Chapter 342: Tea Shop

He Zuming and I entered the villa and looked around.

It was a fairly large villa, with eight rooms, each with its own bathroom.

And they were all already renovated; we only needed to buy some furniture.

I was quite satisfied with what I saw.

He Zuming also nodded.

"How much per month?" I asked.

"Fifty thousand yuan per month, and a year's fee must be paid," Huang Mao said.

"Alright, we'll pay right now..."

"I need to verify the tenant's information."

He Zuming took out his ID card,

"After we pay, can we get the keys?"

"Once we sign the contract at our brokerage, we'll give you the keys."

"Let's go to the brokerage."

He Zuming and I quickly arrived at the brokerage, signed the contract and paid 600,000 and the rent, and the brokerage gave us the villa's keys.

He Zuming and I went to the furniture market again, selected some furniture, and had it delivered.

After finishing all that, it was already noon.

He Zuming said, "Let's go to the tea shop. We'll tidy up the rest when Ding Li arrives."

I said, "Okay, let's go to the tea shop."

We drove to a tea house called Gathering Fate on Sanhuan Road.

The tea house's owner was short, in his forties, with a short neck and a very plump body, like a soccer ball placed on a round table.

He reached out his hand as soon as he saw He Zuming from a distance,

"Hey, Mr. He, you're here, come inside and sit."

"Boss, long time no see, how have you been," He Zuming extended his hand and shook the boss's hand.

"I'm well, Mr. He, perfect timing. I just bought a fish tank; where do you think it should go?" the boss said happily.

"Alright, let's take a look."

After He Zuming finished speaking, he led me into the tea house.

The tea house was spacious, with over three hundred square meters on the first floor,

housing various teas and antiques.

In the center stood a large tea sea.

Behind the tea sea was a large fish tank containing three golden dragon fish.

It was quite imposing.

He Zuming stared at the shop's arrangement, twirling his beard silently.

The boss looked at me and quickly took out a cigarette,

"How should I address you, sir?"

I took the cigarette,

"May I know your honorable surname? Zhao. Hello, boss."

"Hello, Boss Zhao, please have a seat and tea," the boss shook my hand.

I sat down at a spot beside the tea sea.

The server hurried over, boiled water, and brewed tea for us.

After looking, He Zuming said confidently to the boss, "Boss, placing the fish tank in this spot is wrong."

The boss hurriedly asked, "Mr. He, why is it wrong?"

"In your shop, the north is the main seat, where the boss sits. Your wealth comes from the east, and the fish tank represents rolling wealth, so I suggest placing it on the east side.

Secondly, these dragon fish are carnivorous and fierce; guests seeing such a ferocious fish upon entering will affect business.

Placing it on the north side too close to the tea, the tank is damp, while tea prefers dryness; they shouldn't be that close," He Zuming said.

After hearing He Zuming finish,

the boss smiled, "Indeed, Mr. He is right; we'll do everything exactly as you said.

I've just stocked the finest Da Hong Pao; in a moment I'll bring Mr. He two boxes to sample."

He Zuming didn't hold back,

"Let the boss foot the bill."

"Mr. He, have a seat and some water," the boss invited He Zuming to sit.

The server, having already brewed the tea, skillfully poured it for us.

I lifted the cup and took a sip,

The tea was good, fragrant and refreshing.

He Zuming took a sip of water and said, "Boss, I brought Boss Zhao here; we'd like to buy some tea."

The boss asked, "Is it for yourself or as a gift?"

He Zuming said, "For cricket fighting. This one has sixteen competitions. Didn't Autumn Boss tell you?"

The boss said, "For competition use; Autumn Boss hasn't told me. Since autumn began, because of the higher-level inspection, the competitions have stopped.

This is the first competition after the Spring Festival; I believe it will be a big event."

"It's unclear at the moment; the main concern is the higher-level inspection. Autumn Boss is probably busy smoothing relations; once the connections are in place, he'll notify you immediately," He Zuming said.

The boss glanced at me,

Then he asked He Zuming,

"Does Boss Zhao like raw pu'er or ripe pu'er?"

"Not keeping it from that boss, Boss Zhao is a beginner, just getting started." He Zuming said.

"Then that's good, Boss Zhao, you've found the right person. This Mr. He has extensive connections here and is well regarded by all kinds of bosses; through him you can meet many notable people." That boss said.

"That boss is the one who feeds me; without you, I, He Zuming, would have nowhere to eat. Boss Zhao, you should have more contact with that boss in the future. The tea leaves used for fighting worms all come from that boss." He Zuming said.

I hurriedly said: "Then please trouble that boss to take me, this novice, along. I'll ask you for guidance often."

That boss hurriedly waved his hands,

"Don't be polite, Boss Zhao; since Mr. He recommended you, I won't say anything, I'll definitely help if needed."

Using tea leaves as chips has existed since ancient times; during the Republic of China era, cricket fighting used tea leaves as stakes.

Now it's different; how much money can a packet of tea leaves be worth?

They can only be used as chips. One packet of tea leaves is worth 100,000.

Their wins and losses are usually several tens of packets of tea leaves.

As for us, it's also impossible to actually move the tea leaves to the competition site.

That would require how much tea?

If you buy ten packets of tea leaves here, I'll give you ten tea leaf cards; these cards won't let you take them away, and I'll hand them to you at the time of the competition.

After the competition, we'll collect them all back.

If you want to exchange tea leaves, you can do so freely; if you want to exchange for cash, we charge a 3% handling fee—brothers settle accounts clearly.

Our tea shop lives off this 3% commission. Boss Zhao, whoever it is, we charge the same.

Let's make this clear first. Don't let there be any misunderstanding later.

"That boss, looking at what you say, this is all proper. There's no such thing as pointless busyness in the world."

"What Mr. He introduced, I trust you. Today I'll buy twenty packets of tea leaves." I said.

"Boss Zhao is a straightforward person. Twenty packets is fine—cash or card?" That boss asked.

"Cash. I'll go get it from the car right now." I said, then stood up.

I took 2,000,000 in cash from the car and handed it to that boss.

That boss had the clerk count the money, then gave me a receipt.

And noted twenty tea leaf cards.

After finishing these, that boss directly asked: "Boss Zhao, where is your worm? Did you bring it yourself? Have you had someone look at it?"

I shook my head and said: "That boss, I'm a novice; I just bought a worm yesterday from Hongguo Li, and he's raising it for me."

"Oh, Hongguo Li is raising it. How much did the worm cost?" That boss asked.

"100,000 each." I said.

"It should be a good worm. At the competition, you should arrive early, watch your worm, and with so many people make sure nobody takes it by mistake." That boss reminded.

"Okay, thanks for that boss's reminder."

"At that time, if I have any questions, I'll definitely ask that boss." I thanked.

"Boss Zhao, don't be polite." That boss said.

At this moment, He Zuming stood up,

"That boss, we still have things to do; we'll leave first, see you at the competition site on the sixteenth."

"Mr. He, let's have lamb dumplings together at noon before leaving." That boss suggested.

"No trouble, that boss. Let's go, Boss Zhao, we'll go elsewhere to look around." He Zuming said.