Chapter 166: Connections
Nanhe Street, Mingyue Tea House.
It was still early and there were not many visitors.
A middle-aged man in his forties was leisurely drinking tea on the second floor when he heard the servant walking up the stairs.
"Shopkeeper!"
Fang Xuran looked unhappy: "What's the matter? You're so impatient, what a mess."
The servant panted and pointed downstairs, saying nervously, "Boss, please go downstairs! Someone is looking for us!"
Fang Xuran opened his eyes: "Why, is there a distinguished guest coming?"
"No! Yes, yes—" The servant looked embarrassed, and didn't seem to know what to say, "Anyway, you will know when you go down and take a look!"
Fang Xuran had no choice but to get up, dust off his clothes, and then slowly go downstairs.
"This tea house is a business for the rich. If someone sees you like this, you will definitely be laughed at."
Fang Xuran walked down while muttering to himself.
Suddenly, he paused and looked at the people standing in the store in shock.
Hearing the voice, the girl standing in the front looked up.
She was wearing a moon-white dress embroidered with crabapple leaves, and her long black hair was tied up with a white jade hairpin. As she stood there, her figure was graceful, elegant and beautiful.
On her right hand side was a little baby who looked to be only about four years old. She was looking around the store curiously with her big black grape eyes.
The two young men behind were, one gentle and elegant, the other wild and flamboyant.
Fang Xuran vaguely guessed the other party's identity, slowed down his pace, and bowed:
"I am the owner of Mingyue Tea House. May I ask if this lady is——"
Ye Chutang smiled.
"Shopkeeper Fang, I've long heard of your name. I'm Ye Chutang."
Fang Xuran thought to himself, as expected!
Although he had never seen this face before, it was too easy for people to guess their identities when the four siblings stood together.
"Miss Ye Er! I apologize for not welcoming you in person!" Fang Xuran immediately showed a warm smile, "You came too suddenly, we didn't prepare anything..."
"We are all family, no need to be so polite." Ye Chutang interrupted him in a gentle voice.
Fang Xuran smiled awkwardly.
"Yes, yes, you are right! You can come whenever you want."
He looked at Ye Chutang for a few times and asked tentatively, "I heard that you were injured a few days ago. Why didn't you stay at home and take care of yourself? Instead, you came here?"
The news spread really fast.
"It's okay." Ye Chutang shook his head gently, "I had nothing to do at home, so I thought of coming to see you."
Fang Xuran thought about it for a while, but he showed no concern on his face. He laughed: "Of course there is no problem! Just look! These two are the third and fourth young masters, right? They are really handsome! And the fifth young lady——"
Ye Chutang was not interested in listening to his flattery. He looked around and said, "Business in this store seems a little quiet?"
Fang Xuran explained: "The tea business is different from other businesses. It has always been like this."
Ye Chutang walked forward, sat down on the chair, and said:
"Manager Fang, please take a seat too."
Fang Xuran responded subconsciously, and then realized that something seemed to be wrong.
——Obviously, he was the owner of this tea house, but why did Ye Chutang seem to be the one taking the initiative? From the moment she came in, everything she said and did was as if this was her territory.
Fang Xuran felt a little uncomfortable, but he still sat down and scolded the servant in a deep voice: "What are you standing there for? Didn't you see Miss Ye Er and the others are here? Why don't you go make tea!"
The servant agreed and went away quickly.
Fang Xuran cupped his hands and said with an apologetic smile: "I'm sorry that these people below are not well disciplined."
Ye Chutang curled the corners of his lips, not taking his pretentiousness seriously.
She got straight to the point: "Second Uncle returned this tea house to me. Manager Fang should have known about it, right?"
Fang Xuran's expression froze.
But it was only for a moment, and his expression quickly returned to normal, nodding repeatedly: "Yes."
Ye Chutang said politely, "Actually, I came here today for no other reason than to learn about the business status of this tea house over the past three years. My siblings and I have been away from home before and we know nothing about the situation in the capital. Although we have got the house and land deeds back, there are still many things we don't understand, so I'll have to trouble Shopkeeper Fang."
Fang Xuran smiled and agreed immediately.
"No problem! If you have any questions, just ask! I will tell you everything I know!"
Apart from anything else, dealing with these siblings is a piece of cake.
"Then I would like to thank Shopkeeper Fang first." Ye Chutang tilted his head, "Ah Yan."
Ye Jingyan handed over a book, and Fang Xuran caught a glimpse of it and saw that it seemed to be an account book.
"When Second Uncle handed these shops and properties back to Ah Yan and Ah Feng, he also gave them two boxes of account books. This one is the account book of the tea house last year. I have read it before coming here. There are a few places that I am not clear about. I would like to ask Manager Fang to explain them to me, is that okay?"
Chu Tang asked gently.
For some reason, Fang Xuran felt a subtle sense of uneasiness in his heart.
But looking at the gentle and beautiful face in front of him, and the clear and bright black eyes, Fang Xuran felt that he was overthinking.
What can a seventeen-year-old girl understand?
He nodded: "Miss Ye Er, just ask!"
Ye Chutang flipped open the account book, pointed to a certain page, and asked, "The price of the batch of Mingqian Longjing tea imported from Yuzhou last April seems to be wrong."
"What?"
Fang Xuran was completely stunned.
He thought about it over and over again, but he never expected that Ye Chutang would actually ask such a question!
"What's wrong?" Fang Xuran asked back.
Ye Chutang said: "It seems to be a lot more expensive."
Fang Xuran leaned over to take a look.
"Oh, you mean this? You don't know this. Yuzhou's tea is of good quality and produced in small quantities, so it has always been expensive. This is the normal purchase price."
He smiled and said, "You were in Jiangling a few years ago and didn't know much about these things. It's normal that you think they are expensive. But in fact, the real good Mingqian Longjing tea costs this much."
Between the lines, he was hinting that Ye Chutang had no idea about these things and was simply an amateur.
Ye Chutang tilted his head.
"Really? What a coincidence. Last year, I treated a tea merchant who passed by Jiangling. He said that the production in Yuzhou was very high last year, and the price of tea was lower than in previous years. Shopkeeper Fang, the purchase price on your account is three times his quotation."
The smile on Fang Xuran's lips gradually froze.
"He, he is just a tea merchant. Maybe he is not lying to you. People like him rarely speak the truth when they go out——"
"Really?" Ye Chutang blinked. "But that guy is doing business in the capital, and he said that Lord Tang Zhongli likes his tea very much and buys it every year."
She looked at Ye Jingyan.
"How about asking the Master of the Imperial Court?"
Fang Xuran suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
How come Ye Chutang has such connections?
Moreover, everyone in the capital knew that Tang Zhongli personally wrote a letter of recommendation for Ye Jingyan to enter the Imperial College. If he really asked -
(End of this chapter)
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