Chapter 272: Selling Red Tea 1
“It does smell quite good indeed, and it’s vastly different from the scent of green tea.” Shopkeeper Shen felt the novelty.
“Go, bring over a pot of spring water, I wish to personally taste this tea,” Fan Chengxu anticipated the taste eagerly.
Shopkeeper Shen quickly instructed the attendant to brew some spring water for Fan Chengxu.
Fan Chengxu used the same method as for brewing green tea, steeped a cup of black tea. As its name implies, the tea had a reddish -brown color.
This color made people somewhat uneasy, appearing somewhat like a cup of green tea left overnight.
Fan Chengxu raised the cup, but Shopkeeper Shen stopped him before he could bring it to his mouth: “Sir, let me try it first.”
Shopkeeper Shen was somewhat concerned that this kind of tea might upset the stomach.
“You don’t need to, I’ll do it myself.” Fan Chengxu didn’t listen to Shopkeeper Shen. He brought the cup to his lips and took a sip.
Shopkeeper Shen looked at Fan Chengxu anxiously, seeing his eyebrows tightly knitted, which made him extremely worried.
After a long while, Fan Chengxu’s eyebrows softened, and a smile formed at the corner of his mouth, “Interesting, really interesting.”
“Sir, this tea…”
“This tea is very different from green tea. Its flavor is softer, it lacks the freshness of green tea but has a bit more sweetness,” Fan Chengxu commented.
-Sir, do you think this tea tastes better than the tea we usually drink?” Shopkeeper Shen asked.
“Not necessarily, each has its own merit.”
“Then, Sir, shall we continue to process the tea leaves harvested over the past few days according to Young Master Xu’s instructions, make them into fermented tea?” Shopkeeper Shen queried.
“Keep going. Selling the current tea leaves as green tea is at a loss. If we make this kind of tea, there might still be a profit. If we are gambling, let us be thorough about it, and not hesitate,” Fan Chengxu said.
“Yes, sir,” Shopkeeper Shen responded.
“Furthermore, starting from tomorrow, sell black tea in the Tea Pavilion, and claim that it has health benefits and can invigorate the body,” Fan Chengxu instructed.
Whether black tea has these health benefits, Fan Chengxu didn’t know, but that didn t hinder him from promoting it as such.
“Yes Sir,” Shopkeeper Shen answered, “By the way sir, the seventh prince and Lord Lu are in the Tea Pavilion right now. They have captured a spy and given him a good beating.”
“Leave him be, we can’t get rid of this big shot anytime soon. We just need to manage our own things well and try to satisfy his demands to avoid offending him,” Fan Chengxu didn’t have any other choices, his uncle’s side had already sent him dozens of letters urging him, his mind was filled with headaches.
As long as Chu Lan didn’t specifically ask to see him, he’ll try as much as possible to avoid him. He had better spend this time discussing business with Xu Heyou, it was more enjoyable and interesting.
And as for the spy, it didn’t bear any relevance to him at all. He had no intention of participating in these matters since he had no plans to enter the official bureaucracy.
“Yes Sir.”
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After the launch of the new black tea at the Yusheng Tea Pavilion, many tea lovers were attracted to taste it, generating a split in opinions.
Some liked it, some did not.
For most people accustomed to green tea, they didn’t quite accept the new flavor of black tea. Though not many thought it was bad, quite a few believed it was nothing compared to green tea.
The absence of green tea’s tender aroma and sharp bitterness was seen as a loss to what made tea important.
However, there were also those who enjoyed the taste after trying, thinking the flavor was very smooth.
Some also learned the method somewhere and happened to brew it with milk gloriously calling it ‘milk tea’
This method wasn’t initially introduced by the Yusheng Tea Pavilion. After noticing that some ladies from prominent families liked drinking it this way, Yusheng Tea Pavilion immediately started offering their own milk tea, thus ’ attracting many who were looking for a new taste.
Regardless, attracted by the novelty of black tea and its rumored health benefits, the sales of black tea at the Tea Pavilion were pretty decent, and the customer traffic had increased by thirty percent compared to previous times. Inside the Tingsong Garden.
Xiumei reported what she heard about black tea to Wei Ruo: “Miss, the black tea IS selling quite well at the Yusheng Tea Pavilion. However, this boss Fan is too cunning. He’s claiming that drinking black tea benefits health and strengthens the body, isn’t this a scam?”
Wei Ruo laughed, “He’s a businessman, it’s only natural to seize any profitable opportunity. Besides, what he said is not entirely wrong, black tea indeed has some health benefits. Compared to green tea, black tea is more gentle on the spleen and stomach.”
“So does that mean boss Fan got it right by chance?”
“Yes. However, he probably doesn’t care whether black tea truly has these effects. These so-called health benefits are difficult to verify, and people can’t find fault with him. As long as he can attract people to buy his black tea it’s okay,” Wei Ruo said.
“Then why didn’t he use this trick before? As soon as you created black tea, he claims it has health benefits.” Xiumei asked.
“Because previously there were many shops selling the same tea leaves and they have been around for thousands of years, so he couldn’t invent anything new. Black tea never existed before, and as of now, only his shop has it. Naturally, he can say whatever he wants.” Wei Ruo explained.
“Oh!” Xiumei’s eyes lit up in realization.
“Enough, let’s not worry about him. Let’s get these medicines prepared and send them to Brother Xiaoyong.”
As Wei Ruo discussed with Xiumei, she didn’t stop her hands from working.
She had prepared a batch of new medicines and planned to give them to Xu Zhengyong.
Thanks to her second brother, she had been able to make these medicines.
After receiving his letter, she had visited the Fengyue Teahouse and successfully obtained a batch of medicinal materials from the proprietor.
The quantity was quite substantial. Wei Ruo only used a portion of it this time, and stored the rest in the Four Treasure House in the Government City, where’ the wet nurse and Uncle Xu were keeping them safe.
As for the Lingzhi and old mountain ginseng that she won at Yusheng Tea Pavilion a couple of days ago, Wei Ruo had already made them into pill and syrup form.
At that time, Lu Yuhong gave Lingzhi and the old mountain ginseng to Wei Ruo and Wei Yichen respectively. However, once back home, Wei Yichen had given his portion to Wei Ruo.
Wei Ruo accepted them without hesitation, so, in the end, both ingredients ended up in her hands.
The pills made from Lingzhi were known as the Invigorating Qi Pills, twenty in total. This time Wei Ruo prepared six for Xu Zhengyong, saving the rest for Wei Jinyi when he returns.
In comparison, Wei Ruo felt that Wei Jinyi needed these supplements more. While helping Wei Ruo packing, Xiumei grumbled, “Miss, my standing in your heart seems to be declining. Look at you, preparing medicines for Brother Xiaoyong and Second Young Master. I, however, am left without a single pill.” Wei Ruo flicked Xiumei’s forehead, then rebuked,
“You naughty girl, what kind of jealousy are you fostering against them? You are with me all day long. If you are feeling uncomfortable, I can treat you anytime. Compared to them, we don’t know when we might meet again next hence the need to prepare all these medicines.”
“Miss, I was just joking! I wouldn’t actually be jealous of them!” Xiumei quickly responded with a laugh..