Chapter 60

The Song Dynasty not only had toothbrushes and toothpaste but also chewing gum, which came in both high-end and low-end varieties. The high-end chewing gum had a similar formula to high-end toothpaste, but it contained an unknown ingredient that allowed it to solidify. Merchants would press it into a small, patterned stick about the length of a finger, called a "tooth fragrance stick," and place it in a small, exquisite cloth bag. More refined Song people would hang several of these small bags from their waistbands, one of which contained the tooth fragrance sticks. After meals, they would take out a tooth fragrance stick from the bag, rub it back and forth on their teeth, rinse their mouth with clear water, and enjoy a fresh breath. The tooth fragrance stick was not disposable; it could be reused. After use, it would be cleaned and put back into the bag, making it very convenient. As for the low-end chewing gum in the Song Dynasty, it was simply willow twigs. After meals, one would break off a piece of willow twig, strip off the leaves and bark, and chew it until it was mushy, then spit it out. This was essentially the same as chewing gum.

Hong Tao only bought toothbrushes and toothpaste, not the chewing gum, as he couldn't stand the strong musk smell. Not only did he buy them for himself, but he also bought them for Karl, Bozhu, and the children of a few families, requiring them to brush their teeth morning and night if they wanted to learn reading and arithmetic from him. This time, Bo Fu didn't feel bad about it, as he thought it was normal for children to read and write, and literate people should live more refined lives, which was proper.

"Where are they? Where is my fiancée?" Hong Tao wanted to ask what he had said in Chinese, but unfortunately, Karl's Chinese was still at the level where he couldn't understand or speak it, so he had to ask Bozhu. However, the anchorage of the Tanka people seemed unusually quiet today, as if no one was around, and even the sound of children crying couldn't be heard.

"..." Karl couldn't speak with the toothbrush in his mouth, so he made a gesture with his hands together and pointed in the direction of Zhenzhou Port.

"Oh, they went to worship the gods. Hurry up, let's go into the city and take a look around. We'll get you some new clothes, and I, as a nobleman, need to dress up a bit, right?" Hong Tao was a bit hungry, as he had only drunk alcohol and not eaten much the night before. Now that the Tanka people had gone to worship the gods, he had some free time to explore the city and see what the Song Dynasty was really like, as seeing is believing.

Zhenzhou Port was very small, with only one main street, which was the dirt road in front of Zhenhai Tower. It was quite wide and flat, and with the humid air in the south, there was hardly any dust. Hong Tao was already a member of Zhenhai Tower, where he could eat and drink for free, just by signing his name to the bill, a practice similar to signing a tab in the future. He and Karl entered Zhenhai Tower, and the waiter immediately came up, smiling and leading them to a private room upstairs. However, Hong Tao didn't go up; he wanted to have breakfast on the first floor, where it was noisy and crowded, so he could see more things.

The breakfast in the Song Dynasty was similar to that in modern Spain and Greece, being very rich. In fact, the entire dining habit of the Song Dynasty was similar to that of southern Europe, and it's possible that the dietary habits of these southern European countries were influenced by the Song Dynasty. The Song people had only two main meals a day, called "morning meal" and "afternoon meal." The morning meal was usually served around 9 a.m., and the afternoon meal started from 4 or 5 p.m.

However, the Song people were very fond of food, especially those in more affluent areas, who were always thinking about playing or eating. So, while it was said that they only had two meals a day, only the farmers outside the city truly ate only two meals. City dwellers ate at least three meals a day, and officials or literati often ate five or six meals. The Song people didn't care much about health or weight loss; they ate whatever they wanted, and beer bellies were common. Luo Youde, who was not yet 40, was not fat but had a small belly.

This eating habit gave rise to a diverse catering industry. Places like Zhenhai Tower opened very early, around 6 a.m., and it's likely that the Southern Chinese habit of drinking morning tea originated in the Song Dynasty. This meal was not considered a main meal but rather a snack! Around 9 a.m., the main meal was served and continued until midday. Then, the shop would close by removing the sign from the door, announcing the end of business. In the afternoon, around 4 or 5 p.m., the shop would reopen and continue selling dinner. The sign was a curtain that, when hung, indicated the shop was open and, when removed, indicated it was closed.

What if you were hungry at noon? There were ways to deal with it, of course. However, you couldn't go to a large restaurant like Zhenhai Tower for lunch, as the concept of lunch did not exist in the Song Dynasty. Only small street vendors sold snacks at noon, and you could find them if you were hungry.

There were also restaurants that opened even earlier, before dawn, but such special restaurants did not exist in Zhenzhou City. You would have to go to a capital city like Lin'an to find them. These restaurants were specifically for officials who had to attend early morning court sessions. The Song emperors were lenient with their officials, rarely executing them, but they were strict about the timing of the early court sessions, which started in the middle of the night. Officials would wake up at 3 or 4 a.m. and couldn't go to work on an empty stomach, so there were small shops that opened in the middle of the night to provide food for them. These small restaurants usually closed by noon, selling only morning tea and breakfast, not dinner.

There were also restaurants that only served dinner and late-night snacks. The Song people enjoyed nightlife, and the entertainment industry was well-developed. After dinner, it was time for merchants, literati, and officials to socialize, and they wouldn't stop until the middle of the night. In the future, Beijing's famous food street, Gui Street, became popular because of its late-night eateries. If placed in the Song Dynasty, Gui Street would be filled with small restaurants that only sold dinner and late-night snacks.

Hong Tao ordered sour cabbage-filled steamed dumplings and seafood noodles after listening to the waiter sing for ten minutes. In the Song Dynasty, restaurants did not have menus but instead hung wooden boards with dish names at the counter, called "dish boards." However, these boards listed only the restaurant's signature dishes, and most people didn't bother to look up at them. Instead, they listened to the waiter sing the dish names.

How did they sing? Apart from the accent, it was similar to the way dish names are announced in crosstalk, with a rhythmic and special emphasis. The waiter would not only sing the dish names but also the main ingredients and cooking methods. Each waiter had a slightly different way of singing, and their singing style and skills were not uniformly trained but developed on their own. It seems that being a waiter in the Song Dynasty was not easy; one needed knowledge of rhyming, a good voice, and a strong memory, or they wouldn't even be qualified to wash dishes.

PS: Click, collect, and recommend! Throw them all at Hong Tao...

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends