"Oh, man, I remember that. Have you learned about evolution yet?"

"It's on the syllabus! So far we've just covered the the Earth is definitely more than 6000 years old, for some reason?"

"Oh, yeah, because Gileadites think it's six thousand years old. And was created in six days and then on the seventh day God took a nap."

"I mean if I just created an entire world I would feel entitled to a day long nap."

"And this is why we have to spend every Sunday in a boring church listening to someone tell us they're evil, instead of napping."

"...it is very unfair not to share the naps."

"I know right! Now I nap every Sunday instead. Much better."

"There are very few things better than naps."

"You should tell me about Great Tang. My girlfriend says 'pretend I asked you the question with the most interesting answer' in this sort of situation."

Let's see if he can give an answer that's both interesting and not maudlin. "I lived my whole life in Chang'an-- the capital--" Because Rose likely doesn't know the significance of the name. "It was a massive city, one of the biggest in the world. And people from all across the world came to Chang'an, because if you were going to travel, why would you go anywhere else? Sure it was the seat of government, but it wasn't just that. We had the best artists and the best scholars and and the best courtesans and the best restaurants, all just off the banks of the Wei river. ...We also had the worst artists and restaurants, of course, but the best ones more than made up for them."

"Oh, that sounds lovely."

They're going to ask more questions about the artists and scholars and restaurants.

And Jing Yi is happy to share! There's snippets of poetry that he's memorised and odes to the quail at Rugui House (of the 'closed because of a murder fame'). There's also information about the scholars, but what he knows is about 50% what they actually studied and 50% what they're like when they're hammered.

This is the important kind of historical data you can't get from books.

"Oh, Jing Yi's here. --Weren't you going to fetch us?"

"You seemed busy."

This man is walking in the room on his hands. 

"Asher, I presume?" He's as athletic in real life as he is in pictures; it's impressive.

"Apparently I'm very recognizable."

"I was learning about what assorted Confucian scholars were like when drunk."

"Not good at holding their liquor, usually, but sometimes very good at pretending they are."

"Much like college professors."

"I'll have to keep that in mind if I meet any."

"I want to hear more about Great Tang."

"What do you want to know about?"

"--Food prices."