Chang’an Small Restaurant

Chapter 28 First Step to a Tavern

Shen Shaoguang had already clenched her teeth and made her decision, but what she didn't know was that Incoming Cloud Tavern had already withered.

Shopkeeper Feng poked Wei San’s head with all his might. "How dare you make trouble for me!"

Wei San felt wronged. It’s not like he hadn’t told the shopkeeper when he colluded with two ethnic minorities to make trouble at Shen Indelible Eatery. He had even laughed and said along the lines of: "Have them hold back and don’t go too overboard, just teach them a small lesson. She’s just a young girl and still needs to make a living."

Now that the shopkeeper knew that she had something to do with the city's Deputy Magistrate Lin Residence, it was his fault all of a sudden.

Although he was inwardly slandering him, Wei San smiled apologetically and said, "It's just a minor chamberlain of the Deputy Magistrate, so there is no need to overworry, Shopkeeper."

"A chamberlain? Can a chamberlain send the housekeeper of their residence to buy pastries?" Shopkeeper Feng asked angrily.

This sonofabitch only came to report the news days after it had occurred, saying that the two hooligans had been sent to the Legality Jurist and were sentenced to beating with wooden staves! Feeling something was amiss, he gathered his own news and found out right before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the housekeeper of the Lin Residence went to Shen Indelible to buy a generous amount of pastries. Such an act— didn’t seem plausible for a chamberlain to execute.

"You’re saying it was done by Deputy Magistrate Lin?" Wei San widened his eyes in horror, "It can’t be!"

"Why not? That girl is quite the beauty."

"Isn’t Chang'an City full of beauties? Besides, Deputy Magistrate Lin is from an aristocratic family, how could he fall for a street vendor?" Wei San begged to differ. It was more likely for the Deputy Magistrate to set his sights upon one of the courtesans in Pingkang Lane. They were bewitching in appearance, skilled in various musical instruments, and had enchanting voices; some could even compose poems and formulate compositions.

Shopkeeper Feng was also a little hesitant to believe his own speculations.

Wei San had been working for Shopkeeper Feng for a long time, so he knew the best way of articulating his words, "There is no need to be too anxious. So what if it was the doing of Deputy Magistrate Lin? He may be illustrious now, more likely than not he will commit a faux pas. Once he offends the right person, he’ll be sent to work in some mountainous or occidental region. The official positions in the capital city are ever changing."

Seeing Shopkeeper Feng's silence, Wei San continued to add, "Hadn’t we seen countless changes of hands, Deputy Magistrates and Magistrates wize? The rally is even more diligent compared to the amount of times our tavern changes cups and plates."

Shopkeeper Feng kicked Wei San and scolded him with a smile, "Although you don't handle things well, you speak quite glibly." His expression had already relaxed.

Leaving aside what Wei San had just said, Deputy Magistrate Lin also didn’t look to be ‘a pair of silk trousers[1]’ that would go through wind and rain for a pretty woman. Moreover, those two hooligans didn't cause any major issues. Shopkeeper Feng was anxious mainly because he was afraid of causing trouble to his master. His master was the utmost prudent. Every time they meet, he would reiterate for everyone to know their place and to be honest in the capital city. He had also heard that their Prince's Mansion would send a large amount of money annually to the Grand Chancellors in court...

"Enough, since the matters have already come to this. No matter what relationship that girl has with the Lin Residence, we shouldn’t mess with her any  more." Shopkeeper Feng then advised, "Be more well-behaved in the future, no need to mess with these trivialities."

Shopkeeper Feng heeded his own warning. He must act more cautiously in the future, the city has complicated and deeply-rooted difficulties; even an unassuming rat on the street may be the Grand Chancellor's beloved pet...

***

Shen Shaoguang talked about her plan to sublet a shop in the cloth shop next to her eatery.

Shen Shaoguang and Missus Li, the owner of the cloth shop, could be considered acquaintances; the two often exchange cooking tips and experiences. Shen Shaoguang briefly revealed her intentions on leasing a bigger storefront. With Missus Li as a long-time resident, Shen Shaoguang thought she would be able to quickly acquire news about any openings. 

Unexpectedly, Missus Li clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Why don’t you rent our storefront too? Combine the two into one large shop, wouldn’t that be a great idea?"

Missus Li's husband, Guo Dalang, came to Chang'an City in his teenage years and worked as an apprentice in a large silk fabric shop in West Market. He married Missus Li when he was in his twenties. After their wedding, Missus Li rented a small shop with her dowry, and the couple started their own cloth business.

After more than 20 years of assiduous diligence, the husband and wife accumulated some savings. Now that their parents were old and their children already married in their hometown, they wanted to go back to their hometown to be together with the rest of their family– many ‘transients’ were like this.

To settle down back in one’s hometown was a blessing. Shen Shaoguang wasn’t sure when she could reach financial freedom and enjoy a retired life. Regardless, she smiled and congratulated Missus Li before inquiring about the landlord and rent.

Since her son married, Missus Li had been planning to go back and enjoy the blessings of being a mother-in-law, but she had paid the rent for next year. If someone were to take over this time, she may be able to get the difference back. Thus she smiled at Shen Shaoguang and said, "Don't worry, little lady, the landlord is quite lax. It’s always the housekeeper who comes to collect the money. We have rented this store for over seven years now. They’re also not picky and have never increased the rent."

Shen Shaoguang also took a fancy to this place; it's better to expand her current eatery. Now that her shop had finally gained some recognition, she would rather not relocate elsewhere. Moreover, rent was not expensive. The storefront was about thirty-five square meters, while the back had three more buildings and a small courtyard. The whole area was 1,500 wen a month. If it was back then, when she was still selling crepes at the Lane Gate, such a price would be unaffordable, but now it was a simple purchase.

Shen Shaoguang asked the Guo couple to help get in touch with their landlord.

The person who came to discuss the lease signing process indeed bore the semblance of a housekeeper. When the housekeeper heard Shen Shaoguang was going to be operating a tavern and her intention of connecting the neighboring store, he couldn't help frowning. 

Many small restaurants were sloppy. If their building were to be dirtied, then they would have to repaint the whole area to rent to the next leaser. This was very troublesome. Not to mention her idea of opening up in one of the walls!

Shen Shaoguang invited the housekeeper to visit her own humble eatery next door, and said with a smile, "When our lease ends, I will find a mason to rebuild the wall back. I would never dare to inconvenience, this can also be written in the deed."

The housekeeper was startled at the unexpected sight of whitewashed walls, palm fiber mats, vibrant green plants in white pottery, orderly tables, and polished copper kettles. He vaguely remembered that this was a butcher's shop with dark walls, potholes, and greasy desks. When he heard Shen Shaoguang was willing to rebuild the wall back later, the housekeeper finally agreed after a moment of contemplation.

The Guo couple had their hearts set on speeding home, and set the handover date to next month. The housekeeper didn’t make things difficult for them and really refunded the rest of their rent. At the same time, he signed a contract with Shen Shaoguang, collected the money, and all three parties soon settled their agreement. Henceforth, Shen Shaoguang only needed to wait a few more weeks before she could move into her new home and renovate her new storefront.

A’Yuan could not help but revere Shen Shaoguang. Miss was really a woman of her words; when she said ‘quick and deep breaths’, she really meant ‘quick and deep breaths’!

She then cheered delightedly, "We finally now have our own place! We don't have to live in the nunnery and look at Buddhist Nun Jing Ci's face any longer. She’s so polite to the second young lady of the Pang Residence, but acts so cold and indifferent towards you, Miss. Does she think we’re blind?" The more she continued, the more aggrieved A’Yuan became.

Shen Shaoguang couldn't help laughing. Jing Ci is more afraid that you didn’t notice!

Shen Shaoguang suddenly felt she was doing a disservice to A’Yuan. The maidservants of noble ladies from aristocratic families were arrogant and normally lived in luxury. They were similar to the ‘Deputy Misses[2]’ mentioned in the <Dream of the Red Chamber>. 

A’Yuan was technically a maidservant of an ‘aristocratic family’s noble daughter’, but she had to wash the dishes, wipe the floor, go grocery shopping, and chop meat every day. Sometimes, she even had to handle the unexpected hooligans that caused trouble at their store…

When she looked back at A’Yuan, Shen Shaoguang saw that she was already happily packing her things.

"What are you in a hurry for? We have to wait for a while. After Missus Li departs, we still need to clean the place up before moving in ourselves." 

"I'm happy! I’m packing in advance."

Hoho, good that you’re happy. Shen Shaoguang no longer bothered with A’Yuan and began to ponder by herself. Since her store had expanded, it would be too much to only have two people working; more staff were needed.

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Footnotes:

[1] silk trousers - is a derogatory term for a rich man’s son

[2] Deputy Miss (副小姐) - is a nickname for the very powerful maids in the novel <Dream of the Red Chamber>. The names of such maids are as follows: Yuanyang (The Dowager's chief maid), Ping'er (Xifeng's chief maid), Hua Xiren (Baoyu's principal maid), Zijuan (Daiyu's maid), etc. etc. These maids hold so much prestige and power that even noble young masters/minor officials would address them with respect. If their master is not present, the delegation of power lands falls in their hands; the servants and maids all have to follow their command. They earn a lot more than ordinary maids and are basically provided with the next best, after their master.