Miao Chu

Chapter 83 Brother
Of the three-layered cake, Old Lady Li only took the outermost layer.

The pancakes on this page are slightly golden brown, fine and dense, and when you bite into them, you get a familiar yet unfamiliar taste.

Decades have passed, and the pancake that she ate with her sister that day has gradually faded from her memory. Even after receiving a letter from afar and hearing the description, which brought back the scene from the past, Old Lady Li's memory of that pancake is still somewhat vague.

But with that one bite, the original taste became instantly clear.

Equally clear is the image of two young girls laughing and joking as they fight over a pancake.

Old Lady Li had been thinking about it for many days, but she was also afraid of her loved one's serious illness and didn't want to think about it. She was also looking forward to getting this food as soon as possible so that her loved one could fulfill his small wish and avoid regret. It had become an obsession for her. Now that she finally got to eat it, she was somewhat excited.

But after the initial excitement, her first reaction was—why is it so soft?

This pancake is even softer than I remember eating, with a slight chewiness that enhances its texture and adds a rich, oily aroma.

The aroma of the oil was very faint, easily overshadowed by the aroma of fried eggs and stir-fried shredded meat inside—how could the aroma of ordinary vegetable oil compete with the aroma of meat?
Relying on her teeth, which were stronger than those of a young person, Old Lady Li bit through the pancake as if it didn't exist, finding the meat inside, followed by shredded white radish, carrot, celery, and scallions coated with sweet bean sauce.

The carrots are crisp and sweet, the white radishes are raw and sweet, the celery is crisp and firm, the scallions are nine parts white and one part green, and it has a slightly spicy flavor.

The freshly baked pancakes, warm and fragrant with the aroma of grains, evoke images of wheat basking in the autumn sun in the countryside.

Although the pancake had a rich flavor, the dough was too thin and too soft.

Old Lady Li chewed heartily, and after a few bites, she realized that she had put too much filling inside.

Although the side dishes couldn't overpower the aroma and flavor of the three-layer pancake, they took up most of her mouth, making her somewhat regretful. She couldn't help but take the other two three-layer pancakes, haphazardly wrap them around the already rolled-up pancake, and then take another bite to the right.

This time it tastes just right.

The flatbread is soft yet slightly chewy, with a sweet and salty sauce. The side dishes are fragrant, crispy, spicy, and refreshing as they should be, making for an incredibly pleasant taste experience.

She ate while shaking her head and making humming noises through her nose.

The head shake wasn't a denial, but rather an involuntary action made because the food was enjoyable.

At this moment, Song Miao had already baked another three-layered pancake, let it cool slightly, and handed it to Duan, the wife of Li Dutou.

Duan had been waiting impatiently and hurriedly took it.

She haphazardly spread a layer of sweet bean sauce, piled on all the side dishes, wrapped them up casually, and put them in her mouth. After tasting them, she chewed a few bites and realized that the sweet bean sauce wasn't evenly distributed. When she bit into the stir-fried shredded meat, meat juice seeped out and mixed with the sauce, leaking out of the pancake.

In her haste, Duan couldn't help but bite off one side and then the other, rushing to eat so that the juice wouldn't leak out. She was simply overwhelmed.

Eating pancakes should be done in such a hurried and chaotic way to truly enjoy the experience.

At this moment, Duan felt both embarrassed and pleased.

She added fried mint leaves and pickled vegetables to the three-layer pancake she made, making the texture and flavor richer. She quickly ate it, just like Old Lady Li, nodding and swaying her head.

Seeing that the two were enjoying their meal, Song Miao said, "If it were a proper three-layer pancake, the dough would usually be made with warm water, which would make it more chewy and elastic. But today I used both boiling and warm water, so it's softer. If the taste isn't right, I have a lump of dough here that I've set aside to make with warm water. I'll bake some more for the old lady to try later."

As she spoke, she realized something was amiss.

The old lady Li across from me was so focused and anxious on eating her pancake that she was also busy dealing with the sauce that was about to leak from her hand, she didn't have time to listen to what I was saying!

The explanation I just gave was like throwing a flirtatious glance at a blind man.

However, the fact that the food she made made the diners so engrossed in eating that they couldn't even listen to her anymore suggests that she does have some skill.
As a cook, Song Miao couldn't help but feel a little proud.

She had originally thought that Old Lady Li was old and might not have good teeth, so she made the dough extra soft. However, looking at her teeth now, she realized that she had worried too much. So she simply stopped asking and used the warm water to make two new pancakes.

Meanwhile, Old Lady Li swallowed the last bite of food, savored the taste, and suddenly realized what she had said. Feeling embarrassed, she could only ask, "What did you just say, young lady?"

Song Miao then pointed to the freshly baked pancake and repeated what she had just said.

Only then did Old Lady Li remember the purpose of her search for the cakes. She quickly agreed and reached out to take them.

Seeing that she wasn't breaking the dough apart, but rather seemed to want to eat another three-page sheet in one go, Song Miao hesitated for a moment before reminding her, "It's past noon, Madam, shouldn't you just have a taste so you don't fill your stomach too much later? Today is your birthday, and I see there are many dishes prepared in the kitchen. You must be hosting a banquet, right?"

Both Old Lady Li and Madam Duan had already grabbed new cakes in their hands, and upon hearing this, they were both taken aback.

Song Miao was certainly right.

Today is the actual birthday celebration. No matter how much the Li family says they won't hold a big celebration, there will always be some relatives and friends coming to eat at the banquet.

But Old Lady Li made a quick decision, saying, "We must invite the guests, but I am an old woman and cannot eat that much. Otherwise, it will cause indigestion and upset my stomach."

As she spoke, her hands kept moving, spreading sauce and adding ingredients to the new cakes. She then said to her daughter-in-law, Duan, "I'll just sit here and eat as a token of my appreciation."

Duan agreed.

Old Lady Li found an excuse, but Duan Shi was not the birthday girl and was of a lower generation, so she had no suitable reason. For a moment, she could only stare at the cake that was already in her hand and almost sighed, unable to bear to take her hand back.

Seeing this, Old Lady Li, knowing she had something to eat, didn't forget her daughter-in-law. While rolling up the pancake, she suddenly said, "You'll be busy greeting the guests later! You definitely won't have time to eat, so you need to eat something first to avoid starving! You should eat a couple more bites too!"

As she spoke, she looked at Song Miao, as if to show that her reason was perfectly legitimate, not just a perfunctory excuse, and certainly not because she was greedy.

Having obtained this excuse, Duan regarded it as gospel and hurriedly said, "Exactly! Exactly!"

Old Lady Li was making a pancake, and Duan Shi didn't want to interfere, but the pancake in her hand smelled so good that she couldn't wait and took a bite first.

Eating pancakes by the stove, the pancakes are fresh off the griddle, cooled slightly before being eaten. The taste and aftertaste are known only to the eater.

After chewing a couple of times, without realizing it, she took two more bites and chewed a couple more times. Before Duan could even come to her senses, the entire pancake was gone.

—Even eating the flatbread alone is surprisingly delicious!
On its own, the aroma of the wheat is especially noticeable, simpler yet richer, becoming more fragrant with each chew. A subtle sweetness also emerges, a natural wheat sweetness that develops with prolonged chewing. The two women, mother and daughter-in-law, ate the pancakes here, each devouring three nine-page pancakes in one go, before encouraging each other to stop.

After Old Lady Li finished eating, she finally had time to confirm, and sure enough, the pancake made with warm water was the Mizhou Three-Page Pancake that she had eaten when she was a child.

But compared to what she ate when she was a child, Li Laoniang felt that the first pancake made today was softer and tastier, and she wanted to ask her sister to try it.

"Young lady, how much are the recipes for these two types of cakes? Why don't I buy them for you..."

Upon hearing this, Song Miao smiled and said, "What kind of recipe is this? Many people in Mizhou know how to make it. The old lady and Aunt Duan probably learned it themselves after seeing it today. In reality, it's worthless."

He added, "Besides, Aunt Zhu and Village Chief Sun have always taken good care of me. I've heard that our two families are frequent visitors. If I were to sell this little thing, what would that look like?"

After she finished speaking, she asked Duan for pen and ink, and sure enough, she wrote down the steps and methods of making the pancake in one go, very meticulously, and even described the appearance of the little broom.

Old Mrs. Li was extremely grateful for the prescription and insisted on inviting Song Miao to stay for a meal.

Song Miao smiled and said, "It's not that I'm embarrassed, it's just that I have things to do at home and I'm currently running a business. I have to set up my stall early tomorrow morning, and I haven't finished packing many things yet. If I have the chance next time, I will definitely come and bother you for a meal, old lady."

Li and Duan had only heard Zhu's introduction briefly, but they were unaware of Song Miao's family situation. Despite owning a restaurant and property, and not being a poor person, they had to send a young girl who hadn't even reached marriageable age to set up a stall every day. They couldn't help but ask a few more questions.

When asked about her head, Song Miao never hid anything and answered truthfully.

After hearing the rest, it was all settled—Song's mother had died, Song's father had fallen into the water, all were considered closed cases. But the eldest brother, Song Huaizhou, had been killed by bandits on the way, his body never found. However, someone had returned with a message. Old Lady Li, who had experienced many things, couldn't help but ask, "Where did your brother have his accident?"

Song Miao told him the location was a rural area in the lower reaches of Hejian.

Old Lady Li slapped her thigh and said, "I still have a brother in my family who makes a living over there!"

She said, "Young lady, you don't know, my family runs a security escort agency, and we're originally from Hejian. You've helped me so much today and refused to accept any money from this old woman, so I can't let you work for free. If you're willing, write down your brother's name, appearance, and background, and I'll send a message back home to ask my brothers back home to help look for him. If there's any news, that would be great; if not, it'll still be a token of my appreciation. How about that?"

Song Miao was overjoyed and quickly took out paper and pen to write down everything she knew. She thanked them and said, "Even if I can't find anything else, I will be eternally grateful to have found a piece of clothing."

Old Lady Li took the paper, but couldn't help muttering, "What is your brother doing at Honghaikou? It's right by the bend in the river, and the current is very strong..." Old Lady Li muttered.

Song Miao only vaguely remembered the general idea and said, "My elder brother traveled with the teacher to study. He was originally helping to check and record the hydrology so that it could be used as a reference for the Capital Water Conservancy Bureau in the future to manage floods."

Old Lady Li was already very concerned, and upon hearing this, she became even more respectful, saying, "Just wait, I'll send someone back with a message in a bit! I'll do everything I can to find out the truth for you, even if it costs me my last bit of face!"

***
When Song Miao came to the Li family, she carried two food boxes with cakes bearing the characters for "fortune" and "longevity." When she left, she was given a bamboo basket and carried various kinds of fruit. There was also a sealed packet in her sleeve, which was given to her by Li's mother, the birthday girl, to bring her good fortune.

She hadn't dared to hold any hope that her elder brother, Song Huaizhou, was still alive after encountering bandits. But after hearing what Old Lady Li said today, she couldn't help but feel a little hopeful again. However, she dared not think too much about it, for fear that her expectations would be too high and she would be disappointed in the future.

After Song Miao returned home and took care of everything, she was exhausted. She washed up and went to bed. The next morning, after everything was tidied up, she pushed her cart out to do business again.

When the gates opened today, there were indeed even more people waiting outside. It was easy to tell at a glance that many of them came from the Imperial Academy. They and the students from the South Slope Academy each occupied one side, clearly separated.

After making a few deals, Song Miao noticed that students were emerging one after another from the hole in the wall behind the South Slope Academy. She realized this was inappropriate, fearing that too many people and too much chaos might displease the academy's instructors and teachers.

She hurriedly told the people queuing behind her, especially the buyers from the Imperial College, that she would be back at the food alley tomorrow and asked them not to come back.

Then it spread from one person to three, from three to ten, and from ten to even more, until everyone in the queue knew about it.

The students of the Imperial Academy cheered, but the students of the Southern Slope Academy did not look so good. When it was their turn, they secretly came to persuade Song Miao, saying that there was no need to go through so much trouble, and that it would be better to use the house to do business, and that this was actually the best way.

Song Miao chatted casually with the group, but when she looked up, she saw that the next few guests were all familiar faces. She smiled and said, "Young Master Wang, Young Master Lu, what brings you here?"

"The exam is over!" Wang Chang laughed heartily, his eyebrows dancing with excitement. "If I don't eat Miss Song's breakfast soon, my stomach will be growling with hunger!"

The few people following behind in line were also students from the Imperial Academy who had come from afar by crawling through the tunnel, and they all laughed along.

Song Miao served everyone glutinous rice, steamed dumplings, and several kinds of drinks, then asked, "We didn't see Young Master Cheng today, should we send some back for him?"

“Someone from his hometown came. He was called out right after the exam and didn’t return until midnight yesterday. He left again early this morning. I heard he’s looking for people to stay in, and he also asked us where we could find copying jobs. But both jobs are hard to find.”

As soon as Wang Chang finished speaking, a classmate asked, "Is this Zijian's third year? I wonder how he did on the exam this time, but I don't dare to ask."

"And isn't Xiao Lu also in his third year?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent and sighed.

***
Everyone here was worried for Cheng Zijian, while Cai Xiu, who was being summoned back to the Imperial Academy, was also worried for himself.

He placed an official letter on the table in front of him, pushed it forward, and said respectfully, "I was feeling unwell yesterday and took leave to see a doctor. Unexpectedly, I met the military advisor of the Kyoto Prefectural Government on the way and asked him a few questions."

"Because the Kyoto Prefectural Government has been very busy lately, Zhang, the legal officer, saw that the student was well-mannered and eager to learn, so he said he would mention it to his superior when he got back—and to his surprise, it was approved. That very day, a transfer order was issued, requesting that the student be seconded to the Kyoto Prefectural Government as a legal officer..."

The clerk paused for a moment before taking the official letter, opening it, and sure enough, it was a transfer order.

He read it once and smiled, "This is a good thing. In that case, when you go to the capital's government office, you should do your job well."

Seeing that the instructor didn't seem angry, Cai Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. Suppressing her smugness, she became even more respectful and said, "This was all a matter of chance. I thank you for your guidance, sir. I will certainly live up to your teachings this time. It's just a pity I can no longer help with the corrections and transcriptions..."

The instructor said, "Business is important. Now that you have this opportunity, just relax and take the temporary assignment."

He then offered a few words of gentle encouragement.

Cai Xiu nodded repeatedly, and after going outside, she closed the door. Seeing that no one was around, she couldn't help but give a cold smile to the door of the instructor's room.

—You know I'm slapping you in the face, but even if you're uncomfortable, you can only endure it. What can you do about it?
No matter how difficult the road ahead, with my skills and methods, I can still find a shortcut, and who can stop me!

Thank you so much to the Scorpio Palace for the sachet and two amulets! Mwah! =3=
Thank you, Qianyou, for the sachet. It's been a long time! Best wishes!
Thank you so much to my cat, Egg, for the two little gifts from the bookstore! I'm especially grateful! ^_^
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(End of this chapter)