Chapter 33: Daily Life of  Stall. (3/3)

The slight anxiety and sorrow caused by his mother’s cold and disappointed attitude seemed to dissipate.  

He quickly finished the pancake, feeling warm and satisfied. 

After wiping his trembling hands with the silk handkerchief handed to him by his servant, he inadvertently revealed a large, ghastly old scar on his wrist. 

The scar was so deep and wide that it looked as if his hand had almost been chopped off at the wrist.  

Xie Zhao seemed not to notice, casually tossed the handkerchief aside, and his wide sleeves covered the scar again.  

After finishing his meal, instead of leaving, he propped his chin on his hand and smiled as he watched the beauty making pancakes. 

The warm spring breeze of late spring blew along the Bian River, the colorful banners fluttered in the wind, and the breeze lifted the beauty’s hair, creating a truly picturesque scene.  

Beauty, delicious food, only lacking fine wine. 

Xie Zhao couldn’t help but feel a little regret.  

Shen Miao, after finishing the last pancake of the day and scraping off the pancake crumbs from the edge of the pan, noticed the unreserved gaze when she turned her head. 

She looked over and saw a young man in his twenties, dressed in silk and still reeking of alcohol, clearly not fully sober. 

Although he stared straight at her, his eyes were dazed and dreamy, as if he was looking at her but also lost in his own dreams.  

Every day there were plenty of men who stared at her like that. Could she avoid being looked at when doing business outside? 

Shen Miao didn’t take it to heart. 

But she did take a second look, just feeling that the man looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.  

Unable to recall, she shrugged and with a smile, bid farewell to the regular customers who often bought food from her. 

She tidied up her things, led Xiang Jie’er, who was holding the little dog, and pushed the cart home.  

After having lunch, she took Xiang Jie’er to the bank to exchange her savings for silver ingots and silver tael. 

She watched with shining eyes as the bank’s manager took out two large silver ingots pressed into round cakes from a tray and weighed them on the scale. 

Xiang Jie’er also wanted to see, but she wasn’t tall enough to see over the bank’s counter, so she hopped around like a rabbit next to Shen Miao.  

One thousand copper coins could be exchanged for about one tael of silver, but if the copper coins were of poor quality, they might not even be worth one tael. 

Shen Miao’s own copper coins from her stall had both good and bad ones, but the two times she received money from the Xie family were all new coins, shiny and of sufficient weight, so even the bank’s manager couldn’t find any fault. 

After deducting daily expenses and the money for building the house, she finally exchanged a total of forty-eight taels of silver.  

Some of these savings were from the dowry that Eldest Sister Shen brought back from the Rong family and hadn’t used up yet; some were from her daily stall earnings; and some were from the leftover money from the Xie family’s purchase of food formulas. 

In the bank, a silver ingot weighed twenty taels. 

Even the silver ingots had a simple Song Dynasty style, with only hammer marks on the surface and the casting year and official number engraved on the bottom, with no other patterns.  

There were still eight taels left, which were cut off as a large piece of silver with special scissors, weighed accurately, and given to her together.  

Before leaving, Shen Miao hid the two silver ingots, one on the left and one on the right, inside her undergarments and tightly tied the sashes. 

With her chest feeling suddenly much heavier and more sagging, she led Xiang Jie’er and walked with her head held high.  

It was noon, and the craftsmen had all gone home to rest, not to return until two in the afternoon. 

She closed the door, dug a hole in the chicken coop, and buried the silver ingots there. 

She then instructed Xiang Jie’er and Ji Ge’er to watch the house before heading to the Xie family to teach the head chef how to make pastries.  

Yan Shu knew she was coming and had been waiting in the kitchen early. 

As soon as she entered, he exclaimed, 

“Eldest Brother has gone to the academy to study and is not at home!”  

Shen Zi laughed, “I didn’t ask.”  

Yan Shu stuck out his tongue, “I thought for sure Mrs. Shen would ask.”  

She wrinkled her nose and smeared her flour-covered hand across Yan Shu’s face, huffing, 

“Don’t talk nonsense, little bookworm.”  

Yan Shu wailed and ran out to fetch water to wash his face.  

The head chef laughed beside them. 

Ever since he learned that he was to learn the art of pastry-making from Shen Miao, he treated her like a savior. 

He had been waiting at the side door early, prepared tea and snacks for Shen Miao, and even brought a round chair for her to sit comfortably while giving instructions. 

He now addressed her as “Miss Shen.”  

It sounded strange, but Shen Miao had told him not to change it.  

When she returned from the Xie residence, she found Wu Dama waiting at her doorstep, leading a large black-backed dog.  

The sun was setting, and the alley was filled with lengthening shadows. 

The large black dog, with its prominent bones and pointed ears like sharp swords, sat beside Wu Dama. 

From afar, Shen Miao, just alighting from the Xie family’s carriage, locked eyes with the dog’s alert gaze.  

Shen Miao approached in a daze. 

Although Wu Dama’s dog, Leiting, was clearly not a German Shepherd—she knew full well that there were no German Shepherds in the Song Dynasty—its coat was a mix of black and brown, and its eyes were bright and dignified. 

As she drew near, the dog slowly stood up, exuding an air of vigilance.  

She halted in her tracks.

What a majestic dog!  

“Leiting, from now on, you’ll be following Mrs. Shen,

”Old Lady Wu squatted down and rubbed the big black dog’s head. The dog, which had been standing still just now, only began to wag its tail affectionately at this moment. Old Lady Wu’s eyes were tearful and her voice choked with emotion,” 

“Our home can’t protect you anymore. I’m really sorry.”  

Leiting then nudged her hand with its head.  

Old Lady Wu took Shen Miao’s hand and slowly brought it to the dog’s nose, letting Leiting sniff and get familiar with her scent.  

Leiting looked up at Shen Miao, and in its almond-shaped brown eyes, her reflection appeared. 

It didn’t seem to have any aversion to her, but neither did it show any affection.  

Seeing that Leiting was very quiet, Old Lady Wu let out a sigh of relief.  

She took another step to the side, and surprisingly, there was still a big bundle behind her.

Inside were a large bag of dog food, a quilt made of patchwork, two dog coats, and even “Juqiu” stuffed with cotton. 

All of these were handmade by Old Lady Wu under the lamp for it. 

Shen Miao felt a bit ashamed for her own puppy. 

Her house wasn’t built yet, and her puppy was still living in the chicken coop, spending the whole day with the chicks.  

Old Lady Wu was about to leave, and she carefully told Shen Miao a lot about Leiting’s preferences. 

It liked to chew on big bones, but also loved to drink fish soup like a cat. 

It enjoyed playing cuju and could run very fast, even carrying a child on its back.

It could also pull a cart and help carry water. 

She tried hard to list all the good things about Leiting, hoping Shen Miao would like it.  

“Mrs. Shen, when I saw you, I felt that you are a good girl. You will treat Leiting well, won’t you? In the future, could I bring Xiang Guo’er to visit it occasionally? If it’s inconvenient, it’s okay not to come anymore.” 

Old Lady Wu looked at her and requested hesitantly.  

Shen Miao took out her handkerchief and gently wiped Old Lady Wu’s tears: 

“You can come anytime. Don’t feel like you’re disturbing me. I don’t have parents at home, and I don’t have a husband. I would be more than happy to have an elder as kind and gentle as you to interact with.”  

Old Lady Wu left with a relieved heart.

She had only taken a few steps when Leiting got up and wanted to follow her, but she stopped it with a shout. 

She waved her hand forcefully, not allowing it to come over:

“Go back, go back.”  

Leiting hesitated and stayed where it was, then barked a few times.  

Shen Miao could now be sure that Old Lady Wu hadn’t deceived her. 

This big dog looked fierce, but it was actually very well-trained. 

The incident of hurting someone was an accident.  

Later, when Old Lady Wu’s figure was no longer in sight, Leiting still refused to follow Shen Miao into the yard. 

It sat on the platform by the door where Shen Miao had placed flowers, and when it got tired, it curled up under the platform.

It seemed to remember that Old Lady Wu had told it to stay here and not to leave, so it patiently waited.  

Shen Miao didn’t force it. 

She spread the quilt Old Lady Wu had brought under the platform, tied the dog leash to the door ring, and poured dog food for it, then went inside. 

She still had a puppy at home. 

This puppy, smelling Leiting’s scent, was so scared that it trembled all over and “whoosh” hid in the chicken coop. 

Xiang Jie’er couldn’t pull it out no matter what.  

Xiang Jie’er also didn’t dare to look at Leiting. 

In the evening, she hugged Shen Miao and whispered: 

“Leiting looks so fierce. I’m afraid it will bite me.”  

Shen Miao told her the story of Leiting. 

Xiang Jie’er clutched the quilt and didn’t say anything after listening, looking pensive. 

Shen Miao was thinking about what she would say next, but she just tilted her head, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.  

It turned out that falling asleep right away was not an exaggeration.  

Ji Ge’er came in, put his books away, got up to turn off the light, and thought it was good that Leiting had come: 

“With Leiting here, no one will dare to come near our home. In the future, if it gets familiar with us, it can even teach our puppy how to guard the house. Sister, look, your puppy is still in the chicken coop!”  

Shen Miao was also helpless. 

When she bought it before, it was clearly very brave! 

It might be because Leiting was so big and strong that it could stand as tall as a person, like a fierce general among dogs.

The puppy wasn’t even as tall as its leg, so it was normal to be scared.  

It will be better when it grows up.  

But on the second day after Leiting arrived, Shen Miao found that there were fewer neighbors peeking around her doorstep.  

Especially Aunt Li, who was afraid of dogs, even walked around her house, which was a blessing in disguise.  

In the following days, the Shen family’s house was still under construction with hammering and sawing. 

Shen Miao continued to run her stall and teach cooking at the Xie family. 

The fat and big cat still came to steal fried eggs to eat, and even brought another orange cat companion to follow and steal food.

Leiting still didn’t go into the house, and the puppy still played with the chickens, and nothing unusual happened.  

Just as the house was almost finished, the Imperial Academy also posted a notice, announcing with drums and gongs that the academic examination would be held in a few days.  

This was a big event that shook the whole of Bianjing.  

Shen Miao had already taken Ji Ge’er to register before. 

The Biyong Academy’s examination also required verification of public credentials.

Only the children of good families in Bianjing were allowed to take the exam, and a registration fee of two hundred coins was required. 

Therefore, although many people went, the number of people who passed the final verification was not many. 

However, it was said that there were still hundreds of people taking the exam, and the competition was very fierce.  

This time she went to collect the examination number. 

The Biyong Academy was located in the suburbs of the outer city and covered a very large area, reportedly more than fifty acres. 

Every year during the examination, bamboo examination sheds would be built in places like the cuju field, the horse field, and the archery pavilion. 

The children had to enter the examination sheds with their examination numbers.  

This child examination was also very impressive. 

The exam lasted a whole day. 

Not only did the examinees have to bring their own writing materials, but they also had to prepare food.  

However, the examination rooms in the sheds were very small, with three sides of rattan walls, a table, and a stool, nothing else. 

Each room was like a prison cell, and only hot water was provided. 

The items that could be brought in were strictly limited. 

Most children who came to take the exam could only bring some dry biscuits and water to barely fill their stomachs. 

It was certain that they wouldn’t eat well.  

But Shen Miao had a secret weapon that was convenient and allowed her to eat well. 

She had prepared it for Ji Ge’er long ago.