Chang’an Small Restaurant Chapter 36 (Part 2)
Translated by Pure
Chapter 36.2 The Guests of Winter Solstice
As expected, there weren’t many diners at noon, only a few intellectual-like patrons; they were probably scholar officials from the present era. Of course, they could also be those who had failed the examination, but stayed in the capital seeking for potential opportunities.
After lighting the hot pot cooker and warming the wine for them, Shen Shaoguang et al went back to the kitchen to enjoy their ‘large quarter-moon wontons’.
In this era, dumplings were not yet reminiscent of ‘home’, but Shen Shaoguan, a time traveler with the warm sensibilities of a distant millennium, took it upon herself to bring out a few bowls of dumplings to these migrant scholars.
"This is our tavern’s complementary festive treat. Shadows cast, by revolving course, time elapsed; observe, the sun is longest in the south[1], may you noblemen be blessed with good fortune. " Shen Shaoguang said a few auspicious words with a smile.
The group of scholars all smiled back and extended their gratitude. One individual scholar, with an exceptionally handsome and elegant countenance, gave Shen Shaoguang a second glance, this time full of inquiry. Shen Shaoguang raised her eyebrows, smiled and nodded to them again, then returned to the kitchen.
Another scholar looked at the handsome man and softly chuckled, "Huan Seven is handsome, that miss’s pretty looks contrasts well. Unfortunately, Seven is from an aristocratic family, so in terms of family background, unsuited."
Huan Seven glanced at his friend. "Don't talk nonsense. This is the girl that Liu Three fancies, moreover, he had dispatched a governmental matchmaker to propose his intent of marrying her as his wife."
The listeners were all taken aback, and simultaneously turned to look at the kitchen. Unfortunately, the beautiful woman was blocked by a door.
"We don’t live in this Lane, this is the first time I heard about it. Liu Three is an honorable scholar who passed the preliminary round of imperial examinations and holds a position in the capital city's government repository. Why would he be interested in a merchant woman from the haunts of the common people?"
Another scholar scoffed. "Losing one's head over lust. I didn't expect that Liu Three, who seemed so bashful and serious, would be so muddled-headed."
A third one asked, "Then the marriage has been settled?"
Huan Seven shook his head. "No. Liu Three didn't explain the reason in detail. He only said that she refused due to their unmatched status."
The other three shook their heads and lamented, "Truly a woman with a sense of propriety and proper etiquettes."
"Look at her manners and the way she articulates her words; it’s extremely refined. She resembles a noble lady and has most likely been educated before. Such an erudite and beautiful woman is hard to come by in the urban milieu. I reckon Liu Three must have taken this into consideration."
"Perhaps he had set his eyes on her culinary talent? Not only blessed with beauty, but also with fine taste." The other one took a bite of the dumplings and laughed, "I have never eaten such delicious wontons."
The scholar, who claimed Liu Feng had lost his head over lust, shook his head and retorted, "In the end, they are incompatible." After a pause, he added, "It would be more appropriate to take her in as a concubine." He looked at Huan Seven. "What do you think, Seven?"
Huan Seven took a sip of wine and said with a smile, "'A partner to each own, their hues congruent[2].' A wife should be well-matched in terms of social status."
"How unexpected, for a philanderer like Seven to abide by rules of propriety..."
……
After drinking, discussing others’ ‘romantic endeavors’, and happily eating hot pot and dumplings, the satiated scholars paid their bills and walked out of the tavern.
They had spoken quietly, so Shen Shaoguang was never made aware that one of the scholars was surnamed Huan. Hence, when the young lady and her maid made another visit in the afternoon, she could only helplessly shake her head. There was no news three days ago, how could she have known now?
The lady lowered her head and sighed softly.
Shen Shaoguang couldn't bear to see a beauty in distress, so she gave her a suggestion, "How about you write a few notices and post them in this Lane? It's a bit more reliable than blindly searching."
The lady's eyes lit up. "What a wonderful idea." She then asked Shen Shaoguan if there was a stationery shop in this Lane.
"There used to be a stationery shop in the eastern part of this Lane, which sold quality pine soot ink[3]. Perhaps something happened to the owner's family, but the store hadn’t been open for business since the beginning of winter. You have to go to the East Market to find a reputable stationery shop." Shen Shaoguang continued with a smile, "I do have some brushes and ink available here. If you don't mind it, Miss, you can feel free to use it."
Although Shen Shaoguang’s writing utensils were anything but fancy, it sufficed for her everyday use. This girl seemed to be from a wealthy family, but at a time like this, she would have to adopt expedient measures.
Sure enough, the young lady smiled and thanked her, "Much obliged for your help, Miss."
Shen Shaoguang personally went to the cabinet to get the brush and ink, and then asked A’Yuan to go to the back house to grab the papers she used on a daily basis.
The young lady contemplated for a moment before filing the paper in one stroke; it turned out to be an acrostic poem. The words ‘Looking for Sir Huan’ were embedded at the beginning of each verse. She also mentioned ‘nunnery’ in the poem, indicating her temporary residence.
Shen Shaoguang was pleasantly surprised. It can be seen that there are many talented women in this dynasty, and she had just happened to encounter one. Regardless of whether the poem was good or not, just her composing speed alone was enough to garner praise. Moreover, her small-hairpin-flower script[4] was also written very beautifully.
It’s just— written like this, though intricate and artistic, the chances her message would be made cognizant of, was limited. After all, it would require for the man surnamed Huan himself or his acquaintances to see it. Not only that, they had to decipher it was an acrostic poem but also be able to decode the riddle— such was a difficult feat.
If Shen Shaoguang had written it herself, she would have used a wanted notice from the imperial court as a template.
Then again, if Sir Huan were really a resident of this Lane, then she was bound to find him, so using such a method was more dramatic and romantic. Shen Shaoguang suppressed her uncultureness and desire to ‘cook the crane for meat and burn the zither for fuel[5]’, and approved of the young lady’s approach.
The young lady made four more copies.
Shen Shaoguan pursued benevolence to the end; she cooked up some sticky paste on the stove and had A’Chang help them post up the papers.
The young lady politely requested, "I see that your tavern is bustling with people, would it be alright to post one outside your door?"
Shen Shaoguang agreed with a smile, "Of course."
Shen Indelible was the amalgamation of two stores, so their storefront was quite large. Shen Shaoguang had specially renovated it, making her tavern look much more tidy and neat than the surrounding stores. The exterior side of their kitchen wall was particularly leveled and eye-catching. Several notices of ‘crying children at night’ and ‘missing dogs’ have been posted there in succession, as if trending to become the community's bulletin board.
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Footnotes:
[1] Shadows cast, by revolving course, time elapsed; observe, the sun is longest in the south (晷运推移，日南长至) - Quoted from the <The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law> (入唐求法巡禮行記), a four-volume diary written by Ennin, a Japanese Buddhist monk in China during the ninth century. He was one of eight Japanese Buddhists who studied in China at that time. The translation of this verse is credited to reddit user surupamaerl2 - https://www.reddit.com/r/zen/comments/wvaq1l/rujing_at_ruiyan_on_the_winter_solstice/
[2] 'A partner to each own, their hues congruent (人各有偶，色类须同) - The first half is from Zuo Zhuan (an ancient Chinese narrative history that is traditionally regarded as a commentary on the ancient Chinese chronicle Spring and Autumn Annals). The whole phrase that Seven quotes is from the Tang Code, in the section titled: Household and Marriage. To further explain, Seven is agreeing with the friend who says they are incompatible. Seven believed that people would be paired with those in the same class. During the Tang Dynasty, merchants were a lower class than scholars and should not intermarry.
[3] Pine soot ink (松煙墨) - made from the soot of pine wood, which is produced by the anoxic burning of pine wood. It has less glue (animal glue, e.g. Egg white, fish skin, or ox hide glues) and so spreads more than oil soot ink. Pine soot ink is a lot less lustrous or glossy compared to oil soot ink. It is often used to write calligraphy on stone carvings, or paintings.
source- https://learning.hku.hk/ccch9051/group-24/items/show/10
[4] small-hairpin-flower script (簪花小楷) - named after a front style that's part of the regular script. It's said to be as beautiful as the little flowers used to decorate hairpins. It is a general term for a clear, delicate, and soft style of small regular script. Think how some girls write very rounded characters in English.
[5] cook the crane for meat and burn the zither for fuel (焚琴煮鹤) - an idiom that means to waste valuable resources, to destroy wantonly beautiful things, or offend against good taste.