Having set out from bustling Chang'an, passed through the Eastern Capital, Luoyang, and now wandered around frontier Youzhou City, she found little that was new enough to stir her interest.
At a fruit shop, Baozhu instinctively wanted to buy some snacks for Thirteenth Son. Passing a smithy, she considered getting Wei Xun a new eating knife. But the ones she loved were gone; buying anything was pointless now. She wandered listlessly for half the day and bought only two stiff-wrapped headcloths for Yang Xingjian.
When hunger finally struck, Baozhu followed Huo Qilang into a cooked-food shop she knew well. They ordered two bowls of lamb offal soup and a portion of fried deer blood sausage.
The moment Baozhu tasted the food, she wrinkled her nose. Huo Qilang pointed at her and laughed. "That look of disgust is exactly the same as your elder brother's when he's being picky. You really are siblings born of the same mother."
Baozhu pursed her lips but did not stop, continuing to eat in great mouthfuls. She had endured so much hardship on this journey that she could hardly fuss over the finer flavors of her food. The deer blood sausage reeked of blood, so she asked the shopkeeper for a bowl of plain water and washed it down.
Huo Qilang remarked, "You really do have a sturdier constitution. If he takes one bite and doesn't like it, he'll never take a second. I come here often and think the food tastes quite good. Does your imperial family not eat animal innards?"
Baozhu said, "Elder Brother never does, but Younger Brother Yuanyi and I both like them. This shop simply cooks them badly. Even the water is salty and bitter. I've learned to endure hardship, not lost my sense of taste."
Huo Qilang considered this