Chapter 900: Boiling Tea Around the Fire (Part 1)

Hearing the sound outside the door, the old man glanced at the scholar in front of him. The latter shook his head slightly, but still smiled and said, "Just wait and see what happens."

The old man snorted coldly, but did not continue to criticize this guy. Instead, he quickly changed his smile and asked with a smile, "Where do the guests come from? Come in and have a sip of tea. Don't worry about whether the tea is expensive. Anyway, Just drink it first. If you’re not satisfied, you don’t have to pay.”

As he spoke, the old man came to the door. A young man in black robe had already walked into the small teahouse. He looked at the old man and said with a smile, "I was passing by here and saw that the teahouse owned by the shopkeeper had an interesting name, so I wanted to see if the tea was also there." It doesn’t taste good, but I don’t have much money. If the tea is not cheap, I can only ask the price.”

The old man cleared the empty table with a smile, "I have already said that if you are not satisfied, you will not pay. Moreover, this teahouse has rules. After drinking tea, if you think you should give as much silver as you want, then give as much as you want. It all depends on the guest's preference. This is my way." It’s useless to ask for money at this age. It’s not interesting to make a lot of money and turn your own coffin into gold. Maybe it will be dug up within two days.”

The young man also found the old man's words very interesting, so he nodded with a smile and said, "I guess this tea from the old shopkeeper must have a special taste."

The old man chuckled, waved his hand and said, "I don't know. Everyone has different feelings about tea, but one thing must be discussed in advance. If the guest feels the tea is not good, he can just say so. But if he says it is not as good as the tea made by so-and-so, , then don’t blame me for falling out.”

The young man smiled and said, "The old shopkeeper is very strong."

The old man raised his eyebrows and said, "Hitting someone is not a slap in the face. There is no reason to expose someone's shortcomings in person, right?"

The young man gave a thumbs up and was about to take a seat. The young scholar who had been sitting at the table in front of him with his back to him suddenly turned his head and said with an unexpected smile, "We really don't meet each other in life. I didn't expect to be here." Met you again."

In fact, when the young man first entered the teahouse, he noticed someone sitting there, but he didn't think much about it. When the other person spoke, he noticed that it turned out that the young man was the one he had met in Dongzi Temple before. that young scholar.

The two looked at each other, and Chen Chao also said with emotion, "It's really fate that we can meet again."

The scholar smiled and said, "If you don't mind it, how about my deskmate?"

Chen Chao nodded, thanked the old man, and then went to sit down opposite the scholar, but he didn't notice the old man rolling his eyes at this moment.

Sitting down again, Chen Chao sat across from the scholar in front of him. Chen Chao took the initiative to ask, "I was still at Dongzi Temple that day. How come you arrived in this remote county so quickly? Are you visiting relatives or looking for old friends?"

The scholar shook his head slightly and said, "It's like reminiscing. In fact, my family was not in Changban County in the early years. I moved from the north. My ancestors traveled to many places along the way and left a travel diary. When I had nothing to do, I just thought about it. Take a walk from the end of the book.”

Chen Chao asked curiously, "North? How far north?"

The scholar said calmly, "New Liuzhou, which was not called that at that time, was called Beiyuan. At that time, the imperial court and the demon clan were defeated in a battle. Our ancestors were worried that not only Mobei would be ceded, but also Beiyuan."

I couldn't keep it, so I thought about going south, but in fact, the first place I decided to go to was Bailuzhou. After all, I am a scholar. Going to a place with many scholars makes me feel at ease. But I don't know why, and finally I went to Nagasaka County. , and stopped moving forward. "

Chen Chao smiled and said, "Changban County is Dong Zi's hometown after all. In addition to those years, Feng Shui should be good there?"

The scholar raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "Feng Shui? Do you believe in this too?"

Chen Chao thought for a while and said, "I have dealt with several Qi practitioners. According to them, luck, although it is illusory, does exist. It is a big year in succession, so it is really necessary to be careful all the time. Year after year, there are even years of drought.”

The scholar smiled and said, "Probably to pay off the debt."

Chen Chao subconsciously asked, "Where does the debt come from?"

Scholars just laughed it off.

Only then did Chen Chao realize that he had made a mistake. He looked at the scholar in front of him apologetically, and then thought about the word "repaying debt" to himself.

The scholar seemed to understand Chen Chao's thoughts, and smiled and said, "My own speculation is actually not true."

Chen Chao nodded, but it was difficult to say since he didn't take it into his heart.

The scholar suddenly said, "I heard that a small joke happened in Changban County a few days ago? Is it something about Dongzi Temple?"

Chen Chao was startled and asked curiously, "What is it?"

The scholar regretted, "I don't know. I just heard a few words along the way. I thought you were still there at the time and should know."

Chen Chao shook his head.

The old man had already brought tea, but this time, the teacups and cups were extremely exquisite. The teacups and cups were all white, like white jade, but there were countless cracks on them, which looked like threads.

The scholar glanced at the old man, twitched his lips, and then smiled and said, "Do you know the art of tea sets?"

Chen Chao shook his head and said with shame, "I really don't know anything."

The scholar pointed to the white jade tea bowl and tea set and said, "About seven hundred years ago, the emperor's surname at that time should be Yang? At that time, the emperor liked all kinds of porcelain. He not only ordered the opening of kilns across the country to fire porcelain, but also selected the best ones and sent them to him." In the palace, and being an expert himself, he opened the kiln himself and developed a kind of porcelain, which was like white jade but full of cracks. He named it Dragon Pattern Jade, but because he liked it too much, the emperor did not Instead of passing on this forging skill to others, he kept it for himself. Occasionally, he opened the kiln and rewarded it with unsatisfactory finished products. The dragon pattern jade that has been circulated in the world for a long time was what the emperor himself called a defective product, no more than three-dimensional. A hundred years later, another craftsman figured out the method of forging dragon-patterned jade, and then recruited many disciples and passed down the method. However, in fact, the dragon-patterned jade forged by the craftsman three hundred years later was still the same as that of that craftsman. There are some subtle differences in the ones forged by the emperor, but they are so slight that they can be regarded as no different after all.

There are probably less than ten pieces circulated among the people. "

When the scholar said this, he seemed to think of something again, and said with a smile to himself, "In fact, the emperor at that time should have a proud work, which should be a set of tea sets, which he regarded as the best work in his life."

Chen Chaoji listened to this story patiently and asked, "Where did the tea set go in the end? Was it taken into the tomb?"

The scholar laughed and said, "It's half right. After the emperor died, the world was in chaos very quickly. A dynasty fell in a matter of seconds. After that, Captain Jin entered the emperor's tomb in order to find those porcelains. After all, they were valuable." And since the emperor regarded it as a treasure, he would definitely take it with him for burial. Sure enough, after they opened the imperial mausoleum, they found those porcelains, but the number was not large, only two or three pieces. The emperor regarded it as a treasure. The tea set is not there.”

Chen Chao looked at the scholar and nodded, but did not ask any questions. In his eyes, there seemed to be a wide-ranging appreciation for the scholar's knowledge?

Anyway, the old man noticed Chen Chao's expression and couldn't help laughing.

The scholar continued, "But Colonel Mo Jin found a manuscript in the emperor's mausoleum, which was written by the emperor himself. He said that he knew that his end was approaching, and it was a pity that the best things were taken underground and never saw the light of day again. , and presented it to a court official at that time.”

The scholar smiled and asked, "Guess who it is, sir?"

Chen Chao thought for a while and said, "Although I know very little about this kind of history, since it is a set of tea utensils and my husband mentioned it in the teahouse, I think the person I want to give it to as a gift should be an expert in making tea."

The scholar nodded and said, "Yes, he is a minister named Lu. His official career is really average, but his tea-making skills are famous all over the world. Later generations seem to respect him as the Saint of Tea?"

Speaking of this, Chen Chao already knew that the name of Tea Sage was mentioned by Xie Nandu and he remembered it.

Lu Ji also wrote a volume called "The Classic of Tea", which was regarded as a model by later generations of tea lovers.

When scholars drink tea, they will have tea fun to talk about. It is originally a story for each person, but the scholar in front of him is not difficult for Chen Chao. After he finished speaking, he picked up the tea cup, took a sip, and then nodded in appreciation and said, "The tea is good. It would be great if this porcelain was the legendary one.”

While talking, the scholar looked at the old man, and the old man just smiled and said, "That thing is too expensive. If it were there, I wouldn't even be able to see it in a teahouse."

Chen Chao didn't say anything, but just picked up the tea cup. It felt cold to the touch, not burning at all, but there was obviously steam inside.

Taking a cautious sip of tea, Chen Chao blinked and asked curiously, "What is this tea called? Can I buy a few kilograms from the shopkeeper and take it back to my friends?"

After drinking a sip of tea just now, Chen Chao felt comfortable, as if there was heat flowing in his body. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he felt that his injuries were a little better.

The old man waved his hand and politely declined and said, "The tea will lose its flavor once it leaves this teahouse. If guests want to drink it, they can come here often. If they want their friends to drink it, they can bring it with them. However, the tea leaves are not for sale." "

Chen Chao nodded, not forcing anyone to do anything, he just smacked his lips and drank the tea in one gulp, feeling the fragrance linger on his lips and teeth.

This made me even more disappointed.

The old man noticed the young man's disappointment, squinted his eyes and said with a smile, "Allow me to say more. Is the friend the guest wants to bring back tea to, a woman?"

Chen Chao raised his head, thought for a moment, and said calmly, "My beloved."

The old man laughed, but asked in vain, "I haven't said whether it's a man or a woman."

Chen Chao said helplessly, "Of course it's a woman."

There are many good people like Long Yang in the world, but he is not among them.

For example, there was a famous scholar in the previous dynasty who was very knowledgeable, but the only thing that made more people aware of him was Long Yang.

What's that man's name? Ma Xing?

It seems to be this name.

The old man turned to look at the scholar and said, "That's right. The guest's energy and energy don't seem to be the same, but this guest here seems a little uncertain."

These words were not too polite, but the scholar didn't care. He just narrowed his eyes and smiled and said, "If I were as good as Long Yang, I wouldn't look down on you. I didn't look down on you when you were young. You're not good-looking."

The old man squinted and smiled.

Then this old man of unknown age said regretfully, "It's not the right time of year, otherwise it would be a great pleasure to sit around the stove and make tea."

The scholar said, "It's not a bad idea at this moment."

Chen Chao also became interested and said with a smile, "I don't know if it's okay."

…

…

Perhaps because he was persuaded by the two men, or perhaps because he hadn't cooked tea around the stove for a long time, the old man invited the two to the backyard. When Chen Chao went over, he found that there was actually a tea tree planted in the old man's backyard, but it was much taller than ordinary tea trees and was no different from ordinary big trees.

A backyard, full of tea fragrance.

The old man brought the stove, the scholar found a bench, and Chen Chao found a tree stump.

Before the three sat down, the old man carried a large iron kettle and a few in his hands, smiling and saying, "There's nothing else, just eat a few."

After that, the three sat around. Although it was summer, Yingzhou was not far from the northern border, and it was not hot. It was not inappropriate to cook tea around the stove at this time, but it was hard to say how appropriate it was.

Watching the old man throwing tea leaves into the big iron pot, the scholar smiled and said, "What are we going to talk about? Can you start?"

He was thinking about Chen Chao. After all, a warrior would definitely not know more than a scholar. As for quoting scriptures, he was definitely an outsider.

Chen Chao thought for a while and said, "I read some of Dongzi's works in Dongzi Temple before. I actually have a lot of doubts along the way. Can I discuss it with you for a while?"

The scholar frowned slightly, but the old man smiled, but his smile was quite meaningful.