Chapter 3: Shangyuan (III)

Hurry not the jade clock or copper kettle—let iron gates and golden locks stay open all night.
Who can sit idle while gazing at the moon? Where can one hear lantern light without coming to see it?
On this festive day of Shangyuan, with no restrictions in place, every household rejoices together, enjoying the peaceful and prosperous era. Whether you are a noble official or someone from humble origins, you can fully admire the lantern trees, towers, and wheels along Zhuque Street.
At this moment, the boundary between the rich and the poor becomes almost entirely blurred.
Of course, after enjoying the lanterns enough, you can also play elegant games like quoits or solving riddles. If that’s not enough, you can find some companions to play the game favored by strong men—hook-and-draw.
However, it turns out that this physically demanding game isn’t suitable for Miss Du Jingtian.
The red team won the competition without a doubt, and the once confident Miss Du Jingtian now slumped her head, following Li Kuo while complaining nonstop.
“I told you that fat guy ahead stepped on my dress, but he wouldn’t believe me! Now I’ve fallen face-first, and all my makeup is ruined.”
It would have been fine if she hadn’t spoken, but as soon as she did, Li Kuo couldn’t help but laugh. “A Tian, I’m not criticizing you, but dressed like this, it’s impossible for you to win in hook-and-draw!”
“Go away! I’m already upset—don’t annoy me!”
Seeing Du Jingtian’s darkened face, Li Kuo shook his head and said, “Alright, I’ll do as my dear A Tian asks.”
“Young master, you must be tired from playing hook-and-draw with Sister Jingtian. How about we find a stall to eat something for snacks and regain our strength?”
Shen Liniang stepped forward at just the right time, offering a good suggestion.
“Oh, eating is great! My stomach is growling. You little rascal, you better comfort me now!”
At the thought of snacks, Miss Du immediately brightened up and punched Li Kuo’s stomach a few times.
“I’ll make sure you eat well!”
Li Kuo smiled bitterly, shook his head, and strode forward.
There were a wide variety of snacks during the Tang Dynasty’s Shangyuan Festival—nothing was impossible to find.
After some deliberation, the three stopped at a stall around the corner.
Li Kuo lifted his robe and sat down, while Liniang and Du Jingtian hesitated for a long time.
“What’s the matter, little princess?”
Li Kuo looked at Du Jingtian playfully and teased her.
“It’s dirty here, with black oil…”
Seeing the dark oily stains on the bench, Du Jingtian felt nauseous and barely held back from vomiting.

Li Kuo pulled out a pair of chopsticks from the basket and handed them to the other person, saying with a laugh, “When we’re away from home, there’s no need for such fuss. Besides, back at Kelong Teahouse, you weren’t so shy!”
“Oh, you little rascal! Comparing my grandfather’s teahouse with this street stall? It infuriates me! My grandfather’s place is the cleanest—how could there be so much mess there?”
Hearing Li Kuo’s words, Miss Du became upset. After all, Kelong Teahouse was one of the cleanest teahouses in the entire South City. It was outrageous that Xiao Qi, who had even worked there part-time, would compare the two.
“In my opinion, the young master is right. When we’re away from home, we really shouldn’t be too picky.”
Shen Liniang smiled and sat down, pulling out a pair of chopsticks from the wooden basket.
“Mm, mm…”
Miss Du took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped the bench repeatedly before reluctantly sitting down.
“Hurry up and get some late-night food. We’ll leave after eating.”
“Hey, serve three fried dough sticks, half a pound of braised mutton, and a pot of good wine!”
Li Kuo nodded and called out to the waiter not far away.
“Sure, sir! Three fried dough sticks, half a pound of braised mutton, and a pot of good wine—right away!”
The waiter was quick, responding while tossing the dough into the oil pan.
Noticing the two women’s troubled expressions, Li Kuo realized the problem and quickly added, “Could you please bring two more bowls of noodle soup? My wife doesn’t drink alcohol!”
“Sure! Here are two extra bowls of noodle soup to help with digestion!”
“Are you satisfied now?”
Li Kuo tweaked Du Jingtian’s nose, his voice full of affection.
“Hmph, this is what you owe me!”
But Miss Du wasn’t grateful and turned her head away.
“How is it my fault again? We agreed that the loser would treat the other person to food…”
“Idiot!”
Miss Du glared at Li Kuo, her face red, and said, “If I marry you, can’t I even get a bowl of late-night food?”
So that’s what she meant!
Li Kuo found it amusing and stayed silent.
After a while, the waiter came over with a wooden tray.
“Here are the three fried dough sticks, a pot of good wine, and two bowls of noodle soup you ordered.”
Then he picked up a small wooden bucket filled with cold water from under the table. Inside the bucket was a thick porcelain bowl, with the braised mutton placed in it.
“Here’s your food. That’ll be 150 coins in total.”
Li Kuo took out 200 coins from his purse, paid the full amount, and gave it to the waiter, saying, “Thank you for your hard work. Here’s 50 coins as a tip for you.”

That guy ran a small business; he had never met such polite and generous customers before. He immediately beamed with joy and kept bowing, saying, “Sir, you truly are a noble person. These two must be your ladies. Look at their skin and appearance—what good fortune you have!”
He gave a thumbs-up in praise, leaving the two women blushing with shame.
“Well, you’re not needed here. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Li Kuo quickly waved his hand to send away the talkative waiter.
“That man talks so much!”
As soon as the waiter left, Du Jingtian started complaining. She had never seen such an rude waiter before. If this had happened at Kelong Teahouse, he would have been kicked out by her grandfather long ago.
“Hurry up and eat.”
Li Kuo, not wanting to argue, went ahead to the fried dough sticks.
“Mm, it tastes good. You should try it too.”
As he chewed, Li Kuo kept praising it. For some reason, these fried dough sticks reminded him of the times when he ate late-night snacks with his third brother and grandfather at a street stall. But over a decade had passed, and everything had changed. It was unlikely he could ever taste fried dough sticks exactly like those again.
“Those chopsticks… those chopsticks…”
Du Jingtian, however, didn’t pick up her chopsticks. She hesitantly pointed in the direction of the waiter.
Li Kuo followed her gaze and saw the waiter gathering the chopsticks from the basket, rinsing them in the dishwater, wiping them with his greasy sleeve, then putting them back in the basket and placing them on another wooden table.
Du Jingtian spat out a mouthful of saliva, filled with confusion. Those chopsticks had been rinsed in dishwater countless times and wiped with a greasy sleeve—could they really be used to pick up food?
Li Kuo thought she was worried about something else; it turned out to be her obsession with cleanliness again.
Not wanting to burden her further, Li Kuo simply continued eating on his own.
Seeing him eat happily, Du Jingtian forgot about the unclean chopsticks and picked up one with her hand, reaching for the shiny, golden fried dough sticks.
Note 1: According to the “Taiping Guangji,” the method of making fried dough sticks is similar to that of later generations’ fried yuanxiao, but this was not the mainstream practice. In fact, during the Tang Dynasty, the food eaten during the Lantern Festival was “mian can,” not yuanxiao.
As for braised mutton, since agriculture was highly valued in the Tang Dynasty, killing cattle was illegal, so braised beef was unavailable; only braised mutton could be eaten.