Pei Fei and Lin Yan walked back through the snow.
With food in his stomach, Pei Fei’s mood had improved considerably—so much so that he had the energy to inquire about his friend’s “romantic situation.”
Thinking about the vegetable dishes like “vinegar-fried sprouts,” “braised shredded bean curd,” and “golden hook greens” served between the roasted pheasant, agate meat, and roasted lamb, and remembering how Lin Yan’s expression had softened with a slight smile while eating, Pei Fei narrowed his eyes and looked at him sideways: “Anran, I have a question…”
“That Young Lady Shen arranged the dishes freely, and as a merchant seeking profit, shouldn’t she have served mostly expensive dishes? Why were there so many light vegetable dishes?”
“Balancing meat and vegetable dishes, mixing complex with simple—this is the way of harmonious dining. As a tavern keeper, how could she not understand this principle?” Thinking of Young Lady Shen’s smiling face when collecting payment, Lin Yan said coolly, “Besides, even for small dishes, she charged the price of large ones.”
Pei Fei chuckled, “That’s because you were willing to pay, not because she asked for it.”
Lin Yan’s lips curved slightly upward.
But Pei Fei wasn’t so easily deflected, “Those dishes all seemed to match your taste perfectly…”
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, “…Weren’t the roasted pheasants and such perfectly to your taste as well?”
Pei Fei smiled with a “heh, keep denying it” expression, but since it involved the young lady’s reputation, he didn’t press too explicitly and let the matter drop.
The more Pei Fei thought about it, the more he felt Lin Yan and Young Lady Shen were well-matched. One was tight-lipped as a sealed gourd, the other quick-witted and articulate—if both were silent, wouldn’t it be unbearably dull? If both were sharp-tongued, they’d inevitably clash. Their appearances complemented each other too: Anran was elegant and refined, while Young Lady Shen was pretty and vivacious. As for learning, while Anran was a successful imperial examination graduate and brilliant scholar, Young Lady Shen was no ignorant woman—hadn’t she once used Pang Tong from the Three Kingdoms to mock someone? And now she spoke of famous ministers and state affairs from the current dynasty.
The only difference was their social status! Though Young Lady Shen came from the Shen clan of Luoxia, unfortunately, her family had fallen on hard times, while Anran was a high-ranking official in crimson robes…
Pei Fei shook his head—what a pity.
Pei Fei didn’t know that Shen Shaoguang was a palace maid released this spring nor about her family’s past troubles. If he had known, he would have shaken his head even more vigorously.
How could Lin Yan not understand Pei Fei’s implications? Though he wanted to put on a stern face and say something, he let it pass—this was just Pei Fei’s nature, and at least he knew some boundaries and wouldn’t stoop too low.
Lin Yan didn’t think it strange that the tavern’s dishes matched his taste—he’d been there several times, and Young Lady Shen had simply remembered his preferences… However, her quick wit explained how she could thrive so vibrantly in the marketplace, like the green spreading across mountains in spring—truly living up to her childhood name “Aji” (Young Vegetable).
Aji—he wondered what her formal name was. The official document only listed her family name, place of origin, age, and physical features, and that she was sent to the palace as a maid in such-and-such year due to her father Shen Qian’s crime, then released as a commoner in such-and-such year. As was customary for women’s documents, it didn’t include her given name.
Lin Yan suddenly looked up, squinting at the snow-covered buildings and streets. What was he thinking about? He must truly be drunk.
Shen Shaoguang, unaware that she had prompted such soul-searching in Lin and Pei, was contemplating new dishes.
In the cold winter months, vegetables were scarce—just Chinese cabbage, radishes, tofu, and bean sprouts daily, nothing else. Fortunately, there was no shortage of pork, chicken, lamb, and fish. Combined with some pickled vegetables and preserved meats, she could manage to create variety. These past snowy days, with the fish supply interrupted, she immediately felt the limitations—steamed fish head, fish balls, vinegar fish, tile-roasted fish, fish hotpot, and so on, all unavailable…
In such cold weather, even after the snow melts, getting fish would be difficult. Shen Shaoguang decided to remove fish dishes from the menu for now and add other items, while also updating other dishes based on sales volume.
This required careful consideration, sometimes consulting Yu San, and even seeking opinions from the two local food lovers, Yuan and Chang.
Yuan and Chang loved it when the tavern added new dishes because that meant—taste testing.
Seeing their excitement, Shen Shaoguang wondered, haven’t I been feeding them enough? Or are these two just deeply passionate about food? Shen Shaoguang preferred to believe the latter.
The braised shredded bean curd served to Deputy Governor Lin was a recent addition. The dried bean curd strips were cooked in chicken broth, with dried shrimp added in a small white cloth bag for extra flavor, removed before serving, leaving only the pure white strips. When plated, it was topped with a sprinkle of minced preserved meat and a few green pickled cucumber dice, just for color.
Without ham or dried seafood, and not following authentic Huaiyang cuisine methods, it was a “make-do dish” across time and space, but the taste was surprisingly good—even the particular Deputy Governor Lin ate quite a bit.
Making cabbage and tofu flavorful was a true test of skill, and in this era of shortages, Shen Shaoguang still preferred various bold meat dishes.
For example—powder-steamed pork, vinegar-braised meat, lychee pork, smoked-stewed meat, and various chicken dishes like clay pot chicken, fried chicken, smoked chicken, and poached chicken. Once you master the techniques, you can improvise freely, and the taste will always be good.
When Yuan returned from outside and saw the freshly cooked powder-steamed pork, she quickly grabbed a small flatbread, stuffed it with a large piece of the meat, blew on it to cool it, and took a bite that consumed half the bread at once, nodding vigorously at Shen Shaoguang while eating, “Mm! Mm!”
“Don’t just focus on eating, did you speak with that Lady Chu?” Lady Chu was the unexpected guest who had arrived on a snowy day and was now staying at Guangming Temple, the one whose maid was called Ajin.
“Mm! Mm!”
Shen Shaoguang smiled: “Go ahead, eat.”
After all, what cook wouldn’t like customers like Yuan? If everyone were like Deputy Governor Lin, eating without showing pleasure or displeasure, one could only analyze and observe whether he liked the food, without any feedback—how boring would that be as a cook? Heh, she pitied whoever cooked for Deputy Governor Lin.
Before Yuan finished her “extra meal,” Lady Chu arrived with her maid.
Shen Shaoguang invited them to speak in the back residence.
She poured tea for Lady Chu, who stood to accept it and expressed thanks.
Though anxious, Lady Chu waited until Shen Shaoguang sat down and took a sip of tea before asking, “Does the Young Lady have news of Young Master Huan?”
“Today at noon there was a customer surnamed Huan, ranked seventh in his family, quite tall with fair skin and dignified bearing. I was afraid of making a mistake, so I didn’t ask him directly, but wanted to tell you first.”
Lady Chu became excited: “That’s him.”
Her maid Ajin quickly asked: “Does Young Lady know how to find this Young Master Huan?”
Shen Shaoguang nodded: “Yes, he knows a regular customer of our shop. That customer is very helpful, you can certainly ask him. He lives in the southernmost house by the district wall on the street behind us.” This was Clerk Liu’s address, as told by the matchmaker—it wasn’t far from the Zhang family’s wick shop, and Yuan had encountered him while buying wicks.
Lady Chu earnestly thanked Shen Shaoguang.
Shen Shaoguang well understood the principle of not speaking too freely with new acquaintances, but seeing that Young Master Huan Seven seemed rather shrewd and not entirely reliable, she felt a motherly concern arise. After some thought, she said: “Seeing how beautifully you write small regular script when arranging flowers, while my writing is too crude, I’d like to ask for your guidance.”
Having just discussed Young Master Huan Seven, this sudden turn to calligraphy was unusual for the typically straightforward Young Lady Shen. Lady Chu understood there must be a reason and smiled: “I wouldn’t dare to guide you, but please write something and we can learn from each other.”
Shen Shaoguang ground some ink, spread out paper, and wrote several poems by Bai Juyi in regular script. She tapped her finger on the last one, “The Silver Jar Drawn from the Well,” and said, “These are poems by Minister Bai, direct and pointed—I quite like them.”
“…Grateful that your pine and cypress nature has touched my heart, I secretly matched your double buns and followed you… To be properly married is to be a wife, to elope is to be a concubine, unworthy to perform ancestral rites or present water plants…” Each word and phrase rang like a warning bell.
The lady’s expression changed, and after a while, she smiled: “Minister Bai’s poems are good, and Young Lady’s writing is also good.” She stood and formally bowed to Shen Shaoguang, “Thank you for your kind warning.”
Shen Shaoguang took her hand, and they sat down again. Only the maid Ajin remained confused.
“Young Lady may not know, but my family are merchants who value fair trade above all. We pledged our hearts to each other and exchanged many letters. If he—betrays me, I’ll reveal everything. Though it won’t do me any good, it will damage his reputation. Here in the capital, propriety is paramount. He needs to take the examinations and receive an appointment—he won’t risk this danger.”
Shen Shaoguang nodded, wanting to tell her that Chang’an wasn’t as strict as she imagined, but she had already reached this point of no return, and she had determination and plans… At least she was better than a naive fool who would “even if abandoned heartlessly, feel no shame.”
Since that was the case, let her charge ahead in pursuit of love’s vast ocean.