Shao Jie was quite perceptive and took his leave promptly after concluding business. Perhaps it wasn’t his imagination, but he seemed to detect a hint of approval on Deputy Magistrate Lin’s composed face.
When Shen Shaoguang tried to see him out, Shao Jie politely declined and rode away on his horse.
Upon returning, Shen Shaoguang saw Lin Yan still petting the cat.
Noticing the barely touched food and drinks on the table, Shen Shaoguang sighed helplessly—now that the guest had left, he could put down the “prop” and continue with afternoon tea!
Shen Shaoguang squinted with a fake smile, “Would my lord like anything else? Perhaps my lord should wash his hands first?”
Lin Yan smiled and nodded, putting down the cat. Ming Nu swept her tail at him and walked over to rub against Shen Shaoguang’s legs.
Shen Shaoguang hurriedly coaxed it: “Good kitty, good kitty, I’m still busy, just a moment!”
Lin Yan glanced at her, and lowered his head slightly, intending to reach for something on the table, but remembering his unwashed hands, withdrew them and placed them properly on his lap, appearing quite dignified.
“Please wait, my lord, I’ll bring a basin of water.” Shen Shaoguang said with professional service industry consciousness. For nobles like Deputy Magistrate Lin, washing hands at home or in the office required several attendants—one holding the basin, one providing soap and hand cream, one holding towels, and some even had servants dry their hands for them.
But Lin Yan stood up, “I’ll go with you.”
Saving a trip was naturally good, and Shen Shaoguang smiled, “Actually, running water is cleaner.”
Lin Yan gave her a deep look and smiled with a soft “Mm.”
Shen Shaoguang raised an eyebrow slightly, wondering what he was smiling about—was something wrong?
The two came to the water vat at the back of the shop. Lin Yan bent slightly at the stone wash basin, while Shen Shaoguang used a ladle to scoop water from the vat to rinse his hands, then silently handed him the soap box.
The shop had towels for customers, but someone as particular as Deputy Magistrate Lin would probably prefer his handkerchief, so Shen Shaoguang skipped the “offering towel” step.
Suddenly, Shen Shaoguang understood the meaning behind Lin Yan’s earlier glance and smile—”attending with towel and comb” was a common phrase used to describe wives serving their husbands.
Shen Shaoguang bit her lip and glared at him—you’re the Deputy Mayor of Chang’an, couldn’t you have healthier thoughts? Less imagination? Just stick to the matter at hand?
Lin Yan straightened up, slightly shaking his hands, turned his head, and seeing her expression, couldn’t help but smile.
After smiling, he said: “Did you hold Ming Nu earlier? Let me help rinse your hands too?”
Shen Shaoguang gave him an ambiguous look—getting addicted to teasing people?
Feeling mischievous, Shen Shaoguang smiled and said: “Then I’ll trouble the Deputy Magistrate.”
Lin Yan copied Shen Shaoguang’s earlier actions, scooping water with the ladle and carefully pouring it over her hands.
Her hands were long and slender, and though fair-skinned, they weren’t particularly delicate. There were several small red spots on the back of her hands, presumably oil splatters, and her knuckles were somewhat prominent—these were hands that had worked hard. Lin Yan’s playful expression faded.
He suddenly remembered what she had said the first time she went to deliver porridge to his grandmother: “When I was in the palace, there wasn’t enough charcoal. In deep winter, my hands and feet would become red and swollen with pus. If they stayed cold, it wasn’t so bad—just some cracks and pain. The worst was suddenly getting close to charcoal fire, which would cause unbearable itching.” Lin Yan felt increasingly distressed, wanting to take her hands in his, rubbing them, warm them, and ask if all those old injuries had healed…
Shen Shaoguang silently counted to fifteen seconds following proper hand-washing protocol, then turned to look at Lin Yan.
Lin Yan smiled tenderly and scooped another ladle of water to rinse her hands.
Having successfully played the prima donna, Shen Shaoguang became cheerful and asked with a smile: “We have osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root today, would Lord Lin like to try some? We can also pack some for the Elder Madam.”
Lin Yan smiled: “Good.”
To show her magnanimity, Shen Shaoguang casually shared her food knowledge with him: “This osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root uses this summer’s new rice and fresh lotus root. It’s just a pity that the osmanthus flowers were last year’s stock bought from the medicine shop—if you smell careful, there’s a hint of codonopsis and scutellaria. Fortunately, the sugar masks it.”
“Lotus roots come in nine-hole and seven-hole varieties. The nine-hole is white lotus root, crisp and sweet, suitable for eating raw—like the ones in the ‘Fisherman’s Three Delicacies.’ The seven-hole is red lotus root, more starchy and not crisp, unsuitable for eating raw, but perfect for this osmanthus dish.”
They talked as they walked back.
Lin Yan turned his head slightly to smile at her, listening to her talk about food and drink, feeling a sense of peaceful, perfect contentment.
“We stuff the lotus root with glutinous rice, plug it with the cut lotus node, then cook it with red dates, malt sugar, and osmanthus flowers for an hour or two. When the lotus root becomes fragrant and soft, and the rice becomes sticky, we take it out, let it cool, and slice it. Then we strain the cooking liquid, reduce it, add some sugar-preserved osmanthus flowers, and pour it over the lotus root—fragrant and sweet.”
Lin Yan felt like teasing her again and nodded, “Yes, you should eat more sweets. Though not seasonally appropriate, it’s situationally appropriate.”
Shen Shaoguang stopped and looked at him, while Lin Yan smiled and walked back to his table.
Faced with the now uninhibited Deputy Magistrate Lin, Shen Shaoguang was somewhat at a loss. According to the Five Elements theory of seasonal eating, one should “increase sweetness in spring, bitterness in summer, sourness in autumn, and pungency in winter,” so autumn should be the season for sour foods. This “situationally appropriate” is referred to earlier… after having too much vinegar (jealousy), one should eat something sweet to balance it out!
Thinking of how serious and cold Deputy Magistrate Lin used to be, Shen Shaoguang sighed softly and was about to pour a full spoonful of osmanthus syrup over his dish—you reap what you sow!
But suddenly remembering the homophone of this phrase in Chinese, “seeking people, getting people”… Shen Shaoguang steadied her hand and drizzled the syrup carefully, returning half the spoonful to the container.
However, Lin Yan didn’t say any more “improper” things, only asking about the partnership with the Shao family.
Knowing his good intentions, Shen Shaoguang didn’t hide anything and told him the main points about their negotiations, profit-sharing, and division of work.
Lin Yan nodded: “In business, it’s often difficult to be both shrewd and principled. The Shao family is quite good in this regard, and they’re very pragmatic. Young Master Shao is also capable and astute. Your partnership with them is very good.”
Shen Shaoguang smiled—giving such high praise to a “love rival” showed that the earlier “jealousy” was just playful banter. Perhaps this could be considered “a little jealousy adds spice to love”?
After looking at several more locations with Shen Shaoguang, Shao Jie finally settled on Qinren Ward.
Qinren Ward was a large ward southwest of the East Market, also considered a “high-end neighborhood.” Princess Fuhui’s residence was in this ward. The princess’s mansion was built on the foundation of the famous garden “Chixa Garden” and was known for its elegant refinement rather than its size.
Chixa Garden was planted with many famous flowers, particularly known for its peonies, chrysanthemums, and camellias, with the saying “To see flowers of both capitals, look to Chixa.” The garden was originally the private residence of Lady Han of Goryeo during Emperor Xuanzong’s time. After the An Lushan Rebellion, Lady Han died, and the garden was transferred to the famous general Zhou Yan, who quelled the rebellion. Zhou Yan was from the Zhou clan of Yingchuan and transformed the somewhat gaudy garden into one of exquisite elegance. Unfortunately, his son was convicted for his words, implicating his ancestors, and the garden changed hands again…
Just as Old Bai said in his poem “The Haunted House”: “The previous owner was a general and minister, who was exiled to Ba and Yong for offending the throne. The later owner was a noble official, who fell ill and died within. Through four or five owners in succession, misfortune continued to strike.” The famous garden had quite a reputation for “bringing misfortune to its owners,” but Princess Fuhui didn’t mind and had it converted into her princess residence.
When Shen Shaoguang came to check on the renovation progress of the new shop, she specifically walked around the princess’s residence. Even through the walls, she seemed to smell the early-blooming osmanthus flowers.
Osmanthus flowers were wonderful—they could be used to make osmanthus sesame candy, osmanthus jujube paste pastries, osmanthus yam cake, osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root, osmanthus wine-soaked rice balls, and could also be used to stew duck, chicken, and ribs, not to mention various sweet porridges and tea drinks.
Shen Shaoguang looked enviously at the princess’s residence’s walls—Princess Fuhui had found such a bargain! If she could have such a large house herself, she could try cooking with different flowers one by one, and perhaps really write that “Hundred Flowers Guide” with taste notes like the “Classic of Mountains and Seas”…
Fantasizing about the princess residence… Shen Shaoguang felt her Monopoly player’s heart swelling a bit too quickly. Though there was no hope of buying a princess residence in this life, other “haunted houses” might be possible.
There were quite a few such haunted houses in Chang’an, including one in Chongxian Ward. Of course, the “haunted house” in Chongxian Ward wasn’t as famous as Chixa Garden, nor as large—just a three-courtyard house. It was said to have belonged to a merchant from the south who died of a stroke. The next owner had no heirs and was killed by bandits while trading in Youzhou. His wife had monks and Taoist priests burn incense and make noise in the house, but still felt uneasy and eventually moved away.
Passing by this house during the Lantern Festival, seeing it pitch black inside, those with rich imaginations could probably spin all sorts of ghost stories.
However, even a haunted house was a bit expensive for Shen Shaoguang… Thinking about the villa in the Southern Mountains and the holiday house by the Wei River, the road ahead was indeed long.
Shen Shaoguang returned to the shop under renovation. This storefront was slightly larger than Shen’s current location, facing the main street. It used to be a silk shop, quite clean inside with not much need for major work. Shen Shaoguang was very satisfied—from the princess’s large garden to a small storefront, like a glutton dreaming of a bear’s paw and deer tail but happily eating steamed buns with pork, Shen Shaoguang didn’t feel much psychological gap.
As it was a branch store, the style naturally had to maintain basic consistency—white walls, natural wood partitions, green brick floor with carpets. Shen Shaoguang discussed with Shao Jie about adding a carved long screen in the middle, with traditional low dining tables on one side and high tables, foreign-style chairs, and long benches on the other.
Though some wealthy families now used high tables and chairs, low furniture was still mainstream. Shen’s shop still used all low dining tables, which was precisely why Shen Shaoguang increasingly noticed the inconvenience—it was too troublesome for group dining!
Shao Jie clapped his hands: “This is exactly right! When Young Master Ji and the others feast at Qujiang, they use large tables where ten or more people can sit together—how warm and lively!”
Shen Shaoguang added: “We can set up several large tables like you mentioned that can seat fifteen to twenty people, and also add some small tables for three or four people. This way, it’s convenient for those drinking alone, in pairs, or groups.”
Shao Jie responded: “Excellent!”
Being familiar with Chang’an’s taverns, Shao Jie said, “Just introducing these high tables would be innovative in Chang’an. As far as I know, no tavern or restaurant has done this yet, though some traditionalists might criticize it.”
Shen Shaoguang grinned mischievously: “If this causes discussion among the capital’s citizens, we won’t need to set up stalls in the East and West Markets.” Bad publicity is still publicity.
Shao Jie looked at Shen Shaoguang—could things be thought of this way? But, it seemed… she had a point…
Shen Shaoguang became serious again, “Can’t you see, my lord? Throughout history, from sitting on the ground to using low couches and tables, to foreign-style chairs and high tables, from low to high—this is the general trend. Those people are just like mantises trying to stop a chariot!”
Shao Jie struck his left palm with his right fist, “This is how we’ll argue against those stubborn traditionalists in the future!”
Shen Shaoguang burst out laughing.
Author’s Note:
① A reference from Ms. Ye Guangqin’s “Bean Juice Chronicles”: Osmanthus flowers bought from Chinese medicine shops smell of codonopsis and Scutellaria.
—
Author: Deputy Magistrate, isn’t that a bit too much drama just for washing hands?
Lin Yan smiles: I hope every morning can be like this…
Shen Shaoguang: Is he being improper again?