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

Before Zhu Zhishan could even make a move, Ma Qianli eagerly took the wine pot from Zhu Zhishan's hand and poured himself a cup.

"Lord Ma! Wait a minute!"

"Hmm?~"

"Zhishan just said that this Osmanthus Secret Wine is quite strong and should only be savored in small sips!"

Ma Qianli followed the instructions and sipped it slowly. It was cool, rich, and smooth, but it was indeed intense within its gentleness!

After taking three small sips, Ma Qianli drank it all in one gulp. So refreshing! Absolutely refreshing! So refreshing!

"I haven't seen this Song family's Osmanthus Secret Wine sold in their restaurants before. Could it be that Old Song has returned with a new skill?" Ma Qianli muttered to himself, then picked up the wine pot and handed it to the steward standing to the side. "Come on, pour some for all the students. Sharing is worse than enjoying alone."

There are two pots of Osmanthus Secret Wine, and one small cup per person is enough. Since we know it comes from the Song Family Restaurant that we are familiar with, we are not worried about not being able to drink it later.

After everyone had poured their share of the Osmanthus Secret Wine, Ma Fantai announced loudly, "All of you students may put down your pens and taste this Song Family Osmanthus Secret Wine together. See how it compares to the Maotai from my hometown."

The freshly poured osmanthus-infused wine, one cup for each person, still carried a slight chill, making it the perfect time to drink. Everyone followed suit, taking three small sips before downing it in one gulp. The taste was simply indescribable.

The modern osmanthus wine that Song Xiaoyi chose is made with Shanxi Fenjiu, a light-aroma type of liquor. After adding rock sugar and osmanthus flowers, the alcohol content is reduced to the thirties. The light aroma of the liquor and the strong fragrance of osmanthus flowers blend together to create the domineering aroma that fills the entire hall.

The students were confused about Ma Fantai's methods, and with Tang Bohu's example as a cautionary tale, the entire hall fell silent after everyone finished their drinks.

"It seems that everyone agrees with what Tang Bohu just said," Ma Qianli, a learned man and a shrewd official with many years of experience, said, "I also agree that this Song Mansion Osmanthus Secret Wine is far superior to Maotai Spring."

Xiao Shifu, who was squatting between Wen Bi and Gu Qian, quietly clenched his fist and, imitating his uncle, whispered "Yay!"

That means it's a done deal.

After finishing the Osmanthus Secret Wine, Ma Qianli did not want to divide the other two jugs of plum wine at this time. Instead, he asked the butler to put the plum wine back in the wine box, close it, and prepare to use it when it was over.

"Let's start with the secret osmanthus wine, still using the aforementioned ancient capital of six dynasties as our theme. Ladies and gentlemen, please proceed!"

After Ma Qianli finished speaking, he poured himself a beer and asked his servants to move Zhu Zhishan's table and chairs in front of him. He then went to get a glass cup, called Zhu Zhishan to sit down, and the two began to drink beer, chat about their favorite topics, and eat.

The wine tasting segment ended, and the banquet hall fell silent once more, with only the occasional rustling of papers turning over.

Gu Qian thought about it and realized that pretending to rest with his eyes closed wasn't a solution, so he picked up his pen and casually wrote the four characters "Ancient Capital of Six Dynasties" on the paper. Then he started to draw randomly. What should he draw? His first instinct was to draw chicks!

After finishing drawing three chicks in different shapes, Gu Qian peeked at Wen Bi, who was also peeking at him. They were both startled at the same time, as Wen Bi was also drawing chicks!

The two friends exchanged a smile and continued drawing.

At this time, no one would notice a six or seven-year-old child, Xiao Shifu, who had been assigned the task by his uncle Song Xiaoyi: to collect the manuscripts drawn by Wen Bi, Gu Qian, and Zhu Zhishan, put them in a corner to dry, and then carefully fold and collect them.

On the other side of the wall, Tang Bohu, after drinking a small cup of osmanthus-infused wine, was inspired and writing furiously.

"This one should be a sure thing." After thinking it over, Wenbi continued drawing the second chick.

On Zhu Zhishan's side, the two talked about Song's Restaurant. Ma Qianli couldn't forget Old Song's "Song Family Hand-Pulled Meat". When Zhu Zhishan mentioned that "Song Family Hand-Pulled Meat" actually had three different flavors, he became even more restless and immediately sent his servants with a food box to Taoye Ferry.

"Speaking of this 'Brave the World' drink, Old Song of Song's Restaurant did indeed sell it, but before I could get my hands on it, the restaurant inexplicably closed down."

Since Song's restaurant closed down, Ma Qianli asked his family's chef to research how to make "hand-stirred pork". A lot of meat and peppercorns were wasted, but he still couldn't get the hang of it and eventually gave up.

"The old man Song mentioned by Mr. Ma should be the grandfather of the current shopkeeper Xiao Yi and his brother, who are also searching for him in many places."

Ma Fantai, mindful of his status, refused to dine at the low-end restaurants near the ferry crossing, thus missing out on the beer and other delicacies.

During my chat with Zhu Zhishan, I learned that his restaurant had launched several new flavors of instant noodles? And fried chicken, a perfect match for "Brave the World"? And Songfu Spicy Braised Crucian Carp!?

What exactly did I miss?

Ma Fantai, also a foodie, summoned another servant to follow in the footsteps of the previous two servants to Taoye Ferry to buy fried chicken and instant noodles.

While Song Xiaoyi was preparing the hand-stirred pork in the kitchen, he overheard a servant in the hall on the first floor telling his sister, Song Yunqiu, that he wanted to take away Song Family Hand-stirred Pork, buy Osmanthus Secret Wine, and buy Brave the World. Judging by the time, it was a done deal!

"Sister, can you ask if this is from the Ma Fantai residence?" Song Xiaoyi greeted her sister on the first floor through the kitchen window. After confirming, she put down her work and went upstairs to prepare braised pork, osmanthus wine, and beer.

The first batch of braised pork and wine was handed to the servants of the Ma family. Then another servant came in and asked for instant noodles and fried chicken to be taken away!

"I wonder who's bragging about this. Isn't the result too good? My little eatery is a bit overwhelmed!" Song Xiaoyi thought to himself as he greeted the servants of the Ma family, "The instant noodles at our eatery are only for dine-in, not for takeout. If you take them home, they won't be edible. The fried chicken sold out yesterday, and we haven't prepared any ingredients yet. Please go back and inform the Provincial Governor that our shop will personally deliver the fried chicken to his residence tomorrow."

Tomorrow, each of the "Eighteen Arhats of the Song Mansion" will pick one and send it over to curry favor with the officials. I'm a professional at that.

The servants of the Ma family brought back three flavors of "hand-stirred pork" as well as six jugs of "Brave the World" and two jugs of "Osmanthus Secret Wine".

"What a pity, what a pity, it's such a shame I can't try the instant noodles that Brother Zhishan mentioned."

"Lord Ma, you're in Jinling City, are you worried about not being able to get instant noodles?" Zhu Zhishan suddenly had a flash of inspiration and realized that he might have said too much and caused trouble for Song Xiaoyi. Therefore, he didn't bring up the matter of Song Xiaoyi buying a house, and instead steered Ma Qianli's attention to the "hand-fussy meat," he said. "Lord Ma just mentioned that Old Song only made one kind of hand-fussy meat. Whether Young Song's skills surpass his master's, we'll have to ask Lord Ma to judge for himself."

"Brother Zhishan is right. We should be content with what we have now, such as the courage to venture to the ends of the earth and the long-craved hand-pulled meat."

Ma Qianli ate a piece of "troublesome meat," took a sip of "brave journey across the world," and after tasting all three flavors of meat, a satisfied and pleasant smile appeared on his face.

"This young Song's skills are no less than his ancestor's."