Time slips away, and despite the arrival of another liquor ban day, the tavern seems busier than usual.
It is only morning, and the tavern is already bustling with life. The door stands ajar, as per tradition, allowing the scent of sesame to drift outward as fresh rice buns tumble into baskets, their steam coiling into the air.
Unlike previous days, another petite figure waits nearby, wearing light walking shoes and carrying a soft cloth bundle.
Ms. Xu: 41, 42, 43 ...
Ms. Xu: 50 rice buns in total, fresh out of the oven. Smells good; worth the hard work. I was up before the sun.
Ms. Xu: Do you think you can make it? You'll have to walk through basically half the city to deliver all the buns.
Jiu Niangzi: Don't worry, it's not my first time. I'll run as fast as I can!
Ms. Xu: Still remember our customers and their orders?
Jiu Niangzi: Sure I do. Two buns for the butcher on West Street, four for the tea room on South Alley, the family across the bridge wants three, and, um ...
Jiǔ Niángzǐ retrieves a piece of paper from her sleeve, upon which a map has been haphazardly drawn, marking the locations of the shops she must deliver to today.
Jiu Niangzi: See, I wrote it down. Since I've learned how to read and write, I can remember them easily!
Upon closer inspection, the list would give most people a good laugh. Aside from a few familiar characters, the rest is made up of drawings resembling an encrypted espionage missive.
It is highly unlikely that anyone but her would be able to decipher it.
Ms. Xu: Be careful. Stay alert to the patrollers. If you're thirsty, just ask for a cup of tea when you get to the tea room. The owner will give you one.
Jiu Niangzi: Yeah, alright.
Before she finishes her sentence, Jiǔ Niángzǐ is dashing out the door, taking huge swift strides as she runs down the street and disappears into the distance. Compared to that little beggar of years past, she looks like a completely different person.
Without Jiǔ Niángzǐ's help, it would not be possible to deliver rice buns to people in other districts of the city. Ms. Xǔ shines with gratitude.
Jiu Niangzi: Hmm, should I go east or west first? Or I could start with the closer ones, and then the farther ones ...
Jiu Niangzi: So many orders to deliver. So many people to meet.
Amidst her musings, a wooden doll peeks its head out from the sleeve of her garment.
Wooden Dolls: And things about Xiángruì to ask. Don't forget!
Jiu Niangzi: Oh right, Xiángruì. I need to ask around.
Jiu Niangzi: Hey, I didn't call you. Why did you come out? Hide; quickly!
After tucking the wooden doll back into her sleeve, Jiǔ Niángzǐ spends half the day running through the city and delivers over half of the rice buns.
Now, guided by her own map, she arrives at the edge of an alley and knocks on a weathered wooden door.
Poet: Coming, I'm coming! Finally, the font of my inspiration has arrived.
Poet: I've been waiting all day, Jiǔ Niángzǐ.
Jiu Niangzi: Mr. Lǐ, the buns you ordered are here.
Poet: Great, great. I'll get water to mix them together.
Mr. Lǐ's hands are stained with ink, and looking in from the doorway, the room appears to be strewn with sheets of white rice paper, the fresh ink still glistening on their surfaces.
In the tavern, where the town's drinkers gather, none are unaware of the poetic talents of Mr. Lǐ. A lover of verse and ink, he often likens himself to the great poets, Du Fu and Li Bai.
Jiu Niangzi: Mr. Lǐ, are you still writing poems?
Poet: The tavern was too noisy. By the time I got home, my inspirations had all been driven away. Luckily, today is liquor ban day, so I woke up with a clearer mind.
Poet: I woke up before seven this morning and started creating right away. But hot liquor will help my ideas flow. Thanks for the buns!
Mr. Lǐ dissolves a rice bun in tea, and with a single gulp, he drinks it down. Within moments, a flush of color spreads across his face.
Poet: Excellent! What a drink. What an excellent mood I'm in now!
Witnessing this scene, Jiǔ Niángzǐ's curiosity is piqued. Since she started working at the tavern, she has seen all manner of drinkers, yet she remains unaware of the reasons behind their indulgence.
Jiu Niangzi: People say drinking makes you smarter. Is that so?
Poet: I can't speak for others, but it doesn't make me smarter, but bolder. Often, without drinking, I feel fettered, and I can't write a single word.
Poet: But a bowl of liquor emboldens me, like I'm a general riding a horse, running on the field of creativity.
Poet: And somehow, the poems I write when I'm in this mood are better than the others.
Jiu Niangzi: Sounds like liquor can give people energy.
Jiu Niangzi: The guests are always energetic and loud after drinking.
Poet: By the way, I heard you've been studying with Mr. Liǔ. Why didn't you come to me?
Poet: I'm much more accomplished than him—intelligent and erudite. Let me read something to you: Goose, goose, goose ...
Jiǔ Niángzǐ hastily excuses herself, saying that she still has many buns to deliver, and scurries away.
Thus, Jiǔ Niángzǐ traverses several streets more until she arrives at another household and knocks on the door.
Her knock resounds. The door is opened by an elderly man with graying hair—a familiar face often seen at the tavern.
Old Drinker: Finally! The taste of the rice bun liquor lingers in my mouth for days. Using half a bun a day is equal to four days' drinking!
Old Drinker: Thank you, Jiǔ Niángzǐ, for delivering them for me. And send my thanks to Ms. Xǔ as well.
As Jiǔ Niángzǐ hands over the rice buns, she suddenly recalls the wooden doll's admonition.
Jiu Niangzi: Mr. Shěn, could you tell me more about the Xiángruì you mentioned in the tavern that day?
Jiu Niangzi: Ms. Xǔ told me you've met a lot of people and know a lot of things. Maybe that includes a story about Xiángruì, too.
Old Drinker: Why are you suddenly asking me this? But she's right that I know many things.
Old Drinker: It is an age-old story. Every Xiángruì looks different, resides in different locations, and has their own duty.
Jiu Niangzi: From what I know, a Xiángruì blesses its people. But how does the blessing work?
Old Drinker leans against the door frame. For some time, he strokes his whiskers as he contemplates how to give Jiǔ Niángzǐ a satisfactory answer.
Old Drinker: The blessing, I'd say, satisfies the wishes of the people.
Old Drinker: Like Ms. Xǔ and her tavern. She provides a place for drinkers like me to enjoy liquor and makes these rice buns when drinking is banned.
Old Drinker: She is such a blessing, with much more bark than bite. And the liquor she makes is so smooth, it whisks away my sorrows.
Old Drinker then falls into reminiscence as he begins muttering to himself.
Old Drinker: Liquor ... I suppose liquor is a good thing. It comforts people.
Old Drinker: I was once too young to enjoy it, and now I'm too old to enjoy life.
Old Drinker: Only a bowl of liquor can take me back to enjoying that youth that I can only visit in my dreams.
As the sun is setting and Jiǔ Niángzǐ still has several rice buns yet to deliver, she bids farewell to Old Drinker and hurries off. As she glances back, she sees him sitting by the door, cradling his rice buns and liquor, and softly humming a tune.
On her journey, Jiǔ Niángzǐ contemplates the "blessing" Old Drinker mentioned. Guided by her map, she unknowingly steps onto the threshold of the last house on her list.
Jiu Niangzi: Ms. Xǔ runs the tavern to satisfy people's wishes to drink ... Is that a "blessing"?
Jiu Niangzi: To become a Xiángruì, I need to ...
Lost in thought, Jiǔ Niángzǐ finds her path obstructed by a formidable figure. The man, out of habit, presses down on the short sword at his waist, adjusts its position, and clears his throat to remind her of his presence.
Facao: Seeing that Jiǔ Niángzǐ is still lost in her reverie, the man clears his throat once more.
Facao: Jiǔ Niángzǐ, you're late.
Facao: Two hours late. Lucky for you, Lǐzhèng is still working on the ledger of the New Year's purchase.
Jiu Niangzi: Fǎ-Fǎcáo, why are you here? What's late?
Jiu Niangzi: I'm just, um, wandering on the street. I don't know what you're talking about.
Recalling Ms. Xǔ's words, she quickly takes a step back to distance herself from him.
Facao: You have around seven or eight buns with you, do you not? You can give them to me now.
Jiu Niangzi: ...
After a moment's hesitation, Jiǔ Niángzǐ hands over the rest of the buns, her heart pounding in her chest, anticipating the judgment of the law.
Unsure of what the punishment might be for breaking the liquor ban, Jiǔ Niángzǐ waits silently.
But he does not blame her. Instead, he fishes out seven or eight copper coins from his person and counts them out before presenting them to her.
Jiu Niangzi: This is ...?
Facao: It's for the buns. We officers aren't freeloaders.
Facao: Hurry. Take this.
Jiu Niangzi: Um, they're rice buns ... made from the materials from making liquor, if you just eat them like that—
Facao: I know. Yesterday I sent someone to the tavern and asked that they be sent to the Zhící.
Facao: I expected you to arrive earlier.
Facao: A member of the patrol team just got promoted. We've been waiting for this to celebrate—
As he speaks, a figure emerges from the Zhící, exuding an air of authority and kindness. It is Lǐzhèng. Jiǔ Niángzǐ hasn't seen him for quite some time.
Lizheng: My work is done here. Time to head back, Fǎcáo.
Lizheng: Hmm? Isn't this Jiǔ Niángzǐ? You've grown up now.
Lizheng: I heard you're doing a good job in the tavern. The patrollers always talk about you.
Jiu Niangzi: Thank you, Lǐzhèng.
Lizheng: But what are you two talking about? Is there something I should know?
Facao: ...
Jiu Niangzi: N-nothing! I'm just asking Fǎcáo about, um, about ...
Jiu Niangzi: About Xiángruì! I've been studying with Mr. Liǔ these days and saw the word "Xiángruì." It's said to be some divine beast that protects people, but nothing more.
Jiu Niangzi: So I was asking him about the Xiángruì in Pèi City.
Lizheng: Perhaps it's been recorded in the collections at the county archive.
Jiu Niangzi: Can I check them?
Lizheng: Citizens are prohibited from entering the archive. Along with the collections, the classified county annuals are preserved there.
Lizheng: Put your curiosity away, Jiǔ Niángzǐ; it's time for you to go back home now.
With Lǐzhèng and Fǎcáo fading into the distance, Jiǔ Niángzǐ gives her bundle a shake, catches some sesame seeds in her hand, and starts chewing on them.
Throughout the day, Jiǔ Niángzǐ encountered many individuals, but Fǎcáo's actions intrigued her more than anything else. It seems this prohibition is indeed as lax as Ms. Xǔ claimed. So why, she wonders, has it not yet been abolished?
