Chapter 73 Kui Longzhu Tea: Li Yang's Business - New Product Development...
Seeing the confusion in Li Yang's eyes, Chen Junbo said in a deep voice, "When it comes to tea, everyone has their own taste. It is precisely because each type of tea incorporates the personal preferences of the tea master that people are drawn to it. Now that you are the owner of this tea house and the person who developed this new tea blend, it is only natural that your preferences should be taken into account."
His words were perfectly logical and reasonable. Li Yang's heart skipped a beat. Just now she thought Chen Junbo was just being perfunctory because he was too lazy to deal with her troubles. But now it seemed that he was being petty.
Feeling guilty, her face flushed, and she blinked, saying, "You're right."
Her eyes sparkled, and her cheeks flushed. Chen Junbai assumed she was just excited and couldn't help but sigh, "She's still just a child." He then dismissed the others, allowing Li Yang to calmly conduct the selection in the pavilion.
In that short time, Li Yang's mind was already focused on the two sets of tea leaves in front of him.
These two teas are simply different in that one is Maojian and the other is Zhulan. She is a woman who loves flowers by nature, and just hearing the name made her heart fall on the Zhulan one.
When she was young, she wasn't interested in learning how to make tea from her mother's tea leaves. In the end, her mother would make her own tea by brewing her own tea with fragrant herbs.
Upon closer tasting, the aroma of the pearl orchid scented tea is elegant, subtle, and long-lasting, blending beautifully with the bean fragrance of Longjing tea and the aroma of Kuizhen tea.
"The fragrance of orchids" suddenly popped into her mind. After tasting this unique flavor, it was as if the tea in her hand had come to life. "I like pearl orchids."
Seeing that she had already made up her mind, but was still looking up at him, Chen Junbo knew that she was uneasy.
He guessed right.
Since it concerned the business of the flower shop, and Li Yang didn't usually like tea, she wasn't entirely sure if she liked it. She looked at Chen Junbo, urgently needing this person of taste to confirm her opinion.
Chen Junbo sat down steadily, tasted two cups of tea, and closed his eyes slightly, saying, "If it's Longjing and Kuizhen, and then Maojian, it's a bit repetitive. It can only be considered an excellent blend of green teas." Then he looked up and tasted the tea soup with pearl orchid added, "But the pearl orchid has a subtle and mellow fragrance, which acts as a stabilizing force in this tea."
Seeing that he agreed with his idea, Li Yang's lips curved into a smile, and two small dimples appeared and disappeared.
"Let's go."
Chen Junbo: "Where to?"
"Is Sister Ziyan at Ruyi Pavilion right now?" Li Yang had already reached the pavilion entrance when she suddenly realized that she didn't know where Ziyan was busy every day, so she had to stop and turn back to ask Chen Junbai.
Mr. Chen's expression was quite unpleasant at this moment. "Yes, why are you looking for her?"
"Sister Ziyan knows tea. I won't feel at ease until she tastes it and says it's good."
So, all my heartfelt words just now were nothing more than a cheap trick to get the ball rolling in her eyes.
Ziyan understands tea, so why doesn't he? Was all that talk just now just a waste of time?
"Are we going or not?" Li Yang had already run out of the covered walkway. "Hurry up."
Seeing the person urging him anxiously, Chen Junbo pressed down on his lips, stood up irritably, smoothed out his clothes, and reluctantly walked to her side.
"Come with me home to change first, I got splashed with tea earlier."
Upon hearing this, Li Yang turned around and carefully examined him, noticing a wet stain on the hem of his clothes. She knew this man was usually a clean freak, and the wet stain looked like it had just been there, making it unpleasant to look at.
Chen Junbo's lips curled up. When he got up, he saw the teacup on the table and, on a 'spark,' he swept it over with his sleeve and turned it over.
Now, his wife can at least accompany her home to change, right? With such a beautiful day and scenery, why bother looking for Ziyan? Let's get her home first.
"Hmm, how could you be so careless?" Li Yang frowned. "Then go home and change your clothes first."
Chen Junbo was satisfied: "Hmm..."
"I'll go to Ruyi Pavilion myself."
"Hmm?" Young Master Chen really wanted to delve into his wife's mind to find out what she was thinking.
"It's alright, I know the way. You should go back and change your clothes."
Hearing this, Chen Junbo had no choice but to accept his fate, letting out a sigh of relief, "Let's go."
Li Yang: "Aren't you going back to change? You're all soaked."
“You can change clothes at Ruyi Pavilion.” Chen Junbai’s face was ashen. He had already strode past Li Yang and walked ahead, as if he would explode if he said another word.
Oh, so the Ruyi Pavilion also has clothes stored there. Li Yang pouted, 'Fine, let's go, why are you being so fierce?' Little did she know that when this young master got jealous, he wouldn't even spare a woman.
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"Sister Ziyan!" As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, Li Yang reached out to Chen Junbai to help her down, but turned her face toward Ziyan at the bow of the boat and called out sweetly.
Seeing that this person was treating him like a slave, Young Master Chen suddenly felt like teasing her. He clenched his hands together and pinched her waist tightly.
hiss……
Li Yang glared at him, her watery eyes filled with anger, and her mouth hissed repeatedly in pain. As soon as she regained her footing, she hurriedly slapped his hands away, saying, "It hurts so much." Without looking back, she ran towards Zi Yan.
The beautiful woman at the bow of the boat had already noticed the quarrel between the two. Seeing Chen Junbo obediently follow behind her after being scolded by Li Yang, she couldn't help but find it amusing.
Although she knew that Chen Junbo was not as aloof and handsome as he usually appeared, this was the first time she had seen him so playful yet not cruel.
Suppressing her laughter, she turned and greeted him with a smile, "Zhaozhao, what brings you to Ruyi Pavilion to find me today?"
"Sister Ziyan, we tried a new tea blend at the flower shop these past two days and would like you to try it." Li Yang took Ziyan's arm and headed towards the cabin.
Madam Sang stood at the cabin door, watching Young Master Chen follow behind the two ladies like a servant, and looked like she was about to give him a piece of her mind.
She found it amusing, but she was used to welcoming and seeing off guests. She opened her mouth, squinted her eyes, and flung her handkerchief over her shoulder as she walked toward the group. “Oh my, isn’t this the boss? Young master, young mistress, why didn’t you tell me you were coming today? I could have made some preparations.”
Before Li Yang could say anything polite, she turned and rushed to Chen Junbai, "Young Master, oh dear, what's wrong with you? Quick, quick, go to the third floor and change your clothes." She then gently supported Chen Junbai's arm and led him into the cabin.
The two ladies were dumbfounded by Sang Mama's skillful and meticulous movements, especially Li Yang, who felt as if the mama was dancing on tiptoe, circling among them before helping Chen Junbo away...
She stared blankly, then turned her head to look at Ziyan.
To everyone's surprise, Ziyan just stared blankly at the figures of Sang Mama and Chen Junbo, and couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"Sister Ziyan, Mother Sang is always so warm and welcoming."
The two chatted and laughed as they went up to the third floor.
The cabins of the Ruyi Pavilion had their own rules for each floor. Ordinary men could only get into a private room on the inner side of the first floor by paying some money.
The second floor was reserved for officials and wealthy merchants who associated with the Chen family to enjoy themselves or conduct business.
As for the third floor, even those with money and power may not be able to see it.
In the early years, only Ziyan lived on the third floor. Apart from Chen Junbai and a few others, anyone else who wanted to see her needed her approval.
Later, Ziyan left, but Mr. Zheng came, and the third floor was converted into a place for several general merchants and salt commissioners to discuss business.
Therefore, Chen Junbo did indeed keep several changes of clothes here.
After he had tidied himself up and entered the private room, Li Yang had already placed two servings of tea on the table. "Sister Ziyan, please taste them for me and tell me which one is better."
Seeing this, Chen Junbo found a round-backed chair, leaned back lazily in it, and coldly glanced at the two of them, casually chatting with Mr. Zheng about welcoming the guests.
Actually, he misunderstood Li Yang.
The young lady didn't look down on him in the slightest. In Li Yang's mind, this tea-making matter was initiated because Zi Yan was dissatisfied with the tea products of the Flower Bureau. Therefore, now that the new tea has been blended, it should be judged by Zi Yan before it can be concluded.
Gradually, the room became divided into two distinct areas: the two women were happily boiling water and making tea, while Chen Junbai and Mr. Zheng were having a deeper and deeper conversation.
Zheng Qingbo: "Now it has been decided that the boat girls will stand at the ferry to pull the tow rope for His Majesty. Ziyan has already listed out the clothes and costumes that the boat girls will need and is working hard to make them."
This idea piqued Chen Junbai's interest. Although he had only met Emperor Qing twice, he knew from his maternal grandfather that the emperor loved novel things. Arranging for boat girls to pull the boats at the ferry was indeed a refreshing idea.
"How could a boatwoman have the strength to pull this dragon boat?" He carefully rehearsed the scene of the boatwoman pulling the tow rope in his mind and raised the question.
Mr. Zheng seemed to have anticipated his question. “Exactly, that’s why we need to arrange for the boatmen to hide in the grass along the riverbank.” As he spoke, he pointed to a spot on the map with two fingers. “There’s plenty of space here, so we’ve arranged for people to plant more reeds. In the future, the boatmen will be pulling the boats through the reeds, and the boatwomen will be dressed up nicely on the riverbank. I’m sure His Majesty will be very pleased.”
Hearing this, Chen Junbo nodded and then asked, "How is the situation at the imperial palace?"
"The repairs are almost complete. However," Zheng Qingbo hesitated slightly.
"How is it? Please speak freely, teacher."
Having received Chen Junbai's agreement, Mr. Zheng hesitated and said, "Although this newly built palace is magnificent, it lacks decoration. Ziheng will have to find someone to arrange these."
Taking on the task of repairing the imperial palace is one thing; spending money to decorate the antiques and paintings inside is another.
Zheng Qingbo was confident that he could renovate the palace to be magnificent yet elegant, but who didn't know that His Majesty was most fond of antiques and collectibles, such as enamelware and kingfisher feather inlay, each of which was incredibly expensive.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, even the incredibly wealthy Chen Junbo couldn't help but frown.
"Sister Ziyan, is it so difficult to buy some decorations?" Li Yang asked, puzzled, as he leaned over to Ziyan's ear and whispered.
Ziyan frowned. “The furnishings for His Majesty’s palace are not the same as the furnishings in our own homes. They must be exquisite and elegant, made by famous craftsmen, and their names must be well-known. Just think how much silver it would cost to fill such a large palace.”
Goodness, Li Yang clicked his tongue in surprise upon hearing this. No wonder even Chen Junbo was annoyed.
The man said in a deep voice, "I will try my best to handle this, but recently Lord Lin has been bringing up the matter of the treasury funds. I'm afraid it will take some effort to persuade Lord Lin to open the treasury funds to handle this matter."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Qingbo lowered his eyes, nodded, and remained silent.
Yes, the salt merchants' money doesn't come from thin air; there's always a fixed amount. Although the Imperial Household Department is funding His Majesty's southern tour, what can they accomplish with that much money?
Rehearsing plays, traveling, imperial palaces, decorations, even trivial matters like food and linens—all of these came from the pockets of salt merchants.
If they hadn't encountered the disaster in Gao County, things would have been better. But fate had other plans. The salt merchants had to take money out of their pockets to help with disaster relief, and they also had to take money out of their pockets to welcome the emperor. In addition, the regular business of the Lianghuai salt industry required money to keep running. Even these wealthy merchants were inevitably in dire straits.
Everyone knows that you can't just fleece one sheep at a time, but who could blame them when this flock of sheep was the fattest in the entire Qing Dynasty?
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