Chapter 24 Baking Pizza: My lord, what would you like to buy?
Snowflakes fell softly, like grains of salt, scattering a thin layer on the stone slabs of the alley. But if it continued like this all night, the next morning the world would surely be a blanket of white, a vast expanse of snow.
Meng Qingyuan, holding an umbrella, walked towards the bustling area at the end of the alley, still wondering: the last time he returned home on his day off, he heard his fourth brother sigh that Yao Xiaoniangzi was now so pitiful, having to sell chickens every morning.
In just a few days, her shop has already opened?
Meng Qingyuan found it very strange, but his family had only moved to this alley this spring and was not very familiar with the Yao family. He had never even met Yao Xiaoniangzi before, so he was more curious than surprised.
Halfway there, the fragrance grew stronger and stronger in the wind. He could see it clearly now.
The group surrounded the Yao family's house. The gate to the Yao family's courtyard was open, and a large new window had been built in the wall, with wooden planks propped up and filled with all sorts of odds and ends. Looking through the window, one could see many bright oil lamps inside, illuminating the rows of neatly arranged shelves with their coarse porcelain bowls, bamboo-shelled thermos flasks, and bundles of tobacco wrapped in kraft paper.
There was a stove under the window.
The stove was a yellow clay pottery stove with two burners. The stove was about nineteen inches high and twenty-two inches long, which was quite large. Each burner had a grooved pottery plate on it, with seven neatly sized round grooves on each plate.
There was also a small charcoal stove on the side table, with several large round cakes with exposed fillings warming on them. Some of them had already been cut into several pieces, turning from full moon cakes into half moon cakes.
Behind the stove stood a young woman with almond-shaped eyes, holding a soft-bristled flat brush. She dipped it in oil and deftly brushed it across the plate. After a short while, when the oil was hot and smoking, she poured the thick minced meat from her wide-spouted teapot into the grooves of the baking pan.
The minced meat sizzled as soon as it hit the baking pan, and soon the bottom turned golden brown. The young woman was very skilled; she grabbed a handful of bamboo skewers, placed them on the pan, covered them with another layer of meat paste, and then quickly flipped them one by one with a small wooden spatula.
In no time, the sausages were grilled until golden brown on both sides, with a slightly charred and crispy crust. She then scooped them all out and placed them one by one in a winnowing basket on the small square table next to her. She looked up and began to ask:
"Whose turn is it? Do you like spicy food? Do you want some sauce?"
Her crisp question prompted the eager students surrounding her to answer in unison:
"It's me! I want to apply dogwood oil! Apply it a lot!"
"I don't want it spicy, give me more sweet sauce!"
"I want the cumin one—"
In a flash, seven sausages were handed over. A few people left the stall, but others rushed to the front, one saying he wanted two, another saying he wanted four... and a chubby student came with a basin, saying as soon as he opened his mouth: "Madam Yao, don't cut your pancakes that have spilled filling, just give me the whole box! I'll take them to my brothers in the academy!"
Meng Qingyuan understood. His gaze then fell slightly behind him, and he recognized once again the square-faced old man sitting behind the young woman, wrapped up like a thick cotton-padded ball, dozing off on a bamboo chair.
That's Dr. Yao.
The woman selling sausages in front of you must be Dr. Yao's granddaughter.
Meng Qingyuan became even more puzzled.
After he took office, he spent most of his time in the yamen. People like him, who had just entered officialdom after passing the imperial examination and came from ordinary families, were hardworking and conscientious "little chicks": superiors would order you around, elders would push their work onto you, and other yamen would come and pass the work around like a football. One minute they would say that this matter should be handled by your academy, the next minute they would say that they couldn't handle that matter, and some would even deliberately make things difficult for you because you were new. They could nitpick and return perfectly good documents a dozen or twenty times.
He was so busy that he was rarely home. There was a guardhouse behind the academy where his bedding and changes of clothes were always kept. So his impression of Yao Xiaoniangzi was only based on rumors.
He became gloomy and didn't like going out after the annulment of the engagement... and so on...
But... he glanced at the young woman in front of him again. The chubby student had bought a large portion of baked flatbread, and she was smiling as she handed it over to him, thanking him for his patronage. When she smiled, two endearing dimples appeared on her cheeks, making the chubby student blush with joy despite the snowy weather. He kept praising her, saying, "Young lady Yao, these flatbreads are really well baked. Please make them often, I'll come here often."
She readily agreed, "Alright, my lord, take this and have a safe journey."
"Okay, okay." The chubby student grinned and walked away with the pancake.
After seeing one off, she smiled and handed three grilled sausages to the student in front of her. After receiving the money, she gathered the copper coins in her palm, counted them with just a glance, and put them in her pocket. She then instructed, "Young master, take these. It's cold, so be sure to eat them while they're hot."
The student was a bit shy; when she saw the deep dimples on her cheeks, he couldn't speak. Holding the sausage, he ran away, his face flushed.
Is this... a gloomy temperament? A withdrawn and taciturn personality? Immature?
Meng Qingyuan looked at it with increasing doubt for a while, and then came to a conclusion in his heart: I'm afraid it's just a rumor spreading, and rumors are as powerful as tigers!
After watching silently for a while, I started to get a little hungry myself. Oh well, what did it matter to him what other people's personalities were like? Seeing how skillful she was and how clean she was at grilling, I figured I might as well buy some for a late-night snack.
Just as he was about to speak, he was suddenly jostled to the side by a large bottom, stumbling. Before he could even get angry, a familiar voice called out, "Miss Yao, I've finished shaving the bamboo skewers!"
Meng Qingyuan turned his head and took a closer look. The person who came was five or six parts similar to him, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a tall stature, and looked a bit simple-minded. Wasn't this his fourth brother?
Meng Boyuan, holding the bamboo skewers, was dumbfounded: "Third Brother, why are you back at this hour?"
“Tomorrow is the winter solstice, a day off, so of course I have to come back. What’s wrong with you…” Meng Qingyuan nodded hesitantly, then glanced at the large handful of bamboo skewers in his arms.
What's going on now?
"Hey, it's nothing serious. Today was the exam, and that Zhu Dabing humiliated me in class. In a fit of anger, I tore up all the papers he assigned and skipped the exam! Zhu Dabing came home to complain, and my father, taking advantage of my mother's absence, kicked me out and cut off all my money, saying he'd let me freeze and starve to death outside. I'm staying at Brother Weiming's place for now, but it wouldn't be right to freeload. It just so happens that Miss Yao is too busy, so I'm helping out to earn some food... It's hard to explain in a short time, but anyway, don't worry about it. It's snowing outside, and it's quite cold. You must be tired after a long day, so go home first."
Meng Boyuan spoke very casually, but it shocked Meng Qingyuan so much that his eyes widened.
What? What? This is nothing serious?
He watched as his younger brother struggled through the crowd, first placing the bamboo skewers on the small square table beside the stove, then shoving them all into the large bamboo tube. He turned around, skillfully pulled out a ginger-yellow tie-dyed floral apron from under the table, tied it around his thick waist, and then picked up another brush specifically for brushing on sauce. He stood behind the stove, politely keeping several steps away from Miss Yao, and helped her brush sauce onto each of the roasted dishes in the winnowing basket according to the students' tastes before handing them over.
He also raised his hand to maintain order:
"Don't push! One at a time! This is yours, next! How many do you want? Oh, you want a pancake? How many pieces do you want? Twelve coins for a triangular piece like this? Is that expensive? How much filling is in this pancake? It's even spread with almond cream! When you eat a sesame seed cake in the dining hall, can you even bite into the filling? You grown men, haggling over a coin or two! I won't sell it for ten coins! If you don't want to buy, move on to the next person!"
"And you, what do you want? Do you want dried meat? Mutton or pork? No beef, who can afford beef these days! Mutton is forty-eight coins a pound, how about half a pound or four ounces? Spiced or dogwood? Mixed, right? Okay, wait a bit, I'll weigh it for you. And you, what do you want? Two soap balls, right? Scented or not? Osmanthus scented? Two forty coins." After taking the money and seeing the person off, Meng Boyuan still clicked his tongue and muttered, "Looks like he was just dug out of a coal mine, quite particular, even wants scented soap!"
Meng Qingyuan: "..."
Oh no, Fourth Brother's backside is probably in deep trouble!
Their father deeply respected scholars. Although he was a merchant himself, he always said, "You must never end up like your father, engaging in such a lowly profession." In the past, he absolutely forbade his two sons to get involved in the family business, not even to the point of considering other trades. He would rather spend money to hire a manager to run the business than teach them any household management skills. He simply kept the two brothers in their room studying.
Meng Qingyuan hesitated for a long time before finally squeezing through the crowd, tugging at Meng Boyuan's sleeve, and asking in a low voice, "Did Father know you came to help with the work?"
"Here you go, the four you wanted." Meng Boyuan was busy serving customers when he heard Meng Qingyuan ask this. A hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, but it disappeared in an instant. He then resumed his usual nonchalant manner, shrugging his shoulders and saying, "How could I not know? I knew when he kicked me out. By the way, I shouldn't call you Third Brother anymore! Lord Meng, from now on you will be the only son in the family. Your master Meng has long said he wants to remove my name from the family register. I urged him to get it done as soon as possible, so as not to delay my establishment of a household—I don't even care about the Meng surname! I wonder if this matter has been settled yet? Lord Meng, when you get home, please ask him for me."
Meng Qingyuan was stunned, as if struck by lightning: "What?"
He'd only been away from home for a little over ten days, and his younger brother was already gone?
Yao Ruyi, who was listening to the Meng brothers' words, was also helpless. Seeing Meng Qingyuan standing there dumbfounded, she carefully examined the "dragon son" that Meng Yuanwai had mentioned who had leaped over the dragon gate - he was upright and dignified, tall and slender, and full of scholarly air. He was indeed a handsome man.
Holding a sausage in her hand, she softly advised, "Young Master Meng, why don't you go home first and properly persuade Master Meng? For such a trivial matter, to listen to only one side and then beat your own son out of the house with a rattan cane in this snowy weather—that's going too far..."
Meng Qingyuan was taken aback: "Was it fought?"
Yao Ruyi nodded and, while busy with her work, briefly explained the whole story.
Today is the day of the Imperial College's "classroom exam." In Yao Ruyi's view, this exam is similar to the "preliminary exam" of later generations. In a few days, there will be a "ten-day exam" held simultaneously with the Biyong Academy. It is probably similar to the joint exam between universities in later generations. Therefore, today's exam is particularly important, and the end of the semester is much later than usual.
Just as the snow began to fall in the evening, Yao Ruyi and her grandfather had eaten chicken and washed the dishes. The large steamed buns in the kitchen were also ready. Because of the snow, she shooed Grandpa Yao and the dogs, Mimi and Dahuang, to the stove to warm themselves. Only Dahuang refused to go, so she dragged back the doghouse made of a tattered cotton-padded coat next to the side gate.
After settling the family, dogs, and cats in, she began preparing the ingredients to make "Chinese-style baked pizza".
The steamed cakes of the Song Dynasty were the same as the steamed buns of later generations. Yao Ruyi broke the large, snow-white steamed cakes into pieces, soaked them in water, added two eggs, and kneaded them with both hands until they were soft, moist, and evenly colored. She then sprinkled some salt on them and kneaded them repeatedly. This step was mainly to give the crust some flavor when it was baked.
Once the crumbled steamed buns can be formed into a ball, spread a layer of oil on the previously ordered flat-bottomed griddle baking tray, press the steamed bun and egg ball into the shape of a pizza dough, making the edges slightly thicker than the center, then use a toothpick to poke rows of small holes in the surface, cover the pot, and bake over low heat for about 15 minutes until the bottom is slightly charred.
Yao Ruyi had seen "oven-baked flatbread" and "hu-bing" sold in the market, all of which were fried and baked in such a wide-bottomed iron pan. She then drew a parallel to this and thought that since they were all flatbreads, she could definitely bake pizzas with her own pan and lid.
After about 15 minutes, open the lid and brush a thick layer of batter and apricot paste onto the baked crust.
Yao Ruyi sourced the batter and apricot cheese from the He siblings' sauce shop. When she wanted to make pizza, she was a little undecided, lingering in front of the counter in her own shop for a long time before choosing these two ingredients to substitute for cheese.
The batter is a paste made by frying flour and lard, then adding salt, sugar and spices. It is somewhat similar to Western white sauce and can replace cheese as a binder, acting as a thickener.
Almond milk has an aroma of almonds with a hint of milkiness. It's sweet and delicious on its own. When Yao Ruyi first tasted it at the He family's sauce shop, she was amazed by its refreshing and non-greasy taste.
As for the pizza toppings, Grandma used to use corn kernels, peas, sausages, onions, and sometimes pork floss or green peppers. But Yao Ruyi really didn't like green peppers and would always tell Grandma not to put them in.
Although corn and onions were nowhere to be found, her shop had sausages and "lou scallions," a local type of large, plump scallion that looked quite like an onion and smelled very spicy, which could be used as a substitute.
Yao Ruyi then picked out mushrooms, chestnuts, carrots, and diced chicken from the grains in the shop. She steamed the chestnuts and mashed them into a paste, while blanching and dicing the rest of the vegetables and chicken, trying her best to recreate the texture, sweet and savory flavor, and unique aroma of pizza.
Layer the fillings one by one, then brush on a thick layer of almond cream, cover, and bake until the fillings are cooked through. In no more than 15 minutes, open the lid, and this pizza made from steamed buns is ready! In modern times, using an air fryer is even easier; you can put in whatever fillings you like, and the finished product, in both taste and appearance, is exactly the same as that from a pizza shop—it's incredibly convenient.
In the later stages of her illness, the family had very little money left. After chemotherapy, she would crave a treat, but she would feel nauseous and couldn't eat much. So her grandmother would make her a small pizza out of steamed buns. Homemade food was cheap, clean, and avoided waste.
Since it was her first time baking, she had no experience and the bottom and edges of the crust were too burnt when she baked it in the griddle, so the appearance was not very good, but the aroma was not diminished at all, especially the aroma of almond milk and sausage mixed together, which made all the dogs in the house stand up! Yao Ruyi gave Grandpa Yao a piece and gave some to the dogs, but she didn't dare to give them too much, for fear that it would be too salty and the dogs would shed fur.
Just as she was about to bake a few more, she figured out some tricks: she hadn't controlled the heat well before, and the fire was a bit too high. She should have scraped the crust halfway through baking to prevent it from burning. She should have applied more oil at the beginning, and before baking the filling for the second time, she should have taken out a coal briquette in advance to make the fire smaller.
Moreover, in addition to apricot milk, the shop also offers bean paste, sweet bean sauce, sesame paste, and plum sauce. The meat can also be changed; adding chicken or mutton can create different flavors.
She pondered for a moment, then ate a piece herself, tearing off the burnt parts. The rest was incredibly fragrant! The edges of the pastry were crispy, mixed with the aroma of wheat and milk, while the middle was soft and soaked in slightly sweet almond cream. The sausage, half-wrapped inside, was savory and fragrant. The salty and umami flavors combined with the rich creaminess, along with the aromas of chestnuts and mushrooms, made it truly delicious.
She then narcissistically praised herself in her heart as a reincarnation of a culinary god, and was eager to try baking it a second time when a pig-like scream rang out from the alley outside.
Startled, the big yellow dog by the door immediately stood up and barked incessantly.
When Da Huang barked, the puppies followed suit, and soon the barking of dogs and the meowing of cats mimicking dogs rose and fell in a chaotic cacophony.
Because the family ran a shop, the courtyard gate was left open. Yao Ruyi turned her head and saw Meng Boyuan's screaming figure flash past the gate like a wisp of smoke, followed closely by the wealthy Meng, who was holding a rattan cane and cursing incessantly.
Curious, Yao Ruyi clung to the doorframe, craning her neck to look. She then realized it wasn't just her; all the windows and doors in the alley had suddenly opened. Next door, from the Yu family, Aunt Yu's round face peeked out, with half of Uncle Yu's thin, long face visible above her head. Several birds perched on Uncle Yu's head, also craning their necks to watch the spectacle.
When Aunt Yu saw her, she even gave her a wink and a smile.
Yao Ruyi also smiled awkwardly.
She had previously wondered why her neighbors were so tolerant of her, a woman from an official family, who now dealt with business and appeared in public, and never gossiped about her. Now she understood a little better.
She was nothing special in this alley! What family in this alley didn't have its own troubles? Everyone had their own worries, and everyone had their own graves to mourn at. What did it matter that she had just broken off her engagement and was selling some odds and ends?
There's so much fun to be had every day!
In the blink of an eye, the Meng father and son had already flown past through the swirling snow. A moment later, Meng Boyuan ran into a dead end. Unwilling to surrender, he twisted his body, braving the possibility of being severely beaten by his own father, and ran back.
Master Meng was panting heavily from being led around, his pace slowing until he could only lean on his knees and gasp for breath. He pointed at Meng Boyuan, who had already climbed over the wall and sneaked into the Lin family's house, and cursed, "You unfilial son, if you're so capable, don't ever come home again!"
Meng Boyuan slammed open the Lin family's window, poked his head out, and retorted with a stiff neck, "Fine, I won't go back then! Who cares!"
"Fine, fine, I'll go and remove your name from the family tree right now! From now on, you're no longer my son!"
"Go ahead and draw! The sooner you do, the better! Anyone who doesn't is a coward!"
Master Meng was so angry that he leaned back, and was eventually carried home by the woodblock printmakers who came to break up the fight. As soon as Master Meng entered the Meng family's gate, the Lin family's gate opened. Meng Boyuan, like a thief, turned around and nodded to Xiao Shitou, who was secretly meeting him, and then quietly slipped into the Yao family's house.
At this moment, Meng Boyuan had lost the tough attitude he had shown earlier. His face showed some pain, and he asked Yao Ruyi dejectedly if she had any bedding, as he wanted to stay at the Lin family's house for a few days.
Yao Ruyi certainly had some; her "school shop" couldn't be without bedding! She even considered collaborating with the Imperial Academy once her business grew! In later years, many boarding schools centrally purchased quilts, pillows, mattresses, straw mats, and mosquito nets. She also thought that once the shop's revenue stabilized and she saved up some money, she could partner with Cheng Niangzi to supply uniform bedding to the Imperial Academy's dormitories.
Meng Boyuan went inside. He timidly greeted Grandpa Yao, who was focused on eating pizza, and then prepared to go to the shop to pick out bedding.
The Imperial Academy hadn't yet closed for the day, so Yao Ruyi casually added two more oil lamps to the shop and asked him, "Why did you sneak out so early? Aren't you still taking exams?"
Meng Boyuan glanced at Grandpa Yao in the courtyard, a little embarrassed, and whispered, "I handed in my paper early, without writing anything. This exam was set by Zhu Bing, also known as Zhu Dabing. He deliberately sets difficult and obscure questions, excluding poetry, regulated verse, and contemporary essays. He even boasts that his questions emphasize practical learning, broad knowledge, and application. Every time the results are released, almost everyone fails. He then uses this to imply to students' parents that their knowledge is insufficient and that they should seek guidance from renowned teachers, thereby accepting bribes and making a lot of money. This time, the question was 'A Discussion of the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Tea Prohibition Law and Mencius's Method of 'Regulating People's Prosperity.' I knew at a glance that he was deliberately making things difficult for us! How could I let such a despicable person succeed?"
Yao Ruyi didn't understand anything about Mencius and tea, but Grandpa Yao, who was eating pizza in the yard, understood it all. He frowned and said, "What kind of nonsense is this? State monopoly on salt, iron, and tea is completely irrelevant to Mencius's advocacy of reducing taxes and burdening the people. Who came up with this question? It's all made up!"
Upon hearing this, Meng Boyuan felt as if he had found a powerful backer and nodded repeatedly, "That's right! Mr. Yao, you are truly insightful!"
Grandpa Yao glanced at him, didn't recognize him, and ignored him, continuing to eat his pizza.
Meng Boyuan, however, gained confidence from Grandpa Yao's words and then angrily said to Yao Ruyi, "I will stand up in court and question Zhu Bing: What is the point of this question? It is clearly self-contradictory!"
Zhu Bing immediately scolded him: "What knowledge do you know, you greenhorn who has not even achieved any official rank! As a student, how dare you question your teacher in class without respecting his teachings? What kind of behavior is this!"
Before Meng Boyuan could explain, he pointed to the gate of the study hall and told him to get out and not delay other students from studying.
Cheng Shujun frantically tugged at his sleeve, whispering urging him to back down. But Meng Boyuan was hot-blooded at the time, and seeing everyone in the examination room staring at him, he refused to back down. In front of Zhu Bing, he tore up the exam paper, threw down his pen without answering, flicked his sleeve, and strode away.
Zhu Bing was utterly humiliated and furious. He immediately ordered another lecturer to oversee the exams while he went straight to the Meng family. He told the wealthy Meng about Meng Boyuan's "misdeeds" and threatened to report it to the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, demanding that Meng Boyuan be expelled and forbidden from studying at the Imperial Academy.
Ever since Meng Qingyuan passed the imperial examination and obtained an official position, Master Meng, hoping his youngest son could also embark on an official career and have a bright future, and that both brothers would have someone to rely on in the officialdom, spent most of his family's wealth to move to the vicinity of the Imperial Academy. He hoped that Meng Qingyuan would study hard, make friends with the sons of officials, and eventually pass the examinations and enter officialdom. However, Meng Boyuan disappointed his entire family's expectations. The family spent so much money to support his studies, yet he squandered it all.
As soon as Meng Boyuan returned home, he was severely beaten.
Normally, Meng Boyuan wouldn't run away when he was beaten, but his mother was away from home these past two days, taking the accountant and servants to the Meng family's fields in the countryside to count the winter grain. With no one to protect him, he had no choice but to run away quickly.
Anyone who doesn't run away is a coward!
Later, when the other students finished their exams and were dismissed from school, they all came to Yao's shop to shop and have late-night snacks. Yao Ruyi was too busy to be in two places at once, so he had to put the fierce-looking Grandpa Yao and the even fiercer Da Huang at the entrance of the shop. Grandpa Yao squinted and stared at people seriously. He was originally a doctor of the Imperial Academy, and no student was afraid of him.
Big Yellow, with its scarred face but still sharp nose, immediately bared its teeth and bit the trouser leg of a thief. Seeing this, even the others who were trying to take advantage of the situation dared not to do so and obediently paid their bills.
Meng Boyuan's money bag had already been snatched away by his father. He was hungry and broke. He had said he wanted to buy bedding, but when he reached into his pocket, he found he didn't have a single penny. He could only stare longingly at the pizza the puppies were eating.
Seeing how pitiful he was, Yao Ruyi softened and treated him to some "exposed" pancakes and starch sausages. Then she went off to grill sausages. Meng Boyuan, noticing her busy schedule, was quite perceptive and immediately went to help her with odd jobs. That's how he ended up working part-time for no apparent reason.
He did this odd job for more than half an hour, and he didn't stand on ceremony at all, really treating himself as a shop assistant and waiter at Yao's general store.
Meng Qingyuan was utterly helpless after hearing this. The weather was getting colder and colder, but he felt ashamed. He grabbed Meng Boyuan, apologized to Yao Ruyi and Grandpa Yao repeatedly, and dragged his troublesome younger brother out.
Like pulling a stubborn donkey, Meng Boyuan was going against him and refused to go home no matter what. After finally dragging him to the front door, he took the opportunity to break free from Meng Qingyuan's hand and said with aggrieved stubbornness, "He always believes whatever others say, never asks me why, and is unwilling to listen to my explanation. He always thinks it's my fault. I really don't want to be his son anymore."
He won't even call me "Dad" anymore.
After saying that, he ran towards the Lin family without looking back and skillfully climbed over the wall.
Meng Qingyuan stood there for a moment, completely at a loss. His mind was also troubled by family matters, so he went back to the Yao family's door and said in a listless voice, "Young Madam Yao, please cut three pieces of cake and grill two sausages..." He glanced at the wooden sign by the door and added, "And please add a bowl of hot ginger tea."
Seeing his pitiful appearance, as if he had aged several years in an instant due to the torment he had suffered at the hands of his father and brothers, Yao Ruyi's heart softened a little. She said gently, "Does Lord Meng wish to eat here? The snow outside is quite heavy. Why don't you come inside the shop and sit down to eat?"
Meng Qingyuan thanked him and walked inside with his head down.
Stepping into the shop, he was quite impressed. Yao Ruyi cut a pizza for him, grilled sausages, and brought him ginger tea. There was a small table prepared, but he found it novel and wanted to wander around while munching on the sausages.
Just as I was about to take a step, I turned around and saw several small baskets stacked by the door. With a slight thought, I casually picked up a wicker basket and slung it over my arm. I then slowly strolled around, munching on a grilled sausage.
He had never seen such a neat and tidy general store before. In ordinary general stores, the goods were always piled up here and there, and the shelves were rarely arranged neatly. Baskets were all haphazardly piled inside, and people had to turn sideways and stand on tiptoe to enter, because there was also a lot piled on the floor.
But the Yao family's shop was different. The shelves were arranged in rows and categorized, and each shelf had a wooden sign hanging on top. Each floor also had a name.
The shelf in front of me, which holds toothbrushes and tooth powder, has all the toothbrushes tied with knots and hanging up; the tooth powder containers are arranged with the large ones at the back and the small ones at the front, with the front lower than the back and fewer in the front than the back. The tags on the containers are all neatly facing outwards, making the shelf look both full and tidy.
As he walked down, he noticed that Yao Xiaoniangzi's arrangement was extremely well-organized. In front of the shelves of toothbrushes, tooth powder, pig pancreas soap, and hair oil, rouge, face powder, hair ornaments, and mirrors; next to the lamp wicks were the lampshades; knives, bowls, and chopsticks were in one place, and oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar were in another. He even saw a row of men's belly warmers and... and loincloths hanging in the most hidden corner of the shop next to the bedding, straw mats, and insoles?
Although many men only wear a light gauze over their waistbands when they go out in the summer, seeing so many of them suddenly in front of him still made him feel a little embarrassed. He suppressed his blush and quickly walked over.
After browsing around, I found myself picking out several items in my basket without even realizing it.
The counter was also made into a half-person-high display case, displaying many small items, such as tobacco, liquor, candy, and trinkets that children like.
After Meng Qingyuan finished browsing around, his basket unexpectedly contained a bag of dried meat, a bag of melon seeds, two pig bristle toothbrushes, a jar of anti-hair loss hair oil, a hemp paper lampshade, and a set of writing brushes and ink... Before he knew it, he had unknowingly walked to the counter, where Yao Xiaoniangzi was already smiling and waiting to collect the money.
Normally, when he went to other grocery stores, he would always have to trouble the shopkeeper or clerk to help him find what he wanted, and the clerk would even follow him around like a thief, otherwise he would never find what he wanted. But here, he just walked around with his basket and picked out the items without having to say a word.
He really looked at this young lady from the Yao family with new eyes—the shop was easy to access, had a full range of goods, and was clean and beautiful. Moreover, the arrangement was obviously not random, but rather something that had been carefully considered.
"One hundred and seventy-two coins in total." Madam Yao glanced down at the items in the basket and calculated the bill without even using an abacus. She then carefully tied the items together with hemp rope and said with a smile, "They're all from the neighborhood, so I'll charge you one hundred and seventy coins, Lord Meng."
The wind whipped up snowflakes and blew in his face. Meng Qingyuan, carrying a bundle of things that he didn't seem to need much, silently walked out of Yao's general store.
After walking a few steps, he looked down at the huge string of items in his hand and couldn't help but wonder: Was he possessed by an evil spirit just now? What else could he do? Why did he have to buy a lampshade?
**
The next day was the winter solstice, and before dawn, there was a commotion of carriages and horses outside. The students had finished their exams too late yesterday and hadn't had time to go home. This morning, they couldn't wait to hire carriages and horses to go home.
Yao Ruyi also got up early.
After washing up, I ate chicken wings with Grandpa Yao, had breakfast, put the puppies in Grandpa Yao's arms, and asked him to groom them before going to open the shop.
Wearing cotton shoes, she first swept the ground with a bamboo broom. This broom was also delivered by Zhou Jumu's family, and she found it very easy to use. He Xiang said that they made it themselves using bamboo tips harvested last autumn, and it made a rustling sound when sweeping the ground without raising dust.
She used a rag cut from Grandpa Yao's old trousers to wipe the shelves. It was soaked in soapberry water, so it had a faint, fresh scent. She squatted down to wipe the legs of the shelves, cleaning the fine dust embedded in the wood grain. She also stood on a stool and wiped the top of the shelves clean with a cloth.
Holding a rag, she wiped the small wooden signs on the shelves one by one: "Tea and Snacks," "Needle and Thread," "Incense and Candles"... She looked around and saw that there was a big gap in the shelf where hair oil was placed. It needed to be restocked. She got this hair oil from Gong Shengchun's rouge shop. It was all ready-made. The shop assistant had told her that the ginger scent was too strong and had never sold well. He told her to get the osmanthus and rose scents.
Yao Ruyi insisted on having ginger, and the supplier looked at her like she was a fool, even offering her a discount.
She simply asked Grandpa Yao to add the now-famous advertising slogan "Anti-hair loss ginger oil" to the label in her own shop. As a result, the ginger oil that was not selling well in the store sold dozens of bottles in just two days! No wonder the ancients always talked about the three thousand strands of hair, were they worried about hair loss?
Thinking it over, she climbed the stepladder to the top cabinet and retrieved her stock of hair oil. She took it down with practiced ease, and while she was at it, she touched the camphor wood box at the bottom of the cabinet—it contained her stock of toothbrushes. It was on the ground, but now that it was snowing, she was worried about it getting damp, so she decided to put it back on top later.
She replenished the stock, rearranged the disordered items, wiped the door panel, and then smelled and tasted each of the roasted nuts and snacks in the shop. She brought out a bamboo sieve, gathered up the leftover melon seeds and peanuts from the day before, picked out the broken shells, and added freshly roasted ones.
The pine nuts that arrived a while ago were almost sold out, and there was still half a basket left. Although they tasted okay, she still moved them to the bamboo tray at the window that was used for bulk sales, crossed out the original price, and wrote "near-expiry promotion".
Rolling up the thick cotton curtain, Yao Ruyi sat behind the window, recording yesterday's comings and goings in the ledger, occasionally glancing up at the students hurrying home with their books and bundles on their backs.
Occasionally, people would come to the shop to buy some hawthorns. The hawthorns in Yao Ruyi's shop were different from those sold outside. She chose Yunmo, a woman who sold pastries on the street with a small cart, as her supplier and asked her to make the fruit leather that would be used in later generations. Yao Ruyi didn't actually know how to make it. She only described the appearance and texture: it shouldn't be runny or soft, but dry and chewy. Unexpectedly, the young woman named Yunmo actually made it!
According to her, it's not difficult. Just spread the cooked hawthorn paste on a bamboo mat, smooth it with a bamboo strip, and let it dry in the sun for two days until it's dry enough to be peeled off.
If she were to sell regular pastries in her shop, they would have to be sold within a few days, or they would spoil. Fruit leather was the best; roll it into a tube, wrap it in parchment paper, and store it in a dry place. Even without preservatives, it could be preserved for months.
The alley was noisy for a while and then quieted down. Most of the students had left, and business would definitely be slow today. She leaned against the window and thought to herself, "Luckily, I had foreseen this yesterday and halved the amount of meat paste and tea-braised chicken eggs I made."
Just as they returned to the yard to prepare to lay out the chicken and meat paste, they saw Grandpa Yao pull out an old ruler with the character "德" (virtue) engraved on it from somewhere. He lined up the dogs in a row under the warm, windless porch and was swaying his head as he taught them to recite a text. He would recite a sentence, and the dogs would bark back, creating a harmonious scene.
Yao Ruyi found it amusing, but didn't disturb Grandpa Yao's enjoyment. She went back to set up the goods and then sat behind the counter to continue calculating the accounts. Sales had been quite good these past two days. Hair oil, writing brushes, ink, and paper were the best-selling items.
Especially the repackaged ink. Yao Ruyi only found out when she went to buy the goods that a good ink stick was so expensive, selling for several taels of silver. Good paper was also expensive, costing several hundred coins per ream. She thought of the skin care products and perfume samples that sold very well in later years, so she followed suit and made repackaged ink, which was indeed very popular.
We'll bring in some more later.
She didn't know how to use an abacus, so she secretly wrote out calculations based on the formulas of later generations. Just as she was concentrating, she heard Meng Boyuan's soft voice calling from the doorway: "Young Lady Yao, Young Lady Yao."
Startled, she quickly covered up the "scribbles" and looked up.
Meng Boyuan, Lin Weiming, and Cheng Shujun, who looked rather uncomfortable, arrived with books tucked under their arms. Meng Boyuan chuckled awkwardly, relying on his past experience as a shop assistant in the Yao family, and said familiarly, "Young Madam Yao, may we three come in to ask Dr. Yao some questions?"
Yao Ruyi looked at him suspiciously: He skipped school yesterday, but he's so diligent today.
Meng Boyuan, having been seen through by her, simply confessed in a low voice: "My father came to the Lin family before dawn to take me back. He respects the doctors from the Imperial Academy the most. If Dr. Yao is at home, he definitely won't dare to come in and take me."
Yao Ruyi: "..."
She glanced at the other two. Cheng Shujun, feeling her gaze, blushed and silently turned his head away. Lin Weiming, however, smiled calmly and replied, "Please don't take offense, Miss Yao. We're just keeping you company."
Yao Ruyi shook her head and smiled, letting the three of them go inside.
The three men bowed, thanked him, and entered the house. They then greeted Grandpa Yao with a bow. Since the three men had come at a good time, Grandpa Yao immediately let go of the little dogs who were swaying and starting to doze off, and instead turned to the three boys who had come to his door with a serious expression, holding a ruler and watching them read.
Meng Boyuan hadn't expected to actually have to study, and sat down with a bitter face.
Yao Ruyi moved two small coal stoves for them, gave each of them a jar of hot tea, and then randomly picked up a small dog with its head covered, and went back to the shop to continue doing the accounts.
She nestled in the warm, well-lit general store, surrounded by all sorts of delicious aromas, petting the puppy and listening to the sound of falling snow, while dipping her brush in ink to write formulas.
The rustling of the pen across the paper is quite pleasant.
They were busy until the afternoon, and Meng Chenglin and the other two finally finished writing an article. Grandpa Yao waved his ruler and criticized it as "utter nonsense" and "Don't read it anymore. Go back to your hometown to farm tomorrow."
Several people were on the verge of tears, and even Meng Boyuan deeply regretted why he had come to the Yao family for refuge.
Just then, a series of footsteps suddenly came from the alley, which was so quiet that the sound of falling snow could be clearly heard. The snow had accumulated to the soles of the feet after falling all night, and the boots crunched as they stepped on it.
The footsteps sounded closer and closer. Could someone be coming to buy something?
Yao Ruyi put down her pen, closed her scribbled ledger, hid it in a compartment under the counter, and peeked out the window, where she met the newcomer face to face.
Yao Ruyi was stunned at first glance.
The man before her was tall and very thin. Although he was dressed simply and looked travel-worn, his features were extremely handsome. He was like jade immersed in a cold spring, or like the wind blowing through the forest. However, a single clear and calm gaze from afar stunned her.
It took her a while to realize what was happening, and she smiled, her eyes crinkling.
"My lord, what would you like to buy?"
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Steamed buns can really be transformed into pizza! I've tried it in an air fryer!
If you have an air fryer, I highly recommend trying this! Bake the dough at 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes, then add the filling and bake at 170 degrees Celsius for another 10 minutes.
Exactly the same as the ones outside! [Cat emoji]
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