All the gods began by cultivating the Iron Shirt technique.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, Tongjiang County was under the jurisdiction of Anqing Prefecture, Huainan South Road.

Inside an inn on East Street in the county, it was noon. Business wasn't exactly booming, but the few tables were full of diners, and the air was filled with the sounds of conversation.

"Waiter, where's my wine? Why hasn't it arrived yet!"

"Where's my food? I've been waiting forever! Does the shopkeeper even care about doing business anymore?!"

……

Inside the inn, the diners' urging could be heard from time to time. Among the group of people sitting and talking, a thin figure moved back and forth, so busy that his feet barely touched the ground. The white rag draped over his shoulder was also damp with sweat. Even so, he still couldn't help but be scolded every time he delivered the food and wine.

The figure remained silent, simply placing the food and wine on the table one by one. He continued working like this until 1:15 PM, when the crowd in the inn gradually dispersed, and the busy figure finally had a chance to sit down and rest.

"Yang Pan, come and have some food with us."

Just then, a similarly tall and thin figure emerged from the kitchen and called out. Yang Pan nodded, got up, and followed the person into the kitchen.

The kitchen was spacious, with a large open area except for the cooking stoves. A wooden table had been set up in the open space, with several dishes of rice and soup on it. There were four dishes and a soup, but no meat, which was enough to fill their stomachs.

When Yang Pan entered, there were already two people sitting at the table. They were the inn's kitchen staff, a master and an apprentice. As the tall, thin figure sat down, Yang Pan also sat down in the remaining empty seat, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat.

None of the people were scholars or literati, so they didn't adhere to the rule of not speaking while eating. After a few bites of food, the meal quickly became lively.

"The Su family moved away a few days ago, and more and more people are moving away from Tongjiang County in the past few months."

The tall, thin old man sitting next to Yang Pan suddenly sighed. He was the inn's accountant, and everyone usually called him Old Man Gao.

Old Gao's words opened up a floodgate of conversation. After taking a bite of food, Chef Liu, sitting opposite them in the kitchen, spoke up:

"This damned world! Who told Anqing Prefecture to be so close to the Mongol Tartars? They come to raid our fields every few days. Who knows, it might be our Tongjiang County's turn someday."

After the Mongols allied with the Song Dynasty to destroy the Jin Dynasty, eliminating this external threat, the Mongols truly revealed their fangs. In just a few years, they persuaded Tibet to surrender, pressed close to Dali, and now even sent their iron cavalry to set foot on the territory of the Southern Song Dynasty.

The Mongols frequently raided the border, and each raid resulted in a massacre. Unlike Xiangyang, which had a powerful figure like Guo Jing to defend the city, Anqing Prefecture had been frequently invaded by the Mongols in recent months, and many counties under Anqing Prefecture had already suffered. Tongjiang County, being in a remote location, had not yet been harmed, but how long could this situation last?

Those with foresight and wealth had already moved ahead to the Liangzhe region. It was the economic center of the Southern Song Dynasty. Although the journey was long and there were bandits along the way, if they could get through, they could at least save their lives.

As for those who can't get through, they'll naturally die on the way.

Therefore, although a considerable number of people have left Tongjiang County recently, the majority of those who have chosen to stay still remain.

The conversation thus became quite heavy. The four people at the table chatted idly, during which Li Yang, Master Liu's apprentice, seemingly casually remarked:

"Do you think the innkeeper might also be planning to leave? If the inn closes down, Master, do you have anywhere to go?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Pan glanced at Master Liu and his apprentice Li Yang.

It is said that an apprentice should do odd jobs for three years, and Yang Pan deeply understood the meaning of this saying during his first year at the inn.

Li Yang and he were about the same age. After finishing their work, Li Yang would chat with him for a while, mostly complaining about how Master Liu hid his skills, only instructing him to do some food-serving chores, without teaching him the real skills or letting him learn on the spot.

In retrospect, perhaps it was truly due to the pressure of circumstances that they banded together for mutual support, as the relationship between the master and apprentice has improved considerably. At least in Yang Pan's previous memory, Li Yang was somewhat afraid of Master Liu and rarely dared to speak to him, but now their relationship is much more harmonious.

Of course, there might be other reasons as well. Yang Pan glanced at Master Liu's gray hair and secretly guessed.

"Where to go? For us cooks, wherever there are inns and restaurants, that's where we go. There's more than one inn in Tongjiang County, so there's always somewhere for us to stay. At least we won't have to go to the brick-making workshop."

Master Liu spoke with a firm tone, but when he talked about brick-making, there was a hint of disdain on his face.

After the fall of the Jin Dynasty, the Mongol cavalry invaded the Southern Song Dynasty's territory from the south. Anqing Prefecture, as a border region bordering the Mongols, was always the first to bear the brunt of the attacks. Over the years, the Southern Song Dynasty had fought many battles with the Mongols. However, the Southern Song's military was weak and far inferior to the Mongols. Therefore, the prefect adopted a defensive strategy, ordering many counties under the prefecture to fire bricks to reinforce the city walls. Tongjiang County was one of the counties under the prefecture.

However, during the war, gold and silver were scarce, and the brick kilns in the county were controlled by the Xu family, a wealthy family in the city. The Xu family valued profit over morality and did not treat the craftsmen in the brick kilns as human beings. They not only exploited the laborers to the extreme, but also paid them very little each month. Therefore, unless they were desperate, no one was willing to work in the brick kilns.

"Besides, do you think it's safe outside Tongjiang County? Even without the Tartars, the bandits along the way could devour you alive!"

Master Liu's tone was heavy. He could tell from his apprentice's desire to leave Tongjiang County that he had passed on all his skills to him. Li Yang was now like a son to him. He couldn't leave Tongjiang County on his own. He was waiting for his apprentice to take care of him in his old age, so how could he bear to let him leave?

Moreover, what he said wasn't false. Anqing Prefecture was on the border of the Southern Song Dynasty, far away from other prefectures. To leave Anqing Prefecture, one would not only have to cross mountains and valleys, but also pass through Ciyun Ridge, a place teeming with bandits. Without guards, leaving alone would be tantamount to suicide.

Even those who left in the last few months were all wealthy and powerful families. They hired guards to protect them along the way, and with such a force, even the bandits of Ciyun Mountain would not dare to make a move.

Listening to their conversation, Yang Pan remained silent, feeling secretly distressed as he thought about his current situation.

Two years have passed since he transmigrated here, and despite possessing much knowledge from later generations, he has yet to rise from obscurity to become a figure of great renown.

Although he knew that creating soaps, perfumes, and other products for future generations could make him incredibly wealthy in a short time, he had no idea how these things were made.

Even if the previous life was an era of information sharing, who among non-professionals would have the time to search for and record these recipes, and who could know in advance that they would time travel?

Moreover, in his previous life, he was just an ordinary office worker, and mediocrity was the most accurate description of him. So even after transmigrating and changing his environment, he remained ordinary.

Even when he first arrived in this ancient world, if he hadn't been helped by an old widower who introduced him to this job, he probably would have avoided decades of detours and gone begging in tattered clothes with a broken bowl.

Therefore, even though the wages at this inn were low and the innkeeper was notoriously stingy, Yang Pan did not leave easily.

This world was unfamiliar to him. Even though there were familiar figures and gangs from his past life, they were all too far removed from him, even unattainable. His only thought right now was to survive in this rapidly descending chaos…

After finishing their meal, the group worked together to clean up the table, and then rested and waited at the inn.

The inn was quiet in the afternoon, with hardly any customers. A few tables would gradually arrive around dusk, but it wasn't as bustling as during the day. So, after finishing his work for a while, and once the moon was high in the sky, Yang Pan left.

There was no curfew in the Southern Song Dynasty, which meant that even late at night there were still many pedestrians on the streets, and even some vendors were busy making a living by setting up stalls to sell their goods.

By the moonlight, Yang Pan walked along East Street to its end, then through several alleys, and finally entered a wooden house area on the edge of the county town.

This area is considered the slums of the county town. Most of the common people in Tongjiang County live here. The inn where people work during the day is located in the center of the county town. The people living there are mostly wealthy landlords or businessmen.

However, with people moving away over the past few months, the town center now appears quite deserted.

With a creaking sound, the wooden door let out a harsh, grating noise as Yang Pan entered the wooden house. Using a sliver of moonlight filtering through the window, Yang Pan lit a lamp, illuminating the entire room.

Yang Pan inherited this wooden house from an old widower. Two years ago, the old man took Yang Pan in and helped him. Yang Pan was grateful and intended to care for the old man until his death. Unfortunately, the old man was frail and sickly, and passed away in the winter of the first year. Thus, Yang Pan lost his only close relative in this world.

In this vast world, all I see is a wandering soul, lost and without friends or family, a dejected spirit adrift and lost in thought.