Chang’an Small Restaurant Chapter 38
Translated by Pure
Chapter 38 Conversations of Love
Pei Fei and Lin Yan walked back through the snow.
With food in his stomach, Pei Fei felt much better, so much so that he was in the mood to care about his friend's ‘love affair.’
Recalling the roasted pheasant, cornelian meat, baked mutton, and other meat dishes, along with the ‘bean sprouts in vinegar sauté’, ‘dried tofu silk’, ‘golden hooked cabbage’ vegetarian dishes. All of this, combined with Lin Yan's relaxed expression and the faint curvature at the corner of his lips, Pei Fei couldn’t help but squinted his eyes to look at his friend beside him. "An Ran, there is a matter that puzzles me..."
"Miss Shen was given the freedom to pick the dishes for us. All merchants seek profits and interest, so more luxurious goods should have been served, but why were there so many light side dishes?"
"Meat and vegetables well-suited; complicated and simple complementary. The reconciliation of different foods produces harmony. Since the owner Shen Indelible owns a tavern, how can she not understand this principle?" Thinking of the smile on Miss Shen's face when collecting their money, Lin Yan calmly added, "Besides, both style dishes are sold at the same price.”
Pei Fei chuckled, "That's what you were willing to offer, it was not the price she had announced."
Lin Yan also faintly smiled.
Pei Fei was not one to be easily fooled. "Those dishes seemed to cater to your taste..."
Lin Yan turned to look at Pei Fei with an inquisitive look, "...don't those roasted pheasants and the like also suit your tastes?"
Pei Fei laughed before imitating his friend’s expression. "Heh, just keep acting then." Since this talk involved the business of a maiden, it was difficult to ask overly explicit questions, so he let Lin Yan go.
The more Pei Fei thought about it, the more he believed that Lin Yan and Miss Shen were well matched. One was reticent and the other was grandiloquent— if both of them didn't like to talk, wouldn't they be bored to death? If they are both eloquent and fluent speakers, then frequent altercations were unavoidable. Their appearances were also quite compatible, An Ran was graceful and cultured while Miss Shen was charming and pretty. In terms of knowledge, An Ran was a jinshi, who had passed an imperial examination, and an outstanding talent, but Miss Shen was not an ignorant woman either. Didn’t she mock someone last time with Pang Tong of the Three Kingdoms? This time she mentioned an important official and the national politics of this dynasty.
The only inconsistency laid in their family backgrounds! Although Miss Shen was from the Shen Clan of Luoyang, her family unfortunately fell into decline, while An Ran was a high-ranking official in the imperial court...
Pei Fei shook his head. What a pity.
Pei Fei wasn’t aware that Shen Shaoguang was a palace maid released this spring, nor was acquainted with the past events in her family, otherwise he would have shaken his head even more violently.
How could Lin Yan not comprehend Pei Fei’s underlying meaning? However it would be impossible for him to explain with a straight face. This was Pei Fei’s innate temper, fortunately he still had some sense of propriety and was aware which lines were not to be crossed.
The dishes arranged by the tavern did indeed suit his taste, but Lin Yan doesn't think there's anything wrong with this. After frequenting her store, it was rather normal for Miss Shen to take note of his preferences... Then again, with such intelligence, it was no wonder that she could live so brightly and vigorously in the haunts of the common people, just like the omnipresent greenery in spring—she really lived up to her pet name ‘A’Ji’.
A’Ji — What could her true name be? The official records only contained family clan, place of ancestry, age, appearance and characteristics, the certain year and month her father Shen Qian was convicted and imprisoned, and the reason why he was sent to the Lateral Courts. As well as the certain month and year he was released from the palace with a commoner’s status. The names of the women were not normally mentioned in the records.
Lin Yan suddenly raised his head and squinted at the snow-covered houses and streets. What arbitrary nonsense was he thinking about? He must be truly drunk.
Shen Shaoguang, who wasn’t cognizant of the mental torture her existence had instilled upon Lin Yan and Pei Fei, was currently contemplating about potential new dishes.
There are few vegetables during the wintry twelfth lunar month; apart from cabbage, radish, tofu, and bean sprouts, there was nothing else being delivered on the daily. Fortunately, there was no shortage of pork, chicken, mutton, fish, etc., and in combinations of various pickles and cured goods, she could improvise a couple different samples. With several days of heavy snow, the fish supply had been cut off and a prompt subsequent discernment of their lack of options. Steamed fish heads, fish balls, Fish in Vinegar Gravy, Tiled Fish, One Pot Fish, etc. were all no longer available...
In such freezing weather, even if the snow melted, fish would still be hard to come by. Thus, Shen Shaoguang decided to remove all the fish dishes from the menu first. She wanted to add some other dishes in replacement, but also replace and update some preexisting dishes according to the sales volume of their tavern.
This was a matter that needed careful consideration. Sometimes she asked for Yu San’s opinion, or even sought the suggestions of foodies A’Yuan and A’Chang.
A’Yuan and A’Chang loved whenever the tavern was experimenting with new dishes, because it meant— unlimited samples.
Seeing their excitement, Shen Shaoguang reflected: Do I not feed them enough normally? Or do these two have an undemonstrative love for food? Shen Shaoguang was more inclined to believe it was the latter.
The dried tofu silk she had served to Deputy Magistrate Lin was one of their new dishes. The shredded dried tofu was to be simmered in chicken broth. In order to increase the umami flavor, dried shrimps are added in the process. The dried shrimps were placed in a small white cheesecloth and discarded when the tofu was finished cooking. Only the white shredded tofu in a clear broth would be served out; as a visual enhancer, a pinch of minced bacon and some green pickled cucumbers would be sprinkled on top.
Without ham, kaiyang dried shrimp, etc., and the cooking process didn’t follow the authentic Huaiyang-style cuisine method, it could be considered a ‘makeshift dish’ that was improvised with the alternatives from what was available in this era. But overall, the flavors harmonized well, and even the picky Deputy Magistrate Lin ate quite a bit.
To make a delicious meal with cabbage and tofu as the main ingredient was a test of one's culinary skills. Moreover, this was a time of deficiency, thus Shen Shaoguang preferred the naked and hardy meat dishes.
For example— Steamed Pork with Rice Powder, Vinegar Casserole Pork, and Lychee Meat; smoked or braised and various kinds of meat; Earthenware Chicken, fried chicken, smoked chicken, Cantonese Poached Chicken, and other various kinds of chicken. As long as one mastered the knack, then the recipe could be exhibited at will, with the end result consistent every time.
When A’Yuan came back from outside, she saw the Steamed Pork with Rice Powder that had just come out of the pot. She quickly grabbed a flat bread and stuffed a large piece of steamed pork into it. After blowing on the meat a bit, she took her first bite, consuming a good half. While chewing, she nodded vigorously to Shen Shaoguang, "Mmm! Mhmm!"
"Pause eating for a moment, did you inform Miss Chu of the matter?" Miss Chu was that unexpected guest from the snowy day. Her maid’s name was A’Jin, and they were currently residing in Guangming Nunnery.
"Mhmm, mhm!"
Shen Shaoguang laughed, "Feel free to eat more."
What chef doesn’t like to see diners like A’Yuan? If everyone were like Deputy Magistrate Lin, never to express their feelings while eating, without giving even a hint of verbal feedback, with preferences only known after self analysis, comparison, and observation, how boring would it be as a chef? He doesn't even give any feedback. Heh, condolences to the person who cooks for Deputy Magistrate Lin.
Miss Chu and her maidservant arrived before A’Yuan's ‘extra meal’ was finished.
Shen Shaoguang invited them to go to the back house to talk.
Shen Shaoguang personally poured tea for Miss Chu. The latter stood up to receive the cup, and thanked her.
Although she was anxious, Miss Chu waited for Shen Shaoguang to sit down and take a sip of tea before asking, "You’ve received news about Sir Huan, miss?"
"There was a guest named Huan at noon, others addressed him as Seven. He was quite tall, with a pale complexion, and had a majestic appearance. I didn’t want to make a mistake, so I did not speak to him, but instead wanted to inform you of him first."
Miss Chu’s eyes lit up in excitement. "That's him."
Maid A’Jin hurriedly asked, "Do you know how to find this Sir Huan?"
Shen Shaoguang nodded. "Yes, he’s familiar with one of our regular customers. That customer is very warmhearted, you can inquire about the information from him. His house is in the back, at the southernmost end street, right against the Lane wall." Liu Feng's address was disclosed by the governmental matchmaker at that time. It was not far from Zhang's fried noodles stall, while going there for fried noodles A’Yuan had once bumped into him.
Miss Chu solemnly thanked Shen Shaoguang.
Shen Shaoguang was well aware of the principle ‘don't share intimate words with acquaintances’, but that Huan Seven seemed a little too shrewd and didn’t look too much like the reliable type. Moreover, he was a bit of a busybody, so after mulling over it for a while, she finally said, "Miss, your small-hairpin-flower script was outstanding, my handwriting is rough in comparison, so I would like to ask for some pointers."
The topic on Huan Seven was suddenly changed to calligraphy. This Miss Shen was not the thoughtless type, knowing that there must be a reason for this sudden turn of events, Miss Chu immediately said with a smile, "I don't dare to give you advice. Please write a couple verses, and we can discuss it together."
Shen Shaoguang grinded some ink, rolled out a piece of paper, and wrote several poems by Bai Juyi in regular script. With her finger, she tapped the last verse of the poem <Silver Vase at the Bottom of the Well> twice. "This is a poem written by Minister Bai. The meaning is straightforward and tangent, I like it very much."
"... Moved by your gentlemens’ chaste and undefililty; implicitly agreed, we bound up our hair and went our ways... Betrothed with the wife, eloped with a concubine; not worthy of hosting the sacrifice and serving the offerings....[1]" Every word was deafening.
Miss Chu's expression changed and took a moment before she recovered and smiled, "Minister Bai's poems are good, and so is your calligraphy." After saying that, she stood up and solemnly curtsied to Shen Shaoguang, "I am grateful for the reminder, Miss."
Shen Shaoguang stopped her midway and the two sat down again. Only Maid A’Jin was still baffled.
"Miss, you may not be aware, but I am from an itinerant merchant's family, and we pay particular attention to fairness in business transactions. We promised to commit to each other’s hearts that day, and have exchanged countless letters. If he… betrays me, I will make this matter known. Although this doesn’t do good for me, it will hinder his reputation. This city is where the Son of Heaven resides, his Holy Majesty attaches great importance to moral standards. He wanted to pass the preliminary round of imperial examinations and be awarded a government official post, so he will not take such a risk."
Shen Shaoguang nodded. She wanted to tell her that Chang'an City was not that rigorous, but Miss Chu had already stepped into an area of no retreat. Moreover, she was determined and was a woman with her own beliefs... However, she was better than those naive and forgiving heroines who believed ‘even though he might ungratefully desert me, I would not be ashamed[2]’.
If that’s the case, then follow your feelings and just go for it.
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Footnote:
[1] Silver Vase at the Bottom of the Well (井底引银瓶) - Another poem by Poet Bai Juyi, lamenting for his fading friendship with Yuan Zhen. So yeah, it wasn’t meant to be read literally, there’s a lot of subtleties, so the online translations were a little hard to comb through. I mixed two together, along with my own interpretation for it to make sense in the chapter. You can read the different translations of the poem linked below.
感君松柏化爲⼼， Moved by your gentlemens’ chaste and undefileness,
暗合雙鬟逐君去。 Implicitly agreed, we bound up our hair and went our ways.
聘則爲妻奔是妾， Betrothed with the wife, eloped with a concubine,
不堪主祀奉蘋蘩。 Not worthy of hosting the sacrifice and serving the offerings.
Translation source:
[2] ‘Even though he might ungratefully desert me, I would not be ashamed’ - Is from a poem by Wei Zhuang, a Chinese poet and late Tang Dynasty and early Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, titled ‘A Stroll in Spring’ (思帝乡春日游), which reads:
春日游，杏花吹满头。 As I take a stroll in springtime; my hair is covered in floating apricot blossoms.
陌上谁家年少，足风流。 Oh, whose son is he, at the yonder roadside; that perfectly handsome young man?
妾拟将身嫁与，一生休。 If only I could marry him; I’d be satisfied in my entire life.
纵被无情弃，不能羞。 Even though he might ungratefully desert me, I would not be ashamed.
Translations source: https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/473880519
Foods
Bean sprouts in vinegar sauté https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMOwxGCJfEo
Dried tofu silk (煮干丝) - a specialty dish of Huaiyang cuisine. Dried tofu is sliced into matchsticks and served in chicken stock. As tofu does not have much flavor, the chef is challenged to produce knife work of great precision and a broth of the highest quality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxNdOuVNVyk
Golden hooked cabbage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea5cRzd5X2Y
One Pot Fish (鱼锅子) https://youtu.be/fd2AFKUabno?si=nY4Xqc_uF82shWM5&t=593
Steamed Pork with Rice Powder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSCrUWrnkF0
Vinegar Casserole Pork (醋焖肉) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdHN-O3zp6Q
Lychee Meat (荔枝肉) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9po5Sjnpu6w
Cantonese Poached Chicken https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27qBWkkr8HY