The faces of the other few old scholars in plain clothes sitting at the desk turned red and white in an instant. They rolled up their sleeves, revealing their skinny arms, and started arguing with their hands on their hips.
"We agreed on three cents for a pot of tea. Why are you kicking me out before I even finish my tea?"
"Exactly! Besides, we're all regulars, having been here for tea for at least three to five years. When have we ever encountered someone as unreasonable as you, swearing and driving us away?"
The drunk man sneered three times, followed by a burp.
"Regular customers? You're only customers if you spend money. The chairs you're sitting on are from my shop, and the water in your kettle is from my shop. Have you ever given me a penny?"
The bearded man lifted the serving cloth, revealing a bamboo tube at his waist. The bamboo tube was already covered with yellow patina, with a turtle with bean eyes carved on the mouth of the tube. A red rope was tied to the bottom of the tube, which looked a little black.
"It was alright when I, the owner, was away and there was no one to look after the shop, but now that I'm back, I'm fine with you all bringing your own tea, but you still have to pay for the charcoal for boiling water, right?"
The scholars had originally stood up with the momentum of a three hundred rounds of verbal battle, but they also knew that they were outmatched, and their momentum instantly waned a bit, and they sat back at the poor table.
The atmosphere was a little awkward for a moment, and suddenly a voice rang out.
"Isn't it just charcoal money? Is this enough?"
Bang! A bead rolled onto the broken wooden table soaked by tea.
That was truly no ordinary bead. It was perfectly round, flawless, its luster flickering, its lines shimmering like a dream. It couldn't possibly be found in ordinary rivers; it might be a treasure dug up from the South China Sea. While no one had ever seen a South China Sea pearl, there wasn't another one like it anywhere in Huozhou's bead shops.
Truly beautiful things can always unify everyone's aesthetic taste in an instant. Now, the people gathered around the table, including the bearded man, all had their eyes glued to the beads and couldn't take their eyes off them.
As soon as the hand that placed the bead pressed the table, the bead rolled to one side, and everyone's eyes followed the bead to the other side.
The bearded man looked along the bead and saw a hand with calloused knuckles flipping over and grasping the bead. The owner of the hand was a woman with long hair tied up high.
Xiao Nanhui raised his eyebrows and looked at the person in front of him.
There are many people who reek of alcohol, but why is there such a strong smell of alcohol in a teahouse?
"It's just a pot of tea, it shouldn't hurt the relationship so much. But I haven't heard when this Lengzhai was taken over. Do you think it's right or wrong?"
The scholars instinctively felt that someone had come to support them, and their momentum, which had just waned, suddenly regained its momentum, and the voices of support became louder and louder.
"Yes, that's right! Don't bully us scholars..."
"We've been here for years. Who knows where you came from, this weed?"
"Maybe they're from the same group of scoundrels from the West Market a few days ago. They think they're the boss just because they have a louder voice..."
A clanging sound interrupted the scholars' angry words.
The bearded man took off the thing from his waist and placed it on the table, snorting with disdain.
"What's this?"
Everyone stared at each other, then stared at the black bamboo tube.
Xiao Nanhui was also observing calmly.
One of the old scholars cleared his throat and said boldly.
"This...isn't this a bamboo tube for cooking? Are you bullying us because we haven't even seen this?"
"You only know this is a teahouse, but you don't even know what this teapot is used for, let alone why it's called Lengzhai."
The bearded man did not hide the contempt in his eyes, and his voice sounded less drunken and more frivolous.
"Lengzhai, with its front shop and backyard, became Huozhou's most famous teahouse thanks to a cold spring in the backyard. This spring is quite unique, forming from the rock. The spring's mouth is no wider than a bowl, yet it's bottomless. So the first owner of the teahouse made this tube to draw water from the spring, and it's been passed down from generation to generation. If you don't believe me, just go to the backyard and take a look."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire teahouse fell silent.
No one stood up, let alone went to the backyard to take a look, as if that would save them from having to face the fact that they were in the wrong.
After a while, Xiao Nanhui raised his finger, and the bead rolled back to the center of the table.
The man reached out his hand to take the pearl without any hesitation, but was stopped by the woman.
"It's just a pearl. Just leave it to them." Xiao Nanhui lowered his voice. "The shop owner is a wonderful person. Why bother with them? I have many precious pearls and jades here. Do you want to see them?"
The man was stunned, his cheekbones stained with alcohol yet revealing some unbearable excitement. He struggled with himself and said awkwardly.
"What is this for?"
Xiao Nanhui looked sincere.
"Of course I'm attracted by this place and want to discuss some business matters. But if you don't have such intentions..."
The other party could no longer resist and let go of his reserve.
"How could that be? Lead the way quickly."
Xiao Nanhui didn't say any more nonsense and turned to walk out of the store.
Behind him, the scholars finally found the stairs. They tacitly agreed not to mention the humiliation they had just suffered, and instead began to study the beads in front of them.
"Gold shines through the emerald green, shining like a star, and hard as iron. What kind of treasure is this?"
The tea drinker in green robes took a closer look and saw that his two eyeballs were almost squeezed together in the middle.
"Why do I think this bead looks like the iron horse core on the eaves?"
The iron horse is a wind chime on the eaves. Wind chimes are common, but few people have seen the core inside a wind chime. Even fewer have seen the core of a wind chime that has been exposed to wind and rain for decades.
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