Chapter 100: Can’t Be Greedy for Drinks

Chapter 100: Overindulgence in Drinking

"The stewed pot is absolutely delicious."

Xiang Jieer and Yan Shu were so full that their stomachs were almost bursting. The two little rascals had secretly drunk someone's wine and were already tipsy, sprawled under the veranda, belching, pulling each other's sleeves to cover their belly buttons, with rice grains plastered on their faces, murmuring "so good, so good" before falling asleep.

As the night deepened, the courtyard was a mess of cups and plates, wine jars scattered across the ground. The drunken uncles and grandfathers, their shirts unbuttoned and arms slung over each other's shoulders, sang songs as they prepared to go home. The aunts, helping Shen Miao clean up the dishes, gave their backsides a swift kick: "Eat, eat, eat, all you do is eat!"

Gu Dalang, knocked to the ground, passed out immediately, snoring thunderously. His fat belly rose and fell like rolling waves. A Bao promptly climbed onto him, followed by her younger brother, who lay on top of his sister. The two little ones giggled and called to Mrs. Gu: "Mom, come join our human pyramid!"

Mrs. Gu, arms laden with dishes, spun around to see Gu Dalang's face flushing under the weight, almost suffocating. "Stop fooling around!" Mrs. Gu hurriedly grabbed the collars of her two little troublemakers, pulling them up one by one: "Get up quickly, your father might be a good-for-nothing, but even a good-for-nothing's life is precious!"

Once Gu Dalang could breathe again, he continued snoring. A Bao and her brother squatted down again, scooping up a handful of dirt, first drawing two thick black eyebrows on Gu Dalang, then giggling as they fashioned two tiny braids on their dad, and finally sticking mud balls to the corners of his mouth.

Aunt Gu caught every bit of mischief the two little troublemakers were causing. She shook her head, smiling as she wiped the table clean, then suddenly looked down to find Gu Tusu under the table, so drunk his words slurred, clutching Thunder's paw and babbling: "Ji Geer, you've been hitting the books hard lately, haven't you? Look at those dark circles under your eyes, hic, and why is your face so tanned? And why do you have such a thick beard?"

Thunder cocked his big, furry head, as if genuinely paying attention.

"Who's tanned? You have the nerve to say Ji Geer is tanned," Aunt Gu rolled her eyes, disdainfully kicking her son, who was as limp as mud. "Don't laze around here, go home and sleep."

Gu Tusu, kicked face-first into the ground, was finally nudged up by Thunder, regaining a bit of clarity. He shouted to Thunder that Ji Geer's second brother had left, then staggered out of the Shen household.

Ji Geer and Chen Chuan were also drunk, somehow curled up in the donkey shed. Eleven lowered his neck to look at them, then started licking their faces. By the time Shen Miao found them, the two were covered in donkey saliva.

She quickly threw them into the house, then turned to see A Tao, hands on hips, talking to a tree. She hurriedly sent her back to her room to sleep.

The alcohol slowly rose, and she began to sway.

After cleaning up the house and even sweeping the Shen family's yard, the aunts left in twos and threes. Shen Miao had also drunk a lot today. She forced herself to see the aunts off, then inexplicably sat under the osmanthus tree, unable to remember what she was supposed to do next.

The alcohol churned in her throat and stomach, her mind felt like it was behind a veil, everything she thought or did was slow. She had never taken the low-alcohol fruit wine of ancient times seriously, but today she truly experienced the aftermath of drinking recklessly.

The wind blew, and the osmanthus branches rustled.

After sitting for a long time, she finally remembered: today was the Dragon Boat Festival. She had watched the dragon boat races, made the stewed pot, and even bought the two-story riverside shop from Yao Luoge, who had been in such a hurry it seemed like he was about to climb onto the roof.

Two thousand guan! She had actually been so extravagant, so decisive in going inside to get the banknotes, waiting for Deng Lawyer to come as the middleman, and signing the contract in less than half an hour.

Yao Luoge had even repeatedly reminded her to go with him to the government office early the next morning to sign the official contract.

Because she was drunk, Shen Miao felt an unreal sensation thinking about these things—had she really bought it? Just like that? After spending two thousand guan, apart from the daily operating funds needed for the shops and duck farm, her savings seemed to be completely gone again.

Shen Miao tilted her head back, leaning against the tree trunk.

Xie Qi had just helped carry Tang Er and Fu Xing, who were also heavily drunk, back to their rooms. Pinching his nose, he threw them onto their beds filled with smelly socks, then came out to see this scene.

In the now empty courtyard, only Shen Miao sat under the tree, looking up at the sky.

Her cheeks were flushed, her expression dazed, but her eyes were like stars, moist and shimmering.

Xie Qi patted his wrinkled sleeves and slowly walked over.

He squatted in front of Shen Miao.

It took Shen Miao a while to notice someone in front of her. Slowly and sluggishly, she lowered her head, her slightly unfocused eyes quietly looking at him. Recognizing who it was, she suddenly relaxed all her strength and plunged into his arms.

Xie Qi instinctively opened his arms to catch her, firmly holding Shen Miao, who carried a faint scent of plum wine.

But as soon as he hugged her, she nuzzled his neck like a Kylin, mumbling a drunken sentence: "Ninth Geer, why do you have two heads?"

Xie Qi laughed, "Take another look—how many heads do I have?"

Shen Miao raised her head, pulled her hands from his embrace, and cupped his face, squeezing his cheeks until they puffed out. She studied him intently from side to side and finally concluded, "Three! You have three heads!"

"That’s fine too. With an extra head, you could split me into three in the future," Xie Qi also smiled, gently rubbing her face, his eyes as tender as a spring breeze.

Unexpectedly, Shen Miao sighed unhappily, "It sounds good, but I can’t bear it. Splitting you into three would hurt you so much." As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around Xie Qi's neck, softly saying, "No pain, no pain. I don’t need three Ninth Geers—one is enough. Just one."

Xie Qi's heart instantly softened.

He lowered his gaze, holding her even tighter, and murmured in her ear, "Alright. I only want one A Miao. We only need each other."

After holding her for a while, Shen Miao naturally found a comfortable position in his arms. She released his neck and instead wrapped her arms around his waist, her cheek resting against his left chest. Like a child, she curled up in his arms, her eyes heavy with sleep.

The night was quiet, and Thunder and Kylin had returned to their spots by the door, keeping watch by the door.

"I'll take you back to your room," Xie Qi said, maintaining the comfortable position she had found. He slid one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders, lifting her up.

Using his shoulder to nudge open Shen Miao's door, Xie Qi avoided looking around too much. He quickly passed through the partition into a small bedroom. The room was unlit, but fortunately, the night was clear, and moonlight filled the room with a soft, silvery light.

He gently laid her on the bed, took off her shoes and socks, and rushed out to get water. He wiped her face and feet, making sure she was clean and dry, before carefully tucking her into the quilt.

After carefully smoothing the quilt and tucking in the corners, he even folded the end under her feet.

Xie Qi straightened up, hands on his waist, and looked at Shen Miao, now wrapped up like a spring roll with only her head visible. He let out a satisfied sigh.

But not long after, Shen Miao must have felt too warm. She kicked off the quilt with her legs and flung her arms out, immediately messing up the neatly arranged bedding.

Xie Qi blinked in surprise, then quickly stepped forward to wrap her up again, smoothing out the quilt with care.

Standing by the bed, he admired his work for a moment. Just as he saw the restless figure about to kick the quilt again, he hurried over, knelt by the bed, and pressed down on Shen Miao's flailing hands.

But then, his entire arm was embraced.

"Is Ninth Geer made of pinewood? You smell so nice," Shen Miao murmured, nuzzling into his palm, her soft, warm cheek pressing against the back of his hand. "I love your scent—it’s like the forest."

Xie Qi felt the blood rush to his cheeks. He knelt down completely, his arm stiff and unmoving. After a while, he asked softly, with a hint of nervousness, "Do you just like the scent?"

Shen Miao closed her eyes and suddenly laughed.

"I like you too—everything about you, from head to toe," she said, her voice fading, the start of her words barely audible. "...the only person I’ve ever loved... is you."

Xie Qi gazed down at Shen Miao, now asleep. He lost track of how long he stayed there. As moonlight rippled across the window frame, a beam of light brushed his brow. Slowly, he leaned down and pressed a reverent kiss on Shen Miao's forehead.

*

The next morning, as sunlight crept up the eastern wall, Shen Miao rubbed her tight temples and sat on the bed, thinking: Last night, the house was lively, and she’d accidentally drunk too much, leaving her unsteady on her feet and her head spinning. She couldn’t quite recall how she’d gotten back to her room.

But she was sure she hadn’t blacked out—she vaguely remembered forcing her eyes open and waving A Tao off to her room.

If that was the case, she must have washed up before bed. Yes, that had to be it.

But the bedding... Shen Miao looked down at the tightly wrapped quilt and wondered: Was it that cold last night? Did she really tuck herself in so snugly?

She couldn’t figure it out.

But with the whole courtyard drunk and sprawled everywhere, she had held up quite well.

As for who else was still awake, it seemed Ninth Geer hadn’t been drunk either. His alcohol tolerance was quite impressive. Many aunts and uncles at the banquet had been toasting him heavily because of their upcoming engagement.

He drank every cup without a word of protest.

Watching him drink cup after cup, smiling and nodding to the uncles' and aunts' well-wishes and advice, Shen Miao felt a pang of sympathy. Aunt Gu whispered to her, "Don’t worry, it’s an old tradition in the alley to welcome the new groom." Even the strongest man has to endure this.

Shen Miao could only watch as he finished drinking and sat down, barely settling in before being called up to drink again.

Then she stealthily swapped his drink for a pot of tea.

Xie Qi paused for a moment when he tasted it, then smiled.

But Xie Qi’s nature was truly gentle and kind, always showing respect to the neighborhood uncles and aunts. Perhaps because he never forgot that she had lost her parents, the uncles and aunts in the alley became her closest family, and so he treated them with deep respect.

As Shen Miao massaged her throbbing head, her memories grew hazy. So when had Ninth Geer left? She strained to remember but came up empty, still drawing a blank.

When she pushed open the door, she realized the sun was already high in the sky. A Tao, Tang Er, and Fu Xing, who had been even drunker than her the night before, were already up and working, while she and a few children who had sneaked some wine were still fast asleep.

A Tao had gathered a basket of eggplants, lettuce, and cucumbers from the garden and was passing by Shen Miao's door with the fresh, dew-covered vegetables on her way to the kitchen. Seeing Shen Miao still groggy, she suddenly grinned, "Hehe."

"?" Shen Miao looked at her in confusion.

"Did you sleep well last night, ma’am?" A Tao laughed more heartily, winking, "Hehe, you must have slept well, right?"

Shen Miao opened her mouth to reply but suddenly burst into laughter, covering her mouth and darting off to the kitchen.

Shen Miao’s heart raced—had she gotten drunk and made a scene last night? But... that plum wine was as sweet as water, and she’d never gotten drunk after three or five cups before!

Though she’d had more than three or five cups yesterday... Ah! Alcohol is truly treacherous!

Shen Miao swallowed nervously, then spotted Tang Er emerging from the kitchen with a fish basket. She hurried over, "Tang Er, do you know when Ninth Geer left?"

"He left at dawn," Tang Er said casually, "He only had one day off for the Dragon Boat Festival. As soon as he stepped out of your room, he called for Yan Shu to prepare the carriage and rushed off to the academy, skipping breakfast altogether."

Oh, he just left... Shen Miao nodded, then suddenly froze, "What did you say?"

"I said Ninth Geer left early this morning."

"No, no, say it again, from the top."

Tang Er didn’t understand why the same thing had to be repeated, but he slowly recited, "I said Ninth Geer left your room early this morning and..."

"Okay, stop, that’s enough." Shen Miao couldn’t help but lean on a nearby pillar, her steps becoming even more unsteady as she walked towards the washing basin, screaming in her heart.

Ninth Geer... had been in her room...

What had she done last night? Shen Miao was all too aware. Ninth Geer was such a respectful person that he would even ask for her consent before kissing her. He would never enter a woman's bedroom without permission. He must have been forced by her!

Oh no! She really turned into a drunkard!

And she scared him so much that he didn’t even have breakfast, taking Yan Shu and fleeing before dawn... Shen Miao splashed a handful of cold water on her face. The well water that had been sitting overnight was icy, and the shock cleared her mind for a moment. Suddenly, she remembered some fragmented scenes—she had hugged Ninth Geer's neck and fallen into his arms, being carried back to her room under the moonlight, and finally holding his face and saying some nonsense...

Oh no, oh no! She remembered everything!

Shen Miao took a deep breath. She had indeed done something outrageous.

As she wrung the towel to wipe her face, Shen Miao’s hand paused. Wait... but later she really fell asleep. Did Ninth Geer really let her hug his arm all night?

She went back to her room to change her clothes, deeply reflecting on herself. How could she make such a mistake of underestimating ancient wine? Now she had made a fool of herself.

And she vowed never to drink too much again.

The house was now full of people nursing hangovers. When Shen Miao entered the kitchen, Fu Xing was already simmering millet porridge with chicken broth. The chicken carcass was stewed to make a rich broth, which was skimmed of fat and then poured into the washed millet. It was placed on the stove to simmer for about half an hour, then some salt was added, and shredded chicken was stirred in. After simmering on low heat for another quarter of an hour, it was ready to eat.

This kind of porridge was perfect for those with a hangover, nourishing and warming.

Shen Miao cradled the bowl of porridge, sitting under the eaves, sighing between sips. Ji Geer then burst out of the house in a panic, quickly sprinkling tooth powder and vigorously brushing his teeth, frantic: "Oh no, oh no, I have morning lectures at the academy today, I overslept!"

After taking a couple of sips of porridge, Shen Miao watched Ji Geer dashing back and forth in front of her, going to the yard to fetch drying clothes, then running back into the house to get dressed, and soon rushing out again to the kitchen to pack his provisions for the month.

Not long after, Tang Er hurriedly ran out to help him hitch up the donkey cart, muttering, "Don't worry, don't worry, we'll definitely make it to the morning lecture," but he was even more anxious than Ji Geer. He jumped onto the cart, urged the donkey on, and sent him off to the academy.

The two of them and the donkey sped out of the alley in a whirlwind.

Shen Miao sighed again, resting her chin in her hand as she recalled the events of last night.

So, what she had hugged in her sleep wasn't the long cat-shaped pillow she had loved in her previous life, but Ninth Geer's arm. Thinking that she had used his arm as a cat pillow, rubbing against it, and even made Xie Qi mistakenly think she had a rash from drinking, gently rubbing her skin all night...

Ah, Shen Miao silently clutched at her hair, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

Just as Shen Miao was internally collapsing, a head adorned with flowers peeked in from the courtyard gate. Yao Luoge greeted with a smile: "Morning, Lady Shen! Having breakfast?"

Shen Miao let go, put down the porridge bowl, regained her composure, and stood up to greet him: "What brings you so early? Have you eaten? Would you like a bowl of porridge to warm your stomach?"

"I've eaten, I've eaten, it's actually not early anymore! Lady Shen, don't trouble yourself, the Marquis of Lejiang's wife is eager to proceed, shall we head to the yamen to seal the deal now?"

Shen Miao had guessed his purpose and followed Yao Luoge to the yamen. Not long after, a large red seal was pressed onto the document, and Shen Miao came out holding the freshly stamped, still-damp official contract, the sunlight shining on her and Yao Luoge.

Yao Luoge happily stashed away another copy of the unofficial contract to be kept at the brokerage, handed the keys to Shen Miao, bowed repeatedly, offering his congratulations, and then excused himself on urgent business, leaving in a hurry.

Shen Miao had nothing else to do at the moment, holding the keys in her hand, she decided to walk to the riverside shop that used to be Kang's to see, and also to ponder how to renovate it in the future.

Crossing the bridge, looking at the thick reeds lining the riverbank in late spring and early summer, she suddenly remembered the Lotus Viewing Festival last year when she and Ninth Geer stood on the bridge watching fireworks together.

At that time, she hadn't yet figured out her feelings, and now she was almost about to marry Ninth Geer.

Time really flies.

Thinking of those heartwarming past events, her heart, which had been ashamed of her absurd behavior last night, gradually calmed down.

No way, good or bad, it's all her.

She suddenly felt happy again.

By the time she reached Kang's, this inexplicable excitement hadn't faded.

She looked up again, the plaque on the shop had been taken down, so it could no longer be called Kang's.

Opening the heavy lock and pushing the door open, the inside was still quite tidy, all the tables, chairs, and benches had been moved out, the shop was empty, with a thin layer of dust.

She stepped on the creaky old wooden stairs to the second floor, where bamboo railings divided six private rooms on both sides, with a large open space in the middle for tables, really spacious.

Walking onto the balcony, the view was even more open, the cool breeze from the river hit her face, she could see the crowded shops and fluttering banners on both banks, and the occasional passing painted boats and fishing boats on the river.

The balcony was about four people wide, with wooden railings, in the future, she could line up small tables for two along the railings, hang a string of street lamps, drink small wine at night with the river breeze, watching the flickering lights of thousands of homes, listening to small tunes... it would be quite atmospheric.

But what kind of business should this two-story riverside shop do?

Shen Miao stood there immersed in thought for a long time, from the hotel buffet complexes in big cities to Cantonese-style tea houses... finally, after comparison, she felt that the Cantonese-style morning tea might be more suitable.

Bianjing's food industry was developed, with many "northern food," "southern food," and "Sichuan cuisine" heard of on the streets, but Cantonese-style morning tea hadn't yet made its debut, Shen Miao could just fill this market gap.

The shop is a two-story flat, with the first floor ideally set up as a "casual tea area," using screens to divide the seating areas, which aligns well with the tea house conventions of Bianjing. The second floor could be arranged as "private dining rooms," adorned with Lingnan landscape paintings, offering private dining spaces.

Offering morning tea in the morning, and Chinese meals at noon and evening, not to mention takeout... it sounds quite ideal. However, the current Song dynasty diet mainly consists of wheat-based foods and mutton, so the "seafood," "sweet flavors," and "steamed dim sum" of Cantonese morning tea would need to be localized—perhaps trying a mix of fish paste and river shrimp paste to replace pure shrimp fillings? Could crab roe soup dumplings be replaced with mutton soup dumplings? As for char siu, a honey-glazed roasted mutton version could be made.

Shen Miao hasn't yet settled on a firm plan, but she feels she should refer to "localized" quality cases (like KFC and McDonald's), conduct thorough research, and then proceed without haste.

She wants to create a tea house that is distinctive, integrates local customs, and is irreplaceable.

When the time comes, she could strategically leverage the popularity of Fanlou, promoting her morning tea as "another highlight besides Fanlou," attracting writers and artists to visit, which would be nice.

Of course, if she wants to host banquets, besides finding skilled calligraphers to inscribe poems on the walls to attract those who fancy themselves as cultured, she would naturally need to develop some unique services, such as storytelling, singing, and Pingtan tunes... well, that would require hiring a few artistic staff.

Thinking about it, Shen Miao suddenly remembered A Tao's mother, who is far away in Daming Prefecture.

Rather than hiring unknown performers in Bianjing, it might be better to spend some money to help A Tao redeem her mother, ensuring a stable employee who is less likely to resign for the shop, while also meeting Shen Miao's needs.

Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?

The more Shen Miao thought about it, the more she felt it was worthwhile. After carefully inspecting the shop and forming a clear plan, she immediately went to the human market to find the short broker and inquire about A Tao's mother's current situation.