Sticky Fingers

"This is the best sweet sticky rice cake I've ever had," sighed Xiaohu in rapture. Leisurely he sucked his fingers clean and reached for another slice of the sticky brown dessert.

Qingqing' answer was rather muffled--the nian gao was sticking to her teeth. "I never knew anything could be this sweet. And fragrant!"

She stuck her finger into her mouth and dug experimentally at a wad that her tongue couldn't dislodge. "I don't think I'll need any dinner after this," she sighed, fishing for another piece.

Before them, on Suzhen's low table, was a round cake of nian gao, sitting in the middle of the dried bamboo leaves that they had unwrapped it from, like the heart of a lotus flower. The smooth, glossy brown surface glistened faintly. They had had a wonderful time peeling the leaves off and trying to cut it. The knife they had borrowed from Suzhen got stuck in it and they shrieked with laughter taking turns to wrestle it out from the sticky cake.

They were three slices short of finishing the entire cake in one sitting, and rather giddy on the thick slices of aromatic sweetness.

Xiaohu patted his stomach tenderly. "Ah, if we hadn't been too greedy we could have saved some to fry battered. With egg, or with slices of yam and sweet potato. I've seen it before; it smelt--" he rolled his eyes to heavens and kissed his fingers melodramatically to express his feelings. "Golden brown and perfectly crispy on the outside shell, delicately savoury, then soft and melting and oozing with sweetness within--"

Qingqing kicked at him, annoyed. "What's the point in telling me this after we've eaten it all up?" she snapped. "A fine memory you have."

"Ah, don't fret. We can always ask her for more," Xiaohu said, wagging his head. He gave a satisfied burp. "What should we ask for next? We've found a goldmine, truly."

Qingqing nodded thoughtfully to herself. "That was smart of you. I thought I would be satisfied just with seeing her make a fool of herself, but who would have thought that we could actually really benefit from this!"

"Roast duck," suggested Xiaohu, whose two goals in life were roast meat and sweetmeats.

Qingqing frowned. "Do you think she'd fall for it?"

He snorted. "Her? You should have seen how she jumped at it when I told her that Yuanzheng liked sweet things! 'Just like me,' she simpered, and immediately asked her eagerly what I thought what sweetmeat he would like best. I said niangao before I thought twice--I had a a tiny taste of it years ago when I was just a kid, and I never forgot the taste. Sometimes I would dream of it at night. Ah, little did I think she would hustle to get it--an entire cake too!--and pass it to me, at once! Rich people really are stupid. I think they become that way because they stop needing to use their brains to survive. Life is just too easy for them. Imagine--an entire cake! I made sure to show it to everyone on my way here, so the whole village knows that Miss Mao sent niangao specially for Yuanzheng."

Qingqing sat up straight suddenly. "Talking about him. We didn't leave him any." she said in alarm.

Xiaohu waved his hand carelessly. "Ah, he doesn't care much for sweets! He won't care. Just leave him a piece." He glanced at the bamboo leaves. "Perfect. One more for me, and one for you." Swooping down on the last three pieces, he popped a slice into his mouth and closed his eyes blissfully to enjoy the last taste of heavenly sweetness.

"Guess what I told her today," Qingqing added, her lips curving in a smirk that had never boded any good for anyone. "I saw her strutting down the street trying not to make it obvious that she was looking for him. Of course, I just had to go up to her. She would have killed me if she could, she was livid with jealousy. She tried to make some weak jibe at me for wearing the same clothes all the time--" Qingqing twitched at her green robe with a sniff, "and I got my revenge by telling her it was because Yuanzheng told me I looked so pretty in green, and that it was his favourite colour. You should have seen her eyes!"

She burst out laughing at the memory, and held out a shaking finger at Xiaohu. "I'll bet a silver coin that the little wretch appears in nothing but green for the next few days!"

Xiaohu gazed reverently at her as Qingqing sucked the last remnant of niangao regretfully from her fingers. "Sister Qing, I ought to become your disciple. If I could only learn from you, no one would ever bully me again. You're running circles around her!"

Qingqing sprang up from her seat and bowed gracefully. "It seems that you have seen the first light of wisdom, Xiaohu. Not everyone is as discerning as you."

"The two of you are such children," Suzhen said with an amused smile. She was sewing quietly by the window, mending a small tear in one of Xuxian's coats.

Dancing over to her, Qingqing hung over her shoulder. "But you're proud of us, aren't you, Sister? And that Mao Xiang deserves everything she gets."

Suzhen sewed on steadily. "She can surely take some harmless humbling," she agreed calmly.

Qingqing glanced knowingly at her with one of the adroit little turns of her head. "But you won't tell Physician Xu, right? He won't approve, I'm sure. Using a love philtre, even if on someone as obnoxious as Miss Mao!"

Suzhen looked up and held up her hand warningly. "Hush. He's coming."

Xiaohu swallowed his niangao hastily, guilt written over his face. "You won't tell him, will you, Madame Xu?" he pleaded. "He'll scold us for sure if he knew."

Qingqing winked at him. "Of course she won't. Now, let's just sweep this under the bed for now. The less he knows, the less he'll ask."

Xiaohu hurriedly tried to clean his fingers. "How do you both have such good hearing," he complained. "If you weren't here I'd be caught red-handed and Physician Xu would probably think I'd stolen all this. Catch him believing that Miss Mao gave it to me!"

He chuckled maliciously. "Who would, though?"

Xuxian's voice rang out happily. "Susu! I'm back! And I've got a surprise for you!"

Suzhen laid the sewing aside and laid her finger on her lips silently. For a moment there was a sparkle in her eyes that matched theirs.