Qi Shejiang now got to the main topic, “Actually, at first, the mooncake didn’t have any filling, it was just a dry pancake, a whole piece, merely for the round shape. The filling came about during the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, when he invented it.
“This goes back to the time of the Yuan Shun Emperor, when the political situation was bleak, and the common people were suffering terribly. Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to unite various rebel armies to rise on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, but how could such crucial news be transmitted? His strategist Liu Bowen came up with the idea to put the message inside food and send it out!”
Meng Jingyuan: “Hey, that’s a good method.”
Qi Shejiang continued, “When it was finally done, it still seemed to lack something.” Meng Jingyuan: “What was missing?
Qi Shejiang pretended to busy himself: “We pressed a mold on it, three characters: Daoxiangcun.” Meng Jingyuan let out an “Eh,” “Was Daoxiangcun around back then?” … Qi Shejiang: “……When the Yuan soldiers came to inspect, there were regulations limiting knives. Several households were only allowed to share one knife. The Yuan soldiers took a look at General Wang Sheng’s sword, which was quite large. Well, a large knife with a large cake makes sense, but these government soldiers were always looking to take some advantage. He shouldered that mooncake as if it were a piece.” Meng Jingyuan: “They didn’t spare the food either?” Qi Shejiang: “That really scared everyone. There was a note hidden inside saying, ‘Rise up on the night of the fifteen!’ In the end…” Meng Jingyuan: “What happened?” Qi Shejiang: “He ended up bursting without revealing any ‘filling’!” … This joke revolves around the origin story of filled mooncakes, illustrating how Zhu Yuanzhang thought of using mooncakes to convey messages and ultimately succeeded in rallying various rebel armies.
Twenty minutes passed, and it seemed like a fleeting moment, with the audience still yearning for more. Qi Shejiang entered the stage, and with a final shake of his bag, he bowed out along with Meng Jingyuan.
Although it was an old routine, they had refreshed it a bit, and their skillful execution of “delay, tight, pause, and setback” was impressive. Even those who had seen it before couldn’t help but laugh.
