Chapter 561 A Dream of Youth 93
As the year draws to a close this evening, what has passed can never be retrieved. Sparse plum blossoms exude a subtle beauty, and light ice melts away the chill.
Before they knew it, it was New Year's Eve. Chen Yunsheng had already taken the New Year's gifts prepared by Chen Wanniang back to Quanzhou to celebrate the New Year. After the New Year, he would take the new cotton thread to Beijing.
Yes, they transport spun cotton thread or woven cotton cloth, which is much simpler than simply transporting raw materials. They also transport tea.
Although the aunt and nephew did not initially intend to transport tea to sell, as accidents could easily occur on the road, Chen Yunsheng was observing various industries in the capital while helping Chen Wanniang manage the weaving workshop.
In the end, it was found that teahouses were easier to run than restaurants, mainly because the target customers were different. Chen Yunsheng wanted to attract officials, gentry, or wealthy people with some money.
Now that Xie Wangzhi is working in the court, if he were to open a teahouse, it could become a source of information. Tea drinking is very popular in the court, and tea competitions are all the rage. Many literati and scholars pursue elegance and truth, and teahouses are one of the classic places for them to hold poetry gatherings and tea parties.
Chen Yunsheng also had this idea in mind: to build connections.
Xie Ning also played a part in Chen Yunsheng's idea of opening a teahouse. At that time, Chen Yunsheng had been drinking a lot of alcohol recently, so Xie Ning told him to drink less alcohol and drink more tea. Then, Xie Ning quoted from the "Suwen" (a classic Chinese medical text) and said, "Treating disease before it occurs is better than treating it."
Chen Yunsheng remembered that his father had damaged his stomach by drinking when he was young, and he immediately became aware of the danger.
Seeing this, Xie Ning told him about the method of using tea to maintain health. Since Xie Ning took Princess Yanxi's pulse and then talked about health preservation, the family members had gained a deeper understanding of her medical skills.
Especially Chen Yunsheng, he's a princess! If he says anything wrong, he'll be beheaded.
My little cousin's medical skills were even recognized by the imperial physician!
With this incident as a foundation, Chen Yunsheng and Xie Ning then discussed the topic of health preservation and saw a business opportunity. What if he used tea as a selling point for health preservation?
Xie Ning also mentioned dietary health. Chen Yunsheng can't cook, but Chen Wanniang can. When she was young, Chen Wanniang made her fortune selling tea and pastries.
The combination of tea and snacks is a powerful combination. Tea is good for health, and the snacks are also beneficial for longevity. Chen Yunsheng believes that no one can resist such a temptation, especially older people.
So this time when he returned to Quanzhou, in addition to preparing the raw materials needed for the weaving workshop, he also needed to arrange the transportation of tea. After all, he couldn't just sell one kind of tea. He had heard Xie Ning say from the medical book that different teas have different effects, so he definitely needed to prepare several kinds.
This gives it more selling points.
To be honest, Xie Ning herself never thought that health preservation could become a selling point. At first, she just wanted to study the topic of disease prevention and how to improve people's health and reduce the probability of disease occurrence from the details.
Although medical books say that "tea is a medicine for all diseases because it is bitter and cold, the yin within yin, sinking and descending, and is most effective in reducing fire. Fire is the cause of all diseases, and when fire is reduced, the upper body is cleared. However, fire has five stages, some are deficient and some are excessive. People who are young and strong with healthy stomachs often have excessive fire in their heart, lungs, spleen and stomach, so tea is suitable for them."
However, how to drink tea should be combined with one's physical condition, since some teas are more cooling, while others are more mild.
If the science and technology here were more advanced, the active ingredients in tea could be directly extracted for pharmaceutical purposes, which would have remarkable effects on clearing heat and detoxifying, aiding digestion and resolving phlegm, reducing internal heat and improving eyesight, stopping diarrhea and removing dampness, and promoting weight loss.
She previously ran a pharmaceutical company, and many of the medicines for treating radiation sickness, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and cancer were extracted from tea.
While Xie Ning was explaining the benefits of tea to Chen Yunsheng, Chen Wanniang, who was standing next to her, focused on the "weight loss" aspect and hurriedly asked Xie Ning if it really had such an effect.
"It does have this effect, but you still need to study what kind of tea to drink based on your constitution."
Chen Wanniang stopped Xie Ning, "Good boy, quickly show your mother what kind of tea is suitable for her."
Xie Ning, somewhat bewildered, took Chen Wan Niang's pulse. The whole family paid attention to health preservation, so everyone was in good health. Xie Ning glanced at Chen Wan Niang's slender figure and said with some hesitation, "Mother, you are so slender, why do you need to lose weight?"
“Bao’er doesn’t understand. If drinking tea can help you lose weight, then Mother can eat more on weekdays.”
She's not the type of person who can eat whatever she wants and not gain weight. She gained quite a bit of weight when she gave birth, but she managed to lose it all through sheer willpower and strict diet control.
Xie Ning believed that as long as one was healthy, regardless of weight, it was fine. However, the current dynasty valued a simple and elegant beauty, and most women were slender. This aesthetic was related to the advocacy of Emperor Taizu and the policy of emphasizing literature over military affairs.
Even women's everyday clothing is trending towards a slimmer look.
To some extent, this reflects the feudal society's discipline of women who were subservient to men. Men preferred slender women, so women had to be slender and delicate, like willows swaying in the wind, to cater to their tastes.
Xie Ning looked at the small wooden sword hanging on the wall and made up her mind, "Mother, let's practice swordsmanship together."
Chen Wanniang looked dazed. How did the conversation turn to sword practice?
Xie Ning tilted her head back, smiling innocently. She thought it was good if a skinny girl could punch three strong men. She could be skinny, but she couldn't be weak.
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