Everyday Life in Bianjing

Recommended upcoming novel: The Daily Life of a Southern Song Imperial Clanswoman. The everyday life of a woman from a branch family of an eminent clan and a sickly, fussy, retired member of the imperial clan. Blurb: When Chen Yuanniang was born, her father was demoted from county deputy magistrate to a commoner. She went from being a pampered young lady of an official's family to a farmer's daughter, spending her childhood cutting grass, herding cattle, and doing hard labor. Even the marriage arranged for her as a baby quietly fell through. The family's grain jar was nearly empty. While her grandmother called her a worthless burden, Yuanniang was sent to the hills to dig for wild vegetables. Fortunately, she had the sharpest eyes for miles around and always managed to gather more than anyone else. Then, out of nowhere, good fortune fell into her lap: she would never have to dig for wild vegetables again! Her fiancé's family, now a powerful household, had sent someone to break off the engagement! They gave her a mountain of paper money, countless chests of compensation gifts, and even her family's old ancestral home. This wasn't a broken engagement. It was the God of Wealth descending to save them. But it also made the whole village jealous, and people seeking her money came to propose until they wore a path to her door. Her grandmother looked at her beautiful granddaughter and her young grandson, who was old enough to start school and pay tuition, then gritted her teeth and made a decision. “Let's move! We're moving!” The whole family quickly relocated to Bianjing, the liveliest and most prosperous city in the realm. They moved into a small courtyard with a shop facing the street and began living like ordinary townspeople. Scene One: The morning dew is thick, and steam curls up from the bamboo baskets on the stove. Grandma and Mother are kneading dough in the shop to make steamed buns. As for Yuanniang... She rolls up her sleeves, ready to help, only for Grandma to smack her without mercy. A rouge-red mark appears on her fair arm. Grandma's sharp voice fills the room. “You silly girl! What respectable young lady bares her arms and legs? Do you want to get married or not? Do you think we need you to earn a few measly coins for the family?” Her gentle-natured mother quietly rubs the sore spot for her. “Buy a couple of pretty outfits.” Grandma tosses her a heavy little purse, then continues gruffly, “Finding a good husband is what matters.” Yuanniang isn't offended at all. She quickly stuffs the purse into her sleeve, nodding like a squirrel and putting on a sweet, obedient act for Grandma. Her little brother, who is studying, keeps a solemn face as he says, “Sister, don't worry. I'll study hard and pass the palace examinations one day, earning noble titles for you and Mother. I won't rely on outsiders to bring honor to our family.” Scene Two: Since her family is so talented, Yuanniang can only do as she's told. With her little purse in hand, she spends her days with the young ladies in the neighborhood, wandering between theaters and teahouses. Between eating, drinking, and watching the crowds, she also looks around for a suitable husband, becoming as much a native Bianjing girl as anyone. Chen Yuanniang soon sets her sights on a handsome scholar from a well-off family. He often comes to the family shop to buy steamed buns, and his eyes always stay fixed on her. She pretends to be shy, occasionally lifting her lovely face to ask him to teach her how to write. Before long, she has him completely smitten. After that, new gifts appear outside her little gate every day: sometimes rouge, sometimes pastries, sometimes hairpins... One day, a lantern is added to the collection. A girl from the neighborhood teases her. “The Lantern Festival is when young men and women in Bianjing confess their feelings to each other. Your scholar is probably going to ask you out to see the lanterns and tell you how he feels. Don't be shy. I checked him out for you. He's generous, so he must come from a wealthy family, and he's handsome too...” “You're so lucky,” the girl says with a grin as Yuanniang chases after her. Sure enough, after the Lantern Festival, the pair grow closer. That is, until the scholar reveals who he is and says he wants to come formally ask for her hand in marriage. Chen Yuanniang is thunderstruck, frozen in place. Isn't his family the very one whose engagement she broke off... Notes: 1. The Song dynasty setting is fictionalized. No historical accuracy intended. 2. The younger brother is a modern person who transmigrates and pursues a career through the civil-service examinations. In their previous life, the heroine and her brother were siblings too, so regardless of their mental ages, she's still got the upper hand as his older sister. 3. The heroine is genuinely looking for a husband and casts her net wide. The hero just happens to be the biggest catch, so he stands out. 4. At heart, this is a cozy, food-filled, beloved-by-her-family story. Some characters take the civil-service exams, some support the family, and the heroine is in charge of having fun. 5. Grandma is a wonderful grandma!!! Recommended upcoming novel by the author: The Daily Life of Bianjing Blurb: People say the ancients were backward: women had to remain faithful to one man for life, never leave the inner quarters, and even seeing their arms was enough to make them kill themselves. After Xu Cener transmigrates to the Northern Song dynasty, she learns that these are all stereotypes. In the Northern Song, it is perfectly ordinary for widows to remarry. Chancellors and high officials pursue wealthy widows, and there have even been several empresses who married for a second time. In prosperous Bianjing, women often work, and wealthy households consider hiring cooks a mark of status. As it happens, her mother is a widow and a highly skilled cook who prepares banquets in wealthy households, earning a good income. Her late father also left them a large house by the Zhou Bridge in Bianjing, the equivalent of a courtyard home in a modern city center. Xu Cener goes with her mother to prepare banquets in the mansions of the wealthy, helping out and occasionally eating the best candied cherries from the banquet, which her mother sneaks her, while listening to the maids gossip. She plans to inherit her mother's skills one day. She can work as a cook if things go well, or rent out a few rooms if they don't. Life will be lovely. Then one day, her mother pulls her aside with a grave expression. “I'm getting remarried.” Well, that's her mother's choice, and Xu Cener supports her, though she'll have to check the man's character first. “He's a secretary in the Imperial Library, an eighth-rank official. He's a little poor and loves to eat, but at least he has an official position. “You know, I'm marrying him so I can find you a father.” Xu Cener is stunned. How did this become about her? But her mother is swift and decisive. She not only marries quickly, but also uses her new husband's official position to arrange a match for Xu Cener with a young scholar from out of town who has just passed the palace examinations. The young scholar has passed the final examination and become a student of the emperor, but he isn't a celebrated top-three graduate, nor has he been sent away to earn a fortune in local office. He is only a proofreader in the Imperial Library and can't even afford a little house near the walls of Bianjing. Xu Cener makes little effort to prepare for the meeting. Every jinshi she has met holds his nose in the air. She doesn't want to marry one and suffer for it. Until they meet... The young, handsome scholar blushes as soon as he sees her. He could answer the emperor smoothly during his palace examination, yet now he stammers and doesn't know how to speak softly enough not to startle her. Xu Cener looks him over. He's tall, refined, and handsome. With a face like that, she wouldn't mind letting him move into her house... Theme: Work hard to make life better