Zhenzhen found the crab meat Lin Hong had extracted incomparably sweet and delicious. She happily lowered her head to taste it, no longer as constrained as before, quickly finishing the crab meat and eating quite a bit of the other dishes on the table as well. Earlier at the dinner banquet in Shiyi Garden, she had focused on toasting the eunuchs and eaten very little herself, only now feeling hungry. Midway through, she accidentally looked up and discovered Lin Hong had been smiling while watching her eat, causing her face to redden and her movements to freeze. Lin Hong understood and turned his head aside, hiding his smile from her view and no longer directly watching her eat.
Shortly after, the shop owner came over, enthusiastically asking for their evaluation of the dishes. Zhenzhen said: “The ingredients are good, the crab is very fresh, but to be honest, the other dishes are too bland—they all seem to lack salt, especially the few pickled seafood dishes. Due to insufficient salt, they have a slight off-flavor.”
The shop owner replied: “Miss, you’re from out of town, aren’t you? You wouldn’t know—salt prices have skyrocketed recently, so all the wine shops’ dishes are bland. Our establishment is still relatively good; though we use slightly less salt, we guarantee it’s all refined salt, unlike some shops that use inferior salt mixed with sand and dirt to cut costs.”
Zhenzhen asked in surprise: “Isn’t salt a government monopoly? How can salt prices skyrocket?”
In their dynasty, salt had to be sold exclusively by the government. Salt producers had to first sell their salt to the government, then distributors would purchase salt from the government with cash, receiving certificates for obtaining and transporting salt, before selling to shops and common people. These certificates were called “salt vouchers.” This system was to prevent unscrupulous merchants from hoarding goods and inflating prices, while also allowing the court to increase revenue.
The shop owner sighed: “Though it’s a government monopoly, how it’s sold is controlled by local Salt Commission officials. This year, our Salt Commission officials, seeking profit, purchase from salt producers at extremely low prices and often delay payment, not paying salt producers for long periods. They then sell to salt merchants at inflated prices. When salt merchants buy at high prices, they naturally can only sell at even higher prices. If salt merchants can’t afford to buy, they mix sand and dirt into the salt, slightly lower the price, and force salt merchants to purchase.”
“This is outrageous!” Zhenzhen frowned and asked, “What if salt merchants refuse to do this business and don’t buy?”
The shop owner replied: “When salt merchants can’t buy it all, the Salt Commission officials assign quotas to common people according to household registers, forcing people to buy at high prices, calling it ‘household salt.’ They don’t spare even the poorest families—everyone must buy… What’s worse, after people pay, they’re in no hurry to distribute the household salt, causing people to pay money but not receive salt for years, forcing them to pay high prices to salt merchants again… How can salt prices not skyrocket under such conditions?”
After hearing this, Lin Hong said: “I’ve often heard Fujian people complain about salt voucher issues. Not only do Salt Commission officials delay payments to salt producers, but when they do distribute money, related officials often extort another sum from salt producers. Salt producers often go bankrupt because of this, and salt merchants also struggle to operate under such exploitation. I didn’t expect this problem exists here too.”
“Exactly,” the shop owner sighed again. “As long as the salt voucher system isn’t reformed, this could happen anywhere. Today’s dishes indeed lack salt—we’re very sorry, but our shop operates on a small scale. Rather than raise dish prices, we have to control costs somewhat, or we’d struggle to maintain operations.”
Zhenzhen and Lin Hong expressed understanding. The shop owner thanked them repeatedly, gave them two fruits, chatted a bit more, then withdrew.
After hearing this conversation, Zhenzhen gradually lost her appetite, stopped eating, and Lin Hong also looked thoughtfully at the table full of dishes. For a moment, both were silent. Soon, a raggedly dressed girl of eight or nine came from outside. Taking advantage of their inattention, she timidly reached out to take a crab claw that Lin Hong hadn’t extracted. A nearby server saw this and immediately scolded her harshly. The little girl immediately threw the crab claw back on the table, tears welling up in her eyes.
Zhenzhen quickly waved to the server, saying it was fine, and called the little girl over, handing her the crab claw along with several pastries. The little girl happily bowed and thanked her. Seeing her refined features and polite manners, unlike common beggars, Zhenzhen asked: “Where are you from? Do you have family? How did you end up on the streets?”
The little girl said: “I’m from Shaoxing. My hometown had floods last year and drought this year, causing famine. Everyone in my family except my mother and me starved to death. So my mother had to bring me to Suzhou to beg for a living.”
Zhenzhen asked: “Where is your mother?”
The little girl replied: “She’s sick, lying in a temple.”
Zhenzhen felt very sad hearing this. She had the server bring a food box, put all the pastries from the table in it for the little girl to take back, and Lin Hong took out some money for her, telling her to buy medicine for her mother. After the little girl left with thousand thanks, the watching server said to Zhenzhen: “Thousands of disaster victims have come from Shaoxing this year. Every day, crowds of such children gather outside our shop.”
Zhenzhen asked: “These past two years, both Zhejiang regions have had disasters. His Majesty also issued edicts for disaster relief, reducing taxes and providing money and grain for relief. Why are there still so many displaced disaster victims from Shaoxing?”
The server replied: “His Majesty indeed issued disaster relief edicts, but local officials implement them with varying degrees of commitment. Suzhou’s situation is relatively good—they follow His Majesty’s edicts. But Shaoxing officials are very perfunctory, concealing the true disaster situation from above while embezzling the court’s disaster relief money and grain for personal gain. When inspecting and assessing disaster conditions in various places, they even demand payments from locals… With such disaster relief, how can disaster victims not be displaced?”
Zhenzhen shook her head and asked: “With such serious conditions, hasn’t anyone reported the truth to the court?”
The server laughed: “Miss, you’re young and don’t understand how officials protect each other. Local officials won’t report it, and even if surrounding local officials know, most think it’s better to avoid trouble than seek it. Who would be so meddlesome as to randomly expose others?”
Zhenzhen pondered silently as the server left to attend to other guests. Seeing Zhenzhen’s prolonged silence, Lin Hong took the remaining crab from the table, quietly extracted the meat, and handed it to her again.
This time, his actions were noticed by the man who had been loudly commenting on the diners earlier, who began pontificating again: “That young gentleman is quite skilled despite his youth! The young lady is too embarrassed to eat crab in front of him, so he extracts the crab meat for her. So considerate! If he makes any requests now, how could the young lady refuse!” He then leaned toward his companion’s ear, speaking in a lower voice that was still loud enough for nearby people to hear, laughing: “I bet that gentleman will take this young lady home tonight.”
Zhenzhen became even angrier hearing this and was about to explode when she heard the man’s companion reply: “Exactly. Which girl would eat shrimp peeled or crab extracted by an unrelated man? Her willingness to eat it shows she already sees that man as her lover.”
Zhenzhen was stunned. She asked herself whether she would eat if the crab were extracted by Han Suwen or Mo Jinyan. The answer was negative in both cases, so she couldn’t help but feel discouraged, and her prepared rebuttal stuck in her throat. However, these two men spoke so rudely that it was difficult to ignore completely. Moreover, their words had already drawn many diners to stare at her and Lin Hong, whispering and smiling suggestively, obviously viewing her as a frivolous woman having illicit relations.
Just as she felt embarrassed, Lin Hong suddenly took her hand.
“Let’s go back,” he said calmly, as if discussing the most ordinary household matter. “The child has slept for several hours and should be awake now.”
Meeting his eyes, she immediately understood his intention and followed his lead: “Yes, Second Brother should be awake. I wonder if Big Brother has finished writing his characters. Let’s go back and see.”
Lin Hong left money for the meal on the table and led Zhenzhen out of the wine shop holding her hand. Many people in the shop watched them leave with envious expressions, sighing: “So they’re husband and wife—truly loving.”
After leaving the wine shop, Lin Hong immediately released Zhenzhen’s hand and said “sorry” to her. But Zhenzhen took his arm, gently leaning her face against his shoulder, continuing to walk alongside him in the intimate posture of a married couple.
The arm she held became somewhat stiff for a moment, but seeing their shadows leaning together at their feet, Lin Hong gradually relaxed. Thinking of the deliberate fiction they had just proclaimed publicly, he suddenly felt a trace of the worldly warmth he had secretly longed for.
It was the flavor of “home.” Lin Hong looked down at Zhenzhen, seeing her nestled against him with a peaceful smile, also looking down at their shadows. His nose inexplicably stung, and he immediately looked up at the night sky where gentle breezes wandered, hoping the moisture in his eyes would be quickly blown away.
The dynasty observed a three-day holiday for the Mid-Autumn Festival, during which people hung lanterns and decorations, worshipped ancestors and earth officials, and enjoyed night markets—it was the most lively time. This being the first day of the Mid-Autumn holiday, roadside stalls sold golden rhinoceros belts, colorful clothing, and various flower and fruit pastries, while performers occasionally presented operas and variety shows. As Zhenzhen and Lin Hong walked to a wider street, they suddenly heard gongs and drums behind them. A masked male performer dressed as Zhong Kui came tumbling from behind, forcibly separating them, then waved his fan and danced around Zhenzhen continuously. Several musicians with instruments also gathered around, playing music as if accompanying “Zhong Kui,” but their positioning was between Zhenzhen and Lin Hong, intentionally or unintentionally blocking Lin Hong and preventing him from approaching Zhenzhen.
Zhenzhen thought they wanted reward money, so she took out some copper coins for them. However, after taking the money, they only bowed in thanks but didn’t leave, still surrounding Zhenzhen with dance and music. Wherever Zhenzhen went, they followed, persistently keeping Zhenzhen and Lin Hong separated.
Lin Hong saw through their scheme and asked “Zhong Kui”: “How much did someone pay you?”
The “Zhong Kui” was quite honest: “Three hundred wen.”
Lin Hong immediately took out a paper money certificate and handed it to “Zhong Kui.” Seeing the amount, Zhong Kui was delighted, immediately waved to his companions, telling them to stop playing, and quickly left.
Just as Lin Hong was about to continue forward with Zhenzhen, he heard someone chuckle behind them: “These people are far too greedy for money.”
Zhenzhen turned around at the sound, frowned and called “Second Prince,” then understood: “You sent them?”
Zhao Ai didn’t answer but smiled as he approached them, saying to Zhenzhen: “Food Preparation Manager Wu, as an inner palace lady, you should be even more careful of your reputation outside the palace and not be so close to men.”
Zhenzhen was somewhat angry and asked: “You followed me?”
“Hardly following,” Zhao Ai replied. “I asked people at Shiyi Garden where you went and came to see you.”
Zhao Ai then exchanged greetings with Lin Hong before telling Zhenzhen: “There’s a very quiet garden nearby called Rongqiu Garden. I’ve already rented it for you. You can stay there for the next two days instead of bothering Uncle Lin.”
Zhenzhen remained silent, then asked: “If it’s inappropriate for me to stay at Shiyi Garden, would it be appropriate for me to stay at Rongqiu Garden with you?”
“Who said I’m staying at Rongqiu Garden?” Zhao Ai laughed heartily and very naturally put his arm around Lin Hong’s shoulder, saying to him: “Uncle, since we hit it off at first sight, why don’t we share a bed tonight for heart-to-heart talk and sleep foot-to-foot?”