“Young miss, young miss, look at that string of wild goose lanterns! When the wind blows, they look like they’re flying!”

“This lotus lantern is even bigger than the ones at Guangming Nunnery!”

“Young miss, young miss, could this be a phoenix?” Ayuan chirped excitedly by Shen Shaoguang’s ear. It was clear she wasn’t naturally quiet, just previously suppressed. Now her true nature was increasingly showing.

Shen Shaoguang carefully examined the lantern, then looked carefully at Ayuan. Child, that look in your eyes… In legends, the phoenix was supposed to be a beautiful creature adorned in five colors.

“This is an ostrich, once given as tribute to His Majesty by envoys from Tocharia. It runs very fast but cannot fly,” Shen Shaoguang said quietly.

Ayuan had a sudden realization, “Oh, I thought it was just a phoenix that got fat!”

A fat phoenix… got fat… Shen Shaoguang choked on her breath.

A “pfft” of laughter came from behind. Shen Shaoguang and Ayuan turned around to see Young Lord Liu.

Shen Shaoguang smiled and curtsied to him.

Liu Feng cleared the playful expression from his face and properly returned the greeting.

After sending the opening gift that day, Young Lord Liu hadn’t visited the shop for several days but later resumed coming regularly for breakfast takeout, and gradually began coming in the evenings for soup dumplings too. After she put out the Double Seventh Festival cakes, he ordered several boxes, making Shen Shaoguang worry about his purse. A ninth-rank official earning just over ten thousand cash per month couldn’t sustain such spending…

Shen Shaoguang now earned over ten thousand cash monthly herself, not counting short-term profits like the Double Seventh Festival cakes—those few days of cake sales had earned almost a month’s worth of profit. Shen Shaoguang earned much and spent little, being quite miserly, so she couldn’t help but feel maternal concern for such a spendthrift youth.

The “foolish moth” she worried about smiled and said, “There’s a zoetrope at the street corner, would the young miss like to go see?”

Shen Shaoguang nodded demurely, curtsied again as farewell, and continued browsing with Ayuan. But Young Lord Liu followed at a distance with his servant, seemingly either protective or simply going the same way.

Shen Shaoguang felt somewhat awkward but couldn’t ask about it. Should they stop ahead and find a place to buy Ayuan something to eat?

But then she recalled the joke about the fat phoenix becoming an ostrich, looked down at Ayuan’s increasingly round waistline… Never mind, better keep walking.

Maintaining a serene expression while walking through the lantern-lit Chang’an streets with their thousand trees and dancing fish dragons, yet thinking about customer expenses and servant’s fat—Shen Shaoguang was truly mundane regardless of time or place.

Unexpectedly, turning the street corner, they ran into the refined crowd. Under a crape myrtle tree, Assistant Magistrate Lin was supporting an elderly lady with graying hair, with Fifth Lady Qin and Pang Erniang nearby. The gentleman was dignified and graceful, the young ladies more beautiful than flowers. The night breeze stirred the lantern light and scattered flower petals—it was truly a scene worthy of painting.

Shen Shaoguang saw them, and naturally, they saw Shen Shaoguang and Liu Feng.

Shen Shaoguang didn’t approach, only curtsying from a distance. Behind her, Liu Feng, seeing young family members with his superior, also only bowed from afar before following Shen Shaoguang in another direction.

“Which family’s young lord and lady were those?” Lady Jiang smiled.

“Clerk Liu from my office,” Lin Yan said gently.

Lady Jiang nodded: “The young lady has such grace.”

Lin Yan glanced at the lantern shadows at the street corner, smiled slightly, and didn’t explain further.

Fifth Lady Qin also just smiled, while Pang Erniang was dazzled by Lin Yan’s smile, already in a daze.

Lady Jiang smiled at Fifth Lady Qin and Pang Erniang: “It’s wonderful to see precious young ladies like you.”

Fifth Lady Qin smiled, “I’m also very happy to see you, Lady Jiang. The last time I saw you was several years ago.”

Lady Jiang looked at her grandson. Really? She was confused—who had they said these two young ladies were from again?

“The night wind is getting cool, and you must be tired from standing so long. Let me help you back,” Lin Yan said softly to his grandmother.

Lady Jiang’s legs had suffered from cold in her early years and couldn’t stand for long. Now she indeed felt her legs getting heavy. Though she wanted to watch more, her body wouldn’t cooperate, so she nodded, “Very well, let’s go back.”

Not wanting to spoil the young people’s fun, though she couldn’t remember which families these ladies were from, she could still read the situation somewhat. It was indeed time for Yan’er to take a wife. “Let Asu and the others take me back, you—”

Lin Yan had already addressed Fifth Lady Qin and Pang Erniang: “I won’t keep the ladies from enjoying the sights. Farewell.”

Fifth Lady Qin smiled and curtsied to Lady Jiang, and Pang Erniang had to follow suit.

Lady Jiang smiled and nodded to the two ladies: “You all enjoy yourselves.”

Lin Yan supported his grandmother as they slowly walked back, with servants following behind.

Entering the Lin residence, Lady Jiang smiled, “Yan’er, I think those two young ladies are quite nice, especially the one in the scarlet robe. Who did you say she was from again?”

“That’s Minister Qin’s granddaughter.”

Lady Jiang furrowed her brow, unable to recall anything, and only asked, “Would it not be possible to arrange a match?”

Lin Yan was amused by his grandmother’s directness. Lady Jiang also smiled, “Don’t find me troublesome. I’m confused sometimes and clear-headed other times, so I can’t help you make decisions anymore, and you’re a child with your own opinions. But you should pay attention to this matter of taking a wife. Without a mistress or children in the house, just us two grandparents and grandchild, it’s so lonely…” Her expression grew melancholic toward the end.

Lin Yan answered softly, “Yes, grandmother.”

Shen Shaoguang walked around the street once and felt that hearing about the sights was better than seeing them. This Tang Dynasty lantern festival was nothing special—perhaps the Lantern Festival would be better? Even if it was better, she wouldn’t go see it. Festivals were crowded with people, making them good opportunities to make money. Look at how the candy sellers at the street corner were selling like crazy today.

She bought a skewer each for herself and Ayuan to eat while walking. It wasn’t as good as what they made at home, Shen Shaoguang thought. Ayuan took Shen Shaoguang’s half-finished skewer to eat as well, and after finishing gave the same assessment.

Reaching the temple gate, Shen Shaoguang turned back to curtsy slightly to Liu Feng in the distance as thanks, then gracefully slipped inside. Ayuan, however, showed no friendliness toward Liu Feng, slamming the main gate shut with a “bang.”

Shen Shaoguang was also somewhat exasperated with this Young Lord Liu. He was just like those boys from her previous life who only sent “good night” on WeChat every evening—what exactly were they trying to do?

There were still lantern festivities on the evening of the sixteenth, but Shen Shaoguang couldn’t be bothered to go out, just keeping watch at her small shop, giving Ayuan some money to go browsing on her own.

Due to time constraints, the shop only prepared some rose sugar cakes and ai wo on the evening of the sixteenth. Regular customers from the ward saw the open door and came to buy. The limited stock quickly sold out. Looking at the copper coins in the winnowing basket, Shen Shaoguang felt that making money was indeed more enjoyable.

After the Ghost Festival passed, several days of continuous rain fell, and autumn could be felt in the air.

Shen Shaoguang sharpened her knives eagerly—it was time to begin the “autumn fattening” plan.

Since the soup dumplings had become a hit, Shen Shaoguang had been considering adding more pork dishes.

Perhaps after the Wei and Jin periods, with the strong influence of Central Plains’ Hu-ification, pork, that ancient meat, had declined. At this time, lamb was popular, and beef was good too—though there were many restrictions on slaughtering draft cattle in the laws, then there were various fish.

As a hardcore pork fan, Shen Shaoguang felt she should take on the responsibility of reviving pork dishes, and then thought of another pork enthusiast, Scholar Su, who had similar thoughts—by the Song Dynasty, pork was still “as cheap as dirt, the wealthy wouldn’t eat it, the poor didn’t know how to cook it.”

Uh, perhaps start with dong po rou (Dongpo pork)?