The method of steaming Reeves' shad was not particularly astonishing, as it was quite common in Jiangnan. However, the technique of thread-lifting scale removal was unheard of among the guests. They all watched in wide-eyed amazement as the silver dragon spun beneath Zhenzhen's chopsticks, and for a moment, the hall fell silent. Soon after, someone clapped in admiration and remarked, "Judging by this string of scales, the female disciple of Suitable Treasure Tower not only possesses exquisite knife skills but also excels in needlework."
Zhenzhen turned her head silently and exchanged a smile with Fengxian, who was standing in a corner of the hall.
Earlier, when it was decided to include Reeves' shad in the banquet menu, Zhenzhen had discussed with her senior sisters whether to steam the fish with its scales intact or to first remove the scales in sheets and then place them back on the fish during steaming. This way, the fat from the scales would still infuse into the fish while making it easier for the diners to remove them.
The five senior sisters, aside from Fengxian, each presented their arguments. Some said it was best to keep the fish as it was to preserve its original flavor, while others argued that since the banquet guests were refined scholars, pre-removing the scales would better suit their habits. After a long debate with no resolution, Fengxian, who had remained silent until then, gazed at the Reeves' shad on the table and spoke slowly, "I have thought of a method that might be even better..."
This unique method of scale removal greatly enhanced the appeal of the Reeves' shad. Of course, the fish itself was tender, plump, and perfectly steamed, infused with rich flavors. The tribute scholars frequently reached for it with their chopsticks, thoroughly enjoying the dish. Only one person complained slightly, "The fish is excellent, but it has too many bones."
Indeed, Reeves' shad is covered in fine bones throughout its body, and each bite requires careful removal of the bones.
Upon hearing this, Zhenzhen addressed the person, "Although Reeves' shad has many bones, most of them are as fine and soft as shrimp whiskers. Even if accidentally swallowed, they are unlikely to injure the throat. Nothing in this world is perfect. This fish is already exceptionally delicious. If it were boneless, it might be more expensive than gold, or perhaps, like the pufferfish, it would carry deadly toxins, forcing you to be cautious. So, I hope everyone can accept this minor imperfection. It is like a beautiful woman with jade-like features who occasionally throws a small tantrum, which can be irritating at times. However, though she may be a bit spoiled, she is not a bad person. Considering how beautiful she is, it's best to let it go."
The listeners were all amused, and Yang Shenglin clapped his hands and laughed heartily, repeatedly exclaiming, "What a fitting analogy!" It was only when his father, who was also seated at the banquet, glared at him that he abruptly fell silent, though he still stole occasional smiling glances at Zhenzhen.
Accompanying the wine alongside the Reeves' shad was a dish of pickled water bamboo shoots. Fresh water bamboo shoots were sliced, blanched, and mixed with fine scallion shreds, dill, fennel, Sichuan peppercorns, red yeast rice, and salt. After marinating briefly, it was ready to eat. The Reeves' shad had a rich, meat-like aroma, and after tasting it, the pickled water bamboo shoots provided a refreshing contrast. Both dishes left a favorable impression on the diners, prompting someone to ask, "Such delicious dishes—do they also have any famous anecdotes associated with them?"
Zhenzhen had not deliberately searched for related anecdotes beforehand, but she remained calm and composed, answering gracefully, "Yes, there are. However, all of you are highly learned and well-read, so you must already know them. If any of you recall, feel free to share first, and we can see if it matches what I know."
The tribute scholars grew excited and eagerly spoke up. One of them said, "The renowned Han Dynasty scholar Yan Ziling once fished by the Fuchun River and praised the freshness and richness of Reeves' shad. He even used this as a reason to decline Emperor Guangwu's invitation to serve in the imperial court."Someone remarked, "Dongpo Jushi also loved Reeves' shad. The shad cherishes its scales; if touched by a person or net, it ceases to struggle to avoid damaging them. Dongpo Jushi thus called it the 'Scale-cherishing fish' and once wrote a poem for it: 'With ginger shoots and purple vinegar, grilled silver fish, / A snow-white bowl holds one over two feet long. / The springtime aura of peach blossoms still lingers, / Its flavor surpasses water shield and perch.'"
Another added, "Lord Wang Jiefu also mentioned Reeves' shad in his poem: 'Shad emerge from nets, covering the islets, / Reed shoots, plump and sweet, surpass cow's milk.'"
Yet another reminded his fellow scholars, "Don't forget the pickled water bamboo shoots! Water bamboo shoots are the water bamboo vegetable. The Jin dynasty's Zhang Han used the autumn wind as an excuse, longing for his hometown's water bamboo vegetable, water shield soup, and sliced perch, to resign and return home..." He pointed emotionally at the pickled water bamboo shoots before him. "It was this water bamboo that made him want to return!"
The hall erupted in laughter.
Originally, because this village banquet was hosted by an official, the tribute scholars felt somewhat restrained. At first, everyone sat upright, fearing any lapse in speech or demeanor might appear inelegant. Unexpectedly, as it progressed, they found themselves in a mood for jest. They continued discussing literary allusions, with laughter and cheerful voices rising one after another.
Zhenzhen listened with a smile as the tribute scholars shared these stories. When the noise in the hall subsided slightly, she spoke again: "So, as long as it is delicious food, there will always be famous admirers who leave behind allusions and poems to enhance its charm. When we taste food, we use our tongues and our hearts, not our ears. If food is delicious, naturally someone will compose poetry and prose about it, passing it down through the ages. If we must hear allusions or poems to find food tasty, wouldn't that be handing the right to judge flavor over to our ears?"
Many at the banquet nodded in agreement. Magistrate Cui also smiled and said, "Well said, well said."
Zhenzhen continued, "For this village banquet, I did not deliberately prepare matching allusions or poems. Firstly, I feared showing off before experts, and secondly, I believe flavor is most important. Since this is a village banquet, I hoped to offer you all hometown dishes that might remind you of the taste of your mother's cooking. This familiar flavor is connected to mothers and hometowns, not necessarily to literary allusions."
After a brief silence, applause rang out in the hall—one clap after another, from a single person. Zhenzhen looked toward the sound and found it was again that scholar with the slightly dark complexion.
Magistrate Cui followed suit with applause, and instantly more joined in, filling the hall with thunderous clapping.
After two more rounds of wine, the styles of the accompanying soups and snacks from the two taverns remained consistent with before: Mussel Tower was elegant, while Suitable Treasure Tower was homely. After the banquet, the tribute scholars expressed their preferences for which tavern should host the village banquet. Four chose Mussel Tower, while five chose Suitable Treasure Tower, including the scholar who had shown support for Zhenzhen several times during the feast.
Just as Magistrate Cui was about to announce the result, Wu Qiuniang, who had been observing silently from the sidelines, suddenly stepped forward. She curtsied to Magistrate Cui and said, "Magistrate Cui, from the scholars' choices, it seems our Suitable Treasure Tower did not achieve a complete victory. Nearly half still prefer the delicacies of Mussel Tower. If the village banquet is hosted solely by Suitable Treasure Tower, those scholars wishing to taste literary-style dishes might feel regret. Therefore, I boldly suggest to the magistrate that if Mussel Tower is willing, please allow both our establishments to jointly prepare the village banquet. Then, we can offer a perfect feast to all the tribute scholars who are about to leave home for the examinations."Upon hearing this, everyone present was astonished. Whether it was Magistrate Cui, Yang Yu, or Zhenzhen, they were all greatly taken aback, never expecting her to give up such a hard-won victory so easily. Magistrate Cui repeatedly asked Qiu Niang to confirm whether she was modestly declining or truly meant it. Qiu Niang’s gaze remained firm, her expression solemn, indicating that this was a decision made after careful consideration. Magistrate Cui then turned to Yang Yu for his opinion.
Yang Yu had been sitting with a dark expression ever since the tribute scholar spoke up, occasionally glaring angrily at the scholar who had spoken in support of Zhenzhen. Later, when he heard Qiu Niang’s suggestion, he was completely stunned. It was only after Magistrate Cui asked him twice that he snapped back to reality and stammered that he would defer to the magistrate’s decision and had no objections.
Magistrate Cui thus announced that this year’s village banquet would be jointly hosted by Mussel Tower and Suitable Treasure Tower. The tribute scholars were delighted by this outcome and congratulated both establishments one after another. Qiu Niang and Yang Yu both smiled and expressed their gratitude. Only when the dark-skinned scholar offered his congratulations to Yang Yu did Yang Yu remain silent, coldly turning his face away.
Xiangye leaned close to Zhenzhen’s ear and whispered a secret she had just uncovered: “That scholar who spoke up to help you is actually the expert hired by Mussel Tower. Several of Mussel Tower’s dishes were created under his guidance. But I don’t know why he would speak up for you.”
Zhenzhen was equally puzzled. After the scholar bid farewell to the crowd and left, Zhenzhen chased after him outside and thanked him earnestly, asking why he had helped her. The scholar smiled and said, “Because I also enjoy your dishes. They remind me of the taste of my mother’s cooking.”
Zhenzhen asked for his name, and he replied, “My surname is Zhao, and my given name is Huaiyu.”
Zhenzhen asked, “Is it the ‘Huaiyu’ from ‘coarse cloth concealing jade’?”
Zhao Huaiyu bowed slightly. “I am unworthy,” he said. After a pause, he added with a faint smile, “Your restaurant’s method of removing the scales of the Reeves’ shad with a thread is the true embodiment of ‘coarse cloth concealing jade.’”
Zhenzhen was taken aback and wanted to ask what he meant by that, but Zhao Huaiyu had already bowed to her and walked away.
Returning to Suitable Treasure Tower, Zhenzhen couldn’t help but feel disheartened, thinking about all the hard work she had put into preparing for this event, only to see the fruits of her labor washed away like water flowing east. She asked her mother why she had given up the opportunity to host the village banquet alone. Qiu Niang said, “As I said, Suitable Treasure Tower did not achieve a complete victory. Why risk displeasing nearly half of the scholars just to win a momentary triumph? While the taste of home is certainly worth cherishing, are the heights of the court and the elegance of the jade hall not worth aspiring to? When they taste Mussel Tower’s dishes with their hopes for the future, they are savoring them with their hearts, not just their ears. The reason they didn’t immediately refute you was simply out of respect for Magistrate Cui, not because they agreed with you. And…” She gazed at Zhenzhen, her eyes as deep as the autumn waters of a green pond. “A tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind. There’s no need for us to host the village banquet alone and draw so much attention.”Regarding Zhao Huaiyu, Xiangye gradually gathered more information, saying he was a distant member of the imperial clan. In terms of his closeness to the Emperor, he was already beyond the five degrees of mourning and not highly regarded. His parents' generation had drifted to Pujiang, and the family gradually fell into poverty, leaving him to rely on the imperial examinations for an official career. Because he was quite knowledgeable and, as a member of the imperial clan, had some insight, Yang Yu invited him to offer advice for his restaurant and provided him with some compensation. After the Village Banquet tasting event, Yang Yu confronted him, asking why he had helped Suitable Treasure Tower. He replied, "I only agreed to serve as an advisor for Mussel Tower, not to necessarily choose Mussel Tower at the tasting banquet. The county magistrate asked me to represent the scholars in making a choice, so naturally, I should act impartially and decide based on my judgment as a scholar. At that time, the dishes from Suitable Treasure Tower moved me more, so I acted accordingly, with a clear conscience."
"Then, he returned all the silver he had previously received from Mussel Tower to Yang Yu," Xiangye told Zhenzhen. She mentioned a very large sum, so large that even her dancing eyebrows seemed to spell out two words: painful.
Zhenzhen looked up into the air, as if seeing Zhao Huaiyu's stern, impartial face. He coldly tossed a large bag of silver in front of Yang Yu, then flicked his sleeve and drifted away, leaving Yang Yu alone, curled up and clutching the silver, weeping on the ground... Zhenzhen clicked her tongue in admiration and sincerely praised, "He's a real man."
Zhenzhen had always remembered Zhao Huaiyu's remark about Suitable Treasure Tower being "coarse cloth concealing jade." Once, she recounted it to Fengxian, saying, "From the Thread-lifting scale removal technique, he concluded that our restaurant was 'coarse cloth concealing jade,' meaning there’s a hidden talent here, right? This method was proposed by you—did you come up with it yourself, or did someone teach you?"
Fengxian was chopping vegetables when she heard this. She paused briefly, then quickly replied, "I thought of it myself."
"Oh, sister, you’re truly brilliant," Zhenzhen said with a laugh. "I thought Zhao Huaiyu seemed to know this method too, so I wondered if you had learned it from someone. But thinking about it, you came to our family when you were very young. If someone had taught you, I would have known, unless you learned it before coming to our home."
Fengxian forced a smile and continued chopping vegetables with her head down.
After Zhenzhen left, Fengxian slowed the rhythmic motion of her knife. She raised her head, her gaze drifting past the window, blankly fixed on the autumn scene in the courtyard, where leaves were falling desolately. As if feeling the chill in the air, she grew dizzy, her face pale. She closed her eyes, but fragments of old memories, like remnants of scrolls, uncontrollably surfaced in her mind:
A grand hall filled with guests, fine wine and delicacies, music and drunken dreams. A woman in elegant attire and makeup stood before a Reeves' shad served on a golden platter. Using jade chopsticks, she lifted a thread, and a silver dragon made of fish scales leaped up, swimming in the ripples of her enchanting smile...
A night without candles or lamps. As a child, she slept on a large bed and suddenly felt a drop of water fall on her face. Opening her eyes, she saw, by the pale moonlight peeking through the window, the haggard face of a woman with long, disheveled hair. The woman smiled at the awakened Fengxian, but that desolate smile only made Fengxian feel sorrow.
A rainy night in late autumn, a speeding carriage. She nestled in her mother’s arms, drowsy and aching all over. The only comfort was her mother’s scent and warmth. Yet, a pair of large hands forcefully tore her from her mother’s embrace, pulled open the carriage door, and kicked her out into the muddy, rain-soaked ground...The sensation of falling into an endless abyss caused Fengxian's body and her hand gripping the knife to tremble slightly. Her right thumb, ring finger, and little finger tightened around the handle, while her middle finger unconsciously straightened, joining her index finger to support the outer side of the blade.
"Fengxian." Qiu Niang suddenly entered, calling her name.
Startled, Fengxian instinctively increased the force of her chopping hand. With a downward slash, the knife slipped from her grasp and flew out, landing on the ground with a loud clang.
Both Qiu Niang and Fengxian were startled. Qiu Niang took two steps back, and upon seeing the fallen knife, she frowned and said to Fengxian, "How many years has it been? Have you forgotten the knife-holding technique I taught you again?"
Fengxian lowered her head, blushing with embarrassment. "I remember, but sometimes when I lose focus, my middle finger unconsciously straightens."
Qiu Niang softened her tone. "Knives have no eyes. You must be extra careful when using them, pay attention to your posture, and avoid mistakes that could injure your hand."
Fengxian nodded in agreement, then asked Qiu Niang what instructions she had come to give.
Qiu Niang said, "Magistrate Cui just sent someone to say that during the village banquet, there will be distinguished guests from the capital. He wants us to prepare the raw crab on the menu using the Bianjing hand-washing crab method."
(To be continued)
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