Chapter 61

Unfortunately, no matter how beautifully the waiter sang, it was like playing the lute to a cow for Hong Tao and Karl. One of them couldn't understand the southern dialect, and the other couldn't understand Chinese at all. In the end, they could only ask the waiter to help them order breakfast. The waiter ordered shaomai and noodles for Hong Tao and Karl, but these two items had different names in the Song Dynasty. Shaomai was called "douzi," and noodles were called "tangbing." Both tasted good, but Hong Tao couldn't figure out what the sour ingredient in the shaomai was, so he just called it pickled vegetables for now.

After eating and drinking to their heart's content, Hong Tao was looking out the window, pondering where to go next, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his foot. Turning his head, he saw three people with their hair wrapped in silk, wearing oblique-fronted robes and a very thin silk overcoat, bowing to each other. One of them had stepped on his foot with his heel. He was wearing shoes, but Hong Tao wasn't, so it really hurt.

Their attire was similar to Luo Youde's. The silk headscarf was called "Dongpo towel," a favorite of Song Dynasty literati. The oblique-fronted robe was called "ruchun," and the unbuttoned overcoat was called "duijin," the standard attire for scholars. If this were the Ming or Qing Dynasty, Hong Tao would have let it go, but this was the Song Dynasty! Although the Tanka people were considered low-class and had no household registration, class oppression wasn't severe in this era, and the four classes were equal. Why should they step on him for free? Even if they didn't apologize, he could at least shout a few times, right?

"Ruining the mood..." Hong Tao's shout startled most of the people in the hall, and the person who stepped on his foot jumped up. What a waste it would be if he didn't join the singing world with such a voice.

"Hey! Sun the thief! You stepped on me, and then you stomped again. Is this on purpose? No way, you can't just walk away. Apologize to me!" Actually, the first step wasn't too painful. Hong Tao was just bored and wanted to start a conversation, even if it was an argument. But the second step really hurt, and the pain made him throw the toothpick he was holding, which hit the literati's face, with Hong Tao's saliva on it, sticking to his face with a slap.

"You... you... you..." The literati was almost strangled by Hong Tao, who grabbed his collar. He struggled, grabbing Hong Tao's wrists like a swing, but couldn't break free.

"Little brother... little brother... don't use your hands, they are literati..." The innkeeper ran over, standing between the two, pleading with Hong Tao and giving him a meaningful look. The message was clear: don't provoke these literati, let go quickly.

"Damn, just because they can read and write, they think they're so great. I graduated from university too, damn it!" Hong Tao, seeing the innkeeper's expression, knew he was doing it for his own good, so he cursed and let go, walking out of the inn with Karl. The literati behind them recovered and started talking again, but Hong Tao couldn't understand what they were saying, so he ignored it.

"Sir, we should buy a pair of shoes. Walking barefoot won't earn us respect from others." Karl only knew that Hong Tao had a conflict with someone but didn't know why. Seeing Hong Tao angry, he knew Hong Tao hadn't gained any advantage, so he started giving him advice.

"You're right. Let's go look around and see if we can find some shoes." Hong Tao wasn't really angry; he was just bored and wanted to cause some trouble, but he didn't dare to be too reckless, so he was dissatisfied with himself.

Zhenzhou City was small, with only one main street from the dock to the city gate, less than half a mile long. But today it was very, very crowded, almost like Wangfujing in the 1990s. This wasn't a daily occurrence; it only happened on holidays. The Song Dynasty had many holidays, most of which were paid. For example, the Mid-Autumn Festival lasted three days, and there was a one-day break every ten days, called "xunxiu." The concept of weekends didn't exist in the Song Dynasty.

The Song people were very passionate about their holidays, and this was a real break. No one was allowed to work. If you wanted to work overtime, your superior would scold you. They believed that a man who didn't take care of his family on a rest day was not a good man. So, in the Song Dynasty, don't be proud of working overtime; it might anger the emperor and get you exiled to Hainan Island. What did they do on their holidays? They ate, drank, and played. The emperor led by example, unable to run around, so he made a big fuss in the capital to set an example, encouraging all the people to follow his lead and make a big fuss.

Hong Tao strongly agreed with the Song Dynasty emperors and ministers' approach. Although the emperor and ministers seemed unreliable, this was actually a way to stimulate domestic demand. By providing more leisure time to the people, more service and entertainment industries would emerge, increasing domestic trade. More trade meant more tax revenue, stimulating domestic commerce, which in turn attracted foreigners to trade, boosting import and export trade. This was a very important economic strategy, not just unreliable but very reliable.

What did the Song people do for fun? If Hong Tao hadn't come to the Song Dynasty, he would never have imagined how comfortable and happy their lives were. Their entertainment industry was very developed, far surpassing the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. Even compared to modern China, the entertainment facilities in the Song Dynasty were better, more complete, and more professional. No wonder the Song Dynasty had its own "Guizhou Street."

The street in Zhenzhou City was roughly divided into two parts, starting from Zhenhai Tower, which could be called a commercial street. All the shops were open, and there were two rows of vendors selling everything from food to clothing. Song Dynasty restaurants and inns had a particularly surprising habit: they didn't mind small vendors setting up stalls in front of their doors as long as the entrance wasn't blocked and customers could enter and exit freely. The more stalls in front of a shop, the better the business. These vendors could even sell their snacks inside the shops as long as they didn't pester the customers, and the shop owners wouldn't interfere.

So, Song Dynasty inns and restaurants not only didn't restrict customers from bringing their own drinks but also encouraged them to order takeout. As long as you paid, the waiters could get you any snacks from nearby. This symbiotic relationship puzzled Hong Tao. Did these snack stalls help attract customers to the inns and restaurants? It didn't seem to make sense, as they weren't the same customer base. It could only be that the Song Dynasty customers had good appetites and wanted to try both main dishes and snacks.

PS: Clicks, favorites, and recommendations! Throw them all at Hong Tao...

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