Chapter 25 Shopping and Tips When it was almost noon, Mei Cheng'an asked the servants who followed him out to send back all the purchases, and asked them to go back and tell the master that he and his younger sister had eaten outside at noon. At noon, Mei Cheng'an brought his sister to Yishiju, found a seat by the window on the third floor, ordered a few signature dishes, and asked for a pot of burping wine. Yes, there is burping wine here, but it is a high-end version with a richer malt aroma, a higher alcohol content, and a relatively mellower taste. Mei's Restaurant not only does business with individual customers, but also cooperates with major inns, restaurants, brothels, etc. in Kyoto city and supplies them. The reason why Yishiju has been able to stand firm in Kyoto for so many years is not only its high-end gimmick, but also its superb cooking skills, especially their golden lion head, which tastes so delicious and is Mei Chengan's favorite. The lion's head is fried on the outside and has a crispy texture. It is very hot on the inside and has a soft and glutinous texture, fat but not greasy. One bite will fill your mouth with fragrance and a full sense of happiness. Mei Chengan was enjoying the Kyoto street view outside the third floor while taking a sip of a lion head and a sip of fine beer. He looked so contented. My sister was concentrating on using chopsticks to deal with the lion's head in the bowl. Bluebird and Sweet Potato stood behind the young master and young lady, one on each side, serving them. They were almost done eating, and Mei Cheng'an waved his hand and asked them to sit down and eat together. Of course, the two of them refused. When they were away from home, they took the rules very seriously. Mei Cheng'an winked at his sister, who was now eight years old and would soon be nine, and understood immediately. She quickly said, "Sister Sweet Potato, Sister Bluebird, please sit down and have some food. We still have to go shopping in the afternoon. How can we have the energy to go shopping if we don't have enough food?"
Sweet Potato and Bluebird reluctantly agreed. After thanking the young master and young lady, they sat at the other corner of the table and began to eat in small bites. Mei Chengan secretly gave his sister a thumbs up. My sister looked very proud when she saw it. After lunch, they walked around for a while and finally the sister was tired. Mei Chengan carried her on his back and walked home. They even bought a lantern before returning home. She sent her back to her own yard and asked the servants in her yard to give her sister a foot bath and massage before returning to her own yard. Mei Chengan stroked the blue mink shawl that the tailor had just delivered to her. It felt really good. I have got my sister's New Year's gift, but what about my parents? It would have been fine if they didn't give them anything last year, but since they already gave them, it would be a shame to break the tradition this year. So what should they give them? Mei Zhili is a scholar who likes calligraphy, painting, poetry and songs. How about copying a poem? I do remember a poem that celebrates the New Year: With the sound of firecrackers a year old, the spring breeze sent warmth to Tusu. On the New Year's Day, every household replaces the old charms with new ones. But there is a bug in this poem. Tusu is a kind of wine. After the Song Dynasty, there was no wine in Qing Dynasty. So it was replaced by burping wine? The spring breeze brings warmth into burping, which is not nice. There is also the peach charm, which actually refers to two door gods. There were no gods in Qing Kingdom, only temples, and there was no custom of posting door gods. Let’s change the words, but I don’t know what to change. If I don’t change it, how will he answer if my dad asks him? No, no, I can't copy even a little bit of this poem. After thinking about it again, Mei Chengan's eyes lit up and he got it. Spread out a piece of rice paper, place it vertically, press down with paperweights, let the sweet potato grind the ink, Mei Cheng'an picked up a very thick brush, then closed his eyes and held his breath. "Master, the ink is ready." As soon as he finished speaking, Mei Cheng'an opened his eyes, dipped the brush in ink, and started writing on the rice paper. Hongshu watched from the side and recited: "Farewell to the evening, fireworks every year, morning and evening, peace every year." "How is it, Master? Is my handwriting okay?"
Sweet potato kept nodding. "Young Master's handwriting is the most beautiful I have ever seen!" Mei Chengan asked curiously. "Who have you met?" Hongshu thought for a moment, then counted on his fingers and said, "The master's handwriting, the young master's handwriting, and Mr. Yan's handwriting." "Wait a minute, who is Mr. Yan?" Hongshu looked at Mei Chengan in surprise, as if he was looking at a fool. "Master, you forgot that you hired a teacher for us before to teach us music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Mr. Yan was the teacher who taught us painting." Mei Cheng'an slapped his forehead and remembered that this was the case, but he had never seen these teachers before, and he didn't know whether they were male or female because they were not invited to his house. These teachers were all famous female masters in Kyoto. It was said that they were once the most beautiful courtesans in brothels. They would teach students on weekdays. Sweet Potato, Cucumber, and Green Ant would usually go out of the house to take classes with them. Blue Bird was obsessed with swordsmanship and refused to go no matter what. "Oh, that's not what I meant. I just remembered. Eh? That's not right either. Why are the handwritings of the painting teacher and calligraphy teacher written here?" "No one is learning calligraphy. I am learning painting, Cucumber is learning the zither, Green Ant is learning chess, and calligraphy was originally reserved for Blue Bird, but she didn't want to go." "So you guys are each studying one subject. I thought you were taking classes together and all subjects were covered." Sweet potato was surprised. "Master, didn't you know that? Then why did you specifically ask Huanggua to play the piano during the sword dance?" "I just pointed it randomly. I thought you all knew it." "....." Mei Cheng'an felt a little embarrassed, as if he had neglected some of the maids. "Ahem, well, I've strayed off topic. Do you think all the framing shops in the city are closed right now?" "Because Teacher Yan and I went to a picture framing shop on the same street we were walking. When I came back, I took a special look and it was closed. I don't know about the other shops. Master, how about I go look for them?" Mei Cheng'an thought about it and shook his head. "No, I guess they're all closed." The calligraphy I gave to my father hasn't been framed, and I haven't thought about a gift for my mother. It would also not be appropriate to give it to my sister alone in front of the whole family. In that case, then just don't give any gifts at all, so you don't have to worry about what to give. "Go and take that mink stole to my sister." "Ah? Are you sending it now?" "Send it over." "Yes, young master, I'll send it over right away." Hongshu carried the mink shawl out of the yard. It was not a New Year's gift, but just an ordinary little gift from a brother to his sister. This way there was no moral pressure. I am such a little genius.
Sweet Potato came back soon, smiling. "Sent it over?" "Yes, the lady liked it very much and gave a lot of reward money." Mei Cheng'an saw that she was laughing happily and wanted to tease her. "I gave her that thing. Why should I give you money for it?" "Because I sent it." "If I hadn't told you to go, would you have gotten the reward?" Hongshu thought about it and decided that if the young master didn't ask her to go, the reward money would belong to someone else. "Thank you, Master." "Then do you want to give me a share of this reward?" Hongshu put the money behind him. "That's impossible." "Have you forgotten what you just said?" "I haven't forgotten. Haven't I already thanked you, young master?" "You don't have to share the money after thanking me?" "If you haven't thanked me, I won't share it. Master, if you have the guts, just deliver it yourself!" "What are you sending? You've already sent the things, what should I send?" "So, it's already a done deal, why bother yourself, young master?" "Who's disturbing me? I'm just...wait a moment, I'll think about it first." After thinking it over again, Mei Chengan understood. At first, it seemed that I just wanted to tease Hongshu, but I was confused by this damn girl's nonsense and was led astray while chatting. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but look at Hongshu. I didn't expect this girl to have this ability. When the young master suddenly glanced at him, Sweet Potato became more alert. He thought that the young master was thinking of another bad idea to cheat him of his money. Mei Cheng'an didn't plan to continue arguing with Hongshu. It was really unwise to argue with a girl. He just pretended that what happened just now never happened. "Ahem, well, it's still early for the New Year's Eve dinner, call them over, we can set up a table and play eight rounds." Hongshu is relieved, mahjong, that's fine. While Sweet Potato went to call Cucumber and Green Ant, Mei Cheng'an quickly called the Bluebird outside the house in. "Master, do you have any instructions?"
"Sister Bluebird, tell me, how do I treat you?" "Great." "If I ask you to do me a little favor, would you be willing?" "Just as the master ordered." "Very good, this is it, when we play mahjong later you will do this and that behind me, is that ok?" Bluebird was stunned. Isn't this cheating? Logically, she should follow the young master's orders without hesitation, but after all, it's not a serious matter. Sweet Potato, Cucumber and Green Ant are still her good sisters. Is it really okay to help the young master cheat his sisters? Seeing that Bluebird hesitated, Mei Chengan quickly struck while the iron was hot. "Let me make it clear first. I am not cheating to win their money. My main purpose is to learn from you how you play cards. After all, your skills in playing mahjong are really terrifying. You know, they collude with each other to always win my money. I also want to save face, so I want to improve my skills. You can understand, and I promise that this will only happen this time and it will not happen again." Qingniao nodded. What the young master said was reasonable and he had even made a promise. So, why not help the young master this time? "Yes, but..." Mei Chengan understood immediately. "Don't worry, this matter is known to heaven, earth, you, and me, and no third person will know about it." Bluebird breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Sisters, I'm sorry this time." The mahjong table was set up quickly, the staff were in place, and the game started. Not long after the game started, several maids discovered that the young master had developed a new habit. Before playing each card, he would run his finger along the deck from beginning to end, and finally stop on the card he was going to play. They didn't take it seriously and just thought it was a new trick the young master had learned. But as they played, several maids realized something was wrong. The young master had just changed his way of playing cards, but how could it be so effective? Although it was not as good as the day of the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, his efficiency in winning cards had improved significantly, even though he was still a rookie yesterday. Several maids began to be cautious and put more thought into their card moves, not as casually as before. Unfortunately, it had no effect, and the situation was still one-sided in favor of the young master. Mei Cheng'an was much more calm this time. He didn't mock after winning. There was not even a smile on his face. Instead, he looked thoughtful. He was actually thinking about Bluebird's playing patterns and wanted to improve his skills. Originally, he just wanted to trick Bluebird into helping him cheat, but he didn't expect that during the game, Mei Cheng'an found that Bluebird's playing ideas were indeed completely different from his own, but the effect was surprisingly good. Sometimes, the cards that I think should be kept are opened by Bluebird, and the cards that I think should be opened are kept by Bluebird. Sometimes, it's the other way around, but the order of opening the cards is different. He couldn't communicate with the blue bird directly, so he could only figure out the rules and techniques by himself. After playing a few rounds, Mei Chengan seemed to understand something and felt that he had found the trick. (End of this chapter)