Song Xia had not expected Shen Huaijing to draw so well. Beyond his artistry, he was also remarkably quick-witted. Any key points Song Xia mentioned, Shen Huaijing could swiftly grasp after a moment’s thought and accurately render them onto paper.
Song Xia even began to suspect whether Shen Huaijing had seen a real curved-shaft plow before.
That was right—Song Xia intended to craft the curved-shaft plow, known as a bright pearl in the history of ancient agricultural development.
She was unsure if the curved-shaft plow had already been invented in this era, but in this remote little village, she had never seen anyone use one.
So she planned to draw up a diagram first and hire a carpenter to forge one.
When Shen Huaijing finished drawing and waited for the ink to dry, Song Xia stared at the blueprint in amazement.
“You said you were an amateur? This drawing is simply incredible!” Song Xia held up the paper, unable to put it down. This was a true treasure!
Hearing her praise, Shen Huaijing looked over with a gentle smile in his eyes. Song Xia stood before him, the orange candle flame reflecting on her face, her exquisite brows filled with undisguised joy. Shen Huaijing suddenly felt that days like this were quite pleasant.
Early the next morning, Song Xia arranged to head to the county town alongside the villagers.
Every so often, a few households from the village would band together to go to the county town to purchase daily groceries or sell gathered eggs and local specialties. This time, about three or four families traveled together.
Song Xia had drawn up a shopping list long beforehand, ready to spend a good amount once she arrived in the county town.
Upon hearing about the trip to the county town, Shen Chunming threw a fuss, insisting on coming along. Song Xia could not dissuade him and had no choice but to bring him along.
Thus, Shen Chunming became the only child in the group.
“Little Song, why are you bringing him along?” an old aunt asked on the road.
“He really wanted to see the county town. I thought since he wanted to go so badly, we might as well go together. He can also help me carry a few things when the time comes,” Song Xia explained with a smile.
“Aiya! You’re spoiling him too much!” The aunt shook her head in disapproval.
Song Xia merely offered a polite smile without saying more.
Sister-in-law Xing’er did not join Song Xia this time. She had no errands or supplies to buy, and every family had its own work to attend to, so Song Xia came out on her own.
To her surprise, however, there was an acquaintance in the group: Big Sister Wang, whom they had met on her first day in the village—the woman who had said she was taking pastries home for her child.
Big Sister Wang was still dressed plainly. Seeing Song Xia squeeze beside her to offer a warm greeting, she responded with an honest, gentle smile.
Chatting and laughing along the way, the group arrived together at the gates of the county town.
Song Xia had never closely examined what an ancient city gate looked like, but now she could stand at the entrance and take a proper look.
The gate was far grander than she had imagined. Massive brick walls rendered the battlements exceptionally imposing. On the ramparts, a few armor-clad soldiers stood guard, while below, sour-faced bailiffs directed people into orderly queues to enter the city.
Since Song Xia had nothing to sell, she and Shen Chunming queued with the ordinary townspeople entering the city. Big Sister Wang and the others joined the queue for those carrying goods of various sizes.
The two lines moved differently: Song Xia’s side only required household registration checks to pass through, whereas the villagers carrying goods had to pay a one-wen “market tax” before entering.
Because the two queues moved at different paces and everyone had their own errands and destinations, they agreed before queuing to gather at the city gate during the hour of the Monkey (3:00 PM – 5:00 PM) to return to the village together.
Thus, as soon as Song Xia entered the county town, she pulled Shen Chunming—who was curiously looking all around—straight toward the carpenter’s shop.
Upon reaching the shop and discussing the design with the old carpenter, Song Xia realized she had been somewhat naive.
Crafting an agricultural tool required selecting materials, processing them, and finally assembling the parts into a complete, usable tool. Making a simple hoe took two days, let alone something the carpenter had never built before; that would require far more time.
“If it takes a month to make, everything will be delayed!” Song Xia was stunned, having completely forgotten how underdeveloped ancient productivity was.
Just as Song Xia was pacing anxiously, the old carpenter examined the diagram carefully and offered a suggestion.
“Looking at this thing of yours, it resembles a straight plow, except one is straight and the other is curved, plus a few components I’ve never seen before.” The old carpenter stroked his beard and said, “I suggest you disassemble the parts and make them separately. That might speed things up.”
Hearing this suggestion, Song Xia caught on—of course! Hiring multiple carpenters to work simultaneously would be much faster!
However, there were only a few well-known carpenters in town. After inquiring thoroughly with the old carpenter, Song Xia formed a clear plan in her mind.
She broke down the more complex components and handed them to the finest carpenters in town, leaving the simpler parts for their apprentices. To receive the completed curved-shaft plow sooner and with better quality, Song Xia paid extra to jump the queue.
With this major task settled, Song Xia finally had the leisure to wander through the county town.
This county town was quite a bit smaller than the one where the Shen family’s original home was located, but since it was Song Xia’s first time visiting a county town, everything still felt novel to her.
Although it differed greatly from television dramas, it was just as lively.
Peddlers lined the streets, shouting their wares. The colorful assortment of foods was dazzling, and delicious aromas drifted straight into one’s nose.
Shen Chunming had been well-behaved along the way, but now he clutched Song Xia’s sleeve, unwilling to move another step.
Song Xia turned her head and saw piping-hot steamed meat buns.
“Sister-in-law, I’m hungry…” Shen Chunming stared intently at the baozi stall, his eyes practically glued to the steamer baskets.
Song Xia’s mouth also watered at the sight, and her stomach began to rumble.
She was no better off than Shen Chunming. Song Xia herself was a carnivore, and ever since transmigrating here, she had been eating a vegetarian diet for nearly a month! Seeing meat buns now nearly drove her wild with craving.
“Come on, Sister-in-law will buy you some baozi!” Song Xia patted her coin purse and made a prompt decision.
“Yay!” Hearing Song Xia say this, Shen Chunming instantly bounced up with joy.
At eight wen per meat bun, Song Xia generously bought two and handed one to Shen Chunming.
After Shen Chunming devoured his in a flash, he stared at the remaining half in Song Xia’s hand.
“What are you looking at? You’ve already eaten yours; this one is mine.” Song Xia refused to indulge his bad habit, stuffing the remaining half into her mouth in two bites and teasingly shaking her head at him, making him pout in frustration.
Having eaten meat, Song Xia was in a wonderful mood as she strolled slowly down the street with Shen Chunming.
Though the market was lively, it was also quite chaotic.
In just a short stretch of the road, Song Xia felt no fewer than three pickpockets bump into her.
Fortunately, before coming out, Song Xia had specially sewn a hidden pocket inside her clothes to hold her money. Hiding one’s wealth was essential, especially in a place like this.
Before long, the two of them arrived at an exceptionally grand shop.
A candy and sugar shop.
Seeing this shop, Song Xia suddenly remembered the hawthorns stored at home. After a moment’s thought, she pulled Shen Chunming into the store.
Upon entering, a sweet aroma greeted them—the distinct smell unique to sugar shops.
Noticing customers entering, the shop assistant smartly stepped forward to greet them.
Although Song Xia and Shen Chunming were not dressed in lavish clothes, their posture and demeanor set them apart from common farmhands. The assistant surmised they were maidservants sent from some wealthy household to purchase sugar, so he welcomed them with a beaming smile.
“Are you two looking to buy some sugar delicacies? We have milk sugar, ten-variety candies, and other styles. What would you like to take a look at?”
“I’ll just browse first.” Song Xia walked around the shop slowly. As expected, there were only common candies and preserved fruits here, with no sign of sweet-and-sour treats like hawthorn cake.
Having formed a plan, Song Xia asked the assistant:
“Do you sell raw sugar here?”
“What a thing to say! We are a sugar shop; how could we not sell sugar?” The assistant chuckled at her question.
Song Xia shook her head and said, “I mean cane sugar or white sugar crystals.”
The assistant looked at Song Xia in surprise, not expecting this young lady to be looking for raw ingredients to prepare food.
“Ah, yes, we sell it! Our shop sells all kinds of sugar!” The assistant rapidly listed the prices for white sugar crystals.
Song Xia gasped inwardly at the price.
However, thinking of the hawthorn cake, she still decided to buy some to try out. Hawthorn cake and candied hawthorn skewers were sweet treats that remained popular for thousands of years! She did not believe the locals here would dislike them.
After bargaining back and forth in the shop, Song Xia finally managed to purchase ten jin of white sugar at a discount, and she even persuaded the merchant to throw in a small piece of maltose.
“You really know how to bargain,” the assistant said with a wry smile.
“Earning money isn’t easy for any of us. I’ll come back to your shop next time!” Though Song Xia had shaved down the price considerably, buying such a large package still made her heart bleed.
Sugar truly was a luxury item in ancient times!
Shen Chunming, on the other hand, showed little interest in sweets. Having grown up with no shortage of sugar, he had even ruined his teeth, so now the mere sight of sugar gave him a toothache.
Thus, he was thoroughly puzzled by Song Xia buying so much sugar.
“Why are you buying so much sugar? Are you making pastries?” Shen Chunming asked.
“That’s right. Didn’t I promise to make delicious treats for you? Now we can try it out when we get home!” Song Xia whispered mysteriously to Shen Chunming.
“Sweets? I don’t care for them; I want to eat meat!” Shen Chunming rejected the idea mercilessly.
“I saw you eating those pastries at home just fine. How come you don’t like them now?” Now it was Song Xia’s turn to be puzzled.
“That was only because there was nothing else at home!” Shen Chunming rolled his eyes at Song Xia.
Seeing his reaction, Song Xia continued to coax him:
“This treat is different. Trust me, it will definitely taste amazing!”
“Really?” Shen Chunming asked, half-believing.
“Really!” Song Xia promised him, adding, “Also, Ah Ming, rest assured—besides sugar, we’ll have meat sooner or later too!”
Song Xia and Shen Chunming were the first to arrive and wait at the city gates. Before long, the villagers filed out one by one. Unlike when they entered, the goods in their shoulder baskets had been replaced with household groceries, and the group returned home fully laden.
Once back home, Song Xia began researching how to make hawthorn cake.
In her past life, Song Xia often visited the countryside and was frequently treated to home-cooked food and drinks by the villagers, many of which she had learned to make alongside them. Hawthorn cake, being a snack of modest difficulty, was easy to learn and widely enjoyed.
Song Xia recalled her memories from her past life before getting to work.
First, she washed all the hawthorns clean, selecting the redder and sweeter fruits, and removed the stems and seeds.
Next, she placed the hawthorns and sugar into a pot with water according to the ratio, simmering them until the fruit flesh turned soft and mushy. Then she took the cooked hawthorn pulp and crushed it repeatedly in a stone mortar until it turned into a smooth puree. Returning it to the pot, she simmered it again until the puree grew thick and sticky, hanging from the spoon without dropping.
After pouring the cooked hawthorn puree into a bowl, Song Xia looked up and noticed the sky was already growing faint with dawn. Only then did she realize she had been working through the entire night.
Exhausted, she placed the bowl of hawthorn puree into a bucket and lowered it into the well to chill and set. The temperature inside the well was very low; in her village back then, Song Xia often enjoyed chilled fruits that her uncles and aunts retrieved from wells—fruits chilled this way tasted even better than those kept in a refrigerator!
After setting everything in place, Song Xia picked up a charcoal strip and wrote a quick note, pressing it down at the wellhead to prevent Shen Huaijing from accidentally knocking over the bucket when drawing water in the morning. Then, yawning deeply, she plunged into her bed to enjoy a wonderful sleep.