Miao Chu

Chapter 80 The Truth
The instructor replied, "It's good that you have ambition. Even if you don't bring it up, the school will still recommend you next time the capital prefectural government comes to borrow students."

He added, "Just focus on your studies. As long as you do well in your studies, everything will fall into place."

If these words were said to an ordinary student, they would mostly just be seen as encouragement.

However, Cai Xiu was perceptive and immediately realized from those few words that the other person did not take the matter to heart and would not fight for her.

At times like these, without an exchange of benefits, forcing things is useless.

It's because I'm just a nobody with little influence. If it were a truly wealthy and powerful person here, would he treat me like this?

They must have already prepared a warm welcome, taking care of everything without me having to say a word.

Thinking this, Cai Xiu could no longer maintain her original expression, and reluctantly agreed before taking her leave.

However, before he could take two steps, he was called back again.

The instructor pushed the tea leaves and ink sticks forward and said with a smile, "I'm old now, and I drink less tea these days. I'm not as particular about paper and ink as I was when I was young. But you are at the prime of your career, so you should study more, practice more, and use the best materials."

After saying that, he took out a small bundle from a cabinet and placed it on the table, saying, "These are pastries that my students brought me when they came to visit yesterday. Now that you're here, take this bag and have some."

Cai Xiu quickly thanked him, took the pastries, put her things away, and left the classroom.

It was already dark by then.

He carried the item in his hand and happened to run into other teachers, clerks, and school administrators. He went up to greet them and casually showed them what he was carrying, saying with a smile that it was a gift from the supervisor who cared about his students. He then asked everyone if they wanted to try it.

However, after leaving the classroom and walking for a while, just as he was about to return to the school, there happened to be a bamboo grove nearby. Seeing that no one was around, he went into the grove, unwrapped the oil paper from the package, and shook out all the pale yellow pastries with a slight mung bean aroma onto the ground.

After pouring it out, Cai Xiu went forward, stomped on it a few times until it was a lump of mud, then snorted coldly, put the oiled paper back into her bosom, and went back to her room to rest, maintaining her former upright posture.

The next morning, he made an excuse that he had fallen seriously ill and stopped caring about grading the exam papers. Before dawn, he left the Imperial Academy and went to visit several old acquaintances, all of whom were high-ranking officials and descendants of wealthy and powerful families.

Meanwhile, at Song Family Restaurant, two streets away, Song Miao also got up before dawn.

She prepared everything she needed for her stall, but today she added sweet fermented rice and steamed snow cake—these two items were meant to be sold along the way when she visited other shops.

As soon as the door opened, sure enough, there were already quite a few students sitting and waiting outside. Some of the smarter ones even brought cloth mats with them and were reciting their books while swaying their heads.

Upon seeing Song Miao open the door, the crowd hurriedly gathered up their cloth and books, crowding around like swarming chickens, calling out "Young Lady Song" and "Stall Owner Song" in unison.

Song Miao smiled and greeted her back before getting to work.

But after only a few sales, she felt something was wrong.

The quantity is enormous, much larger than yesterday's.

Previously, Songji's items had a limit on the number of people that could purchase them each time.

Now that the food is no longer sold in the food alley, this restriction is temporarily lifted.

But seeing these individuals buying dozens of portions at a time, some even bringing bamboo baskets, crates, or two people carrying bamboo boxes together, she couldn't help but ask, "Are these for other people? Can they even carry them?"

"It's alright, someone's keeping watch! We'll carry it together slowly!" Several students grinned slyly.

As they were talking, they saw many people rolling out of the hole in the wall of the South Slope Academy behind them. After a short while, a very large bamboo box was handed out from inside.

Those who emerged from the hole in the wall looked somewhat bewildered, glancing around. When they saw the crowd and Song Miao surrounded by people behind her, along with the sign for Song's Sticky Rice, they were overjoyed and called to each other as they came over.

Song Miao had an excellent memory and recognized two of them from afar. When the crowd reached the front of the line, just as they were about to ask, the group of people complained, "Shopkeeper Song, you've been looking for us for so long!"

"Aren't you all from the Imperial Academy? You should be taking the public examination today, so why did you come all this way?" she asked in surprise.

"You need to eat even if you're taking the civil service exam!" one student complained. "It's all because of Miss Song! Why haven't you set up your stall these past few days? I've been craving your sticky rice for days, and I feel so nervous and my hands are shaking when I'm memorizing and writing! How am I supposed to take the exam?"

These words were obviously exaggerated, but someone nearby chimed in as if to join in the fun: "Exactly, they just won't come. If they didn't set up their stalls, that would be one thing. People from the southern foothills can still buy things, so why can't we at the Imperial Academy?"

Just then, the students from the south side behind them, who were unhappy, shouted: "Are you going to buy it or not? If not, hurry up and leave. What are you wasting our time on!"

Then someone with sharp eyes asked, "Where did you come from? How come people from the Imperial Academy came out from inside our walls?"

The group that had been talking incessantly just moments before suddenly shrank back like quails, not uttering a word. They quietly told Song Miao the number they wanted and urged her, "The exams are over tomorrow, Miss Song, hurry back! Everyone's waiting!"

After they finished packing and paid, the group of people carried the large bamboo box back through the same hole they had come from.

Those from the southern foothills who witnessed this were utterly shocked. Many hurriedly followed and rushed back to stop them, saying, "You're not from the southern foothills, what are you doing here at the Imperial Academy? Why are you coming this way? Take your main road! Are you trying to use a pretext to attack Guo?"

"What 'borrowing a path to attack Guo'? Do you even know how to read books? Do you even know how to use classical allusions? Who is Yu and who is Guo?" The students of the Imperial Academy were displeased.

“Our headmaster is so strict. You’re benefiting from passing through here, but if we’re discovered, he’ll block our way. Isn’t that just using a false route to attack someone else?” The students on the south side almost jumped up.

Are dog holes easy to dig?

Once it's blocked off, and one or two more people come to guard it in the morning, what's the point of eating?!
"What's all the noise about? Aren't holes meant to be drilled? If you can drill, why can't we?"

There were also those who spoke kindly, unusually bowing their heads, saying, "Just this once or twice, once Miss Song goes back to her food stall in the alley, we won't do it again! Brother, don't delay, go buy your breakfast, we're leaving now! We're leaving now!"

Seeing that the students from Nanlu Academy were about to start shouting again, someone said, "Brother, stop arguing. If you make a scene here and attract the academy's attention, at most we'll just run away, and if we're caught, we'll just get a few words from the academy. What will you do then? Your headmaster really punishes you!"

Feeling their lifeline held in their hands, the students of Nanlu Academy were furious, but they knew the words made perfect sense. They could only suppress their annoyance and make way, even taking turns keeping watch to prevent these fools from being caught by the instructors and implicating themselves. The two academies were too close, and the students already harbored some resentment. This incident, once over, was used by the Nanlu students to spread rumors throughout the academy, who said the students of the Imperial Academy were despicable.

As for the students of the Imperial Academy, they even helped their classmates carry so much breakfast back home before the exam. Naturally, they received constant praise and thanks for doing such a good deed.

The crowd couldn't help but describe the students of Nanlu Academy as stingy, looking at the few dog holes as if they were something else. If it weren't for Song's breakfast, who would bother to crawl through them? They were all so narrow-minded, no wonder they couldn't study well, and so on.

Both sides have their reasons, and the rumors, passed around, have only exacerbated the conflict.

Let's leave that matter aside for now.

What happened inside the wall was naturally something Song Miao, who was outside the wall, could neither see nor hear.

By the time she had cleared most of the students from the gate, most of the breakfast she had prepared was already gone. When she pushed the cart out again, she had only gone halfway when regular customers from the previous day came to ask for more and bought a bunch of food. Sometimes she would stop by the roadside, and those who had come to watch the excitement would smell the aroma and come to buy some too. By the time she finally reached the shop at the Vermilion Bird Gate, there was hardly anything left.

Before Song Miao could even enter the back alley, a constable guarding the shop entrance called out, "Wait! Miss Song, come this way! We have a guest here!"

She went as instructed and saw an acquaintance, the one who had gone with her to block the entrance of the Song family restaurant that day.

After getting to know each other, they visited each other several times and became somewhat familiar with each other.

Song Miao pushed the cart over, greeted them first, and then asked what they needed.

The constable read out the quantities one by one: how much steamed dumplings, how much glutinous rice, how much drink, and he even had a tray ready to stand by. He seemed quite skilled, as if he was used to buying things for people.

Upon hearing this, Song Miao opened the lid of the steamer and counted the items, but shook her head and said, "It might not be enough."

The police officer was taken aback and asked, "What's not enough?"

"There isn't enough glutinous rice and shumai, and the drinks are also a bit lacking. I have some steamed snow cake and sweet fermented rice here, but I don't know if the officials would like to eat them. Even if we add them all, it might still not be enough."

The police officer could hardly believe it. When he saw the pitifully small half-eaten steamer basket of food, he exclaimed, "In broad daylight, who robbed you?!"

That's obviously unreasonable.

Even if someone robs you, they'll still leave you some.

However, his expression and tone were so vivid that Song Miao almost couldn't help but laugh. She quickly explained that some people came to buy, and along the way, there were also individual customers buying in small quantities. In fact, they had already done a lot today, and they had added new varieties to keep going until now.

"If we continue like this, who knows, if we have more regular customers, we might sell out before we even get here?"

Song Miao said, "It may not sell that well, but it's hard to say."

The police officer couldn't stand such words. Seeing people coming and going around him and smelling the aroma, he was already eyeing the contents of Song Miao's steamer. He hurriedly said, "I'll take them all. Wrap them up for me quickly!"

After everything was packed and the accounts were settled, the man called someone over to take away the pallets. Instead of rushing back, he led Song Miao down the alley and pointed to a house, saying, "Miss Song, what do you think of that place?"

Song Miao then looked at the signboard, which read "Zhengjitang" and had a banner hanging on the door that read "Men's and Women's Internal and External Medicine Room".

It turned out to be a clinic and pharmacy.

The doors of the shops on both sides were already open, but this one remained tightly closed.

The constable continued, "This used to be a clinic that had been around for many years, but the old doctor passed away a few months ago. His son, who was left behind, didn't have any medical skills and was a gambler. He gambled away all the family's money. They arrested him and beat him, but it was no use. A month ago, he was in too much debt and was pawned. He only had his old mother at home, so he had no choice but to sell this ancestral property."

Song Miao felt that the story in this house was very familiar, and that the son acted exactly like Song Dalang. She didn't know how to respond for a moment, so she listened quietly.

“The buyer was originally a sworn brother of our patrol officer. He was always away on business and had no time to look after the property, so he entrusted it to us to look after it.”

"He originally instructed us not to do any food or beverage business, for fear of making the house dirty. But Miss Song is no stranger. You take a look. If it's suitable, why not rent the house? We'll talk to him nicely and give him a guarantee. I don't think he'll refuse."

"You won't be able to live comfortably in that house for much longer. When the time comes, move here and do business here. You can sell not only breakfast, but also lunch and dinner. Wouldn't that be better than pushing your cart around the streets every day?"

As he spoke, he pointed to a shop next to him and said, "That room hasn't been vacated yet, but its layout and size are similar to the one next to it. You can take a look and see if it suits you."

If things go as previously stated, Song Miaoyue will have to move out of the Song family ancestral home and have nowhere to go. If there is a place to stay, and it is also near the patrol station, it would be the best thing ever.

But for now, the Song residence is likely to be saved. She is alone and has no time to spare. The shop is also far from home, so she can't take care of both.

Furthermore, the fact that these police officers came to the door that day clearly indicates they were acting on someone's orders, and it's uncertain whether that person might change their mind later.

Song Miao wanted to refuse, but since the other party was so kind, she had to thank them first. It also indicated that there might still be a chance for things to turn around in the family matter, so she postponed the matter.

Most of the police officers were shrewd, so this man whispered again, "Are you worried that someone in our patrol station will cause trouble? I can't explain it to you, but that person is no longer useful. He might have to take off his uniform soon. You just focus on your business!"

Upon hearing this, Song Miao was delighted and asked, "If I go back to the student food alley to set up my stall tomorrow morning, it should be fine, right?"

The constable froze, unsure whether to agree or disagree. After a long pause, he finally asked, "You can go, but what's so great about that food alley? It's just full of students. Do you think their money is any better? You might as well set up a stall in our alley!"

At this point, he sighed and said, "You should go back and think it over carefully. If we wait a few more days, and a suitable person wants to rent it, it will be difficult for us to keep it."

He continued, "You saw that gambling was busted in the house across the street, and that many people from the brothel were arrested, so you want to wait and see, right? You're young and inexperienced. I've been patrolling the shops for many years and have seen all sorts of people do things. Let me just give you a piece of advice: make more preparations. Even if they get arrested, your house has already been sold. Who knows who's watching it? You might not be able to keep it."

Although it may not be pleasant to hear, it is the truth.

Song Miao thanked her sincerely.

(End of this chapter)