The heat had reached new heights these days. While the daytime was bearable, at night there wasn’t even a whisper of wind. The cicadas’ chirping outside, both long and short, seemed even louder than during the day. Shen Shaoguang successfully experienced insomnia.
She barely managed to fall asleep at the third watch of the night, only to wake up early in the morning. Her pillow was wet, her back stuck to the mat, her whole body feeling sticky. She sighed, wondering how to endure this unbearable summer.
After gulping down a cup of cool boiled water, she finally felt somewhat better. Strangely enough, when she was previously in Yeting, several people would squeeze into one room through numerous seasons, and she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Last year, while staying at Guangming Temple, even during several days of sauna-like weather, she didn’t experience insomnia. Yet this year, living in her room with gauze curtains and wearing a sleeveless nightgown, she couldn’t sleep well.
Shen Shaoguang laughed self-mockingly, thinking this must be what they call “sleeping in worries, awakening in comfort.”
Ayuan was still sleeping, so Shen Shaoguang didn’t wake her. She gathered the mat and pillowcase, and she changed her nightgown to wash them by the well. The mat and pillowcase were hung to dry in the courtyard, but the nightgown had to be dried indoors—after all, they had to consider the era’s sensibilities.
After brushing her teeth, washing her face, and washing her hair, Shen Shaoguang finally felt refreshed. With her hair loosely tied up, she went to the front shop to see what Yu San was preparing for breakfast.
Seeing the dark circles under Shen Shaoguang’s eyes, Yu San frowned, “Were you out thieving last night?”
Shen Shaoguang looked innocent, “I didn’t want this either. You think being a national treasure is easy?”
Ayuan came over after washing up, and Achang brought back fresh tofu pudding from the tofu shop. Yu San had also finished making small sesame cakes. Shen Shaoguang helped scoop out freshly boiled eggs and cut various pickled vegetables into shreds, slices, and minces. Yu San prepared garlic paste, zhuyu chili sauce, sesame paste, chive flower sauce, and chopped cilantro for the tofu pudding—this completed Shen’s morning offerings.
Though Shen Shaoguang knew the principles of making tofu pudding, she couldn’t execute it herself. She had discussed it with Madam Qiu and tried several times before finally producing a very good product.
“Quite a few people buy this tofu pudding,” Achang said, then grinned, “When I go, I don’t have to wait. Madam Qiu serves me first.” He looked quite pleased with himself.
Shen Shaoguang smiled indulgently. Indeed, children shared a common human trait: the love of privilege, however small.
Since Shen Shaoguang had many flaws herself, she didn’t demand much from those around her. She just smiled and said, “Don’t do that anymore. Others have been waiting for a while.”
Achang was obedient and agreed with a smile.
Shen Shaoguang poured some of the shop’s bone broth over her tofu pudding, added a bit of garlic paste, sesame sauce, and zhuyu sauce, sprinkled some chopped cilantro, and found it deliciously smooth and flavorful.
Perhaps the tofu pudding had stimulated her appetite. Though she hadn’t planned to eat much, Shen Shaoguang finished an egg and then ate one of Yu San’s freshly made sesame cakes with the tofu pudding. The small cake was no bigger than a palm, filled with sesame paste and spiced salt, layered in circles, golden brown and fragrant.
Despite several nights of poor sleep, being young and having eaten such a hearty, homestyle breakfast gave her energy. Shen Shaoguang, along with Ayuan and Achang, drew water from the well, wiped down tables and chairs, cleaned the shop, checked the vegetables and meat delivered by vendors, and helped Yu San prepare ingredients—keeping them busy for over two hours.
Mid-morning, the fish seller arrived. This time instead of bringing river shrimp, he brought a soft-shelled turtle weighing over two jin.
Oh my, this was something special.
The fish seller was proud, “I found it under the big willow tree. At first, I couldn’t see what it was, but when it moved, I realized it was this crafty creature trying to escape. Fortunately, I trapped it with my basket. Lucky it was in shallow water by the riverbank and got tangled in tree roots—if it had been in deep water, I wouldn’t have caught it.”
There were many ways to cook soft-shelled turtles: in soup, braised, stir-fried with young chicken, stewed with pork knuckle, or as they did in the palace—steamed with lamb fat and salted duck egg yolks. One could even stuff the cavity with minced meat and mushrooms. The most cruel method Shen Shaoguang had heard of was placing the turtle on a heated iron plate and letting it crawl while continuously feeding it seasoned water. They said this produced an incredibly delicious result, but Shen Shaoguang thought whoever invented this must have been an executioner among chefs, or perhaps a chef among executioners.
Being an ordinary person, Shen Shaoguang chose to stew it with chicken. The stewing method was simple: heat some oil in the pot, fry scallions and ginger until fragrant, add chicken and stir-fry, splash some yellow wine, add water, bring to a boil, simmer for a while, skim off the foam, and when the broth turned milky white, add the cut turtle pieces. Then add a small cloth bag containing Sichuan peppercorns and black pepper, and let it simmer.
It wouldn’t be ready for lunch, and being so small, it wasn’t suitable for guests. So they decided to start stewing in the afternoon, perfect for soup and meat when it wasn’t so hot in the evening.
But Shen Shaoguang was just talking—the actual cooking would be done by Yu San. Truth be told, Shen Shaoguang couldn’t even handle killing the turtle.
Ayuan had never eaten a soft-shelled turtle before. Smelling the fragrance wafting from the kitchen, she couldn’t sit still and kept going to check.
In the late afternoon when there weren’t many customers, Yu San and Achang were resting in the back courtyard. Shen Shaoguang wanted to take a nap but couldn’t sleep with Ayuan’s constant movement.
Shen Shaoguang raised her hand to call her, and Ayuan came running over.
Lazily supporting her head with one hand while slowly fanning them both with the other, Shen Shaoguang said, “When we have money later, we’ll build a large mansion by the Wei River. I’ll carry a fishing rod and basket to fish there every day. They say soft-shelled turtles love meat—using some chicken gizzards or pig liver as bait, we’ll surely catch one from time to time. Then you can eat your fill.”
Ayuan giggled, “Young Miss, last time you said we’d buy a villa in Zhongnan Mountain, where I could catch wild chickens all over the mountains.”
Shen Shaoguang laughed too—she was just dreaming bigger now. “We’ll have both the Zhongnan Mountain villa and the Wei River mansion. At times like this, it’s cool in the mountains, certainly not as hot as sleeping in the city. There’s plenty of game too. We can set up branches in the courtyard to grill skewers—lamb, chicken wings, venison, rabbit meat…”
Just as she was indulging in these fantasies, she heard the curtain being lifted—it was Junior Administrator Lin.
Shen Shaoguang stood up and casually exchanged greetings, “Haven’t seen Young Lord Lin for several days. How have you been?”
Lin Yan slightly furrowed his brows as he looked at her, noting the faint dark circles under her eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped, pausing before replying, “Very well, thank you.”
Harboring resentment toward the wealthy, Shen Shaoguang thought to herself, “Of course, you’re well, with your grand mansion, ice blocks, and probably beautiful maids fanning you. If I were you, I’d be just as comfortable, you privileged person.”
But outwardly, she smiled and invited him to sit, asking what he’d like to eat today, and had Ayuan bring over some iced drinks.
She thought he would say “Whatever Young Miss arranges is fine,” but instead heard him say, “Whatever’s ready will do, no need to cook anything new.”
While it was certainly good to spend less time in the hot kitchen by the stove, Shen Shaoguang had a delayed reaction—could he be showing concern for her?
Shen Shaoguang raised an eyebrow, giving Lin Yan an ambiguous smile.
Given his personality, she expected him to explain something like “It’s hot, I don’t want to eat much,” but surprisingly, this Junior Administrator Lin just glanced at her and nonchalantly drank his beverage.
Shen Shaoguang: “…”
Shen Shaoguang pouted and thought, never mind, then turned to go to the kitchen.
Lin Yan’s lips curled up in a smile.
She had planned to just bring him some pastries, but seeing the soft-shelled turtle stew was nearly done, Shen Shaoguang changed her mind—she should do justice to his silver after all.
There was ready-made dough, so Shen Shaoguang took a piece, stretched it with some chive leaves to make hunhun, boiled them in water, ladled out a bowl of turtle-chicken soup, put in the cooked hunhun, sprinkled some chopped green onions, seasoned with salt, and brought it out on a tray.
Ayuan sniffed, hadn’t Young Miss said this was for the family?
The steaming, fragrant bowl of turtle-chicken soup with hun hun made Lin Yan break out in a sweat, even soaking his collar.
Rarely seeing him in such a disheveled state, Shen Shaoguang asked with a smile, “Is the meal to your liking, Young Lord?”
Meeting Shen Shaoguang’s teasing gaze, Lin Yan couldn’t help but smile despite feeling somewhat helpless, “Very good.”
Shen Shaoguang stood watching the Junior Administrator eat his hunhun from above. She thought of how the handsome He Yan was once suspected of wearing powder, and when he ate soup biscuits in hot summer and broke into sweat, he “wiped himself with his vermilion clothes, revealing his natural fairness”—it must have been just like this, tsk tsk.
The summer clothing was thin, and with his sweat, his figure was even more visible. Shen Shaoguang shamelessly took another look, then walked away satisfied.
Having broken into a sweat was indeed improper, and seeing Young Miss Shen looking somewhat tired, wanting to let her rest, Lin Yan left shortly after finishing his hun hun.
Returning home and changing his clothes, he called for Liu Chang, “The good horse I asked you to find—no need to look anymore.”
Liu Chang was surprised, “Young Lord Pei didn’t buy that mansion, so there’s no need for a housewarming gift?”
“Give him the horse I usually ride.”
“But what about you, Young Lord?” Liu Chang was even more surprised—that was Young Lord’s beloved horse.
“We have other horses at home, the chestnut one is quite good.”
Liu Chang: “…”
“Help me inquire about any land, farms, or existing villas for sale in South Mountain, suitable for summer retreat.”
Liu Chang understood. Though Young Lord’s salary was substantial, his expenses were also high. After buying a fine horse, there might not be enough for a villa. But why did Young Lord suddenly think of buying property on Zhongnan Mountain? It would be good for the elderly Madam who’s advanced in age and can’t tolerate heat. But how much time would Young Lord have to accompany Madam there?
“Also,” Lin Yan licked his lips, “There’s a bamboo mat—have someone unfamiliar take it to sell in front of Shen’s shop.”
Liu Chang: “…”
In a flash of insight, Liu Chang understood. Ah, Young Lord, men…
The next day, the sleep-deprived Shen Shaoguang encountered this bamboo mat “merchant.”
Shen Shaoguang was no stranger to quality goods. “This is a Langzhou bamboo mat from Shannan Circuit, isn’t it?”
The merchant was quite polite and friendly, “Young Miss is right.”
Langzhou bamboo mats were exquisitely crafted, smooth as jade, and reportedly made from Shanyin bamboo. They could keep one cool and sweat-free in summer. They were sent to the capital as tribute every year, and while available in the East Market, they were outrageously expensive.
The merchant smiled, “To be honest with Young Miss, I received this from a noble person I happened to save. Being from a humble household, I can’t use such a thing. Taking it to a pawnshop wouldn’t fetch much money, so I thought to sell it myself.”
Shen Shaoguang still felt something was odd—could it be stolen goods?
Thinking that taking advantage of small gains was unwise, Shen Shaoguang touched the jade-like mat. It was truly wonderful. When I have money, I’ll buy one—no, four of them, one for each person in the family, she thought, her dreams growing increasingly grand.
The “merchant” made a round outside, then returned to the Lin residence dejectedly and reported to Liu Chang. Liu Chang had no choice—this kind of thing could only be tried once, not twice. Having failed to “sell” it, there was no way to try again. He pointed at this ineffective person, who would have to face Young Lord’s punishment himself.
After hearing the whole story, Lin Yan smiled helplessly. If Aji didn’t join the Ministry of Justice or the Court of Judicial Review, it would truly be a waste…