Chapter 2

The old shopkeeper saw Li Qi's sad expression and seemed to sense that he had some deep-seated sorrow. He asked, "Young brother, you look so young, why are you so sad?"

Li Qi closed his eyes and shook his head.

It's not that he didn't want to speak, but he didn't know where to start. Moreover, even if he did tell them, no one would believe him. In fact, he had come from 900 years in the future. He was 25 years old, a top student from Tsinghua University, and at a young age, he had already become the head chef and administrative manager of a super five-star hotel, earning over a million yuan annually. Recently, he had even married a beautiful wife, achieving success in both his career and family, with a bright and promising future. To add, his boss was his father-in-law.

Unfortunately, the sky is unpredictable, and people can face unexpected misfortunes.

On the night of his wedding, he was so drunk by his close friends that he passed out. When he woke up, he found himself in the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, almost fainting from shock.

While in his time, many people indeed yearned for time travel, he was a thousand times unwilling and ten thousand times reluctant. He hadn't even consummated his marriage, and he had a family and a beautiful wife waiting for him. This was absolutely not what he wanted.

So, he decided to try the same method, hoping to get drunk again and return. He first went to a pawnshop and pawned the jade Buddha that had been passed down in his family, then used the silver he got to buy a jar of wine, drinking himself into a stupor. However, the "goddess of luck" did not favor him again. When he woke up, he was still here.

He was not willing to give up. He exchanged the remaining silver for more wine, drinking and sleeping, and then drinking again when he woke up, for several days. But he still did not achieve his wish.

Seeing that Li Qi did not want to talk, the old shopkeeper did not press further. He took out a small string of copper coins from his sleeve and handed it to Li Qi, saying, "Young brother, here are some silver coins. Take them as travel money and go home."

He had noticed that Li Qi had been sleeping on the street for several days without anyone calling him back. Given Li Qi's unique accent, he naturally assumed that Li Qi was from out of town and wanted to use some silver coins to send him away.

After all, he was a businessman. Having a drunkard lying in front of his shop was not a good situation.

Actually, the old shopkeeper was quite kind. If it were a heartless shopkeeper, they would have already driven Li Qi away with sticks.

"Go home? Which home? Where should I go back to? I—I can't go back." Li Qi became more and more sad as he spoke, and eventually, he started to cry.

Seeing a grown man cry so pitifully, the old shopkeeper didn't know what to do. But seeing how pitiful Li Qi was, he couldn't help but think of the current state of the Drunken Immortal Inn, feeling a sense of shared suffering. He sighed and softly called, "Young brother, young brother, don't cry. Alright, if you don't mind the simplicity of our inn, you can stay here for a few days. We'll think about what to do next."

Li Qi stopped crying, deeply moved. In his time, even if someone were to die drunk on the street, no one would bother to check. He looked at the old man in front of him and asked, "Uncle, why are you so kind to me?"

The old shopkeeper smiled slightly and said, "Alright, don't ask so many questions. Come in."

At this moment, Liu Zi was dozing off at the table. Suddenly, he saw the old shopkeeper and the drunkard walk in together, and he quickly stood up, mouth agape, and exclaimed, "Uncle—? Why did you bring him in?"

The old shopkeeper glared at Liu Zi and said, "This is Master Li Qi. Take Master Li to the back courtyard to tidy up and change clothes. I'll go to the kitchen and ask Master Zhou to prepare some dishes."

Li Qi smiled apologetically at Liu Zi and said, "I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Master? If you're a master, then I must be a prince or a nobleman."

Liu Zi pouted and said irritably, "Master Li, come on!"

Liu Zi led Li Qi to the back courtyard of the Drunken Immortal Inn. The courtyard was neither too large nor too small, with about seven or eight rooms, but they were very simple, apparently for the staff who used to work at the inn.

Li Qi followed Liu Zi to the leftmost small room. Inside, there were some items for bathing: a wooden tub, a water dipper, a piece of rough cloth that had been used by many people, and a black lump of something. Later, Li Qi learned from Liu Zi that this thing was called "yizi," used for bathing, similar to soap in his time.

Sweat! This is a bathroom?

Li Qi's face was full of surprise and helplessness. In his mind, this was more like a utility room.

...

After a while, Li Qi came out of the bath, wearing a gray robe. The robe was a bit short and small, left by a former staff member. Combined with his short, neat hair, he looked quite out of place, somewhat like an extra in a historical drama.

When Li Qi returned to the main hall, he saw the old shopkeeper, Liu Zi, and a bald, dirty old man sitting at a table, chatting. There were three small dishes on the table: stir-fried bamboo shoots, fried peanuts, scallion tofu, and a bowl of white rice.

Seeing Li Qi come out, the old shopkeeper waved and called, "Young brother, come and sit down. The food is getting cold."

Li Qi smiled and walked over, sitting next to Liu Zi. He thanked the old shopkeeper, "Uncle Wu, thank you."

Earlier, while Liu Zi was heating water for his bath, Li Qi had learned that the old shopkeeper's name was Wu Furong, the owner of the inn. Liu Zi's real name was Wu Xiaoliu, a staff member of the inn and Wu Furong's nephew. Besides them, there was also Master Zhou, the head chef of the inn, who was likely the old man sitting at the table.

Wu Furong smiled and nodded, pointing to the bald old man and introducing him, "This is our head chef, Master Zhou. These dishes were all prepared by Master Zhou for you."

Head chef?

Li Qi was slightly taken aback. He was very sensitive to the term "head chef." He glanced at Master Zhou, who looked to be in his sixties, with almost no teeth left. He was very curious; at that age, in his time, he would have long retired.

Being a chef is a profession that places high demands on age. At such an advanced age, even if one's body is still strong, one's sense of taste, touch, and agility would significantly decline. Moreover, the physical condition of a sixty-year-old in this era could not be compared to that in Li Qi's time. The older one gets, the worse the food they cook. To put it bluntly, no hotel would hire a sixty- or seventy-year-old as a head chef.

Despite this, Li Qi was very grateful to the old man and smiled, "Master Zhou, I'm really sorry for the trouble."

Master Zhou, seeing Li Qi's clear and refined appearance and his polite and humble manner, immediately took a liking to him. He laughed and said, "Don't mention it. Eat quickly, the food will get cold if you don't."

"Okay!"

Li Qi nodded, thinking that he had no relation to them and had never met them before, yet they treated him so kindly, which deeply moved him. He picked up his chopsticks and looked at the dishes in front of him. A wave of hunger suddenly hit him, and he realized he hadn't eaten all day. Just as he was about to start eating, he noticed that the three of them were all looking at him and had no chopsticks or bowls in front of them. He asked curiously, "Aren't you eating?"

Wu Xiaoliu's eyes flashed with fear, and he said, "You eat. Uncle and I have already eaten."

Wu Furong also nodded and smiled, "Don't worry about us. Eat quickly."

"Okay!"

Li Qi, now extremely hungry, didn't say more and started eating. He took a big mouthful of rice and then a few pieces of bamboo shoots. After a few bites, he frowned.

Wow! So bad!

Born into a family of chefs, Li Qi had never eaten such terrible food in his life. If he hadn't known that Master Zhou had prepared the dishes with good intentions, he would have vomited. He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and kept shoveling rice into his mouth. Compared to the three dishes, this white rice was like a delicacy.

Master Zhou, seeing Li Qi only eating rice and not the dishes, asked curiously, "What's wrong? Young brother, do these dishes not suit your taste?"

"Cough, cough, cough!"

What he feared came true. Li Qi was startled and almost choked to death.

"Take it slow. No one is competing with you. Liu Zi, go get Master Li a cup of tea," Wu Furong instructed Liu Zi, who was snickering on the side.

After drinking a mouthful of tea, Li Qi finally recovered. He blushed and said to Master Zhou, "Master Zhou, you're joking. It's a great honor for me to eat the dishes cooked by Master Zhou. I'm just very hungry and want to fill my stomach first before savoring your cooking."

This kid really knows how to speak! Master Zhou beamed and said, "Alright, eat some rice to fill your stomach, but you must finish all the dishes later."

Li Qi almost fell off his chair, feeling extremely distressed.

Finish all the dishes? This is going to kill me!