Chapter 6: 6

After returning home, Zheng Ping handed a part of the medicine to Third Sister Hu, who resided next door, thanking her earnestly for looking after Xiaobao. Yun Yanhui also offered some of his food he paid for today, and urged Third Sister Hu’s family to eat it.

Third Sister Hu’s son, who was about the same age as Yun Yanhui and named[1] Liu Tiao’er, salivated and expressed his gratitude.

Taking in the scene, Shuangyi promptly brought the toys she purchased to play with Liu Ye.

When Third Sister Hu’s family witnessed this, they praised Zheng Ping enthusiastically for educating her children. Obviously, each and every one had a fondness for such a big-hearted child.

They were distant relatives rather than close neighbors. It was a fatiguing task for Zheng Ping to tend to her children’s needs by herself. Taking care of each other was a natural consideration, given how all of Zheng Ping’s family members were well-behaved and mellow.

After a lengthy conversation with Liu Ye outside, Shuangyi reluctantly returned inside after giving her word to play house with her tomorrow. She got her hands on a small set of tableware at the Daxiangguo Temple that day, which was just perfect for her rag doll. She immediately fell in love with it.

When she arrived home, Shuangyi delightedly spoke to Yun Yanhui about the entirety of her day; she then proceeded to ask wherever he recalled the incidents from this day and that day.

Not to mention Shuangyi, but even Yun Yanhui, a knowledgeable adult, had seen a good deal of unfamiliar, strange things. In addition, he was indulgent with the child[2] ━ therefore, they had a prolonged chat.

Yet, despite the youth’s desire to rest due to fatigue, up to this time Shuangyi was exuberant. Yun Yanhui couldn’t stand it anymore. He dropped his head softly on a pillow and mumbled, “little sister, Yiyi… let’s talk more tomorrow, I’m sleepy…”

Sitting beside the bed, Zheng Ping stroked Yun Yanhui’s face lovingly, whose eyelids were glued for he was exhausted. She uttered with a grin, “you’re so tired. That’s your elder sister, not little sister.”

Yun Yanhui yawned lazily, “Shuangyi promised me.”

“It is true, I promised that I’ll be his younger sister,” said Shuangyi solemnly and nodded.

Zheng Ping was not aware of when they decided to reach such a fatuous consensus. She found it amusing regardless. “Alright, alright, she’ll be your younger sister. Yan’er has to take care of his sister.”

“Certainly…” Yun Yanhui dozed off as soon as the words escaped from between his lips.

***

Early the next morning, Yun Yanhui was aroused from his deep slumber by Shuangyi and Liu Ye. He felt his way out of bed and, not finding Xiaobao, stepped down on a wooden stool[3], then trod lightly outside to catch a glimpse of the two girls.

Shuangyi and Liu Ye were spiritedly playing house, with Xiaobao as the husband and the rag doll as his wife. The two of them were acting as the servant girl and the cook.

Xiaobao tossed the doll on the ground, unwilling to play his role.

Shuangyi patiently taught Xiaobao to be gentle to his wife.

Once she raised her head, Shuangyi spotted Yun Yanhui. With eyes sparkling brighter than the most priceless gems, she posed a question. “Sister Liu Ye, why don’t we ask Brother Yan to be the husband?”

Yun Yanhui: “…”

The moment Shuangyi dragged him over, Yun Yanhui knew he stood no chance to escape. Xiaobao, nescient of his mood, reached out his arms, demanding a hug.

Shuangyi gingerly put a flower behind Xiaobao’s ear. “Well, Xiaobao can be the Second Lady[4].”

After a little while of hesitation, Liu Ye corrected her. “What do you mean by Second Lady? Xiaobao is a boy, he should be the Second Son[5].”

Shuangyi gnawed at her nail, “what?”

She glanced between Xiaobao and Yun Yanhui. She didn’t understand very well. In the end, Yun Yanhui begrudgingly agreed to marry Xiaobao. 

However, Liu Ye was just as nonchalant about the matter. “Never mind, the Second Lady shall be the Second Lady. Let’s each serve one of them.”

Yun Yanhui: “…”

Once the girls were drained of energy, Zheng Ping brought a couple of steamed buns for them to munch on, and the medicinal herbs she had received from the monk yesterday were decocted for them to drink the extract.

Shuangyi’s palate was invaded by a bitter tang. Yun Yanhui instructed her to close her eyes and hold her nose with one hand so that she could not discern the flavor. After gulping the liquid down, she immediately rinsed her mouth and the taste gradually dissipated.

In fact, savoring the food depended to a great extent on one’s sense of smell. There’d been the method of pinching one’s nose circulating since ancient times; it might not work effectively if a person were to not hold their nose tightly.

As for Yun Yanhui, he didn’t bother doing that and chugged the drink bravely.

Shuangyi stared at him admiringly. “You’re so amazing, Brother Yan.”

Zheng Ping, on the other hand, announced that she would give some of her embroidery to the great monk[6] and bring them to the Daxiangguo Temple next time in order to return the generous gift.

Naturally, Shuangyi heaped praise on the decision. Yun Yanhui had no objections. Though, he was understandably fretful to not end up selling Amway[7] products just like the great monk. However, it’s reassuring to think that Zheng Ping wouldn’t send her only son to be a monk when her husband didn’t return home yet.

You are reading story The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty at novel35.com

***

The next time Zheng Ping went to Xiuxiang to deliver her embroidery ware, she took Yun Yanhui and Shuangyi along with her; afterwards, she made a trip to the Daxiangguo Temple.

 Seeing Yun Yanhui, the monk beamed and asked if he could still recall him.

Yun Yanhui merely returned the smile without uttering a word.

His hand caressed Yun Yanhui’s head tenderly and complemented Zheng Ping’s fanciful embroidery, inviting them to dine with him.

If truth be told, Zheng Ping did not use any particular needling technique, and he was only polite. Zheng Ping, who had repeatedly refused to accept the invitation, said that he would only need Yun Yanhui to come more often and listen to the Dharma.

His wish to sell his medicinal goods caused Zheng Ping to feel a tad helpless, making her muse on ways to send something back in order to express her appreciation. 

The place where the guests were invited was inside the temple.

Calling the interior a storefront was a bit of a stretch, when it was currently only used as a kitchen, by the monk who was an adept at cooking, to enjoy a meal in private.

The monk was a member of the younger generation, and when he saw Yun Yanhui, he welcomed him warmly.

When Yun Yanhui stumbled upon the table of delicacies, he had initially expected to glimpse only dishes with tofu and vegetables…

He took the initiative to talk about the repast, “this roasted pork from Zhu Yuan[8] is out of this world. Huiming[9] is well-known for his skill far and near.”

Yun Yanhui: “…”

Even if he kept in mind the fact that monks from his day and age and these monks were different and were allowed to consume meat; however, due to various factors influencing his judgment, he could not touch the meat in front of the monks.

Yet, now that they had arrived, he settled down and waited with a remarkable forbearance for them to dig in.

He eventually spoke about this location to them. This place was originally called Burning Pork Courtyard, a rather simple and crude name. It was later changed to Burning Vermilion Courtyard[10]. This was, after all, a site for monks.

Watching the roasted pork astounded Yun Yanhui ━ how could there be such succulent, mouth-watering pork in this world!

His family seldom ate meat. They were deprived of roasted pork for such a long time, that every single bite was savored and chewed slowly. After a mouthful, Yun Yanhui could literally discern the taste of absolute contentment.

Although the pigs raised in the Northern Song had their meat unprocessed and toothsome, Huiming’s roasted pork lacked the usual fragrance. It was unknown whether it’s due to a combination of carefully selected ingredients or the method of preparation and cooking was unique.

He had visited countless cities in modern times to film interviews, gobbling up any local gourmet food, high and low-priced alike. However, this roasted pork from the Daxiangguo Temple could also be regarded as a delicacy.

Yun Yanhui was at first tentatively nibbling at the meat, but the finger-licking taste kept him coming for another and another bite, until he finished it. He yearned for the next time he’d visit the temple and devour the roasted pork of the Burning Vermilion Courtyard. He had genuinely reconsidered becoming a monk, living on this cooked meat and making money.

Though he belatedly realized that he had no intention of inadvertently planting willows and willows to form shade[11], this young man was unbelievably cordial with him after eating the roasted pork. He felt happy at once and added another Buddha to Xianglan[12]!

***

[1]Not necessarily his name, 乳名 means an infant’s name/child’s pet name, so it could be a nickname; notice the ’er 儿 at the end, which is a diminutive marker, term of endearment (equivalent to the English -ie, -y ending of a name, for example, Elizabeth – Liz, Lizzie); pretty sure his name is Liu Tiao (or something along the lines), therefore I decided to clarify it in a footnote, rather than translate it as his ‘nickname’

[2]Author used the term 萝莉 which means ‘loli’ but I changed it in case some are not familiar with the word

[3]Not your usual wooden stool, but one that apparently was common during the Song Dynasty and it looks like this (I must admit translating this paragraph destroyed my remaining cells)

[4]夫人 which literally means the concubine of an emperor 

[5]Pretty sure the 郎 from 二郎 means ‘man’, so Liu Ye actually meant Second Husband lol, hence Shuangyi’s confusion

[6]Chinese google told me this was no normal monk, but a well educated, cultivated monk

[7]Reminder (this is a copy paste of the previous chapter’s footnote): Chinese google tells me Amway is pretty popular in the pharmacy market, more info could be easily found on the internet!

[8]Literally translated as Vermilion Courtyard. A lot of famous scholars during the Northern Song Dynasty praised the roasted pork from Zhu Yuan; apparently this food was even coveted by the emperor

[9]it’s true, the Chinese google confirms this fact: the monk Huiming from Daxiangguo Temple during the Northern Song Dynasty was REALLY good at cooking, and many came only to taste his meals, and the Zen temple he was in was renamed ‘Roasted/Burning Pork Courtyard’ because of this LOL. Also, I read that a famous poet from the Song Dynasty actually wanted Huiming to change the name of his ‘special’ meal and ‘special’ temple because of how insulting it sounded lmao

[10]The characters from ‘pork’ and ‘vermilion’ sound the same, but are different

[11]A common idiom which means that sometimes something is accidentally or not deliberately forced, but it achieves unexpected results

[12]The provincial name of the Daxiangguo Temple in Song Bianjing (now Kaifeng City, Henan Province)

You can find story with these keywords: The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty, Read The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty, The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty novel, The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty book, The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty story, The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty full, The Little Officials of the Song Dynasty Latest Chapter