Glory

After discussing with Ye Chongming, Ye Yaming decided that the premium tea base would only be gifted, not sold; currently, only mid to low-grade teas were being offered in the teahouse.

The patrons present were all seasoned tea connoisseurs. As soon as the tea was brewed, they could tell the condition of the loose tea at the time of harvesting just by examining the tea leaves. The staff couldn't comment on the quality of the loose tea, so they let the taste speak for itself.

Osmanthus Tea was a secret recipe of the Ye family, unique throughout the entire Great Jin dynasty with no other branches offering it. Selling it at a low price would not only result in a loss but also diminish the tea's grade and elegance. Therefore, even though the tea leaves used were not of the highest quality and the osmanthus flowers were purchased cheaply, after discussions between Ye Chongming and Ye Yaming, they still set a relatively high price.

After all, they had only produced a few hundred jin in total, and Ye Hongsheng had taken more than half of it to the capital. For tea enthusiasts who loved this particular flavor, even if it was expensive and the tea leaves weren't exceptionally high quality, they would still buy it. They had no worries about selling the Osmanthus Tea.

To allow the aroma of the Osmanthus Tea to fully emerge and to enhance its flavor, Ye Jiaxing, upon arriving at the teahouse, specifically called the tea masters over to instruct them on the brewing method.

Thus, after brewing the tea, the tea masters did not cover the teapots. Only when the tea was brought near the tables did they put the lids on and proceed to pour the tea for everyone.

As soon as the tea was poured, a rich osmanthus fragrance filled the teahouse. Not only those at nearby tables but even patrons sitting farther away could smell it.

"Oh my, is this Osmanthus Tea? It's truly fragrant," someone exclaimed, craning their neck to look in the direction of the aroma.

Among the patrons who had ordered the tea, one impatient individual, unable to contain their curiosity, didn't wait for the poured tea. As soon as the tea master finished pouring and set the teapot down—before even refilling it with water—the patron eagerly leaned over to examine the tea leaves inside the teapot.

"There really are only tea leaves!" they exclaimed in surprise.

This exclamation prompted other patrons to crowd around and inspect the tea leaves in the teapot.

The tea master didn't rush them, allowing everyone to look.

After examining the leaves, the first impatient patron grew curious about the tea's taste. Ignoring the heat, while others were still inspecting the leaves, they picked up a teacup and took a sip.

As the tea entered their mouth, the rich osmanthus aroma seemed to transfer from the air into their palate. The fragrance and the tea's refreshing taste spread throughout their mouth, evoking a sense of bliss that felt almost spiritual.

They quickly swallowed the tea and exclaimed, "Oh my, this tea tastes absolutely wonderful. It's so fragrant, incredibly fragrant. Besides the aroma, there's also the refreshing quality of the tea. Every aspect is simply perfect!"

Hearing this, the other patrons hurriedly picked up their teacups to taste the tea as well, and soon, exclamations of praise filled the room.

The tea master, delighted by the compliments, cheerfully poured a round of hot water into the teapot before moving on to brew tea for other tables.

With such high praise for the Osmanthus Tea at this table, orders for it quickly multiplied throughout the teahouse. After tasting it, some wealthy patrons immediately bought one or several jin at a time.

The shopkeeper happily weighed the tea for them and added, "We only have about two hundred jin of this Osmanthus Tea in total. Once it's sold out, there won't be any more. You gentlemen acted quickly—you're truly fortunate."

"Why is there so little?" one patron asked anxiously upon hearing this.

He had found the tea expensive, so he had only bought one jin, planning to come back for more after finishing it. This way, he wouldn't have to spend too much money at once, making the purchase less painful.

But with only two hundred jin in total, the tea would likely sell out in less than two days. By the time he wanted to buy more, there would be none left.

"Manager Lin, you're not trying to fool me, are you?" he asked suspiciously, turning to Lin Zhensheng.Lin Zhensheng said, "You all know our Old Master Ye insists on treating customers with honesty. How would I dare to spout nonsense? Our Ye family's loose tea is limited in quantity, the osmanthus in the city is scarce, and the production process is extremely complex. We only made a little over four hundred catties in total, and half of it must be allocated to our regular customers in the capital. That leaves us with just about two hundred catties here."

Hearing this, the tea customer no longer doubted him and, forgetting his reluctance to spend money, said to the shop assistant weighing the tea, "Give me another two... no, make it three catties."

After a moment's thought, he felt it still wasn’t enough and immediately added, "No, no—make it five catties."

This Osmanthus Tea tasted excellent and was in short supply—after all, rarity increases value. Once the teahouse sold out, other tea enthusiasts would surely offer high prices to those who had bought some, begging them to share a portion. If he sold two catties, he might even recoup the cost of the three catties he kept for himself, all while earning goodwill.

With this thought, he wished he could buy even more.

But Lin Zhensheng said, "I'm sorry, Sixth Master Wu. Because the tea is limited, and our Old Master Ye wants everyone to have a chance to taste it, each person is restricted to two catties. The rest still needs to be sold in our teahouse."

"Only two catties?" Sixth Master Wu grew anxious upon hearing this and wanted to argue with Lin Zhensheng.

A friend close to him quickly tugged at his sleeve and shot him a warning look.

Though puzzled, Sixth Master Wu held his tongue.

Only after leaving the teahouse with his tea did he ask his friend, "What was that about? Why did you stop me? Don’t you want to buy more?"

He then explained his plan.

Since the two were friends of similar modest means and frugal lifestyles, his friend didn’t laugh at him but instead thought it was a clever idea.

His friend shook his head and said, "Arguing would be useless and might even offend those wealthy and influential customers who couldn’t buy the tea. If you want more, there’s a simpler way—just send another family member to buy more. The teahouse only restricts per person, not per household. Why go out of your way to make enemies?"

Sixth Master Wu immediately slapped his forehead and laughed, "You’re much cleverer than I am."

In the teahouse, the vast majority of customers, like Sixth Master Wu, were deeply impressed after tasting the Osmanthus Tea and rushed to buy one or two catties.

The few who didn’t buy any only found it too expensive, thinking that loose tea with a hint of osmanthus fragrance wasn’t worth the steep price—not because the tea tasted bad.

Watching the gleaming silver flow across the counter, one shrewd customer had an idea and quickly asked Lin Zhensheng, "Where is your Old Master Ye? I’d like to discuss something with him."

The Ye family might have run out of loose tea, but he had plenty. While osmanthus in Lin’an was out of season, the capital still had some. Since the capital was north of Lin’an, the osmanthus there would bloom later. If he went to the capital now to purchase osmanthus in bulk and produce Osmanthus Tea on a large scale, even if he only took a small cut, he would still make a fortune.

Lin Zhensheng smiled and replied, "Since our family has newly produced Osmanthus Tea, the Old Master naturally took some for Master Zhineng to sample. He went to Chongshan Temple early this morning and isn’t here."

"What?" the man exclaimed, his face full of disappointment.

Master Zhineng of Chongshan Temple was a tea connoisseur. Upon tasting such excellent tea, he would surely be delighted. And since he associated with powerful and influential figures, with his recommendation, even if Ye Chongming sought a partnership, it certainly wouldn’t be with him.