service, was the village head.

When asking for help, one should naturally be sincere.

She had soaked a pot of red beans last night, and before leaving the house, she specially placed a steamer basket on top and put two handfuls of red dates on it. After boiling them, she turned off the stove and let the residual heat continue to heat them. Now, she picked out two dates with chopsticks and squeezed them. Sure enough, they were cooked until soft and tender.

Song Miao didn't waste any. She used a stone mortar and pestle to grind some cooked red beans, skin and all. After filtering out the remaining water, she put them back in the pot with oil and stir-fried them with peeled and cored jujube paste until dry. Then she took them out, kneaded them into shape, and took out the leftover mung bean paste from the morning.

(End of this chapter)