Chapter 27: Hua Rong Dao

  In the box, on a blue satin cloth, lay a rectangular object that Wang Kuang recognized. It was a very famous intellectual game in later generations - Huarong Dao. From Wang Kuang's perspective in later generations, this Huarong Dao was not made very exquisitely and could even be said to be somewhat rough. However, if placed in the Tang Dynasty, it would have been considered very ingenious. Ordinary cedar wood was carved with figures and corresponding names, and the outside seemed to have a layer of clear varnish brushed on.

  Wait, Wang suddenly remembered that this game should have appeared in the late Qing and early Republic of China, and the inventor was probably a foreigner. Moreover, the characters and text on this Huarongdao seem to be machine-engraved, Wang has studied seal carving after all, can distinguish between machine engraving and hand-carving, on this Huarongdao can't see any traces of hand-carved knife marks, the most important point is that the text above is in simplified characters! And it's a simulated Song typeface!!

  It's all settled, how could this Huarong Dao appear in the Tang Dynasty? Wang Kuang can be sure that it was absolutely not brought by himself, because he can say that his soul crossed over and possessed the body of a young man called Dogzi. Moreover, before crossing over, he didn't have this thing on him, if he had to bring something, it should have been his mobile phone, or the cigarettes, lighter, wallet and other things in his pocket.

  Is it?

  "Excuse me, Li Guan Shi, are you certain that this is what your young wife got on the road?" Wang Kuang asked cautiously.

  "This can be determined, if my little daughter goes out alone, she is always accompanied by someone. Someone saw with their own eyes that the little daughter picked up this thing in the grass by the side of the road." Li Guanshi was somewhat displeased, "How, does Wang Dalang recognize this thing? Or is this thing originally Wang Dalang's, so he suspects that my little daughter didn't pick it up?"

  "I dare not, I dare not. The young one had no such intention. It's just that the young one saw this thing being finely crafted and lost composure for a moment, please forgive me, Lee Guan. However, the young one is illiterate and doesn't know what's written on it." Absolutely cannot get himself involved, Wang Kuang made up his mind, now this Huarong Dao has become a hot potato for Wang Kuang.

  First of all, it can be confirmed that this Huarong Dao is absolutely not brought by himself, and it should never appear in this era.

  Secondly, it is possible that the time-travel was not just a solo journey, but rather there were others who also traveled through time together with me. Perhaps one of them happened to be carrying Huayang Dao. If I ended up in Jian'an, then what about the others? The possibility of them being in Jian'an or nearby is quite high.

  It's also possible that the young lady is a time-traveler, her personality is too similar to that of modern girls, and she doesn't fit in with the Tang Dynasty. Although the Tang Dynasty didn't have the same strict rules about men and women as the Song Dynasty did later on, it was still a time when elegance and refinement were highly valued, but the young lady from the Lin family doesn't have any of those qualities, which can't help but make people suspicious.

  In fact, when Wang Kuang thought of the possibility that there were still people who had crossed over with him, he was really excited and wanted to go find them immediately. After all, it had been a thousand years since they had parted ways, and Wang Kuang felt a bit awkward interacting with people from this era at every moment. Although Sun Ming had treated him well, Wang Kuang still felt a sense of loneliness and helplessness whenever night fell, and sometimes he would wake up in the morning to find that his pillow was wet with tears. He didn't like getting up early, but another big reason for this was that Wang Kuang's heart resisted the arrival of the next day; he hoped that by sleeping, he could return to his own time, back to his parents who had raised him for many years, even if it meant suffering again. However, every time he woke up and opened his eyes, all he saw was the wooden beam on the roof and the cold tiles, and all he heard was the sound of water being drawn from the well outside the courtyard. He longed to wake up one day and see the white ceiling and chandelier in his own home, as well as the sounds of his parents busily moving about outside.

  For now, he has not determined how many people have crossed over with him and what their identities are. He does not dare to act rashly, in case the person who crossed over with him is a murderer or some other kind of villain. In that case, Wang Kuang's situation would be bad. After all, he majored in hydraulics and has the ability to create many modern devices if he has sufficient financial resources. The courses he studied in college were very complex, including engine, automotive chassis, mechanical manufacturing, etc. However, Wang Kuang is extremely resistant to using these skills from the bottom of his heart. He does not want to influence history with his own actions and cause it to deviate from its original trajectory. If history really changes, then according to the grandfather paradox, there would be no Wang Kuang in the future, which means that the current Wang Kuang would also cease to exist. He wants to see if a miracle will happen again and he can return. Therefore, Wang Kuang has always focused his attention on food. In his opinion, eating food may affect history, but compared to technology, the consequences should not be significant. The wheel of history has its own inertia and should not change direction due to this small change. If the person who crossed over with him uses Wang Kuang's knowledge to change history, that would be absolutely unacceptable to Wang Kuang.

  "What's on Wang Dalang's mind?" asked Li Guanshi, seeing that Wang Kuang was lost in thought.

  "I wasn't thinking of anything, just wondering what this thing is. I've never seen it before, and I've never heard of it either. Li the steward must know, as I love to listen to traveling merchants talk about strange news and interesting stories. Sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be able to help the young lady. After returning to Chang'an, Li the steward can ask those who have seen and heard a lot, maybe they will know or maybe not."

  "Well, I won't disturb Wang Dalang then. I still need to hurry back and report to my wife, so I'll take my leave." Li the manager clearly let out a sigh of relief and bid farewell with a bow.

  Li Guanshi can be said to have been watching the young lady of the Lin family grow up since she was a child. From the moment the young lady learned to walk, she showed a lively and active personality, never wanting to stay at home, always wanting to go out and play. And from that time on, Li Guanshi took on the responsibility of ensuring the young lady's safety. It can be said that Li Guanshi's care for the young lady even surpassed that of Lin Han, her older brother. He had no desire for the young lady to have any dealings with Wang Kuang, thinking that she should marry into a high-ranking family in Chang'an in the future. This Wang Dalang was just a distant nephew of a small inn owner in Jiankang, far beneath the young lady's station. Now seeing that Wang Kuang didn't recognize the object, Li Guanshi naturally felt relieved. If Wang Kuang had recognized it and sparked the young lady's curiosity, that would have been very bad indeed.

  Seeing off Li Guan Shi, Wang Kuang was still sitting in the hall, staring blankly. Some food guests came to drink wine and saw Wang Kuang like this, also found it strange. What happened to the young master today? Where did that smile on his face go? He didn't even come to listen to people tell stories. It's worth knowing that the food guests who came to Furu Inn to drink wine these days were all more or less prepared. Before coming, they would ask around about what strange things had happened, so as to prepare to tell Wang Kuang and maybe get a small wooden plaque in exchange for wine. Moreover, those with news knew that Wang Kuang had given a copper plaque that could be used for discounts to Lin Zhongbo's son, although it was not clear why he gave it away. But everyone guessed that Lin Xiaolang must have told a story that delighted the young master. Therefore, in the past few days, at several inns in Jian'an or by the city gate, as long as someone started talking about some news or rumors, a large crowd would immediately gather around. Often, people who came to Jian'an for the first time were confused but happy, thinking they were very welcome, without realizing that it was not them who were welcomed, but the copper plaque in Furu Inn that could be used for discounts.

  "Big Brother, is everything all right?" Sun Mingqian had just learned that Li Guan Shi had left from behind and saw Wang Kuang standing alone in front of the hall, lost in thought. He hastened to run out, shouting as he approached. By the time he reached his side, something was wrong - Big Brother's eyes were lifeless, staring blankly at the outside of the inn. Following his gaze, Sun Mingqian saw that there was no one outside the inn.

  "Sun Er, Sun Er, you blind fool! Hurry up and bring me a few strong men, grab some weapons, and rush over to intercept that Lin family person for me! What's wrong with you, are you afraid? It doesn't matter how big the Lin family is, they actually scared my son-in-law half to death. Quick, quick, what are you still standing there for?! Don't worry, if something happens, I'll take responsibility. Besides, it's just intercepting someone, not harming them!" Sun Ming waved his hand in front of Wang Kuang's eyes, but seeing no reaction, he panicked and shouted loudly.

  "Who is Uncle Wang going to intercept?" Wang Kuang was startled by Sun Mingqian's loud shout, rubbed his eyes and saw that several of the Suns were holding rolling pins, some were holding winnowing baskets, and even Kuang Da was carrying a large wok spoon as he rushed out. There was also Sun Zhanggui, who was hurrying along with his old legs, holding an abacus in his left hand and a pen in his right hand. Feeling very strange, he asked Sun Mingqian.

  "Come back, come back, everyone come back!" Sun Ming had just brought Wang Kuang back to his senses and he himself had also sobered up. He joked as he went to intercept the Lin family members, "Is the Rich Guest House still open? Hurry up and shout loudly to call everyone back." Seeing that Sun Zhuang was also about to leave, he felt both angry and amused, so he scolded: "Old Sun, I'm confused, but you're following along in confusion too? Not stopping them at all? Besides, with your old body, even if you really wanted to stop people, what excitement would you be joining in on?"

  Sun Zhangui raised his head and stomped his foot, his whiskers twitching: "I'm not confused, whoever has a problem with Xiao Dongjia is having a problem with me, Old Sun. I'll stake my old bones to get an explanation from him."

  "It's all right, it's all right." Sun Er quickly put down the large general's staff that he used to block the door and led everyone back to the hall. Normally, two people were needed to carry this staff, but somehow he was able to lift it up by himself. He rolled up his sleeves, panting, and casually picked up a tea cup from a nearby table, gulping down several mouthfuls before realizing that it belonged to a guest who had been drinking wine. He quickly apologized: "Sorry about that, sorry! I'll get you a new one right away, and make it up to you with another cup of wine, okay?"

  "If you're going to compensate, then compensate with a whole mudskipper and taro, what's the point of just one bowl of wine?" The customer muttered.

  "Get the big general's staff, hurry up and bring it from behind." Sun Mingqian saw Sun Er rush out with a large staff, feeling relieved, he quickly instructed.

  "I also have a pot of tea here, freshly brewed. Manager Sun, would you like to have some too? And can I exchange this bowl of muddy loach for another one?" The diners nearby were getting jealous and started joining in the commotion.

  "What's the point of looking for me to quarrel with? You all know that as long as you can come up with some interesting stories to tell, Xiaodong will be happy and won't bother you." Sun Er was a bit overwhelmed and quickly shifted the blame to Wang Kuang. As long as Wang Kuang didn't get into trouble, he would feel at ease. Moreover, Wang Kuang was usually cheerful and never put on airs, treating everyone in the inn like brothers. When they had nothing better to do, they often teased Wang Kuang about his youthful appearance, so now that Wang Kuang seemed fine, Sun Er regained his usual sly composure.

  Wang Kuang finally understood, everyone thought that Li Guanshi had done something to him just now, so they all rushed to intercept Li Guanshi. He felt a little moved in his heart. After all, the Lin family is not comparable to the rich guest at present, let alone there is also a Lin Zhubi in Jian'an. Sun Ming was able to offend the Lin family for him, which is already extremely rare.

  "Alright, this time I'll be the host. Everyone here, please have a bowl of mud eel taro, on me." Wang Kuang bowed with his fists and greeted everyone in the hall. There weren't many diners at the moment, partly because it wasn't mealtime yet, and partly because those who came to the rich guesthouse to drink were all after the braised flavor or the mud eel taro. The mud eel taro was not supplied in large quantities every day, and they had to be made half-cooked in advance, kept warm on the stove, and then steamed thoroughly when customers arrived. Otherwise, it would take at least half an hour to make from scratch. This also brought a disadvantage: if the mud eels were warmed for too long, their flavor would change. So, the best flavor should be freshly made. Now there was still a large pot of half-cooked goods in the kitchen, which could be used up just in time before mealtime, and another pot could be made.

  The foodies naturally cheered loudly.

  "Wasn't anything wrong with you just now, Dàláng? What did the Lin family people want from you?" Sūn Míng had only just remembered to ask after seeing Wáng Kuàng recover normally.

  "There's nothing, it's just that the young lady got something and knew that her younger brother likes to ask questions, so she sent it over to see if he could recognize it. The younger brother had just seen Li Guan Shi and thought of his parents, so he was a bit distracted." Seeing Sun Ming looking puzzled, Wang Kuang hurriedly explained: "The younger brother's father is about the same age as Li Guan Shi, and their builds are similar too."

  "Oh, Dalang has been here for so many days, but Uncle still doesn't know how Dalang's parents are doing now." Sun Ming said, seeing Wang Kuang hesitate, and quickly added: "It's okay, Uncle just didn't want to make Dalang sad, so he never asked." He also secretly gave Wang Kuang a wink, "Your aunt is concerned too, go back and visit her another day, okay?"

  Wang Kuang knew that Sun Ming was worried that his own words would be unfavorable to himself, and there were many people around who liked to gossip. If something bad was heard, it wouldn't be good, so he didn't continue speaking.

  Division

  Grey Sparrow is very sorry, and has been interrupted for a few days. It's because Grey Sparrow dug a hole for himself earlier, which was not easy to fill, so he spent the past few days thinking about how to fill this hole. Mobile phones and other modern things are not something Grey Sparrow wants to appear in this book, as it should still focus on food. In the end, he finally thought of Hua Rongdao, and managed to attribute the invention of this thing back to the Chinese people.

  Grey Sparrow guarantees that this book will continue to be written.

  Still humbly asking for votes, collections and recommendations, your support is Grey Sparrow's motivation.