As the year-end approached, unlike the deserted market of previous days, today’s Ji Shi was bustling with crowds despite the gloomy weather.
A cold wind blew, shaking accumulated snow from the eaves that scattered down the necks of those standing beneath. The icy sensation made one person shiver uncontrollably.
Shen Zhihe spotted the comical movement from afar, her lips pursing slightly as she raised a hand to brush hair from her forehead, concealing her rising smile. Standing by the street, she could hear endless vendor calls. With mealtime approaching, food stalls had already set up along the road, their steaming heat mingling with food aromas that rode the cold wind straight into the siblings’ noses.
Catching the fragrance, Shen Zhian’s stomach emitted a sudden rumble. Embarrassed, he immediately hid his face in his cloak, the tips of his ears flushing pink. Noticing this, Shen Zhihe looked up to see numerous flags fluttering throughout the market, with tea shops and taverns lining the streets. With the New Year approaching, every face glowed with cheerful smiles.
Suddenly, a rich aroma drifted from nearby. Shen Zhihe turned to see a newly opened meat patty stall. The vendor heated his pan, scooped oil from a container beside him, and poured it in. The scent of hot oil instantly bloomed. Then the Old Man deftly grabbed a slightly yellowish dough ball from a basin, scooped pre-marinated meat filling into it, and with just a few skilled manipulations, transformed it into a round patty.
The vendor then placed the patty into the sizzling oil. After about half an hour, the pale golden crust gradually turned crisp and golden brown under the oil’s fierce heat. Just as the patty achieved perfect crispiness, the vendor swiftly grabbed long chopsticks from the table, lifted the patty, and placed it on a draining rack.
Golden oil droplets slid slowly off the patty, falling onto the metal plate beneath the rack. In the cold weather, the droplets quickly cooled and solidified into pale yellow solids.
“Young lady, care to try? This Old Man has been selling patties at this market for over ten years. I only use premium beef for the filling – chopped fine first thing in the morning, mixed with five-spice powder and soy sauce, then topped with a handful of fresh green scallions. Wrapped in dough and fried in bubbling oil, the flavor is simply marvelous.”
The vendor was an elderly man who, noticing the jade-like siblings standing before his stall for some time, set down his tools and spoke with a smile.
Just as the old man mentioned five-spice powder, Shen Zhihe’s brow twitched slightly. Since Zhi An was hungry anyway, and she hadn’t tasted beef since arriving here, her face blossomed into a smile as she told the vendor: “We’ll take two, grandfather. How much?”
“Ten coppers each, twenty coppers total.” After accepting the copper coins from Shen Zhihe, the vendor used oiled paper to wrap two freshly fried, still-steaming patties and handed them to her.
Shen Zhihe carefully arranged the oiled paper wrapping, examining it from different angles until satisfied that Shen Zhian could comfortably hold it while eating. But contrary to expectations, the ravenously hungry boy didn’t start eating immediately upon receiving the patty – he waited for his older sister to join him.
“The bond between you siblings is truly heartwarming.” Taking advantage of the lull before customers arrived, the elderly vendor sat on a low stool, watching the siblings’ interactions with a warm smile in his clouded eyes.
“Yes, Elder Sister is Zhi An’s dearest person.” Hearing this, Shen Zhian turned to the vendor and, noting his kindly expression, stood proudly in front of Shen Zhihe as he spoke.
Shen Zhihe looked down at her young brother who barely reached her waist, her eyes glimmering with fragmented yet tender light. Ever since she had awakened, no matter the danger, Zhi An would stubbornly suppress his fear to stand protectively before her. She took a bite of the stuffed pastry in her hand, rich broth bursting in her mouth.
Though the broth was flavorful, it seemed to lack something. Shen Zhihe pondered briefly before realizing the old man had only mentioned adding scallions, not ginger—indeed, she detected no ginger flavor. Consequently, the beef still carried a faint trace of gaminess. Moreover, the five-spice powder she tasted seemed different from what she remembered using in her previous life. Still, the pastry shell was fried to perfect crispness.
With that single bite, the broth-soaked shell erupted in her mouth amid aromas of oil and toasted dough.
After quickly finishing the pastry, Shen Zhihe bowed to the old man and led Shen Zhian deeper into the market along the street. Occasionally, boisterous children darted through the crowd at play, their parents following behind with laughing admonitions to be careful.
Suddenly jostled by a running child, Shen Zhihe swiftly steadied herself against a nearby post. The chasing parent offered an apologetic smile before leading the mischievous child away by the ear. When she glanced at her brother, she noticed a flicker of envy in his eyes as he watched them.
Seeing this, Shen Zhihe waved cheerfully at the departing figures before her gaze settled on a malt sugar vendor crafting various sweets nearby. Gently ruffling Shen Zhian’s hair, she said softly, “Zhi An, your sister will buy you some candy.”
The streets echoed with overlapping vendor calls, and among the bustling crowd, Shen Zhihe noticed numerous peddlers shouldering poles of goods as they hawked their wares.
While leading Shen Zhian toward the butcher shop, she suddenly spotted a peddler conducting business nearby. His open crate appeared to contain some dried mushrooms. A thought striking her, Shen Zhihe hurried toward him.
“Sir, how much for these?” She observed what seemed to be dried hazel mushrooms from a distance—one of the key ingredients for the Northeastern specialty “chicken stewed with mushrooms” from her memories. Speaking of Northeastern cuisine, she wondered if this Northern Border might correspond to the Northeast she knew.
“These mushrooms normally cost five coppers per catty, but there isn’t much left. If you want them, young lady, I’ll give you a deal—ten coppers for the entire lot.” The peddler casually scooped up a handful of hazel mushrooms for her inspection.
The mushrooms appeared to have been sun-dried before storage, carrying a faint scent of autumn sunlight beneath their earthy fragrance. Shen Zhihe estimated the quantity in the crate—though the dried mushrooms looked voluminous without moisture, they’d likely weigh less than three catties. “Please wrap them up for me,” she said.
Shen Zhihe carried a bulging bundle of hazel mushrooms, thinking to herself what a pleasant surprise. From what she understood, these mushrooms seemed to have medicinal properties. If she could eventually manage to secure a shop, it would be wonderful to introduce medicinal cuisine in the future.
With a full load, Shen Zhihe led Shen Zhian home with light, brisk steps. Having spent a long time at the Ji Shi today, she had gained a general understanding of the ingredients and food sold at the Northern Border. The ingredients and seasonings were largely similar to those in later times, except that the spices she commonly used seemed to need to be purchased from an herbal medicine shop. The spice shop she had visited a few days ago was not particularly well-stocked either.
Meat was also quite similar to later times, but people at the Northern Border seemed to eat very little pork, likely because of its strong flavor. Beef and mutton were regulated by the authorities, but fortunately, the Northern Border was a remote area where government control was not too strict, so they could still get quite a bit. However, the prices were high, and ordinary families could hardly afford to eat them every day.
With this in mind, Shen Zhihe had a plan. Although the money she had on hand was still far from enough to open an eatery, it was never wrong to prepare in advance.
As she pondered, the siblings spotted Wang Niangzi and Wang Dalan standing in front of their courtyard gate from a distance. Faintly visible behind them was a young girl shrinking back. Seeing this, Shen Zhihe quickened her pace. Noticing the three of them shivering with pale faces, she wondered why they had waited outside her courtyard gate when the Wang family lived right next door.
“Why are you waiting outside, Niangzi?”
Wang Niangzi gave an awkward smile and pulled the girl hiding behind her to the front. “Little lady, this is my second daughter. She works as a cook in the Qin Jia’s kitchen on the street, but this clumsy girl is so inept that the food she makes is barely edible. The employer wants to demote her to a fire-tending maid. The monthly pay for a cook and a fire-tending maid is quite different. Could you please teach her a thing or two?”
Shen Zhihe’s gaze swept over Wang Niangzi before finally settling on Wang Er Ya’s face. The girl looked about the same age as her current body—thin-faced, with sunken eye sockets and even her hair appearing dry and yellowish. Her frame was extremely frail, likely due to long-term malnutrition.
While Shen Zhihe was observing Wang Er Ya, the latter was also studying her. She saw Shen Zhihe wrapped in a lotus-root-colored cloak, her fair, rosy cheeks tucked into the cloak, making her look especially delicate and charming. Wang Er Ya’s eyes drifted downward to the young child beside Shen Zhihe. His slightly chubby cheeks were adorned with a pair of bright, dark eyes, now staring at her curiously.
After a moment, a cold wind swept by, making the Wang family shiver uncontrollably. Wang Niangzi, seeing Shen Zhihe silent and with downcast eyes, bit her lip and was about to speak.
“Then, Wang Er Ya, come with me. I won’t keep you two any longer. Please make sure to grind those beans, Big Brother Wang.” Shen Zhihe beckoned to Wang Er Ya, then opened the courtyard gate and pulled the cart into the yard.
Wang Niangzi, seeing Wang Er Ya standing there dumbfounded, pinched her waist in frustration. Only when Wang Er Ya let out a pained cry did she release her grip. Leaning close to her ear, she whispered, “Watch that little lady carefully and learn all her recipes. If you fail to learn them, I’ll marry you off to that crippled Zhao at the end of the village.”
“Understood, Mother.” Wang Erya lowered her gaze, hiding the tears in her eyes as she followed Shen Zhihe into the house. Initially thinking she had merely changed locations to be mistreated, she immediately began searching for a broom to clean for Shen Zhihe upon entering.
But before her hand could touch the broom, she heard a gentle young voice beside her say, “Second Lady must not have eaten yet. Come help me light the fire. Today we’re having braised chicken with mushrooms.”
Hearing this, Wang Erya jerked her head up, disbelief flooding her eyes. As the only daughter in her family, she had been scolded into growing up by her mother. Though she did all the household chores, she never even got a full meal—let alone meat. Just the thought of it made her mouth water. She wiped her lips and hurried after Shen Zhihe toward the kitchen.
“Zhi An, go pour a cup of hot tea for Second Lady,” Shen Zhihe called out to Shen Zhian trailing behind them, her peripheral glance catching Wang Erya’s frost-paled lips.
“Shen Xiaoniangzi, there’s no need for this. My mother sent me here to learn a trade,” Wang Erya said anxiously, twisting the faded edges of her washed-out clothes.
To her surprise, Shen Zhihe’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled lightly and complained, “One needs energy to work, especially since I’ll be troubling you to light the fire for me. Zhi An is still young and often makes a poor job of it—I’m constantly getting smoked out by the fumes.”