Chapter 71: A Little Shock
Chapter 71: Chapter 71: A Little Shock
"So it was you!"
Wang Yuangang’s face flushed with anger. He clenched his right fist, raising it high as if to bring it down with force.
But in the end, his hand stopped mid-air, never landing.
Seeing this, Wang Teng let out a sigh of relief.
Just as he’d thought, no matter how grave his mistake...
...his uncle, Wang Yuangang, could never bring himself to strike him.
He was treated more like a son by his uncle than by his own father.
It was even said that his uncle’s vast fortune would be passed down to him someday.
After all, his uncle had no heir of his own.
"Uncle, I only did it because I saw that old fool hand over the White Tiger Tea House to Zhang Boyang. It was such blatant favoritism! I couldn’t stand it on your behalf. That’s why I..."
"That’s why you used the secret recipe to cover a padded expense account of three hundred taels? Hmph! You idiot! Three hundred taels... You sold the secret for a mere three hundred taels of silver. What an absolute moron!"
Wang Yuangang’s face was a mask of resentment. He was furious at Wang Teng’s incompetence, but even more furious that he’d sold the secret for so little.
’The secret tea-roasting recipe is priceless!’
’Even ten thousand taels of silver wouldn’t be enough! And this idiotic nephew of mine took such a huge risk for a paltry three hundred taels.’
’Stupid. Hopelessly stupid.’
He was the distinguished fourth disciple of the White Tiger Boxing Hall, a Martial Scholar, with over a dozen shops to his name and a family fortune worth tens of thousands of taels of silver.
How did he end up with such a foolish nephew?!
’Is this... is this heaven’s retribution?’
But no matter how angry he was, this was his own flesh and blood. What could he do?
Wang Yuangang’s face was grim as he glared at Wang Teng, as if trying to find a trace of his own shrewdness in the boy’s features.
But after a long look, all he saw was his own folly reflected back at him. He could only let out a long sigh.
"Alright, you will take this secret to your grave. Don’t you dare tell a soul, you hear me? If this gets out and Chen Tong finds out, not even I can save you."
"I understand, Uncle!"
Wang Teng had recovered his composure by now and gave Wang Yuangang a cheeky grin as he made his promise.
After giving his assurance, his eyes darted around for a moment before he added, "But... the secret is out, after all. What if the Martial Arts Hall investigates?"
"Hmph. So now you’re scared? Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. For the next few days, you’re to stay home and go nowhere. Focus on your training. Strive to achieve Bone Forging within five years and pass the Martial Examination to become a Martial Scholar. Only then can I rest easy."
Wang Yuangang spoke as if lecturing his own son.
It was clear that he, too, was deeply dissatisfied with his master’s sudden change of heart, handing the tea house business over to the disadvantaged Zhang Boyang.
Therefore, while he scolded Wang Teng for his stupidity, deep down, he didn’t really think his nephew had done anything wrong.
’Since the business isn’t under my control and there’s nothing in it for me, I couldn’t care less if the Martial Arts Hall loses money over it.’
’In fact, I’d probably be happier if the Martial Arts Hall’s tea house went out of business completely.’
’That way, Zhang Boyang could never dream of competing with me again.’
’As for the secret recipe being leaked... what does that have to do with me and my nephew? Wasn’t the tea house handed over to Zhang Boyang to manage?’
’If something goes wrong, it will naturally be Zhang Boyang’s fault.’
"Heh heh... three hundred taels. What a fine number, three hundred taels."
Wang Yuangang let out a cold, dark chuckle. An idea had already taken root in his mind.
~~~~~~
Meanwhile, on the other side of town,
Zhang Boyang had also heard the news about Huang’s Tea House launching a new tea. In fact, a cup of it was now sitting right in front of him.
A faint wisp of steam rose from the liquid. The brew was somewhat yellowish, lacking a vibrant green hue.
"Nephew, look. This new tea from Huang’s Tea House... it seems to be roasted tea as well. And they launched it before we could! What are we going to do?" Zhang Boyang was visibly rattled.
The White Tiger Martial Arts Hall had already sacrificed a great deal for this tea house.
Furthermore, all the tea-roasting masters had been sequestered at an estate outside the city, working day and night to produce the tea.
Disciples from the Martial Arts Hall were even standing guard. It was impossible for the secret to have been leaked by them.
’So, how did Huang’s Tea House manage to produce roasted tea?’
’Could it be that they also just happened to ’discover’ this roasting method?’
Such a coincidence was impossible. Otherwise, why wouldn’t Huang’s Tea House have released a new tea sooner or later? Why launch a roasted tea at this exact critical moment?
Someone from within their Martial Arts Hall must have sold the secret.
But right now, the situation before him was far too precarious.
His original plan to take the world by storm, to introduce the concept of roasted tea and carve out a new market for the White Tiger Tea House, was in jeopardy.
"Master Zhang, there’s no need to rush. Their roasted tea is a poor imitation. They’ve copied the form, but they haven’t captured the spirit."
As he spoke, Fang Yue poured some tea leaves from a canister he carried with him and quickly brewed a fresh cup.
As the boiling water hit them, the leaves in the bowl unfurled, their tender green color returning as if they were fresh once more.
The brew was clear and bright. Compared to the tea on the table, its appearance alone was leagues better.
"Master Zhang, please see for yourself."
After brewing it, Fang Yue placed the cup in front of Zhang Boyang.
"This... this! Nephew, you are truly capable! This is what real roasted tea should be!"
After tasting it, Zhang Boyang confirmed that the tea Fang Yue had prepared surpassed the one from Huang’s Tea House in both color and flavor.
With this, he no longer had to worry about the impact from Huang’s Tea House.
"Sigh... we may have overcome this hurdle, but Huang’s Tea House still beat us to the punch. It’s not a perfect victory," Zhang Boyang sighed.
The White Tiger Tea House was supposed to pioneer roasted tea, which would have guaranteed it a dominant position in the wider market.
But now that they had lost the initiative, people would only remember that Huang’s Tea House was the first to introduce it.
Even if the White Tiger Tea House’s product was better, it had lost some of its impact.
"Heh heh. Master Zhang, sometimes there are advantages to being early, and sometimes there are advantages to being late. The stepping stone has been laid. Now is the time for you to step on it."
Fang Yue smiled faintly, not at all bothered by what Huang’s Tea House had done.
’The fact that they resorted to such a scheme shows that their strength is about on par with the White Tiger Boxing Hall’s.’
’Otherwise, they could have just seized it by force. Why bother with such sneaky tactics?’
’If they had simply overpowered us, would the White Tiger Boxing Hall have had any choice but to hand over the secret?’
This was also why Fang Yue didn’t place as much importance on the roasted tea itself.
’It can make money, a lot of money, but I can’t protect it on my own.’
"Oh? Nephew, what other guidance do you have for me?"
At this point, Zhang Boyang was treating Fang Yue as an equal, all traces of the elder-addressing-a-junior attitude gone.
"Heh heh. First, we need to grade the roasted tea. We’ll create a grading system based on the brew’s color, the flavor, and the appearance of the leaves..."
Fang Yue immediately began to explain.
Grading the tea meant establishing the industry standard and securing their position within it.
From then on, any tea house that wanted to sell roasted tea would have to follow the rules set by the White Tiger Tea House.
As long as this standard was accepted, the position of the White Tiger Tea House would be unshakeable.
"Also, we need to leverage our connections with the County Magistrate’s Office and make our roasted tea the official beverage for the upcoming civil service examinations."
"Next, we’ll rush a production of one piece of Middle Grade tea and distribute it as gifts to those who pass the examinations. That’s free advertising."
"Finally, we’ll supply a batch of our lower-grade roasted tea to all the major teahouses for free..."
Fang Yue continued, laying out several business tactics he had seen in his previous life.
Of course, in his past life, these methods were already overused, even considered unsophisticated.
But to Zhang Boyang, especially since he was a Martial Artist, it was as if he’d been struck by lightning.
In an instant, everything clicked into place. It was as if a whole new world had opened up to him.
"Nephew, your insight is brilliant! The White Tiger Tea House should have been given to you in the first place! I’ll go speak to Master Zheng right now."
Zhang Boyang said, completely convinced. However, as he continued speaking, the topic drifted back to Fang Yue and Zhang Shu.
"Sigh... A man of your immense talent, Nephew, and my Shu’Er still doesn’t appreciate you. It’s... it’s just... sigh..."
Clearly, Zhang Boyang was still harboring resentment over his failure to matchmake Fang Yue and Zhang Shu.
Fang Yue’s display of genius, in particular, made this desire of his burn even stronger.
"Stop, Master Zhang, please stop. Matters of the heart cannot be forced."
Fang Yue quickly demurred. He couldn’t stand Zhang Shu’s personality.
’One marries a wife, not a pampered princess to serve.’
Even if Zhang Shu was good-looking, she was not his type.
As the topic reached this point, Fang Yue quickly excused himself. If he stayed any longer, there was no telling what else Zhang Boyang might say.
"Hmph, you again. Fang Yue, what are you doing here? What kind of bewitching nonsense have you been feeding my father now?"
However, it was just his luck.
He hadn’t even made it out the main gate when he ran into Zhang Shu, who was just returning.
This time she wasn’t alone; a girl with a round, bun-like face was with her.
"You’re overthinking it, Senior Sister Shu’Er. I was just tasting tea with Master Zhang, that’s all."
Fang Yue laughed, said nothing more, and left directly.
’The more I say, the more I’ll get wrong. Her prejudice is already set in stone. There’s no need for me to explain, and I have no intention of trying to fix this relationship anyway.’
"Hmph. You’re lucky you ran off so fast. Otherwise, I’d have broken your legs to see if you’d still dare to come back!"
Zhang Shu fumed, clenching her fists.
"Sister Shu’Er, who was that? His voice sounds a little familiar," the bun-faced girl said, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Just some poor kid who freeloads off us. You’ve never met him, so how could he sound familiar?" Zhang Shu asked.
"Oh, is that right? I guess you’re right."
The bun-faced girl shook her head. It was her first time seeing Fang Yue, so there was no reason for him to seem familiar.
But still, a sliver of doubt remained in her heart.
They had only taken a couple of steps when she suddenly smacked her forehead. "Sister Shu’Er, I remember! I remember now!"
"He... he’s him! He’s the ’two pairs of shoes on the ground’ guy!"
The bun-faced girl looked as if she’d had a revelation, her small mouth agape, wide enough to stuff another bun into it.
"What? It was him? That guy full of wicked ideas was him?"
Zhang Shu’s voice shot up eight octaves, and she looked ready to explode.
That crooked poem had caused her immense embarrassment, and to think it was Fang Yue who said it.
He was the one who had wronged her.
In her mind, Zhang Shu added another black mark against Fang Yue’s name.
"Always so rash and reckless! You don’t have a single bit of a proper young lady’s demeanor! How do you expect to get married like this!"
"I truly regret letting you practice martial arts! Now get back inside! If you keep acting like this, you’re forbidden from ever leaving the house again."
Just then, Zhang Boyang’s scolding voice rang out.