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The news about Jia Zhu abandoning his pen to join the army spread throughout the capital. Bai Tang, upon hearing this news, was naturally surprised and decided to pay attention to her cheap disciple. She also witnessed Jia Zhu's practice in front of the Minister of War. To be honest, Jia Zhu's marksmanship was quite skilled, but it lacked lethality. Bai Tang worried for her cheap disciple's safety; having narrowly escaped death once, would he really meet an early demise and leave Li Wan to take care of things? Just then, the system issued a new mission, so Bai Tang went directly to find Jia Zhu.
"I have a set of knife techniques here; let me teach them to you!" Bai Tang took out a skill book from her bag and handed it to Jia Zhu. She had bought this book from the shop for one thousand taels of Gold, which made her feel quite pained.
"Thank you, thank you, Master!" Jia Zhu held the skill book, tears welling up in his eyes. Every time he faced danger, Master would appear to help him; Master was his benefactor!
Bai Tang smiled and stood up to take her leave.
Jia Zhu hurriedly tried to keep her: "Master, my wife has prepared a feast; please stay and have a couple of drinks. I haven't toasted you yet."
Bai Tang tilted her head: "Alright!"
Bai Tang had long been craving the food described in Dream of the Red Chamber. It is known that Cao Dada used nearly a third of the text to describe culinary culture, and Bai Tang felt quite envious while reading.
Li Wan prepared a large table of dishes: Ham and Fresh Bamboo Shoot Soup, Ham Braised Pork Hock, Silver Ear Pigeon Egg, Chicken Bone Bamboo Shoot, Marinated Goose Web Duck Heart, Stir-Fried Goji Sprouts, Crispy Quail, Eggplant Dish... all were dishes that appeared in the original text.
The dish Bai Tang most wanted to eat was the Eggplant Dish. This Eggplant Dish is made by peeling freshly picked eggplants to obtain only the flesh, cutting it into small cubes, frying it in chicken fat, then mixing it with diced chicken breast meat along with fragrant mushrooms, fresh bamboo shoots, mushrooms, five-spice tofu skin, and various nuts. It is stewed in chicken broth until fragrant oil is absorbed and mixed with rice wine before being sealed in a porcelain jar. When ready to eat, it is taken out and mixed with fried chicken melon. It has no taste of eggplant at all. In the book, Liu Laolao remarked after tasting the Eggplant Dish: "Don't fool me; if eggplants could taste like this, we wouldn't need to grow grains anymore; we would just grow eggplants."
Another dish she most wanted to try was Chicken Bone Bamboo Shoot. This is a delicacy from the recipe in Dream of the Red Chamber and is quite complicated to prepare. Fine bamboo shoots are selected and soaked in cold water; they are then cut in half lengthwise and the core removed. They are boiled until cooked and seasoned before cooling down. The chicken breast meat is skinned and tendons removed; it is pounded into chicken paste with the back of a knife and mixed with egg whites and scallion oil before being stirred vigorously in one direction until well combined. The thigh meat is removed from the bone which is then smashed up; using toothpicks, the marrow is extracted and placed into a pot with yellow wine, ginger juice, and sugar until boiling to remove any fishy smell before being simmered in clear broth until tender. The chicken paste is spread inside the bamboo shoot cores; after spreading it evenly, the chicken marrow is placed on top and garnished with cilantro before being steamed on an oiled plate for two or three minutes. After steaming, the original broth is poured back into the pot for seasoning before thickening slightly with cornstarch and drizzling with chicken fat—this dish is complete. Elegant, clear, and rich in nutrition, Chicken Bone Bamboo Shoot comes from Chapter 75 of Dream of the Red Chamber: "A Night Banquet Unfolds Strange Omens as Sad Sounds Emerge; Enjoying Mid-Autumn New Poems Gains Good Omens." The Mandarin Duck referred to these dishes: "These two dishes are unrecognizable; they were sent by Master. This bowl is Chicken Bone Bamboo Shoot sent by Master."
"Master, this Wild Chicken Seeds dish is good; you should try it," Jia Zhu called out to Bai Tang while pointing at a plate.
Bai Tang looked at the Wild Chicken Seeds that resembled stir-fried chicken cubes while searching her memory for its origin in the original text: Wild Chicken Seeds appeared in Chapter 49: "In a Glazed World of White Snow and Red Plum Blossoms; Fragrant Powdered Girls Cut Through Fishy Smells." After snow fell, Li Wan and Baoyu invited newly arrived Xing Xiuyan, Xue Baoqin, Li Wen, Li Qi among others for poetry gathering at Lu Xue Pavilion. The next morning Baoshan was so impatient that he only made tea-soaked rice and hurriedly finished it with Wild Chicken Seeds. Jia Mu remarked: "I know you all have feelings today; you don't even want to eat."
"This plate must be Milk Steamed Lamb?" Bai Tang pointed at another dish with her chopsticks. "This dish has a warming property that isn't suitable for young people; you'd better not eat it."
Jia Zhu's face turned slightly red: "The kitchen told me to treat Master well; I thought you were older!"
Bai Tang smiled and said she didn't mind, secretly planning to sneak into the kitchen later to pack some Milk Steamed Lamb to take back for Bai Dad and Bai Mom to nourish their health.
"Master, I toast you with this cup, thanking you for the elixir that saved my life," Jia Zhu filled a cup with wine and respectfully presented it in front of Bai Tang.
Bai Tang had a very low tolerance for alcohol; even a single beer would get her drunk. At this moment, looking at the clear liquid in the White Jade Wine Cup and smelling the rich aroma of the wine, her mouth twitched. Could she refuse to drink?
Bai Tang took the wine cup and downed it in one go.
Jia Zhu offered a second cup of wine: "Master, this second cup is to thank you for teaching me martial arts, which has strengthened my body!"
Bai Tang took a deep breath and accepted the wine cup again, drinking it all.
"The third cup is to honor my master; thank you for your concern for me!"
After three cups of wine, Bai Tang set down her cup and said with a serious expression, "Before going to battle, make sure to practice your sword techniques! Alright, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now. No need to see me off!"
With that, in the next moment, Bai Tang vanished from the living room in front of everyone (the Jia family's servants).
"Master really is like a dragon—hardly seen!" Jia Zhu sighed.
"Young Master!" Jia Zhu's attendant Yun Yan chattered his teeth and asked tremblingly, "Is this Young Master Bai a deity or a monster?"
"Uncultured! Master is neither a deity nor a monster; he simply used lightness skill!" Jia Zhu slapped Yun Yan on the head.
"Yes, yes, I lack knowledge. But Young Master, what is lightness skill? Why did Young Master Bai suddenly disappear?" Yun Yan covered his head and asked. He wasn't the only one curious; all the servants in the hall were eager to hear Jia Zhu explain. This was such juicy gossip! Once they understood how the guest left, they could boast to other servants about having seen High Master.
"Lightness skill is a type of martial art. Those who can use lightness skill can jump onto rooftops, and their speed is as fast as the wind!" Jia Zhu actually didn't know the true power of lightness skill; he could only explain it to the servants based on his own understanding.
"Oh!" The servants expressed their understanding. Thus, half a day later, various rumors began to circulate in the capital that the speed of lightness skill was comparable to that of a thousand-mile horse.
Bai Tang was unaware of this; she was sound asleep! After holding her breath to run back from the Jia family, Bai Tang collapsed onto her bed and slept for three hours before waking up. While drinking the hangover soup made by Aunt Ma, Bai Tang rubbed her temples. What kind of ancient wine had so little alcohol content? The good wine from ancient times was rich and mellow, with a strong aftertaste, even better than today's Moutai. Perhaps she could bring back a few jars as gifts. Bai Dad rarely drank, but he did brew medicinal wine and would occasionally have a cup or two—she could bring some herbs back for him to brew; the efficacy of ancient herbs was definitely stronger than modern ones, plus there were no fake medicines. Uncle, Third Uncle, and Fourth Uncle all enjoyed drinking; she could give each of them a jar. Aunt, Aunt Er, and her uncle didn't have a taste for alcohol, so she could send each family a bottle to try...
"Young Master, the embroidery you requested is ready!" An Ping reported as he entered.
"So fast?" Bai Tang was surprised; it hadn't been long at all!
An Ping replied, "It's mainly because you offered a generous payment. The embroiderers and carpenters worked faster to get their money sooner."
"Can the quality be guaranteed?"
An Ping quickly assured her, "I inspected it myself; everything is up to standard with no shortcuts taken."
"That's good! Bring two in for me to see!"
"Yes!" An Ping exited and soon returned carrying a two-foot-high embroidered screen. Behind him followed An Dongming and Ma Shi, who were lifting a large floor screen.
Both items were double-sided embroidery. The embroidered screen was made of rosewood; one side depicted "Joy on the Eyebrows" (a magpie and plum blossoms), while the other side featured "Wealth and Prosperity" (a peony pattern). The floor screen was supported by a yellow pear wood frame, standing two meters tall and three meters wide. One side of the screen showcased an ink wash landscape, while the other side depicted cranes symbolizing longevity.
Bai Tang's eyes were glued to the two embroidered screens as she examined them closely from top to bottom and left to right, finding no flaws to criticize. Satisfied, she thought that ancient people were indeed reliable.
"Not bad; I am very satisfied. Give them an extra layer of payment as a reward, but let them know they don't need to rush like this anymore. I will need these embroideries long-term and don't want them to exhaust themselves."
“Gentleman Renhou!” An Ping thanked Bai Tang on behalf of the workers. He felt fortunate to have a good master who not only treated them well but also entrusted him with responsibilities. What kind of master would give such authority to a servant?
“Move all the embroidered goods onto the carriage; I am going on a long journey. During this time, the house and the shop will be in your care. By the way, is the money I gave you enough?” Bai Tang asked. She had already confirmed that it would take half a month to replenish the energy consumed by traveling through the time-space portal, meaning she would not be able to return to the world of Dream of the Red Chamber for another year.
“It's enough, it's enough,” An Ping hurriedly replied. Bai Tang had initially given him five thousand taels of silver, which he used for purchasing goods for the shop and paying wages to embroiderers and carpenters... After spending over three thousand taels, he still had more than a thousand left, which was sufficient for both the shop and household expenses. The annual expenditure for an ordinary family was only about one hundred taels of silver.
Bai Tang still took out three thousand taels of silver to give to An Ping, just in case.
“I will be gone for a year, and I don’t know what might happen during that time. Having extra money will help you deal with any emergencies.”
An Ping was deeply grateful for Bai Tang's trust, tightly clutching the banknotes and vowing not to let his master down.
“If anything does happen, you can go to Jia Family’s Eldest Son, Jia Zhu, or you can find the Xue Family. Young Master Xue Pan from the Xue Family and Jia Zhu are both my disciples.”
An Ping was astonished; he had suspected that his master was extraordinary but did not expect her background to be so impressive.
“The old servant understands!” An Ping felt reassured; he believed he could manage the shop confidently now.
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