"May everything be auspicious?"
Yunling pondered the name carefully, and saw the words "cypress branch," "persimmon," and "orange," which together sounded auspicious.
The thought of homophones made Yunling smile. There are many memes created from homophones in later generations, but she didn't expect that there were also some in ancient times.
Pei Lin quickly brought the plate over and said to Yun Ling:
"Little Lazyling, quickly break off this cypress branch, and then break open these persimmons and oranges. This is a good omen, and I wish you all the best and smooth sailing in the coming year."
Everyone likes to hear nice things, and Yunling was no exception. Besides, her business deal wasn't finalized yet, so she naturally hoped that Zhao Huasheng would keep his promise and that her business would go smoothly.
Yunling did as Pei Lin said, and shared the oranges she had broken off with everyone present, so that they could all share in the good fortune of Baishiji.
Tang Ling took the orange slice, popped it into her mouth, and after a mouthful of sourness, said:
“In the past, when brokers worked at the brokerage, they often didn’t have time to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, so they would just buy a basil knot from a passing peddler.”
"On New Year's Eve, we all untie it together and hang it on the roof beam, which is also a good omen for everything."
Listening to Tang Ling's story, Gangzi recalled the joyful times he spent at the escort agency during the New Year. But just as he was about to speak, firecrackers went off below.
The first firecracker was like a spark igniting a fuse, and firecrackers started going off everywhere. There were single bangs, double bangs, and even a series of bangs. The crackling and popping never stopped, and the air was filled with the smoke and aroma of firecrackers, instantly creating a festive atmosphere for the New Year.
Yunling stopped eating, stood up and looked down. She saw children and young men and women in the streets and alleys not far away, each carrying one or three or four uniquely designed firecrackers.
There are flower shapes, fruit shapes, portraits, various zodiac animals, and poultry—it's dazzling and impossible to look at them all.
Yunling was quickly drawn to a young couple in the street. The young woman was holding a small rabbit-shaped firecracker and was holding it out in front of her with a slightly frightened expression.
The young man beside her said something to her, then lit the fuse of a firecracker. As the firecracker went off, the young woman was startled and threw herself forward. The young man laughed and covered her ears.
Yunling couldn't hear what he was saying, but she could roughly guess two words from his lip movements: "mischievous".
Indeed, it's more interesting to watch others date.
Suddenly, a loud noise came from the direction of the palace. Yun Ling was caught off guard and was startled. She leaned back and, without paying attention, fell into the arms of the person behind her.
A series of crackling firecrackers, like thunder, came from the direction of the palace. A pair of hands were attached to Yunling's ears. The hands were broad and warm, and the warmth from the palms quickly warmed her ears, which had been chilled by the wind.
"This is a screen firecracker from the palace. There are thousands of small firecrackers hidden inside the screen, and they can keep going for a long time."
It was Lu Yinghuai's voice. Yunling didn't know when he had stood behind her, or whether he had seen her or not, so he followed suit and covered her ears.
"I'm not afraid of the sound of firecrackers."
"What did you say? That's too loud, I can't hear you."
"You big idiot, you moron, you bastard."
Lu Yinghuai's lips were almost stretched to the back of his ears. These were all Yun Ling's nicknames for him, and he wished Yun Ling would call him a few more times, making his heart itch and his face beam with joy.
Tang Ling and Zi Fu, like dragging a prisoner, each pulled Gangzi, who had stood up agitatedly, back to his seat.
"Let go, he's taking advantage of the boss."
Tang Ling and Zi Fu found it amusing to watch their masters flirt, so they detained Gangzi. But while they could detain Gangzi, they couldn't detain Pei Lin, who was returning from the toilet.
When Pei Lin saw Yun Ling and Lu Yinghuai being so intimate, his anger instantly flared up. He was just thinking that when Yun Ling stood up to watch the firecrackers, he could take the opportunity to go to the toilet so that he wouldn't be unaware of what Lu Yinghuai and Yun Ling were saying.
Who would have thought that in the short time he went to the restroom, this guy would make a move on him? It was truly outrageous. He and Yunling had such a legitimate relationship, yet they weren't this intimate. Instead, this scoundrel with ulterior motives had taken the initiative. How could he not be angry?
Pei Lin immediately stepped forward and pulled Lu Yinghuai away, looking displeased, but not wanting to say anything too harsh, so he simply said:
"Since Young Master Lu has eaten his fill, why don't we have a tea competition to see who wins and who loses? Consider it a test of age."
Who decides the winner?
"I am naturally a little lazy bird."
Yunling felt like she was being unfairly targeted and said bluntly:
"I know absolutely nothing about tea ceremony, so how could I possibly be a judge for your tea competition? It's best not to bother me."
"Then pick the one you like."
Pei Lin's words put Yun Ling in the spotlight, and her tea-tasting contest with Lu Yinghuai was thus finalized.
Zi Fu was naturally Lu Yinghuai's assistant, while Tang Ling was chosen by Pei Lin to be his subordinate. Their alliance, which had just been watching their master's commotion together, was immediately broken. Now, no one could stand up to anyone else, and they scrambled downstairs to grab the corresponding tea stoves, teapots, and teacups.
Gangzi quickly rummaged through the remaining dishes on the table, picking out some for Yunling and eating the rest himself.
Before long, Zi Fu and Tang Ling brought out all the tea-tasting equipment. They started the stove and boiled water at the same time. Lu Yinghuai and Pei Lin each took out tea leaves from the tea box, then sat down and began to grind the tea leaves. Under their serious competition, the tea leaves were ground into powder in no time.
The two then swept the tea powder into the cups, picked up the teapot and poured it into the cups. Yunling really didn't understand these things, she only felt that the two people's methods were slightly different, but she couldn't tell which one was better, so she nodded randomly.
Tang Ling explained:
"Our tea competition is about the tea leaves and the techniques for brewing them."
"Generally, the watermarks in the brewed tea are used as the standard for judgment."
"The best tea soup is pure white; a bluish color is slightly inferior; grayish-white, yellowish, and reddish colors are also inferior."
"Watermarks are judged by the time they appear; the later they appear, the better."
After Tang Ling finished speaking, the two began to strike the teacups.
Following Tang Ling's instructions, Yun Ling craned her neck to look ahead, but to her dismay, she couldn't see anything different about the two people's tea.
"Aren't they all white? And what's with those watermarks? If you skip a stone on water, of course the water will ripple. These rich kids are just bored and use these things to compete. What a pointless exercise."
"For people like us who are just trying to make a living, isn't it clean and efficient to just brew and drink the tea directly?"
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