Green Mountain-Chapter 731 - 584: Roads Traveled, Delicacies Tasted (2)

The old man felt awkward for a moment, then brought out three pears, covered them with a cloth, and when he lifted it again, the pears vanished as well.

Outside the crowd, Bai Li used the hem of her Daoist robe to hold three apples and three pears, smiling as she pulled Chen Ji's wrist to leave: "Hurry, let's go."

Once they squeezed out of the crowd, she wiped a pear with her sleeve and handed it to Chen Ji: "Here, eat this."

Chen Ji took the pear and bit into it: "Quite sweet. With your skills, you'll never go hungry wherever you go."

Bai Li smiled: "Right? My official gateway is really amazing. Come on, let's go see something else."

Beside Tianqiao, a guy playing with a bamboo pole was trying to balance a two-zhang tall pole on his shoulder. Suddenly, the pole flew up into the sky, like a flagpole being planted into the clouds.

The guy looked up for a long time as the pole came straight back down, landing steadily back on his shoulder. He stood there dazed, unable to snap out of it for a while.

Another performer juggling iron balls threw three in the air in succession. The five iron balls resting on the ground started to move by themselves, flying one by one into his hands, leaving him scrambling to keep up, juggling the balls like a spinning fire wheel.

In fact, the acts beside Tianqiao had been repeated countless times here. The performers seemed to be caught in some kind of loop, being reset by fate every time they reached a certain point, repeating what they did day after day...doing it all over again.

The people never seemed to see through the blindfolded flying knife act and enjoyed it every time.

But today, all morning long, Bai Li turned Tianqiao into chaos. The performers beside Tianqiao were forced to display their divine skills, leaving the market crowd gasping in amazement, thinking they were seeing the real deal.

Bai Li stood on the side laughing endlessly, as if she hadn't laughed so heartily in a long time.

On the seventh day of the ninth month in the 32nd year of Jaining, Bai Li made sure the day would be remembered by everyone in her own way.

Maybe, someday later, one of the onlookers of this farce will tell others: "The performers at Tianqiao do have real skills. I saw Master Zhou send flying knives soaring into the sky and the master of bamboo poles tossing his flags into the clouds. They were truly exceptional individuals, usually well hidden."

Maybe someone will also mention Bai Li, saying that day there was a girl in white who was extremely beautiful, but the boy beside her was a bit wooden and didn't say much.

Perhaps someone might recall the day saying it was the best day of the 32nd year of Jaining, with high autumn skies and crowds of people. From then on, the weather turned cold.

At dusk, Chen Ji looked at her: "Will we come again tomorrow?"

Bai Li glanced at the bustle beside Tianqiao, then shook her head: "No, we won't."

Chen Ji asked curiously: "What will we do tomorrow then?"

Bai Li mischievously said: "I'll take you to eat."

Chen Ji wondered: "Eat what?"

Bai Li pondered for a moment and said: "I'll take you to try all the famous foods of the Imperial Capital, okay? I grew up here, so now that you're in the Imperial Capital, I should naturally take you around and do my due duty as the host."

Chen Ji thought for a moment: "Alright."

...

...

The eighth day of the ninth month.

Early in the morning, Bai Li dragged Chen Ji out the door straight to Zeng Sheng Kui on Chessboard Street.

They ordered just one portion of salty tofu brain, separated into two bowls, with an additional door-knocker meat pie. A bite into the pie revealed fillings of fatty and lean meat, with a fragrance that could waft ten zhang away.

Bai Li stirred the tofu brain with a spoon, watching Chen Ji gobble down his food with a beaming smile, but she barely ate herself.

Chen Ji looked up at her: "Why aren't you eating?"

Bai Li smiled and explained: "I'm not hungry. Today, I just wanted you to taste the flavor of this salty tofu brain. When I was young, my father brought my brother and me here. Back then, we lived at the Prince Mansion, just a few steps from Shaojiu Alley. I thought the meat pies were incredibly delicious when I was a kid; my brother could eat eight in one go."

Chen Ji murmured: "It's indeed delicious. I've been in the Imperial Capital for a while and this is the first time I've had it."

Bai Li curiously asked: "You've been in the Imperial Capital for so long and haven't tried Zeng Sheng Kui? It's very famous, all the examinees coming to the capital for the exams would come to have a taste."

Chen Ji explained while eating: "I hadn't had the time until now."

The spoon in Bai Li's hand paused.

Chen Ji finished his door-knocker meat pie and wanted to buy more, but Bai Li stopped him: "Don't eat too much, there are still lots of things to eat."

Chen Ji wiped his hands: "What else is there to eat?"

Bai Li, sitting behind the table, with her chin on her hand, reminisced: "Let's go have Shu's fermented soy milk and fried dough rings. Shu's is hidden in a narrow alley to the south with a small front and two large pots at the entrance. Father says the fermented soy milk and fried dough rings are like the small student and huadan in drama, one's strong and the other's gentle, neither can be absent."

Bai Li's eyes curved like crescent moons: "But you may not like the fermented soy milk. Father conned me into drinking it back then. He and my brother liked it, but I could never manage more than a sip. Father later tricked me, saying I'd like it after trying it a few times. He tricked me into drinking it five or six more times, but I still couldn't stomach it."

"Tianxing Residence's stewed liver is at Xianyu Kou in Qianmen, there's always a long queue at the entrance. The bowl is filled with liver tips and fat intestines, with a strong garlic aroma, thick and shiny sauce. No need for a spoon or chopsticks, just swirl and drink from the bowl. I loved eating liver tips at that time, so I'd pinch them from my brother's bowl. He hated me for it but couldn't bring himself to scold me, so he always ordered an extra bowl and then put all the liver tips from his bowl into mine."

"At Bao Dufu Feng, be sure to order a plate of scattered intestines and a plate of tripe kernels. The scattered intestines are crispy, the tripe kernels tender. Blanched in boiling water and eaten with sesame sauce...Mother took me once, just once. She didn't like street food, felt it was unseemly. That day, for some reason, she was in a good mood and took my brother and me there. During the meal, there was even an assassination attempt, luckily the Spy Department intervened to stop the assassin, or it would have been dangerous. After that incident, Mother thought it was unsafe and never took us there again."

"Little Intestine Chen's stewed tripe is in Second Alley…"

Chen Ji quietly listened as Bai Li recounted the foods she used to eat, as if racing against time to take him to try every delicious memory she had.

Chen Ji didn't spoil the fun, going to taste everything Bai Li mentioned.

By dusk, Chen Ji was so full he could hardly walk. He burped and looked at Bai Li: "Heading home?"

Bai Li stood amidst the bustling crowd on Zhengyang Gate Street, suddenly hearing a woman shout from a deep alley: "Old Li, come home for dinner!"

She suddenly laughed and looked at Chen Ji: "Let's not go home yet, come with me to buy some food."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Buy food?"

Bai Li turned her back to Chen Ji and walked northward: "It's been a while since I've cooked for you. Do you remember what I'm good at making?"

Chen Ji chuckled: "Pan-fried tofu, scallion stir-fried lamb, vinegar-fried cabbage, and bamboo shoots with cured meat."

Bai Li let out a soft hmm: "Tomorrow, I'll make those four dishes."

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment: "Alright."

Bai Li added: "Let's also buy a jar of good wine from the Bianyifang Restaurant. Her Majesty the Empress said your capacity for alcohol is great, you can drink eighty-eight bowls from Anding Gate to the Imperial Palace Gate in one go."

Chen Ji smiled broadly: "Alright, then let's buy a jar of good wine."

He didn't ask about Bai Li's visit to the City God Temple the day before, nor why she was wearing white clothes again, nor why she suddenly wanted to cook a meal herself.

He also didn't ask if Xiao Man's carriage was ready, whether the provisions were prepared, or if they bought winter clothes, as if none of that mattered anymore.

The two didn't mention the past anymore, nor brought up the future.

...

Dear readers and patrons, Happy New Year.