Great Imperial Merchant

On the first day, Cheng Weizhe didn't tell Yang Zhongyuan where he was going, but he got up early the next day and had dinner with Zhou Quanxu. When the two went out, Cheng Weizhe said, "Actually, I want to visit my master today."

Yang Zhongyuan was very surprised, raised his eyebrows and asked him: "You... the teacher of the academy?"

Cheng Weizhe raised the tea snacks in his hand, and said, "I've given up taking the exam a long time ago. Why are you visiting Mr. Academy?"

Seeing that he refused to say anything, Yang Zhongyuan was curious and thought hard for a long time, but still had no idea.

"Quickly tell me who it is. If you don't tell me, I won't go with you!"

Seeing that Yang Zhongyuan seemed to be really angry, Cheng Weizhe had no choice but to say: "Oh, I'm just kidding you, this master, in fact, recently worshiped with great difficulty."

"His name is Han Shiqian. You may not have heard of his name, but have you ever heard of the reunion of the dragon and the phoenix?" Cheng Weizhe paused and whispered.

It was still early in the day, and the neighbors in the alley were going out in groups to go to work. Yang Zhongyuan and Cheng Weizhe walked close to the side of the alley, speaking in a low voice.

Hearing the name Longfeng Tuanyuan, the surprise on Yang Zhongyuan's face was hard to conceal.

Cheng Weizhe was a little surprised by his expression: "Why, you actually know?"

After all, ordering tea and cooking are almost two skills, so Yang Zhongyuan actually knew that the dragon and the phoenix were reunited, and Cheng Weizhe felt a little nervous.

Yang Zhongyuan didn't see the surprise on Cheng Weizhe's face, he just said thoughtfully: "In the summer of the 28th year of Emperor Hongcheng of the late emperor, Danluo offered imperial tea cakes on the ground, and the reunion of dragon and phoenix won three yuan alone. His technique, or the beauty of the dragon and phoenix reunion tea cakes, were all appreciated by the late emperor, and Han was immediately appointed as the royal tea merchant, and every year he specially offered the dragon and phoenix reunion and Xiao Ronghua."

This time, the astonishment on Cheng Weizhe's face couldn't be concealed, although he knew about it, but because his father Lin Shaofeng was from the Lin family's bodyguard agency, the tea cakes of Han's imperial merchants used to communicate with Beijing and Danluo through the Lin family.

But he really couldn't figure out how Yang Zhongyuan knew.

After Yang Zhongyuan finished speaking, he was still immersed in his own thoughts, and it took him a long time to realize that both he and Cheng Weizhe stopped, and neither of them moved forward.

He raised his head in surprise, but seeing Cheng Weizhe looking at him with a strange face, his heart suddenly became agitated.

Because he worked in the Imperial Dining Room these years, he paid special attention to eating in the palace. Tea was also considered a type of food, and it was all under the control of the Imperial Dining Room.The tea merchants have changed several times in these years, and Yang Zhongyuan has more or less tasted the taste of those imperial tea cakes.To be honest, it's really delicious.

Once he was chatting with Director Wei of the palace office, and the little palace staff below brought hot tea, so Yang Zhongyuan chatted with him about imperial tea.

General Manager Wei has lived in the palace all his life and has gone through three generations of emperors. He is a well-deserved veteran.

Yang Zhongyuan remembers very clearly that he said at that time: "The best imperial tea is the reunion of dragon and phoenix."

This kind of tea is not available in the palace now. Generally, the imperial merchants in Daliang offer tea and wine to each of the north and south, while the cloth only chooses two in Huai'an, and the rest are scattered, and there is no additional limit.

The reunion of dragons and phoenixes, which can make Director Wei remember deeply, must be very outstanding. Yang Zhongyuan was curious at the time, so he asked carefully.

Come to think of it, ordinary people have no way of knowing about it.

Yang Zhongyuan saw that Cheng Weizhe looked at him with deep and incomprehensible eyes, and his palms were sweating with tension. The two of them were silent for a long time, and it was Cheng Weizhe who broke the embarrassment first: "Well, you know a lot, but you know why the Han family became lonely later on. ?"

Manager Wei didn't say much about it, he only said that in the 33rd year of Hongcheng, the Han family specially apologized, saying that the prescription for the reunion of dragon and phoenix disappeared, and the ten best tea trees also suffered disasters, making it impossible to supply tea.

Emperor Wen always liked to put on airs, so since the tea trees were affected by the disaster, it was understandable that they could not offer tea, so Yong'an Palace recruited another tea fight, and it was replaced by the Cai family in Zhongshui City, which is also in Luo County. The Han family was completely expelled from the ranks of the imperial merchants, and has never been able to participate in the tea fight for more than ten years now.

As the chief manager of the imperial kitchen, Yang Zhongyuan searched through all the royal confessions of the imperial merchants when he took office. Now that Cheng Weizhe simply said a word, he naturally remembered many old things in his mind.

But just as he opened his mouth to answer, he thought of Cheng Weizhe's puzzled expression just now, so he quickly swallowed what he hadn't said, and turned his head to ask, "Why?"

Cheng Weizhe saw that he was not cheating this time, so he walked slowly, and still whispered: "The master I am talking about, Han Shiqian, was the only heir of the Han family back then. The title of Imperial Merchant was very popular for a while. The next year, the Han family told him about a marriage, and this person is none other than the son of Cai's parents in Zhongshui City."

Yang Zhongyuan trembled suddenly when he heard the next five words.

Cheng Weizhe didn't see Yang Zhongyuan's small movements, and just continued: "The Cai family is also a tea merchant. Before Hongcheng 28 years ago, they were the same big tea merchants in Danluo as the Han family. Although they are enemies in the same industry, the relationship between the two It’s still a job, especially the two heirs, who grew up in a tea garden in the countryside when they were young, and they have known each other since they were young, and their relationship is very good.”

Hearing this, Yang Zhongyuan felt as if he had already guessed the ending, but he still wanted to hear Cheng Weizhe speak slowly: "And then?"

Cheng Weizhe sighed: "This marriage, in the eyes of the common people at the time, was a match made in heaven. The two heirs became one family, bearing the title of imperial merchant, and the business could reach a higher level just around the corner. But no one thought that the Cai family To have such thoughts."

"They, are they the ones who want to be bigger?" Seeing Cheng Weizhe's unhappy face, Yang Zhongyuan reached out and patted him on the back.

"That's right, because of the marriage contract, the two families naturally communicate more than before, and the heirs of the Cai family come to live in Danluo every now and then, sometimes in the Han family's mansion, and sometimes in the tea garden of Qili Village. At that time, my master didn't notice anything, and was full of joy waiting for Hongcheng to marry him in 33 years, but unexpectedly, in the first month of marriage, the heir of the Cai family found ten tea trees for the reunion of dragon and phoenix, and burned the tea garden overnight Two clean."

This is too ruthless. The lifeblood of a tea merchant is tea trees. He destroyed the most precious tea trees of the Han family, and even the entire tea garden was engulfed by fire. There must be nothing left.

"This is too insane." Although Yang Zhongyuan was prepared in his heart, he was still surprised by the viciousness of the heir of the Cai family.

"That's right, that's true, but he did it cleanly, without leaving a trace of clues. My master fell ill because of this incident, and passed away the next month. My master was left alone to investigate everywhere. In the end, it only ended up with the word "fire for no apparent reason", and because of being so ruthlessly framed by his sweetheart, he was disheartened, and ended the Han family's decades of tea business prosperity."

Cheng Weizhe's voice fell, and the two of them just walked to Yinhong Lane in the south of the city. Danluo's beauty is peony, and most of the neighbors in the alley are named after the variety of peony, which sounds very elegant.

Yinhong Lane is a very quaint alley. Like Lanhe Lane, most of the people living there are ordinary people.Every family has a very small courtyard. Open the door and enter the courtyard, and then there are three small main rooms.If there are many people in the family, most of them can live in a side house built from the side.

Cheng Weizhe led him here, so Han Shiqian must be living in Yinhong Lane now.

"Who else is in Master Han's family?" Yang Zhongyuan asked.

The two walked in slowly, and the more they walked, the more dilapidated they became. They entered through the alley, as if walking through the carved beams and painted pillars to an ordinary alley, which also corresponded to the story Cheng Weizhe just told.

In the past, the wealthy imperial merchants turned around and settled in this remote old alley. The prosperity and wealth turned away, and all relatives and friends were gone. How desolate.

Cheng Weizhe spoke in a very soft and bitter voice: "It's gone, now Master is nearly fifty years old, and lives here alone, guarding his meager family property."

"It's pitiful, Ah Zhe, do you really worship him as a teacher?" Yang Zhongyuan sighed and asked after thinking about it.

This time, Cheng Weizhe's voice was very firm. He looked at Yang Zhongyuan and said, "Since I finally found the place where Master is now staying two years ago, I have come to see him every month. In the first year, he refused to let me in and said he would not accept me as an apprentice. , but he let go last year, not only letting me in, drinking tea with me occasionally, but also being reasonable. Before you came back this year, I begged him to accept me as an apprentice. I can see that he has already recognized me in his heart .”

Although Cheng Weizhe didn't answer Yang Zhongyuan's question directly, he expressed his intention between the lines.

Sincerity is the most important thing to learn from a teacher, and Cheng Weizhe never misses a month to visit his teacher, which is already regarded as sincerity.

Even Han Shiqian, who was disheartened, let him in and made tea with him.

"You are determined, but why did you let me go with you today?" Yang Zhongyuan said.

Speaking of this, Cheng Weizhe actually has selfish intentions. He had already thought about it last night. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he could kill two birds with one stone. He hoped that he could worship his master and have a confidant again.

"You have heard about Master's experience. He has a weird temper. Now he only thinks that people should stick to their promises. So, no matter what I say later, you can cooperate with me, okay?" Cheng Weizhe flashed a serious light, as if begging asked.

Yang Zhongyuan didn't notice Cheng Weizhe's strangeness, but he was happy for his hard work, so he said: "Okay, I will definitely cooperate with all my strength. If you become a teacher, remember to owe me a favor."

As he said that, Cheng Weizhe stopped in front of a brown wooden door. From the outside, this small house didn't seem very big, but fortunately, the white walls and green tiles were very clean, and the ivy that came out from the top of the wall was very green. , revealing a freshness.

Cheng Weizhe gave Yang Zhongyuan a wink, stepped forward and knocked on the door: "Master, I'm Xiaozhe, and I'm here to see you."

Not long after, there was a squeak, and the brown door opened in response, and a tall, thin, middle-aged man appeared in front of the two of them.

This is the first time Yang Zhongyuan saw Han Shiqian, but at this glance, he already felt astonished.

As the eldest son of the largest tea merchant in Danluo, Han Shiqian has read poetry and books since he was a child, and later practiced tea ceremony. He achieved a small success at the age of 20.Later, he encountered a catastrophe and became disheartened. He lived alone in this small Yinhong Lane for 20 years.

But when Yang Zhongyuan saw him for the first time, he felt that this middle-aged man who seemed to be in good spirits was like an immortal from heaven and earth.His whole body exudes a strong bookish air, a pair of dark eyes are wise and powerful, his figure is tall and straight, his gown is neat and clean, and his gray hair is neatly tied behind his head, making people look like he is being controlled by him. Impressed by the temperament.

This man, no matter how you look at it, does not seem disheartened or lifeless.