A handful of glutinous rice boiled into a soup, seven scallions and seven slices of ginger
After the White Dew, the weather visibly turned colder. A quick calculation revealed that the Moon Festival was just a few days away—known as the Moon Evening in the Da Xia Dynasty, which explained why the moonlight in the courtyard was so bright last night, hanging overhead like a jade plate with a missing corner. Yu Jinnian had been so busy these past few days that he almost forgot such an important day as the Moon Evening, which was practically a grave mistake.
“Sesame nuts, peanut flowers, sweet candied dates! Look around and see, sweet and delicious for a happy reunion!”
Yu Jinnian heard the cries of vendors selling candied nuts and fruits outside, their melodious shouts echoing along the street, and he woke up with a start, calculating in his head what ready-made ingredients he needed to buy for making mooncakes in a few days. As he rubbed his eyes and tried to get up, his knees suddenly buckled and he knelt down, wincing in pain.
Only then did he remember that last night, Ji Hong had grabbed his hand anxiously in a dream, and he couldn’t break free. So, he had pulled his bedding closer, covered himself with a thin quilt, and half-sat beside Ji Hong’s bed, waiting for him to fall asleep so he could pull his hand away. Who would have thought that Ji Hong hadn’t fallen asleep, but he himself had fallen asleep beside him.
After a whole night, his legs were almost broken! Looking down, he saw his wrist had been held tightly all night.
Yu Jinnian slowly pried Ji Hong’s fingers open, then squatted on the ground, rubbing his legs and hissing in pain. Listening carefully, he realized the vendor’s calls were getting farther away, so he quickly patted his legs, enduring the numbness and pain, and ran out to chase after the sound.
Ji Hong, lying on the bed, coughed lightly twice, but Yu Jinnian didn’t hear it, focused entirely on the departing candied nut vendor.
After removing the shop’s board, he saw a group of children with ponytails running past the door, following the vendor and singing along with his tune. They surrounded the vendor’s cart, their heads bobbing and mouths watering as they eyed the candied fruits. This scene was not uncommon; whenever a vendor selling candied fruits, nuts, or malt sugar appeared, children would follow and mimic the vendor’s calls. Generally, no one would chase them away since their innocent mimicry was a form of advertisement. Occasionally, a kind-hearted vendor would give them a few pieces of candy.
Today’s candied nut vendor, Yuan Alang, seemed to be good-natured. Seeing the children blocking his way, he smiled and stopped, scooping out a small ladle of raw melon seeds and distributing them to the children, which was met with cheers.
The children’s small hands couldn’t hold much, so this small amount of melon seeds was nothing to Yuan Alang. As he bent down to distribute the seeds, he saw a pair of long legs in front of him. Looking up, he saw a fair-skinned, handsome young man panting and saying, “I… melon seeds…”
Although this person was no longer a child, since he had come to ask and looked kind and friendly, Yuan Alang didn’t want to refuse in front of the children, so he asked him to extend his hand as well.
Yu Jinnian, still not fully awake, obediently extended a hand, and Yuan Alang placed a handful of raw melon seeds in his palm.
After distributing the seeds, Yuan Alang lifted his cart and continued down the street, calling out his wares.
Yu Jinnian blinked in confusion for a while before he realized what had happened. He cracked open a melon seed with his teeth, tasted the fresh and fragrant seed, and found it very satisfying. He quickly caught up with Yuan Alang, smiling, and said, “These melon seeds are very tasty! Please give me two pounds.”
Pleased with the praise and realizing he had misunderstood Yu Jinnian earlier, Yuan Alang happily measured out more than two pounds for him.
Seeing that Yuan Alang’s cart, though small, contained an array of nuts—melon seeds, walnuts, almonds, peanuts—and various candied fruits, Yu Jinnian was delighted. He bought a pound and a half of each type of nut and some assorted candied fruits, paying for a hefty bag.
Yuan Alang, being honest, gave Yu Jinnian an extra pound of winter melon candy as a bonus.
Winter melon candy, as the name suggests, is a sweet made from winter melon. The best, thick-fleshed winter melon is peeled and seeded, cut into small strips, soaked in lime water overnight, washed thoroughly, and then blanched in boiling water until translucent. It is then marinated in white sugar for several days, allowing the sugar to permeate the melon strips. Finally, the strips are simmered with the sugar syrup until the syrup thickens and coats the melon, crystallizing into white sugar grains. The finished winter melon candy, jade-green and translucent, combines the refreshing taste of winter melon with the sweetness of sugar, making it a favorite among children.
He popped a piece of winter melon candy into his mouth, the sweetness dispelling much of the previous night’s wine hangover. In high spirits, he invited Yuan Alang to visit the noodle shop for some tea when he had time.
Yuan Alang, busy with his sales, graciously accepted the invitation. Yu Jinnian, not insisting, carried his heavy bag of nuts back to the noodle shop. Turning the corner, he saw a crowd gathered at his door.
Thinking something had happened, he hurried over, but the neighbors smiled and greeted him, parting to reveal a donkey cart in the center of the crowd.
The donkey, a sleek black one, was tied in front of the noodle shop. Proud and irritable, it snorted and huffed, not letting anyone touch it. Someone threw a leftover pear core to it, and it disdainfully picked it up and chewed, making the surrounding women laugh. Behind it was a cart with wooden sides holding various potted flowers. The most valuable ones were a few peony buds, probably cultivated in a greenhouse, and a few early chrysanthemums that Yu Jinnian recognized, along with other miscellaneous plants.
As the saying goes, “Flowers after the White Dew are hit or miss.” This time of year, with rapidly dropping temperatures and significant day-night temperature differences, delicate flowers were difficult to maintain. The summer’s floral abundance had hit its first major obstacle, and the flowers were wilting.
Yu Jinnian noticed that despite the various types of flowers on the cart, each one was exceptionally vibrant and beautiful, indicating that the flower vendor was a meticulous and dedicated person.
He took a liking to a few pots of flowers and plants but was about to take a closer look when a few heads peeked out from the noodle shop, laughing and calling out, “Brother Xiao Nian, if you don’t come back soon, I’ll start gnawing on your tables and chairs!” Only then did he remember his responsibility to keep the business running, so he hurried back to his post—the kitchen.
Boiling water, mixing sauces, and cooking noodles all in one go, Yu Jinnian quickly appeased the hungry customers waiting outside, then began making fried sweet dumplings.
The egg dough for the dumplings was easy to make, but the filling of red bean paste with dried tangerine peel was a bit more complicated. He cooked a large pot of red beans with a handful of dried tangerine peel until they were thoroughly soft, mashed them, sieved them, and then stirred them into a smooth paste. He was about to heat it with brown sugar to make the sweet bean paste when a sturdy middle-aged man entered the kitchen, politely asking, “Excuse me, can I have a bowl of hot water, or hot noodle soup if you have it?”
The visitor’s voice was muffled as if stuffed with cotton, followed by a loud sneeze. Yu Jinnian quickly served a bowl of piping hot noodle soup.
The man accepted it gratefully, stood at the door to cool it down, and drank it all in one go. Returning the bowl, he sighed and said, “It seems especially cold today. I woke up this morning with a headache and body ache from the cold wind and just wanted some hot soup to warm up. If it weren’t for the fact that the precious flowers in my greenhouse bloomed last night and couldn’t be kept any longer, I wouldn’t have come out to sell flowers so early.” He rubbed his arms and smiled at Yu Jinnian. “People say the food here is good. I passed by to try it, but I see this place has good feng shui too. Since I arrived, I’ve sold three pots of flowers! If you don’t mind, may I sell flowers beside your noodle shop for a while?”
So this was the flower vendor who cultivated those plants.
“No problem, no problem. I was just thinking of buying two pots myself, but I can’t leave right now,” Yu Jinnian said, still thinking about the two pots of cypress vine he had his eye on. Hearing that the vendor would stay for a while, he was naturally pleased. He watched the flower vendor leave the kitchen, his hands continuously stirring the bean paste while contemplating the vendor’s situation. He decided to make some Divine Porridge for him.
Divine Porridge, despite its ethereal name, had surprisingly simple ingredients. A folk song described it: “A handful of glutinous rice boiled into a soup, seven scallions and seven slices of ginger, cooked with half a cup of vinegar, cures colds and ensures good health.” Its effectiveness in dispelling colds made it seem like a divine remedy, hence the name.
After finishing the bean paste, Yu Jinnian started cooking the porridge. Then he kneaded the egg dough into thick strips, cut them into small pieces, and pressed them into dumpling skins, ready to fill them.
To make his dumplings stand out, he decided to shape them like goldfish. Goldfish dumplings, shaped like little fish, were simple to make. He placed just the right amount of filling on a round dough skin, pinched it lightly on the left side, flattened the right side, and used a comb to press patterns into the wide, pretty tail. A quick pinch at the left created the fish’s round eyes.
Though he often made goldfish dumplings, he had never tried frying them because their intricate shape might collapse in the hot oil. He decided to test fry a batch by holding them in a slotted spoon. With the kitchen god’s blessing, only two or three broke apart. Seeing this success, he shaped the remaining dough into goldfish and fried them. Over time, he perfected the frying technique, breaking fewer and fewer dumplings.
The fried goldfish dumplings, placed on a bamboo tray lined with reed leaves, were garnished with diced cucumber in the small round eyes, making them look lively and adorable.
Busy with this, Yu Jinnian had completely neglected Ji Hong, as if he had never existed. Now that the Divine Porridge was ready, its fragrant aroma filling the air, he remembered the drunken man in his room. He ladled out the porridge, cleaned the pot, and started cooking a red date and yam soup with a few white fungus flowers.
This soup was good for the spleen and stomach, especially for someone like Ji Hong who had a weak digestive system.
With the Divine Porridge and fried goldfish dumplings ready, Yu Jinnian placed a sign stating “Three coins for six” next to a small money box for self-service payment. This startled some customers who were hesitant to drop their money, fearing Yu Jinnian might accuse them of not paying.
Yu Jinnian, carefree and cheerful, went to look at the flower vendor’s cart, eyeing the cypress vine pots he had wanted all morning.
Meanwhile, Ji Hong woke up in the courtyard, trying to recall where he was. Opening his eyes, he was startled by a large piece of white paper with black characters stuck to the bed’s frame above him. The characters looked like mourning texts or talismans meant to ward off evil, making him feel like he was lying in a coffin.
This thought was understandable since Ji Hong couldn’t recognize the characters, which, though neatly written, looked strange and unfamiliar.
The youth’s oddities aside, maybe it was some sort of protective charm?
If Yu Jinnian knew his thoughts, he would have laughed, for those characters were simply four modern Chinese characters: “Live in the moment.”
Ji Hong coughed lightly a few times, seeing no one in the room and a messy pile of bedding on the floor. Feeling a headache, he tried to ignore it but eventually couldn’t resist tidying it up. He meticulously folded each layer, smoothing out the wrinkles until satisfied.
The room had a faint scent of soap, a refreshing change from the luxurious fragrances Ji Hong was used to, giving him an inexplicable sense of warmth. Smiling slightly, he placed the neatly folded bedding on Yu Jinnian’s bed. As he turned, his long sleeve accidentally knocked over a small cabinet by the bed, sending a thin layer of dust dancing in the sunlight.
A book had fallen to the floor.