Great Tang Idyll

s another village'.
Good, a good place.
Magistrate Cheng must quickly lead us there so we can broaden our horizons.”

 

Before Magistrate Cheng could speak, the man continued reciting while rotating his head, as if the poem was written by him.

 

“Then, my lords will have to suffer a bit.” With a smile on his face, Magistrate Cheng extended his hand to gesture invitation, and went ahead with the Magistrate Assistant and the two baliffs.

 

“It's fine, it's fine, what’s there to be afraid of when it’s just suffering a bit? I didn't expect that there are such good places in San’shui County.
Everyone, please hurry.” This person also smiled and waved his hand, pretending to be nonchalant and followed behind.
The others naturally followed too.

 

At the beginning, the road was easy to walk on but after half an hour, there was no path on the ground anymore.
Only a path of less dense grass can be vaguely seen in the half-dry grass.
It should be because people only occasionally walked through here.

 

Zhou Xi’hu stayed beside his uncle, and he carried two water pouches on his back.
Seeing that everyone was still talking about the scenery enthusiastically, he whispered to his uncle, “Uncle, it's over.
Magistrate Cheng really wants to torture people.
Following this path to walk to that village, we will probably be able to see the smokes of civilization only before it turns dark.

posted on dramantics.blogspot.com

But only just seeing it.
If we were to actually arrive at that place, we would have to walk for another two hours.
Good thing I brought enough water.
I knew that Magistrate Cheng did not have good intentions.
Later, I will get you a stick, and you can use it as a cane.
Don’t force yourself.
“

 

Zhou Xi’hu was talking while looking around to try to find a suitable branch.
He knew that his uncle seldomly walked this much so he would be easily tired.

 

Zhou Kong would not doubt his nephew.
Hearing this, he took a deep breath and prepared himself to welcome the suffering.
He looked at the water pouch on his nephew’s body he felt glad that his nephew was really sensible now.
He knows that he should make money for his family by doing business, sympathize with others, and make arrangements in advance.
When he goes to the Zhang Manor, he will definitely thank them.
He suddenly remembered something and asked his nephew in a low voice. 

 

“Little Hu, while we were in the car just now, did you bring the beef jerky that we didn’t eat because it was too dry? I’m guessing that by the time we can see smoke, we would be hungry already.
“

 

‘Thud thud thud.
'Zhou Xi’hu patted his own chest and then squeezed his eyes as he spoke, “Uncle, don't worry, I have brought them all.
Didn't you see me getting off the carriage to return to my own carriage in the afternoon? Not only did I bring the beef jerky, but I also wrapped a large scallion pancake and two salted duck eggs in oil paper.

 

These were all made by the Zhang Manor.
Unfortunately, there is no hot water.
Otherwise, there’s also their you’cha’mian roasted in tallow rendered from beef marrow bones5 on my carriage.
All of these were given to me so that I can offer them to my elders.
Now, when I eat, I would go to their little shop that they run.
The price is cheap and it tastes good.
I bought this pancake in the morning.
“

posted on dramantics.blogspot.com

Zhou Kong looked over and found that his nephew’s body was covered with puffy pockets, and he couldn't help but sigh.
His nephew was blessed this time because of trouble.
They were able to cooperate on business sales and give him foods to offer to elders, so they can’t be bad guys.

 

At this time, he wished he could escape from this group of people immediately so that he could go take a look at that manor and thank them.
He would also take the chance to see if he can help them in any ways, and not just wait for benefits and take advantage of them.

 

Zhou Kong and his nephew Zhou Xi’hu were prepared, and Magistrate Cheng had eaten and drank already.
The two fourth-rank officials who came from the imperial court were also given tea and snacks, and they must have brought some along with them and did not have to fear that they would starve until the point their chests sank into their backs. 

 

As for the rest of the people, they were all talking about flowers and trees while holding back the taste of acid reflux from their stomachs.
With the arrival of the drought came, the flowers and grass were almost all withered so the scenery was not that mesmerizing.

 

Magistrate Cheng still had that smile on his face.
As he walked, he sped up a little bit and everyone behind him unconsciously sped up too, The group of people flooded toward the “another village” that was mentioned in the legend.

posted on dramantics.blogspot.com

*

 

At the Zhang Manor, Zhang Xiao’bao and Wang Juan, who were riding on their bicycle, asked Housekeeper Wang to find Shi’liu to select seeds.
Two of them went all the way to little bridge and from a distance, they could see people busy building houses in the downstream area.
The foundation was still not complete yet, and the bottom was still water and sand and mud.
Even with the drought, water would come out after digging.

 

“Xiao’bao, let’s ask an old man who knows how to predict the forecast.
Even now, the sky is still cloudy and sultry.
I wonder when it will rain.” Wang Juan looked at the flaming hot area and wiped her sweat.

 

“No need, it's going to be clear soon, look.” Zhang Xiao’bao was about to ask someone just as Wang Juan said, but when he looked up at the sky, rays of sunlight were peaking through, and the dark clouds seemed to fade with the sun’s appearance.

 

Translator's Notes

 

“An’ran 安然

As mentioned in Chapter 65, “An’ran” is Magistrate Cheng’s given name.
Normally, people would not be able to refer to Magistrate Cheng as “An’ran” since this was considered disrespectful, unless they are on close terms with him.
However, Zhou Kong was able to do so because he is a higher ranking official. 

“treated as a chicken to be killed for monkeys to watch” 被当成鸡，杀了给猴看

I left this as a literal translation because I think the author was referring to the four word Chinese proverb 杀鸡儆猴, which means to “kill a chicken to threaten the monkeys”.
It describes punishing another person as a warning to others. 

“do things that hurt his reputation or weaken his power” 自毁长城

I decided to go for the implied definition instead in the translation.
This is a Chinese proverb which literally means “self-destroy the Great Wall”. 

“Repeats of mountains, and overlaps of water, as if there were no paths” 山重水复疑无路

This is a line from an actual poem written by Lu You during the Song Dynasty, and it describes the beautiful scenery of the countryside. 

 

For those who are curious, here’s my loose translation of the entire poem: 

 

Don’t laugh at the farmer’s cloudy wine that was made at the end of the year, 

keeping the guests with wonderful dishes during a year of good harvest. 

 

Repeats of mountains, and overlaps of water, as if there were no paths, 

Behind the dark willows and bright flowers is another village. 

 

Orchestras of flute and drums chase after the nearing spring festival, 

Robes and headdresses were simple and plain but the traditional air persists. 

 

If more adventures can be taken under the beautiful moonlight in future years, 

I will definitely come with my cane to knock on your house’s door. 

 

“you’cha’mian roasted in tallow rendered from beef marrow bones” 牛髓油茶面

 

This roux-like dish is usually eaten as a snack or as breakfast.
It’s made by dry-roasting wheat flour until it turns a golden color, and then an oil or fat, such as beef tallow or lard, is drizzled onto the flour.
Then hot boiling water is added to the flour mixture and stirred until it has a very thick sauce like consistency.
Sugar, peanut paste, sesame paste, nuts, and dried fruits are usually added, and it can be eaten with Chinese twisted crispy doughnuts (ma’hua).