Chapter 35: Instant Noodles Fragrance.(1/2)

Watching Jige’er go in smoothly, the small body was swallowed by the high door of the Guozi Academy with the crowd, and soon it couldn’t be seen no matter how much he stood on tiptoe or stretched his neck. 

Shen Miao sighed with relief, quickly picked up the basket and looked around, preparing to find a good place to set up a stall.

Although the “Bi Yong Academy Branch” of the Guozi Academy is located in the suburbs of the city, it is not desolate around.

The post road is wide, and the yellow soil is very compact. 

If there is no fast horse galloping past, there is little dust and smoke. 

On both sides of the post road, there are also many pear trees. 

Now it is the season when flowers are clustered and lush. 

Along the wall of the academy, there are also several corridors and pavilions, with several tall pines and cypresses beside the pavilions, and rockeries. 

With the gentle breeze blowing, it is very elegant.

But now, because of the child test, in front of the Bi Yong Academy, there are all kinds of cattle, horses, donkeys and cars.

Many servants are holding livestock and waiting beside the car. 

There are also those who come on foot, like the Li family who push a cart, and there are countless peddlers like Shen Miao who carry a pole to do business. 

In short, the crowd is continuous and the noise is very noisy.

The soldiers of the Xiang Army, holding their swords, walk and patrol among them, and there is no more quiet and scholarly atmosphere.

Shen Miao looked around, and finally found a good place near the post road not far from the academy. 

This place is under a tall begonia tree, with lush branches and leaves, and it is not exposed to the sun. 

Facing the busy post road, the diagonal back is the pavilion and corridor crowded with people. 

The parents and relatives of the children waiting for the exam are all crowded in it to rest.

She put down the basket, took out two small stools first, and then put the oil paper wrapped buns in the basket. 

She turned the basket upside down on the ground and it became a table.

She and Sister Xiang each sat on a stool, sitting under the tree and shouting from time to time.

“Freshly baked steamed bread, purple – robed and golden – belt big steamed bread! Good to eat and good luck! Fragrant and soft big steamed bread.”

She shouted a sentence, and Sister Xiang also followed with a crisp and milky voice. 

The childish voice is naive. 

The two sisters, the elder one is beautiful, and the younger one is lovely like a baby, which attracted some people to watch.

Shen Miao took the opportunity to take one apart, cut it into pieces with a knife, and shouted again:

“Try before you buy. If you don’t eat it, it’s free. If you don’t buy it, it’s free. After this village, there is no such shop -“

It is a fool who doesn’t take advantage of the cheap. 

Soon, many people gathered around. 

Seeing the steamed buns in the wicker basket, which are lovely and golden purple, some people couldn’t help but be tempted after tasting. 

After asking the price, although it is a bit expensive, but….

The woman with a woman’s hairdo led her son who was going to take the exam, and glanced at the young woman selling cakes with some hesitation.

“Eating it will definitely make you quick – witted, and you will be a big official in the future!” 

The woman smiled with her eyes and eyebrows curved, as lovely as the steamed bread in her hand, and her voice was clear and crisp. 

She spoke auspicious words again, 

“Good luck, wish the young master to pass the exam every time. Eat well and take the exam well. Shall I pack it for you?”

This sentence is too pleasant. 

The woman finally didn’t hesitate and took out the money from her small cloth bag. 

She finally said, 

“Pack two for me!”

Then she and her son stood in front of the stall and ate together. 

After the mother and son took a light bite, they looked at each other in surprise. 

This steamed bread is really different! 

At first, it feels rough and almost simple, but after chewing a few more times, the wheat fragrance overflows, with a hint of sweetness. 

The mulberry fragrance that sweeps over the taste buds and the fried peanuts are complementary, making people taste again and again. 

Especially the surface of the steamed bread still has some brown wheat bran that has been baked. 

It tastes like the delicate feeling of chestnuts just ripe in autumn.

So the young woman decided not to eat any more. 

She quickly put the remaining auspicious steamed bread into her son’s baking basket and hurriedly went in to take the exam.

Of course, there are also those who are cautious. 

They bring their own food and tell their children not to eat anything outside. 

But most of them can’t help buying some after tasting. 

After all, the taste is the real reason to keep the customers.

When Uncle Shen’s donkey cart appeared in front of Shen Miao’s stall, Shen Miao was just busy packing cakes for people. 

She looked up and saw the arrogant aunt Ding and Uncle Shen, as well as Hai Ge’er, who had become much fatter in just a few days.

Hai Ge’er was sleepy eyed, with slightly swollen eyelids, as if he had just been pulled out of bed. 

His plump body was wrapped in a red silk shirt embroidered with cranes rising to the clouds, like an over fermented old dough bun.

They live in the outer city, much closer to the Bi Yong Academy than Shen Miao, but they arrived late. 

As soon as they got off the cart, they hurried to go in. 

They didn’t say hello when they saw Shen Miao. 

It was not until they sent Hai Ge’er into the academy gate that they turned back. 

Aunt Ding looked down at the cakes in Shen Miao’s basket, which had already been reduced by more than half, and reluctantly said, 

“Give me two.”

Shen Miao looked up, not at Aunt Ding, but smiled at Uncle Shen, 

“Uncle, two for twenty four coins.”

Aunt Ding frowned,

 “Relatives, you still want to charge money?”

“Even brothers should be clear about the accounts. It’s not easy for my niece to earn some hard – earned money. Aunt, you don’t say to help, but also want to take advantage of the younger generation?”

“Uncle, you judge the reason! You also know that my parents entrusted all three of us to you before they left. I also know that I can’t always trouble you, but my home has been burned to the ground”.

“ Not only have I put all my dowry savings into the house repair these days, but I can’t even open the pot now. You see.”

“Stop it.” Aunt Ding saw the eyes of the people around her, and quickly interrupted Shen Miao’s complaints. 

She took out twenty four coins from her sleeve and slapped them in front of Shen Miao, “Take it!”

Shen Miao reluctantly packed two cakes and handed them over. 

Aunt Ding was very shrewd. 

This trick of suffering hadn’t even been used, and she had seen through it. 

Otherwise, with Uncle Shen’s face saving nature, in front of so many people, he would at least take out two strings of money from the money around his waist.

Aunt Ding took the two still warm cakes and quickly pulled Uncle Shen away, with a fake smile, 

“Let’s go over there and wait for Hai Ge’er. We won’t delay my niece’s business.”

Shen Miao still smiled and waved, 

“Take your time.”

As a result, in a short while, Uncle Shen came back again, looking at Shen Miao with a very surprised look, and he couldn’t believe it. 

He wiped the corners of his mouth, which were still full of bread crumbs,

 “Big sister, did you make these cakes?”

Shen Miao took it for granted, 

“Of course.”

Uncle Shen’s eyes widened again, 

“Where did you learn the skill? In Jinling?

Don’t think that your uncle doesn’t know”.

“Your father only wanted you to enjoy a comfortable life, but he didn’t teach you any family handed down skills!”

“Yes, in Jinling.” Shen Miao replied with a smile, without any hesitation,

 “Why is my uncle so surprised? Of course my father didn’t teach me. My father doesn’t know how to make these cakes and buns”. 

“You can’t find a second family in Bianjing who can make them. Of course, I figured it out by myself.”

Uncle Shen thought of the taste of the cake and had to admit that Shen Miao was right. 

But he still couldn’t get over it. 

He looked up and down at Shen Miao and murmured, 

“I didn’t expect that in our Shen family, you are the most talented.”

In the past, Shen’s grandfather also started a family business with a steamed bun. 

He slowly earned a lot of property. 

But Uncle Shen was interested in literature and did not learn the skills of Shen’s grandfather. 

Therefore, this family handed down skill was passed on to his younger brother, Shen Er.

Although Shen Er’s cake making skills are good, he also copies the original, and he can’t keep up with the times. 

He is not as good as Shen’s grandfather, who is good at everything from steamed bread to soup cakes, and then to buns, dumplings and pastries.

The most pitiful fact is that before Shen Er’s skills were passed on, he died on the street.

Shen Miao’s figure is slender and her eyes are soft and gentle. 

Standing under this begonia tree with full branches of flowers, if you ignore the bright silver kitchen knife on her waist, she is really a beautiful woman with a graceful figure.

Uncle Shen looked at her and felt a bit melancholy at this moment. 

Among so many grandchildren in the family, only Shen’s eldest daughter, a woman who was divorced after marriage, had such skills and became the one who was most like her grandfather.

It’s really a pity.

Sighing, Uncle Shen bought six more cakes for his niece, three for him and three for Aunt Ding. 

Both of them have big appetites, and the cakes are really well made. 

Mulberries are not a common flavor. 

At first, it tastes a little bland and a little sour, and then the rich taste comes. 

The most important thing is that the fire is just right. 

After Aunt Ding ate it, she still felt the aftertaste and was not satisfied, but she was embarrassed to come and buy again, so she persuaded Uncle Shen to buy more.

He also kept telling: 

“Remember, we bought so many from her. You must remember that the eldest sister will give a few coins and not let her charge too much”. 

“Really, how can the eldest sister of Shen even take the money of relatives?”

But when he faced Shen’s eldest sister, Uncle Shen couldn’t say that. 

So he honestly took out seventy two coins from the money around his waist to buy cakes. 

Shen Miao took the money, packed the cakes with hemp rope for Uncle Shen and handed them over.

Uncle Shen took the cakes and was about to leave. 

After walking a few steps, he turned back, lifted his eyelids and looked at Shen Miao. 

His eyes were complicated. 

He remembered that Shen Miao said they were almost out of food. 

He bit his teeth and stamped his feet, and then took off a string of copper coins from his waist and handed it to Shen Miao. 

He coughed lightly and said, 

“This is my private money. You can take it for the time being.”

Shen Miao took Uncle Shen’s money without hesitation, for fear that he would regret it. 

She took it immediately.

“Thank you, uncle! No wonder you say that my uncle is a scholar. You are more reasonable than aunt…… Tsk tsk, aunt’s mind…… is not as good as my uncle.” 

She happily said, and then glanced at Uncle Shen’s thick, shapeless and bulging waist.

“I’m broke! Don’t look! I have no money left!”

Shen Miao then withdrew her eyes. She thought, it doesn’t matter. 

If I can get a sum of money every time I meet, it’s not bad.

Uncle Shen couldn’t help but persuade again, 

“You should stop supporting Ge’er’s study since you are in a difficult situation. Let him learn the cake making skills from you”. 

“He can earn a living in the future. Why bother? Even if he pass the Bi Yong Academy, there is a lot of money to pay. You are a woman. Even if you make cakes every day, how can you support it?”

Shen Miao then lowered her head and wiped her tears with her sleeves, looking very sad:

“Uncle is right. It’s difficult now. But I’m his elder sister. I’ve already left them for three years, and I feel extremely guilty”. 

“How can I treat him like this? I should support his study even if I have to pawn the pot. So in the future, uncle  you should often come to see your niece”. 

“We are still connected by blood. Remember to bring more money to these poor nieces and nephews of yours.”

“Do you know that it costs at least ten or more strings of money to support a scholar for a year! Not to mention that you can’t afford it! I can’t afford it either!” 

“You don’t expect me to do it. I also have a big family to support. Besides, the money is in your aunt’s hands. What is she like? She is a kind of animal that doesn’t have a hole in the ass!” 

“Once the copper coins go into her pocket, how can they come out? It’s not easy for me to give you one or two strings of money today! Ah, if you don’t listen to me, your life will never get better.” 

Uncle Shen shook his head, rolled up his long gown and held the cakes,and finally left.

Shen Miao looked up, and there were no tears on her face. 

She stuck her tongue out at the fat back of Uncle Shen, happily weighed the string of copper coins, put it into her bosom and continued to shout and sell cakes.

It was noon, and the cakes she brought were almost sold out, leaving only a few.

She then sat down happily to rest and whispered to Sister Xiang, 

“After Jie Ge’er finishes the exam, let’s go to Wang’s butcher stall together and buy a pair of big pig’s trotters. Sister will make you a fruit wood roasted pig’s trotters tomorrow! It’s very fragrant!”

Sister Xiang, sitting on a small stool with her knees bent, was still eating her own giant cake. 

Just now, she had seen and remembered Shen Miao’s smooth singing and acting. 

She blinked her eyes, took another bite of the cake, and then bent her eyebrows and eyes, which were five or six parts similar to Shen Miao, and happily looked up and smiled, “Okay! I’ll listen to my sister!”

After speaking, she continued to eat attentively. 

After eating a few bites of the cake, she took up the covered bamboo cup hanging on her body and drank tea. 

This bamboo cup was also bought at the fair. 

The stall owner made it with old aged giant dragon bamboo, which is very strong. 

This bamboo tube is large and deep. 

After sawing it down, the inside can be used after being polished smooth. 

The cover is additionally connected. 

Although it is not airtight, it will not leak water when walking. 

The water cup originally did not have a rope. 

Shen Miao went to Old Man Yang’s house and asked him to drill two holes for free, one on the left and one on the right. 

She twisted a rope herself, put it on and carried it with her.

Early in the morning, Shen Miao had already used this cup to prepare a pot of sour and sweet plum soup for Sister Xiang.