Chapter 14 Tea House

  "Good morning, everyone!" Qi Xi appeared in front of the crowd with two dark circles under her eyes. Although they had returned to the mansion at midnight, the two elderly people at the breakfast table didn't seem surprised to see Qi Xi. Instead, they looked at her with a mysterious and enchanting smile, their gaze making Qi Xi feel uneasy. Gan Jing also lightly coughed to greet Qi Xi and asked her to sit beside him, telling her that Liu Laoye's breakfast had been ordered to be sent over by the servants.

  Last night, I only heard a cold hum under the corridor, but today I finally saw this young master of Gan's house. He looks like he's not in good shape, thin and frail as if a gust of wind could blow him away. Although Gan Jing is also very thin, he has a lean and refined look that suits him well. Qi Xian found that after she sat down, the young master kept glancing at her from the side, occasionally humming a few times. Big brother, I know you're a sly person, but do you have to hum so deliberately to show it?

  Although she knew it was impolite, Qi Xi only ate a few mouthfuls before putting down her chopsticks and handing an envelope to Gan Jing: "Here's what you wanted, I stayed up all night to get it done." She couldn't eat in front of such a strange family, so Qi Xi had already planned that since she hadn't eaten much at the Gan estate, she would go to Pang Shu's place for a free meal. This Pang Shu was the suspected time-traveler from the fruit shop who could make double-skinned milk pudding. Qi Xi pretended to be like those elegant ladies in ancient dramas and apologized to the Gan couple before leaving, but as soon as she stepped out of the front hall, she quickly ran away like her feet were greased. Gan Jing called over Ah Guan and whispered a few words in his ear, and Ah Guan nodded and also chased after Qi Xi in the direction she had left.

  In the hall, a family saw Gan Jing pick up his chopsticks again and they followed suit. Gan Jing looked like the master of the house, and although the young master was full of disdain, when Gan Jing's gaze swept over him, he could only lower his head obediently. Although according to Gan Jing, he had reasons not to take revenge on him, but a good scolding was unavoidable. Some people are just born with a cheap bone, if you don't give them a hard time, they will never remember the lesson.

  Just then, Qi Xi hadn't walked a few steps when she saw Ah Guan following behind her: "Liu... Young Master Liu." Ah Guan knew Qi Xi's identity, but since she was dressed as a man now, after some deliberation, Ah Guan decided to address her as 'young master'. Qi Xi couldn't help but chuckle at this - wasn't Ah Guan usually quite quick-witted? Why was she stuttering today?

  "Guanguan, what instructions does your young master have again?"

  "Master told you to wait for him at the Tianfu Teahouse in a little while, as for what it's about, Master didn't say. Liu, if Young Master Liu doesn't know the way, I can escort you there."

  "Ah, Ah Guan, you're very clever, but there's one thing I must declare to you - I'm not some kind of Liu Liu gentleman! This young lady and young master haven't eaten breakfast yet, why don't you accompany me to have a little something to eat first?" Although it was phrased as an inquiry, there wasn't the slightest hint of compromise. Qi Xi grabbed Ah Guan's arm and headed towards the Fruitful Pavilion by the Tian Sha River. Fat Uncle recognized Qi Xi from afar and enthusiastically waved at her. With a smile brighter than a sunflower, Qi Xi approached the small, rarely visited shop.

  Although Ah Guan often passes by here, he has never set foot in this place. The people of Gan Fu, even the lowest servants, are very generous when they go out, how can they patronize such a broken shop and lose face for their master's family? At the same time, he was also curious about how Mr. Jing's friend would come to such a place. Thinking of this, his face also showed a look of disgust. However, Uncle Pang didn't mind, and Qi Xi just smiled and invited him to sit down together.

  "Guanguan, you've been following your young master for quite some time now, right? I was wondering, what kind of business can make someone rich in a short amount of time." Qiuxi wiped her mouth, not really expecting to get any information out of Guan anyway. Her gaze remained fixed on the small bowl of purple rice and double-skinned milk, but after waiting for a while without getting a response from Guan, she looked up to find that he had already stuffed his mouth full, leaving him no time to answer her question.

  "Hey, hey, young master, don't daydream in broad daylight. Everyone in Shazhou City knows that almost all the shops here are either owned by the Gan or Zhu families, you could say they each take up half of the town. If you need help from Young Master, everything will be fine. This thing is really delicious, I've passed by so many times and didn't know this place had such good food." Ah Guan smiled foolishly, hastily answering Qiuxi's question, then buried his head again to enjoy the double-skinned milk dessert.

  It's really hard to see that Gan Jing's business has become so big, Ah Guan said that Zhu Ye himself had already experienced it earlier, what can be done to make a lot of money? Ah, what can be done must have capital first, the little money that was conspired with Zhu Chengxun that kid at the beginning, how can that be considered money? He is also surnamed Zhu, people surnamed Zhu are all no good.

  Tianfu Teahouse should be the best teahouse in Shazhou City. Just by looking at the attire of the people coming and going, you can tell. The shopkeeper stands at the door, smiling and saying "Hello, Mr. Wang" one moment, and "Slow down, Mr. Wu" the next. Shazhou is a city of merchants, and nine out of ten people here are doing business. Qiuxu still wears the same clothes he wore when he first arrived in Shazhou, which were borrowed from a farmhouse. When Li, the shopkeeper of Tianfu Teahouse, saw this poor-looking person about to enter the teahouse, he blocked him: "Where did this poor devil come from? You think you can come into Tianfu Teahouse and drink tea? I'm afraid you don't have any money to pay, we don't have a tab system here."

  Li Zhuangui's eyes seemed to be on his forehead, and Qiuxi was full of disdain on her face. If it weren't for Gan Jing inviting her here, she would never have come to suffer from people's white eyes. In fact, she didn't bring a single coin when she went out today, so being yelled at by the shopkeeper made her feel a bit guilty (at critical moments, someone will always come to save her from disaster, who let her be a lucky star?). Ah Guan stepped forward: "Li Zhuangui, this Mr. Liu is our young master's noble guest, how can you treat your guests like this in the first tea house of Shazhou?"

  "Hey, Master Ah Guan, why didn't you say so earlier? Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! Young Master Gan has been waiting upstairs for a while now. Please, both of you!" This Li shopkeeper apparently recognized Ah Guan and immediately softened up after hearing his words, fawningly leading the seven of them upstairs. Qi Mei gave him a white eye, and the shopkeeper also felt quite wronged. What's with rich people these days always pretending to be poor? Young Master Gan's friend must be a nouveau riche, how come he didn't see it himself when he claims to be Fire Crystal?"

  After going upstairs, a small servant led them to the elegant room where Master Gan was. Qiuniang's eyes widened as she pushed aside the curtain. She had thought that Gan Jing would just invite her for a casual cup of tea, but instead, the table was filled with all sorts of exquisite pastries, many of which she had never seen before. Suddenly, she felt like a country bumpkin in the city, and her stomach growled loudly in agreement. Qiuniang didn't wait for Gan Jing's invitation and sat down awkwardly. Ah Guan hadn't followed them in; having been by Master Gan's side for so long, he naturally knew when to serve and when to keep his distance.

  "Didn't Li Zhuanggui give you a lot of white eyes!"

  "Which of the famous tea houses and restaurants isn't like this? They're all just a bunch of people who respect clothes before respecting others, sooner or later they'll all be kneeling at my feet calling me 'master'! Ah, what did you come to find me for? I've already heard from Father that you were planning to go to Jinling. I think I won't be staying here much longer either. However, if it's something Brother Gan wants, I naturally wouldn't hesitate to rush into boiling water or walk through fire."

  For some reason, when he heard that the person in front of him would be leaving Shazhou soon, a hint of desolation flashed across Gan Jing's eyes, but it was only for an instant. He immediately began to serve Qi Mei with dishes: "Eat, I know you can't eat much in front of them, so I ordered everything, try some, the owner may not be great, but Tianfu Teahouse's dim sum is still very famous." As he watched her eating more and more un-ladylike, Gan Jing also couldn't help but smile slightly. What kind of feeling was this? It could only be said that it was a warmth that could never be felt from that family.

  Qi Xi didn't bother with pleasantries, although she had just eaten a double-skinned milk dessert at Fat Uncle's place, but that thing was never filling. As she ate and looked up, she happened to meet Gan Jing's eyes, which were full of smile, this guy was up to something again, anyway every time he started smiling for no reason, nothing good would come out of it.