Chapter 385 - 354: Testing
The tea house was not large, with a thatched roof and bamboo mats as windows, barely shielding from wind and rain. Seven or eight long tables were placed in the middle, seating more than forty people.
Under the stove, the attendant was focused on burning fire and brewing tea. Beside the counter, the shopkeeper put copper coins into a drawer, picked up a heavy teapot, and with a smiling face served tea and water to the guests, apologizing for the drafty and rainy tea house and its coarse old tea.
A handsome young man in white waved the shopkeeper away, sniffed the warm, slightly acidic old tea, and showed a difficult expression, several times raising the tea bowl but then putting it down again.
He had a treasure sword on his right side and a sachet on his left, wore a white jade belt, and beside him sat a pure and lovely young maiden. Behind him stood a middle-aged man with closed eyes, breathing deeply, clearly a master.
Definitely the setup for a wealthy young master traveling.
The young maiden, seeing his troubled face, asked crisply, "Mr. Su, you have good tea with you, didn’t you drink it yesterday? Why not take it out?"
"Ahem, that’s famous tea bestowed by my elders at home,"
The young man in white lowered his voice in a somewhat embarrassed but boastful tone, "There are too many people here, and taking it out would easily reveal my identity."
"Many people...and prying eyes?"
"Yes, Miss Wang, look,"
The young man continued lowering his voice, "Those few bald men in the southeastern corner, with dragon tattoos on their left arm, are from the Fanhe Gang, dominating the Huainan section of the Jinghang Canal and monopolizing Cao Yun.