Yunling felt that Gangzi's words made some sense. Tea tasting was always a refined pastime for wealthy people, and it had nothing to do with people like them who came from poor families.
Although Yunling didn't understand, she still maintained respect and participated in a new matter. She could learn something new, which wouldn't be a bad thing.
Soon, Lu Yinghuai and Pei Lin stopped what they were doing, and two very similar cups of hot tea were presented to Yunling. Yunling scratched her temples uneasily.
"Little Lazy Ling, try some of mine. The tea I brew is naturally the best."
"Lingniang, have a taste, just as a way to aid digestion after a meal."
Yunling nodded and adopted the demeanor of a judge. She first fanned the aroma of the tea in the teacup to her nose with her hand in a very professional manner, and then, with her delicate fingers raised, she picked up the teacup and took a sip from each of the two teacups.
This tea is truly unique. To be honest, these rich people really know how to appreciate tea. The tea brewed using this method is vastly different from tea brewed simply with water.
However, Lu Yinghuai's tea tasted a bit stronger, perhaps because he was a businessman who often dealt with people and competed in tea tastings. But Pei Lin's expression was exceptionally confident, and she couldn't very well dampen his spirits during the holidays and upset him.
Good heavens, she's not guaranteed to earn much money, nor is she guaranteed a prestigious status. This difficult task of trying to please everyone always falls on her shoulders. It's truly infuriating.
Yun Ling smiled slightly, cleared her throat, and said:
"I think they're all the same; I really can't tell which is better."
"Moreover, this tea competition is closely related to the tea leaves and the water source. Good tea leaves paired with good water will naturally produce good tea. But right now, you are all using tea from Fanlou, so the tea you brew will naturally be similar."
Lu Yinghuai and Pei Linke understood Yun Ling's polite words, but these polite words were actually quite reasonable, leaving them with no reason to refute them, so they had no choice but to give up.
After the tea competition, the tea stove was not removed and was left to boil water. The sound of firecrackers outside continued to be lively. After a cup of tea, the fruit to aid digestion was served.
There were red bean paste dumplings, honey ginger and fermented black beans, honey crisps, candied fruits, ten kinds of candy, as well as winter plum blossom cakes and plum blossom crisps. Yunling quickly grabbed the winter plum blossom cake, took a bite, and found it sweet but without the fragrance of plum blossoms. However, the flavors of honey and cheese were quite strong, and it wasn't bad.
Just as she took her second bite, a large turntable was brought in from outside and hung on the wall in the blink of an eye. Yunling quickly stuffed the plum blossom cake into her mouth, chewed it a few times, swallowed, and asked:
"What is this? Why are there so many animal images on it?"
"Isn't this a long night? The owner of Fanlou has brought us this to pass the time. Lingniang, have you ever played Guanpu before?"
"Guan Pu? This is Guan Pu?"
Yunling recalled that when she went to the city with Yun Ruoxia, her aunt had played a game of poker once for that cotton coat. However, she remembered that it was played with copper coins. How come it has become a spinning wheel now?
Pei Lin grabbed a dart, threw it casually, and it hit the bullseye on the spinning wheel. He then explained triumphantly:
"There are many ways to play this game, including shooting a spinning wheel, playing with coins, and even throwing swords. There are many different kinds."
"Starting from tomorrow, the first day of the Lunar New Year, the gambling market will be open for three consecutive days. At that time, you will see gambling everywhere in Bianjing. If you have the resources, you can gamble for the most items with the least amount of money."
Yunling's eyes lit up, and forgetting about the plum blossom pastry she had been craving, she asked:
"What is it?"
"It's just some ordinary candy, snacks, children's toys, and the like."
Tang Ling quickly added:
"There are many things to do, including food such as molasses cake, honey cake, red-edged rice cake, fresh fish, pork and mutton trotters, and old hens that can run and fly, etc."
"There are also many small toys to play with, such as new kiln celadon, horse and chess pieces, colorful balls, fishing toys, finely painted silk fans, paper fans, glass bulb lamps, horse and rider wheels, and so on."
"Clothing also includes brocade robes, cotton-padded robes, gold-embroidered hats, satin vests, headscarves, forehead bands, flower garlands and pearl hairpins, gold skirts, hoodies, veils, felt hats, gauze shirts, and so on."
"There are also large items that can be used at home, such as folding chairs, lacquerware, wicker chests, mother-of-pearl inlaid shelves, rattan handicrafts, low stools, reclining chairs, and so on."
"Most of what we see in our daily lives can be found in the gambling market. It just depends on each person's skills. Some vendors make a fortune from this opportunity, while others lose everything, even their underwear."
The things Tang Ling mentioned immediately rekindled Yun Ling's enthusiasm for playing Guanpu, which had cooled down after talking to Pei Lin. Yun Ruoxia had mentioned them to her in her letter, telling her to keep an eye out for any fun things she came across.
Yun Ruoxia had previously mentioned storing honey and royal jelly in glass, but because glass is so precious, she had given up on the idea. Now that Tang Ling has mentioned glass bulb lamps, perhaps Yun Ruoxia will be interested.
Yunling placed her hand on the dart and smiled:
"Looks like I'll have to practice this gesture tonight."
"Hey, let's just play a game of baccarat. I'll be the banker, the odds are 1 to 10. I don't have anything good on me, just money. If you want some, go ahead and try."
As soon as Pei Lin finished speaking, he threw another dart, which once again hit the bullseye of the spinning wheel, drawing gasps from the crowd.
Zi Fu and Tang Ling naturally didn't try, but Gang Zi was eager to try. However, the turntable would start spinning soon, doubling the difficulty, and he was unsure of himself.
Faced with his rival's provocation, Lu Yinghuai was naturally itching to play, but he had never been good at playing poker. If he didn't participate, he could at least maintain a low profile, but if he did participate and lost, his face and image would undoubtedly collapse. He wasn't going to do something that would be a losing proposition.
"I'll give it a try."
Yunling agreed, which drew sighs from the crowd once again.
Zi Fu and Pei Lin had no idea how capable Yun Ling was, but the other three had all played polo with her and witnessed her incredible skill in dribbling the ball. She could dribble the ball into the goal from such a distance, let alone such a small turntable.
The three men had complete faith in Yunling and eagerly stood beside her, waiting to benefit from her success. Pei Lin, seeing how much face Yunling was giving him, smiled happily. The money they gained from their duel was essentially going from one hand to the other, so it was no problem at all.
"Little Lazyling, come here."
Yunling stood about fifty meters away from the roundabout, squinting as she aimed...
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