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

The warehouse walls were covered with calligraphy and paintings...

"Hey! Xiao Yi! How come you have a 'Chicken Pecking Rice' painting here!" Old Wu exclaimed when he first saw the chick painting hanging in the furthest spot from the door. But when he saw the inscription "Ancient Capital of Six Dynasties," he realized, "This isn't 'Chicken Pecking Rice'! Why does the inscription say 'Ancient Capital of Six Dynasties,' but the painting depicts chicks?"

Song Xiaoyi's mind was still buzzing, and he didn't respond to what Old Wu said. This definitely wasn't something he brought up himself!

But this definitely wasn't brought up by my sister!

Yesterday afternoon she clearly said they were all hanging in the warehouse to dry.

But it's clear that she was originally hanging in the Song Dynasty's warehouse during the Ming Dynasty, so how did she end up in this modern Song Dynasty warehouse?

I'm dizzy, I'm dizzy, God, just let me faint!

Song Xiaoyi's eyes were glazed over, his fingertips unconsciously digging into his palms, like a puppet detached from the crowd, mechanically moving with the experts.

As Song Xiaoyi's gaze swept over the calligraphy and paintings on the wall, his heart surged with emotion. These were all exquisitely framed and perfectly preserved!

The rooster painted by Tang Bohu... hmm, this looks like the Yan family's rooster from next door, my future roasted rooster...

Only half of the bamboo was painted, but it bears a seal by Gu Qian. Judging from its position, it seems to be bamboo belonging to the Yan family next door...

An ancient poem, written by Wen Bi... wait, there are typos? It seems unfinished? Looks like this is a draft. How can an unfinished draft with typos have a seal, and be so exquisitely framed...?

......

"Xiao Yi judges that these... should all be... the games... created by those talented men who lived in our house back then, which is why Xiao Yi didn't bring them out last time."

I'm so quick-witted, aren't I?

"These playful works are wonderful! I love the playful works of these talented people. From these playful works, we can learn about their lives and emotional states back then." Old Wu looked at each painting one by one, completely captivated.

Suddenly, Old Wu's gaze was fixed on a slender hanging scroll in the corner, his withered fingers almost touching the paper.

"Small regular script! The *Huang Ting Jing*!"

Old Wu's voice suddenly rose, startling all the experts who rushed over. "Xu Zhenqing's copy of the small regular script version of the *Huang Ting Jing* is unfortunately only half complete!"

"It's really strange that even half of the *Huang Ting Jing* is mounted so exquisitely!"

When did Xu Zhenqing write this? How come I didn't know?

Alright, I can't worry about that for now. I'll just use an Appraisal skill on everyone to gain experience.

Of course, framing is best; my sister is an expert...

......

"Xiao Yi, these are no use to you. How about I buy them all?"

"Alright, since you like them, Mr. Wu, you can take them all."

If you count them, besides the eight "Chicken Paintings of the Ancient Capital of the Six Dynasties" that Wen Bi and Gu Lan painted when they were bored at the Ma residence, there are actually twelve other playful works, making a total of twenty.

After inspecting the storeroom and confirming that there were no other porcelain pieces, Dean Teng looked disappointed, but upon hearing that Old Master Wu was willing to buy all the calligraphy and paintings, he had already silently estimated their value in his mind.

"So, would you like to have each painting appraised individually, or discuss a price for the whole collection?"

"Oh, Mr. Wu, don't be so polite. These all look like games, and those are mostly scraps or incomplete drafts. They're not worth much. Please take them first, and you can decide how much to pay."

"Hey, this old man won't take advantage of you, kid, lest I become a laughingstock among my colleagues when we get back."

"How about this: twenty pieces, let's estimate it at fifty million initially. Once we get back to the capital, I'll appraise it slowly. If the appraised value is too low, I'll make up the difference, but I won't refund the difference."

"Fifty million is fine! That's way beyond my budget!"

"Haha~, that's great. Old Vine, help me collect them."

"Xiao Yi, to be honest, the most valuable piece here should be Xu Zhenqing's small regular script 'Huang Ting Jing'. It's a pity there's only half of it, otherwise this piece would be worth fifty million."

Song Xiaoyi was also very curious. "You brat, why didn't you write the whole thing? What's with writing only half? And what's more, your sister even framed that half."

"Xiao Yi, your blue and white porcelain..."

"Dean Teng, we have an agreement, so let's follow the agreement. As for how to divide it, you can coordinate that internally. I don't know anything about that."

"We haven't decided whether it will be an internal auction or a distribution. We were hoping to find some more from you to make up the difference, but since we can't find any, we'll go back and study it. We'll invite you to supervise the process later."

"No need, no need, that would be too much trouble. I have complete trust in Dean Teng, Professor Wu, and Professor Chen, a hundred percent trust."

......

Two hours later, at the modern Song Mansion, Mr. Wu and a group of experts had already been seen off.

The clan leader on the first floor, from the Ming Dynasty, was getting impatient.

Song Xiaoyi carried a large bucket of secret sauce down from the kitchen to the first floor, dropped off the sauce, and went back up to the second floor. He took out several large bags of pre-made fried dough sticks, honeycomb briquette maker, honeycomb briquette recipe, griddle blueprint, coal stove blueprint, and sauce recipe from his space. He then returned to the first floor and found the clan leader and his group of five waiting in the corner.

The two cousins ​​who delivered the vegetables came over to meet them after they finished their deliveries.

"Chief, this is the secret sauce, this is the secret fried dough stick, and these are the blueprints. You must protect the recipe for the secret sauce. Take these back with you and make the tools first, then try making it."

"As for coal makers, blacksmiths, and bamboo craftsmen, I see that the clan has them all. There are also so many empty houses. We should make use of them. With these honeycomb briquettes, even if we don't make these pancakes, everyone will be warmer during the winter."

"If any problems arise later, just have my cousin who delivers the vegetables come to the store in town to find me."

"Okay, okay, Xiao Yi, you..."

"Clan chief, let's not stand on ceremony. Since we're all family, let's not be formal. If the clansmen are doing well, Xiao Yi can hold his head high outside too."

"However, Xiao Yi, I'm getting old, and what I'm about to say might be a little embarrassing, but this child truly has this talent. Last night, your fourth uncle kept pestering me all night..."

"Clan leader, now that Xiao Yi has been included in the clan genealogy, he is a member of the Song family, one of our own. Please speak frankly, there's no need for so much preamble."

"Do you remember Song Hao, the cousin who helped you in the kitchen at home that day?"

"Song Hao's cousin? I remember him. I thought he was quite perceptive. What happened to him?"

"Song Hao wants to learn how to cook from you." The old patriarch's Adam's apple bobbed, his wrinkled hands clenched his sleeves tightly, his knuckles turning white. He took a deep breath, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from his shoulders.

"He wants to learn to cook? To learn the Song family's culinary tradition? That's a good thing! What are you worried about? Are you worried I'll be unhappy?" Song Xiaoyi finally understood. In ancient times, family culinary skills were closely guarded secrets. Usually, only one branch of a family knew the skill, and they wouldn't easily pass it on to others. Not even relatives.

Is it passed down only to sons, not daughters? Or only to the eldest son?

Are you afraid I, Song Xiaoyi, will lose my temper? What are you thinking?

I was just worried about not being able to find someone to manage the kitchen, as I couldn't spare the time myself, and here you are, sending your apprentice!