In the Ming Dynasty 1498, my restaurant connects two worlds.

"There are many things in my shop that you haven't tried before, even instant noodles are something you're eating for the first time."

"Oh no! At this time, tomatoes haven't even reached the Ming Dynasty yet?" Song Xiaoyi thought to himself. He would have to make up an excuse for now. "This is a vegetable from my hometown called tomato. Do you know the Western Regions? My hometown is further west in the Western Regions."

If we continue westward from the Western Regions, all the way west, we can eventually return to my hometown. No problem.

Zhu Zhishan and Tang Bohu looked at each other, seemingly having touched on areas of their respective knowledge gaps.

This is exactly the effect Song Xiaoyi wanted.

The key issue was that the two of them weren't familiar with the shopkeeper, so they didn't feel comfortable asking too many questions about what lay further west of the Western Regions.

......

"Bo Hu, drink this soup. Don't waste such a precious thing." The best way to resolve the awkward situation is to lower your head and drink the soup.

"If we don't see eye to eye, there's no point in talking," Song Xiaoyi finished his instant noodles and got up to look at the "Divine Bird Phoenix Painting."

"Holy crap! I ordered a phoenix, the mythical bird! What is this thing you've drawn?"

"Shopkeeper, these paintings depict phoenixes in their juvenile stages."

"I don't believe you for a second! A chick is a chick, not a phoenix in its juvenile stage!"

However, the chicks are drawn with just a few strokes, and they are really lifelike. However, in such a large painting, there are only three chicks. Two of them are pecking at the ground with their heads down, and one is tilting its head and looking at its companion. A few grains of rice are scattered on the ground. The whole sheet of Xuan paper is blank. The inscription on the right reads, "Written playfully by Tang Yin of Wu County in the sixth month of the year Wuwu at Taoye Ferry in Yingtian Prefecture."

"It's one thing to lack the divine phoenix, but why isn't there even a seal? You two are really... really cutting corners!"

"What do you mean by cutting corners?" Zhu Zhishan finished his soup first, not even having time to lick the bowl clean. He followed the sound to the "Divine Bird Phoenix Painting". Looking at the few strokes on the painting, he immediately understood and felt a little guilty. "Shopkeeper, although it was only a short time, Brother Bohu painted these three little... phoenixes with great care."

"Brother Bohu, why don't we affix our seal here as a memento?" Zhu Zhishan seemed to be talking to himself, and without waiting for Song Xiaoyi's reply, he called out to Tang Bohu.

"Don't rush, let me finish drinking! *burp*"

After finishing his soup, Tang Bohu ran over, took out three seals, and first stamped a round seal in red ink that read "Wu Qu". Then he stamped a square seal in red ink that read "Tang Bohu" and finally a corner seal that read "Xue Pu Tang".

Song Xiaoyi was a little confused. This guy actually looked pretty convincing! He looked quite professional!

"How about I stamp another seal as a memento?" Zhu Zhishan saw that Song Xiaoyi was staring at Tang Bohu without saying a word, so he thought that Song was still not satisfied. After speaking, he immediately took out his personal seal from his sleeve, breathed on it, and pressed it to the right of the red square seal "Tang Bohu".

"Huh? This is a pleasant surprise after all?"

"Alright, it'll do, it's better than those arts and crafts paintings on Taobao." Song Xiaoyi said casually as he carefully put the "Divine Bird and Phoenix Painting" into the frame, fastened it, and casually hung it on the wall.

The three examined it for a moment, then said in unison, "Hmm, not bad."

"Our shop is closing soon, please leave. We welcome you to come again next time."

Song Xiaoyi's meaning was clear: you've eaten the instant noodles, and the "Phoenix and Divine Bird" painting has been hung up; it's time for you two to leave.

"No wine, only noodles, what a pity!" Tang Bohu followed Zhu Zhishan and left in a huff.

Before the door could be closed, three or five people rushed inside. The one in the lead bowed and said, "Shopkeeper, I heard you have delicacies that cost ten coins each. Do you have any left?"

"Yes!" How could one refuse business that comes knocking? We'll think about the rest of the illogical and unsolved mysteries later.

Song Xiaoyi cooked five bags of mushroom and chicken noodle soup at once, calming down the noisy customers in the shop, and once again reaped 50 copper coins of varying quality.

Song Xiaoyi thought to himself, no matter what, since this is the real Ming Dynasty, then these copper coins are not fake. Ming Dynasty copper coins in good condition are still very valuable in the modern collectibles market. He would take them to his childhood friend in the market for appraisal later.

After being busy past lunchtime, Song Xiaoyi picked up her phone in the kitchen to go downstairs, but she couldn't get over the threshold!

The door frame displays: Modern electronic products detected. Entry prohibited!

What the hell?

Even with the electric kettle, Song Xiaoyi couldn't get through. The screen displayed: "Modern electrical appliance detected, entry prohibited!"

Song Xiaoyi sat on the threshold of the first floor, watching the people coming and going at Taoye Ferry of the Ming Dynasty outside the door, his thoughts drifting to the past.

This is the only property left to Song Xiaoyi after his grandfather and parents disappeared. After generations of hard work, all that's left is this small riverside restaurant with a floor area of ​​just over 100 square meters and two floors.

The small restaurant has an excellent location, with two streets facing it and one river facing it, right in the middle of the Taoye Ferry Scenic Area.

The first floor facing the river is actually a semi-inlaid underground layer. In the past, when the city's drainage was not good, it would be flooded every year when it rained heavily. Therefore, the kitchen was set up between the first and second floors. Although the layout was strange, it was very practical.

The small attic on the second floor was added later because the first floor was always flooded. The district provided compensation, and it was not considered an illegal construction. The attic has two rooms: one is Song Xiaoyi's bedroom, and the other is a storage room for miscellaneous items.

With some free time, Song Xiaoyi ran up and down the stairs at least ten times and finally confirmed that what his mysteriously missing grandfather left him was a split building that spanned ancient and modern times!

Outside the first floor is Taoye Ferry in Yingtian Prefecture, June of the eleventh year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Outside the second floor is a photo taken in June 2018, taken at the Taoye Ferry Scenic Area of ​​the Confucius Temple in Nanjing, China.

Standing on the outside of the first floor, "Song's Restaurant" appears to be only one floor. Multiple angles confirm that the second floor and attic are not visible.

Standing on the second floor and looking at the exterior, "Song Family Restaurant" only appears to be one and a half stories high! Multiple angles confirm that only the second floor, level with the street, and the small attic above it can be seen.

That's fucking amazing!

Perhaps it was the long-closed restaurant's revival that attracted the attention of neighbors and passersby. People would occasionally peek in through the door on the first floor, casually asking, "When will you reopen?"

Song Xiaoyi would always politely reply, "Tomorrow, I hope you will grace us with your presence."

After being asked the question so many times, Song Xiaoyi thought to himself, "Doing business in the Ming Dynasty? That seems feasible! Anyway, it's all about opening a restaurant, so what difference does it make where I open it?"

As evening approached, Song Xiaoyi saw a scholar happily passing by the door, carrying a sheet of Xuan paper. Yes, Xuan paper!

What happened to the rice paper with calligraphy that I received in exchange for the first bowl of mushroom and chicken noodle soup?

Found it in the corner.

Song Xiaoyi picked up a corner of the Xuan paper with one hand and unfolded it with great interest.

The characters, in cursive script, are all connected scribbles that are incomprehensible. However, the three small characters "Zhi Zhi Sheng" on the red seal are still barely recognizable. When compared with the "Divine Bird Phoenix Picture", they are indeed the same!

I rushed to the kitchen to grab my phone, but there was no signal! I went back upstairs, and there it was! A quick check revealed it to be Zhu Zhishan's commonly used seal.

The cursive script on Xuan paper with Zhu Zhishan's seal is a bit small, but it's worth at least a few million, right? It's just that the ink is too fresh and the inkpad is a bit new. Regardless, for now, it's more cost-effective to put it in a frame and hang it on the second floor as decoration than to buy a decorative painting.

Song Xiaoyi took Zhu Zhishan's manuscript up to the small attic warehouse, found a suitable old frame, removed the discarded backing, carefully unfolded and flattened the manuscript, and then put it into the frame.

"Hey, not bad at all. A bowl of instant noodles for a Zhu Zhishan manuscript, not a bad deal, not a bad deal."