Chapter 2: The Drunkard (Part Two)

Chapter 2: The Drunkard (Part Two)

The old shopkeeper noticed the sorrow in Li Qi’s expression, as though he were hiding some unspeakable trouble, and asked, “Young brother, you seem so young. Why are you grieving like this?”

Li Qi closed his eyes and shook his head.

It was not that he was unwilling to speak. He simply did not know where to begin. Besides, even if he told them the truth, no one would believe him.

In fact, he had traveled here from more than nine hundred years in the future. He was twenty-five years old, a top student of Tsinghua University, and had risen at a young age to become both executive chef and general manager of a luxury hotel, earning an annual salary of over a million. Recently, he had even won the heart of a beautiful woman. His career and family life had both reached their peak; everything had gone smoothly, and his future had seemed brilliant. As a minor detail, his employer was also his father-in-law.

Unfortunately, no one could predict the twists of fate.

On the very night of his wedding, several of his closest friends had plied him with drink until he was unconscious. When he awoke, he discovered that he had somehow arrived in the Northern Song capital. At the time, he had nearly been frightened senseless.

Although many people in his era dreamed of traveling through time, Li Qi wanted nothing of the sort. He had not yet consummated his marriage. He had a family, and a beautiful wife waiting for him. This was absolutely not what he wanted.

So he decided to recreate the circumstances. If he got drunk once more, perhaps he could return. First, he found a pawnshop and pawned the ancestral jade Buddha hanging around his neck. Then he used the money to buy a jar of wine and drank himself into unconsciousness.

But the goddess of “luck” did not favor him a second time. When he awoke, he was still there.

Unwilling to give up, he exchanged all the remaining money for wine. He drank until he was drunk, slept until he awoke, and then continued drinking. Several days passed, yet his wish remained unfulfilled.

Seeing that Li Qi did not wish to speak, the old shopkeeper did not press him. He took a small string of copper coins from his sleeve and held it out to him.

“Young brother, take this money for travel expenses and go home.”

He had seen Li Qi sleeping on the street for several days, without a single relative coming to look for him. Combined with Li Qi’s peculiar accent, it was only natural for him to assume that the young man had come from another place. He therefore hoped that a little money might persuade him to leave.

After all, he ran a business with an open door. Having a drunkard lying in front of the shop all day was hardly a solution.

The old shopkeeper was, in truth, a kindhearted man. Had Li Qi encountered one of the more unscrupulous proprietors, they would have had him driven away with clubs long ago.

“Go home? Which home? Where am I supposed to go? I—I can’t go back.”

The more Li Qi spoke, the more sorrowful he became. By the end, he had begun to weep.

The old shopkeeper had never expected a grown man to break down in tears, much less to cry so miserably. For a moment, he did not know what to do. Yet seeing how pitiful Li Qi looked reminded him of the current state of the Drunken Immortal House, and he suddenly felt that they were kindred spirits, both suffering from the same misfortune.

With a sigh, he said softly, “Young brother, young brother, do not cry just yet. Very well. If you do not mind the humble state of my establishment, you may stay here for a few days. As for what comes afterward, we will think it over slowly.”

Li Qi stopped crying when he heard this. His heart filled with gratitude. In his own era, even if someone drank himself unconscious and died by the roadside, he doubted that anyone would stop to check on him.

He stared blankly at the old man before him and asked, “Uncle, why are you being so kind to me?”

The old shopkeeper smiled faintly. “Enough. Do not ask so many questions. Come inside.”

At that moment, Six was dozing with his head on the table. Suddenly, he saw the old shopkeeper enter with the drunkard and sprang to his feet, his mouth hanging open in astonishment.

“Uncle—why did you bring him inside?”

Chapter 2: The Drunkard (Part Two)

The old shopkeeper glared at Six.

“This is Young Master Li Qi. Take him to the back courtyard first so he can tidy himself up and change clothes. I will go to the kitchen and ask Master Zhou to prepare a few simple dishes.”

Li Qi gave Six an apologetic smile. “Sorry to trouble you.”

Young Master, indeed? If someone as disheveled as you can be called a young master, then I must be a prince, nobleman, or imperial relative.

Six curled his lip and answered sourly, “Young—Master—Li, this way.”

Six led Li Qi to a courtyard behind the Drunken Immortal House. It was neither large nor small, with seven or eight rooms in all, but the place was extremely crude. It appeared to be where the shop assistants who had once worked at the inn had lived.

Li Qi followed Six to a small room at the far left. Inside were various objects used for bathing: a wooden tub, a dipper, a piece of hemp cloth that had evidently been used by countless people, and a lump of something black and filthy whose purpose he could not identify.

Only later did Li Qi learn from Six that the substance was called soap paste and was used for washing. It seemed to be more or less the equivalent of soap in later ages.

Good heavens! This counted as a bathhouse?

Amazement and helplessness were written all over Li Qi’s face. In his opinion, at best, this was merely a storage room.

After a while, Li Qi emerged from his bath wearing a gray cloth robe. The garment had been left behind by one of the shop assistants and was slightly too short. Combined with his short hair cut straight across his forehead, he looked thoroughly out of place—rather like one of the extras hired by the film studios.

When Li Qi returned to the main hall, he saw the old shopkeeper, Six, and a filthy old bald man sitting around a table, chatting idly. Three small dishes had been set out: stir-fried bamboo shoots, leafy greens, and scallions with tofu. There was also a bowl of plain white rice.

As soon as the old shopkeeper saw Li Qi, he hurriedly waved him over.

“Young brother, come and sit down. The food is getting cold.”

Li Qi smiled and walked over, taking the seat beside Six.

“Uncle Wu, thank you.”

While Six had been heating water for his bath, Li Qi had questioned him about the place. He had learned that the old shopkeeper’s surname was Wu and his given name Fu-rong. He was the proprietor of the establishment. Six’s real name was Wu Xiao-liu; he was both an employee of the inn and Wu Fu-rong’s own nephew.

Apart from the two of them, the shop also employed a Master Zhou, the establishment’s head chef. Presumably, the old man sitting there now was that very man.

Wu Fu-rong nodded with a smile and pointed to the bald old man beside him.

“This is our head chef, Master Zhou. These few dishes were all prepared by him especially for you.”

Head chef?

Li Qi was momentarily stunned. He was extraordinarily sensitive to that title. He could not help glancing at Master Zhou. The man appeared to be well over sixty, with scarcely any teeth left. Li Qi found it rather curious. In his own era, someone of that age would have retired long ago.

Cooking was a profession with extremely demanding physical requirements. No matter how strong a person remained in old age, his sense of taste, tactile sensitivity, and agility would inevitably decline considerably. Moreover, the physical condition of a sixty-year-old in this era could hardly compare with that of a sixty-year-old in Li Qi’s time.

The older a person became, the more likely the quality and flavor of his cooking were to deteriorate. To put it plainly, no hotel would hire a man in his sixties or seventies as its head chef.

Even so, Li Qi remained sincerely grateful to the old gentleman.

“Master Zhou, I am truly sorry to disturb your rest.”

Master Zhou found Li Qi handsome and refined, with a courteous and scholarly manner. He immediately took a liking to him and laughed heartily.

“What disturbance? Hurry up and eat. The food will not taste good once it gets cold.”

“Mm.”

Li Qi nodded. Though they were not related to him in the slightest—indeed, they had never even met before—they had treated him with such kindness that he was deeply moved.

He picked up his chopsticks and looked at the few dishes before him. A wave of hunger surged through him. Only then did he realize that he had probably gone an entire day without eating.

Just as he was about to begin, he noticed that all three men were staring at him. None of them had bowls or chopsticks in front of them.

Curious, he asked, “You are not eating?”

A flicker of fear crossed Wu Xiao-liu’s eyes.

“You eat. Uncle and I ate long ago.”

Wu Fu-rong nodded with a smile. “Do not mind us. Go ahead and eat.”

“Oh.”

Li Qi was far too hungry to resist, so he said no more. He grabbed his chopsticks, scooped up a large mouthful of rice, and stuffed it into his mouth. Then he picked up several slices of bamboo shoot.

After chewing a few times, his brows drew together.

Good heavens! This is terrible!

Li Qi had been born into a family of chefs, and in all his life he had never eaten anything so awful. Had he not known that Master Zhou had prepared the food out of kindness, he probably would have spat it out at once.

Keeping his head lowered and his eyes tightly shut, he shoveled rice into his mouth without pause. Compared with the three dishes, the plain white rice was practically a feast fit for the gods.

Seeing that Li Qi was eating only rice and ignoring the vegetables, Master Zhou asked curiously, “What is it? Do these dishes not suit your taste?”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Of course. The very thing he had feared had come to pass.

Li Qi’s heart lurched, and he nearly choked to death.

“Slow down. No one is going to steal your food. Six, go and pour a cup of tea for Young Master Li.”

Wu Fu-rong gave the order to Wu Xiao-liu, who was trying hard not to laugh.

Only after drinking some tea did Li Qi recover. His face flushed as he turned to Master Zhou.

“Master Zhou, you jest. To have the honor of eating food prepared personally by you is a blessing earned over three lifetimes. I am merely very hungry at the moment, so I thought I would fill my stomach first before taking the time to savor your culinary skill.”

What a smooth-tongued child!

Master Zhou’s face immediately broke into a delighted smile.

“Very well. Eat some rice first to settle your stomach. But afterward, you must finish every one of these dishes.”

Li Qi leaned sideways and nearly tumbled from his chair. His heart filled with bitter despair.

Finish every one of them? Are they trying to kill me?

End of Chapter 2