"Mother, isn't that a woman from the Xie family? How can she be so shameless?" Da Wa's disgust for Xie Yu Yan was almost overflowing. This straight man had no way of appreciating the beauty of women!
What intrigued Qin San Niang, however, was the elegantly dressed man. Even from this distance, she could tell he possessed an imposing presence and was definitely not an ordinary person. What surprised her even more was that Xie Yuyan, who considered herself noble, was so petty and obsequious, acting as if she could be summoned and dismissed at will.
This man must be of extremely high status; as long as Xie Yuyan hasn't changed her ways, there's no doubt about it! And the possibility of her changing her ways is as slim as the sun rising in the west. Therefore…
"Mother, go take a look? Eldest child, you stay in the shop."
“Mother, I’ll go with you. I know the staff at Fuyun Teahouse well. I’ve delivered a lot of dried fruit to them before.” Not wanting his mother to risk her life alone, he quickly offered his help. Da Wa was indeed very familiar with the staff at Fuyun Teahouse. He had personally delivered the goods to them before, and Fuyun Teahouse was one of their biggest customers.
Da Wa was well aware of the sales volume and popularity of different types of dried fruit, allowing him to make timely adjustments. He also showered the staff at Fuyun Teahouse with favors, giving them dried fruit and fruit juice powder—not cheap goods, but ones his family loved—truly catering to their needs. The staff were incredibly enthusiastic towards Da Wa, wishing he would visit every day, and they worked tirelessly to promote the dried fruit and juice, after all, they received a delivery fee.
After thinking about it, Qin San Niang realized it was indeed a good idea. Although it wasn't impossible for her to go there rashly, it would be somewhat presumptuous.
Led by Da Wa, Qin San Niang "coincidentally" arrived at a private room on the second floor of Fuyun Teahouse, diagonally opposite Xie Yuyan and the others.
The teahouse was exquisitely designed, much like in Tongzhou City, with relatively independent booths providing ample privacy for tea drinkers. However, it was clear that the man didn't intend to have a long conversation with Xie Yuyan; he simply chose a semi-private booth on the second floor as a matter of courtesy. These booths were quite close together and separated from the outer corridor only by a beaded curtain, offering little privacy.
Presumably, this was also to avoid any rumors about him and Xie Yuyan.
Qin San Niang couldn't help but admire the man; he wasn't swayed by good looks and his thinking was meticulous—truly impressive. Of course, most importantly, he laid the foundation for her successful eavesdropping.
I knew it wouldn't be so easy to eavesdrop. Didn't you see the guards outside the cubicle? Look at that guard, although he was wearing an ordinary blue robe, the cuffs and collar were embroidered with intricate patterns, his eyes were fierce, and he had a "keep away" look on his face! He was definitely not someone to mess with.
"Big brother, you stay here and have some tea. Mother is going to the outhouse."
Since she's already here, Qin San Niang isn't going to be scared away! There's no harm in listening to what's happening in front of her; she might even be able to glean some useful information.
The thick smell of conspiracy in the air inevitably made her uneasy.
The eldest child told her the location of the outhouse, and seeing that her mother had indeed gone downstairs, she finally sat down with peace of mind, but her eyes were constantly fixed on the beaded curtain diagonally opposite her.
Qin San Niang found the waiter who was preparing to serve tea. She threw a pebble and it lightly hit the waiter's knee. Just as the tray in his hand was about to fall towards her, Qin San Niang quickly spun around and caught the tray with her hand. The tray landed steadily in her hand, with only a few tea leaves spilling out.
Seeing this, the waiter quickly stepped forward to thank him.
Qin San Niang didn't take credit, since she was the one who arranged it. She smiled and let him go up, reminding him to clean the tray. The waiter was even more grateful and thanked her again before hurrying up.
The tray would be taken out, so what Qin San Niang did was the waiter's tea canister. She placed a miniature listening device at the bottom of the tea canister. It was not only difficult to detect, but even if it was discovered, probably no one would recognize what it was.
After doing all this, Qin San Niang and Da Wa leisurely drank tea at the Fuyun Teahouse.
Da Wa was quite anxious. After all, he had spent so much money, and he couldn't just come here to drink tea for nothing. Selling the dried fruit to Fuyun Teahouse was how he made money, but now they were making money off him? It was hard to tolerate. Besides, his own fruit tea was much better than this water made from tree leaves. Wasn't this just paying money to suffer?
Seeing her eldest son's chapped face, Qin Sanniang couldn't help but chuckle. "Bojin, young masters from wealthy families are all connoisseurs of tea. Although tea tastes bitter, it has a long-lasting and sweet aftertaste. They can judge the origin and variety of tea by its flavor. Moreover, tea has many benefits; it can lubricate the intestines and promote bowel movements, nourish yin and moisten the lungs, and reduce the chance of stroke. You should savor it carefully; there's a lot to learn about it."
The eldest child was astonished, feeling utterly bewildered! Could drinking water really be a subject of study? How strange!
However, he always listened to advice, and he actually picked up the tea, sipping it with a furrowed brow. If you ignored the sudden appearance of those forehead wrinkles, you might think he could actually get sick from drinking it!
Actually, the tea at Fuyun Teahouse wasn't very good, not even as good as the medium-grade tea in her space, but it was still quite good for this era! Considering the tea-making techniques of Song Dynasty Bianjing (Kaifeng), this Great Sheng Dynasty was far from being as advanced!
Just as the mother and son forced themselves to finish a pot of tea and a plate of snacks, Xie Yuyan and the elegantly dressed man emerged from the cubicle one after the other.
After the two had gone far away, Qin San Niang used the excuse of going to the wrong room to pick up the listening device under the tea canister. No one would notice that the room was empty and no one would suspect anything.
When the eldest child saw what his mother was doing, he quickly covered for her! Although he didn't know what his mother was doing, it was still very important!
After leaving the Floating Clouds Teahouse, they headed straight for the dilapidated temple. There were even little children guarding the temple entrance. Upon seeing the two of them, the little boy hurriedly ran inside, shouting, "A woman and a little boy have come! They don't seem very bright, but they should be safe!"
Qin San Niang: That's hilarious!
Big Brother: You're the one who's not very smart, everyone in the temple is not very smart!
Upon seeing that it was Qin Sanniang and her companion, the young man, with a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, sneered, "What? Have you changed your mind? Once the silver is in my hands, you can forget about getting it back!"
"You're overthinking it. Besides, if you don't want to give it, what's the point of merging?" Da Wa said helplessly. The intelligence of this group of people is worrying!
Qin San Niang was amused by the children's conversation. Look, this is what youth is like—full of vitality. But when the boy saw her and smiled, he understood. She was the owner of Ruyi Restaurant; why would she care about a few coins?
"Then what are you doing here? We're even now," the boy said arrogantly.
"I'm here to do a business deal with you. I wonder if you're interested?" Qin San Niang had no experience communicating with rebellious teenagers before, and her own child wasn't this individualistic, so she could only try to persuade them gently.
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