Chapter 85: Another Visitor Comes to the Door

After dinner, Lin Chuanyan recounted to the others in the Lin residence’s main hall the amusing events that had unfolded in his office that day.

“My tea ran out. Those people were all mad—every single one of them came to my office for tea, under the noble pretext of visiting me. The most shameless were the ones who came in the morning and came again in the afternoon. When I refused to give my two partners any tea leaves, those fellows simply brought huge cups to my office and poured themselves tea. They’d finish one giant cup and immediately pour another!”

“You had it easy. My place was the real spectacle. Once the news got out, the people coming to my office were mostly old generals, every one of them a general of the highest rank. They simply turned my office into a conference room for the General Staff and held military meetings in there, while I ended up being the one who made tea!” His eldest uncle, Lin Chuanming, said in resignation.

“Yes, my situation was about the same. Everyone who came was someone with absolutely no connection to us, all of them just showing up for tea.”

“Mm, my office has practically become a zoo. Anyone and everyone wants to come take a look, sit down, and have a go!”

Once the day’s miseries were brought up, the others who had been tormented all day began venting their complaints one after another, while the rest of the Lin family who had not been bothered by anyone sat nearby, smiling as they listened to the people who had gone to work that day grumble and complain.

After everyone had chatted noisily for a while, Lin Chuanming suddenly remembered that the old patriarch had not said a word all evening. He had no idea how things had gone on the old man’s side today, so he asked curiously, “Dad, why aren’t you saying anything? By rights, once the news of the tea got out, the old men who would come to the Lin family should have been the fastest and the most numerous. There are quite a few elders in Yanjing who appreciate fine tea!”

When the old patriarch heard Lin Chuanming’s question, he thought back to what had happened that day and chuckled before saying, “I’m not as foolish as the lot of you. The moment you all left for work with that tea on you, I knew the day would not be peaceful again. So I had the steward tell everyone I was out and not at home, and I even unplugged the house phone line! At last, no one came to disturb me today!”

After the old patriarch finished, Lin Yu also excitedly said to everyone, “Grandpa, turns out we had the same idea, haha. I kept my phone off all day too, and only just dared to turn it on. And look at that—once I did, I found I had received call alerts from more than thirty people today, all third-generation members from our circle. A lot of them I haven’t even dealt with before.”

The most composed of all were Lin Chuanzhi and his wife. They had few friends in Yanjing, and no one would have thought to ask the two of them for tea leaves.

“Lin Feng, look, we’ve used up all the tea we had today. Could you make us some more? Otherwise, I can’t taste anything in any other tea!” The eldest uncle now turned his attention to Lin Feng.

“Exactly! What Big Brother said is right, Lin Feng. Hurry and make some more, or we won’t be able to get through the days,” the second uncle chimed in.

The others who had also run out of tea nodded along. Lin Feng looked at their beseeching faces in silence, then helplessly nodded and agreed. But agreeing was one thing; he still had to make it clear: “Seniors, I can make more tea for everyone in a bit, but you all really need to take it easy. Don’t go out showing off again, or I won’t do this anymore.”

Hearing Lin Feng agree, the others excitedly and a little sheepishly promised, “We’ve learned our lesson. From now on, we’ll hide this tea and drink it in secret ourselves. Anyway, everyone outside already knows we’ve finished the amount we were given.”

Once that was settled, Lin Feng had no choice but to trouble Lin Yu again to procure the materials for making Cloud Mist Tea. This time, he directly instructed Lin Yu to buy back thirty jin of the raw tea material, figuring they might as well stock up on more supplies and avoid having to make it so often once they started running low.

After Lin Yu purchased the tea material, Lin Feng no longer needed to work in secret. He simply told Lin Yu to put the materials in the kitchen, then personally stayed there and finished making all thirty jin of tea. Once the tea had been successfully made, Lin Feng could not be bothered to divide it up himself. He simply handed all thirty jin to the old patriarch, telling him to keep it. Whenever anyone in the Lin family needed any, they should go to the old patriarch for it and no longer trouble him.

After everything was done, the Lin family members who had run out of tea each received two jin of Cloud Mist Tea from the old patriarch, and only then did they happily leave the main hall and return to their rooms to rest.

On the morning of the fifth day of the new year, after breakfast, those who needed to go to work all left for work, while those who did not went back to their rooms to catch up on sleep. The old patriarch and Grandma Lin were also preparing to stroll in the courtyard and soak up some sun, when the steward came in to report to the old patriarch, “The three elder gentlemen from the Murong family, the Long family, and the Xie family are outside together, requesting an audience with the old patriarch.”

“What are those three old fellows doing coming so early in the morning? Could they still be thinking about the little tea I have in my hands?” the old patriarch asked his wife in puzzlement.

“Heh, how should I know? But I suspect tea is only an excuse, not their real purpose. If they only wanted tea, wouldn’t it be better for them to come one family at a time? Now that all three families have come together, there must be something important,” Grandma Lin said, worthy of her reputation as the Lin family’s strategist, having guessed the reason behind the joint visit almost entirely.

Since hearing Murong Xue’s report last time, the Murong family had been secretly selecting partners for cooperation. The Xie family was one of Yanjing’s ten great families, and the Long family counted among them as well. Add in the Murong family, and three of the four major families of Yanjing were now gathered together. Since the Lin family was the initiator, naturally they would not compete with them for benefits. If these three families joined forces, even taking down the European market should be enough to intimidate the other envious clans.

“Heh, whatever the reason, seeing them will tell us what they want,” the old patriarch said indifferently. With that, he went with the steward to the main hall, where the three old patriarchs were already waiting.

When the group saw the old patriarch enter, they immediately grew restless. Especially the Murong patriarch, who had already sprung to his feet in excitement and shouted at him, “Quick, quickly go bring out the Cloud Mist Tea that Lin Feng gave you so we can taste it! Everyone in Yanjing has drunk this tea already, and now only we old men have not. I say, old Lin, you really are something else—yesterday you even shut your doors to guests!”

The old patriarch was long used to the Murong patriarch’s exaggerated manner. As he walked in from the doorway of the hall, he answered, “I say, old Murong, why haven’t you corrected that bad habit of yours? You’re always so rash. You’ve already brought several old fellows here—what else was I supposed to do?” Having said that, he instructed the steward to fetch the tea leaves and brew a pot of Cloud Mist Tea.

When the Lin family steward carried in a pot of Cloud Mist Tea, fragrant and mellow with a rich tea aroma, and set it before the three old patriarchs, the Murong patriarch could not restrain himself first. He snatched the teapot from the steward’s hands, poured tea for the other two elders who had come with him, and then eagerly lifted his own cup to taste the Cloud Mist Tea that had made Yanjing famous the day before.

After one cup of fragrant tea, the Murong patriarch was the first to sigh in admiration. “To be able to drink such an exceptional new tea in my lifetime, I can say it was worth it. What a pity I wasn’t fortunate enough to taste that divine brew before—that is a regret indeed!”

“As expected of its reputation. It really is far better than the tea on the market.”

“Heh, luckily I also managed to get two taels from Chuanming yesterday, or else drinking other tea afterward would taste like nothing. How would I ever get through the days?” said the Xie family patriarch. He also happened to be the Minister of National Defense.

When the Murong patriarch heard that, he was immediately displeased. These elders had all once been comrades who walked through battlefields together in their youth, and they had shared a very good bond. Because of that, the Murong patriarch did not bother being overly polite with the Xie patriarch. “I say, old Xie, stop showing off. Last time, you old rascal actually thought of coming with the Premier to finish off the last of the divine brew in Lin Feng’s hands. At the very least, you should have informed us old brothers so we could come along and get a taste too! Now you have some of this Cloud Mist Tea as well, while the rest of us have nothing!”

“Exactly, what Murong said is right. Old Xie, that was not right of you,” the Long family patriarch said, joining the attack as soon as he heard about the divine brew.

At their age, all of them were seasoned old foxes; naturally they would not feel embarrassed. When there was something good, failing to seize it first was what was foolish. Seeing himself become the target of their condemnation, the Xie patriarch hurriedly shifted the fire elsewhere. “You can’t blame me for that. Back then, it was the Premier who invited me to go with him. Otherwise I wouldn’t have thought to use that trick to get a drink. Now the liquor is gone, and there’s no way I can make new stuff for you all. As for the tea leaves, though, although the rest of the Lin family doesn’t have any, old Lin still has a jin in reserve. You can ask him for some.”

At that, the eyes of the Murong and Long patriarchs lit up, and they immediately turned their attention to the old patriarch. Seeing that he had successfully shifted the target, the Xie patriarch also let out a small breath of relief.

The old patriarch met the two men’s eager gazes, their eyes seeming to say that if he would not give them any, they would simply take it by force. Fortunately, they did not know that Lin Feng had already made another thirty jin of tea. The news the Xie patriarch had just revealed was still based on yesterday’s information, that every member of the Lin family had one jin each. So the old patriarch readily agreed. “Don’t look at me like that. I suppose I’ve lost to all of you. When you leave later, I’ll give each of you two taels.”

Hearing that the old patriarch was willing to give them Cloud Mist Tea, the two elders nodded in satisfaction and continued tasting their tea with pleased expressions. But the Xie patriarch could not stay calm now, because the old patriarch had not said he would give him any. He hurriedly set down the cup in his hand and asked, “What’s this? Old Lin, you haven’t forgotten me, have you? Why are you only giving them two, and not me?”

The moment he asked that, before the old patriarch could even explain, the other two old men had already united and pushed back in unison. “Old Xie, could you not be so greedy? You already have two taels of tea—how do you still have the nerve to ask for more?”

Though that was what they said, the Xie patriarch was unconvinced. Who would ever think too much of a good thing? He immediately shamelessly argued, “What do you mean, I already have tea? That tea wasn’t even given to me by old Lin. On what grounds should he give it to the two of you and not to me?”