Chapter Twenty-Four: Eight Hundred Years Ahead of Time

  Originally, Li Dabao was ordered to take the road to Yanping, and after taking a boat to Fuzhou, he changed to a sea boat and arrived in Nanhai (now Guangzhou) in Lingnan. It was also a smooth journey all the way. After arriving in Nanhai, he inquired everywhere about where there were chili peppers. Wang Kuang had specifically instructed him that in the Lingnan area, it might not be called chili peppers yet, and it was unclear what they were specifically called. Therefore, when Li Dabao asked around, he still described the characteristics of chili peppers with gestures, saying they were red, thumb-thick, long and pointed at the end, and extremely spicy. However, after staying in Nanhai for over a month, he still hadn't found out where to find this thing, and just when he was about to give up hope, a merchant who ran the sea said that he had seen something similar on an island in the far south, but didn't know if it was what Li Dabao was looking for.

  Li Dabao is Li Dabao, bold and daring, gritting his teeth, he spent all his money to persuade an experienced fisherman father and son on the coast of South China Sea, and after inquiring about the direction from the merchant who provided the information, he chartered a fishing boat and set off to sea.

  Due to the unfavorable wind direction, what was supposed to be a month-long journey according to the merchant took them over four months on the boat, and they didn't arrive at their destination until the end of the year. The risks they faced along the way still make Li Dabao shudder to this day. The storm that arose was truly massive, with waves reaching as high as tens of meters. The fishing boat was small to begin with, and if it had been swept away, they would have been killed for sure. Fortunately, the two fishermen were experienced and adjusted their course before the wind picked up, avoiding the center of the storm. Nevertheless, after several rounds of turmoil, the fishing boat was left in tatters, and by the time they arrived at their destination, it had fallen apart. Luckily, they finally arrived at their destination and met the chili peppers. To verify whether they were indeed chili peppers, Li Dabao even ate one, but he couldn't have imagined how spicy they would be, especially since he had never eaten chilies before. Even people who hadn't eaten chilies in later generations thought that pickled peppers were spicy. At the time, Li Dabao's mouth swelled up like a sausage.

  Since they were penniless, it was useless to say that the place wasn't within the borders of the Tang Dynasty and didn't recognize the Tang's copper coins. Even if they had money, it would be useless. Fortunately, Li Dabao had stayed in an inn before, so he could still cook simple dishes decently. He became quite popular among the local natives and temporarily settled down with a fisherman father and son, keeping an eye out for merchants from the Tang Dynasty.

  They counted the days, and they had been on that island for half a year, until around late June, when they heard from the locals that there were sea merchants with the same skin color and attire as them coming to the island to replenish vegetables and fresh water. The three of them then managed to take a boat back to the South China Sea.

  Arriving at the South Sea, it was already mid-August. Li Dabao had nothing but a small package of dried chili peppers and could only beg his way back to Jian'an on foot. This journey took over three months, and by the time he reached the outskirts of Jian'an City, he was dizzy with hunger and had no warm clothing except for one robe. He was too weak to speak and couldn't ask anyone to help him get to an inn. Moreover, since approaching Jian'an, he had heard that the Fulu Inn was now the largest in Jianzhou, and its new young master loved listening to people tell stories from all over the world. Li Dabao realized that this young master must be the same boy who came to apply for the chef position back then, and his current status at the inn was surprisingly high. Therefore, it was crucial to entrust him with the matters he had handled on this trip, and the more secretive, the better. So, Li Dabao could only slowly crawl to the inn himself. When he arrived outside the inn, it was already midnight, and the inn had closed for the night. He didn't have the strength to call out, so he curled up outside the inn. Fortunately, he came from a poor family and was accustomed to enduring hunger and hardship since childhood. Additionally, after several years at the inn, where he had eaten well and dressed warmly, his body was still in decent shape; otherwise, he would have either starved or frozen to death that night. What happened next is what occurred earlier.

  Li Dabao was wolfing down his food while muttering to Sun Er, recounting the dangers he had faced over the past year. Sun Er listened with rapt attention, pounding the table and stomping his feet as if he himself were in the midst of those perils.

  Li Dabao, having experienced poverty, knew that even when extremely hungry, one couldn't eat too much. After eating three buns and a bowl of loach soup, he was only half full, and with a satisfied smack of his lips, he reluctantly gazed at the remaining buns, swallowing saliva.

  Sun Er laughed and scolded, "Alright, look at your greedy face! So, did you take care of the task that Xiao Dongjia entrusted to you? If so, then you're a great hero for our Rich Come Inn! From now on, we won't skimp on your food. There are many new dishes you haven't tried yet, so take good care of your stomach and eat to your heart's content later."

  He then turned to gaze at Gao San and another fellow, "You all listen up, today's events are sealed lips, if anyone asks, just say that Li Dabao went out to visit relatives yesterday and just returned." He knew that Xiao Dongjia often mentioned how Li Dabao hadn't returned yet.

  This time, Li Dabao had achieved great merit, so the position of manager was definitely his. Sun Er called him up ahead of time, as he knew that Xiao Dongjia would be pleased and wouldn't scold him for it. As for Sun Er himself, over the past year or more, he had come to realize that even he was somewhat under Xiao Dongjia's influence.

  As an old-timer at Rich Come Inn, he felt proud of how the inn had flourished day by day. For Li Dabao, another old-timer from Rich Come, to achieve such great merit, Sun Er was also delighted.

  Wang Kuang was still the same, not getting up until the sun was high in the sky. On this cold winter day, he was still warm in his bed. If he wasn't hungry, he would have wanted to sleep in until noon.

  Not yet arrived at the hall, but heard in front of the hall Sun Er Gao San and several others whispering: "This is great, our rich inn's reputation has grown even bigger, this time Li Guan Shi's credit is not small..."

  "What's Li doing? The inn has another manager? Who is it?" Wang Kuang was very curious.

  "Little Dong's family has arrived, we were just talking about Li Dabao, he's back." Seeing Wang Kuang, Sun Er felt a bit embarrassed, "I was thinking, since Li Dabao made such a big contribution this time, he must have some power, so I called him in advance, heh heh."

  "Li Dabao is back? Is the matter settled? Where's the person? Where are they? Quick, quick, bring me the thing to see." Wang Kuang's heart started racing as soon as he heard that Li Dabao, who had been out of contact for over a year, was back. Chili peppers! They wouldn't be introduced to China until the Ming dynasty, but now they've arrived ahead of time. The impact this will bring is immeasurable. He even suspected that with chili peppers, the territory of the Tang Dynasty might expand far beyond its original historical borders. After all, chili peppers are a great way to ward off the cold. During the Tang era, there were also spicy seasonings, but they weren't nearly hot enough and had an extremely strange flavor that nobody liked. Chili peppers are different - it's easy to imagine that they will sweep the nation in no time.

  "I told Li Dabian to take a rest, he's suffered a lot on this journey. I'll let him hand over the things to Xiaodong's family personally." Sun Er hurriedly recounted Li Dabian's experiences with gestures and expressions.

  "Just let him rest for now and take care of his body first." It's impossible to plant chili peppers in winter, so there's no use rushing.

  At this time, Sun Zhang also came with a small eight-character step, greeting familiar people along the way. In more than a year, he has been prosperous and glorious. Before, when people saw him, they would say: "Old Sun, you're here!" Now they've changed to: "Director Sun, you're here!" Even those officials who didn't even look at him before are now smiling and welcoming him. It's not possible to be friendly with him now. The mud loach is so effective that people have to line up to eat it. Who would have thought that this Sun Zhang eats it every day and now his ears aren't deaf and his back isn't hunched? This thing is great, no worse than ginseng! Rich Come Inn sells it cheaply, a full bowl for only five cents. Five cents can't even buy a piece of ginseng! Fifty cents can't even buy a single stem of astragalus! Although the other two inns also launched mud loach, the taste is terrible, with a strong muddy smell that no one can eat. I don't know how Rich Come Inn did it, but there's not a hint of mud smell, and it's so fragrant.

  It's said that Li Dabao is back, and Sun Zhanggui is also very happy. He doesn't know what kind of effect the thing Wang Kuang wants so badly will have, isn't it just a seasoning? However, even the most ordinary ingredients in Wang Kuang's hands are incredibly delicious. Since he's so particular about this, it must be even more amazing than Youfen powder. Without needing Wang Kuang to say anything, Sun Zhanggui knows what to do from his gaze and immediately waves his hand, telling Sun Er to prepare some oil, rice, and other things in the kitchen. After Li Dabao wakes up, he'll give him a month's leave and add some money to his account so he can take good care of his mother.

  Wang Kuang was still eating his breakfast when he caught a glimpse of someone peeking out from behind the grass curtain at the back of the hall. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Li Dabao. It seemed that Li Dabao had not yet completed his task and was feeling uneasy, so he didn't dare confirm whether the thing he brought back was what Xiaodong's family wanted. He couldn't sleep, tossing and turning in bed, and when he heard a voice from the front of the hall that sounded like Xiaodong's family, he got up. At this time, there were still guests eating at the front, so he didn't dare show his face, and instead peeked out from behind.

  Li Dabao carefully took out a small package from his bosom and handed it to Wang Kuang: "Master Xiaodong, take a look if this is the chili pepper you mentioned."

  Wang Kuang was also nervous, his hands shaking slightly. Eight hundred years ago, if this is true, then chili peppers entered China eight hundred years ahead of time. Seeing Wang Kuang's shaky hands, Li Dabao became even more uneasy, his heart racing to his throat, yet he didn't dare make a sound, and was so anxious that he kept swallowing saliva.

  Open the package, there were dozens of red chili peppers inside. The red color was so pleasing to the eye. At this moment, in Wang's view, this was the most beautiful red. "Right, right, it's this one."