Splash, splash—
Steaming, jade-white liquid poured slowly from the earthenware cauldron into pottery vessels of every shape: square-mouthed pitchers, round-mouthed pitchers, garlic-bulb flasks, and cocoon-shaped jars.
“So much? All of this is to be bestowed upon us?” Zao Hu was rather astonished. “For Gongzhu to grant the lesser officials of the Shaofu two *jin* of jade nectar to taste is already an immense favor. We are grateful beyond measure. But this… surely there are four or five jin here?”
Ying Yang blinked. She realized that her earlier words had been ambiguous.
“Ha ha! Shaofu Qing, I didn’t explain myself clearly. When I said I would set aside two jin, I meant two jin of shu beans to be ground into…”
She paused, then chose a different way of explaining it.
“The proportions of beans and water matter when grinding the milk. I wanted a rich flavor, so I used one jin of beans to six jin of water. That means one jin of yellow soybeans can yield approximately six jin of soy milk.”
One jin of fresh soybeans, with water added, could produce anywhere from five to ten jin of soy milk. The precise yield depended on several factors: the variety of soybean, how long it had been soaked, the amount of water added, and how effectively the grinding equipment broke down the beans. If one disregarded the resulting loss of concentration, a second round of filtering could increase the yield further.
Ying Yang had gone to all this trouble not merely to get something to eat, but to eat something delicious. Today she had used the proportions favored by breakfast shops in her previous life. Soy milk cooked fresh on the spot smelled especially wonderful!
More and more people gathered around. Those who happened to be “passing by” heard their colleagues say that Gongzhu was willing to bestow some novel jade nectar upon the Shaofu officials. Their eyes lit up. Exclaiming, “Marvelous, marvelous!” they edged toward the front of the crowd.
Some of the more quick-witted observers surveyed the faces around them and recognized quite a few men of high office and noble rank. They slipped quietly out of the gathering, found a servant performing odd jobs nearby, and sent him running with messages to summon their own “connections” to join the excitement.
“One jin of beans makes six jin of jade nectar?”
Zao Hu accidentally plucked several hairs from his beard. Grimacing with pain, he pressed hard on the sore spot, hissing through his teeth.
Something vague flickered through his mind—bright, scattered fragments of an idea that had not yet taken shape.
Before he could make sense of them, a solid object was placed in his hand.
Looking down, he discovered a lacquered ear-cup filled eight-tenths of the way with jade nectar.
Ying Yang was holding a lacquered ear-cup herself, black with a red rim and decorated with scrolling cloud patterns. Such cups had oval bowls and a pair of projecting handles. Compared with the round, straight-sided zhi, their broader surfaces allowed heat to dissipate more quickly.
Ying Yang blew gently across her drink. When the soy milk had cooled a little, she ventured a tentative sip.
Its fragrant molecules seemed to burst through her mouth and nose.
This body had never tasted much beyond inferior milk, weak wine, faintly rank minced meat, porridge without the fragrance of grain, and pickled vegetables whose only flavor was salt. Yet it possessed a nose and tongue sensitive enough to be the envy of any chef or food critic. Worse—or better—it was still in childhood, when the number of taste buds was at its peak and sweetness and pungent flavors could be perceived with particular intensity.
She had been able to eat the food of Qin without betraying her disgust—even when it seemed little better than the swill fed to pigs in her former life—only because an adult soul dwelt within this small body. She understood that in Qin times a full stomach was no small blessing. Food could not be wasted.
After saving up her longing and enduring for more than a month, she had finally made something that satisfied her own sense of taste!
*Soy milk! I love you!*
Tears welled in Ying Yang’s eyes. Without adding so much as a drop of honey, she gulped down a whole cup of thick, unsweetened soy milk.
Only when the cup was empty did she release a long sigh of utter bliss.
“Haaaah—”
“Haaaah—”
“Hot! Hot! Hot—!”
Ying Yang was young. Her little puffs of breath were feeble, and she could not endure much heat. Although she had received her cup early, she finished drinking later than some of the others.
Across the crowded courtyard, sighs of satisfaction rose one after another, mingled with the yelps and sharp intakes of breath of those who had drunk too impatiently—and the laughter of their colleagues.
“Many thanks to Gongzhu for bestowing this jade nectar!”
The officials were men of rank and education, and their superiors and the guards stood watching. They therefore formed an orderly line of their own accord. Before accepting their portions, each bowed to Ying Yang and offered his thanks. Then they withdrew to the side, their faces radiant, to gather with acquaintances and converse while they struggled against their own watering mouths and waited for the delicious drink to cool.
When it had cooled enough, they lifted the jade-like liquid and took a sip.
The bearded Qin officials in their formal caps narrowed their eyes with pleasure. It was smooth on the tongue and sweet upon the palate.
Who would have imagined that humble shu beans could taste so wonderfully fragrant and sweet?
A harmonious mood settled over the courtyard. There was the pleasure of an unfamiliar delicacy, the delight of stealing a little leisure from work to gossip, and the honor of receiving a gift from a royal daughter.
The usually solemn Qin officials were enjoying a rare moment of ease. They stood in twos and threes beneath the trees or along the verandas, cups in hand, laughing and talking.
Every one of them wore a beard. Their hair was braided into sections, wound into topknots, and covered by rectangular board-like caps, flat in front and raised behind. Their straight-hemmed zhiju robes allowed freedom of movement. Some had wide sleeves and wore silk outer robes; others were dressed in finer plain cloth, with narrower sleeves.
The sight left Ying Yang momentarily dazed.
It was as though the terracotta warriors in her memory had emerged, one by one, from their long slumber beneath the earth and come alive before her eyes.
They were living history.
Ying Yang set down her lacquered ear-cup. Joining the tips of her thumbs and forefingers to form a frame, she took several steps backward, found an angle with a pleasing composition, and made the gesture of taking a photograph.
A few veteran officials who had been on battlefields sensed something and turned sharp gazes in her direction. When they saw that it was the little Gongzhu, they instinctively lowered their heads or bent at the waist.
Only afterward did it occur to them to wonder what her peculiar gesture meant.
Amid this scene of perfect harmony, the prudent and experienced Zuo Cheng, Zhang Sheng, approached his superior with some unease.
“May I venture to advise Shaofu Zhu to order everyone back to their posts as soon as possible? If a censor on inspection were to encounter this scene…”
Qin was a state governed by exacting laws. Officials leaving their posts during working hours to eat, drink, and chat—dozens of people from one government office collectively shirking their duties—was called dereliction of duty!
Zao Hu waved a hand.
“Ziteng, you are too cautious. Today Gongzhu has given us the essential methods for producing these ingenious articles. Now she has bestowed jade nectar upon us. How could we slight her by refusing her kindness? Even if an inspecting censor learned of it, what crime could he charge me with? Let everyone finish eating and drinking, then return to their desks.”
“Nuo,” Zhang Sheng replied.
A trace of worry still lingered on his face. He quietly sipped his soy milk, but by the time the cup was empty, the furrow between his brows had relaxed without his noticing.
Shaofu Zhu was right. How much work could the officials of the Shaofu possibly lose by resting for a few quarters of an hour?
“Zhang Zuo Cheng, would you care to taste some tofu pudding?”
“Wei!” Zhang Sheng answered automatically.
When he recovered his senses, he found that a bowl of an unfamiliar, snowy-white delicacy had appeared in his hands.
The conscientious Zuo Cheng felt a little uneasy. He ought to remind his colleagues and subordinates later that, while Gongzhu was visiting, they absolutely must not allow the deadlines or quality of their work to suffer. Otherwise, someone with malicious intentions might use the matter to speak ill of her.
Ying Yang scooped up a spoonful of precious honey.
Clear amber sweetness flowed slowly over the tofu pudding, white and soft as clouds. She took a delicate mouthful, and the sweetness, mingled with the fragrance of soybeans, slid down her throat.
Her eyes narrowed blissfully.
Yes! That’s the taste!
She felt a pang of regret all the same. White sugar would not be available anytime soon. And there was rose jam, osmanthus syrup, taro balls, watermelon, mango…
“Bring some of the finest meat sauce!” Zao Hu bellowed at his servant. “Your old man—ah, ahem! Today my eyes have truly been opened! Gongzhu! Are these all delicacies you encountered among the immortals? They’re delicious!”
He reminisced aloud.
“Once, by the grace of the former king, I had the good fortune to taste a kind of milk-cheese pastry. The ingredients were difficult to obtain, and the preparation took great time and effort. It was tribute from the frontier regions. Yet this bean… cheese of yours is every bit as delicious as dairy cheese, and far cheaper!”
Xia Wuqie, standing nearby, could not resist joining in.
“Shaofu Zhu speaks truly! This humble minister’s household is not wealthy, but even my family could afford this jade-bean cheese.”
Ying Yang asked with genuine concern, “And the common people? Could ordinary people afford foods made from soybeans? *Shu* beans are inexpensive and easy to obtain. With the right tools to process them, they can become foods that are both delicious and nourishing. If these foods could be widely adopted, ordinary families might improve their diets and strengthen their bodies.”
Zao Hu suddenly understood.
*That* was the idea that had been hovering indistinctly in his mind earlier!
Could foods made from *shu* beans be spread among the people? Could they benefit the poor?
He fell into thought.
After a while, Zao Hu gave his answer.
Author’s Note
Tofu pudding with white sugar is so delicious!
I once ordered spicy beef-offal tofu pudding in Chengdu. All I can say is that I overestimated myself.
I can eat spicy food, but when it comes to tofu pudding, I’m firmly on the sweet side!