Life in the Streets of Song Dynasty

(I'm currently working on A Guide to Life for a Concubine's Daughter. Please add it to your reading list!) (Reader's guide: Song Dynasty transmigration, historical research, food, mystery-solving, and life among ordinary folk.) Chef Ye Zhan transmigrates to the Song Dynasty. The empire is at peace and the people are prosperous, but her situation is disastrous from the start: 1. People in ancient times are clever. Dreaming that her transmigrator status will give her an advantage is wishful thinking. 2. She was kidnapped as a child and has only just found her family. Her fiance has come to break off the engagement. 3. Prices in Bianjing are sky-high, and houses cost a fortune. 4. Her family is poor, and they're all looked down on as members of the lower classes. Her father runs a small goods stall, her mother is a matchmaker, her eldest brother is a notorious layabout, and her eldest sister is a brewer at a tavern. Her second brother, a well-known street tough in their neighborhood, ekes out a living as a fire watchman at the military patrol station. Her younger sister is learning witchcraft from a shaman. Ye Zhan rolls up her sleeves and sets a few modest goals: 1. Help her family escape the low-class register. 2. Buy back their old fields and home. 3. Lead the whole family to prosperity, so they can enjoy the happy life of having land in the countryside and a house in the city, and counting money until their hands cramp. How will she achieve her goals? Ye Zhan decides to start by opening a small eatery. Pei Zhao is transferred to the Left Military Patrol Office of Kaifeng Prefecture to investigate cases. A colleague pats his belly, looking satisfied. "The sweet-and-sour pork at Lady Ye's is outstanding. The tangy, sweet plum sauce on the outside almost made me forget I was eating pork." "I can't believe the glazed pigeon at the Ye family's really has skin as clear as glass. One bite and it's crisp, fresh, and fragrant!" A suspect provides an airtight alibi with complete confidence: "When the crime happened, I was lining up to buy Lady Ye's crackling-crisp dry-pot pork cartilage!" Even prisoners in custody mutter, "If I could have one more bite of the Ye family's spicy, savory chicken with pork intestines, I'd die content." Pei Zhao: Is it really that good? But when he finally gets to taste it, he says: It's amazing! One day, a colleague says, "Once we finish the case, let's go feast at the Ye family's restaurant. The two-cooked perilla fish is fresh and delicious, the freshly carved lamb head meat comes in generous chunks, and the peppercorn-spiced hot pot can cook anything... Lord Pei, care to join us?" Pei Zhao He replies in a low, hoarse voice, then turns to ask Ye Zhan, "I scrub the pots every day. When are you going to give me a title?" (Note: A slow-burn ensemble story. The heroine eventually marries a seventh-rank official. No emperors or high ministers appear in the story.) References: Research on Song Dynasty Prices, A History of Currency in the Song Dynasties, Imperial Relatives and Politics in the Song Dynasty, Dream of the Splendor of the Eastern Capital, Song Dynasty Clothing, Wu's Food Guide, and Research on Song Dynasty Kaifeng. Blurb for my next book, A Guide to Life for a Concubine's Daughter: Gu Yizhao transmigrates into the body of the least favored concubine's daughter in a wealthy ancient household. Her father is cold-blooded, her legal mother indifferent, her legitimate elder sister haughty, and her legitimate elder brother gloomy. Her own mother is spoiled and foolish, while all kinds of sinister forces circle around them. A little concubine's daughter in a grand mansion: what path should she take? Gu Yizhao looks at her seven-year-old body and clenches her fists. Keep your head down and grow quietly. We can win! The author's completed works, Bianjing Food Stories and There's No End to Spending Money, are complete and ready to read. Theme: Hard work is better than relying on others