Chapter 1854
The Late Northern Song Dynasty
Liu Tong was overjoyed; he had been reincarnated with his memories intact, arriving in ancient times from the apocalyptic world.
Ancient times were wonderful; there were blue skies, green trees, and all kinds of natural food.
Chicken, duck, fish, meat, vegetables, fruits...
You have to understand that he has lived in the post-apocalyptic world for decades, and he has completely forgotten what these foods taste like.
Liu Tong is troubled because she has been raised since infancy and can only drink goat milk and rice water every day, and cannot eat other foods.
A woman in her early twenties walked into the house, picked up Liu Tong, and fed her rice porridge little by little with a small spoon.
This woman was not Liu Tong's biological mother, so naturally she had no breast milk to feed Liu Tong.
She claimed to be Liu Dong's godmother and Liu Dong's biological mother's sister.
But when someone is talking to Liu Dong, they will occasionally use the term "Your Highness".
This form of address was never used again after Liu Dong turned one year old. It was probably because the woman was cautious and afraid that the child might inadvertently reveal the name once he could speak.
Liu Tong began to doubt her own identity and that of a woman.
Your Highness? Isn't that a title for a prince?
Could it be that I am some kind of fallen prince?
Like Liu Bingyi, who grew up among the common people and was then brought back to the palace, making a glamorous transformation.
Under the woman's careful care, Liu Dong gradually grew up.
Liu Dong knew that they were now living in a county town called Yanggu County, and that the woman's surname was Wang and that she ran a teahouse.
Liu Tong: "..."
Liu Dong asked Wang Niangzi, "Godmother, are there any prominent families in the county town with the surname Ximen?"
Lady Wang: "No."
Liu Dong breathed a sigh of relief.
Liu Tong continued to gather information about this world: It is now the Song Dynasty, and the emperor is Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji.
Liu Tong: "..."
He wondered if he should have Wang Niangzi move to the south and open a teahouse.
In another twenty years, the Jin army will march south!
Of course, Lady Wang wouldn't listen to a child like Liu Dong.
Yanggu County is her hometown. She has finally returned home. How could she ever leave again?
Liu Tong could only work hard to improve his physical fitness and skills so that he could lead Lady Wang to escape from the Jin army's iron hooves.
Liu Dong's training method was developed by scientists in the post-apocalyptic world through collective wisdom and research on ordinary people. It can unlock the limits of the human body, increase physical strength and flexibility, and even extend lifespan.
After the zombies were eliminated, humanity in the apocalypse was no longer threatened, and the average lifespan reached two hundred years, all thanks to this cultivation method.
When Liu Dong was six years old, Lady Wang sent him to study at the academy.
Studying is expensive, and Wang Niangzi is finding it quite difficult to manage.
Although her tea-brewing skills were quite good, there was more than one teahouse in the county.
Wang Niangzi's teahouse wasn't particularly special, so business wasn't good, and her income was naturally low.
Wang Niangzi couldn't help but have a wicked thought: she wanted to pimp for people and earn that reward money.
Liu Dong quickly stopped Wang Niangzi: "Godmother, your doing this kind of business will affect my reputation and future."
Lady Wang valued Liu Qiu the most, and upon hearing that it would affect Liu Qiu, she immediately gave up on the idea.
She muttered under her breath, "You are of noble birth, why would you need that brat Zhao Ji to give you a future?"
She thought her voice was too soft for others to hear, but little did she know that Liu Dong had keen senses and heard her words clearly.
Lady Wang addressed Zhao Ji by his given name without any respect, which confirms that she was not one of Zhao Ji's people.
Liu Dong, this "Your Highness," has no relation to Zhao Ji.
Liu Tong has a guess that the biological father of her body is likely the Emperor Zhezong of Song, Zhao Xu, who died young.
Historical records indicate that Zhao Xu had only one son and three daughters, and one son died young.
That's why her younger brother took over.
If Zhao Xu had a biological son, even if it was just a baby, Zhao Ji wouldn't have ascended to the throne, right?
Liu Tong understood why Wang Niangzi had brought her to Yanggu County. Liu Tong sighed inwardly.
He said to Madam Wang, "I recently obtained a cookbook with a dish that is suitable for our teahouse. You can use it to pay back the money."
Pimping is something you should never do; it will diminish your merits and could even cost you your life.
Look at Wang Po in Water Margin, who acted as a pimp for Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing, but she was killed by martial arts.
Lady Wang asked, "What kind of food?"
Liu Tong: "Oil tea?"
Lady Wang asked in surprise, "Can tea taste good if it's brewed with oil?"
Liu Tong laughed: "It's not tea made by soaking tea in oil. It's called tea, but it's actually a kind of food."
The oil tea that Liu Dong told Wang Niangzi about was a specialty of Sichuan.
Liu Tong: "Oil tea is made by stir-frying flour in a pot until it turns yellow, then adding water and simmering it into a rice paste..."
Liu Tong: "There are two kinds of oil tea: sweet and savory. Sweet oil tea is made with osmanthus flowers and sugar. Savory oil tea is made with fried dough twists, pickled mustard tuber pieces, Sichuan peppercorn oil, sesame oil, chili oil, and other ingredients..."
Lady Wang's eyes lit up: "This oil tea recipe is quite simple."
After saying that, she immediately went into the kitchen to start cooking.
The sweet oil tea was ready quickly, with all the ingredients included.
Because the teahouse was going to sell osmanthus tea, Madam Wang prepared a lot of dried osmanthus flowers.
Salty oil tea is a bit more troublesome.
The fried dough twists needed to be fried fresh, and since there was no pickled mustard greens, Wang Niangzi used other pickled vegetables instead.
Peanuts had not yet been introduced to China, so Wang Niangzi would stir-fry dried peas and add them to the oil tea.
There were no chili peppers, so I just added sesame seeds and Sichuan peppercorn powder...
It tastes very good.
Madam Wang ate to her heart's content. A bowl of sweet oil tea and a bowl of salty oil tea made her belly bulge, so she didn't need to eat dinner that night.
The aroma of fried dough twists wafted outside the teahouse, and some people, feeling their mouths water, went inside to order tea to eat with the twists.
Lady Wang immediately started promoting her tea oil to them.
The guests found it novel and wanted to try it, so they ordered oil tea.
The guests have different tastes, so both savory and sweet options cater to their preferences.
Therefore, the guests were very satisfied with the oil tea.
Soon, everyone in the county knew that Wang's Tea Shop was selling novel foods.
Many people came to try it, making the teahouse a huge success.
Lady Wang couldn't manage on her own, so she hired two young assistants.
Oil tea is easy to make, and it wasn't long before someone copied it.
However, because Wang Family Tea Shop was the first to sell oil tea, people believed that Wang Family Tea Shop's oil tea was the most authentic. Therefore, although a number of people left, Wang Family Tea Shop's business was still quite good.
The tea shop's profits were enough to cover Wang Niangzi and Liu Tong's living expenses, as well as Liu Tong's tuition fees.
After that, Liu Dong taught Wang Niangzi how to make crystal cakes.
The taste of this crystal rice cake is just so-so, but it's pretty!
A transparent crystal ball encloses flowers of various colors...
This dish is a favorite among wealthy ladies and young women.
They wouldn't come to the tea shop to drink tea; they would send someone to buy it and enjoy it at home.
At banquets for noble ladies, the absence of crystal sesame cakes would invite ridicule. (End of Chapter)