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

A minute of silence followed. "Shifu, call him uncle," the child's mother said through gritted teeth, essentially acknowledging the relationship. She then rose and bowed to Miaolan, saying, "Song Yunqiu greets her sworn sister."

"Uncle~"

The child's clear voice calling him "Uncle" almost brought tears to Song Xiaoyi's eyes, and she quickly hugged Xiao Shifu tightly.

"Lan'er, the shop is closing."

"Shifu, your uncle is taking you home."

Returning to her house via her own boat at the ferry crossing, Song Yunqiu never expected that her newly adopted younger brother, who ran such a shabby little eatery, actually lived in such a luxurious house.

Since his newly adopted sister and nephew couldn't come back to the modern world with him, Song Xiaoyi arranged for Lan'er and his sister to help him tidy up the house, making three rooms for them to stay in tonight.

After settling in, Song Xiaoyi also figured out which two characters "shifu" corresponded to.

"Lan'er, take your sister to the market to buy some daily necessities," Song Xiaoyi said, handing two small gold ingots to Song Yunqiu. "You two can stay here tonight. Brother Zhu and the others live next door. If you're scared, ask them for help."

"And what about you?"

"I usually stay in hotels, but I still need to resolve my immigration status today."

Back in the modern era, Song Xiaoyi took out his phone and searched for "a person named Shifu during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty". The system was very powerful, "Qiu Ying, courtesy name Shifu, also known as Shifu".

Song Xiaoyi's mind started buzzing again.

Baidu's entry states that Qiu Ying was born in 1503!? Based on his current age, wouldn't that mean he was born in 1493? That's a 10-year difference!?

But at least my intuition came true once again, and thankfully I didn't miss this big shot.

Further investigation revealed that Qiu Ying dropped out of school in his childhood and worked as a painter? It seems that this misfortune led to his dropping out of school.

By taking him in, aren't you changing the course of his life?

Since we've already taken him in, there's no need to hesitate any longer. Zhu Zhishan and Tang Bohu are right next door, so let him hang out with them and get acquainted with them first.

Following this logic, who is the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation? It seems that the bond between myself and the other party began from day one.

We've known each other for so long and I haven't even asked for her name. That's so impolite!

------------

While Song Xiaoyi was eyeing the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation, the Deputy Commissioner was also eyeing Song Xiaoyi, and his curiosity was growing stronger. As soon as he returned to his residence, he locked the door, took out a stack of Xuan paper from a hidden compartment in the wall, flipped to the first two pages, pulled out the third page, ground ink, and continued registering the rest:

June 30th, the eleventh year of the Hongzhi reign

The owner of Song's restaurant has taken in a mother and son who are homeless.

Upon observation, the siblings referred to the son of a refugee as Uncle Song.

The household registration of migrants was not found.

Song's restaurant's newly brewed osmanthus wine is even better than the last; its fragrance wafts even as I pass by.

……

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The next morning, when the door opened, Song Yunqiu and her two companions, along with Zhu Zhishan and three others, had been waiting at the door for a while. Upon asking, they learned that the two sides had already become acquainted at home the previous night, and Zhu Zhishan had directly accepted the well-behaved and sensible Shifu as his disciple on the spot.

It seems my worries were unnecessary; this powerful historical corrective force is beyond question.

The shop's business is booming every day, but now there is an extra force. With Song Yunqiu's help, they are able to handle it with ease. Even Xiao Shifu can earnestly help clean up the dishes in the hall.

After Zhu Zhishan and Tang Bohu finished eating, Song Xiaoyi told Xiao Shifu to go back with Zhu Zhishan and his group first. The shop didn't need child labor, and they couldn't delay the development of his talent.

Having talent is one thing, but qualitative change also requires the accumulation of quantitative change.

Busy until after 10 o'clock, Song Xiaoyi went out and found the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation again at the dock.

"Vice Envoy, it's nice to see you again. The day before yesterday, thanks to your help, I was able to purchase my desired house. Once the house is furnished, I would like to invite you to have a drink with me, Vice Envoy?" Song Xiaoyi greeted the Vice Envoy of the Tax Bureau in a casual and natural manner, as was his habit.

"No problem, no problem. Shopkeeper Song is law-abiding and straightforward, which saves us a lot of trouble."

"Vice Envoy, we've known each other for so long, yet I still don't know how to address you. It's truly impolite of me."

"No problem. My surname is Mou, and my given name is Bin. Shopkeeper Song can simply call me Vice Envoy Mou."

"Moo~" It was just like a deep "moo" from an old ox that echoed in Song Xiaoyi's mind, and he didn't hear what Mu Bin said after that.

How could the renowned Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard during the Hongzhi reign possibly be serving as a mere ninth-rank Deputy Commissioner of Taxation in Southern Zhili?!

You're a really bad spy chief!

Song Xiaoyi's shock was fleeting. He quickly composed himself and stepped forward to continue the conversation. "Vice Envoy Mou, you see, I came to Yingtian Prefecture from the west of the Western Regions. Although I have a house and a shop to stay in, I still remember the mission my family gave me."

"Your family's mission?" Mu Bin instantly became alert; this guy's true colors were about to be revealed!

"It's not a big mission. The family wants to open a fast food restaurant in Yingtian Prefecture, you know, the kind that..."

Song Xiaoyi pulled Mu Bin down to squat on the dock steps and explained the assembly line production model of the fast food restaurant to him. Mu Bin understood after only one explanation.

"Are you asking me to help you find people and places?"

"Vice Envoy Mou, how can you say that? You see, I need to rent many houses and many workers, but I'm new here and don't know anyone, right?"

Mu Bin stared at Song Xiaoyi without saying a word, meaning, "You continue."

"But you must know many colleagues, such as your tax bureau, the patrol inspectorate last time, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the city patrol bureau, and so on. These colleagues all have families, right? Families need to eat, and do they all have jobs?"

"My fast food production line doesn't discriminate based on the person; women and children can both work there. Do you think it could help those colleagues in jobs like drivers or security guards, or those whose families aren't well-off? Could it help their families find a way to earn money?"

"Could these colleagues even earn some extra money to supplement their household income after their shifts or during their days off?"

"What do you think, Deputy Envoy Mou?"

Mu Bin's thoughts had already wandered halfway when Song Xiaoyi pulled him back. Yes! This is truly great news! The families of those unfortunate colleagues who died in the line of duty can finally be taken care of!

"No preference? Women, children, and even people with disabilities are all welcome?"

"Anything is fine, as long as you can work. Those who can cook can cook, those who can't cook can run errands, and those who can't run errands can do packing. There's always something you can do!"

"Alright! Brother Xiao Yi, I, Mu Bin, will take this task!"

Seeing that it was profitable, Song, the shopkeeper, immediately upgraded to Brother Yi.

"It's a deal!"

"Wait a minute, Deputy Envoy Mu, why didn't you ask me how much I'd be paid?"

"Let's not talk about wages for now. We can ask them after we find the suitable factory you mentioned and gather all the people. I think you can buy 300 taels of porcelain for 400 taels of silver, so you won't be shortchanging them."