Little Taotie rummaged through its meager pouch but found nothing valuable to exchange with Yuan Niang. Yet having already boasted, it couldn’t afford to lose face! Beads of sweat formed from anxiety.
Yuan Niang watched its restless shuffling and deliberately provoked: “Were you just bluffing earlier?”
“Pah! Of course not!” Little Taotie grabbed its tail tip, nibbled it in frustration, and dashed off after throwing out a “Just you wait!”
Yet moments later, it reappeared with renewed confidence, slapping a package before Yuan Niang: “This! Is this substantial enough?”
Yuan Niang’s eyes widened upon closer inspection – it was unmistakably a packet of yogurt fermentation culture! With this, she could make yogurt!
“Passable,” she feigned indifference, though internally she was overjoyed. Quickly suppressing her rising smile, she swiftly stored the item in her inventory, fearing the little creature might change its mind.
“Milk tea, milk tea!” Little Taotie urged.
“Patience, you’ll get yours.” Satisfied, Yuan Niang filled Little Taotie’s round-horned cup with milk tea.
Little Taotie leaped with joy, bouncing three feet high!
Yuan Niang deliberately straightened her face: “That ‘Primary School Poetry Anthology’ you traded me – why does it only contain one snow-themed poem from Zheng Banqiao after the Tang and Song dynasties? I got mocked by schoolchildren because of it!”
Little Taotie took a satisfied sip of milk tea: “Serves you right! Zheng Banqiao wrote about plum blossoms, yet you misattributed it to snow. Who else should they laugh at?”
“Hey!” Yuan Niang fumed again. “What? You expect me to strike a pose and recite ‘Spring in a Garden of Qin · Snow’ to dominate the Great Song with a single poem? Aren’t you afraid I might be arrested for insulting Song ancestors and beheaded? Where would you go for your feasts then?!”
Little Taotie choked on its milk tea: “I hadn’t considered that! But you really picked your time – transmigrating to the Northern Song, even plagiarism isn’t easy here.” It pondered, scratched its belly with a tiny claw, and activated the poetry generator module.
“Input a scene and it produces poetry. A divine tool,” Little Taotie declared.
Yuan Niang tested the poetry generator by entering a scenario.
Little Taotie reminded: “Women must be self-reliant! This is only for emergencies. Don’t depend on it too much – the poems it generates are limited in quality, never matching those written by true poets.”
Yuan Niang nodded in understanding. Scanning the verses on the screen, some lines felt vaguely familiar – “The momentum still shocks from the horse’s head,” “We arrive at sixteen southern provinces,” “Flying into reed catkins, all disappear.” Upon closer reflection, she gasped: “You rascal! Did you connect to Emperor Qianlong’s database?!”
Little Taotie frowned: “They’re all post-Song dynasty works anyway. I just picked the largest data cluster I found!”
Yuan Niang swiftly shut down the poetry generator, sneering: “You unreliable Little Taotie! Why would I pick up Qianlong’s leftovers when I can learn from Su Shi?!”
Little Taotie gave her a big thumbs-up with its tiny claw: “Well said! That’s the spirit!”
Yuan Niang placed her hands on her hips, determined to study diligently and improve daily!
The pot of hot tea was finished among the group. Chen Ge’er licked his lips wistfully: “I want more!”
Su Mai mercilessly exposed him: “Are you sure there’s still room in your stomach? It’s not time to secretly ask Golden Lion Cub for reinforcements, is it?”
Chen Ge’er retorted defiantly: “This is just liquid fullness, it’ll go down soon.”
Su Shi set down his teacup and said to the children: “Come, let’s bring your mother some good things to taste too!”
Carrying Yuan Niang, Su Shi went to the kitchen to brew another pot. Wang Runzhi shared some with Ren Momo, Chao Yun, and Fu Shuang. Chen Ge’er continued drinking milk tea with his mother, and the whole family gathered around the stove, enjoying steaming hot milk tea together.
Su Shi said with proud dignity: “This red bean milk tea is quite good, isn’t it? Will you still say I’m recklessly wasting things this time?”
Yuan Niang found herself caught between tears and laughter – so her master was here to clear his name.
Ren Momo hugged Yuan Niang and said with a smile: “Seeing Yuan Niang like this reminds me of when the master and Ninth Third Brother were young.”
Su Shi was momentarily startled, then joined in the laughter.
The others looked puzzled. Su Shi sighed with emotion: “That was so many years ago, it’s remarkable that you still remember, Momo.”
Ren Momo simply smiled without speaking – it was hard to forget, after all Ninth Third Brother had come home crying back then! Even more miserably than Yuan Niang!
Chen Ge’er, who loved gossip, approached Su Shi and asked: “Sounds like there’s a story here! Tell us, Father! Tell us!”
Su Shi rubbed his nose and warned: “If I tell you, you mustn’t mention it to your uncle! And if you do mention it, don’t say you heard it from me!”
Chen Ge’er readily agreed: “You can rest assured about that – even if I wanted to tell, I’ve nowhere to tell! Uncle is in Chenzhou now!”
Su Mai quietly asked Wang Runzhi: “Mother, why do I feel Father seems somewhat guilty?”
Wang Runzhi smiled faintly: “Great minds think alike.”
Su Shi looked around the circle before beginning his story: “When we were young, your uncle and I studied in the school with several friends. It happened to be raining, and a friend suggested we admire the rain while composing linked verses. Everyone agreed. One said: ‘The courtyard pine reclines as if drunk.’ Someone continued: ‘The summer rain bleak resembles autumn.’ After this gentleman finished, everyone started teasing us Su brothers. So I continued: ‘A guest chants aloud, holding his nose.’ Can you guess how your uncle responded?”
Everyone shook their heads.
Su Shi continued laughing: “He responded: ‘No one shares steamed buns to eat.’ Everyone collapsed with laughter.”
Su Mai and Chen Ge’er laughed too.
Yuan Niang blinked and asked: “Master, was this response wrong?”
“Nothing wrong with it,” Su Shi answered.
“Then why was everyone laughing?” Yuan Niang asked, still puzzled.
Su Shi patiently explained: “At that time, the Xikun style was popular. After being far-fetchedly interpreted by those Confucian scholars at the Imperial Academy, the path of poetry became increasingly narrow. People of that time considered perilous, strange, and mysterious words superior. They thought your uncle’s response was crude, simple, and unexpected, hence the uproarious laughter.”
Yuan Niang asked further: “How strange! Since ancient times, wine can enter poetry, chicken and pork can enter poetry, wild rice can enter poetry – why can’t steamed buns? Not only can’t they enter poetry, but they even get laughed at?”
Hearing this, Su Shi laughed: “No wonder Momo remembered this old story. Your uncle asked the same question back then. You two are truly kindred spirits! In your teacher’s view, there’s nothing wrong with including steamed buns in poetry.”
Su Shi spoke with righteous fervor, but Su Mai sensed some exaggeration in his father’s words. He couldn’t help interjecting quietly, “Wasn’t Father the one laughing the loudest among that group, laughing so hard you made Uncle completely lose his composure?”
Su Shi coughed awkwardly twice, “Who hasn’t been young and frivolous?!”
Yuan Niang smiled and defused the tension, “From summer rain to steamed buns – truly unexpected.”
Chen Ge’er, uninterested in the poetry chain, immediately asked, “What did those steamed buns that Uncle remembers so fondly look like? Were they delicious?!”
Su Mai tapped his brother’s forehead, “You certainly know how to focus on the important things! As if there were actually steamed buns just sitting there!”
Su Shi shook his head gently and interrupted, “There actually were! Your uncle was eating mushroom steamed buns by himself at the time.”
“Ah? Were they delicious?” Chen Ge’er asked curiously.
Su Shi stroked his chin and replied, “The best steamed buns in this world are none other than mushroom steamed buns.”
Wang Runzhi said, “In that case, let’s have mushroom steamed buns for our evening meal.”
Ren Momo said, “There are still some dried mushrooms in the cupboard.”
The cook said, “We haven’t used the fresh mushrooms purchased today yet.”
Chao Yun, after washing her hands, said, “Quickly soak some dried mushrooms in warm water. We’ll use both dried and fresh ones.”
After everyone finished their milk tea, they busily set to work again. Su Shi carried Yuan Niang and led Su Mai and his brother toward the study. Yan Qing happened to be approaching and said, “Sir, there’s a letter from Chenzhou.”
Overjoyed, Su Shi placed Yuan Niang on the bamboo chair in the study. While tearing open the letter, he laughed and said, “Has Ziyou grown ears that hear everything? Speak of Cao Cao and his letter arrives!”
After reading the letter, Su Shi glanced at the small square box in Yan Qiu’s hands and ordered him to open it. Inside were various colorful little trinkets.
Su Shi smiled, “These are small gifts from Wan Niang to Yuan Niang.”
Hmm? Yuan Niang curiously leaned over to look. They were popular little toys from Chenzhou, along with a fragrant sachet. Next to the sachet lay a folded paper that read: “Hello Yuan Niang, this is my first time holding a brush to write a letter. I don’t know many characters, but I have much to say.” Some characters were neatly written while others appeared childish, suggesting Wan Niang had sought help from her older siblings while writing. The image of an adorable little girl vividly sprang to life before Yuan Niang’s eyes.
Yuan Niang continued reading: “These are gifts I bought for you during the Lantern Festival. I hope you like them. Or you could come to Chenzhou, and we could go buy fun things together. The sachet was made by Mother, and I filled it with spices. It’s fragrant and smells wonderful.”
Yuan Niang blinked and smiled.
The gifts weren’t particularly valuable, but they were filled with Wan Niang’s sincere affection.
Although she had never met Su Zhe’s family members, she had always admired the brotherly affection between the Su brothers. Her master was a good person, and his niece was equally delightful.
Yuan Niang touched the sachet solemnly and declared, “I want to write back to Wan Niang.”
So she sat at her desk and began writing meticulously. She knew many characters, though there were differences between complex and simplified forms. She would have her master help revise it later before making a clean copy. The letter described her amusing experiences in the Su household, embarrassing moments at school, and the new red bean milk tea she had tasted – page after page of lively writing.
Though she had never met Wan Niang in person, she already very much wanted to be good friends with her.
According to Chen Ge’er, Wan Niang was the same age as her, only six months older. She truly wished she could meet Wan Niang soon.
Finally, she handed the letter to Su Shi for revision while sneaking aside to pick a gift for Wan Niang. After much deliberation left and right, she still felt unsatisfied. Looking up, she asked Chen Ge’er, “Second Brother, what does Wan Niang like?”
Chen Ge’er scratched his head and said, “A slingshot?”
Su Mai patted his shoulder and remarked, “That’s what you like! For Wan Niang, bring her a pair of clay figurines, Hangzhou’s lotus root thread candy, and don’t all you young girls like little bags!”
Yuan Niang nodded repeatedly but still felt something was missing.
Chen Ge’er added, “The red bean milk tea we had today was quite good. Why not send some to Wan Niang?”
Yuan Niang slapped her thigh and exclaimed, “Great idea!”
Thus, Su Shi lost the cost of a dairy cow!
Since milk was too expensive and his younger brother lived frugally—certainly unwilling to buy it—he had someone purchase a cow and deliver it to them. He also asked Biancai for some fermented tea leaves and the tea brewing recipe Yuan Niang had written, sending everything together.