Today was originally the day for worshipping the Kitchen God, but the disruption caused by the Zhang father and son had delayed things considerably. Wang Runzhi had sent Chao Yun to the study several times to hurry them along, and finally the Zhang father and son tactfully took their leave.
Yuan Niang and Chen Ge’er walked ahead, with Su Shi following behind.
The kitchen was as bustling as ever. Today, the entire family had gathered neatly for the Kitchen God worship ceremony. Even the newborn Liu Lang was bundled up tightly and held by his wet nurse behind Wang Runzhi.
The kitchen altar was laden with sticky malt candies, joy balls, sweet bean porridge, and even a boiled pig’s head, two fresh fish, a bowl of sweet bean paste-filled rice balls, and a bowl of rice balls filled with spikenard powder. Similar to later customs, the offerings to the Kitchen God were predominantly sweet foods, hoping that when the Kitchen God ascended to heaven to meet the Jade Emperor, he would only speak of good deeds and say favorable words.
In later generations, such elaborate ceremonies were largely abandoned. Starting from Yuan Niang’s father’s generation, the Kitchen God worship tradition wasn’t heavily emphasized. She only vaguely remembered that in her early childhood, her elderly grandmother would be the only one who cared about this ritual. She would buy malt candies in advance, steam New Year cakes, make dumplings, and arrange them in palm-sized porcelain bowls before lighting incense and candles to kneel and worship the Kitchen God. Even the most sharp-tongued person would display utmost piety at this moment.
Back then, Yuan Niang didn’t understand – how could there possibly be a Kitchen God hiding in the stove? Wasn’t this sheer feudal superstition?! One should adhere to dialectical materialism and completely reject feudal superstitions.
Actually, the more people lack something, the more they yearn for it. Her grandmother’s acerbic nature had been shaped by impoverished circumstances, and the worship of the Kitchen God was merely an expression of hope and aspiration for a better life – it shouldn’t be mocked.
Yuan Niang secretly sighed. Some truths were understood too late – her grandmother had passed away many years ago, and no one in the family had the leisure to worship the Kitchen God anymore. Now, this ancient sense of ritual was being solemnly observed here, which felt quite marvelous.
Chen Ge’er had been secretly observing her expression, though he didn’t know what she was thinking. Assuming she was still bothered by the Zhang father and son’s visit, he held incense in one hand and grasped her small hand with the other, mouthing: “Don’t worry.”
Well, actually, both Ren Momo and Chen Ge’er’s wet nurse were keeping their eyes on Chen Ge’er, fearing this mischievous boy might cause trouble unexpectedly. Fortunately, at least today he was behaving himself.
Each family member was given three incense sticks, including Yuan Niang.
Su Shi recited the sacrificial text he had prepared earlier, burned it before the kitchen altar, and then solemnly offered the incense.
Yuan Niang had been previously taught by Fu Shuang about the proper etiquette for worship ceremonies. Now, with a stern little face, she was particularly serious, afraid of making any mistakes.
However, the mishap didn’t come from her – it came from right in front of her.
The worship ceremony proceeded according to seniority starting from the head of household. After Chen Ge’er, only Yuan Niang, Shu Ji, and Liu Lang remained to offer incense in the Su Family. Yet they got stuck at Chen Ge’er!
Somehow, he plopped down onto the kneeling cushion with a thud, mumbling something under his breath. He kept chanting for what seemed like forever, refusing to get up, all while maintaining an utterly serious expression!
Yuan Niang wasn’t particularly anxious, but Shu Ji and Liu Lang – one frail and the other young – shouldn’t stay outside for too long.
The longer everyone waited, the more puzzled they became. Chen Ge’er didn’t usually act like this – what was wrong with him today?
After about fifteen minutes, he finally took a deep breath, bowed three times, and offered up the incense that had already burned down a section.
Following Fu Shuang’s previous instructions, Yuan Niang solemnly performed the rituals and offered incense. Afterwards, Shu Ji, supported by his wet nurse, presented his incense, while Liu Lang’s wet nurse carried him to complete the offerings, thus concluding the Kitchen God ceremony.
Once the rites were completed, Su Shi and the younger ones were all shooed out of the kitchen for being underfoot.
As it was nearly time for the midday meal, Su Shi and the others didn’t return to the study but headed straight for the Bamboo Pavilion.
As the group walked in silence, Su Shi suddenly glanced at Chen Ge’er and remarked, “Punishing evil and eliminating falsehoods to manifest heavenly justice, promoting purity and cleansing corruption to rectify the celestial measure… Hmm, this petition carries some of Qu Yuan’s essence.”
Chen Ge’er flushed crimson and sheepishly rubbed his nose. “I was afraid Yuan Niang would be too embarrassed to speak up! Keeping grievances bottled up is so unpleasant! During the New Year, everyone should be joyful!”
Yuan Niang, startled, turned to ask, “Were you just petitioning the Kitchen God against Zhang Shi and his son?”
Chen Ge’er nodded. “Well, today the Kitchen God ascends to report to the Jade Emperor. I worried he might lack material, so I provided some topics.”
Yuan Niang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. While others made offerings to prevent the Kitchen God from reporting their misdeeds, here he was filing a complaint with the deity. Still, his protective gesture touched her. “Thank you, Second Brother.”
Chen Ge’er struck a pose of unwavering loyalty to his comrade, waving dismissively. “It’s nothing. What can I say? I’m just a good person! I’ve lodged your complaint, so don’t be upset anymore.”
Yuan Niang smiled. “I’m not upset.” She hadn’t even been dwelling on the matter—her solemn expression came from reminiscing about her previous life’s home, though this was not something to share.
“Then why were you so serious earlier? You weren’t smiling at all,” Chen Ge’er pressed.
“Wasn’t the Kitchen God ceremony a solemn occasion? How could we joke around during it?” Yuan Niang wiped her brow.
Chen Ge’er looked half-convinced.
Su Mai teased Chen Ge’er with a laugh, “I’m impressed you came up with so many phrases—you were muttering for quite a while.”
Chen Ge’er glanced at Su Shi and said breezily, “Well, with Father’s exemplary works before me, I just followed the pattern.”
Su Mai chuckled again. “When righteousness strikes, even poetry and essays don’t intimidate you.”
Chen Ge’er retorted, “Father often says children should cultivate noble spirit rather than excessive recitation. Today I was inspired by righteous energy—it’s a feeling you wouldn’t understand.”
This earnest declaration sent Su Mai into full laughter. “Aren’t you ashamed? You haven’t even started formal studies, yet you talk of noble spirit and literary inspiration!”
Chen Ge’er looked up at Su Shi and asked, “Father, should I be ashamed?”
Su Shi curved his lips into a smile. “No.”
Just as Chen Ge’er began to grin, Yuan Niang burst into giggles. “‘Shouldn’t be ashamed’ or ‘has no shame’?”
“Hey! I kindly drafted a petition to complain on your behalf before the Kitchen God, and you join these two in mocking me? Are we still the ultimate best friends or not?” Chen Ge’er protested.
“Yes, yes, yes! Sister Chao Yun, bring today’s sweet rice balls quickly—I’ll use them to glue shut his clever mouth!” Yuan Niang dodged Chen Ge’er’s playful grabs while laughing.
Fu Shuang approached with the food box, smiling. “No need to rush, Young Miss. They’re right here.”
Today was the day to worship the Kitchen God, so for lunch, they had to eat Er Yuan. The Er Yuan here was very similar to the tangyuan of later generations—also glutinous rice flour balls with fillings—but the fillings differed.
In later times, tangyuan mainly featured fillings like sesame, peanut, fruit, sweet red bean paste, fresh meat, mushroom and bamboo shoots, or pork and shepherd’s purse. For the more adventurous, there were even fillings like fermented tofu custard, durian cheese, or assorted curry. However, few people had likely ever tasted tangyuan filled with spikenard powder, which was quite common during the Great Song Dynasty, especially on the day of the Kitchen God worship.
Chen Ge’er sat at the dining table, studying the Er Yuan intently instead of immediately picking up his chopsticks—a stark contrast to his usual behavior.
Yuan Niang asked curiously, “Why are you just staring at these Er Yuan without eating? Don’t you love them the most?”
Chen Ge’er lowered his voice and whispered, “I do love them, but I’m afraid of getting the spikenard filling. You know what I mean?”
Yuan Niang shook her head; she didn’t understand, as she hadn’t tried it yet.
Chen Ge’er scooped one with a spoon, blew on it to cool it down, and placed it in Yuan Niang’s bowl. “It’s not hot anymore. Try it quickly—this one must be sweet red bean paste.”
Yuan Niang obediently picked it up with her spoon, blew on it gently, and took a small bite. The fragrance of red beans and the sweetness of milk sugar spread in her mouth simultaneously. The bean paste wasn’t overly ground, retaining a slight granular texture that enhanced the mouthfeel. Long live red bean paste Er Yuan—it was delicious, and she loved it!
By the time Chen Ge’er received Yuan Niang’s grateful look, he already sensed something was wrong. He had guessed that one was spikenard-filled! He had intended to play a prank on her, but the next moment, his face twisted into a bitter melon expression!!
How outrageous!! Why did he always end up with the spikenard-filled Er Yuan?! If only he hadn’t tried to tease her—he was surely being punished now!
Wang Runzhi laughed and said, “Don’t worry, this year’s spikenard was prepared with figwort and huadiao wine, and a bit of costus root was added when grinding it into powder after drying. It shouldn’t have any strange taste.”
Chen Ge’er frowned, stuck out his tongue, and kept asking for tea.
Su Mai quickly replaced his bowl with one containing only milk sugar and red bean paste Er Yuan, teasing, “Chen Er’s luck is indeed as consistent as ever!”
Seeing this, Yuan Niang grew even more curious about the taste of spikenard-filled Er Yuan. She had thought spikenard powder was licorice mixed with pine powder, but upon noticing the abandoned Er Yuan had a peculiar dark green color, she realized her guess was wrong.
Fu Shuang asked with a smile, “Is the young lady curious?”
Yuan Niang nodded emphatically. Fu Shuang used a communal spoon to scoop one for her, blew on it, and placed it in her bowl. “Young lady, try it quickly!”
Yuan Niang couldn’t wait and took a small bite. Hmm… it was strange, yet addictive. She couldn’t help but take a bigger bite, and an intensely rich aromatic flavor instantly burst and danced in her mouth—quite overpowering.
The first taste might be unaccustomed, but by the second and third bites… it became more and more addictive, similar to the unique experience of trying durian, coriander dumplings, or cold dressed Houttuynia cordata for the first time.
The spikenard-filled Er Yuan had a strong aromatic flavor. Because it was prepared with huadiao wine and figwort, it carried a subtle hint of wine and herbal notes. The taste was spicy-sweet with a barely noticeable bitterness and even a slight heat. Honestly, the flavor profile was quite complex.
Yuan Niang didn’t find it unpleasant; after finishing one, she scooped another.
Nanny Ren said with a gratified expression, “Young children have delicate stomachs, so you should eat more of this.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Ge’er shot Nanny Ren a resentful look, then lowered his head to eat his own milk candy and red bean paste-filled rice balls, keeping a respectful distance from the galangal powder-filled ones.
After a short while, Yuan Niang heard Chen Ge’er ask her, “Is it really that delicious?”
Yuan Niang nodded and said, “The flavor is quite good.”
Chen Ge’er looked at her with an indescribable expression and said, “Don’t you think there’s a hint of smelly feet in it?”
Hey, hey, hey?! What kind of terrible description is that? How could anyone describe a delicious food as having the flavor of smelly feet? Yuan Niang couldn’t understand—it was clearly very tasty!
No sooner had she finished speaking than she put down her tea spoon and asked for tea to drink.
Chen Ge’er stifled a laugh and said, “What did I say! What did I say! If you don’t listen to your second brother, you’ll suffer right before your eyes!”
Just as wine has a lingering effect, who would have thought that even a simple galangal powder-filled rice ball could have such a strong aftertaste? It really hits hard!