Chang’an Small Restaurant Chapter 35 (Part 2)
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Translated by Pure (ko-fi)
Chapter 35.2 Snow Day’s Guests From Afar
Shen Shaoguang was a realistic person. Looking at these two feeble women, she meddled in and asked, "Have you two found a place to reside? If the man you are looking for is definitely in this Lane, you’ll be sure to find him eventually."
The lady was comforted by Shen Shaoguang’s last sentence. She then contemplated the former question. "We hadn’t found a place to stay at the moment, we only just entered the Lane. The first thing I saw was the tavern’s signboard with you standing at the door, Miss, so we took the liberty to enter."
Shen Shaoguang frowned. "There are no inns in this Lane. There are a few near West Market, but the most inns are located in Chongren Lane, which is in the east of the city."
The maid said, "But we are here to look for someone. I'm afraid it won't be convenient if we live far away."
Shen Shaoguang mulled over the problem and in the end, decided to introduce, "There is a nunnery in this Lane called Guangming Nunnery. You can go and inquire."
A smile broke out on the lady’s face, embodying the phrase ‘beautiful as a bloom at the dawn of spring’. "I can not thank you enough, proprietress."
Now that Chongxian Lane was found, and a place to stay secured, the pressure on the lady’s shoulders finally eased. Her hunger was soon simulated at the pleasant smell emitted from the kitchen.
The master and maid ordered a serving of Sharpened Mutton Jade and two bowls of Tofu Vegetable Soup. The servant girl didn’t touch her portion, but served her master first.
The lady shook her head at her. "Let’s eat together. Once we’re done, we can then go to Guangming Nunnery and situate ourselves there."
The maid then sat down and ate with her.
It was nearing noon, and customers gradually filled the store. When they saw two beautiful women sitting inside, they couldn't help but cast curious gazes. These new diners were very different from the one who had just left without glancing a single look at them.
The lady felt uncomfortable under all the unwarranted gazes. After finishing her soup-filled buns, she took two last sips of soup, and paid the bill. She then asked for directions to the nunnery, thanked Shen Shaoguang again, and went out into the wind and snow.
A’Chang and A’Yuan were not present at the moment, so the guest grabbed Yu San, who was the temporary sub-in waiter, and asked, "Which residence is that beautiful lady from?"
Yu San's expression was of blatant disbelief. "Do you happen to be a new diner? Don't you recognize my master, the tavern’s proprietress?"
The guest rolled his eyes. I reckon in your eyes, your master is the only beautiful lady in existence.
Yu San quickly realized the guest was referring to the two women just now. The problem was that Yu San had been busy in the kitchen; he only knew there were two female guests, but he hadn’t seen their appearances.
"That, I do not know." Yu San shook his head expressionlessly, and walked back into the kitchen.
Shen Shaoguang brought a kettle and added the broth into the guest's pot. She then neatly lit up the hot pot cooker, and smiled. "Please enjoy, sir."
The guest looked at the proprietress of Shen Indelible. She was indeed beautiful, but she’s different from the delicate and graceful beauty of the lady who had left just before. This Miss Shen was currently wearing a narrow-sleeved, tight-fitting hufu-style dress, her countenance expressive, and with a lofty and vigorous appearance, but—— she’s just a bit too lofty.
Then again, those other small stalls, once established, would stay the longest for about ten years, but how many of them could elevate themselves into a tavern? If the proprietress of Shen Indelible had been a man, there was a possibility of becoming one of those wealthy businessmen.
Such a girl— as a man who already has a main wife, why would I bother asking about her?
A’Yuan and A’Chang came back soon after. They stomped the snow off their feet, and went into the kitchen.
Shen Shaoguang allowed them to go change their shoes when A’Yuan laughed and said, "Our shoes are fine, unlike the soaked, as if fished out from water-like shoes worn by those two misses. Their shoes are uselessly pretty, it's best to wear leather boots in the snow."
Shen Shaoguang looked at A’Yuan and A’Chang's black pigskin boots, and then at her ‘uselessly pretty’ velvet shoes. Fine, you got a point.
A’Yuan then reported to Shen Shaoguang, "Oh, that Lin Residence is so big! It's also very beautiful! There’s a veranda with all kinds of flowers carved on the lattice, including peach blossoms, peonies, plum blossoms, orchids, and many others that I don’t recognize; every one was different!”
Shen Shaoguang squinted her eyes and mulled. There was indeed such a piazza engraved with hundreds of flowers. Although called ‘hundreds of flowers’, in fact there were also pine, willow, and other trees. Together, there were more than a hundred species.
When ‘she’ learned numbers as a child, ‘she’ counted the flowers, plants and trees in the piazza multiple times, but the total number was different every time. ‘Her’ father just laughed and would always say to count again, and mother also looked like she was watching a good show. On the contrary, big brother acted like a proper elder, and wanted to help lead ‘her’ to count. ‘She’ had been stubborn back then and insisted on counting by ‘herself’...
"The Elder Madam was very kind as well. She said we were too kind to have braved the snow, and had her servants give us a generous tip."
Shen Shaoguang awoke from her memories, and replied with a smile, "Perfect, we can use this money to buy delicious food during the upcoming Winter Solstice."
A’Yuan laughed. "The food outside can't compare to our own."
A’Chang quickly agreed, "It's true! It's true!"
With the melancholy just now dissipated, Shen Shaoguang retorted contentedly, "I've spoiled all your taste buds, what should I do now?"
Yu San hurriedly took the dishes out, it was almost impossible to stay in the kitchen any longer.
The remaining three people all laughed.
A’Yuan continued the gossip, "That Sir Lin, despite acting so cold and indifferent in public, treated the Elder Madam with care and respect. His smile—" A’Yuan tilted her head, thinking about how to describe it. Since she had a limited vocabulary, her knowledge of rhetorical techniques were also a bit lacking. After thinking about it for a long time, she still couldn’t come up with a proper adjective.
Shen Shaoguang imagined Deputy Magistrate Lin's softened expression as he smiled at another, and mentally finished A’Yuan’s sentence. His smile—was equivalent to the caress of a gentle breeze, as fresh and as rejuvenating as the new mountain buds in spring.
