As Chen Fulang cleaned the wild greens, he couldn't help marveling at how good the batch his husband had brought back this time really was.
Fresh, tender, and glistening with moisture—they snapped with a single pinch, and gave off a clean, fresh scent.
Like the newest, tenderest, best sprouts just come up from the field.
The handful of greens wasn't much, and they would shrink after blanching—only enough for a single dish.
Chen Fulang thought it over and decided to make a cold wild-vegetable salad, adding just a tiny bit of sesame oil.
Oil was precious, and sesame oil even more so. Only wealthy households could afford to eat it, and they would even donate sesame oil lamps to temples and Daoist monasteries.
The sesame oil in their household had been traded for with quite a lot of malt candy, and even then they'd only gotten a little.
If it weren't for the fact that the third son's husband simply couldn't keep any food down—not even a bit of lard—the family would never have gone and traded for a little sesame oil, just so his belly could have at least a bit of oiliness.
After blanching, the wild greens were chopped fine, with a little soy sauce added for saltiness. Once tossed well and drizzled with two drops of sesame oil, the fragrance of the sesame oil instantly spread, wrapping around the fresh scent of the greens and the salty savor of the soy sauce. Just from the smell alone, Chen Fulang couldn't help swallowing.
At the Chen family's dinner table, Yuan-ge'er, the third son's husband, waddled over to the table with his big belly. The moment he sat down and caught the smell of the food, he covered his mouth and nose, unable to hold back the urge to retch.
That uncontrollable wave of nausea rose up, and tears covered Yuan-ge'er's thin, gaunt face.
He blamed himself for being so useless—he couldn't even eat, and not only was he ruining his own body, the child would suffer too.
Yuan-ge'er made to get up from the table. If he stayed any longer, he was afraid he would vomit right then and there.
Seeing his son-in-law in this state, Chen Fulang felt as awful as if his heart were being fried in oil.
How could a person go without eating? Especially someone carrying a child—if this kept up, it might well cost a life.
"Yuan-ge'er, if you can't eat anything else, try this cold wild-vegetable salad. I added two drops of sesame oil just for you—it's not lard. Give it a try."
Chen Fulang pushed the cold wild-vegetable salad closer to Yuan-ge'er. Yuan-ge'er had been about to say he couldn't eat—he was afraid of even the smell of food.
Because he'd been covering his mouth and nose the whole time, he was finding it hard to breathe. When Yuan-ge'er loosened his grip a little to catch his breath, he happened to catch, amid that greasy smell, a refreshing coolness that felt wonderfully soothing.
Yuan-ge'er froze for a moment. He looked down at the cold wild-vegetable salad in front of him, tentatively let go of his nose, and leaned in to sniff.
The refreshing feeling grew even stronger. Yuan-ge'er couldn't help swallowing—he wanted to eat it.
Seeing this scene, the two Chen elders and Third Brother Chen couldn't help feeling a surge of joy.
He didn't vomit even smelling it up close—there was hope!
Yuan-ge'er himself was overjoyed too. No urge to vomit meant he could eat.
Could he finally eat something?
Yuan-ge'er eagerly picked up his chopsticks and brought a small bite of the cold wild greens to his mouth.
Blanching had removed much of the bitterness, and the greens weren't overly soft—they had a slight crispness when chewed.
The soy sauce was just right, a touch of saltiness within the crispness—perfectly seasoned.
The sesame oil was mellow and fragrant, filling the mouth with flavor.
Delicious!
Yuan-ge'er's eyes lit up as he ate. The aftertaste held not only the fragrance of sesame oil but also an indescribable fresh sweetness.
But greens alone weren't enough. Seeing that his spouse could keep down the cold wild-vegetable salad, Third Brother Chen passed him a coarse-flour steamed bun.
The bun had some white flour mixed in, so it wasn't as dry and hard as pure coarse-flour ones.
Yuan-ge'er took the coarse flour bun, placed a chopstick-full of cold-dressed wild greens on top, and took a bite.
He chewed, swallowed, and ate it with the dish of cold-dressed wild greens. He ate two and a half coarse flour buns until his belly was full, and he never vomited once, all the way to the end.
"Oh my, Yuan-ge'er can keep food down now!" Chen Fulang said joyfully.
Taking his spouse's hand, he said happily, "Tomorrow, when you see that wild greens seller, you must be sure to buy plenty more. If I stir-fry dishes with wild greens, maybe Yuan-ge'er will be able to eat them too."
Old Mr. Chen nodded again and again. Seeing that his third son-in-law could keep food down, his heart swelled with joy too.
He never imagined that the wild greens he'd casually traded for today would turn out to solve his family's urgent need.
Yuan-ge'er rubbed his belly, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
This was wonderful. At last he could eat, so his child could grow well, and he could live on properly too.
……
Xu Family Restaurant.
It was the peak dining hour, and the kitchen and dining hall were busier than ever.
Each day's menu at the restaurant depended on the waiters calling out the dish names.
Or the customers would say what they wanted; if the restaurant had it, they'd make it directly. If not, the waiter would call out a similar dish, and the customer would decide whether it would do. If not, and they had nothing else they wanted to eat, then that customer was lost.
Business was good at the Xu Family Restaurant today, with tables turning over quickly.
Just as the place was about to close, a group of monks arrived outside.
These monks were dressed in worn, shabby robes, standing outside the door, hoping to beg for alms.
The proprietor of the Xu Family Restaurant was also the owner and the shop's bookkeeper.
His family was deeply devoted to the gods and Buddha, and he himself ate vegetarian food and chanted Buddha's name on the first and fifteenth of each month. One glance at the monks outside, and he recognized them as monks from Lancheng Temple out on their ascetic journey.
Lancheng Temple was one of the greatest temples in the capital. By temple rules, every three years the newly initiated monks were taken out on an ascetic journey.
The route was different each time, but each journey lasted at least a year, sometimes as long as three to five years.
During the journey, they could only travel on foot, and they could not touch money for food or lodging. If their begging for alms succeeded, they would then chant sutras and pray for blessings on the donor.
Shopkeeper Xu knew all this perfectly well and had long known that Lancheng Temple's monks would pass through Lanxi County on this journey, but he never expected them to pass through Qingyun Town, much less come begging for alms at his restaurant!
And a sutra-chanting blessing from Lancheng Temple's monks was, under normal circumstances, a privilege reserved for high officials, nobles, and imperial relatives.
For ordinary folk like them to receive it, the only chance was during the monks' ascetic journey—if they had the karmic fortune to encounter it.
When Shopkeeper Xu saw that group of monks outside the door, he froze completely, as if struck by lightning, entirely unable to react.
Monks begging for alms could not enter—they could only stand outside.
The waiters didn't know what to do for a moment—give or not give? If it were one or two monks, they'd just give something.
But this was a dozen or more; the amount to give would be no small thing.
The waiters couldn't decide whether to give much or little, so they could only call for the shopkeeper to decide.
After calling out several times, they finally brought the man back to his senses.
Shopkeeper Xu immediately told the waiter, "Quick, tell Chef Zhou to prepare some vegetarian dishes—lots of them!"
The waiter rushed to the kitchen with the message, leaving Zhou Niandong at a loss.
If it had been earlier, the kitchen would have had some vegetables to cook. But right now there was nothing at all—except a few catties of good meat.
But surely he couldn't serve meat to monks.
Even a clever wife cannot cook without rice. Zhou Niandong sighed and said, "The melons and vegetables have all been used up, but there's plenty of bean rice left. Why don't you go ask the shopkeeper if we can serve just bean rice?"
Bean rice was white rice cooked with soybeans mixed in—it cut costs while still filling people up.
How would the waiter dare bring that up? He had seen with his own eyes just how delighted the owner was that the monks had come to beg for alms.
Anxious, his brow furrowed and at a loss for what to do, he suddenly spotted a pile of wild greens in the corner. Delighted, he immediately said, "Uncle Zhou, didn't your relatives come bring you wild greens? I saw that they looked quite tender. They may not taste as good as regular vegetables, but they're still vegetables, and tender and fresh at that. I'll go ask the owner if we can use them. If he agrees, Uncle Zhou, could you spare some of those wild greens?"
Zhou Niandong of course was willing—he had more wild greens than his family could finish eating anyway.
With Zhou Niandong's agreement, the waiter hurried to the front to report.
At that moment, Shopkeeper Xu was standing outside the door conversing with the head monk, his whole bearing calm and peaceful. The waiter judged it a good moment, gave Shopkeeper Xu a tug, and pulled him aside to speak with him.
When Shopkeeper Xu first heard that the kitchen had no vegetables left, only bean rice, he felt a wave of disappointment. But then, hearing that Chef Zhou's relatives had brought extremely tender wild greens that Chef Zhou could spare for the masters, Shopkeeper Xu brightened up again.
He quickly said to the masters, "There's nothing else in the kitchen, only wild greens. If the masters don't mind, I'll have the cook prepare some right away, served with bean rice."
The head monk pressed his palms together. "Amitabha, thank you, benefactor."
Shopkeeper Xu pressed his palms together as well, murmured "Amitabha," and smilingly urged the waiter to notify the kitchen to start cooking, instructing him to tell the kitchen to use sesame oil.
The Xu family restaurant was neither large nor small. Besides Shopkeeper Xu, there was one waiter, one odd-jobber for washing dishes and vegetables, and Zhou Niandong, who handled the cooking and the shopping.
At the moment, Shopkeeper Xu was outside listening to the monks expound on Buddhist teachings, and the few scattered diners in the main hall pricked up their ears to listen as well.
The waiter, the odd-jobber, and Zhou Niandong all busied themselves in the back kitchen.
The wild greens had to be washed clean, and with over a dozen people to feed, a good deal was needed.
Zhou Niandong planned to stir-fry them.
The greens were blanched and cut into sections. He heated oil in a hot wok, added the greens along with soybean paste and seasonings, and a savory aroma spread through the back kitchen.
The stir-fry was soon done, without keeping anyone waiting long.
They loaded the freshly cooked stir-fried wild greens into a wooden basin, picked up the rice bucket, and the three of them headed to the front together.
As they passed through the main hall, the fragrance of the stir-fried greens wafted along the way, making the diners in the hall swallow involuntarily—some of them were actually starting to crave something light.
The monks' iron alms bowls were filled half with bean rice and half with wild greens; every bowl was filled the same way.
They lodged outdoors and could not be too particular about their meals. With rice and dishes packed together like this, they could simply mix it all up when eating, and each of them could eat directly from the bowl with a spoon. They could taste both rice and dishes at the same time, which made eating more convenient.
Having succeeded in their alms round, the monks all sat down and began chanting sutras to offer blessings.
The chanting drew quite a crowd, and the onlookers were all very devout.
Shopkeeper Xu listened to the chanting, palms pressed together, bowing his head devoutly with eyes closed.
When the chanting ended and he opened his eyes, they were slightly moist.
After seeing the cultivating monks of Lancheng Temple off, the surrounding shopkeepers all looked at the Xu family restaurant with envy.
Those were monks of Lancheng Temple chanting sutras and offering blessings, after all.
Shopkeeper Xu truly had good fortune.
The diners in the main hall had listened to the sutra chanting along with everyone else, and they took it as if the sutra had been recited for them too. To have monks from Lancheng Temple chant and pray blessings on one's behalf—without a karmic bond with Buddha, such a thing would be hard to come by even with ten thousand gold.
Looking down at the unfinished meat dishes, they no longer wanted to eat them; they would take them along and give them to any beggars they met on the way. Thinking of the aroma of the stir-fried wild greens they had smelled earlier, they all wanted to order some to try.
When the waiter saw the customers wanting to order stir-fried wild greens, he was at a loss—wild greens weren't exactly a restaurant ingredient.
He had no choice but to go consult the shopkeeper again. Shopkeeper Xu simply went straight to Zhou Niandong and asked whether he would sell the wild greens.
Zhou Niandong naturally said yes. He named his price for the greens—fifty wen, not much—and Shopkeeper Xu bought them all on the spot.
He also left a large handful for Zhou Niandong. "These wild greens really saved the day today. Take this portion home for yourself. Oh, and stir-fry another plate for me to take home too."
When Shopkeeper Xu was packing up the dishes for the monks, he too was captivated by their fragrance.
It was the first time in his life he had ever wanted so badly to eat wild greens from the fields.
Zhou Niandong agreed with a smile and hurried off to stir-fry the dish.
The customers didn't have to wait long before they were served the stir-fried wild greens.
The crisp texture paired with the savory bean paste, with a refreshing aftertaste of the greens themselves—they had no idea when the wild greens that grew everywhere in the fields had become so delicious.
Sure enough, vegetables were best when at their freshest and most tender; overgrown wild greens were nothing but bitterness, hard to swallow.
A plate of wild greens with a bowl of steaming hot bean rice, and the customers ate their fill—yet still wanted more.
If they hadn't been truly too full, they would have ordered another plate without question.
The monks of Lancheng Temple hurried out of the town and rested in a run-down temple just outside it.
The food they had received as alms in their iron alms bowls had gone slightly cold. They built a small fire to warm it, and soon the aroma of the food wafted through the air.
The wild greens were tender and refreshing, the bean paste savory, the beans soft. The rice wrapped around the crisp, salty wild greens and the soft beans—one bite was truly delicious.
The monks' eyes lit up. They had eaten plenty of wild greens in their time, but this was the first time they had tasted any so good.
There was an indescribable freshness to it. After a hearty meal, they felt refreshed in body and mind, most of their weariness swept away.
The head monk savored the meal carefully and felt his mind grow clear, gaining many insights.
He took out brush and ink from his traveling chest and wrote down everything—the taste and texture of the wild greens mixed with rice, his thoughts after eating, and his insights into the Buddha's teachings.
The younger monks helped by grinding the ink and lighting the oil lamp.
Half an hour later, the young monk gently urged him, "Master, it's getting late. Why not continue writing tomorrow?"
The old monk shook his head. "The new volume of the Lancheng Travel Records must be delivered to Moyu Study as soon as possible. It's the turn of spring into summer, and the children at the Ciji Home are frail. The sooner I hand over the manuscript, the sooner money can be sent to the Home—whether for food or medicine, every bit helps."
The Lancheng Travel Records were compiled by the wandering monks of Lancheng Temple.
They recorded sights and experiences from various places—mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas; culture and geography; the life of the streets; clothing, food, shelter, and travel; and reflections on Buddhist teachings.
And because they were compiled by monks of Lancheng Temple, the travel records were famous throughout the Zhou Dynasty, read by high officials, nobles, and even members of the imperial family.
Sales had always been good, and all the proceeds were used by Lancheng Temple for charity—whether setting up porridge stations or donating to the orphans at the Ciji Home. Wherever disaster struck, Lancheng Temple invariably made a donation.
This was precisely why the Lancheng Temple monks enjoyed such a great reputation, status, and influence in the hearts of the common people.
There were even storytellers who performed "The Travels of Lancheng" specially, and it spread far and wide. From noble royalty down to peddlers and laborers, nearly everyone had heard its contents.
The old monk wrote for another half an hour, carefully describing the taste of wild greens mixed with rice, and after finishing, he felt somewhat hungry again.
Indulging one's appetite was not a good thing, so the old monk tidied up and chanted sutras several times before he could calm his mind.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but while chanting today, he felt all the knots in his heart dissolve. His thoughts wandered freely, and there was an ineffable, mystical feeling he could not put into words.
Early the next morning, Shopkeeper Xu arrived at the restaurant and, seeing Zhou Niandong, smiled and told him that the stir-fried wild greens last night were truly delicious, and asked him to stir-fry the rest today. He planned to take some home at noon—the one plate last night hadn't been enough for his whole family.
Zhou Niandong immediately agreed.
It wasn't just Shopkeeper Xu who found them delicious—the helpers and laborers who also got to eat some last night thought the taste was excellent.
Especially mixed with rice—they were simply fragrant!
Thinking of it now, they wanted to eat them again.
Shopkeeper Xu hadn't intended to sell the wild greens. The four plates sold last night were only because of the Lancheng Temple monks.
A plate of wild greens stir-fried with sesame oil sold for three coins—the price was for those few drops of sesame oil.
There was no profit in it at all, and such a good source of wild greens wouldn't be reliable. If he truly made a dish of them to sell, it would be thankless effort.
Shopkeeper Xu figured he'd just eat a few meals himself and be done with it once they were finished.
What he hadn't expected was that before noon even arrived, last night's diners came bringing their whole families, specifically ordering the stir-fried wild greens with bean rice.
Meanwhile, in Shenjiagou, Shen Song, Shen Yi'an, and Shen Sanqiu were laboriously digging up wild greens.
Shen Song had originally used the Blessed Land Technique to prepare the wild greens, so last night they could have gone straight to dig them up.
But when they went last night, all the wild greens were gone.
The spot was remote, and people couldn't easily find it.
But the animals in the woods could find it. Crops infused with spiritual energy were loved not just by people, but by animals too.
The few patches Shen Song had cultivated had been devoured clean by the little animals of the forest—not a blade of grass was left; they had gnawed everything down to the bare earth.
Shen Song didn't dare use the Blessed Land Technique in the woods at night anymore—he was afraid of attracting fierce beasts.
So, after daybreak, Shen Song quietly found a more secluded spot and used the Blessed Land Technique, then called Shen Yi'an and Shen Sanqiu, and the three of them buried their heads in digging.