For the next round of wine, Yibei Lou served Dongpo tofu and a dish called “Vegetarian Steamed Duck.”

“The Zuo Zhuan says: ‘Meat eaters are vulgar and cannot plan far ahead.’ Since ancient times, wise men have mostly eaten vegetarian food, which can clarify virtue and cleanse impurities, as well as purify the mind and nourish life. It’s said that nowadays the Emperor and Empress Dowager also love vegetarian food, with little meat and fish in the imperial meals, especially avoiding pork. Therefore, for this banquet, we prepared mainly vegetarian dishes, avoiding red meat, with only one meat dish using fish.” Yang Shenglin gestured for everyone to look at the Dongpo tofu. “Master Dongpo once wrote a song mentioning tofu: ‘Cooking beans into milk, fat into cream, burning high oil candles while ladling honey wine.’ This Dongpo tofu is made according to the secret recipe left by Master Dongpo.”

The tofu was pan-fried with scallion oil, with a light golden surface. When broken open, it revealed white and tender interior. A dish of brown sauce was served alongside. Everyone dipped and tasted, finding the sauce distinctive with a special dried fruit fragrance.

Yang Shenglin explained: “We selected premium torreya nuts, finely ground and cooked with the sauce, giving it this flavor.”

Everyone praised this ingenious preparation method. Looking at the vegetarian steamed duck, they discovered it was actually steamed bottle gourd.

Yang Shenglin smiled as he told the story behind this dish, which indeed related to scholar-officials: “During the Tang Dynasty, Hanlin Academician Zheng Yuqing once hosted relatives and friends. In front of his guests, he instructed his household: ‘Cook until tender, remove the feathers, don’t break the neck.’ The guests all thought he was referring to poultry like geese or ducks. After waiting a long time, they never expected the servants to bring out a steamed gourd for each person.”

Everyone at the table laughed upon hearing this. Yang Shenglin continued: “But please don’t underestimate this steamed gourd. The bottle gourd has green skin and white interior, just like honest scholar-officials – completely clean and pure. This gourd can reduce swelling and moisturize the skin. When steamed, the gourd meat becomes soft and smooth with a slight sweetness. Eating it during a grand banquet feels especially refreshing. It’s said that noble families in the capital often eat this vegetarian steamed duck.”

The tribute students praised it again. After finishing this round of wine, someone couldn’t contain their curiosity and asked Zhenzhen what delicacies Shizhen Lou would serve next. Zhenzhen smiled: “Since every dish from Yibei Lou is refreshing, then we’ll serve some that aren’t so refreshing.”

Shortly after, two dishes were served: thinly sliced pork with fermented black bean dipping sauce, and a plate of mixed vegetables obviously dressed with oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar.

Zhenzhen looked around at the tribute students who were somewhat surprised to see pork, and said: “Earlier, Young Master Yang said that meat eaters are vulgar. However, Confucius once said: ‘In eating, one should not tire of refinement; in minced meat, one should not tire of fineness.’ It seems even the sage Confucius ate meat – not only ate meat, but wanted to eat good meat, meat prepared with refined methods. Young Master Yang also disdains pork as crude and refuses to use it, but the Master Dongpo he greatly admires actually loved pork very much, so much that he specifically wrote an ‘Ode to Pork’: ‘Clean the pot, add little water, slow burn without flames rising. Let it cook naturally, don’t rush it, when the fire is sufficient it will be delicious. Huangzhou has good pork, cheap as dirt. The wealthy refuse to eat it, the poor don’t know how to cook it. Get up in the morning and have two bowls, full to satisfaction, mind your own business.'”

Zhenzhen then asked everyone to look at the pork on the plate, cut from pork belly blocks cooked in clear water. Zhenzhen picked up a slice, showing the long, thin strip with alternating fat and lean meat patterns. The fat portions were lustrous and translucent, showing fine knife work. Every piece on the plate was uniform in size and width. “This meat was cooked slowly according to Master Dongpo’s method, cut into thin slices by our best female knife-work apprentice at Shizhen Lou. Placed on paper, you can see writing through the fat stripes.”

Zhenzhen then arranged the meat slices in the dish with chopsticks into a flower shape, dipped it into the fermented black bean sauce, letting the liquid seep like honey from the petal edges into the flower center.

The diners followed suit and tasted, immediately feeling their mouths filled with fat fragrance. The meat was delicate, and the tender thin slices melted like snow on their tongues. The fermented black bean sauce had a salty fragrance with wine aroma. Careful tasting revealed fennel, costus root, aged tangerine peel and other flavors, but it wasn’t limited to these – it had deep foundation and lingering aftertaste.

Zhenzhen explained: “This fermented black bean sauce uses the finest Jinhua sweet wine, secretly prepared with various spices and cellared through winter. The rich flavors combined with time’s precipitation create this mellow taste. Paired with the meat slices, it better brings out the meat flavor and adds fragrance.”

The diners praised it effusively, saying that although this fermented black bean sauce was homestyle, it was made extremely well and indeed added considerable fragrance to the ingredients. Someone laughingly asked: “Previous delicacies all had poetry to sing their praises. I wonder if anyone has written poems praising this fermented black bean sauce?”

Zhenzhen shook her head: “No, and it’s not needed. Fermented black bean sauce is a condiment, not a main ingredient. No one would think to write poetry for it. When mentioning it daily, at most people say ‘delicious’ or ‘fragrant.’ It’s a silent condiment, never competing or fighting, yet extremely gentle, able to pair with most vegetables and meats, enhancing ingredients’ flavors… You must have met such people – ordinary and steadfast, usually quiet, yet kind-hearted and good to everyone. When others have difficulties, they spare no effort to help. In cooperation, they never compete for credit. But because they have no sharp edges and unremarkable appearance, they won’t receive special attention. You wouldn’t think to write poetry for them – at most when remembering them, you’d praise: ‘Good person.’ … Fermented black bean sauce is like such people.”

The tribute students seemed moved by these words. After a moment, someone slowly applauded and praised: “Wonderful! Fermented black bean sauce indeed doesn’t need poetic embellishment. Miss, with your words, you’ve fully revealed its honest and gentle nature. Having you as a confidant, the fermented black bean sauce can be content.”

Zhenzhen looked and found the speaker was the scholar who had earlier helped her by citing Su Yijian’s poetry, so she smiled and bowed slightly. The tribute students then echoed the scholar’s words, praising Zhenzhen highly. When eating the cold mixed vegetables, they didn’t pursue poetic allusions.

That dish was made with sesame oil and Sichuan pepper fried together, then soy sauce, vinegar, and white sugar were added and mixed with Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, and water celery, called “Scattered Mixed Vegetables.” The vegetables were first blanched in boiling water, then soaked in clear water, and taken out when ready for cold mixing. Therefore, the color was emerald green, tender and crisp. Eaten with the pork, this homestyle flavor made both hosts and guests thoroughly satisfied.

For the next round of wine, Yibei Lou served what appeared to be their most important dish – a “Lotus Pod Fish Packet” using their only meat for this banquet, plus another dish that seemed specially paired with the lotus-fish theme: a soup made with lotus flowers, chrysanthemums, and water chestnuts. Yang Shenglin introduced: “This soup is called ‘Fisherman’s Three Delicacies.'”

The lotus pod used tender lotus seed pods with the bottom cut flat and the lotus seeds scooped out. Fresh mandarin fish chunks were marinated with wine, sauce, and spices, then stuffed into the holes left by the lotus seeds, placed in a steamer and cooked. After removal, honey was brushed on the lotus pods, making them even more lustrous and pleasing.

Using silver spoons to extract the fish meat, everyone tasted and felt the fish meat carried the lotus pod’s fresh fragrance. A tribute student sighed: “The fish meat has lotus fragrance, especially elegant. Drinking the Fisherman’s Three Delicacies makes one feel like being on a light boat picking lotus.”

Yang Shenglin smiled: “This dish’s meaning goes beyond that. We learned this dish from a jinshi of our dynasty, who once wrote a poem for it: ‘Brocade petals and golden straw woven in layers, asking why the fish finds accommodation. Having surged into the lotus chamber, crossing the flowered pool to transform into a dragon alone.’ Fish transforming into dragon is a wonderful metaphor for success in imperial examinations. Our Yibei Lou presents this dish to you scholars, also borrowing it to wish you all success in the jinshi examinations and smooth advancement.”

The tribute students were delighted, expressing their thanks repeatedly and toasting with Yang Shenglin. Wine cups and gaming pieces crossed at the table, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.

After this round of wine, everyone was seven-tenths full and slightly tired. Only when Zhenzhen ordered Shizhen Lou’s main dish to be presented did they sit up straight again, eyes widening at the dish served in silver vessels.

All of Shizhen Lou’s previous dishes had used lacquerware, but only this dish used silver vessels, covered with a lid that concealed the dish’s true appearance.

Seeing everyone waiting silently, Zhenzhen slowly lifted the silver cover. Steam rose from within, gradually dissipating under everyone’s gaze, revealing the protagonist in the silver plate: steamed shad fish.

The shad fish had been split open from the belly, connected only at the backbone, spread in the silver plate in two symmetrical halves. The steamed scales were slightly curled, like semi-transparent fine wood shavings floating up from the fish body. Upon closer inspection, one could see a thin thread connecting each scale.

County Magistrate Cui frowned at the thread, eyes questioning: “What is this?”

Zhenzhen smiled as she lifted the thread head with silver chopsticks. With a gentle pull, the fish scales separated from the fish body. As the thin thread was lifted, the scales flashed with shell-like silver-white light in the air, strung on the thread like a necklace.