Chapter 73

The next morning, while it was still dark, Li Qi was woken up by Xiao Tao. If it weren't for the fact that she was just a little girl, Li Qi would have dragged her in and given her a good scolding.

What kind of manners are these? Doesn't she know that disturbing someone's sleep is very impolite?

However, after Li Qi finished washing up and went to the front hall, he saw that quite a few people were already there: Lady Qin, Uncle Wu and his nephew, the brothers Zhu Zi, and Chen Anan and his mother. Everyone who was supposed to come had already arrived, and they were just waiting for him. He felt quite embarrassed.

After a brief rest, the group set off for Xiangguo Temple in a grand procession. Lady Qin rode in a sedan chair, Wu Furong and Li Qi rode donkeys, and the rest walked.

On the way, Li Qi kept yawning and almost fell off his donkey several times.

Xiangguo Temple opened five times a month. On the open days, the common people could freely trade within the temple grounds and watch various entertainment shows. It was very lively.

However, Li Qi wasn't particularly interested. To him, Xiangguo Temple was like Wangfujing in Beijing. The variety shows didn't interest him at all. When Lady Qin went to pray in the temple, he found a corner to doze off in.

But just as he had dozed off for a while, Wu Xiaoliu woke him up, "Brother Li, why are you sleeping here?"

Li Qi yawned, stood up, and stretched, saying, "What? Has Lady Qin finished praying? If so, let's go back."

"It's still early. We have to finish the vegetarian meal before we can go back."

"Damn! Not only do we have to pay for the incense, but also for the meal. We might as well turn Zui Xianju into a temple. Just say 'Amitabha' a few times, and we'll make money." Li Qi rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed.

Wu Xiaoliu chuckled awkwardly.

Li Qi sighed, his sleepiness gone. He grabbed Wu Xiaoliu's neck and pulled him toward the square, "Let's go, see if they sell condoms here."

"What are condoms?"

"A thing that ruins the fun, not a good thing at all."

...

When they arrived at the square, there were shouts and cheers everywhere. Almost everything was for sale except for condoms, and it was even livelier than Wangfujing in Beijing.

Wu Xiaoliu seemed very interested in the acrobatics, but every time he wanted to go and watch, Li Qi would pull him back.

It's just some chest-breaking act, too outdated.

After wandering around for a while, they came to a large locust tree. A group of people were standing under the tree, and a sign hung from a branch that read 'Food Gathering.'

"Food Gathering? What's that?"

Li Qi looked curious and walked over with Wu Xiaoliu to find out.

Under the tree stood a middle-aged man with a thin face. In front of him was a rectangular table with a clay pot, some bowls and chopsticks, and several silver ingots, about forty taels. On the tree trunk hung a wooden board with nine red cloths attached.

What are they doing?

Li Qi was very curious and asked Wu Xiaoliu to find someone to ask. It turned out that the middle-aged man had brought a pot of soup from somewhere. If anyone could guess the ingredients, they would win forty taels of silver, but they had to pay one hundred coins to try.

This is a good way to make money. I should do the same someday.

Li Qi squinted his eyes, rubbed his chin, and looked thoughtful.

Wu Xiaoliu asked, "Brother Li, are you going to try?"

"One hundred coins, forty taels, it's worth a shot."

Li Qi nodded and was about to go up when he heard a voice behind him, "Brother Li, Brother Li."

Li Qi turned around and saw a handsome young man with a servant approaching.

"This guy looks familiar!"

Li Qi frowned, muttering to himself.

"Hey? Brother Li, isn't this the young master who came to our shop to eat stir-fried pork?" Wu Xiaoliu pointed at the handsome young man, surprised. As a food lover, he always associated everything with food.

That's right, it is him. I owe my first pot of gold in the Northern Song Dynasty to him.

At this moment, the handsome young man had already walked up to Li Qi and bowed, smiling, "Brother Li, do you remember me?"

Li Qi hurriedly returned the bow and smiled, "Of course, but we parted in a hurry last time, and I didn't have the chance to ask your name."

"My name is Zhao—Zhao Yun."

"Brother Zhao, my apologies."

Zhao Yun bowed and smiled, "I visited Zui Xianju a few days ago, hoping to taste Brother Li's cooking again, but unfortunately, I missed you. I didn't expect to meet you here, it's truly incredible."

Li Qi chuckled, "The shop was being renovated recently, and I apologize for the inconvenience. In three days, the shop will reopen, and I hope Brother Zhao will come and support us."

"Definitely, definitely."

Zhao Yun laughed and looked around the crowd, surprised, "It's him."

"Who?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing."

Zhao Yun shook his head and asked curiously, "What are they doing?"

Li Qi explained what Wu Xiaoliu had found out.

"Interesting."

Zhao Yun smiled strangely, "I saw Brother Li was about to try it."

"That's right, I was planning to."

Zhao Yun smiled, "I'd like to try it too. What do you think, Brother Li?"

"That would be great, please."

"Please."

The two walked up together. Before Li Qi could take out his money, Zhao Yun placed a silver ingot on the table.

Rich guy.

The middle-aged man looked surprised when he saw Zhao Yun, but it was just a fleeting expression. He smiled and said, "Please sit." After they sat down, he continued, "This clear soup is made with nine ingredients. If you can guess all of them, you win the forty taels of silver."

Zhao Yun seemed impatient and urged, "Let's start."

Just then, a voice from the crowd called out, "Wait, wait, I want to try too."

Li Qi turned around and saw a young man in his late teens, dressed in luxurious clothes, with a fair complexion and bright eyes, clearly from a wealthy family.

The young man pushed through the crowd, sat down next to Li Qi, threw a small string of copper coins on the table, and rubbed his hands excitedly, "Let's start."

Zhao Yun frowned slightly, seemingly displeased, but didn't say anything.

The middle-aged man, seeing the young man's eagerness, didn't explain further. He ladled three bowls of soup from the pot and placed them in front of the three.

Li Qi looked at the dark, almost medicinal-looking soup.

The young man was very impatient, picked up the bowl, and drank it in one go. He smacked his lips, frowned, and shook his head, "I thought it would be some rare delicacy, but it's not good at all. Boring, boring."

Li Qi and Zhao Yun exchanged glances and smiled helplessly.

The middle-aged man could only smile bitterly.

Then, Li Qi and Zhao Yun each picked up their bowls, took a sip, and tasted carefully. Both of their eyes lit up, as if they had found the answers.

"Brother Zhao, you go first," Li Qi smiled.

"I won't refuse then."

Zhao Yun turned to the middle-aged man, "Longjing tea from Shousheng Temple."

The middle-aged man nodded, smiling, "Correct."

He then untied the third red cloth from the left, which indeed read 'Longjing tea.'

The crowd burst into applause.

Li Qi continued, "Sunflower seeds stir-fried with osmanthus."

The middle-aged man looked surprised, nodded, and untied the fifth red cloth from the left, which read 'sunflower seeds.'

The young man was stunned, gasped, and said, "How is that possible? I couldn't taste anything."

At this moment, Zhao Yun took another sip, "Camel tendon."

"Correct."

Li Qi said, "Crushed ox hooves."

"Right."

Zhao Yun said, "Deer tenderloin."

"Right."

Li Qi smiled, "Cheap but delicious pig brain."

"Brother is right, it is the cheap but delicious pig brain."

Zhao Yun said, "Abalone."

"Right."

Li Qi said, "Dried scallops."

"Correct."

In just a few exchanges, they had guessed eight of the ingredients. Only one red cloth remained on the board.

Everyone was stunned, standing in silence.

The atmosphere became increasingly tense.

The young man next to Li Qi was even more surprised. He secretly ladled another bowl and tried to taste it carefully, but still couldn't figure it out. He was very frustrated, "Strange, why can't I taste anything?"

---

Finally, I can go to Sanjiang, tears streaming down my face...

{Piaotian Literature}