Chapter 57 Refined
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The carriage came to a halt directly in front of Xuan-miao Temple. The old servant driving the carriage and a young servant jumped down. One went to help the elderly man out of the carriage, while the other pulled out a bamboo basket.
“That old gentleman with the hunger illness is here again,” a young child at the gate called out as she ran inside.
The elderly man laughed heartily, stroked his beard, and stepped into the temple.
“Some snacks from our temple?” Abbess Sun, who had come out to greet him, was left puzzled.
When did their temple start having snacks for unexpected visitors?
Many temples and Daoist monasteries provide vegetarian meals. What started as a convenience for pilgrims eventually turned into a renowned specialty. Some of these vegetarian meals have gained such fame that even with money, it’s hard to secure a spot, and they’ve become synonymous with the temple itself.
There were temples known for their renowned vegetarian meals, such as Wan-ning Temple outside the city, and others famous for their vegetarian snacks, like Pu-tuo Temple in Fuzhou.
However, these were large temples and monasteries with flourishing incense and great reputations. For smaller temples and monasteries, where it’s difficult to even provide meals for themselves, supplying vegetarian meals and snacks for outsiders was not feasible.
“Abbess, don’t be modest,” the elderly man said with a smile. “I’m not here to get a free meal this time. Here, I’ve brought my own ingredients. I would greatly appreciate it if you could take the trouble to cook them and treat my hunger. I’d be very grateful.”
Abbess Sun was hurriedly apologizing and bowing in response.
As for the orange-stewed crab meat, not to mention having tasted it, she hadn’t even heard of it. How could she cook it? While she would naturally be eager to make a meal to attract pilgrims, she simply wasn’t in a position to do so.
“Abbess, it was made by Ban Qin,” the young child said.
The other nuns, who had been studying, came out at this point. Seeing the elderly man, they were very pleased and chattered away. Only then did Abbess Sun and the elderly man understand what was going on.
“The benefactor is actually living here?” The elderly man was quite surprised and stood up. “Please, Abbess, send a message to see if I can express my thanks in person.”
Ban Qin, who was stirring dough in the kitchen, was somewhat surprised.
“Which elderly man?” she asked, puzzled. “Thank me?”
“Yes, don’t you remember? When he fainted on the mountain, you gave him candied oranges and advised on things like pinching his ears,” the nun said, looking at her with a hint of admiration. “You’re such a good person, not even thinking about your own deeds.”
The maid was suddenly enlightened.
“Oh, that? I’m not the one he should thank,” she said with a smile. “It’s my mistress.”
That fool?
The nun was momentarily taken aback, feeling even more gratitude. This girl was truly wonderful, so respectful of her mistress.
“And also, the orange-crab dish you made last time, he ate it and liked it very much,” the nun said, shifting the topic with joy and pushing the bamboo basket from behind. “Look, he specially sent this for you, saying it’s a thank you for the last time he ate your food.”
The girl put down her chopsticks and looked at the basket, which contained round, golden oranges, tightly bound crabs, and a jar of wine.
“Of course, this isn’t a thank you for saving his life. The elderly man didn’t know that you were the one who made the orange-crab dish, so this is just a thank you for the last small meal, not for the life-saving.” The nun added quickly.
“Alright, I understand,” she said, looking at the bamboo basket thoughtfully.
Miss wanted to eat the orange-crab dish, but unfortunately, the ingredients she bought from the mountain were not of good quality, so she didn’t like it and didn’t eat it. Afterwards, Miss didn’t mention it, and she also forgot to buy more. Now, it’s just being delivered right to the door…
“Wait a moment,” the girl said.
The nun was puzzled as she watched the girl pick up the bamboo basket and head into the living room.
The weather in the mountains was growing cooler, so to avoid the chill, the original bamboo curtain had been taken down and replaced with a paper sliding door.
The nun watched as the girl pulled open the sliding door. Inside, a lady was sitting in front of a screen, seemingly reading a book.
Even the fool reads books?
Just as the nun was about to look further, the door was pulled shut, cutting off her view.
“Miss, what do you think? Should we keep it or not?”
After explaining the situation, the maid asked respectfully.
Cheng Jiao-niang had already put down her book. After a moment of contemplation, her gaze fell on the bamboo basket.
“Let me see what’s inside,” she said.
The girl quickly brought the bamboo basket over and laid out the oranges, crabs, and wine one by one.
Cheng Jiao-niang picked up each item and examined them.
“This one is good, and this one is good too,” she said, placing the yellow oranges and crabs she liked to one side. Finally, she picked up the wine, sniffed it, and immediately set it aside.
“Is the wine unpleasant to you?” the maid asked nervously, sitting up straight.
“No, it’s just too foul-smelling,” Cheng Jiao-niang said. “Is this really called wine?”
After drinking the water from his bowl, the elderly man picked up a small wine jug and carefully poured a bit into a bowl. He then lifted the bowl and sipped it slowly and cautiously.
“Umm,” the curious young child beside him asked, blinking, “Is this medicine very hard to drink?”
“Medicine?” The elderly man widened his eyes.
“Well, you’re drinking it so carefully…” the child said.
The elderly man laughed heartily.
“Little one, this is fine wine; I’m just reluctant to drink it,” he said with a smile.
“Master, you’ve given her so much already, and this is all the wine we brought,” the young servant complained sadly from the side. “Do you really need to use wine for making an orange-crab dish?”
“You fool, of course, wine is needed. I can taste the difference,” the elderly man said. “Good food naturally deserves good wine. If even one ingredient is missing, even the best wine isn’t as enjoyable.”
As they were talking, the nun hurriedly returned with the bamboo basket on her back.
“Isn’t she there?” the young child asked anxiously.
“She is,” the nun nodded and said.
She is? Then why didn’t she come with her?
“Ban Qin said the elder was too polite. She is currently washing her hands to prepare crab roe meat as a return gift, and will personally bring it to you when it’s done,” the nun said.
The elderly man was delighted, clapping his hands and saying, “Good, good.”
“There’s just one thing,” the nun continued, handing over the bamboo basket. “The wine is not good; it needs to be replaced with new wine to bring out the flavor.”
“Not good?” The elderly man was momentarily stunned.
“What are you talking about? This is the best wine we have. If this isn’t good, then there’s no good wine in the world,” the young servant immediately said with a look of discontent.
The nun seemed a bit intimidated by the response.
“I, I don’t understand this either,” she hurriedly said. “It was Ban Qin who said the wine isn’t good and that it needs to be new wine to complement the dish.”
So, it’s that this particular dish requires new wine, not that the wine itself is bad, right?
The elderly man nodded in understanding.
Such attention to detail showed the refinement of the cook. She must indeed be capable of creating delicious food.
“Alright, alright, alright,” the elderly man said, urging the young servant, “Hurry and get some new wine.”
In the midst of the rising steam, the freshly cooked crab stuffed with orange was carefully placed in front of Cheng Jiao-niang by the maid.
“Miss, how is this one?” the maid asked with a hint of excitement.
Cheng Jiao-niang picked up her chopsticks, took a small piece, and dipped it in salt and vinegar before tasting it.
“This wine, it’s just a new flavor,” she said, shaking her head and setting down her chopsticks.
Still not satisfactory? The maid felt a bit disappointed.
“If the wine from the mountain village is too poor, I’ll go to the city to get a better one,” she said.
Cheng Jiao-niang smiled and shook her head, pointing outside.
“I think, even the best wine might not make much difference,” she said.
“The elderly man? He seems quite ordinary. Did he really bring the best wine?” the maid asked, puzzled.
“One must have no worries to be able to focus on the quality of the food. To go through the trouble of carefully selecting ingredients and personally visiting for a meal is not something an ordinary person would do,” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
The maid responded with an understanding “oh” and nodded.
Indeed, she thought. Previously, being happy just to get a bowl of rice in the kitchen was enough; she had never considered whether the food was good or not, let alone knowing from being with Miss that there were so many variations in food.
“Then, Miss must be someone without worries as well,” she said with a smile.
Cheng Jiao-niang’s expression was blank as she gazed out the window, remaining silent.
She must have once been someone delicate and extravagant; otherwise, why would she have such refined tastes? But being delicate didn’t necessarily mean one is without worries.
In her vague and distant memories, there seemed to be indistinct figures overlapping, and as she tried to get closer to see clearly, her eyes were stung with pain and her heart ached with bitterness.
She already knew she wasn’t Cheng Jiao-niang. Who was she? And how did she come to be like this?
Cheng Jiao-niang closed her eyes.
“You, go see the elderly man. He’s also someone with refined tastes. Let him enjoy this as well,” she said.
The maid was surprised to hear a hint of loneliness in her usually impassive tone. She didn’t dare to ask further and simply responded with a yes.
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