Chang’an Small Restaurant Chapter 44
Translated by Pure
Chapter 44 Happy New Year’s Eve Dinner
Housekeeper Zhou placed a box on the floor of the study room and reported, "Master, servants found this while cleaning the small yard to the west the day before yesterday. It may be the belongings from a past owner of this residence. This old servant does not dare to act for oneself, so it is reported to you, Master."
This residence was quite big; the Lin Residence was also a small family, thus there were also not so many servants. They had only moved in during the beginning of this year, so besides the yards the members of the family picked out, only the halls and gardens were renovated and cleaned. The unused servant dwellings, storage rooms, and so on were unavoidably neglected. Now it was nearing the new year, the previously disregarded areas were also thoroughly, and that was when various bits and bobs were discovered.
Most of these findings were shabby and dilapidated. The servants and maids cleared them out and piled them in the yard to be burned together. It wasn’t until Housekeeper Zhou, who came for a quick inspection, found these books that were soon to become fire starters.
These books were not well preserved, many of them were in the process of decaying, even if they were masterpieces by famous artists, their value would already have been lost. Housekeeper Zhou, as half a learned person, picked up a book and flipped through it. It turned out to be a rare book of annotations by a great scholar from the previous dynasty! The other books were either poetry anthologies, travel notes, and epistles, with occasional add-ons from its owner, whose handwriting was extremely graceful and free from vulgarity.
Housekeeper Zhou mulled over for a short moment and decided to confiscate all the books. He dusted them off, and put them in a clean box, and now when Lin Yan was home on vacation, he brought them over for his master.
Lin Yan put down the paperwork in his hand, stood up, walked over to pick up the rare book placed on top of the pile, flipped through it, and saw a familiar handwriting— the one that he had seen in the pavilion of the garden.
"Just put it here." Lin Yan nodded to Housekeeper Zhou.
Housekeeper Zhou bowed and retreated.
Lin Yan didn't mind the condition of all these books as he placed them on the table and read them one by one. Normally, when a house was searched and raided of its possessions, the study area of highest priority. Perhaps these books had been stored in a bedroom or elsewhere, so they were not taken away. Later, when the building was sold off, these books fell into the hands of the successor's servants.
From these books, Lin Yan could further verify the cultured and free-spirited Deputy Minister of Rites loved poetry, enjoyed wine, had outstanding and neoteric inclinations and interests, and spoke of prominently untrammeled ideas. However, at the same time, he was not without a sense of proportion, had an amiable temperament yet possessed a lofty and unyielding character... a truly distinguished and accomplished scholar.
Lin Yan thought back to Miss Shen's somewhat uninhibited expression of opinions, her countenance glowing with health and vigor, and that mountain village painting with an outdoor shop that was full of hermitage, realizing these traits were all from hereto. It's just that the father had more of a just, honest, and pure style, while the daughter was— a bit ‘unhealthy’.
Thinking of Miss Shen, there was actually something of hers within the pile—a calligraphy practice booklet.
The style she was practicing was in Zhong-Wang regular script[1]. Even though it was soft and immature, he could still see some mellowness and elegance, completely different from her current vigorous and enthusiastic style. Her current calligraphy style was presumably learned from a court academician during her stay in the palace.
In addition to the puerile handwriting on the paper, were two more written notes; one was graceful and poised while the other was elegant and unrestrained. The graceful and poised one wrote: ‘A’Ji, your writing is abstruse, upright yet reclined.’ The elegant and unrestrained one added, ‘Be it upright or reclined, abstruse yet uncomplicated.’
These were mostly written by Shen Shaoguang’s father and mother. Although there were a limited number of annotations, the mood of each person was vivid and obvious. Lin Yan smiled sheepishly, they were really a well matched couple.
At the thought of this well-matched couple, Miss Shen’s charming face somehow appeared in Lin Yan's mind. She raised her eyebrows and smiled, yet trifled without respect, "Deputy Magistrate, as a son of nobility, it may be assumed that you’ve never suffered from frozen hands and feet...When I was in Lateral Courts, there was always an insufficiency of charcoal. During the depths of winter, my extremities would become inflamed, at worst fester and boil. The constant cold was fine, but my skin would crack, albeit the pain was tolerable. The only thing I never liked to experience again is to walk too close to the charcoal fire. Alas, my wounds would become extremely itchy and unbearable."
Lin Yan pursed his lips, put aside the childish calligraphy, and read the travel notes below.
Soon, a maid came to knock on the door. "Master, the Elder Madam asked you to come and have some Drunken Pear."
"I’ll be there soon."
When Lin Yan was looking through Shen Shaoguang's elementary school homework, Shen Shaoguang and Yu San were busying themselves in the kitchen. The annual New Year’s Eve dinner was not something to be skimped or neglected.
The Shen Family's New Year's Eve dinner had a bit of a modern taste. In addition to the Tusu Wine, Sharp Five Plate, and sticky malt sugar candy from the Tang Dynasty, there were also chicken, duck, and fish dishes, as well as the standard New Year dish from future generations— dumplings.
The chicken was prepared by Shen Shaoguang. Since it was a young chicken, it was not stewed, rather it was cleaned, chopped into pieces, lightly marinated for flavor, powdered, and fried in a pan until lightly brown. Then in another pot, heat up pepper, green onion, and ginger before adding the fried chicken and stir-fry. After everything was well combined, a small bowl of the tri-mixture of soy essence, sugar, and yellow wine would be poured into the pot. Combine everything well before sprinkling cumin powder and salt for taste, and it would be ready to go.
The chicken cooked in this manner exuded a light burnt aroma, which caused any onlookers to salivate.
Princess Yu San's duck was a labor-intensive dish. After the duck was to be deboned after it was put down. Shen Shaoguang was not very good at deboning, but Yu San did it well. The tip of the knife cut close to the bone seam, so after all its bones were removed, its skin and meat remained fully intact.
Shen Shaoguang had always been generous with her praises, "Virtuosic! Virtuosic!"
Princess Yu San glanced at her and finally raised the corners of his mouth.
"If you weren’t a cook, I think you would make a great murderer." Shen Shaoguang’s second phrase suddenly turned one-eighty.
And the corners of Yu San's raised lips pursed again.
Once the duck was deboned, it was then stuffed with glutinous rice, bacon, mushrooms, diced bamboo shoots, green onions, and ginger. The opening of the duck was then tied shut with a cotton string before it was then placed in a pot filled with chicken broth. It would then slowly simmer for about four hours; which was somewhat similar to the modernly enjoyed Eight Treasure Chicken.
Yu San started working on this tedious dish around lunch time and was just about completed when Shen Shaoguang was stir-frying her chicken.
This fish was purchased by A’Chang, who ran all the way to the West Market the day before yesterday; each carp weighing more than a pound. Shen Shaoguang made it into the classic Sweet and Tart Fish. She double-fried it, the first time to cook it thoroughly, the second time to ensure its crispy texture. The fish’s head and tail were raised up, as if in the middle of flopping about. After the fish was platted, it was topped with a thick sweet and sour sauce; vibrant red in color and extremely ravishing.
Sweet and Tart Fish was Shen Shaoguang's specialty dish. It was very similar to what others perceived her to be, energetic, beautiful, and a subtle arrogance of ‘this is how I am’.
The meat dish was a Shen Indelible signature, Lion’s Head. Four large meatballs were placed together, signifying happiness, prosperity, longevity and success.
In addition, there were also stir-fried dried tofu, balsamic celery, deep-fried dried fish, sauteed napa cabbage, mutton and radish soup, etc., filling up the whole table.
The distinction between masters and servants had never really existed here at Shen Indelible, so they all sat together around a single table.
Yu San looked at Shen Shaoguang and waited for her to give a toast. Even the two gluttons, A’Yuan and A’Chang, held back their saliva and waited for their Miss to speak.
Shen Shaoguang looked at them, "Dig in? What are you all waiting for?"
Yu San rolled his eyes and then smiled.
A’Yuan and A’Chang also laughed.
A’Yuan was the first to react and very compliantly picked up a chicken wing from the plate in front of her with a smile.
Shen Shaoguang took a knife and cut the duck into eight pieces. She then put a large piece into her bowl and savored it slowly.
Yu San then scooped up a Lion's Head, and ate it with a spoon.
A’Chang attacked from all sides as if he was an insatiable Taotie[2].
This was destined to be a food coma night...
After eating for a while, they finally began to serve the alcohol.
It was the custom of this dynasty that the youngest had to take the first sip. This was the so-called ‘the younger ones drink first for a faster grow(th), the older ones drink later so that their ages slow.’ A’Yuan was slightly younger than A’Chang, so A’Yuan went first.
A’Yuan cheerfully downed a full cup of Tusu Wine, then A’Chang, followed by Shen Shaoguang, and lastly Yu San.
Shen Shaoguang finally said two celebratory toasts, "We’re all now one year older. I hope we can make more money next year and help a certain person out of singlehood." Shen Shaoguang glanced at Yu San with a smile.
Yu San was considered an older man at this time and should get married. Unfortunately, Shen Shaoguang was not financially stable yet, but after a couple years, this situation would change. By then, she will cancel Yu San's life contract and allow him to live as a commoner; and instead of enslaving him, she could keep him working at the store as an employee. A’Yuan and A’Chang were still young, so there was no hurry for them.
"What does ‘out of singlehood’ mean?" A’Yuan asked.
Alas, a naive lonesome person! Shen Shaoguang patiently explained this modern term, "It means getting married and starting a family."
"Oh——" A’Yuan and A’Chang both looked at Yu San.
Yu San's face turned slightly red. He glanced at Shen Shaoguang and said, "You should consider yourself first, Miss."
Shen Shaoguang cheekily retorted, "You're old, so you first. I'm in no rush."
A’Yuan and A’Chang laughed.
Shen Shaoguang laughed along with them while Yu San lowered his head and continued eating.
The ol’fella is actually embarrassed...
Shen Shaoguang began to realize she had a whiff of a middle-aged woman’s sense of humor, but with her two lifetimes combined, she could be considered middle-aged...
Nevermind that, it’s best not to think about it. Shen Shaoguang continued to pour herself more wine. Although the alcohol content was low, with the extended drinking time, she gradually became a little intoxicated. Shen Shaoguang performed modern style standup comedy, listened to A’Yuan sing a Chang'an folk song, and forced Yu San and A’Chang to dance.
Taking note of the time, Shen Shaoguang stood up barefoot, wobbling about still somewhat inebriated, ready to cook the dumplings.
Yu San gave her the stink eye. "Don't break the wontons!"
Shen Shaoguang enlightened him with popular science, "What do you mean break? This is called well cooked!" She then called A Yuan and Achang, "From now on, when cooking wontons, if it 'breaks', call it 'jackpot'."
"Speaking of this, I remembered a funny story. It was said that there was once a certain shop, in order to improve their fortune, would purposely break a few wontons during the New Year. When it happens, another will loudly ask, 'How’s it cooking?' And the cook would then shout back, 'Jackpot! Jackpot!'"
"As luck would have it, the cook was a new hire, so when the shop owner asked, 'How’s it cooking?' The cook shouted back, 'Don't worry, with me here, nothing will happen!'" Shen Shaoguang imitated a naive cook and loudly called out.
A’Yuan and A’Chang laughed hysterically outside the kitchen, Yu San also laughed helplessly.
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Footnotes:
[1] Zhong-Wang regular script Zhong Wang refers to Zhong Yao and Wang Xizhi, who'm set the basis of regular script(楷书), running script(行书), and grass script(草书) calligraphy. Zhong Yao (鍾繇; 151-230), courtesy name Yuanchang (元常), was a Chinese calligrapher and politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. Wang Xianzhi (王献之; 344–386), courtesy name Zijing (子敬), was a famous Chinese calligrapher of the Eastern Jin dynasty. Along with his father Wang Xizhi, Zhong Yao, and Zhang Zhi, these four were recognized as one of the "Four Worthies of Calligraphy (書中四賢).
Sources:
[2] Taotie (饕餮) - used to refer to one of the four evil creatures of the world; a greedy and gluttonous son of the Jinyun clan, who lived during the time of the mythical Yellow Emperor (c.2698–2598 BCE). Within the Zuo Zhuan, taotie was often used in text to imply a "glutton".
here's a cool video explaining what it is - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_FN55VUqRc
Eight Treasure Chicken (八宝布袋鸡) This is a Eight Treasure Duck(八寶葫蘆鴨), bc the chicken videos aren't as clear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBE-Nn8uYOY
Sweet and Tart Fish (糖醋鱼) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks9d4TdMANU
deep-fried dried fish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZQaWTyra2E
mutton and radish soup https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tng6FsM7Z7k
