ATPnovel Chapter 4: Food and Physics
Chapter 4: Food and Physics
in the night.
Li Ping brought out a pot of bright red, fragrant boiled fish fillets.
Looking at the layer of chili peppers floating on top, Huang Rong asked curiously, "What is this? It looks like dogwood, but I've never seen it before. It smells very good, but it seems very spicy..."
Li Ping laughed and said, "Chili peppers were only introduced from overseas. They didn't exist during the Song Dynasty. If it weren't for the coastal location, very few people would know about them, and most of those who did would just think they were a kind of flower."
"But it's actually a great ingredient, and I just happen to know how to cook it."
"The chili peppers are much spicier than the dogwood peppers, but they're very fragrant when cooked properly. This boiled fish fillet looks like it has a lot of chili peppers, but it's actually not spicy at all!"
The novel delicacies of later generations particularly interested Huang Rong.
She picked up a piece of fish, took a bite, and then hissed and snorted from the spiciness.
She quickly took a sip of water: "You call this not spicy? But... oh my, it really is... oh my... it has a unique flavor!"
This immediately piqued Huang Rong's interest in chili peppers.
Li Ping smiled and said, "There are many varieties of chili peppers, and many ways to use them. They can be stir-fried, made into sauce, used as a condiment, and even used to dispel dampness..."
Li Ping can't stop talking about food, because he's a big foodie.
Two people who had just met got along very well with each other because of food.
Finally, Huang Rong said, "I never imagined Brother Li possessed such culinary skills. Many of these dishes are things I've never heard of or even considered. It seems that food is thriving in the Ming Dynasty..."
At this point, Huang Rong paused for a moment: "Brother Li, could you tell me about the Southern Song Dynasty, and... about me?"
Huang Yaoshi actually had a strong sense of patriotism and admired loyal generals like Yue Fei. However, the incompetence of the Song Dynasty court led him to choose to live in seclusion, and Huang Rong was also influenced by him.
If Huang Rong hadn't been influenced by this when she was young, she would never have been able to guard Xiangyang with Guo Jing for so many years.
Therefore, Huang Rong was still saddened by the loss of her homeland.
Li Ping then began by recounting the rise of the Mongols and the alliance between the Song Dynasty and the Mongols to destroy the Jin Dynasty, and Huang Rong and Hong Wen were immediately captivated by his words.
Previously, when the Song Dynasty faced the Liao Dynasty, it allied with the Jin Dynasty to destroy the Liao Dynasty, but ended up in such a terrible state. It seems they have not learned their lesson and are doing it again.
Finally, upon hearing about the Battle of Yamen, the fall of the Song Dynasty, and the suicide of 100,000 Song soldiers and civilians, he wept uncontrollably.
After all, that was her homeland.
Now, she is a woman of a fallen nation...
Once she calmed down a bit, Li Ping started telling her story with Guo Jing...
This left Huang Rong completely baffled; how could she have fallen for such a blockhead?
Hearing that I was getting married made me feel even stranger; I felt like I had become so petty...
Does getting married really change a person?
Sigh, it's probably better not to get married!
Then, Huang Rong felt something was amiss. No matter what, I am just a wandering swordsman. How could the history books record my affairs in such detail?
Are all of Li Ping's stories unofficial histories?
But it feels really real...
Most importantly, Li Ping claimed to be a bodyguard, but he spoke eloquently and logically, unlike a bodyguard who travels the world; he seemed to have read many books.
But when I talk about some classics and historical texts, Li Ping can't understand me. How strange!
In response to this question, Li Ping said, "Although I have studied for sixteen years, I have never read the allusions you mentioned."
Huang Rong exclaimed in surprise, "Sixteen years? You haven't studied it for sixteen years? Does the Ming Dynasty no longer teach the Four Books and Five Classics?"
"You've studied for so many years, why didn't you take the imperial examinations instead of wandering the martial arts world?"
"Does the Ming Dynasty no longer hold imperial examinations?"
Li Ping sighed, "In the Ming Dynasty, if you want to learn the Four Books and Five Classics, you can take the imperial examinations. However, the ones I've learned aren't tested in the imperial examinations."
"So what did you study?"
"Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology..."
"Never heard of this before. Is it a new field of knowledge that just emerged in the Ming Dynasty?"
"Ha, it's a family heirloom, unique in the Ming Dynasty, no one else teaches it..."
"Oh? It's a family heirloom? Can you tell me about it... Oh, is it convenient?"
"certainly……"
Li Ping wasn't bringing this up to show off; he knew Huang Rong was very interested in "miscellaneous knowledge," which is why he brought it up deliberately.
He wanted to use his knowledge to keep Huang Rong and then make an exchange.
He really wants to learn martial arts!
Don't think that joining a martial arts gang will allow him to learn; joining a major sect isn't easy, especially since he's already nineteen and already has skills, making it difficult for him to be given important responsibilities.
Even if you join, look at the disciples of Mount Hua—how difficult is it for them to learn a superior sword technique or mental cultivation method?
More importantly, if even a single "Evil-Repelling Sword Manual" can cause bloodshed, who knows what the consequences would be if my abilities were exposed within the sect?
Maybe I'll be killed as a monster!?
Maybe he'll be eaten like Tang Sanzang?
These are not impossible!
He can only rewind time five times a day now. A master could kill him ten times in a second. Entering the sect is too dangerous!
He wasn't worried about these things in front of Huang Rong, after all, Huang Rong already knew his secret, and he knew Huang Rong's secret too...
Both sides have something to hide.
……
Under the moonlight.
Huang Rong reached the treetop in a few leaps, holding a stone in each hand, one large and one small.
Then, he released his hands, and both stones landed at the same time.
She blinked. It was really true!
Brother Li's knowledge is quite amazing!
That's strange. You can find out by just trying it, so why hasn't anyone tried it before?
No one has even thought about this direction?
She landed in the courtyard, picked up a stone, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it.
Next, she smeared another layer of oil on the table, and then pushed the stone with the same force...
"Applying oil definitely makes it slide further..."
"That's not surprising at all. The smoother the surface, the farther the pebbles will travel..."
"So if we follow this logic, as long as the table is flat and smooth enough, without any other interference or the friction that Brother Li mentioned, it will just keep sliding like this forever..."
"An object will maintain its original state when it is not subjected to an external force; this is called inertia..."
"The more I think about it, the more I realize it's right!"
"Brother Li's words are truly profound and insightful; the greatest truths are the simplest!"
"This principle seems simple and ubiquitous, but has anyone ever thought about it or explored it deeply?"
"It was truly like hearing thunder in silence."
"Is the Tao truly found in excrement and urine?"
"That's amazing!"
"Hmm, that's still not right. If that's the case, then everything will fall from the sky. What force is causing that?"
"Where are the sun, moon, and stars?"
"There must be a reason why I don't understand!"
"Brother Li's knowledge of physics is truly profound..."
Huang Rong's curiosity was ignited, and she spent most of the night studying the concept of inertia that Li Ping had told her.
At midnight, she flew out of the house and headed straight for a bookstore she had seen during the day, where she secretly sneaked inside.
The bookstore only sold the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as some storybooks; it didn't sell any of the subjects Li Ping had mentioned, such as physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology.
Huang Rong murmured, "Brother Li didn't lie to me; that knowledge really is from his family!"
"How could someone as talented as Brother Li end up wandering the martial world, becoming a bodyguard?"
"Oh, right!"
"Those corrupt scholars in the court who hold their positions without doing any work regard Confucianism as the orthodox doctrine and therefore do not value this kind of learning."
"Hmph, it seems that the Ming Dynasty and the Song Dynasty are not so different."
"Brother Li's scholarship is so profound that it can explain the great principles of heaven and earth, and open up new horizons. These pedantic scholars are truly short-sighted!"
"The Great Song Dynasty...sigh!"
Afterwards, she returned to the courtyard and began preparing breakfast.
She worked quickly and efficiently, and soon, a fragrant aroma wafted out...
She wanted to cook a nice meal for Li Ping and ask him if he could take her as his disciple.
She's very interested in these kinds of subjects!