CHAPTER 91: CHAPTER 89: FERMENTED WINE

Song Xian finished writing the last document, then finally lifted his head.

Jia Si had already been standing by waiting for half an hour, and upon seeing this, he quickly stepped forward and said, "The medicinal herbs have all been categorized, and everything has been recorded in the logbook."

Saying this, Jia Si handed the logbook he held to Song Xian.

Song Xian looked into the main hall; the people from the pharmacy and Chen Family Village had already left, leaving only the medical workers busy.

Jia Si continued, "As per your commands, all categorized medicinal herbs are stored in the Official Medicine Bureau."

Upon hearing this, Song Xian stood up and followed Jia Si to inspect.

As Jia Si walked, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Although the weather was cold, he was so busy that his official robes were soaked with sweat. The work of one day would have taken him three to five days before.

Originally, Jia Si wanted to complain but seeing the Zhenzhou County Magistrate busy with clerks, he shut his mouth. When he came from the Capital City to Zhenzhou, he had specially visited the wife’s brother-in-law of the Zhenzhou County Magistrate, hoping to have someone looking out for him. From the brother-in-law’s mouth, this Zhao Zijiang was a man skilled at navigating the complexities, seeking neither exceptional governance nor failure.

Upon hearing this, Jia Si understood and prepared to spend some Silver Coin to grease the wheels, hoping Zhao Zijiang would provide more guidance and help, at least in passing messages.

But upon arriving in Zhenzhou, Jia Si found Zhao Zijiang greatly different from his expectations. After having gone through the case with Song Min, Zhao Zijiang was scared out of his wits by Song Xian and became diligent in governance and dared not show the slightest negligence in matters instructed by Song Xian.

He presented the letter from Zhao Zijiang’s wife’s brother-in-law and placed a hundred taels of Silver in front of Zhao Zijiang, which frightened the Zhenzhou County Magistrate to tears and snot, begging him to take the Silver Coin back, or else Zhao Zijiang would hand it over to Song Xian.

Today, during the medicine selection at the Official Medicine Bureau, Zhao Zijiang was even more silent, burying himself in work, and when Jia Si wanted to speak with him, Zhao Zijiang avoided him like the plague, causing Jia Si to also become increasingly nervous.

After Song Xian finished inspecting the stored medicinal herbs, he left the Official Medicine Bureau, and Jia Si, who had been accompanying him, let out a long sigh of relief, wishing he could immediately collapse on the bed and rest well.

With a curse at Song Xian and Zhenzhou in his heart, Jia Si thought back to how he had wanted to gather information upon arriving, but now felt restrained everywhere he went.

Song Xian walked back to his small courtyard.

Upon arrival, he noticed a shadow standing by the wall.

Seeing Song Xian return, Xie Liangchen stepped forward and bowed. Her voice remained respectful, but her brows and eyes betrayed a hint of joy: "Everything today is all thanks to Mr. Song." Without Song Xian, there wouldn’t have been so many Grade A tokens.

"It has nothing to do with me," Song Xian replied, "You were the ones processing the medicinal herbs, and it was you who mentioned classifying them." He simply went along with the flow.

Xie Liangchen said, "If you hadn’t spoken, Vice Envoy Jia wouldn’t have agreed. When the medical workers reviewed the medicinal herbs, you even let us wait in the main hall, sparing us the hardships of waiting outside in such weather."

Though the snow wasn’t heavy, it hadn’t stopped, and it kept lightly falling, soon covering Song Xian’s shoes. Song Xian slightly squinted, feeling that Xie Liangchen’s words carried a hint of apology and a desire to make amends.

Could it be because she previously suspected him of having ulterior motives in teaching Chen Zigeng archery in Chen Family Village?

Does she now realize it wasn’t the case?

Returning from Chen Family Village, Song Xian hadn’t noticed anything amiss, yet with her coming to express goodwill now, a wave of relief washed over him, as if a burden had lifted.

Song Xian felt a slight sense of surprise, thinking he shouldn’t care about such details, and pondering this, he stepped forward: "Let’s speak inside."

The two walked into the study, and Xie Liangchen immediately took a porcelain jar out from a small bamboo basket and placed it on the table: "This is the rice wine I’ve made. I’ll cook a rice wine egg for you to taste."

Looking at the porcelain jar on the table, every time she came without fail, she would bring some food, and if she took anything else out from that bamboo basket, that would be the surprise.

Does she believe, perhaps, that kindness can be exchanged with food?

Song Xian said, "The kitchen is fired up."

Xie Liangchen nodded: "I can finish it quickly."

With these words, she hurriedly left with her rice wine.

Song Xian lifted his gaze to watch Xie Liangchen’s departing figure. Perhaps because she often came to cook, or maybe Cheng Yanzhao constantly spoke incessantly in his ear, seeing her head to the kitchen made him feel an increasing emptiness in his stomach.

The rice wine egg was quickly prepared and served in a bowl larger than her face, steaming hot in front of Song Xian.

Xie Liangchen said: "There wasn’t enough time to make much else today. I still need to return to the village early, in case Wang Jian can’t wait to discuss selling medicinal herbs."

The room was filled with a sweet aroma.

Song Xian turned to see the steam rising beside him. He didn’t have high demands for food, and such things were never experienced in his past life.

Song Xian asked, "Did you make this rice wine yourself?"

Xie Liangchen responded, "I bought the glutinous rice from the market." Her grandmother worried over it for several days.

She seemed to particularly enjoy tinkering with such things.

Back then, in his eyes, all of this was dispensable. Song Xian closed the document before him and reached out to bring the large bowl closer to himself.

Scooping a bit into his mouth, the soup with egg flowers was slightly sweet, carrying a slightly peculiar taste.

"Is this also a medicinal dish?" Song Xian asked after taking a few sips, thinking of her.

"It’s not a medicinal dish," Xie Liangchen answered, her brows raised, "I just used to enjoy eating this rice wine."

Having worked hard for so long, and achieving a good outcome at the Official Medicine Bureau, there was a noticeable sense of relaxation and joy in Xie Liangchen’s expression.

Speaking of medicinal dishes, a thought flashed through Xie Liangchen’s mind, a thought almost too humorous to keep in.

Though she controlled her emotions, Song Xian noticed it.

Song Xian asked, "What’s so funny?"

The faint aroma of rice wine lingered, and Xie Liangchen looked at Song Xian: "In fact, some places do consider it a medicinal dish. Do you truly want to hear?"

Song Xian turned his head towards Xie Liangchen: "Go ahead."

Xie Liangchen hadn’t intended to say it, yet the leak of her inner thoughts left her unable to hide them: "In some places, it’s given to women who have just given birth."

With the sweet wine barely entering his mouth, Song Xian’s breath stumbled, almost causing him to cough, them considering him akin to a postpartum woman? Suddenly, he could no longer eat the rice wine in front of him.

As his brows slightly furrowed.

Xie Liangchen restrained her smile: "The rice wine relaxes muscles and joints, treats blood stasis; it’s not exclusive to postpartum women, so feel free to eat without worry."

Considering what she had said, Song Xian consumed all the rice wine before him in a single breath. Were those words just her way of teasing him?

Setting the bowl to the side, Song Xian lifted his eyes and saw Xie Liangchen standing not far away, her eyes exceptionally bright, with slightly flushed cheeks.

Song Xian instinctively asked, "Did you eat rice wine before coming over?"

Xie Liangchen shook her head: "I didn’t." She brought the rice wine, rushing over without time to eat.

Song Xian felt the heat in his stomach slowly crawling up his cheeks, and continued: "Did you sneak some in the kitchen just now?"

Surprisingly, Xie Liangchen’s eyes flashed; she hadn’t expected Song Xian to ask such a thing, it was unlike his usual cold demeanor.

Before she could respond, Song Xian pushed the bowl forward again: "Get me another bowl."

Looking at the empty bowl, a thought flashed through Xie Liangchen’s mind, feeling an increasing sense of awkwardness from Song Xian sitting in the chair.

What was going on? Surely one doesn’t get drunk merely from eating rice wine?

Seeing her unresponsive, Song Xian, typically quiet and reserved, asked: "What’s the matter? Is there none left? If so, make more."