Chang’an Small Restaurant Chapter 71 (Part 2)
Translated by Pure
Chapter 71.2 Discussing Politics With The Ladies
Lin Yan pondered for a short moment before his expression turned solemn and grave. "I would like to hear the details."
Shen Shaoguang had always carried the influence from the modern generations. Simply put, her point of view was to scientifically eliminate superstition. They just simply need to improve the government's credibility and to mend the rumor to their advantage.
"Confucius says, ‘If the people are competent, govern leisurely; if not, indoctrinate them[1].’ Only by making the masses aware of it can they no longer be troubled by these baseless rumors." Shen Shaoguang finally found a theoretical basis for herself.
Lin Yan attentively regarded Shen Shaoguang. From the Han, Wei and all the way to to the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, most Confucian scholars were of the ‘The people can be competently governed, not indoctrinated[2]’ fraction. They believed that ‘common people can be made to follow the way, but cannot be made to understand it.’ The masses only needed to obey the orders, but they did not need to know the purpose of the orders. The first time Lin Yan heard this sentence read while specifically pausing after certain words was in the academy of classical learning, during Teacher Mingcheng’s lecture. That revelation was eye-opening, but he never expected to hear it again from Miss Shen.
Shen Shaoguang smiled and sighed softly. "I took it for granted. This can't be achieved in ten years, or even in one lifetime. I'm afraid—" Shen Shaoguang pursed her lips and did not continue. Her elated mode had caused her to speak without thinking. To instill wisdom on the common people was a very difficult and long process, and the current social environment does not allow it.
Lin Yan contemplated for a bit and said resolutely, "If we don't try, then the day where we ‘indoctrinate them’ will never come. We just do what we can, and the rest will be done by others in the future."
Shen Shaoguang was actually a little touched. He knew the way of the world, but refused to follow it; he understood the difficulties but did not fear it. "Deputy Magistrate Lin is truly a pragmatist follower of the Confucian School of Thought."
After saying that, Shen Shaoguang recalled the ‘Confucianist and Taoist’ relationship between the two, and his lingering sentence of "Without attempting it, how can one determine its impossibility?"
Shen Shaoguang cleared her throat, lowered her head, and tried to find a cup of tea to hide her face behind, but found no cup.
Lin Yan lightly chuckled.
Afraid that she would be angry, Lin Yan took the initiative to redirect the conversation back to the rumors.
It was such a novel experience to talk about government affairs with a lady, with the lady he fancied. Lin Yan felt a little proud. This is my A’Ji ah. Smart and wise yet prudent and firmly based; adhering to righteousness without being constrained by trivial matters; and good at cooking, have business talent, be able to talk fluently, and be able to discuss politics...
The calico cat, Ming Nu, came over and curled up next to Shen Shaoguang's leg. He did not spare Deputy Magistrate Lin, the former owner who only held him twice, a single glance.
Now that they had finished talking about the business, Shen Shaoguang picked Ming Nu up and started petting his face, head, chin, and back. Ming Nu lay on Shen Shaoguang's lap and licked her hand as if bestowing her with a great honor.
Lin Yan was originally very happy that Miss Shen was holding a cat bearing his mark, but now he became a little jealous.
Shen Shaoguang also felt that he was becoming jealous and couldn't help but jab, "It seems Ming Nu doesn’t like you very much, Sir. It’s only been a few days, but it already seems to have forgotten about you. Perhaps you have been busy with official matters and didn’t spend much time with him.” She added a proud smile at the end.
That smile... Lin Yan felt as if his heart was lightly pawed at by a cat. "With your deliciously cooked meals, and kind treatment, naturally Ming Nu would like you, Miss."
Playing a cheap trick only for the other party to submit cheerfully?
Shen Shaoguang was overjoyed, narrowing her eyes as she smiled. "I'm going to take a look. There's double-skinned milk in the back, I’ll bring some out for you as a snack, Sir."
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People endured the scorching summer day by day, and finally made it to Liqiu (Start of Autumn), but the ill rumors did not dissipate at all. The harsh sun remained strong, the cicadas continued to sing, and the mats were still sticky to the back in the morning. In this kind of Liqiu, Shen Shaoguang really was in no mood to partake in ‘fleshing out in autumn[3]’.
After enduring for a few more days, mòfú[4] finally arrived. The sky was overcast, there was a slight wind, finally resembling ‘a bit of autumn’. Shen Shaoguang came back to life and announced that she wanted to eat ‘Flatbread Scrambled Egg’.
She also set many demands for how the recipe should be made. The flatbread should be on the thicker side, with seven or eight layers, and not like those spring pancakes. The bread should not be made from leaven dough, no meat fillings allowed, no pepper, no pickled toona sinensis sprouts, and limit the amount of welsh onions...
In regards to Flatbread Scrambled Egg, those are all ‘heresies’. The flatbread should only be made with only salt and oil, so that it won’t overpower the flavor of its stuffings.
Yu San laughed out of anger from all her demands. "So you want the eggs to only be made with just salt too? Or is it only the egg whites, or only the egg yolks?"
Shen Shaoguang mimicked the loquaciousness of the online netizens during the Internet age. "Eggs and chopped welsh onions are a perfect match. Scrambled eggs without chopped welsh onions are soulless."
Yu San scoffed. Soulless...
Shen Shaoguang thought for a while, "It would be good to stuff grilled mutton skewers in flat bread too. Or even deep fried small meatballs, deep fried quail eggs, and deep fried eggplant...Oh, even deep fried small fish and shrimps would be a great option for stuffing too, the crispiness adds another layer of texture. In fact, our braised pig ears and braised pork cheeks are also very suitable."
Yu San couldn't even scoff anymore.
Shen Shaoguang actually slipped up for a moment, but seeing the look on Princess Yu San's face, she quickly stopped herself. "Eggs! Just the eggs are fine!..."
A’Yuan and A’Chang laughed out loud.
Shen Shaoguang felt that she really had no dignity when she was the proprietress.
…
At noon, Shen Shaoguang finally was able to enjoy an ‘everything’ large flat bread, and successfully over stuffed herself.
Moreover, while eating, she was seen by the diners who came early, who also ordered one. This process continued with a chain of individuals making the same order, allowing the people of the Tang Dynasty to enjoy an authentic Mòfú day—"Dumplings during tóufú, noodles during èrfú, and Flatbread Scrambled Egg during sānfú[5]."
Seeing the diners holding rolled flatbread thicker than their arms and eating them gracefully or roughly, Yu San could no longer hold his temper. People consume Spring Platters during spring to celebrate the fresh greens. But this? What’s so special about the flatbreads rolled with various meats, eggs, and vegetables? Is it really necessary?
Shen Shaoguang smiled behind the counter as she looked at the guests who were attracted by her food of choice. Her eyes briefly passed by a particularly elegant and calm diner, and was reminded of Deputy Magistrate Lin’s handsome vintage. How would he look while eating such a large flat cake?
Deputy Magistrate Lin seemed to be quite busy these days. He often came to sit for a while after dinner when the tavern was about to close. Shen Shaoguang guessed that he was busy due to court matters, perhaps the upcoming autumn festival, or just dealing with the current ominous rumors.
Whenever he arrived near closing hours, no matter how mischievous Shen Shaoguang was, she could not serve him such a large flatbread wrap, so she would usually steam a bowl of sweet egg custard, or even just a bowl of honey peach buttermilk.
It was tranquil in their small tavern, but the atmosphere outside was quite tense. Word has spread that many of the toads in Frog Gully had died, causing people in the city to mummer amongst themselves. The price of rice in grain stores was gradually, but visually, increasing. Some rice grain stores would only open for the rest of the day and posted out-of-stock notices shortly after. People, fearing they could not buy enough grains in time, often waited in long lines at the door of the grain store for an extended amount of hours. This scene couldn’t help but remind Shen Shaoguang of the salt craze that happened in her previous life[6].
A’Yuan asked, "Miss, should we also save more rice and grain? I heard people say, ‘scorching weather now, troubles coming later,’ We’re having scorching weather now, so is trouble really coming? Will we really have nothing to eat then?”
Shen Shaoguang had stocked up some grains in their warehouse at the back when the rumors first started to spread; enough for their tavern to use for about two months, so she was not in any pressure currently. The imperial court should be able to settle the matter in two months, right? If they can’t calm the matter within this time, then a riot will most likely break out. By then, it will be useless no matter how much food is stored, it will only invite disaster.
Shen Shaoguang comforted A’Yuan, "Silly child. How can such matter be so easily predicted? Although it was hot this year, rain was plentiful. I heard Fishmonger Qu mention that the summer grain harvest was sufficient, and predicted the autumn crops should not be a big problem, so settle your mind to ease.”
A’Yuan realized that Miss's words were reasonable, so she no longer paid any mind. A’Chang didn't care about anything and only listened to Miss while Yu San had already asked Shen Shaoguang about the matter when she was stocking up grains more than half a month ago. Now that he saw the prices of grains in the city had really increased as she predicted, Yu San just shook his head, and went into the kitchen busy with his duties.
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T/N: Oof, I had a real rough time translating the Confucius saying. The literal difference between those two sayings are those two commas. It’s mind blowing how a single phrase can change so much with the use of punctuation marks. It doesn’t translate well in english, but I tried my best. If anyone has suggestions to make it better please let me know (╥﹏╥)
Also Teacher Mingcheng should be referring to Zhao Mingcheng, who was a Chinese epigrapher, poet, and politician of the Song Dynasty. This is another historical inaccuracy since this novel is based in the Tang Dynasty, but we won’t complain (つ.と), anyways, you can find more information about him on wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhao_Mingcheng
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Footnotes:
[1] If the people are competent, govern leisurely; if not, indoctrinate them (民可，使由之；不可，使知之) - Can be interpreted as ‘if the morality and character of the people is high, give them a free and relaxed environment; if the quality and character of the people is not high, they need to be educated.’ This is consistent with Confucius's advocacy of the idea of "teaching without discrimination."
[2] The people can be competently governed, not indoctrinated (民可使由之，不可使知之) - The second phrase is to be taken as ‘For the common people, we can only make them do as we wish, but we cannot make them understand why they should do so.’ This is the wrong interpretation of this saying. But if you were to google an english translation of the Analects of Confucius, this translation will be the one being presented.
Source: https://headsalon.org/archives/1749.html
**The only difference between these two footnotes are the punctuation marks. However punctuation marks weren't a thing back then. And having these is crucial because the meaning completely changes. It's crazy what punctuation can do.
[3] fleshing out in autumn - On the day of the Beginning of Autumn, people in this era follow the tradition of fleshing out by eating more meat to brave the freezing winter with enough fat. Due to a loss of appetite in scorching summer days, most people tend to lose weight. People seek to “flesh out in autumn” to regain weight during the Beginning of Autumn period by eating meat which is a perfect choice for rich delicious food.
[4] mòfú - is the last ‘fu’ of the three ‘fu’s or dog days of summer. You can read more in the next footnote, but Mofu/Sanfu is between mid-July to mid-August.
[5] Dumplings during tóufú, noodles during èrfú, and Flatbread Scrambled Egg during sānfú (头伏饺子，二伏面，三伏大饼摊鸡蛋) - is a folk adage in Northern China that describes the tradition of eating specific foods during different periods of the summer. This tradition is believed to help people adjust to the hot weather and maintain good health during the summer months. In the Chinese Lunar Calendar, The three ‘fu’s or dog days refers to the three 10-day periods that are predicted to be the hottest days of the year, which are called Toufu (头伏) – the first period, Zhongfu/èrfú (中伏/二伏) – the second period, and Mofu/sānfú (末伏/三伏) – the last period. High temperature and humidity, low air pressure and wind speed are the climatic features during the periods.
Sources:
[6] Salt hoarding - Following the 2011 Fukushima disaster, a formidable 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March resulting in meltdowns in three reactors, unfounded rumors sparked a significant increase in salt buying, driven by the misconception that its iodine content could safeguard against radiation exposure. This didn’t just happen in China, many surrounding countries also crazily bought salt. Oh, and it happened again in 2023, since Japan just released ‘treated’ radioactive water from the Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
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Foods:
double-skinned milk 双皮奶 - tried this recently, I must say, it’s very delightful https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-HbSTZnp60
Flatbread Scrambled Egg (烙饼摊鸡蛋) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUs2d_SKmgM&t=389s
Sweet egg custard (蜜糖牛乳蛋) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SJ4N6Q-7Xo&t
Yep, there’s a part three
