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

Song Xiaoyi was preparing lunch in the kitchen when Huang Dewang, the porcelain merchant, rushed in. "Brother Xiaoyi, your custom-made wine jars have arrived. Hmm, it's been a few days, your restaurant has expanded!"

"Brother Dewang!?" Song Xiaoyi was also surprised. It had only been about ten days since he left, and this guy had already brought back wine jars? "The wine jars and porcelain pots have arrived?"

"This trip only brought wine jars; the porcelain teapots will have to wait." Huang Dewang, seeing that there was no one else in the shop, pulled Song Xiaoyi, who was going down the stairs, to a corner and whispered, "The wine jars are readily available from our kiln, but the porcelain teapots will take a while. We're currently rushing to finish a batch of blue and white porcelain for the palace."

"No wonder Brother Dewang has managed to collect so many official kiln blue and white porcelain pieces. It seems your family's kiln has excellent techniques; otherwise, how could you possibly receive orders from the official kiln?"

"Sigh, the palace is pressing us hard, and my third uncle is in charge of the official kiln, so we can only ask our family's kiln to help with the firing."

Taking orders from the imperial kilns wasn't just a matter of having good skills; one also needed connections in the government. Clearly, the Huang family had strong ties within the palace.

"Alright, alright, stop talking. I don't want to know such confidential matters. Knowing too much will only lead to a quick death. Brother Dewang, besides the wine jar, what else did you bring?"

"Of course there are others; the boat is docked at the back gate of your house."

"Then hurry up and let's go."

"Sister, watch out this way, I need to go back!"

"OK!"

They took their own small boats across the ferry to the back gate. Huang Dewang's cargo ship was still unloading. Rows of wine jars tied with straw ropes were piled up on the small dock. Song Xiaoyi glanced at them briefly, then waved over a few familiar laborers. "Move them inside, pile them up in the room on the right, and make sure they're secure!"

"Don't worry, Master Song, we're the most reliable ones!"

While they were moving wine jars, Huang Dewang took out a large box from the cabin, looked around, lowered his voice and said, "Brother, come with me." He then grabbed Song Xiaoyi's sleeve and quickly went into the house.

When the box was opened, Song Xiaoyi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!

You almost blinded my 24K titanium alloy eyes!

A box of twelve chicken cups!

No, upon closer inspection, it can't be called a chicken cup. It's more appropriate to call it a set of twelve zodiac cups. They are all the same shape and pattern, except for the zodiac animals!

Song Xiaoyi steadied himself, calmed himself down, and, disregarding everything else, wiped the sweat from his hands and carefully picked up the chicken cup to examine it. The cup had a slightly flared mouth, tapered towards the bottom, a deep belly, a flat bottom, and a flat base. The inner wall was plain and unadorned, resembling a chicken jar.

Looking at the outer wall, it features underglaze blue and overglaze polychrome, with lake rocks, roses, and orchids interspersed, forming two groups of hen and chick motifs.

It matches my memory perfectly!

Gently placing the chicken cup back, Song Xiaoyi picked up the dragon cup to examine it. The size, blue and white porcelain, rocks, roses, and orchids were all similar; the only difference was the shape of the two dragons. "Brother Dewang," he said, "why don't you paint the eyes on the dragons on this dragon cup?"

"It's the rule to not paint the eyes of a dragon. And as for the dragon's claws, only those presented to the emperor can have five claws; others are only allowed to have three."

"Only this one set?"

"I brought two sets. If you want both, I'll go get more later."

"How about the price?"

"To be frank, Brother Yi, you are my benefactor. Your money has solved a great problem for me. This set is a gift from me to you. If you would like another set, I will shamelessly charge you the cost price of two hundred taels of silver."

"Thank you very much. I'll take both sets. Go and get the other set while I go get the money."

After finishing speaking, Song Xiaoyi put away the box and carried it towards the bedroom. Once inside, he immediately stored it in his spatial storage and took out four fifty-tael silver coins.

"I never imagined that this chicken cup wasn't just a single piece, but a complete set of twelve zodiac animals! What does that even mean? It's revolutionary!" Song Xiaoyi stood in the back hall, gazing at the back door, thinking, "But why is it that only the chicken cup has survived?"

Seeing Huang Dewang carrying two boxes through the back door, Song Xiaoyi snapped out of his reverie and watched as Huang Dewang placed the boxes on the octagonal table, opened one of them, and said, "Brother Xiaoyi, these two sets of doucai cups are exquisite pieces from the official kiln. I had to beg my third uncle to get them, so you mustn't take them to the capital."

"Brother Dewang, rest assured, judging by the time, the family ship will arrive soon, and these two sets of Doucai cups will definitely be returned to the family by ship."

"That's good." Huang Dewang had already anticipated that it would bring back "the land west of the Western Regions", which is why he dared to sell it to Song Xiaoyi. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to even think about it.

After Song Xiaoyi finished inspecting the box, he first returned it to the bedroom (space) before coming out again.

"Brother Dewang, what's in this box?"

"These are the various styles of wine pots fired at our family's kiln. Which one do you like?" Huang Dewang said as he opened the box.

"Being so mysterious, Xiao Yi thought it was some kind of amazing treasure again."

"The wine shop always needs these; any ordinary model will do as long as it doesn't exceed the permitted size. All five types will do, perfect for holding five different kinds of wine. Hmm—"

Song Xiaoyi hurriedly went to close the door, then turned back to see Huang Dewang grinning mysteriously. He wanted nothing more than to punch him. "Brother Dewang, if you want to die, don't drag me down with you! This delicate yellow glaze isn't something ordinary people would use, is it? Holy crap, it even has a five-clawed golden dragon!"

Hidden under Huang Dewang's second box were three yellow-glazed porcelain pieces!

The yellow-glazed plate with dragon design features a five-clawed golden dragon and bears the inscription "Made in the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty," clearly indicating it was produced by the imperial kiln.

The yellow-glazed monk's cap-shaped ewer, inscribed "Made in the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty," is also from the imperial kiln.

A yellow-glazed wine pot with dragon and phoenix design, inscribed "Made in the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty," is from the imperial kiln!

"Brother Dewang, every single piece of these imperial porcelain pieces has a record. How did you manage to steal them?"

"I can't say."

"Then I won't ask anymore. Name your price."

"One silver coin for one."

"Deal. These five wine jugs are for my brother, aren't they?"

"That's natural."

After quickly inspecting the box (which was actually just to prevent it from being defective), Song Xiaoyi closed it, put it in the bedroom (space), and took out three precious silver coins.

"Brother Dewang, our business is only based on the exchange of wine jars. I don't recognize any other transactions that aren't listed on the delivery slips."

Excellent.

After seeing Huang Dewang off, paying the porter for his hard work, and measuring the size of the wine jar, Song Xiaoyi locked the back door and rowed back to the Song Family Restaurant.

These chicken cups and several pots can only be temporarily stored in the space. The Song Mansion in the Ming Dynasty is not safe, and it's even more unsafe now that it's often uninhabited. We probably won't be able to take them out for a long time, and how to do so will require careful planning.

But once the wine jars are in place, the rest of the plan can proceed.

Call ahead to order wine: red-capped white glass Fenjiu, yellow-capped Fenjiu, milk porcelain Fenjiu, Ruyang Dukang, Xinghuacun Zhuyeqing, Feitian Yanghe, Tianzhilan, Osmanthus wine, plum wine, Cabernet Sauvignon dry red, Shaoxing Nuerhong... and so on, all arranged and delivered to Taoyedu mini-supermarket.