Chapter 7: Tea Fragrance

  The acceleration of modernization has made high-rise buildings and cement roads more common. Buildings like the quadrangle courtyard are becoming increasingly rare. Many people with power and money want to buy a quadrangle courtyard, regardless of whether they need it or not, or whether they plan to live in it. However, the real estate industry is optimistic about its prospects, and the quadrangle courtyard's historical value has great potential for appreciation.

  Su Qing found a house in Houhai that met her requirements from the information collected by the bees. The former residence of a Qing dynasty official, with an area of over 1,000 square meters, was well-maintained and had not been damaged much. The house was fully furnished with various types of furniture, including some made of precious woods such as sandalwood, pear wood, and nanmu wood. The house and the courtyard were full of life, with a variety of shapes, including round, square, multi-sided, silver ingot-shaped, fan-shaped, and fruit and vegetable-shaped "miscellaneous windows" that were intricately carved and varied in design. They were embedded in the surrounding walls of the courtyard, sometimes hidden and sometimes visible. The classical elegance was palpable. Under the eaves of the corridor, there were many colorful paintings, all of which were typical Suzhou-style paintings. Unlike ordinary siheyuan houses, where only simple patterns were painted at the ends of the beams, "kuaigongtou", the colorful paintings here were in the center of the corridor under the eaves, in a semi-circular shape, called "baojuan". Inside the baojuan, there were paintings of figures, landscapes, flowers, birds, and historical stories, all of which were exquisite. Su Qing liked this house very much. However, the owner of the house seemed to be difficult to deal with. The owner of the house, Wu Jian, a man in his 40s, lived with his wife without children. Now that they had fulfilled their youthful wishes to travel around the world, they wanted to sell the house to someone who appreciated it.

  Today, Su Qing called her brother to go to Houhai for a stroll and brought along those two lively pets. They went to inspect the houses with classical charm on the spot, and if they were lucky, they might even meet the owner of the house.

  In a tea room of a finely decorated small siheyuan by Houhai, an amiable old man and a middle-aged man were drinking tea. The middle-aged man was the house owner that Su Qing wanted to see.

  "Bai Lao's tea brewing skills are getting better and better, this Da Hong Pao is really fragrant." Wu Jian savored the tea carefully.

  "Where is the tea art good, it's the tea leaves that are good. My daughter is filial to you, I'd like to give some to you." The old man thought of his beloved daughter who had been very filial since childhood and was now living abroad, with a smile all over his face. Unfortunately, she was busy with many things and rarely came back to visit.

  "Bai Lao likes drinking Da Hong Pao so much, how can I bear to take away what others love."

  "Little Wu, you don't have to be polite with me, just give my tea to Xinlan. I've had enough." Old Bai thought that his own relatives were also good at drinking tea, and he didn't know how many good teas others had sent him, probably more than he could finish.

  "Then I'll bring some back for Fang Ya to try." Wu Jian remembered that his wife was extremely fond of Da Hong Pao.

  "Xiao Wu, are you two really planning to sell your house and travel around the world?"

  "This is her dream, when she was young because of that inexplicable Cultural Revolution lost the child, I feel very sorry for her. Now want to help her realize the dream, just such a good house wants to sell to people who understand and appreciate it." Wu Jian remembered his wife's miscarriage due to herself back then, and his heart still aches secretly. Although his wife never mentions it, he knows she is even more bitter in her heart. As long as his wife is happy, he is also happy. The house they lived in with countless memories needs a new owner who will cherish it."

  "It's also good to go out and take a look around, if you need any help at that time, be sure to speak up, don't be polite."

  "Then I'll thank you in advance."

  After finishing their conversation, the two picked up their teacups and savored the exquisite Da Hong Pao tea.

  Su Qing walked on the streets of Houhai, faintly smelling a light tea fragrance. Xiao Bai jumped down from Su Qing's shoulder and rushed into a courtyard house, and Su siblings followed in hastily. Xiao Bai had no resistance to food and drink, it seemed that after the space upgrade, Su Qing should plant some tea trees.

  Two people drinking tea in the house suddenly saw a white ball jump onto the table, and upon closer inspection, a small fox was staring pitifully at the teacup on the tea table. Hearing a hurried footsteps, they looked up to see a 17 or 18-year-old boy and a 14 or 15-year-old girl.

  "Sorry, old man. My siblings and I didn't mean to disturb you, we just wanted to get our pet back." Su Chen apologized as he saw the old man sitting in the main seat, knowing he was the owner.

  "It's okay, you two being able to come here is also a fate for us, and your pet is very spiritual. My surname is Bai, you can call me Grandpa Bai, and the one next to me you can call Uncle Wu." Old Man Bai had a good impression of this brother and sister duo, and his attitude was naturally warm and friendly.

  "Hello Grandpa Bai, hello Uncle Wu. My name is Su Chen (Su Qing)." The siblings of the Su family immediately asked how they were doing after hearing their master say this.

  "Why don't you two sit down and have a cup of tea instead of rushing off? Let me show you my old man's skills." White Old carefully went through the steps of making Gongfu tea, from warming the teapot to rinsing the tea leaves, and then poured the brewed tea for the guests to taste.

  "The tea made by Old White is sweet and refreshing, with a clear and crisp aroma. It's truly a top-notch tea, no wonder I could smell the faint fragrance at the door." Su Qing sipped her tea and couldn't help but feel impressed, taking another sip to find it had no obvious bitterness, was smooth, and had a rich aftertaste. Indeed, it was a top-notch tea. Su Chen also nodded in admiration after finishing his tea, thinking that this Old White's tea leaves were even better than Grandfather's, and wondered what kind of person Old White really was.

  "Haha, not bad, not bad. The fragrance of tea can be smelled at the door, it's not simple, it's fate." Bai Lao was overjoyed when he heard Su Qing's words.

  Wu Jian watched the interaction between the old and young, his jaw almost dropping in surprise. He knew that Old White was always strict with his juniors, but now he was chatting happily with this pair of siblings who were meeting for the first time, which was unusual. This pair of siblings hadn't been seen before and shouldn't be living nearby.

  "Where is your home? I haven't seen it before."

  "We live in Liyuan Community, we've never been here before."

  "So how did you guys come today"

  "My family wants to buy a siheyuan, I heard that there's a beautiful mansion here that used to be the residence of a Qing dynasty official and is now for sale. My brother and I came over to take a look. But after arriving at Houhai, we didn't do anything and just ended up coming to your place to freeload some tea." Su Qing said with an embarrassed smile, sticking out her tongue playfully.

  Bai Lao saw Su Qing's lovely expression and burst out laughing again. Then he turned his head to look at Wu Jian, "Your little buyer has arrived."

  Wu Jian also had a very good impression of the young siblings, and selling the house to them was also a great choice. It wasn't until then that the Su siblings realized that the Uncle Wu sitting next to them was actually the owner of the house they were looking for.

  The four of them drank tea for a while longer. Su's siblings and Wu Jian agreed to bring their parents over another day to discuss the house purchase, then they each bid farewell and left.

  Bai Lao gazed in the direction Su Qing had left, smiling, "Not a fish in the pond, indeed."

  Nothing is wrong with saying something small on the internet!