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

"These dishes are made with ingredients sourced from various rural areas according to family recipes. I know they should be pretty good. However, whether this skill can still meet the culinary needs of modern people is something I need to test. That's why I thought I'd take this opportunity of treating you all to a meal to give it a try."

"We can try this more often in the future."

"Hahaha~"

"Once the shop opens, all teachers are welcome to bring their friends to eat here anytime. The ingredients at Song Family Restaurant will definitely live up to its reputation."

"Well said! Now that you've tasted the other dishes, do you have any recommendations?"

"Mr. Wu, you must try this mutton and radish soup."

"This is Songfu White Jade Lamb Soup."

"Is this braised wild duck? This is definitely wild enough!"

"This is Songfu Roasted Duck."

......

"Dear teachers, you must have a bowl of Songfu White Jade Lamb Soup to work up a sweat. Pengcheng has a Lamb Festival every year, right? The lambs are born in the summer, raised for a whole year, and then slaughtered before the start of the hottest period of summer. The lamb head and offal are a perfect match with this Snow Jade White (a type of radish) soup."

"The lamb and lamb chops have been sorted and placed in the refrigerated display case."

Where can you find such a sensible child? Graduated from military academy but didn't join the army, and both grandparents and parents have disappeared—it's so pitiful...

"I want these shiitake mushrooms too..."

"The shiitake mushrooms are ready, but there aren't enough."

Wang Fengqi, who asked for shiitake mushrooms, received a disdainful look, but the rest were full of praise. What the heck? So you guys want some too, and you want me to go first, huh?

......

What was supposed to be just an ordinary meal turned into a culinary appreciation event for Song family's craftsmanship and a food-sharing session for Song Xiaoyi.

"Little Yi, this old man has eaten and drunk his fill. It's been years since I've had such a hearty meal. Today, I ate two large bowls of rice, which is unprecedented for me. Some of what I'm about to say might not be pleasant to hear, but I still have to say it."

"Please tell me frankly, Brother Xiao Yi is not fragile at all."

"Haha, Miss Pearl, you're overthinking it. I'm not criticizing him. Such a good kid is rare. I'm too busy taking care of him."

"What is the old man trying to say? Your Song family's skill in selecting ingredients is definitely unparalleled; your ancestral techniques are truly well-deserved."

"But the old man thought that wild ingredients like these mushrooms, at most, only cover a small patch of forest. Once they're all picked, they're gone. And then there's the sheep. Nowadays, not many sheep can be raised for a whole year. After all, they consume grain and fodder every day. The longer they're raised, the higher the cost."

"Therefore, because the ingredients are not stable enough, the quality of the dishes will fluctuate greatly, and your Song family's skills will not be able to maintain a stable long-term business."

"So, the old man suggests you stop with restaurants and hotels and come up with a new model: mobile family banquets."

"Mobile family banquet?! Mr. Wu and I were thinking the same thing! Xiao Yi just wants to try helping others prepare family banquets. The customers pay and tell me the number of people and their specific requirements, and I prepare the dishes based on the ingredients I can provide. This way, I have enough time to go out and find and prepare the ingredients, instead of being stuck in the shop all the time."

"Haha, not bad, not bad. Since you've thought of that, this old man won't presume to teach you. I'll reserve a table first, but it has to be done in Beijing. I'll have Xiao Fei contact you in advance."

"Okay! Thank you, Mr. Wu, for giving me this opportunity."

"Old Wu's suggestion is good. This kind of cooking model has existed in society for a long time, but it is still mostly in the stage where the host provides the ingredients, and it is rare to see the chef providing the ingredients."

"That's true. When chefs supply ingredients, the first thing to consider is trust, otherwise there will be conflicts. Everyone's tastes are different. Take this crucian carp as an example. We know that this is a top-quality wild crucian carp, but some people will find that the meat is too tough, not flavorful, and not tasty. Others will find that there are too many bones, making it troublesome to eat."

"The same rice feeds a hundred different people; that's certainly true."

"Dear teachers, actually, Xiao Yi doesn't have that many ambitions. It's enough for him to pass on the family's traditional craftsmanship."

"You still need to target the mid-to-high-end market. For example, with your shrimp, I see Dean Teng likes it the most; look at the mountain of shrimp shells he has. But look at Old Wu, he doesn't eat them because he's allergic to shrimp. Dean Teng, let me ask you a question: if you came across these shrimp at the market, how much would you be willing to pay per pound?"

"The grass shrimp at the market are usually 70 yuan per catty, but that's nothing compared to this. If it's over 120 yuan per catty, I'll have to think twice."

"Did you hear that? This is a matter of target audience and benchmark. If you target middle-class families, you can sell this shrimp for 100 yuan per catty, but if it's any higher, people will think it's not worth it. But if you target high-end groups, and you sell it for 200 yuan per catty, some people will still think it's worth the price."

"Thank you, Director Wang. Xiao Yi understands."

"Everyone's so busy giving Xiao Yi advice that they've forgotten the main purpose of our visit, haven't they?"

"Haha, that's really true."

"Mr. Wu, fellow teachers, let's go somewhere else. It's a bigger place with brighter lights. I'll go upstairs and bring down the manuscript; there's a surprise waiting for you."

"Oh? There's another surprise?"

Song Xiaoyi made a last-minute decision to add four more "Chicks Pecking Rice" paintings, selecting four with different styles and complete, orderly seals.

When they went downstairs, Wu Fei had already set up the table, and Song Xiaoyi first took Wen Zhengming's manuscript and put it on the table.

"Sure enough, this is exactly the same as your signboard. There's even a seal here. Why didn't you put the seal on this signboard back then?"

"Perhaps it was too early in history, and the conditions weren't right?"

"This needs to be studied."

"Mr. Wu, how about we give this one to the Suzhou Museum? The Suzhou Museum's Wen Zhengming exhibition hall is missing an early shop sign-type work, and this would fill that gap perfectly."

"Wen Zhengming's early shop sign calligraphy is valued per character, at 20 per character. This one is 160 million. Xiao Yi, what do you think?"

"Teacher Wang, 20 yuan per word, that's 120 million yuan!"

"A name is also considered a courtesy name."

"Teacher Wang, how about we go with 120 million...?"

"Xiao Yi, don't try to save money for him. The Suzhou Museum has money. Very few of Wen Zhengming's shop sign works have survived. Yours is worth this price."

"Okay, I'll listen to Dean Teng. Then I, Xiao Yi, will accept the offer without hesitation. I'm willing to pay 160 million."

Wang Fengqi excitedly pulled Wu Fei forward and asked him to help put away Wen Zhengming's shop sign manuscript.

"Please have the teachers appraise this one. I'm not sure if it's an authentic work..." Song Xiaoyi carefully took the cursive manuscript out of the frame and laid it flat on the table.

"The First Journey to the Frontier!" Wang Fengqi, who had just put away the manuscript for the shop sign, peeked out and exclaimed, "Why is it unframed again?"

"This is not the complete 'First Journey to the Frontier,' but the first section of the manuscript, the first half of the first poem!"

Whether it's framed or not, nobody cares anymore.

The two museum directors couldn't resist squeezing forward, eager to see it for themselves.

"What's so special about Du Fu's 'First Leaving the Frontier'?"