Chapter 117 — Cold Night
劍問蒼天 · Page 1 of 6
The southern borderlands were vastly different in custom from the Central Plains, yet over the years, remote as that region was, it had never been entirely cut off from the heartland. The furs, ores, and other local products of the southern frontier had always enjoyed an excellent reputation in the Central Plains, drawing no small number of merchants there to trade.
In time, inns—which had never existed in the southern borderlands at all—appeared under the influence of those Central Plains merchants, springing up in the busiest few towns.
The one in which Ming Li and Xiaobai now found themselves was just such an inn, its name taken directly from the local place-name: the Tianshui Inn.
Stepping inside, one could plainly see that the arrangement of tables and chairs owed much to Central Plains culture, though the proprietor and the serving staff were all local Zhuang folk. Of the peoples of the southern frontier, the Zhuang were the most numerous and, by comparison, the most prosperous; they had been the most deeply influenced by the Central Plains, and unlike the other tribes who still clung to a life of hunting above all else, the Zhuang had gradually taken up farming and trade.
Even so, the Zhuang character was a gentle one, and most of their people lacked that ferocious edge, so that in terms of strength they were in fact less formidable than the Miao, whose numbers were fewer than theirs.
Ming Li and Xiaobai sat down, and a server promptly came over to attend them. Dusk was falling, yet there were not many guests in the inn. Judging by his looks and dress, this server too was a Zhuang of the southern frontier, except that he had likely been working here some while, for his speech was quite fluent.
"You two gentlemen—will you be wanting something to eat? We also have clean rooms here, and our prices are the fairest for miles around, known far and wide."
Ming Li nodded. "Keep two clean rooms for us. We'll stay the night."
The server nodded with a smile, then said, "You two must not have eaten yet, surely? Shall I bring you something?"
Ming Li was not hungry, but he glanced at Xiaobai and decided to order a little food anyway. "Mm—bring us two bowls of rice, and a few..."
"Er!" Xiaobai, seated to one side, suddenly spoke up, smiling. "Do you have 'clay-smothered yellow sparrow' here?"
Ming Li started and turned to look at her. The server was taken aback as well and could not help giving Xiaobai another glance. "Miss, have you been to our southern frontier before? That's one of our signature dishes—of course we have it."
Xiaobai's smile deepened, her eyes flickering as though recalling something, and she said slowly, "Mm, that's right—and 'three-section snake intestine,' 'roast bear tail,' 'roast autumn leaves,' 'five little insects'..."
"...and 'black-heart fruit'..."
Her eyes glimmered; she spoke as she thought, at first rather slowly, naming one dish at a time, but later faster and faster, the names growing ever more outlandish—one listen told you they were fantastical beyond belief, certainly nothing the Central Plains could produce.
Ming Li was dumbfounded. Inside the shop, not only did the server's smile stiffen into a gaping, awkward expression, but even the proprietor, who had been tallying accounts in the distance, could not help coming over.
Only after rattling off nearly thirty dish names in one breath did Xiaobai pause to rest, then turn to the proprietor and the server with a smile. "These dishes—do you have them here?"
Proprietor and server exchanged glances. After a long moment the proprietor gave a dry laugh. "Miss, you are indeed a woman of wide experience. Every one of those dishes you named is a famous specialty of the southern frontier—only many of the ingredients aren't easy to come by. Apart from the clay-smothered yellow sparrow, this shop can manage only the black-heart fruit and the roast bear tail. My deepest apologies."