Chapter Fourteen: On the Right Track

  It's no wonder that the two poems chosen by Song Kai are both about longing, and Xue Weihai naturally thought they were written by Nie Hong because she couldn't meet with Song Kai, and were given to him as a gift.

  Song Kai was speechless and could only awkwardly smile and say: "Everyone sit down, sit down, eat, eat."

  On the other side, Ah Fu also hurried over to greet the guests. Nie Lingdang was dressed in men's clothing, with a band-aid on her face and wearing a small servant's hat, looking exactly like a young shop assistant. She had a slightly smug expression, after all, the signature on the poem was her own name.

  The whole hotel was talking about "Nie Hong", but it's strange that everyone heard the name of this legendary woman for the first time.

  "Today's guests are entitled to a 20% discount on all expenses. If you're satisfied with your meal, you can also purchase our store's membership card for future visits."

  Among the hustle and bustle of the crowd, he finally slowly sat down.

  Xue Weihai sat at a table by the window, and soon Song Kai brought over a "menu". "Mr. Xue, take a look first, think about what you want to eat, and just call out to the two shop assistants to let them know."

  "This... isn't bad," Xue Weihai said with a smile as he carefully examined the menu.

  Song Kai bid farewell with his hands clasped together, he still had many things to attend to.

  Most people ordered dishes like braised pork belly, pickled peanuts and drunken duck. They also served distilled liquor that had been re-distilled multiple times. The liquor of the Tang Dynasty was relatively turbid and sweet to drink, but after being re-distilled by Song Kai, its alcohol content reached over 30 degrees, making it even more flavorful.

  This strong heroic wine, almost every table ordered a small pot, and soon the tavern was filled with the smell of alcohol.

  When the braised pork was served, there was a burst of applause, but it was just applause. After being stimulated by the poem, not many people would loudly praise this dish again.

  In the back kitchen, Zhao Tieshan was alone in front of three large iron pots, with a ladle flying up and down in his hand, and from time to time he had to hold an ancestral meteorite knife to chop vegetables, really busy.

  "Is the braised pork belly at table three done yet?" Nie Lingdang had fully immersed herself in her new role, scurrying back and forth like a diligent and cheerful servant, serving dishes, pouring tea, collecting money - where was even a hint of the young mistress's demeanor?

  Zhao Tieshan wiped the sweat from his forehead, turned around and smiled at Nie Lingtang, "Wait a minute, Lingtang, it's okay, are you tired? Do you want me to pour you a glass of water?"

  "Get out!" Nie Lingdang learned Song Kai's way of scolding people, "Hurry up and get to work!"

  "Alright, alright," Zhao Tieshan continued to wield the big iron ladle, looking very pleased.

  After a brief period of intense activity, all the tables had food and wine on them. Although there were still occasional customers coming in, the restaurant was no longer too busy.

  Song Kai also pulled out a chair and sat down across from Xue Wei Hai with a plate of peanuts.

  Xue Wei Hai deliberately let out a sigh, "Alas, I originally thought that if this inn were to thoroughly decline, I could also ask you for help with something. Now it seems that's not possible."

  Song Kai smiled and said, "What can I do? Accompanying you to chat, drinking wine is fine. Ah, wine, come on, Xue Lao, I'll toast you a cup. If you didn't save me that day, I'm afraid Bai Niangzi and I would have been in a desperate situation."

  Xue Weihai poured a cup of wine, swirled it around and said: "This wine is just like the one we had at Dr. Sun's house that day."

  "It's almost the same, only that was for disinfection, yeah, it was for treating knife wounds, so the degree had to be higher. Now it's for drinking and having fun, so the degree is more moderate," Song Kai said as he poured a cup and raised his glass towards Xue Wei Hai.

  Xue Weihai took a sip and smacked his lips, saying: "Not bad, but indeed too strong, I can't drink several cups, or else I'll get drunk."

  "One drunk, a thousand worries gone," Song Kai laughed loudly.

  Xue Wei Hai was taken aback, then shook his head, "Your way of thinking is quite negative. Some things, even if you're drunk, they still can't be solved."

  Song Kai didn't know what Xue Weihai was talking about either, he just smiled and said, "If it's beyond one's ability, getting drunk to forget isn't a bad idea."

  Xue Wei Hai still shook his head, "A gentleman would die for a just cause, a good man must sacrifice his life for righteousness, even if he knows it's impossible, he must still do it."

  Song Kai raised his wine glass again, "Xue Lao's teachings are correct."

  Although it is said that Song Kai's heart was not moved, as a 21st-century person, he had long since looked down on the rise and fall of dynasties and the narrow-minded great righteousness of nations. The victory or defeat of kings and bandits has always been so, war is certainly not good, but it is also a driving force for the development of productive forces.

  Xue Weihai sighed and then smiled freely, "This shop of yours, if it succeeds, after today, it will surely be famous throughout Suzhou City."

  "Haha, this is exactly what I've been wishing for," Song Kai laughed loudly. "Try the flavor of this stir-fried pork."

  ……

  In fact, without waiting for the second day, on that night, the reputation of Hongchen Inn had spread throughout the literary circle of Suzhou City.

  That night, Suzhou city's literati and ink guests couldn't help but mention a phrase, "Shui Diao Ge Tou", and a name that kept popping up was Nie Hong. Along with Nie Hong and the phrase "Shui Diao Ge Tou", another place that was often mentioned was the Red Dust Inn, and occasionally, someone would bring up Song Kai Lai.

  It's not because Song Kai is the owner of Hongchen Inn that he's being mentioned, but rather because it's said that Song Kai and the legendary woman Nie Hong had a romantic past, with the two people unable to be together due to family feuds and ambitions, so Nie Hong wrote "Shui Diao Ge Tou".

  Anyway, as things got more and more bizarre, in the end, all the details about where and how Song Kai and Nie Hong had their dates were also exposed.

  Mortal World Inn.

  Everyone suddenly understood, no wonder Song Kai had been guarding that broken inn so stubbornly. It turned out that he was waiting for Nie Hong with a foolish heart, unchanged despite being in the midst of worldly dust.

  Rumors spread far and wide, and as a result, the Red Dust Inn really became famous.

  That night, Song Kai, A Fu, Nie Tingting and Zhao Tieshan sat around a table eating dinner.

  Song Kai was drinking wine while doing arithmetic on a tattered account book.

  "What's this symbol?" Nie Ling Tong asked, leaning forward. "Is it the one-two-three you taught me?"

  "Right, these symbols can be calculated," Song Kai casually explained, he intentionally wanted to cultivate this greedy girl into a shopkeeper.

  As he calculated, he explained, and soon Song Kai raised his head, grinned and said: "Today's sales are 10 guan and 300 wen. After deducting the cost of ingredients, firewood, labor, taxes, etc., our pure profit is approximately 5 guan, which is equivalent to 5 taels of silver, or 1 tael of gold. Haha."

  A Fu's eyes widened.

  Nie Ling Tong furrowed his brow, chewing on a piece of meat as he said, "Is that all? I thought business was booming today, I'm exhausted and my waist hurts."

  "Let me give you a massage," Zhao Tieshan took the opportunity to speak up.

  "Shut up!" Nie Lingdang glared at Zhao Tieshan.

  "It's not a small amount, it's not a small amount, Niece, the daily profit is one or two gold, it's really not a small amount, wu wu, Heaven blesses the Song family, Heaven blesses the Eldest Young Master," Ah Fu cried while eating, his tears and snot mixing together as he shoveled food into his mouth.

  Nie Ling Tong furrowed his brow in a moment.

  Song Kai burst out laughing, "Tomorrow I'll post a recruitment notice and hire one more partner, one to be in charge of washing and chopping vegetables, so everyone won't be too busy."

  "Alright, but if we get someone to come, won't that be another expense? Ah, it's really a pity," Nie Lingdang muttered.

  Zhao Tieshan scratched his head and said in a low voice, "Lingdang sister, anyway, it's Song Lang who pays the wages, the more people we invite, the easier it will be for us."

  "Shut up, I'm entitled to a share of the profits," Nie Lingdang hummed, having already decided on the matter of profit-sharing.

  Song Kai could only smile bitterly and helplessly.

  After dinner, Song Kai asked Ah Fu to boil some hot water and wash up before resting.

  Early autumn, the moonlight is quiet, the starry sky is urging, this is an era where you can see the stars.

  Song Kai lay on the long bench in the courtyard, staring blankly at the starry sky, with all sorts of things flashing by, past experiences like a dream.

  Life is indeed wonderful.

  "What are you thinking about?" Nie Lingdang walked over and sat down beside Song Kai.

  "Thinking of my wife," Song Kai still stared at the starry sky.

  "It's really disappointing," Nie Lingdang complained.

  Song Kai smiled and didn't explain much. He thought of his wife, thinking of his girlfriend from his past life, feeling that he owed her too much.

  Nie Ling Tong thought Song Kai was thinking of Liu Yujuan, "You make more money, not only do you have a wife, but you can also marry many concubines. Ah, Song Kai, why don't you say something? Is there any other way to make money?"

  "Yeah, there's more than enough, it's just that I don't want to do it anymore. With this income, we can make a living, isn't that enough?" Song Kai said, with his hands clasped behind his head, gazing up at the starry sky.

  We...

  The speaker was unintentional, but Nie Lingdong listened and felt warm in his heart.

  But it's just warm and fuzzy, she hated to say: "You're satisfied with this little money, really! You quickly say, what other ways are there to make money!"

  Song Kai smiled and said, "We can go to the government office to apply for a license to open a special wine cabinet. As you've seen, our heroic wine will definitely sell well in the future. Also, I can be a guest storyteller in the mornings, guaranteeing that our shop will be packed every day. I can also create some inventions and sell soap, paper, movable type printing, and so on. Of course, if we open a medical clinic, we'll make money even faster... treating incurable diseases..."

  Nie Ling was quietly listening, anyway she couldn't understand, but it didn't matter, she had already gotten used to Song saying some strange words, the scholars of the Tang Dynasty were just amazing, when they spoke, she couldn't understand.

  After a while, Song Kai sighed and said: "However, I don't want to do any of these things. After a few days, the inn can operate smoothly, you can be the manager, and I will go learn some martial arts."

  Nie Lingdang heard the last sentence and burst out laughing. She stood up, stretched out her small hand, and touched Song Kai's forehead, "Oh my, you're not hot, why are you talking nonsense?"

  Song Kai stretched out his hand and grasped Nie Lingdang's small hand, "Who said nonsense? I'm being serious."

  Nie Lingdang hastily withdrew his hand, pretending to be angry and kicked Song Kai once, "You're a scholar, still a hidden talented person, what are you learning martial arts for? Those are things done by rough people."

  "You don't understand." Song Kai still lay in the same position as before, propping up his hands, "Life is what's most important."