Yuan Niang looked up at the table – among all these delicacies, she only recognized the bowl of white rice before her! She couldn’t name any of the other dishes specifically, as their preparation and appearance differed greatly from later generations.
Chen Ge’er sat beside her and whispered, “We’re having vegetarian feast today. These are all dishes the old monks at the temple love to eat.”
Yuan Niang felt deeply moved. From what she knew, her master actually preferred meat – hadn’t he invented the famous Dongpo Fish, Dongpo Pork, and grilled lamb spine?! But these were all stories from later times. Currently, she was in mourning period, and the Su Family had prepared a full vegetarian feast to accommodate her arrival, which touched her profoundly.
She picked up a piece of bamboo shoot. The winter bamboo shoot’s delicate, fresh sweetness stood out remarkably. It seemed no extra seasonings had been added, focusing instead on showcasing the ingredient’s natural flavor. Truly worthy of a top gourmet’s vegetarian feast – genuinely delicious, and she loved it.
She couldn’t resist taking another piece of fresh bamboo shoot. Chen Ge’er misinterpreted this action, thinking she couldn’t reach the dishes further away since the snow bamboo shoots were closest to her. Though mischievous, the little fellow was attentive and quick to help. Using serving chopsticks, he began transferring various dishes from across the table to Yuan Niang’s bowl. Noticing her gaze, he coaxed, “Go ahead and eat. Father says children should eat well.”
Su Shi smiled faintly and placed food from his chopsticks into Yuan Niang’s bowl, saying softly, “This Lotus Pocket is a new recipe I obtained from a friend. Quite flavorful – do try it.”
Yuan Niang looked up and saw what resembled modern shaomai, except it was wrapped in translucent dough skin and filled not with meat or glutinous rice, but with diced winter bamboo shoots, mushroom cubes, crushed almonds, chopped walnuts, lotus root dice, along with some ingredients and seasonings she couldn’t identify. Taking a small bite, the skin proved chewy and springy while the filling burst with fresh fragrance, creating a uniquely distinctive flavor completely different from later-era shaomai or grandmother’s mixed grain buns.
She just wondered slightly – why was this called Lotus Pocket?
Chen Ge’er seemed to sense her confusion and secretly told her: “Father and others say taking a bite feels like lotus blooming on the tongue, quite elegant and interesting, hence the name Lotus Pocket. But if you ask me, eating lamb makes you feel like lambs dancing on your tongue – then your tongue could be named Great Grassland!”
This childish remark made Yuan Niang laugh.
Su Shi quietly stuffed a piece of vegetarian “goose” into his son’s mouth, saying, “No talking during meals or resting – mouth sealed.”
Wang Runzhi gently commented, “Chen Ge’er does have a point actually. The reason it’s called Lotus Pocket is really because its shape resembles lotus holding lotus seeds.”
Yuan Niang examined it carefully – indeed it was! Only then did she notice the Lotus Pocket’s wrapper was emerald green, perfectly capturing both form and spirit, complete in color, aroma, and taste. The seasonings used in the filling also differed greatly from later times – besides sesame oil and salt, she couldn’t guess what else might be there, though she knew these two seasonings alone couldn’t create such unique flavor.
Finally, a maid placed before Yuan Niang a bowl of soup emitting plum blossom fragrance. The clear broth revealed faint pink, plum blossom-shaped dough slices floating within. She recognized this immediately – having researched it before – this was the legendary Plum Blossom Soup!
She had once tried recreating it using passed-down recipes, but whether due to incorrect proportions or other reasons, the flavor always turned out rather strange.
Perhaps it was her inherent bias against the Song Dynasty that sometimes made her evaluations of anything related to it less than fair.
She tentatively sniffed the fragrant broth—a subtle plum blossom aroma, remarkably similar to natural plum scent with ninety percent accuracy. She scooped a small spoonful and tasted it. Huh? How was this different from the flavor she had replicated?? It was delicious!
Yuan Niang felt tears welling up inside—it was so good it moved her to tears! Truly worthy of the Su family’s vegetarian cuisine! If she could eat like this every day, what would it matter if she were vegetarian for life?
The elegance of the Great Song was indeed well-deserved.
The meal was thoroughly satisfying, leaving Yuan Niang’s little belly round and full. Beside her, Chen Ge’er was also busy patting his full stomach.
But he was too restless to sit still. Seeing Yuan Niang had finished eating, he immediately tried to pull her outside to play.
Wang Runzhi quickly interjected, “Play inside the house. You’ve just eaten—don’t go out and catch a chill in the cold wind.”
“Understood, Mother.”
“Yes, Madam.”
The two children replied in unison.
Once they had walked hand-in-hand a short distance away, Chen Ge’er suddenly whispered to her, “Do you like playing with chubby dolls?”
“Huh?” Yuan Niang had outgrown playing with doll figures, but seeing the genuine excitement in this real child’s eyes, she replied, “It’s alright, I suppose.”
Chen Ge’er nodded solemnly and led her to a small alcove, saying, “Wait here for a moment.”
Assuming he had gone to fetch toys, Yuan Niang sat in the alcove to digest her meal.
A quarter of an hour later, Chen Ge’er returned, clattering with various items hanging all over him, and indeed carrying a two- or three-year-old child in his arms.
A large question mark slowly formed in Yuan Niang’s mind.
Chen Ge’er whispered, “Yuan Mei, help me out. This kid is really heavy—let’s work together to carry him to the bed.”
Seeing him struggling unsteadily, Yuan Niang feared he might accidentally drop the child, so she did her best to help him carry the toddler to the bed.
Once Chen Ge’er had settled the child, he freed his hands to unload the numerous packages and pouches from his person, arranging them one by one on the bedside.
Yuan Niang was puzzled by this—what was the meaning of it? She could only watch for now.
The child seemed to suffer from some deficiency; his body carried a strong medicinal odor. Normally, a child of that age should be able to walk, but when she helped Chen Ge’er support him, she could clearly feel his legs were weak and limp. A sudden realization dawned on her—could this be Su Dai?! It was said that Su Dai had been frail and sickly since childhood, unable to walk until after the age of four.
Chen Ge’er had already laid out the various bottles and jars. He explained to Yuan Niang, “This is my third brother, his childhood name is Shu Ji.”
Yuan Niang nodded in understanding—this child was indeed Su Dai.
Shu Ji was very fond of his second brother, babbling and reaching out to be held. Chen Ge’er soothed him, “Be good, Second Brother has a new game to play with you. Don’t make a sound—if anyone finds out, it won’t be good. They’ll take you back to drink medicine!”
Upon hearing this, Shu Ji’s eyes widened, and he instinctively covered his little mouth with his hands, signaling that he absolutely wouldn’t make a sound. He pleaded with his second brother not to send him back—he didn’t want to drink medicine. Medicine was bitter and unpleasant.
Chen Ge’er opened the assortment of bottles and jars spread across the bed. Yuan Niang saw they contained things like rouge and face powder, and she had no idea where he had gathered them from.
“Ah, our third brother is so handsome, but there’s someone even handsomer—watch your second brother’s magic hands!” Chen Ge’er said, scooping a spoonful of face powder into his palm, rubbing it evenly, and then slathering it onto the doll’s face, turning a perfectly fine child into a little imp.
Yuan Niang facepalmed and quietly took half a step back. She was certain he would get a beating and decided for now not to join in his mischief. Unexpectedly, Chen Ge’er suddenly turned around and, without a word, pressed a box of rouge into her palm, saying, “Don’t you like playing with chubby babies? Why are you hiding so far away? Come and play!”
Yuan Niang asked sincerely, “Won’t we get caught and beaten by Master and Mistress if we play like this?!”
Chen Ge’er patted his chest confidently and assured her, “Trust me, when the time comes, I’ll grab you and we’ll run together!”
But… even if the monk runs, the temple remains! Running away won’t solve the problem!
It was too late to say anything now. Yuan Niang held the rouge in her palm, on the verge of tears. She had done nothing and was already an accomplice.
After applying the face powder to the doll, Chen Ge’er dipped two fingers into the rouge in Yuan Niang’s palm and smeared it on the doll’s cheeks, turning its face into a comical, monkey-bottom red.
Chen Ge’er dabbed a dot of rouge between the doll’s eyebrows and smeared some on its lips, making it look like a little monster that had just eaten a child.
After scrutinizing his work for a moment, Chen Ge’er nodded in satisfaction. He pulled out an exquisitely crafted shell-shaped eyebrow pencil from somewhere and began drawing the doll’s eyebrows and eyes. After much effort, it still didn’t meet his expectations. He turned to Yuan Niang and said, “Wait here for a bit, I’ll be right back.” With that, he tossed the eyebrow pencil aside and ran off.
Yuan Niang’s heart raced, and she found it hard to breathe. She and the doll stared at each other, wide-eyed, in a room so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Fortunately, Chen Ge’er didn’t keep them waiting long. He returned holding a piece of ink, added water to the inkstone to dissolve it, and somehow produced a brush. He dipped the brush in the ink and, with great seriousness, painted the doll’s face for a while before nodding gravely and commenting, “Not bad, not bad.”
Seeing Chen Ge’er laugh, the doll laughed too, its grin making it even more ridiculous, with eyebrows like caterpillars. Yuan Niang couldn’t help but laugh along.
Footsteps sounded outside. Wang Runzhi wondered, “Where have the two children gone? Why is it so quiet?”
Su Shi replied, “When children are quiet, they’re definitely up to no good. Who knows where they’ve run off to cause trouble.”
As they spoke, the two lifted the curtain and entered the adjacent room. Su Shi added, “I’ve been busy with official matters at the yamen lately. I’m afraid you’ll have to take care of the household alone for a while.”
“Don’t mention it, it’s my duty,” Wang Runzhi replied.
Chen Ge’er had sharp ears. The moment he heard voices, he grabbed Yuan Niang and ran. Shu Ji, confused, reached out and called, “Second brother, sister…”
When Su Shi and his wife pushed the door open and saw the scene, their heads spun!!
Just then, Chao Yun rushed in and said, “Madam, it seems like bandits have raided your room—all the sisters’ rouge and face powder are missing!”
She looked up and saw Shu Ji’s appearance, and everything became clear. She slapped her forehead and exclaimed, “Oh, what is this all about?”
For a moment, everyone was both exasperated and amused. Su Shi chuckled as he picked up Shu Ji, saying, “This little rascal is quite mischievous. Whatever you sisters are missing, just put it on my account. Go to the steward and get some silver to cover the shortfall.”
Just then, a servant from the study came to report: “Sir, is there still enough paper in the Bamboo Pavilion? Just now, Chen Ge’er said you needed to write and specifically asked for brushes and ink…”
A vague sense of foreboding crept over Su Shi. He looked up and asked, “What exactly did he take?”
“The Zhuge brush that Master Ouyang gave you, and the Pan Gu inkstick…”
Before the servant could finish, Su Shi spotted the casually discarded brush and inkstick. The inkstick, for some reason, had broken into a small fragment.
Su Shi was utterly heartbroken!! He set Shu Ji down on the bed, stood up, and immediately assumed a starting stance: “Where is that little brat now? Bring that scoundrel here, I’ll #@%&/…”
Outside the window, Yuan Niang and Chen Ge’er, who had been eavesdropping stealthily, immediately took off running. As she ran, Yuan Niang marveled: Who would have thought such a great literary master would scold a child with such unfiltered language!