Great Tang Idyll

Book 2: Chapter 9

Many thanks go to Jesse for commissioning chapters 08-12!

This childe that claimed to be Li Wang'xun scared everyone when he spoke, but they were relieved when they heard what he said his name was.

After saying the words he needed to say, Li Wang'xun did not stay around to let those people continue to kneel down in front of him. Nobody else tried to persuade him since the person who tried to persuade him earlier almost received a beating. No one dared to say anything.

The snow fungus was grown by Shi'liu. The process was similar to growing wood fungus, although some of the exact details had to be altered. Shi'liu was very dedicated to her job and she somehow figured out how to grow the snow fungus. Right now, she was working on pine mushrooms. Zhang Xiao'bao and Wang Juan tried to dissuade her, but she still persisted. Seeing that she was so determined, the two of them allowed her to continue working on it. She refused to turn back until she hit a dead end.

If Shi'liu was able to grow pine mushrooms, then Zhang Xiao'bao would have the confidence to let her grow yellow morels. Even in the modern times, not to mention this era, the price of yellow morels was expensive. Some of the yellow morels were so expensive that there were no buyers. Unlike other mushrooms, yellow morels were not sold in kilograms and were sold in grams instead.

Although there were three dishes, a soup and several steamed buns, the four people devoured all of it in a very short amount of time. Not a single drop of soup was left behind. The child's metabolism was quick; he drank soup just a while ago, and now he had to pee. His little eyes looked at the new item that was freshly served. While being carried in his sister's arms he stretched out his arm with open hands in that direction.

"Waiter, quick, feed the child. Actually, let me see what great things you have inside the bowl." Li Wang'xun never had this feeling before. The more he looked at that child, the more he liked him. He told the waiter to bring the soup over to the child, but he was scared that the waiter was going to trick him, so he went forward to have a look. He felt relieved after checking that not a single ingredient was missing from the bowl.

While the sister held her younger brother in her arms, she thanked Li Wang'xun as she wiped her tears. Just from hearing the name of this soup, she could imagine how much it was worth. She could not fathom eating a dish like this back then, not to mention during this famine. A bowl of soup like this could be exchanged for rations that would last several years for her family.

In addition to the snow fungus and bird's nest, there were also lotus seeds that were boiled until they became soft, and rock sugar. It was sweet and fragrant. Children had a natural strong craving for sugar, so they can't stop eating after taking a bite. This had nothing to do with whether it was sweet or not; it was mainly because sweetness represents sugar and sugar is exactly what the human body needs. This was due to a kind of genetics. The more ignorant the children was, the more they craved sugar.

Once again, the child was drooling while he was eating, but this time, before his sister wiped the drool away for him, Li Wang'xun took out a silk handkerchief to help the child wipe the stuff around his mouth. When his hand touched the child's tender cheeks, he couldn't resist gently squeezing his cheeks.

The parents were worried that the child would cry, however, unlike before where the child would cry when touched by strangers, the child actually widened his eyes and smiled. He opened up his arms so that Li Wang'xun could hug him.

Li Wang'xun was just about to stretch out his hand, but he was stopped by the person beside him. At this moment, the person who was almost beaten pulled the waiter aside and told him about the situation, and the waiter immediately knew what to do.

"Young childe, don't worry. Let the Between The Water And Clouds Restaurant take care of the family. Our restaurant needs a dishwasher and a firewood chopper. Oh, the dishwasher only needs to do eight hours of work a day. We also give every dishwasher a special meal of plain pork knuckle soup; each bowl has at least half a knuckle."

When the waiter said that to Li Wang'xun, he was actually lying. When did their restaurant serve food that helps with breastfeeding1? The salary that given was already higher than other places. A pig only has a few knuckles, so how could they feed their workers this. This cost will have to be added to the young childe's tab.

Li Wang'xun was happy when he heard this. He didn't really understand how the things in commoners' lives worked, so he assumed that it was normal for dishwashers to be given pork knuckle soup. When he looked at the mother, he knew that she usually didn't eat enough and couldn't produce enough breast milk. He wasn't too stupid and he knew that pork knuckle was beneficial for lactation, so he nodded his head in relief. He instructed,

"Okay, that's good. I'll come back in a few days, and if I don't see the four of them, or if I find that they are hungry and thin, then don't blame me for acting ruthlessly. Make sure the pork knuckle soup is good and that the saltiness is palatable. I know that you use a special type of seasoning here; use more of it in the soup."

"Huh? Palatable saltiness? Add more of that seasoning? Young childe, that won't work. Too much of that seasoning cannot be added. The saltiness..."

"What? Do you dare to not listen to me?" Li Wang'xun's face turned dark. He didn't wait for the waiter to finish talking and he asked angrily.

"Benefactor, please don't trouble them. I prefer to eat light tasting food. I want plain pork knuckle soup without any salt or other seasonings."

There was no need for the waiter to speak this time since the child's mother spoke. She naturally understood what she should eat for her child, and she must swallow down the taste no matter how disgusting it was. Salt could not be added.

When Li Wang'xun heard her say that she didn't want seasoned or lightly salted foods, he didn't wouldn't force her, so he nodded slightly, "Okay. Waiter, do you understand?"

"I understand, I'll remember it for sure. Water will be used to stew the pork knuckle, and we will make sure the pork knuckles are extra fatty. " The waiter didn't care who said the wrong thing, and he nodded urgently in agreement.

"Waiter, you must make the soup the exact way that you described. Take this money." The eyes of the person who was almost beaten turned red when he had to take out more coins to give to the waiter. The person was touched by what a mother would do for her own child.

Now that there was someone taking care of the family of four, there was no reason for Li Wang'xun to stay here any longer. When he was about to leave, Li Cheng, who was in charge of buying the restaurant, hurried over. He didn't even bother to wipe his sweat and he reported to Li Wang'xun,

"The masters of the Zhang and Wang families have gone to the temple to burn incense, and the master of the Ge Manor is ill and has been taken to seek medical treatment. There was no one there apart from the housekeeper, but I wasn't able to speak with him. We won't be able to buy the restaurant for the time being.

"That coincidental?" Li Wang'xun frowned and he obviously didn't believe it.

"Yes. I have already asked the residents on the three manors. At the beginning, they refused to say anything, so I gave them quite a bit of money. The residents of the Zhang and Wang manors took the money and told me that early in the morning, the masters have left the manors in carriages. It was the same for the Ge Manor too."

Li Cheng had spent three taels of silver in total this time. He was a bit pained by this since he used his own money.

Li Wang'xun finally believed it, "Okay, after you go back, go get ten taels of silver. Let's not talk about this today. Alright, let's go back now. Tomorrow, go get people to come over here to ask about the family of four, and if they're eating and sleeping well. "

"Yes, I'll do that." Li Cheng replied back respectfully.

While they were talking, a man and a woman also came over to watch. They didn't stand too close, so the person protecting Li Wang'xun just watched them and did not shoo them away since they feared that doing that would make their young childe unhappy.

"What do you think? The Zhang and Wang manors are skillful, aren't they? They threw in two taels of silver, and they got nothing in return. If this was any other household, the whole entire household could be bribed. When we were there this morning, the carriages of both families were still in the manor, but in just a short while, the carriages disappeared.

We can't stay here anymore; they already know that we're here. If I guess correctly, they even know who we are. If we make them unhappy, they might kill a few cows and frame it on us. If everyone on the three manors say that we did it, then even if we didn't do it, no one will believe us."

The woman's mind was more attentive. She was able to come to this conclusion by analyzing this matter. The man was courageous and had good skills, but he was a bit weaker when it came to deducing. After hearing this, he said,

"Don't be afraid, as long as the case is handled by the local authorities, we don't have to worry about anything. Now I know that the prince's son is not bad. He knows to help the poor."

"You only saw this side of the story, but in fact, it was the Zhang, Wang and Ge families who really wanted to help the people. When the waiter came out, he deliberately walked passed the young childe. If the master family didn't arrange this earlier on, why would that waiter do that? Remember, we can expose our identities. If the local authorities find out, then that means Magistrate Cheng would know. I think they're in it together."

The woman corrected the mistake in the man's words. Just when the man wanted to retort back, they heard a rush of horse hooves. They turned to look and saw three people who should be the San'shui County's bailiffs. Each of them had two horses. They rushed through the disturbed dust and just arrived at the Little Bridge. One of them shouted loudly,

"Reporting to the master of the Zhang family. At two quarters after eleven, the Little Luo'shui Wharf was completed. Congratulations. Mister Song has ordered people to work on the two restaurants. Congratulations."

The man was dumbfounded when he heard this. Before they came here, they did learn about the place called Little Luo'shui. That was where the auspicious omen appeared. Right now, it was before three in the evening. They travelled such a far distance in just three hours. They're speed was just a bit under travelling 600 li a day.

The Zhang and Wang families were able to make the county seat's bailiffs travel here just to report good news. If it was an emergency report instead, then they might even travel at a speed of 800 li a day.

"Do you see? Do you still think the local authorities will take care of you? Look at that speed. They came over from Little Luo'shui, not from the Administrative Office. The bailiffs need to know about the situation at the Little Luo'shui first before they can rush over to deliver the news. Do you have any idea how much time would be spent during that time? If there really was an emergency, I truly believe that they would travel at a speed of 800 li a day. They will put in all of their efforts. The horse will tire out but the rider will continue on, and ride into the horizon."

The woman sneered and spoke to the man. At that moment, the six horses and three men galloped past them, leaving behind only the sound of horses hooves and the dust that had not yet settled.

The man didn't know what to say this time. He found it too scary. It seemed like the relationship between the manors and the bailiffs was not ordinary. It seemed like the Administrative Office was run by the manors. From the expressions of the bailiffs that just rode past, he could tell that they were more than willing to accept this task without making a single word of complaint.

"Then, we know so much already? Let's go?" The man asked, feeling a little frightened.

"Pay attention, pay attention, everyone pays attention. The children of the Zhang, Wang and Ge Manors can join the competition now. Prizes will be given to the winners. " At this time, a little child's voice travelled to them.

1. Pork knuckle soup and breastfeeding

It is believed that mothers that are breastfeeding should eat pork knuckles, which is high in protein and fats.