Yummy Yummy Yummy

Pei Fei and Lin Yan walked back through the snow.

With food in his belly, Pei Fei's mood had improved significantly—enough to take an interest in his friend's "romantic affairs."

Recalling the dishes like "vinegar-fried bean sprouts," "braised shredded tofu," and "golden hook cabbage" nestled among the roasted pheasant, agate meat, and braised lamb, along with Lin Yan's relaxed brows and faint smile while eating them, Pei Fei squinted and tilted his head. "An Ran, I have a question..."

"That Shen Xiao Niangzi arranged the dishes so casually. As a merchant chasing profit, shouldn't she have served mostly expensive items? Why were there so many light and simple dishes?"

"A balance of meat and vegetables, complexity and simplicity—that's the principle of culinary harmony. As the owner of Shen Ji, how could she not understand this?" Lin Yan replied mildly, thinking of the young lady's cheerful smile while collecting payment. "Besides, even those simple dishes were sold at premium prices."

Pei Fei burst out laughing. "That's because you were willing to pay, not because she demanded it."

Lin Yan also allowed a small smile.

But Pei Fei wasn't so easily deterred. "Those dishes seemed perfectly suited to your tastes..."

Lin Yan raised a brow and glanced at him. "...And weren't the roasted pheasant and such just as suited to yours?"

Pei Fei grinned, his expression clearly saying, "Hah, keep pretending." But since the topic involved a young lady, he didn't press further.

The more Pei Fei thought about it, the more he felt Lin Yan and Shen Xiao Niangzi were well-matched. One was tight-lipped, the other quick-witted—if both were silent, wouldn't that be stifling? If both were sharp-tongued, arguments would be inevitable. In appearance, they complemented each other too: An Ran was elegant and refined, while Shen Xiao Niangzi was charming and lovely. In terms of learning, An Ran was a top scholar and a rising star, but Shen Xiao Niangzi was no ignorant woman either—hadn't she once used Pang Tong from the Three Kingdoms to mock someone? This time, she even discussed famous ministers and state policies of their dynasty.

The only gap was their family backgrounds. Though Shen Xiao Niangzi came from the fallen Luoyang Shen family, An Ran was a high-ranking official in crimson robes...

Pei Fei shook his head. What a pity.

Unaware that Shen Shaoguang had been released from the palace this spring or the old scandals of her family, Pei Fei would have shaken his head even more vigorously had he known.

Lin Yan couldn't miss the implication in Pei Fei's words. He considered reprimanding him but held back. This was just Pei Fei's nature, and at least he had some restraint, avoiding outright vulgarity.

That the dishes at the tavern suited his tastes didn't strike Lin Yan as unusual. After a few visits, Shen Xiao Niangzi had simply remembered his preferences... Still, her cleverness explained how she thrived so vibrantly in the bustling market, like the verdant greenery covering the mountains in spring—truly living up to her childhood name, "A Qi."

A Qi—he wondered what her formal name was. The official verification document only listed her family, origin, age, physical features, and notes like "entered the palace due to her father Shen Qian's crime on such-and-such date" or "released as a commoner on such-and-such date." By convention, women's verification documents omitted personal names.

Lin Yan suddenly lifted his head, squinting at the snow-white rooftops and streets. What nonsense was he thinking? He must truly be drunk.

Unaware of the soul-searching she had sparked in Lin Yan and Pei Fei, Shen Shaoguang was busy pondering new dishes.In the depths of winter, vegetables were scarce—just cabbage, radish, tofu, and bean sprouts day after day, with nothing else. Fortunately, pork, chicken, mutton, and fish were still available, and with a few pickles and cured meats, they could manage to put together a decent variety. But now that the snow had fallen, the fish supply had been cut off, and suddenly things felt tight. Steamed fish heads, fish balls, vinegar-braised fish, tile-block fish, fish hot pot—all were gone...

In such cold weather, even after the snow melted, getting fish would be difficult. Shen Shaoguang decided to remove the fish dishes from the menu for now and add other options. She also took the opportunity to update some other dishes based on the shop’s sales.

This required careful consideration, and sometimes she even had to consult Yu San or seek the opinions of the local foodies A Yuan and A Chang.

A Yuan and A Chang loved it when the shop introduced new dishes because it meant—tastings.

Watching their excitement, Shen Shaoguang wondered: Had she not been feeding them enough? Or were these two just deeply in love with food? She preferred to believe it was the latter.

The dried tofu shreds in broth served to Lord Lin was one of the recent additions. The tofu shreds were simmered in chicken broth, with dried shrimp added for extra umami. The shrimp were tied in a small cloth pouch and discarded before serving, leaving only the pristine white tofu shreds. The dish was topped with a sprinkle of cured meat and a few diced green pickled cucumbers for color.

Without ham or premium dried shrimp, and lacking the authentic Huaiyang cuisine techniques, this was a makeshift dish born of necessity across time and space. Yet it turned out quite tasty—even the picky Lord Lin ate a fair amount.

Making cabbage and tofu flavorful was the ultimate test of skill, and in this era of scarcity, Shen Shaoguang still preferred bold, hearty meat dishes.

Like—steamed pork with rice flour, vinegar-braised pork, lychee pork, smoked and stewed pork—all kinds of pork. Or jar-braised chicken, fried chicken, smoked chicken, white-cut chicken—all kinds of chicken. Once you mastered the tricks, you could improvise freely, and the results would never disappoint.

When A Yuan returned from outside, she saw the freshly steamed pork with rice flour and immediately grabbed a small bun, stuffed it with a large piece of the pork, blew on it, and took a bite that nearly halved it. Nodding vigorously at Shen Shaoguang, she mumbled, "Mhm! Mhm!"

"Don’t just eat—did you talk to that Miss Chu?" Miss Chu was the unexpected guest who had arrived in the snow and was now staying at Luminous Nunnery. Her maid was called A Jin.

"Mhm! Mhm!"

Shen Shaoguang laughed. "Go on, eat."

Honestly, what chef wouldn’t love a diner like A Yuan? If everyone were like Lord Lin, eating without a hint of emotion, leaving the chef to analyze and guess whether they enjoyed the food—how dull would that be? Ah, she truly pitied whoever cooked for Lord Lin.

Before A Yuan could finish her "snack," Miss Chu and her maid arrived.

Shen Shaoguang invited them to the back residence to talk.

She personally poured tea for Miss Chu, who stood to receive it and thanked her.

Though anxious, Miss Chu waited until Shen Shaoguang had taken a sip of tea before asking, "Do you have news of Young Master Huan, miss?"

"This noon, a guest surnamed Huan, the seventh in his family, came by. He was quite tall, fair-skinned, and handsome. I didn’t want to mistake him, so I didn’t ask him directly but came to tell you first."

Miss Chu grew agitated. "That must be him."

Her maid A Jin quickly asked, "Do you know how to find this Young Master Huan, miss?"Shen Shaoguang nodded, "I know him. He's acquainted with a regular customer of ours. That customer is quite helpful, so you can certainly ask him. He lives in the house at the southernmost end of the street behind here, near the ward wall." The address for Liu Feng was originally provided by the official matchmaker. It's not far from Zhang's Fried Dough Twists Shop, and A Yuan once ran into him while buying fried dough twists there.

The young lady from the Chu family thanked Shen Shaoguang earnestly.

Understanding the principle of not speaking too deeply with someone she barely knew, Shen Shaoguang still felt a bit meddlesome upon noticing that Huan Qilang seemed overly shrewd and somewhat unreliable. After some thought, she said, "I noticed your beautiful calligraphy in the delicate 'flowering' style. My own handwriting is rather crude, and I’d like to ask for your guidance."

The abrupt shift from discussing Huan Qilang to calligraphy was unusual for the composed Young Lady Shen, so the Chu lady immediately sensed there was more to it. She smiled and replied, "I wouldn’t dare call it guidance. Please write something, and we can study it together."

Shen Shaoguang ground the ink, spread out the paper, and wrote a few of Bai Juyi’s poems in regular script. She tapped her finger on the last one, "Drawing a Silver Vase from the Bottom of a Well," and said, "This is a poem by Bai Juyi, straightforward and poignant. I like it very much."

"...Moved by your heart as steadfast as pine and cypress, I secretly followed you with my hair undone... Betrothed, one is a wife; eloping, one is but a concubine—unfit to preside over sacrifices with apples and white artemisia..." Each word struck like a thunderclap.

The lady’s expression changed. After a long pause, she smiled and said, "Bai Juyi’s poetry is excellent, and your calligraphy is equally fine." She stood up and bowed solemnly to Shen Shaoguang. "Thank you for your kind warning."

Shen Shaoguang pulled her back to her seat, while the maid A Jin remained bewildered.

"Young Lady, you may not know, but my family is in trade, and we value fairness above all. We exchanged many letters when we pledged our hearts. If he—betrays me, I’ll expose them. While I may suffer, his reputation won’t escape unscathed. This is the imperial capital, where propriety is paramount. He’s preparing for the imperial exams, and if he succeeds, he’ll be appointed to office. He wouldn’t risk it."

Shen Shaoguang nodded, wanting to tell her that Chang’an wasn’t as strict as she imagined. But since the lady had already burned her bridges and was determined... Well, at least she wasn’t a naive fool who would "endure abandonment without shame."

In that case, let her plunge into the Sea of Love.

Author’s Note: "Sea of Love" is a phrase from Dream of the Red Chamber . Even the line "Bai Juyi’s poetry is excellent, and your calligraphy is equally fine" is borrowed from Lin Daiyu’s words.