CH 34.2

“That’s why I chose this blue and white porcelain cup.”

Wang Qing and Wang Nizi finished washing the dishes and went into the room. They saw their father and little father sitting on the kang bed surrounded by a lot of things, making them very curious. Letting the two children also come up, Shao Yunan repeated what he already told Wang Shijing. The two children’s big eyes showed some meaning. Unknown, but so powerful!

Letting Wang Qing and Nizi smell the aroma of the tea leaves and identify what the Longjing tea leaves smelled like, Shao Yunan said, “Qing, Nizi, no matter what tea, infusion of the tea water is the most critical step. The better the water, the better the tea brewed.” The two children nodded their heads seriously.

“Second, the appliance for making tea. For different teas, the appliance used would also need to be different. For drinking tea, not only the taste is important, but also the mood.”

Nod. Nod.

Then Shao Yunan explained how to make Longjing tea to the two children. In the eyes of the children, even though they didn’t understand it fully, it still looked very powerful. So their eyes were filled with admiration. Their little father was very knowledgeable! Wang Shijing’s one eye was also filled with adoration and pride for his wife, but also a little bit of concern. If his wife was too good, he would be snatched away.

Shao Yunan spoke seriously as the two children listened carefully, while the water in the teapot boiled. Shao Yunan took down the teapot and continued. “Water for brewing Longjing can not be too hot, so you need to cool down the boiled water a little. Otherwise, you won’t be able to fully express the unique fragrance of Longjing tea. Watch as I do it first and then try it.”

“Mmm!”

The water for brewing Longjing tea should be around 80 degrees, so when the water temperature was almost ready, Shao Yunan took off the tea lid and let the two children and Wang Shijing first feel the temperature of the water. He then covered it with the lid, before putting about 3 grams of tea leaves in each tea cup and filled it with water to ¼ mark, so the water and the leaves could spread better. When the second brewing was done, it was time to fill the cups fully.

Shao Yunan took the hot teapot and poured water into the teacups, letting the water slide precisely against the wall of the cup. After rotating the tea leaves with hot water, it would give off a different fragrance. The tea itself would bring a kind of relaxed and pleasant visual enjoyment to people. Pouring a certain amount of water into all four tea bowls, the pot of water was all used up. Shao Yunan put the teapot on the tea stove and added cold water.

“Daddy, it’s so beautiful…” Nizi looked dumbfounded. Wang Qing looked at the tea bowl that his little father put in front of him, also stunned. “Smell it and see what’s the difference between the smell of the tea leaves and the tea. Then, you can drink it.”

The two children first watched how their little father did it and after learning the manner of smelling tea, they tasted their tea. Wang Shijing, a rough man, could not help but act more sophisticated in this setting. Following Shao Yunan’s example, he picked up the tea bowl, smelled it first and then used the lid to keep away the tea leaves before taking a sip.

“Delicious!” Wang Qing looked at his little father with admiration. “It tastes even better than chrysanthemum tea!”

This Longjing tea was also a bit bitter, but it still tasted extraordinarily good. Wang Qing couldn’t even describe it, but he could only use the term “delicious” to express the perception of his taste buds at this moment.

Nizi then drank her third mouthful, while Wang Shijing put down the teacup and unsparingly praised his wife. “It’s delicious. Even the generals I fought for during the war certainly did not have this kind of tea to drink.”

Shao Yunan raised his chin. “Of course. I dare say that no one but me can make this kind of tea.”

Wang Shijing, Wang Qing, and Wang Nizi immediately nodded in admiration. Shao Yunan then asked directly, “Shijing, how about it? Our family’s tea can make money, right?”

“It can make a lot of money!” Wang Shijing has no doubt about his wife’s ability to make money, not to mention that this tea was really very, very good.

“Little father…” Nizi pushed her empty cup towards her little father, her glittering eyes looking at Shao Yunan with a big smile.

The Longjing produced by Shao Yunan was of the best quality, so it also would not be a waste to drink it yourself. So he prepared another cup for all three people who enjoyed it very much. Shao Yunan also took this opportunity to tell the two children about tea, telling them that the artistic conception of tea was not as simple as soaking a few leaves and drinking it while it was still fresh. Tea might be simple, but there was no drink in the world that could compete with it.

In Wang Shujing’s one eye, there was only Shao Yunan. Suppressing the inferiority complex that surged in his heart, he studied his wife’s sizzling charm, while calculating how he should be even better to his wife, so that he would be more willing to stay with him, Qing, and Nizi. Shao Yunan didn’t want to bear children, but it was okay, as long as he was not unwilling to have only ‘his’ children. He was not as capable as his wife, not as smart as him, or talented. But as long as his wife wanted something, he will try to get it for him. So his wife could always stay as his wife.

The influence of this tea after dinner on Wang Qing and Wang Nizi would never be understood by Shao Yunan. Even many, many years later, when Wang Qing and Wang Nizi have already grown up, they would remember the scene of their little father making tea for them for the first time, in a very dilapidated home. These scenes would often appear in their dreams and were one of their most precious treasures.

Shao Yunan put the tea table in Wang Qing and Wang Nizi’s room, leaving a full set of tea and a jar of tea for the two children to learn to make tea after studying. Nizi was still young, so Shao Yunan urged her to ask her brother for help at first, to avoid her being scalded. Wang Qing and Wang Nizi touched the beautiful tea table and touched the beautiful teacup, not wanting to sleep at all.

Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing laid in the bed for a nap, but Wang Shijing did not feel sleepy at all. Hugging Shao Yunan and touching him through his clothes, Wang Shijing asked, “Aren’t you going to give this Longjing tea and chrysanthemum tea to county magistrate Jiang and dean Cen? Or will you sell it to Yizhang Xuan restaurant?”

Shao Yunan closed his eyes to rest while lazily replaying. “When the wine is ready, it will be sent over. I don’t want to give them every good thing either. Although I want to get acquainted with them, I don’t have to be so obsequious. At present, the big boss behind the Yizhang Xuan restaurant is the best choice, but there is no hurry. New year’s is the peak season for gift-giving. Before that, we should prepare tea and make a better package for it. Adding a little different mood will also make the price higher. As for the wine, I’ll think about it. Taking everything to Yizhang Xuan restaurant without having any competitive pressure, would not be good for us.”

“Well, it’s up to you.” Thinking about the fragrance of the wine when the barrel was changed the second time, Wang Shijing swallowed his saliva and couldn’t wait to drink it. His Yunan was really the most capable!

“As for the chrysanthemum tea…” Shao Yunan rolled over, faced Wang Shijing, and raised his foot to his leg. “At first, I had a plan to give it to Wang Shuping, but when I thought of his father, I wanted to transfer it to Aunt Wang. But there are too many shameless people in the Wang family. I’m afraid Aunt Wang’s house can’t deal with it. Even if they don’t care about Wang Wenhe, there are still other elders. Let me think about it some more. There is still time before the farming period ends.”

Despite the fact that Wang Shijing hired workers for only 20 days, turning the land and sowing the seeds took time. It took a month to finish all the work and after that, there still needed to be regular weeding, watering, and so on. Although Aunt Wang’s land was less than his family’s, Aunt Wang’s family did not have many people and they did not hire laborers. 

Calculating it, they needed forty days. Wang Shijing and Shao Yunan bought a total of twenty acres of mountain land and ten acres of dry land, which Wang Shijing used to plant winter wheat, with potatoes, white radish, onion, pumpkin, cabbage and other winter grains. But the mountainous land needed to be thoroughly fertilized once and cultivated for a while before growing food.

The climate of Xiushui Village was similar to that of Jiangnan, but it was drier than Jiangnan, so there were many crops that could be grown. Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing just bought the fields, so they missed a lot of staple food planting time. Other families were harvesting corn, soybeans, and other crops while planting new crops, but they had nothing to harvest. 

Until it snowed, Wang Shijing planned to go into the mountains several times to get some more dry food before winter. Shao Yunan will make several kinds of pickles and buy some more pickles from the villagers. Cabbages, potatoes, and pumpkins could be kept in the cellar. In the new house designed by Shao Yunan, there would be a heated room, so they could grow vegetables to eat in the winter. But next year, Shao Yunan planned to find a way to ‘increase’ it by several vegetables. He wants to openly eat tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, broccoli… and so on.

Wang Shijing said, “Or, let’s give it to Uncle Sun. The patriarch and Uncle Sun are cousins.  Grandpa Sun is the only doctor in our village and his family has a large population. Didn’t Brother Shuping say that Grandpa Sun has a good relationship with the shopkeeper of the pharmacy in the county town? You also said  that you can take this chrysanthemum tea to the pharmacy and sell it, so you wouldn’t have to go to the Yizhang Xuan restaurant.”

Shao Yunan thought about the feasibility. “First, there is no hurry. With the climate here, the wild chrysanthemum on the mountain can bloom again, just after farming.”

“Great.”

Shao Yunan was not in a hurry, but some people were very anxious. When the couple lay on the bed together under the pretext of taking a nap, someone came knocking on the door.