Chapter 34.1 Candied Hawthorn
As soon as she opened her eyes in the morning, Shen Shaoguang discerned something different— it was cold and abnormally bright outside.
Huddled in her blanket, Shen Shaoguang pushed open the window just a crack and was immediately hit by cold air. Shen Shaoguang silvered, looked outside, and saw a field of white. It had been cloudy for two days, the snow had finally come down.
This was the third snow this winter. The first two were only little flurries, as if just casually and would stop before anyone could enjoy it. The thin layer on the roof ridge and the branches were insipid, whilst the precipitation that landed on the ground was trampled by people and horses alike, turning into dark slush. The people of Chang'an, who planned to celebrate the snow with a banquet, could only drop the idea discontentedly.
However this time, the snow rained aplenty. It had unknowingly begun during the lates of night, the ground was already covered with a thick layer, yet the snow didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon as it continued to cascade voluminously.
Since they no longer sold breakfast, there was plenty of time in the morning. Thus Shen Shaoguang leisurely woke up A’Yuan while slowly getting dressed.
After changing into proper attire, A’Yuan was about to head to the storefront to fetch hot water when Shen Shaoguang said to her, "Can you check what Yu San is making for breakfast today?"
Ah Yuan cheerfully agreed, and brought the hot water soon after.
"He says we’re having mutton noodles this morning!"
Shen Shaoguang nodded and smiled, "Great choice!" It was a delight to have a warm bowl of mutton noodle soup for breakfast during a cold winter day. Princess Yu San was really adept at arranging meals.
After adding the adjusted warm water into the mouthwash cup and washbasin, Shen Shaoguang brushed her teeth with some edible salt, and then cleansed her face. By the time she was done, so was A’Yuan.
A’Yuan went to dump the residual water while Shen Shaoguang combed her hair.
Shen Shaoguang enjoyed wearing Hufu garments, every set of winter clothes she made this winter were all Hufu styles. Her outfit today was amber in color, with motley fox fur on the collar. If someone with a darker or more shallow complexion were to wear this color, they would look like a walking decoction. However, since Shen Shaoguang was quite fair, the ordinary Yong Province brocade material looked almost expensive on her.
In order to match the clothes, Shen Shaoguang combed a simple and neat Huihu Bun[1], and filled in her brows to look like swords[2]. Looking at their Miss’ straight shoulders, slender waist, and long legs, wearing a body tucking gown with narrow sleeves, a wide belt[3], A’Yuan’s initial reaction was to praise, "So beautiful!"
Shen Shaoguang knew she was a perfect being in A'Yuan's eyes, so she was somewhat immune to her endless flattery.
"Even better looking than Deputy Magistrate Lin!" A’Yuan adopted the use of contrast rhetoric to increase the credibility of her words.
"..." Shen Shaoguang turned her head and taught her, "This is called handsome, even more handsome than Deputy Magistrate Lin!"
A’Yuan nodded, and her vocabulary had once again expanded. However, she soon became depressed when she lowered her head to look at her stomach— even in this dynasty where fat was considered beautiful, A’Yuan had exceeded the standard.
She was put through an adequate amount of exercise each day, the problem laid in her consumption. Ever since A’Yuan followed Shen Shaoguang, it was as if she was inflated with air, and in a blink of an eye, she had become excessively round.
Shen Shaoguang was a little guilty, "Why don't you only eat 70% full from now on?"
Just as A’Yuan was about to nod her head, she recalled the aroma of mutton soup that she inhaled in the kitchen. She pursed her lips and asked Shen Shaoguang, "Can I begin during lunch time?"
Shen Shaoguang’s face was riddled with helplessness. "F–Fair enough."
When they headed to the front, the noodles were just about ready. The bowl was steaming hot, and emitted a tantalizing smell of cooked mutton.
Shen Shaoguang wasn’t in a hurry to taste the noodles, but instead took a sip of the soup first. Mmm, the minced mutton had been stir fried before it was stewed in the soup, and the added ground pepper was just right, delicious!
The noodles were also good; they were wide noodles, with a springy and chewy consistency. Shen Shaoguang couldn’t replicate these noodles, if anything, she lacked the strength to do so.
Shen Shaoguang gave a few words of praise, but Yu San remained indifferent. However, after Shen Shaoguang, who usually controlled her diet, personally finished a big bowl, with the other two holding their bulging stomachs, and the large pot completely empty of noodles, Yu San showed a contented smile in the end.
She really ate too much in the morning. Standing at the door, Shen Shaoguang looked at the unsullied snow on the ground, and shelved her intent on going for a walk.
Yu San said, "Fisher Qu Dalang might not be able to deliver any catch today. It’s hard to tell if the meat and vegetable sellers can also make their delivery. Fortunately, the weather has been cloudy for the past two days, and we have stocked up on some vegetables and meat, as well as a sufficient amount of rice, grain and charcoal.”
Since the business became increasingly prosperous, Shen Shaoguang no longer personally grocery shopped. Instead, she selected a seasoned yet kind and honest vegetable vendor and butcher to deliver them over; even the tofu shop was also asked to send a bulk of fresh tofu daily.
"No matter, we can make do with what we have currently. There’s no need to fret if certain items are out of stock occasionally, this is called hunger marketing..." Shen Shaoguang was fine as long as she was fed, the heavy snow today would inevitably affect business, so she began to talk nonsense without a sense of discipline.
A’Yuan rubbed her stomach, but she couldn't perceive the feeling of ‘hunger’.
Yu San's forecast was somewhat accurate, the fish seller did not come, but the butcher and vegetable supplier did. The meat was only limited to pork and mutton, and the vegetable supplier who usually had an assortment of options only had green onions, garlic, napa cabbage, radish, and taro. This was to be expected due to the severity of the weather, however, the vegetable vendor also brought an unexpected surprise—a small basket of fresh hawthorn fruits.
"This is a rare item!" Shen Shaoguang laughed.
Hawthorns were often sold on the street in autumn, but people in this dynasty didn’t seem to be very enamored by this fruit, so there were not many people who would buy them. Shen Shaoguang occasionally brought some to make hawthorn cakes, but it seemed that most of the hawthorn fruits often would end up in medicine shops.
"These are from the city suburb cellar where these cabbage and radishes are stored. The cellar owner’s wife is pregnant and often carved these. Fearing that it wouldn’t be available during the winter, they kept quite a bit in the cellar. The brilliant red color looked very heartening, so I persuaded him into selling me a basketful."
"Hawthorn promotes blood circulation and lowers blood pressure. It is not suitable for pregnant women to consume an excess amount of it. When you go back, please tell the cellar owner of this matter—"
The vegetable vendor hurriedly thanked her in place of the cellar owner, but didn’t expect her to continue, "How much more does he have? Would it be possible for you to purchase some more for me?"
The vegetable vendor suddenly became a little skeptical. The warning Miss Shen said just now wasn’t because she wanted the rest of their fruit, right?
Yu San chuckled, and went back to the kitchen with a basket of napa cabbage and radish.
The vegetable vendor hurriedly smiled obsequiously. "You can count on this old man."
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[1] Huihu Bun (回鹘锥髻) - is a style of hairdo influenced by one of the ethnic minorities in ancient china. Huihu (回鹘) is the Tang dynasty name of ethnic group corresponding to modern Uighur.
Link to image: https://www.newhanfu.com/51441.html#:~:text=assimilation%20and%20evolution.-,Hui%20Hu%20Bun,-During%20the%20flourishing
[1] sword brows - They’re called this because they look like the ends of a blade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbH7K7mugTI