Chapter 4: Salvation and Being Saved

  Jumping into the river, Song Kai only discovered a serious problem - this body of his was very poor and couldn't swim.

  Were the scholars of ancient times all so weak that they couldn't even truss a chicken? No, wasn't it said that men of the Tang Dynasty were skilled in riding, shooting and hunting, not just men but also women.

  Song Kai understood that in the early Tang Dynasty, when the Li family gained the world through archery and horsemanship, the people under their rule naturally also wanted to learn archery and horsemanship.

  Later, the country was governed mainly by literature, and Confucius' teachings were promoted. As a result, not many people were willing to learn archery and horsemanship anymore. Firstly, it was too expensive, and secondly, learning these skills didn't help one win over girls. The imperial examination system, which emphasized poetry composition, had become the mainstream.

  He took a few sips and then drank three mouthfuls of water in succession, his eyes rolling back.

  Damn it's so rip-off!

  Operate on patients and get killed by them, rescue people and get drowned to death.

  I'm not destined to be a good person!

  Gurgling...

  Another three mouthfuls of water.

  Life is full of pitfalls everywhere.

  My tummy is full at last.

  Swimming... swimming... how did I swim again? Damn it, completely forgot...

  At this time, a white figure swam over and held him up.

  Song Kai's hands grasped that person tightly.

  Wow, so big...

  "Relax, silly, relax, don't be tense..."

  A faint voice came over.

  Song Kai's instincts wanted him to grab tighter, but his only clear consciousness told him he couldn't grab the other person, because if he did, both of them would die.

  Then let's keep drinking water!

  Song Kai let go of his hand.

  The other party's lifesaving skills are not good, sometimes they completely press Song Kai into the water.

  Brother, are you here to save me or drown me further?

  In a daze, an old man fishing by the riverbank tossed over a wooden stool from under his buttocks.

  Song Kai grasped both hands on the wooden stump.

  Sigh...

  Much better, can breathe now.

  Pfft...

  He spat out the water in one mouthful.

  Ancient times were good, the river water was never polluted and tasted pretty good.

  The old man opposite stretched out his fishing rod.

  A white figure beside him held one hand on the fishing rod and the other on Song Kai.

  Song Kai blinked his eyes repeatedly, this time he saw clearly that the one who had just saved him was Liu Yuyan, the diver.

  "So you can swim," Song Kai tightly hugged the wooden stump, muttering to himself, then lowered his head and found that the place he had just grabbed was, hmm, Liu's wife's chest. Tang Dynasty women are indeed very full-bodied.

  Liu Yuyuan pulled Song Kai along, and they leaned against the shore with their fishing rods.

  Song Kai used his hands and feet to climb up the bank, then turned around and pulled Liu Yuyan.

  "Bang!"

  Liu Yuyan slapped Song Kai in the face.

  Song Kai was stunned.

  "It's all because of you, ruining my reputation," Liu Yuying said, her body still submerged in the water, only her head and shoulders visible.

  "I'm worried about you and want to save you," Song Kai explained, this woman was unreasonable.

  "I'll go into the water, who made you save me! I'll come to find you again another day," Liu Yuyan said with a smile towards Song Kai, then turned around and slipped back into the water, taking a strong dive in, and disappeared.

  Song Kai stood there with a big belly, staring blankly at the scene in front of him, unable to make sense of what was happening.

  This woman laughs beautifully.

  Pfft, no way, is this woman sick? She gave herself a slap and then smiled at herself, her thinking is a bit hard to keep up with.

  Wow...

  He didn't hold back a single breath, and the water in his stomach shot out in a column.

  The people around stared at Song Kai, and Yang Huaiyan on the bridge pointed and gestured.

  "That must be Liu's young daughter, what a fiery temper she has."

  "What a fierce woman she is, but she doesn't follow the traditional way of women. Look at her, she still swims and used to practice in the river with nothing on."

  "And also, just now in the water with Song Kai that bookworm, oh dear, I don't know who will dare to want her in the future."

  Yang Huaiyan's whole body trembled with anger on the stone bridge, and he turned around and left.

  "Master! My young master! You've scared the life out of me, old slave! If anything were to happen to you, the Song family would be finished! How could I face the ancestors after I die?" Ah Fu rushed over with tears streaming down his face, his nose and beard a mess.

  Song Kai shook his hair, put on a long gown, walked to the old man's side by the river and bowed: "Thank you very much for saving my life, sir."

  "Heh heh, your relationship with that woman is quite deep," the old man said, putting away his fishing rod and wearing a bamboo hat.

  Song Kai coughed twice and said, "This is really hard to say, I just want to save people."

  The old man shook his head, "You think I'm praising you? You've ruined the good name of that young woman."

  Song Kai also shook his head, "If one has to carry a clear name for life, it's too tiring. Hehe, I'll repay the favor of saving my life, but now Song is in a difficult situation, and will return the kindness to you later."

  Having said that, Song Kai bowed and took Ah Fu away.

  The old man stared at Song Kai's figure, savoring his words, and then smiled to himself, muttering: "A young boy like him, how could he possibly understand the three flavors of life."

  About 500 meters downstream, there was a small grove of trees. Before long, with a "splash", a woman emerged from the river and ran quickly into the woods, barefoot.

  Song Kai walked while sneezing twice.

  This body is too weak, even weaker than the one I had in my previous life, how can this be?

  Song Kai thought about his training plan and decided it would be best to find a martial arts master to learn the ultimate skills.

  But first make some money, survive, then be a boss and enjoy life.

  That's a great idea.

  Back at Hongchen Inn, it was already evening.

  Inside the store, Nie Ling Tong covered his stomach and squatted weakly by the back door.

  As soon as she saw Song Kai and Ah Fu carrying ingredients, she jumped up and complained: "Why are you so slow! The young lady is going to starve... Why is there only pork? And it's so fatty? Didn't you buy mutton and beef?"

  A Fu was also starving, he glared at Nie Lingdang, "Eating beef is against the law! However, little lady, where did you come from? To file a complaint with the inn, we need to check the official documents..."

  "Alright, alright, Fu Bo, come and help me with the dishes," Song Kai Sheng was afraid that this old man would make things difficult for him, and the girl was already pitiful enough. If he found out she was a runaway slave, he estimated that Ah Fu would immediately chase her out onto the streets.

  Nie Ling did not speak again.

  Arrived at the backyard kitchen, things in the kitchen were also looted, only two large iron pots and some oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar were left.

  In the Tang Dynasty, the ingredients for cooking were almost complete, except for chili peppers, all other seasonings were available, of course, the production process was slightly different.

  Song Kai took a look and then asked Fu Bo to wash and chop the vegetables.

  Fu Bo wants to make boiled meat.

  "Too fat, become pot roast," Song Kai rubbed his belly, wanting his mom to starve to death. The water he drank from the river earlier was all gone after a bubble of urine.

  "What's 'huiguo rou'?" Ah Fu looked at Song Kai in confusion, this young master of his was speaking with a strange accent today and kept coming up with words he couldn't understand.

  Song Kai patted his head and said it seemed stir-frying was not very popular in the Tang Dynasty.

  The Tang Dynasty was more popular with braised dishes and boiled dishes, putting ingredients on top and then adding fire to cook.

  It's also a way out, and in the future, it can be used as a signature dish for the restaurant, I guess business will pick up.

  Twice-cooked pork is one of the first Sichuan dishes, and it occupies an important position in later culinary systems. The method of preparation is not difficult, so I estimate that other restaurants will learn to make it in the future.

  Never mind, let's get through this difficult situation first.

  Song Kai now only wants to revive this guest shop and then do a slap in the face, if he becomes a doctor, it will be even simpler, and his achievements will be greater later on, after all, the medical level of the Tang Dynasty is considered to be quite backward.

  However, after experiencing things from his past life, he didn't want to continue in that line of work.

  Slice the meat, heat oil, add seasonings, deep-fry the meat slices, add scallions...

  A sizzling sound accompanied by a fragrance wafting everywhere.

  "It smells so good! What's being made?" Nie Ling Tong sniffed and walked over, standing by the stove, staring at the pot of sizzling oil and water with golden-brown meat pieces, her saliva flowing out from the corner of her mouth.

  Song Kai couldn't help but laugh and said that she was a princess of some sort, which didn't fit the image of a noble lady at all.

  Fu Bo squatted on the ground, burning a stove and occasionally swallowing his saliva.

  Twenty minutes later, the dishes were served, and Song Kai washed his hands and sat down at the table.

  The chair is too short, it's just a wooden stump, very uncomfortable.

  "Today, the three of us are stranded here, and in the days to come, we will still need everyone to work together...” Before Song could finish speaking, Nie Ling had already picked up her chopsticks and clamped down on a large piece of braised pork.

  "Later, when our young master becomes successful, he'll definitely take you out of this miserable life, I guarantee it...swearing on this bowl of braised pork belly..." As soon as the words left his mouth, he took a big gulp and started screaming "Ahhhhh!" nonstop.

  A Fu and Song Kai both stared at Nie Tingting with their faces sideways, as if there was poison in the dish...

  Nie Lingdang shouted loudly while shoveling food into his mouth, "Too delicious! Too delicious! Once I make a comeback, I'll hire you as my personal chef, too delicious..."

  Ate a big meal in one go.

  A Fu also couldn't help but call out to Song Kai, who also started moving.

  Song Kai shook his head and smiled bitterly, and the three of them made an effort to eat without mentioning it.

  Three minutes later, the rice was gone, the dishes were gone, and only Nie Lingdang's belching sound was left.

  "Song Kai, this dish alone should keep your restaurant from going under... " Nie Lingdang belched again and stuck out her tongue to lick her lips, her tongue was somewhat sensual, but this woman really had no class.

  A Fu sighed and thought, where did this wild woman come from, she doesn't have any manners at all.

  Song Kai didn't think much of it, as the Turkic women were bold and straightforward, so such actions weren't unusual.

  A Fu narrowed his eyes and said: "Dà Láng, where did you learn this culinary skill? It's really delicious."

  "In the book," Song Kai said, "after our Hong... Red Guest House opens... anyway, after we reopen, this braised pork will be our signature dish."

  "It's definitely going to thrive!" Nie Lingdang had always considered himself one of them, "At that time, our guest house will be able to earn a lot more gold, haha."

  A Fu turned his head again to look at Nie Lingdang and coughed, "Little girl, where did you come from?"

  Nie Lingdang glared at Ah Fu and got up to leave, muttering under his breath: "Why doesn't this old man get amnesia..."