Three days later, early in the morning, a Khampa merchant arrived at Master Hou’s tea shop. As soon as he entered, he specifically requested to load two thousand catties of Tunxi Green tea.

“Oh my!” Zhu Zhi knew a big customer had arrived. “Sir, please wait a moment while I fetch the shopkeeper to discuss this with you.”

“Hurry up!” the Khampa merchant said impatiently in broken Chinese.

“Yes, yes.” Zhu Zhi ran like the wind across two streets to reach Master Hou’s private residence.

Master Hou was playing with his caged birds in the courtyard. Upon hearing that a major Tibetan merchant had arrived, he smiled so broadly his eyes became mere slits, and hurried back to the shop with Zhu Zhi.

He could speak a few sentences of Tibetan and exchanged brief words with the visitor, then gave Zhu Zhi a meaningful look and called him aside.

“He’s a fat sheep!” Master Hou said immediately. “The wonderful thing is he’s not a professional tea merchant. From what I gathered, he made some money doing business here and wants to take tea back to Tibet to sell on the side.”

Zhu Zhi had worked with Master Hou for years and could guess the implication from these words.

“You mean since he doesn’t understand tea and it’s a one-time deal, we might as well…”

“Might as well go big. Don’t we have that batch of ‘half-and-half mix’ in our warehouse? I said we’d first sell off the ‘seventy-thirty mix,’ and when some blind fool came along, we’d sell it to them. Well, here he is.” Master Hou smiled smugly.

“Understood!” Zhu Zhi bowed and went directly to negotiate with the Khampa merchant. The discussion seemed to go smoothly, and soon he was cheerfully directing the shop assistants to move tea packages from the back warehouse to the main hall. Before long, they had piled up a mountain of tea in the center.

At this time, two people in the tea shop were pretending to browse tea while secretly observing the proceedings. These two were Gu Pingyuan and Secretary Hao, disguised as common townspeople. The shop assistants’ attention was all focused on the Khampa merchant, so they not only didn’t notice them but didn’t even greet them.

In fact, this Khampa merchant was a young assistant whom Secretary Hao had hired from a Tibetan trading caravan doing business in a neighboring county. He was chosen precisely for his cleverness and ability to convincingly play the role of a major merchant, clearly having fooled Master Hou.

While Gu Pingyuan appeared to casually examine the tea displayed in the shop, his peripheral vision constantly swept toward Master Hou. The next step was crucial. Sure enough, Zhu Zhi came scratching his head toward Master Hou.

“Shopkeeper, he’s taken out his bank notes, but suddenly insists that we stamp our tea shop’s seal on the tea packages.”

Master Hou frowned: “Didn’t you tell him that our shop never stamps tea packages sold outside the region? Just say it’s because we sell our tea cheaply and are afraid local tea merchants would object if they knew.”

Zhu Zhi grimaced: “I’ve been using that excuse you taught me to fool those Tibetan merchants, but this Khampa fellow is stubborn as a mule. No matter what I say, he won’t listen. He insists on the stamp, or he’ll take his money and leave.”

Master Hou was momentarily speechless. He was reluctant to stamp his shop’s seal on goods mixed with “other things,” fearing that if something went wrong, he’d have no way to dodge responsibility. But this deal was indeed tempting. Should he do it or not?

“What’s there to fear?” he thought to himself. “This is a one-time deal, and besides, I’ve sold so much ‘tea’ and no Tibetan has ever seen through it.”

Though he thought this way, he didn’t speak directly in front of his assistant, only saying: “Very well, this is our first sale of the day. It would be unlucky to spoil it. Do as he says—stamp it!”

Zhu Zhi felt vaguely uneasy but was also eager to avoid the trouble of moving that mountain of goods back to the warehouse, so he swallowed his saliva and said nothing.

Stamping was simple. Soon all the tea packages on the ground bore the “Hou Ji” tea shop’s seal. Only then was the Khampa merchant satisfied. He paid and received the delivery receipt. His cart was waiting at the shop entrance, and the tea shop assistants began loading the packages onto it one by one.

Master Hou stood in the tea shop’s main hall, watching the assistants load the cart with a smile, calculating in his mind: “Sold a thousand catties of tea leaves at the price of two thousand catties. Heh heh, wonderful, absolutely wonderful! This way, by year’s end I can take another concubine. That Little Red from Spring Fragrance House in the prefectural city isn’t bad. Heh heh heh!”

He was indulging in pleasant fantasies when someone suddenly approached from the side and cupped his hands: “Master Hou, greetings!”

Master Hou was startled by the unexpected greeting. Looking closely, he recognized Secretary Hao. How had he come to his tea shop dressed like this? Looking beside him, there was another person—the very Gu Pingyuan who made him gnash his teeth with hatred.

He quickly returned the greeting: “Secretary Hao, what brings you to my tea shop? You should have announced yourself so I wouldn’t be remiss as a host.”

Secretary Hao smiled without warmth, speaking with hidden meaning: “Master Hou’s business is thriving. You’ve sold two thousand catties of tea leaves early this morning. Keep up the effort—at this rate, you’ll sell not just tea leaves but even the tree leaves on the street.”

Master Hou had a guilty conscience. Hearing these words, his face immediately changed color. Just as he was about to respond, there was a commotion at the entrance.

The Khampa merchant had grabbed the head assistant’s wrist, his previously smiling face suddenly stern as he shouted: “Stop loading!”

“Hey, hey, we’ve only loaded half! With one foot inside and one foot outside, why stop loading?”

“Hmph.” The Khampa merchant sneered coldly. “I forgot something.”

“What?”

“I want to inspect the goods! Open the tea packages.”

“Ah?” All the tea shop assistants were stunned. Inspection was fine, but it was always done before payment with goods the tea shop brought out that couldn’t be faulted. They’d never heard of inspecting goods after paying in full and loading them onto the cart.

Sweat beaded on Zhu Zhi’s forehead. Master Hou rushed over in three quick steps, immediately saying: “No inspection!”

“Why not? I forgot earlier, so I want to inspect now. Besides, I’ve paid the money—this batch of goods is mine.” The Khampa merchant waved the delivery receipt in his hand and shouted loudly: “I can inspect whenever I want!”

His words made sense—the goods were his now, so why shouldn’t he be allowed to inspect them? Master Hou looked around. His tea shop was located on the town’s most prosperous street. When neighbors saw the excitement, especially involving Master Hou’s business, who wouldn’t want to come and see? A large crowd had already gathered.

Sweat dripped from Master Hou’s face to the ground. In desperation, he cried: “This is a commercial street! If you inspect goods in the street, you’ll block others’ business. What if the authorities blame us? No inspection!”

His forceful argument did have some logic. The tea shop assistants, hearing their boss speak this way, joined in the commotion. Suddenly, a voice, not loud but clearly audible, said: “I think an inspection wouldn’t hurt!”

The speaker appeared—it was Secretary Hao. He had inspected the town’s defenses half a year ago, and many people recognized him, causing much discussion.

Master Hou blinked, his eyes darting around. Looking at Secretary Hao putting on official airs, then at Gu Pingyuan beside him coldly watching, his gaze swept over the “Hou Ji” stamps on the tea packages, and he suddenly shuddered.

“I… I won’t sell anymore. I’ll refund the money,” Master Hou said in a trembling voice, knowing he’d fallen into a trap.

“Master Hou, before collecting payment you could say no sale, but once you’ve taken the money, the goods belong to the buyer. You say no sale just like that? Neither law nor reason supports this,” Secretary Hao said unhurriedly.

“This… this… Secretary Hao, please step aside for a private word.”

“No need. After inspecting the goods, I’ll naturally ask for a cup of tea.” Secretary Hao raised his face without even looking at him.

“Stop the nonsense.” The Khampa merchant swiftly drew a short knife of fine steel from his waist and without a word sliced open a tea package. The tea shop assistants were too late to stop him.

With a “crack,” a tea brick shattered on the ground. Gu Pingyuan quickly stepped forward, bent down to pick up two pieces of broken tea, rubbed them in his hands, glanced once, then held his palms flat and presented the “tea leaves” forward.

“Everyone, please look—is this tea?”

Many onlookers were tea merchants, and besides, Huizhou was famous for tea production—few people didn’t drink tea. Now crowding around to look, they were all shocked.

“Oh, this isn’t Tunxi Green!”

“No indeed. It looks like it and smells like it, but it isn’t.”

“Then what is it?”

Master Hou’s face had long turned green. He rushed over and slapped the tea from Gu Pingyuan’s hands, saying viciously: “This is Tunxi Green, a new variety! Who dares say it isn’t!”

Due to Master Hou’s usual bullying, his outburst did intimidate everyone. Just as people were whispering among themselves, someone outside the crowd said: “Let this old man take a look.”

The crowd parted, and a young man helped an elderly gentleman walk through.

Everyone recognized this person because he was extremely famous throughout Huizhou.

“Old Master Min!”

“You’re too kind. I am Min Wenshui. I’d like to examine this tea—I wonder if you all trust this old man.”

A tea shop keeper responded: “When it comes to tea, if we can’t trust Old Master Min, who can we trust?”

“Exactly right!” Everyone voiced their agreement.

Master Hou wanted to stop this but, seeing the crowd’s anger, stood there dumbfounded.

Old Master Min picked up a handful of tea leaves from the ground, weighed them, poked at them with his fingers, then sneered disdainfully and threw the tea leaves to the ground, clapping his hands as if to clean off something dirty.

“Gentlemen, today I dare not presumptuously evaluate this tea, because I’ve spent my lifetime evaluating tea, but I’ve never evaluated locust tree leaves!”

“Ah! Locust tree leaves?” The entire street erupted immediately, people pressing against people, pushing and crowding toward the front of Hou Ji Tea Shop.

“That’s right, locust tree leaves. If you don’t believe me, you can verify it yourselves,” Gu Pingyuan called out loudly.

People on the street picked up broken tea bricks and examined them carefully. Once this was pointed out, everyone recognized them: “No mistake, they’re locust tree leaves!” “Selling tree leaves as tea—that’s unconscionable!”

Secretary Hao directed the town’s local security to maintain order while commanding the bailiffs he’d brought to search the tea shop. Soon, a bailiff reported:

“There’s a warehouse in back filled with locust tree leaves.”

Secretary Hao nodded and looked at Master Hou, whose face was streaming with greasy sweat and who had collapsed into an inhuman heap.

“Master Hou, please come along to the county magistrate’s office. You’ll have quite a lawsuit to fight.”

Master Hou raised his lifeless eyes and met Gu Pingyuan’s gaze, cold as winter streams, making him shiver involuntarily.

“Once this matter gets out, no one will ever do business with him again. Master Hou’s warehouse full of Maofeng, Songluo, Tunxi Green, and that huge pile of locust tree leaves will just sit there moldering,” Secretary Hao said with certainty, taking a puff of his pipe.

“Old Master Min, please accept this.” Gu Pingyuan’s face was wreathed in smiles as he handed a document across the table. At this moment, he was in the county office’s document room with Old Master Min and Secretary Hao. Master Hou’s case had just been concluded, and they, as witnesses, had not yet left.

Old Master Min had been stroking his beard with a smile, but seeing the document, he asked: “What is this?”

Gu Pingyuan didn’t keep him in suspense: “Magistrate Qiao rendered fair judgment, confiscating all of Master Hou’s ill-gotten gains over the years. This is the deed to your tea shop, sir.”

Old Master Min fell silent, placing his palm on the deed and patting it gently twice, remaining speechless for a long time.

Gu Pingyuan and Secretary Hao exchanged glances, understanding the old man’s emotions. To spare him embarrassment, they deliberately changed the subject.

“I say, brother, this time was truly satisfying—eliminating the tyrant Master Hou. From now on, both tea farmers and tea merchants will have easier lives,” Secretary Hao said with his pipe in his mouth, gesticulating excitedly.

“Without investigation, who would have known he controlled over twenty thousand catties of tea permits? Over the years, using despicable methods, he must have ruined countless small tea merchants to monopolize so many permits.”

“That’s what they mean by money blinding people. If he’d known when to stop, those tea permits alone would have been enough for a lifetime of luxury. But he had to make fake tea—truly courting death!”

“I wonder which family those tea permits will go to now?”

“I don’t know either. According to regulations, confiscated tea permits should be returned to the government for redistribution.”

As they were chatting, Assistant Kang Qi entered: “Secretary Hao, His Honor requests your presence.”

“Ah, brother, you keep Old Master Min company. I’ll be right back.”

After Secretary Hao left, Old Master Min sighed. Gu Pingyuan asked in confusion: “Sir, you were smiling earlier—why sigh now?”

“I smile at Master Hou’s self-destruction. I sigh because I’m truly old—I can’t distinguish good people from bad ones. Someone with evil intentions, I helped make tea; someone with a generous heart, I turned away. Isn’t this turning right and wrong upside down?”

“You’re too kind, sir.”

“Young man, you understand the way of tea and tea principles. Most precious is that you haven’t been blinded by money. You must know that ‘tea nature is easily influenced’—those with greedy hearts can never succeed in the tea business, while someone like you is perfectly suited to be a tea merchant.”

Gu Pingyuan felt embarrassed by Old Master Min’s repeated praise. Just as he was about to speak, Secretary Hao rushed in excitedly, announcing loudly as soon as he entered: “Brother Gu, great news, great news!”

Gu Pingyuan stood up in surprise: “Brother Hao, what do you mean?”

“The clerk just reported to His Honor that of the twenty thousand catties of tea permits Master Hou monopolized, only about three thousand were legitimately in his name. The rest were ‘proxy permits’—even if we wanted to return them to the provincial office, there’s no way to track them. So His Honor asks if you’re willing to take over these ten-thousand-plus catties of tea permits?”

Good fortune from heaven—Gu Pingyuan could hardly believe it, stammering: “Ten… ten thousand plus catties? Brother Hao, let me think about this.”

He sat down to calm his mind. To be honest, Gu Pingyuan’s heart truly desired this—over ten thousand catties of tea permits would make him one of Huizhou’s foremost major tea merchants. But tea permits were merely the qualification to trade tea. If a merchant lacked ability, too many permits could become a burden, as each permit carried substantial taxes. If you couldn’t make money, you’d pay taxes for nothing—the more permits, the heavier the tax burden, potentially leading to bankruptcy and property confiscation.

After long contemplation, Gu Pingyuan looked up and asked: “Brother Hao, what exactly are ‘proxy permits’?”

“I know this,” Old Master Min answered first. “So-called tea permits are paper scrolls divided into upper and lower sections. The upper section goes to the tea merchant as proof of trading qualification; the lower section stays with the provincial office as a record. As for ‘proxy permits,’ these are tea permits bought from others—the name on the permit doesn’t change, but the trading rights transfer to the buyer. In Master Hou’s case, his extra permits weren’t bought but forcibly seized after driving small tea merchants to desperation.”

“I see.” Gu Pingyuan nodded thoughtfully. Seeing Qiao Henian enter the document room, he resolutely stood up: “Magistrate Qiao, I cannot accept these tea permits.”

Qiao Henian had expected this gift would greatly please Gu Pingyuan, never imagining he would refuse. He blurted out: “Why?”

“Small family businesses struggle to survive. Having their tea permits seized by Master Hou meant cutting off their livelihood. Now that we have this rare opportunity, please return the permits to them one by one, Magistrate Qiao.”

After hearing this, Secretary Hao looked Gu Pingyuan up and down as if seeing him for the first time, then raised his thumb: “Well, brother, now I truly admire you. I could probably manage to punish Master Hou with some effort, but to push away such a huge money-making opportunity when it’s right in front of you—heh heh heh…”

“A gentleman loves wealth but acquires it through proper means,” Old Master Min nodded repeatedly, slapping his thigh and standing up. “Young man, where are your tea fields? Take me to see them.”

“Old Master Min, what do you mean?” Gu Pingyuan was both surprised and delighted.

“I’m going to help you make tea,” Old Master Min declared loudly, walking outside. Gu Pingyuan and Secretary Hao exchanged smiles and followed.

Since defeating Master Hou, the Gu family had enjoyed one happy event after another.

First, Old Master Min came to stay at Gu Family Village for several days, daily circling Gu Pingyuan’s tea fields. Only after an autumn rain did Old Master Min seek out Gu Pingyuan.

“Young man, when I evaluated your family’s tea that day, I left out one thing.”

“Please instruct me, sir.”

“Gu Family Village’s terrain is what’s commonly called ‘water dragon protecting the city.’ Ordinary rain clouds in the sky experience thunder and lightning—thunder and lightning belong to fire in the five elements, so rain carries fire energy. But the rain in your Gu Family Village rises from two rivers and falls just after crossing the mountain peaks, never experiencing thunder and lightning—it’s pure yin water without a trace of fire energy. Otherwise, it couldn’t have transformed this fire-damaged land into excellent tea-growing fields within half a year.”

“According to your words, sir, how should this tea be processed?”

“As I said, using the ancient book’s tea-making method. I’ll modify the fire-covering process according to this tea’s characteristics to fully bring out its excellence.”

Gu Pingyuan knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. From that day forward, he entrusted his tea fields to Old Master Min, providing good food and drink daily while letting him work freely. Old Master Min was single-mindedly determined to create a world-famous tea in his old age, so he also worked day and night researching tea-making methods.

On the day Master Bai’s funeral rites completed the forty-ninth day, Old Master Min hurried to the Gu home. Being a tea enthusiast, he didn’t avoid the women’s quarters and went straight to the main hall, seeking Gu Pingyuan. He opened his clenched fist and cupped both palms before Gu Pingyuan, his face showing pride: “Truly excellent tea! I, Old Master Min, have made tea all my life, and today I’ve finally created a heavenly fragrant treasure.” He stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

Gu Pingyuan picked up a pinch of tea, holding it in his hand, murmuring: “It’s finished?”

“Indeed it is!” Old Master Min said, borrowing the Gu family’s tea set to brew a cup, personally presenting it to Gu Pingyuan. “Master Gu, according to tea masters’ custom, the tea garden owner should taste the first cup. Please.”

Gu Pingyuan’s hands trembled slightly. He stared at the teacup in his palm, his eyes gradually moistening: “No, my teacher loved tea all his life. I must take this cup to his grave to offer it to him.” He looked apologetically at Old Master Min.

“Mm, respecting one’s teacher as one’s father—I was right about you after all,” Old Master Min said without taking offense.

Among those paying respects at the grave were the Gu family members, Liu Heita, and Old Master Min.

Gu’s mother brought Gu Pingwen and Gu Yuting, placing Master Bai’s favorite dishes before the grave.

Old Master Min said solemnly: “Master Bai, though we never met, you taught an excellent student—I envy you greatly.”

Liu Heita said in his rough voice: “I heard Brother Gu mention you in Mongolia. Brother Gu is remarkable, and as his teacher, you must be even more so.”

Gu Pingyuan held the teacup, pouring half onto the grave and placing the other half on his teacher’s tomb. In a low voice he said: “Teacher, I’ve come to see you. Before, I didn’t know why I did business—was it for profit or fame? Now I know. I’ll apply everything you taught me to business, and someday I’ll make everyone look up to merchants. When that time comes, I’ll tell everyone that Gu Pingyuan achieved what he did because my teacher taught me the principles of being human—doing business is being human! Having such a teacher is why my business succeeds better than anyone’s!”

By this point, Gu Pingyuan was sobbing uncontrollably. He crawled forward half a step, grasping the cold tombstone with both hands, pressing his face against it, swearing in a voice only he could hear: “Teacher, I will earn so much money that if Yimei ever faces danger, I’ll use wealth that no one can refuse to keep her safe. I can do it, I definitely can!”

After the memorial service, returning to the mountain tea pavilion, Old Master Min again personally brewed a cup of the newly made tea and eagerly handed it over: “Taste it!”

Gu Pingyuan held the cup, and a subtle orchid fragrance seemed to drift into his nostrils. The original tea also had orchid fragrance, but it was rich yet lacking in restraint. Today’s tea fragrance was just right—waving before him, it seemed every meridian in his body was immersed in the tea’s aroma.

Gu Pingyuan suppressed his amazement and drank half the cup, first letting the tea swirl on his tongue tip, then flow under his tongue and down his throat. After savoring it for a while, he smacked his lips and exhaled.

“How is it?” Old Master Min asked with smiling eyes.

“Endless aftertaste! After swallowing, the delicate flavors at lip’s edge, tongue tip, and throat are all different—like climbing Yellow Mountain’s thirty-six peaks, with Lianhua Peak after Shixin Peak and Tiandu Peak after Lianhua, continuous and endlessly wonderful.” Gu Pingyuan praised without reservation.

“Well described, so well described!” Old Master Min was touched in his heart, his face glowing.

“Sir, you’re truly amazing. This tea is so much better than what we made before using the Songluo method.”

“Not at all, not at all. Without your Gu family tea garden’s excellent tea, no matter how skilled I am, I’d have nothing to work with,” Old Master Min waved his hand.

Gu Pingyuan’s heart stirred: “Please give this tea a fine name, sir, so it can become famous throughout the world.”

Old Master Min seemed prepared and didn’t demur, stroking his beard: “I remember mentioning to you that this tea’s processing method comes from an ancient book, which records a tea similar in flavor to this one. However, that tea has long been lost. According to the book, that tea’s fragrance resembled orchids and its downy hairs surpassed snow, hence named ‘Lan Xue’ (Orchid Snow). I think your tea might take this name.”

“Lan Xue, Lan Xue…” Gu Pingyuan repeated the name several times in his mouth, then said with delight, “That’s it then.”

Gu Pingyuan was an expert at tasting tea, but a novice at growing and processing it. However, he humbly sought instruction and was intelligent, while Old Master Min was willing to teach with all his heart. Following such a good teacher, Gu Pingyuan soon acquired excellent skills. Old Master Min hadn’t expected that in his old age he would not only create a fine tea but also gain a good disciple, ensuring his legacy would continue. He was truly satisfied and simply moved his entire household to Gu Family Village, determined to spend his remaining years there.

After some more days, Secretary Hao came rushing over again with urgent news. It turned out that when the clerk investigated and returned the tea permits that Master Hou had monopolized, after all the returns, there were still over five thousand catties unclaimed.

“Those merchants have all gone bankrupt—many have moved away with their entire families, making them impossible to trace. Magistrate Qiao’s thinking is that rather than return this batch of tea permits to the salt administration office, which would only benefit those clerks, it would be better to give them to you as a reward. You don’t need any procedures or fees—just pay the taxes according to the permits in the future.”

Such good fortune actually existed in the world! Gu Pingyuan was overjoyed. With these five thousand catties of tea permits, once Old Master Min produced the tea in large quantities, he could make his mark among Huizhou’s tea merchants.

Having both tea and tea permits was truly double happiness, yet “misfortune hides within fortune”—the seeds of disaster were unknowingly being sown.

“What has Li Qin been doing lately?” Li Wantang stood by his study window, looking at the first snow falling outside.

Li An respectfully replied: “Master, the young master has been reading all day.”

“Reading?” Li Wantang shook his head. “Probably more illustrated novels and supernatural tales.”

“That would be wronging the young master. On his desk are ‘Imperial Statecraft Compilation,’ ‘Records of Four Continents,’ ‘Complete Cases of River Transport,’ and so on—I can’t remember all those titles. But they’re all similar, books about economics and foreign affairs.”

“He’s reading those books?” Li Wantang was somewhat surprised. These books contained articles about monetary policy, salt administration, waterway affairs, and grain transport. He hadn’t expected his usually dissolute son Li Qin to change his nature and read such books. Recalling how he had mourned for Zhang Guangfa a few months ago, actually fasting for over forty days without leaving his room, Li Wantang nodded slightly.

Li An stole a glance but couldn’t make out anything from Li Wantang’s expression, so he carefully continued: “Master, the notes from the ‘Four Great Heng’ banks have all been collected. To gather six million taels, we only need the funds from the pawnshops in the capital, but…”

“What’s wrong? Is that old man Yang Mingxuan making trouble again?”

“Master’s foresight is accurate. He’s relying on his seniority, secretly inciting the capital’s pawnshops to boycott this fundraising, saying these are hard-earned coins saved one by one by our predecessors and can’t be squandered like this.”

“Making connections with officials—no amount spent is squandering. This obstinate old fool who doesn’t know the times!” Li Wantang stared intently at the snow-laden branches, cursing silently in his heart. This Yang Mingxuan, the head appraiser of the pawnshop, was nearly eighty years old. In terms of experience and seniority, no capital merchant surpassed him—he was a true elder whose words carried weight with many. Li Wantang wouldn’t easily cross such a person, but this time, without the full six million taels, he couldn’t obtain the “World’s Greatest Tea.”

“Speaking of which, our Li family still has shares in Yang Mingxuan’s ‘Tonghe Pawn.’ How about I contact all the shareholders for you and pull the rug out from under him, forcing him to retire and stop getting in our way,” Li An suggested.

Li Wantang was about to speak when a voice sounded at the door: “Stupid! Doing that would be worse than not doing it at all.”

As he spoke, Li Qin entered and bowed to Li Wantang: “Father.”

“Mm.” Li Wantang responded, then frowned: “What are you shouting about? What kind of behavior is this?”

“His suggestion is too stupid—it would put our Li family in an unrighteous position,” Li Qin pointed at Li An, though somewhat restrained, still displaying his rebellious nature.

Li Wantang didn’t take much offense, only pressing: “How is this suggestion stupid? Explain.”

“It’s obvious! Yang Mingxuan is so old with countless disciples and followers. If the Li family goes after him, word will spread—people won’t say anything to our faces, but they’ll certainly have nothing good to say behind our backs, and we’ll lose popular support. Right now we need to raise funds, and we can’t force donations like the government does—we can only rely on the Li family’s standing among capital merchants. If we lose that support, forget six million taels—we won’t get a single coin.”

Li Qin spoke eloquently while Li Wantang’s expression shifted between light and dark, and Li An became increasingly frightened.

“This matter is yours to handle!” Before Li Qin could continue, Li Wantang interrupted him.

Li Qin was stunned: “Handle what?”

“Make Yang Mingxuan submit! You just said so much—if you only talk without acting, what use is it?” Li Wantang looked quietly at Li Qin.

Li Qin had been so focused on speaking impressively that he hadn’t actually thought about how to subdue an eighty-year-old stubborn old man. He blinked, speechless.

“It seems after reading all those books, you’re still just engaging in armchair strategy,” Li Wantang said slowly.

Li Qin couldn’t stand hearing this. His face flushed red, and without a word he headed for the door, but suddenly stopped at the threshold. When he turned back, he was calm and composed: “This matter isn’t difficult, but I’ll need several managers recalled from other provinces to help me.”

Li Wantang stared at him for a long while before finally nodding. After the young master left, Li An said worriedly: “Can the young master handle this? Otherwise, let’s plan another route—we can’t afford to fail and not raise the money.”

“No need.” Li Wantang seemed to have already put this matter behind him. “How are that master and servant pair I had you watch?”

“The boy servant goes out frequently, but that Su woman hasn’t stepped outside once since returning to the capital—she’s like a recluse in meditation,” Li An said, clicking his tongue. “However, she went out twice recently—the day before yesterday and yesterday—to the same place both times, but didn’t enter, just lingered outside for a while.”

“Oh, where?”

“The home of the new Imperial Guard commander Yi Sang’a. He just got married and has been holding grand wedding celebrations these past few days.”

Li Wantang listened while pushing open the door to go outside. This courtyard was off-limits to everyone except Li Wantang when it snowed. Walking in the courtyard, he spoke in a voice only he could hear: “Her heart isn’t dead yet—that’s very good!” Behind him, he left a string of clear footprints.

“Miss, you’ve been watching for three days. How much longer will you watch?”

“He still has some loyalty to old friendships. Among the old friends who entered, those whose fortunes have declined received return gifts worth more than the congratulatory gifts they brought.” Su Zixuan stared at those vermillion-painted doors, speaking to herself as if she hadn’t heard Sixi’s words at all.

“After watching so long, let’s go in and offer congratulations too.” With that, Su Zixuan set off toward the grand mansion decorated with red lanterns and colored silk.

Sixi was startled and followed behind, stammering: “Just going in like this? Miss, think again…”

But it was too late—Su Zixuan had already reached the entrance. The gatekeeper had received hundreds of visitors that day and had never seen such a handsome young gentleman. Just as he was stunned, Su Zixuan didn’t even look at him and walked straight into the mansion. The gatekeeper came to his senses wanting to call out, but swallowed his saliva and didn’t dare.

A stage had been set up in the main hall specifically for the wedding celebration, with “harmony plays” that had been running for three days straight. The great actor Yu Sansheng of the three leading performers was performing “Fourth Son Visits His Mother,” and when his voice rang out, the whole hall erupted in applause. Amid the commotion, Su Zixuan passed through the second hall and entered the quiet, empty eastern flower hall, beckoning to a blue-clad maid standing in the corridor.

“Go fetch your master. Tell him an old friend who once burned incense together at Tanzhe Temple has come to see him.”

Soon, urgent footsteps echoed in the outer corridor, and someone sternly ordered the servants: “Everyone withdraw. Without my word, no one enters the second hall.”

Su Zixuan listened, a smile flashing across her lips, but it vanished instantly.

“Princess Zixuan…” The newcomer froze upon entering, staring at Su Zixuan as she slowly rose. In a daze, he took several steps forward, arms spread as if to embrace her.

Su Zixuan didn’t move, only fixing her bright eyes coldly on him, watching as his body stiffened and he stood frozen in the center of the room.

“Commander Yi, congratulations! You’ve gained Prince Chun’s favor, promoted from a tomb guardian to Imperial Guard commander, and married the only daughter of Minister of Justice Ruichang. Truly double happiness—how joyous and worthy of celebration!” Su Zixuan’s words carried not a trace of congratulation; her voice was as cold as winter wind blowing through a doorway.

If any of the guests outside had entered this room at that moment, they would have wondered how Yi Sang’a—such a capable, intelligent young general skilled in both civil and military arts—could seem to have shrunk by half, unable even to stand steady.

“I didn’t know you were still alive. I thought you had long since departed this world,” Yi Sang’a muttered, looking up at Su Zixuan as if begging her forgiveness.

Su Zixuan smiled sarcastically: “So you married another, abandoning me, your unbetrothed wife.”

“I’ve never forgotten you for a single day. You appear in my dreams every night—even now I wonder if I’m dreaming,” Yi Sang’a protested.

“So you’re happy to see me?” Su Zixuan’s smile grew more sarcastic. “Well then, now that I’ve returned, you can be free of lovesickness. Since the wedding hall is ready, why not today rather than choosing another day? I’m willing to humble myself—go tell the people outside that Princess Zixuan has returned and is willing to marry you today as a concubine.”

“I… this…” Yi Sang’a’s body began trembling uncontrollably.

“Let me guess—you’ve probably kept this secret all along, not daring to mention you had a fiancée,” Su Zixuan paced before Yi Sang’a with her hands behind her back, not looking at him, her tone emotionless as if discussing someone else’s affairs.

“I find it strange. Originally you were just an orphaned bodyguard. If not for Father’s appreciation and promotion, would you have your current position? You’d probably still be a blade-hand in the wrestling camp! He treated you so generously back then, even betrothing his beloved daughter to you. Such great kindness, yet you forgot it in the blink of an eye.”

“I didn’t forget…”

“Didn’t forget? That day in Rehe, Prince Chun personally led people to arrest my father. In the capital, Ruichang personally tried and sentenced him to death. These are mortal enemies, yet you first took refuge with one then courted the other. And you say you didn’t forget!” Su Zixuan’s eyes shot out two cold rays, directly confronting Yi Sang’a’s face twisted in pain beyond human recognition.

“Everyone knew I was your father’s confidant, so when your father fell from grace, I was demoted to guard tombs. Do you know what it’s like spending every day in that square mausoleum? It’s a living coffin! If I didn’t find another way out, I’d waste my entire life in that ghostly place, waiting to die of old age there!” Yi Sang’a shouted hoarsely, “When the nest is overturned, no egg remains whole. I truly didn’t think you were still alive—otherwise, otherwise…”

Su Zixuan looked at him quietly. For a moment her eyes showed a trace of tenderness, but it flashed and disappeared, replaced by cold indifference.

“Commander Yi, I said I came to offer congratulations today—you haven’t seen my congratulatory gift yet.” She signaled to Sixi with her eyes.

Sixi brought over the book box she carried, placed it before Yi Sang’a, and lifted the lid.

Whatever was inside, Yi Sang’a recoiled as if seeing a poisonous snake, his body jerking backward, nearly tumbling to the ground in his haste.

“How did this end up in your hands?” Yi Sang’a asked in disbelief.

“This past year, whenever you thought of this thing, you probably couldn’t eat or sleep well,” Su Zixuan smiled faintly. “No wonder—originally you helped my father obtain this thing. If investigated, your entire family would face execution, even that delicate new bride would have to die alongside you.”

Large drops of sweat fell from Yi Sang’a’s head. This man who dared fight tigers and bears was nearly collapsing. He bowed his head silently, but suddenly a murderous glint flashed in his eyes.

“You can tear apart lions and tigers with your bare hands—killing a weak woman would certainly be nothing,” Su Zixuan seemed to see into his heart, suddenly changing her tone. “I’ll give you a chance. Kill me now, take back this thing, and no one will ever know your secret. You can peacefully serve as Prince Chun’s confidant and Minister Rui’s son-in-law.”

Yi Sang’a swallowed, clearly struggling intensely within, but finally shook his head in pain.

Sixi had been holding her breath and finally let out a long sigh, closing the box lid and stepping aside, slightly closing her eyes while reciting Amitabha in her heart.

“Think carefully—don’t regret it after I leave this mansion.”

Yi Sang’a slumped into a chair, burying his face in his hands, saying indistinctly: “Go away. Don’t return to the capital. Go somewhere no one can find you.” When he raised his head again, Su Zixuan and her servant had already left, leaving only a faint, cold laugh.

“Ridiculous—he still thinks I’m in the capital just to wait for this moment to reproach him.”

Sixi followed behind, sticking out her tongue as she walked: “Miss, you’re so bold. Weren’t you afraid he’d betray us or strike viciously?”

“Betray us? He wouldn’t dare—that would be mutual destruction. He just gained great prospects and is a smart man who wouldn’t do such foolish things. As for killing me, he probably considered it. He didn’t act partly from old sentiment, and partly because he can’t be sure whether what’s in that box is real or fake, so he doesn’t dare go to extremes.”

Su Zixuan smiled coldly: “He’s now in the Imperial Guard—not like his previous idle position. There will definitely be occasions to use him in the future. This time was just a greeting. Next time won’t be so simple.”

Sixi nodded admiringly, suddenly realizing that not only Yi Sang’a, but even she herself carried this box daily without knowing whether its contents were real or fake.

Time flew by—autumn departed and winter arrived. Huizhou experienced an unprecedented heavy snowfall. Every household came out to view the snow scenery, children busied themselves with snowball fights—the village hadn’t been this lively in a long time.

Gu Pingyuan wasn’t in such a festive mood. Old Master Min wanted to collect snow water for brewing tea next year, and he was helping by moving water storage jars.

While busy, he caught sight of his younger brother standing outside the door, secretly beckoning to him. Gu Pingyuan straightened his clothes and came out, asking: “With such heavy snow making mountain roads difficult, how did you come back?”

Gu Pingwen held an account book in his hands, his lips moving several times before he could finally speak: “Today is the first of the month. The shop worked through the night to finish last month’s accounts. Big brother, please take a look.”

Hearing about working through the night on accounts, Gu Pingyuan knew something had gone wrong. For a small general store where the shopkeeper was also the second owner, with no one pressuring them to check accounts, why work through the night?

He reached for the account book and was shocked upon opening it.

“The shop’s profit last month was so little?”

“Yes, even less than the opening month,” Gu Pingwen said honestly.

“Business has been steadily growing these past months. Why would it suddenly drop so drastically? Did you raise the prices?”

“No, everything stayed the same. Following big brother’s instructions, even when some goods became scarce, we didn’t raise prices to keep regular customers. So although winter brought less business on the Xin’an River waterway, our trade with local merchants and peddlers has always been thriving, without affecting income.”

“Then did the shop assistants get arrogant when business was good and offend customers?”

Gu Pingwen shook his head repeatedly: “No, no. I watch from the counter all day—the assistants and I all greet customers with smiles and have never offended anyone.”

“This is strange…” Gu Pingyuan couldn’t fathom the mystery.

“Yes, I’m puzzled too. Especially the pack-carrying peddlers who used to come to the shop for goods have all disappeared. At this rate, our inventory will just pile up.”

Gu Pingyuan consoled him: “Don’t worry. Perhaps there’s some change we don’t know about yet. Go back and investigate more carefully.”

Gu Pingwen nodded and took out a paper from his chest.

“Big brother said we opened this general store to gather business intelligence, so I’ve always told the shop assistants this. When they went to Anqing City’s ‘Four Beauties Sauce Garden’ for supplies, they saw this notice posted on the commercial street. Big brother, take a look.”

“Ten Thousand Teas Conference?” Gu Pingyuan had been paying attention to the tea business for half a year but had never heard this novel term. He studied the notice in his hand with puzzled frows.

“I knew big brother would ask, so I specifically went to the county guild hall to gather information. Coincidentally, this announcement had also reached the county. I heard that this time, capital merchants persuaded the government to host an unprecedented tea-tasting conference to select the ‘Ten Greatest Teas Under Heaven.’ Most remarkably, they’re inviting a prince to serve as judge.”

Gu Pingyuan’s eyes widened as he listened. As soon as his brother finished speaking, he grabbed Gu Pingwen’s wrist.

“I was just worrying about how to make Lan Xue tea famous—this is truly Heaven’s help!”

“Big brother wants to compete for a ranking?”

Gu Pingyuan laughed: “Second brother, how could you think that? How many famous teas exist under Heaven? Each has been passed down for hundreds of years to achieve current renown. Though our family’s tea is good, it lacks foundation. Wanting to compete for the ‘Ten Greatest Teas’ title would be pure fantasy. Moreover, since capital merchants are orchestrating this, the rankings are probably already in their control. I want to use this great tea conference to let tea merchants from all over taste our tea and thereby open sales channels.”

He examined the notice again, reading word by word carefully. The brighter his eyes became as he read, and after finishing, he looked up thoughtfully and let out a long breath.

The government notice was clear: next spring, after the spring tea harvest, a Ten Thousand Teas Conference would be held in the capital. All participating teas required payment to qualify for “Ten Greatest Teas” selection.

“Pingwen, it’s nearly year-end now, not far from the Ten Thousand Teas Conference. We must prepare early.”

Thinking about paying to participate in the conference—though the amount wasn’t specified, it surely wouldn’t be small—Gu Pingyuan couldn’t help feeling troubled.

He held five thousand catties of tea permits but had received them when autumn tea was already sold out, leaving him with no tea to trade this season. Tea permits couldn’t be held for free—even without trading tea, holding permits required paying base tea taxes in spring and autumn. So next year would begin with substantial tea taxes, plus money he provided to Qiao Henian for managing officials on the waterway. Gu Pingyuan’s finances were already stretched thin.

The Gu family tea garden wasn’t large—one harvest yielded only a few hundred catties. He desperately wanted to raise money to buy all the tea slopes around their garden, so “Lan Xue tea” could produce thousands of catties next year to achieve proper scale. Once he opened sales channels in the capital and received orders, he’d need to ship out large loads of tea immediately.

“It seems buying land must be postponed—that expense is too great for us now. But we can’t sell autumn tea. Combined with next year’s spring tea, we can probably accumulate two thousand catties. After reaching the capital, if our tea receives good reviews and major merchants place orders, distributed carefully it should suffice. However, the participation fee can’t be saved or avoided. Additionally, we need to hire people, pay tea taxes, and cover transport costs to the capital. The waterway subsidies can’t be half-hearted either. ‘Poor at home, rich on the road’—we can’t arrive in the capital empty-handed. Calculating everything, we’ll need at least twenty thousand taels to accomplish this.”

“Twenty thousand taels?!” Gu Pingwen gasped: “The general store barely makes profit now, autumn tea can’t be sold—where would our family get such money?”

“You’re right, so I must go to the prefectural tea industry guild to find a solution. They offer low-interest loans, more economical than borrowing from money houses.”

Hearing “guild hall,” Gu Pingwen suddenly said: “I heard there’s an unwritten rule this time. To prevent too many inferior tea varieties from participating, the Ministry of Revenue requires all conference participants to obtain a recommendation letter from their local guild hall—only with this letter can they qualify to participate.”

“Then I must visit the guild hall even more.”

Gu Pingyuan felt that with “Lan Xue tea’s” quality, obtaining a recommendation letter from the guild hall should be effortless, but he was completely wrong. Arriving at the tea industry guild within the Huizhou merchant hall, when he mentioned getting a recommendation letter plus borrowing money, the receiving clerk was quite polite, taking out paper and brush to ask whether he wanted shop guarantee or goods guarantee. Gu Pingyuan thought briefly: “I have a tea garden—can that serve as goods guarantee? If not, Secretary Hao from Shezhou County office knows me well and could serve as intermediary.”

“Having a tea garden works. Did you bring the land deed?” the clerk asked.

“Here it is.”

“Whose name goes as borrower—yours?”

“Yes, write Gu Pingyuan of Gu Family Village, Qiankou Town.”

Hearing this, the clerk set down his brush, looked him over carefully, and said: “So you’re that Gu Pingyuan who exposed the fake tea?”

“That’s correct.”

“Hmph, you’re quite capable! How is it you also need money? Now you’re begging for recommendation letters too!” The clerk’s attitude changed, speaking sarcastically.

Hearing his unfriendly tone, Gu Pingyuan’s heart sank, but he spoke carefully: “The guild must have heard about the Ten Thousand Teas Conference. This is a grand event for us tea merchants, and I’d like to go to the capital to broaden my horizons, so I’ve come for a recommendation letter and to borrow some money for the trip.” He placed the small package he was carrying on the table. “This is ‘Lan Xue tea’ newly made by our Gu family tea garden. Please everyone taste it.”

Though he spoke earnestly, the clerk only listened with cold laughter, not even glancing at the Lan Xue tea. After hearing him out, he snorted: “Saying you’re capable, you really want to soar to the heavens! Now you want to take your business to the capital too—impressive, impressive!”

Hearing him mock him sentence by sentence, Gu Pingyuan couldn’t help feeling angry, but since he was here asking for help, he had to suppress his anger and forced a smile: “I wouldn’t dare. It’s a small business—my own strength isn’t sufficient, so I hope my fellow merchants will help.”

“We can’t help you with this!” the clerk flatly refused.

“Why? You haven’t even tasted this tea—what right do you have to refuse the recommendation letter? And as for borrowing money, I have an intermediary and goods guarantee—others can borrow, so why can’t I?” Gu Pingyuan raised his voice in anger.

“That’s right—anyone else is fine, just not you!” With these words came a tall, yellow-faced man in his fifties, playing with two copper balls in his hands.

“Chief Executive!” People on both sides stood up respectfully.

Seeing the guild’s chief executive had arrived, Gu Pingyuan didn’t dare be careless and calmly cupped his hands in greeting.

“Are you Chief Executive Hu?” Before coming, Gu Pingyuan had inquired about the guild’s situation.

“You have some perception.” Chief Executive Hu nodded casually without returning the greeting, looking Gu Pingyuan up and down.

“May I ask, Chief Executive, why others can borrow money but I cannot?” Gu Pingyuan asked seriously.

“There aren’t so many whys—no lending means no lending. I’ll also tell you, not only won’t I lend here, but once you leave this door, not a single money house in all of Huizhou will lend you money. Even if you go to pawn shops, no one will take your things. I put this word out a month ago—whoever dares do business with you needn’t mix in Huizhou’s markets anymore!” Chief Executive Hu declared decisively.

Gu Pingyuan finally understood why the general store’s business had become so poor. When things came to a head, he actually calmed down, smiling disdainfully: “I understand now—you’re just standing up for Master Hou. I heard he’s related to you, used to call each other brothers. But I thought anyone who could head the Huizhou merchant guild would be someone chosen by peers to handle affairs fairly. I was wrong! Farewell.” He turned to leave.

“Stop!” Chief Executive Hu shouted. Gu Pingyuan stopped but didn’t turn around. Chief Executive Hu walked in front of him, squinting: “What did you say—I’m standing up for that scoundrel Master Hou? Hmph, as if he deserves it! He ruined the reputation of us Huizhou merchants. If I were as hot-tempered as in my youth, I’d break his dog legs!”

These words completely surprised Gu Pingyuan. So Chief Executive Hu wasn’t standing up for Master Hou—then why was he making things difficult for no reason?

“Seems you really don’t understand. Very well, I’ll tell you so you’ll be convinced!” Chief Executive Hu began explaining at length.

After he finished, Gu Pingyuan stood dumbfounded, speechless after hearing it all. Thinking it over, he found no room for argument and could only cup his hands and leave the guild.

Standing outside the guild, watching the bustling street, Gu Pingyuan felt completely lost. Not getting the loan could be solved another way, but without the recommendation letter, he had no qualification to participate in the “Ten Thousand Teas Conference.” He hadn’t expected to be stuck at the very first step.

He was thinking about the recommendation letter when two people passing nearby were also discussing it.

“Brother Liu, others are all going to the guild for recommendation letters. Your Houkui is excellent tea, absolutely qualified for the capital’s grand event. Why don’t you get a recommendation letter?”

The respondent’s voice couldn’t hide his smugness: “Since you know my Houkui is good tea, do I need to go begging for recommendation letters like them? I’ll tell you—Old Master Hu loves drinking our family’s Houkui. When I delivered tea that day, I asked casually, and the old gentleman wrote a recommendation letter on the spot.”

“Really?” The other person listened with envious admiration.

“Hey, what are you doing?” The one boasting about his tea suddenly found his sleeve grabbed.

Gu Pingyuan cupped his hands in a bow: “Brother, may I ask who this Old Master Hu you mentioned is?”

“Old Master Hu Tailai! The foremost among Huizhou’s great tea merchants—his Tailai Tea House supplies tribute tea to the Imperial Household Department. Haven’t you heard of him?”

“Oh, so it’s Tailai Tea House. I have heard of it.” So the Old Master Hu these two were discussing was the big boss of Tailai Tea House. Tailai Tea House was a top business in Huizhou’s tea industry—Gu Pingyuan had long heard of its reputation.

“Doesn’t it say only the guild can issue recommendation letters? How can this Old Master Hu also give you one?” This was what Gu Pingyuan really cared about.

“You don’t know—Tailai Tea House has done business with the capital for years, with its reputation spread throughout the Imperial Household Department and Ministry of Revenue. His recommendation letter works better than the guild’s.”

From the prefectural city to the Hu family in Tunxi was only four hours’ journey. Gu Pingyuan arrived before dawn but circled outside the Hu family’s Tianshou Garden for an entire day.

He had made extensive inquiries in the prefectural city, hearing countless strange tales and anecdotes about this Old Master Hu. In his youth, he’d traveled south to Guangzhou, north to Kyakhta, west to the Tibetan border—there was nowhere he hadn’t gone to trade tea. There were even rumors he’d been to Japan and met their emperor.

“Such a person—what hasn’t he seen? If I, a young nobody, presumptuously seek an audience, how could he pay me any attention?” Gu Pingyuan thought it over. As for bringing a meeting gift, though he had two hundred taels in bank notes—which seemed like a lot—how could it catch the eye of this fabulously wealthy tea house owner?

“That’s not how to spend money—use it where it counts.” Gu Pingyuan made up his mind. He went to a tea stall outside the Hu mansion—one copper coin for a large bowl of tea dregs, plus two sesame cakes, eating and drinking while chatting idly with the stall owner.

After half an hour, Gu Pingyuan stood up and took out some loose silver from his chest, about six or seven taels, placing it on the tea table.

“Oh my.” The stall owner grimaced in embarrassment. “Sir, I’m terribly sorry—small business, I can’t make change for this.”

“No need for change—it’s all yours,” Gu Pingyuan said, pushing the silver forward.

“This much?” The stall owner’s eyes widened.

Gu Pingyuan nodded: “That servant boy you mentioned who specially serves Old Master Hu—can you arrange for me to meet him? If successful, I’ll reward you handsomely again.”

“That’s not difficult.” He was just a servant who often came for tea—the stall owner naturally knew him. “But sir, what do you want with this servant boy?”

“I want to help him make some money.” Though he said this, a servant’s monthly allowance was only five taels. With this one gesture, Gu Pingyuan was giving him three years’ wages. Though Old Master Hu might not value this money, for his servant, it was an enormous sum.

“Four taels moving a thousand catties—whether this succeeds depends on whether ‘Lan Xue tea’ has this luck.” Having spent the money, Gu Pingyuan let out a long breath.

After returning home, Gu Pingyuan kept thinking about what happened at the guild, sitting in his room sighing from time to time. After three days of this, his sister Gu Yuting found it very strange. In her memory, big brother always faced difficulties head-on, using the time for sighing to take action instead. What was wrong these past few days?

Worried, she had someone call second brother back, pulled him aside first, and asked: “Big brother sits in his room looking dejected. Do you know what’s wrong?”

“How would I know? He went to the prefectural city to borrow money—probably didn’t get it.”

“Nonsense! We know Secretary Hao from the county office—how could we not borrow money?”

“You don’t understand—official matters and business are different. With big brother’s temperament, would he use official influence to pressure people?”

The phrase “you don’t understand” was a mistake. If these words came from Gu Pingyuan’s mouth, Gu Yuting would accept them, but coming from second brother, she had to argue: “In my opinion, you haven’t managed the business well, making big brother worry. Look—first you ran off to sell braids and got caught by the Taipings, then the general store can’t earn a single copper. When money is urgently needed, how can big brother not worry?”

“I… I…” Gu Pingwen’s face flushed red. He wanted to argue back but was poor with words and couldn’t speak. After holding it in for a long time, he finally burst out: “Let’s ask big brother!”

“Fine, let’s go! I’m not afraid of you!”

The siblings went together to their elder brother’s room, just in time to hear Gu Pingyuan sigh again. They exchanged glances, not daring to be too bold. The younger sister poured Gu Pingyuan a cup of tea and asked with concern: “Big brother, you’ve seemed unhappy these past couple days. Tell us about it—we can all think of solutions together.”

Gu Pingyuan opened his mouth as if to speak, but finally just sighed again, lowering his head in silence.

“Oh, this is killing me with worry!” Gu Yuting wasn’t as mild-tempered as second brother and anxiously clapped her hands.

“Excuse me, is this the home of Boss Gu Pingyuan?” Just then, a voice called from outside. The three siblings looked at each other, none knowing who it was. Gu Pingyuan quickly got up and went out to greet the visitor.

Outside was a handsome servant in blue robes, holding a calling card. Seeing Gu Pingyuan come out, he bowed and presented the card.

Taking the calling card, Gu Pingyuan felt its weight. Looking closely, it was sheepskin paper with gold silk edges, emanating fragrance—just the card itself was extraordinary. Opening it, he saw walnut-sized characters: “Huizhou Tunxi Hu Tailai pays his respects.”

Gu Pingwen’s eyes widened beside him. The famous Old Master Hu coming to visit their home was truly unimaginable. Looking at his elder brother, Gu Pingyuan appeared very composed but didn’t dare neglect the visitor. Seeing an exquisitely crafted warm sedan chair outside and knowing Old Master Hu must be inside, he hurried down the steps and respectfully bowed deeply: “This junior didn’t know Old Master Hu was personally visiting and failed to welcome you properly. Please forgive me!”

The attendant lifted the sedan curtain, and before anyone emerged, a long pipe stem appeared first. Most people’s pipe stems were at most a foot and a half long, but this Old Master Hu’s was over three feet, with a jade mouthpiece, brass bowl, and three delicate gold rings—probably from long use, the ebony stem showed many nicks and scratches.

“Ah, I’m suffocating! Haven’t traveled this far in ages.” The speaker had a mixed accent from north and south. Emerging from the sedan, he first stretched his back—a short man carrying a long pipe stem, looking quite comical.

Among the Gu family siblings who came out, Gu Pingwen was steady and polite, but Gu Yuting curiously watched this old gentleman. Seeing his beard and eyebrows all white but his eyes constantly darting about, carrying the long pipe stem like a village entertainer with performing monkeys, she couldn’t help laughing.

Gu Pingyuan frowned and was about to scold when Old Master Hu spoke first. Having seen too many people laugh at his height in his lifetime, he immediately knew what Gu Yuting was laughing about when she smiled, reacting with lightning speed, pointing his pipe bowl at her: “You girl are laughing at me being short, aren’t you? Hmph, do you know what I’d do if someone laughed at me like this when I was young?”

Gu Yuting smiled without speaking.

“I’ll tell you—I’d immediately stack gold bricks under my feet, piling them three feet higher than him, then look down and give him a good scolding!” Old Master Hu glared as he spoke.

Gu Yuting wasn’t afraid and secretly stuck out her tongue. Gu Pingyuan quickly said: “It’s cold outside. Please come inside, Old Master Hu.”

Old Master Hu nodded: “Brother, I came this time…”

Gu Pingyuan was startled and quickly interrupted: “Old Master, this junior cannot accept such a title from you—absolutely cannot.”

“Very well.” Old Master Hu thought for a moment. “We’re all from Huizhou—I’ll call you nephew.”

Gu Pingyuan respectfully complied, cupping his hands: “Yes, Uncle, please come inside. We can talk more in the house.”

“Good, good, good—how can I not enter after coming here?” Old Master Hu walked in with his hands behind his back, looking around.

Gu’s mother hadn’t been receiving outside guests since her eldest son returned, but fortunately all three siblings were home to divide the hosting duties. Gu Pingwen led the Hu family’s attendants and sedan bearers to the side room, Gu Yuting boiled water and brewed tea, while Gu Pingyuan accompanied the main guest in conversation in the hall.

This Old Master Hu was clearly impatient. As soon as he sat down, he pointed at Gu Pingyuan: “I heard you hit a snag borrowing money at the guild?”

Gu Pingyuan was stunned—he hadn’t expected the news to spread so quickly.

“I also know you want to try your luck at the capital’s Ten Thousand Teas Conference, to open sales channels for your family’s tea, right?”

There was no need to hide any of this, so Gu Pingyuan nodded. Gu Yuting brought the brewed tea, and Old Master Hu took a sniff, immediately calling out: “Wrong, wrong! Who wants to drink Maofeng? Bring good tea!”

When he said “good,” Old Master Hu deliberately emphasized the word, turning his head to wink at Gu Pingyuan: “Nephew, surely you’re not being stingy with good tea?”

Hearing this, Gu Pingyuan’s expression immediately became somewhat strange, but he hesitated without speaking, puzzling Gu Pingwen and Gu Yuting greatly.

“Old Master Hu, you mean…” Gu Pingwen tentatively asked.

“Bah, straight shooters don’t put sand in their eyes! Your elder brother is hiding good tea and won’t bring it out for guests—hardly friendly.” Old Master Hu pointed at Gu Pingyuan. “You young man are quite scheming—spending just two hundred taels to lure me all the way from Tunxi to Gu Family Village…”

Before he could finish, Gu Pingyuan quickly stood up, went before Old Master Hu, and bowed deeply: “This youngster acted rashly and truly offended you, sir. Please punish me severely. But please spare that servant boy.”

“He brought me good tea—why would I punish him?” Old Master Hu shook his head dismissively, then repeatedly tapped the table. “Hurry and brew tea—must I do it myself?”

“Yes, yes.” Gu Pingyuan quickly went to the back hall personally. Knowing success or failure hung on this moment, he put all his energy into brewing a pot of “Lan Xue” and brought it out. Old Master Hu grabbed the teapot, sniffed it, poured a cup, and tasted it carefully. The Gu family siblings all watched nervously.

“Mm, good, very good! Old Master Min truly hasn’t lost his touch—the tea he’s made is absolutely superb.” Old Master Hu half-closed his eyes and spoke leisurely.

Only then did Gu Pingyuan relax. Just as he was about to offer modest words, Old Master Hu suddenly changed topics: “Huizhou merchants have always stood together. Do you know why everyone listened to the guild this time and won’t do business with you?”

Gu Pingyuan was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: “This junior already knows.”

“Good. You’ve caused quite a disaster this time—young people, acting without thinking of consequences!”

Hearing Old Master Hu’s reproach, Gu Pingyuan lowered his head even more.

Both Gu Pingwen and Gu Yuting were in the main hall, completely confused by what they heard. Gu Yuting couldn’t help asking: “Old gentleman, what disaster did my big brother cause? How do I not know?”

“Naturally it’s exposing Master Hou’s fake tea.”

“Ah!” Even Gu Pingwen felt indignant hearing this, rarely speaking up actively: “I may not know about other things, but big brother absolutely did nothing wrong in this matter!”

“Second brother is right!” Gu Yuting also rarely agreed with Gu Pingwen.

Gu Pingyuan interrupted them: “Stop talking. I truly did wrong in this matter. I forgot the principle of ‘fearing to hurt the innocent when throwing at rats.’ In punishing Master Hou, I implicated many tea merchants—I’ve wronged everyone!”

It turned out that while Master Hou’s downfall was gratifying, Huizhou tea merchants soon discovered that Tibetan buyers who used to purchase in large quantities no longer came. Upon inquiry, they learned that Tibetan merchants believed that if Huizhou merchants could make fake tea once, they could do it a second and third time. Unable to guard against this, they preferred to buy tea from more distant places like Zhejiang. When Tibetans came to buy tea, they also purchased other local products—when they stopped coming, other merchants were greatly affected too.

“So just to appease Tibetan merchants, we should let Master Hou run wild?” Gu Pingwen felt stifled with suppressed anger.

Old Master Hu glanced at him: “Not necessarily. Since fake tea was discovered, there were ways to deal with him. But your brother specifically used a Tibetan to pretend to buy goods—sigh, all the Tibetan merchants learned about it at once.”

“Uncle’s family business must have been greatly affected too,” Gu Pingyuan said apologetically, thinking Old Master Hu had come specifically to demand an explanation.

“Me? I’ve been in business so long, my tea routes are very extensive—I don’t depend on just one path for profit. But those small tea merchants are different. They thought with Master Hou gone, they could do more border trade—instead they lost their original business. Tell me, how can they not hate you?”

Gu Pingyuan had no response and could only hang his head in shame.

“So you can’t borrow money—don’t blame others. It’s your own fault.”

“Yes, this junior doesn’t dare harbor resentment. It’s all because I acted carelessly and harmed everyone—I have nothing to say.”

“So are you still going to the capital’s Ten Thousand Teas Conference?”

“I won’t hide it from you—without borrowing money or getting a recommendation letter, going would be useless.”

Hearing him say this, Old Master Hu smiled slightly and nodded. His servant took out two bank notes from his chest and placed them on the table.

“Here’s twenty thousand taels total. For expenses on a trip to the capital, I think this should suffice.”

Gu Pingyuan had only wanted to obtain a recommendation letter from Old Master Hu by relying on Lan Xue’s tea fragrance and would have been satisfied with that—he never expected the man to deliver twenty thousand taels.

“What is this…”

“Don’t worry, I’m lending it to you, no interest. But there’s one condition,” Old Master Hu said casually.

“Please speak.”

“If you happen to gain some good fortune on this trip to the capital, don’t forget my ‘Tailai Tea House.'”

Gu Pingyuan was stunned: “Uncle, the capital is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. The Ten Thousand Teas Conference will gather merchant heroes from all corners—I’m just a greenhorn newcomer. How can I be sure of gaining any fortune? Otherwise, let me mortgage my tea garden to you.”

Old Master Hu smiled and stood up: “I don’t easily lend money to people in this lifetime, but once I lend it out, I never demand collateral. Consider it gambling—when the time comes, it’s a winner-take-all situation. If I draw the best tiles, I’ll win big. If I get the worst hand and lose everything, I’ll accept bad luck. Though it seems I’ve never drawn the worst hand in my life! Ha ha ha!”

He stood up and walked toward the door, then turned back to add: “Come to my Tianshou Garden another day to get the recommendation letter.”

The Gu family siblings saw Hu Tailai off and returned without speaking—actually, they had too much to say and didn’t know where to start. Even Gu’s mother came out from the back hall, staring silently at the bank notes.

Gu Pingyuan picked up the bank notes from the table, examining them repeatedly before saying: “These bank notes are quite hot to handle!”

“What’s to fear? He didn’t ask us to mortgage anything,” Gu Yuting said, puzzled.

“It’s precisely because there’s no mortgage that it’s difficult. Truly a great merchant with far-sighted vision! This is extending friendship to us—his high expectations for Lan Xue tea couldn’t be clearer. I’m really afraid of accomplishing nothing in the capital. Losing money would be a small matter, but disappointing Old Master Hu’s expectations—how could I face people when I return?”

Gu Pingyuan paused and continued: “Originally, going to the capital for the Ten Thousand Teas Conference was just our family’s business. Now with these bank notes, it’s as if Tailai Tea House has also joined in. He may say one thing, but we must be careful and prudent, making sure to use this money well.”

“Indeed.” Gu’s mother walked over and slowly picked up the two bank notes, as if these light pieces of paper weighed a thousand catties. “I’ll keep the bank notes for you. You’re always running around outside—be careful not to lose them.”

Unexpectedly receiving twenty thousand taels brought Gu Pingyuan both joy and worry. While the money for the capital trip was no longer a concern, the burden on his shoulders had invisibly grown much heavier. That night he barely slept, and just as he emerged from his room in the morning, his younger sister came to say their mother was calling for him.

“Mother!” Gu Pingyuan entered his mother’s room. “You wished to see me?”

Gu’s mother sat at the table. Hearing Gu Pingyuan’s question, she remained silent, staring straight at the table.

Though daylight had already broken, the oil lamp still burned. A clump of black paper ash lay beside the lamp—nothing else remained.

Gu Pingyuan’s heart lurched. “Mother…”

“Your grandfather died on a distant trading journey, as did your father. Now you too must travel far for commerce…” Gu’s mother looked up at Gu Pingyuan, her voice trembling through tear-filled eyes: “As a mother, I don’t ask for my son to become wealthy and noble—I’ll be content if you can just return safely.”

Gu Pingyuan listened numbly, watching as a breeze from the doorway gently lifted the paper ash, scattering it on the ground. Another gust sent the ashes floating—just like his heart at this moment, empty and unmoored.

“Child, Mother has wronged you!” Gu’s mother tried to stand, but having sat all night, she was unsteady on her feet. Gu Pingyuan quickly stepped forward to support her. In that moment, he suddenly noticed his mother showing signs of age, and his heart ached, nearly bringing him to tears.

“Big brother, I don’t mean to criticize Mother, but how could she just burn twenty thousand taels in bank notes? Even if we didn’t want them, we could have returned them!” Gu Yuting stamped her feet anxiously upon hearing of this.

“Don’t say anymore. Mother has her difficulties. It’s all because I’m unfilial, leaving her for so many years—no wonder she worries.” Though Gu Pingyuan felt terrible inside, he couldn’t show it in front of his siblings. He patted his younger brother, who was also hanging his head silently beside him. “Spread word along the Xin’an River waterway that Gu Family Tea Garden has tea for sale.”

“Our own autumn tea?”

“We still have to pay tea taxes. Since we haven’t established the Lan Xue name, we’ll have to treat it as ordinary Yellow Mountain tea.” Only then did Gu Pingyuan sigh once. “Ah, I’m truly sorry to Old Master Min.”

The Gu family tea was good and reasonably priced. Tea merchants from Zhejiang, hearing the news, flocked to the Gu home to buy tea.

This season’s yield from the Gu family tea garden wasn’t large, and it was all bought by a Zhejiang merchant surnamed Dong. Right there in the Gu family courtyard, they bagged and weighed the tea, calculating prices by weight. By mid-day, the Gu family’s autumn tea was nearly sold out.

Gu Pingwen led the assistants in bustling about the courtyard, but the usually industrious Gu Pingyuan didn’t lift a finger. From beginning to end, he leaned against a pillar under the eaves, staring straight at the tea leaves, occasionally showing a bitter smile.

Gu’s mother didn’t come out either, but she watched from behind the window. The busy younger son didn’t capture her attention—it was the motionless elder son who pierced her heart like needles.

“968 catties total. I’ll pay the price for premium Tunxi Green. How does that sound, Boss Gu?” Merchant Dong approached with a smile.

Gu Pingyuan felt miserable inside and couldn’t speak for a moment. He only nodded bitterly and was about to reach for the bank note Merchant Dong offered.

“Wait.” Gu’s mother suddenly stepped out from the doorway.

“This tea is not for sale,” Gu’s mother said, her eyes fixed only on Gu Pingyuan, her face full of heartache.

“Mother, why aren’t we selling?” The Gu siblings, who had been busy all morning, gathered around in surprise. Gu Pingyuan stared at the old lady in bewilderment.

Gu’s mother said nothing. She only opened the purse she’d been clutching, took out the twenty thousand taels in bank notes, pulled Gu Pingyuan’s hand over, and placed them in his palm.

Gu Pingyuan’s mouth hung half open. His heart was a jumble of emotions—he wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, feeling as if something was stuck in his throat, unable to say a word.

“Go,” Gu’s mother gently pushed him. “Go to Tunxi to find Old Master Hu.”

Gu Pingwen and Gu Yuting had been holding back for quite a while. Now with tears on their faces, they cheered and pushed their elder brother outside: “Go! Hurry up and go!”

After being pushed a few steps, Gu Pingyuan suddenly stopped, turned back to bow deeply to his mother, then turned and strode away. Only then did his tears flow uncontrollably.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” Old Master Hu said upon meeting, immediately handing Gu Pingyuan a recommendation letter.

“Family matters delayed me for a few days. I apologize for keeping you waiting, Uncle.” Gu Pingyuan respectfully accepted it.

“Small matter, small matter.” Old Master Hu waved his hand.

Gu Pingyuan surveyed this spacious grand hall. Sitting there with gentle breezes carrying flower fragrances, he could see Yellow Mountain’s Lotus Peak in the distance, while a clear stream flowed past an old pine in the courtyard, winding through and out of the garden.

“Uncle, this is truly a dwelling fit for immortals,” Gu Pingyuan praised.

“Just a place to age and await death—nothing special, except it’s quiet, letting me recall many things from my youth.” Old Master Hu stroked his beard and smiled, pointing upward. “For instance, that plaque.”

Gu Pingyuan looked up to see a plaque over a zhang long with large golden characters reading “Hall of Two Sincerities.”

“Do you know why it’s called the Hall of Two Sincerities?”

“This… I truly don’t know,” Gu Pingyuan answered honestly.

Old Master Hu seemed in good spirits, setting down his teacup: “My Hu family’s business originated from these ‘two sincerities.’ If you don’t mind an old man’s rambling, I’ll tell you about it.”

“I would be honored to hear the details.”

During the Jiaqing reign, there was a man named Shi Shaofu who became separated from his wife during the White Lotus rebellion. With no food or clothing, he was hired as an accountant by an inn owner who appreciated his literacy. His honesty and diligence won the owner’s favor, who eventually planned to marry his daughter to him. Once, Shi Shaofu found a bundle in the inn containing fifty taels of silver. People advised him to keep the money secretly since no one would know, but Shi Shaofu refused. When the owner came looking, he returned the silver without hesitation. The grateful owner explained he’d gathered fifty taels to buy a White Lotus rebel’s female relative from the army as a wife to continue his lineage.

Less than a day later, the man returned carrying a woman in a sack. Grateful for Shi Shaofu’s honesty, he planned to hold a wedding banquet right there. But when they opened the sack, the woman threw herself into Shi Shaofu’s arms crying—she was his lost wife!

Everyone was stunned. The honorable buyer immediately decided to return the woman to Shi Shaofu for their reunion. But having spent all his money, he faced lifelong bachelorhood. The inn owner, admiring the man’s righteousness, decided to marry his daughter (originally intended for Shi Shaofu) to this man instead.

“So the wedding banquet remained a wedding banquet—only the bride changed,” Old Master Hu smiled as he told this part. “Later, the inn owner gave the inn to his son-in-law, and because of this righteous story of returning a wife, the inn always prospered.”

Gu Pingyuan couldn’t help asking: “But what does this have to do with your family?”

“Heh heh, that man who bought a wife was my father, and the inn owner’s daughter was my mother. What do you think the connection is?”

“Oh…” Gu Pingyuan finally understood.

“I also had an elder sister who married far away in Guangdong. My father said running an inn had no future and sent me south to seek opportunities, so as the wife’s brother, I went too.”

Old Master Hu lived frugally and after several years opened a small shop at the docks dealing in foreign goods. Once, a foreigner bought goods on credit and asked him to collect payment on the ship before departure. When Old Master Hu arrived, the ship was already weighing anchor and blowing its whistle. The foreigner hurriedly gave him a roll of small foreign coins, telling him to leave quickly or he’d be carried abroad. So Old Master Hu hastily disembarked.

“When I got home and looked, that roll wasn’t small foreign coins at all—it was what they call ‘gold quarters,’ large notes worth a hundred times more! Nephew, guess what I thought then?” Old Master Hu winked at Gu Pingyuan.

“Naturally, you sought out that foreigner to return the excess money.”

“You guessed wrong! I was completely focused on keeping that money to expand my business.” Old Master Hu laughed heartily at Gu Pingyuan’s shocked expression.

“Then what happened?” Gu Pingyuan was genuinely curious.

“Somehow my elder sister found out. Hey, she took a bamboo switch and chased me around the house, cursing me for disgracing the Hu family name. She made me close the shop and wait at the docks every day. I waited a full three months until finally meeting that foreigner again and returning his money.”

The delighted foreigner praised the young man’s honesty and reliability, introducing him to much good business from elsewhere. This became the capital for Old Master Hu’s later tea business.

“Later I understood—treating people with sincerity, every coin earned is real gold and silver. But if you trade through deception, that money is like flowers in a mirror or moon in water—it seems to be in your hands but actually vanishes without a trace. From then on, every business deal I made was honest. To ensure my descendants remember this principle, I carved this ‘Hall of Two Sincerities’ plaque to commemorate these two stories.”

Neither was an earth-shaking event, yet they explained business principles so truly and thoroughly. Gu Pingyuan knew this Huizhou merchant elder was using these stories to enlighten him, showing his regard. Deeply moved, he nodded earnestly.

“Sigh, my brother-in-law died early, and my elder sister passed away a few years ago. Before dying, she entrusted her son to me to teach him business. But unexpectedly, this nephew is worthless—my sister was such a strong person, yet he’s completely disgraced her.” Old Master Hu suddenly sighed mournfully, shaking his head with a darkened expression.

“Your nephew is…” Gu Pingyuan asked in confusion.

“Scoundrel, get in here!” Old Master Hu called sternly.

“Uncle.” Someone entered from outside and stood with hands at his sides.

“You!” Gu Pingyuan was shocked and stood up angrily.

The person who entered was Master Hou!

“Nephew, I’m going to presume on my age today and shamelessly beg you for something.” Old Master Hu stood up and unexpectedly bowed deeply to Gu Pingyuan.

Gu Pingyuan quickly supported the old gentleman: “How can I accept this? You’ll be the death of me.”

“Sigh.” Old Master Hu sighed repeatedly. “This scoundrel nephew is heir to both the Hou and Hu family lines. I only have three daughters, no sons, and he’s also an only child, so he carries on both family names. When I die, this Tailai Tea House business will all be his. But now with such a reputation, he can no longer establish himself in commerce. Originally this was his own doing—no one else to blame. The world could do with one less such merchant, nothing remarkable about that. It’s just… just that my life’s work has no one to inherit…” At this point, Old Master Hu’s eyes reddened.

“As they say, whoever ties the bell must untie it. You personally exposed his fake tea. Unless you’re willing to do business with him, he’ll never recover in this lifetime.”

Supporting the old man, Gu Pingyuan also felt troubled. Business matters were one thing, but thinking of his teacher and Bai Yimei, Gu Pingyuan wanted to tear Master Hou to pieces. Yet he was the relative of this respected Huizhou merchant elder. “Hai!” Gu Pingyuan’s mind was in turmoil. “Uncle, you called me here today for his sake.”

“No, no, no.” Old Master Hu waved his hands repeatedly. “Nephew, don’t misunderstand. Business is business, personal feelings are personal feelings—these are separate matters. Even if you refuse, I won’t take back the recommendation letter I gave you, and those twenty thousand taels remain in your hands without regret.”

“You mean that?”

“Absolutely true. I, Hu Tailai, have done business all my life without telling lies.”

“Good!” Gu Pingyuan didn’t even glance at Master Hou. “Then I thank you, Uncle.” He turned and strode out without looking back.

“Uncle…” Master Hou called out softly, his voice timid.

“If he won’t forgive you, what use is calling me?” Old Master Hu stroked his beard, gazing at the green mountains beyond the wall and sighing deeply. “You think having money means you can do business? Hmph! Without credibility, no one dares associate with you. Without associations, where’s the business? I’ve told you this countless times—when have you ever taken it to heart?”

He was shaking his head and sighing when Gu Pingyuan, who had already left, suddenly returned. Under the puzzled gazes of Old Master Hu and Master Hou, he stood beneath the “Hall of Two Sincerities” plaque, pointing at it and speaking word by word to Master Hou: “The word ‘sincerity’ weighs more than a thousand gold pieces, more than Mount Tai. Do you understand?”

“I…” Master Hou started to speak when Gu Pingyuan’s fist struck like lightning, hitting him squarely in the face. Caught off guard, Master Hou cried out and fell backward.

Gu Pingyuan glared fiercely at Master Hou’s shocked and frightened face. After a long moment, he closed his eyes, took a rough breath, then extended a hand to pull Master Hou up.

With money in hand, several more bamboo sheds for roasting and drying tea were built around the Gu family tea garden. Large woks for killing green were set up early to quickly process the harvested tea leaves.

The Qingming Festival arrived in the blink of an eye—the critical time for spring tea harvest. The Gu brothers all lived in the tea sheds, picking and processing, finally rushing out this crop of spring tea.

With Old Master Min overseeing, Gu Pingyuan didn’t need to worry about tea quality, but his younger brother Gu Pingwen was puzzled by his elder brother’s rushed tea production.

“Everyone harvests spring tea. Compared to tea merchants from Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, our journey to Beijing isn’t far—why the rush?”

“The capital isn’t like prefectural or provincial cities—the waters run very deep there. I want to arrive early to probe this Ten Thousand Teas Conference and prepare accordingly.” Gu Pingyuan always planned before acting and naturally wouldn’t take such a major matter lightly.

“Hey, isn’t that Master Hou’s carriage?” Liu Heita, working nearby, straightened his back and saw a carriage coming along the mountain road.

Gu Pingyuan frowned. After Master Hou lost his business, he became Tailai Tea House’s manager. Gu Pingyuan had sent a congratulatory plaque for this, personally offering congratulations on opening day and doing the first business deal with Master Hou. Though the business was small, it announced to all Huizhou that the Gu-Hou feud was resolved and they were now friends. Moreover, Gu Pingyuan trusted the Hou surname and was willing to do business with him. For Master Hou, this was undoubtedly a life-saving transaction, but for Gu Pingyuan, the taste was indescribable. People pointed and whispered at the time, with more criticism behind his back about “if you knew this day would come, why act that way in the first place.”

“Brother Gu.” Master Hou seemed to have forgotten past events, approaching with a spring-like demeanor. Gu Pingwen immediately showed disgust upon seeing him, while Liu Heita spat on the ground.

“Master Hou, how have you been?” Gu Pingyuan’s expression remained unchanged as he cupped his hands.

Master Hou came today on orders from his uncle, Old Master Hu, to invite Gu Pingyuan to travel to the capital together. Transporting thousands of catties of tea to the capital would cost considerable money for travel expenses. Old Master Hu’s kind intention was to save the Gu family some silver. Gu Pingyuan appreciated the gesture but really didn’t want to travel such a long distance with Master Hou, so he found an excuse to politely decline.

Just then, Gu Pingyuan’s eyes lit up as he called out: “Brother Hao, how did you get here?”

Seeing Secretary Hao, Master Hou couldn’t help recalling being escorted to the courthouse for trial that day. He smiled awkwardly, and seeing Gu Pingyuan had no intention of keeping him as a guest, he took the opportunity to leave.

“Brother.” Secretary Hao was nearsighted and only saw the large packages of tea when he came close. “How much tea are you planning to take to the capital?”

“About two thousand catties—taking it all!”

“All of it? What if you can’t sell it in the capital? Wouldn’t that waste the travel money?”

Gu Pingyuan explained: “I’ve thought about it. In terms of tea fragrance, Lan Xue tea is no inferior to any famous tea under heaven. As long as we can open up the market, two thousand catties might not be enough to sell. If no one recognizes this new tea, then piling it uselessly in the home tea garden serves no purpose either.”

“You want to take a gamble. Good—I’ll accompany you!”

Once Secretary Hao spoke, Gu Pingyuan thought he’d misheard.

“Brother Hao, you’re a secretary whom Magistrate Qiao relies heavily upon. How do you have time to accompany me to the capital for business? You must be joking.”

Secretary Hao waved his hand.

“Not so, not so. I have official business in the capital.”

It turned out that two of Huizhou’s six counties had delivered their grain tribute late last year, missing even the group delivery deadline. Only the prefectural office could handle this by reporting to the provincial governor and processing a “delayed delivery with surcharge.” However, tribute rice was imperial tax that couldn’t be delayed long. Come spring, they had to hire boats along the Grand Canal to deliver directly to Tongzhou near the capital.

This assignment offered no profit and required facing the warehouse minister’s displeasure in Tongzhou. Despite endless flattery, the task might not be completed satisfactorily, so everyone avoided this duty.

“Shezhou County is one of these two counties. Magistrate Qiao knows I’ve served twice as grain transport commissioner and have dealt with Tongzhou clerks, so I have some connections. He values me highly, so I couldn’t refuse this favor. Thinking you’re also going to the capital, I might as well travel together and reluctantly agreed. Magistrate Qiao also instructed that compared to tribute rice, your tea is nothing—just bring it directly onto the grain boats. If you don’t mention it and I don’t mention it, no one will know, saving you money too.”

“I truly must thank Magistrate Qiao and Brother Hao for this.” Gu Pingyuan was naturally overjoyed. Saving money was secondary—having Secretary Hao’s connections in the capital would make gathering information about the Ten Thousand Teas Conference much more convenient.

“But you’ll have to wait for me—loading the tribute rice will take at least five days.”

On the appointed day, Gu Pingyuan instructed his siblings to care for their mother and mind the family business. After tearful farewells with his mother, he departed with Liu Heita, meeting Secretary Hao at the Xin’an River dock. They transferred through Hangzhou, entered the Grand Canal waterway, and the fleet headed straight for the capital.