Chapter 62

Bringing this up made Wu Lan angry!

"Go ask your father! He took everything out of my refrigerator and didn't put it back!"

"I just took the time to pick a jin or so of tea leaves, and when I came back, the dumplings had thawed and were all stuck together!"

If it weren't for this, they wouldn't be eating dumplings at noon—this food is easy to boil and perfect for breakfast during busy farming seasons.

Song Song Sancheng buried his head deep and muttered: "I just wanted to put the tea leaves in, but then I took them out and couldn't put them back..."

And then he forgot about it while eating breakfast.

Ah, this...

Song Tan was also helpless: "Dad, how big is the freezer section at the bottom of our fridge? You still want to put tea leaves in there? Just tell me, and I'll bring back a chest freezer when I go to the city tomorrow."

It was her oversight, too. There were more and more things at home, and a chest freezer was essential.

Chest freezers weren't expensive nowadays; you could buy a very nice, high-capacity one for a little over a thousand.

Song Song Sancheng felt even more sheepish upon hearing this: "I just... I just didn't think of it. Who knew the dumplings would thaw so fast..."

Zhang Zhang Yanping, watching from the side, couldn't help but let out a "pfft" of laughter:

"It's alright, Uncle. I love eating dumplings. We're family, so what does it matter if the skins are a bit broken?"

Listen to that—is it any wonder Zhang Zhang Yanping was so well-liked by the family? His tongue was so slick; he really knew how to talk!

Logically, Song Song Sancheng should have breathed a sigh of relief.

But after hearing this, and looking at Zhang Zhang Yanping's tall, sturdy, and hearty appetite, his expression suddenly turned even more bitter:

"That was the last of the shepherd's purse dumplings..."

This mournful tone left Zhang Zhang Yanping completely bewildered.

But soon, he became interested again: "Auntie, did we pick tea leaves this year? They must be fragrant!"

Bringing this up really perked Song Song Sancheng up. He wasn't depressed anymore; he threw the seeds into a basin of water and pulled the other man straight into the house.

Then, he carefully unearthed the bag of tea leaves from its layers of wrapping and, with extra caution, grabbed a small pinch and placed it securely into a cup.

He didn't pour water in; he just left the cup like that: "Zhang Yanping, smell this! If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have poured these tea leaves for anyone!"

But these are dry tea leaves! They smell fragrant enough, but Uncle, what's the point of not pouring water?

Zhang Zhang Yanping's rhythm was thrown off, so he had no choice but to lower his head and take a sniff—

"Hey, this fragrance is indeed different!"

Only then did Song Song Sancheng beam with joy and hurriedly brewed him some tea.

Poor thing, after that tiny bit of Fresh Maojian tea leaves unfurled, it only thinly covered the bottom of the cup.

Zhang Zhang Yanping found it amusing. He picked up the cup and examined it closely, seeing a layer of tiny fuzz on the tea water, while the tea buds inside stood upright and distinct, with a serene emerald hue.

As the steam rose, that refreshing, fragrant aroma swirled around, soothing the heart and spirit.

A hint of bitterness, a hint of roasted aroma, but more than anything, it was a freshness that far exceeded the ordinary.

He opened his eyes wide in surprise and blurted out: "Good tea!"

No wonder Uncle wanted to find every way to preserve it well; he would be heartbroken if even a little bit of this tea were lost.

He blew on it gently and took a small sip.

Song Song Sancheng wrapped the tea leaves back up in their layers, and turning to see Zhang Yanping had gone quiet, he couldn't help but wonder: "What's wrong?"

He heard Zhang Zhang Yanping let out a long sigh of relief:

"Uncle, for this tea of yours, anything less than six thousand per jin is a waste of it!"

"What the hell?!!"

Song Song Sancheng jumped up.

Just then, Song Tan walked in, and hearing this, she couldn't help but be amused:

"Brother Zhang Yanping, no wonder my aunt says you have a picky palate; you really do know how to eat and drink! I was indeed planning to sell this tea for ten thousand or eight thousand."

This kind of thing isn't like vegetables; vegetables sell for twenty yuan, and anyone, rich or poor, can have a taste.

But tea isn't a daily necessity. Whoever loves it, whoever is willing to spend the money—let them come and buy it!

"What?!"

Song Song Sancheng raised his voice again.

He didn't expect that even Zhang Zhang Yanping would nod this time: "Indeed. Do you have any channels? If not, take some samples, and I'll find people for you."

He hadn't spent these past few years eating and drinking for nothing; the high-end fruit from his family's home had a great reputation, and basically, all the channels were found by him.

It's just that in his parents' eyes, this kind of aimless eating and drinking really couldn't be counted as a skill.

Song Tan nodded: "There should be people who want it. Don't rush, Brother Zhang Yanping, you should just focus on your work for now."

Such a good, strong laborer—she should use him for a few days first; selling the tea wasn't urgent.

However, when she turned her head, she saw Song Song Sancheng's expression was even more dismal.

Song Tan couldn't help but ask: "Dad, what's wrong?"

Her gaze darted to the bag of tea leaves, and she was startled: "You didn't already sell the tea leaves, did you?"

Song Song Sancheng said with a mournful face: "Sell? Well, no."

"It's just that your Uncle Zhou came over this morning to deliver tea leaves, and in a moment of loose-lippedness, I gave away eight jin..."

He desperately tried to justify himself: "It's not... it's not that our tea leaves are more than planned, and your Uncle Song stays up all night... and his craftsmanship is good, and our labor costs are low... five jin of it was summer tea anyway..."

If labor costs are low, you can raise the wages!

Song Tan felt her vision go dark.

Even if the village custom was to give away a little something extra, there was no need to promise eight jin in one go!

This really was her own father!

She looked at Song Song Sancheng, who had the same pained expression, and sighed: "That's eighty thousand yuan, Dad. I'm farming, and you've only supported me with sixty thousand in total."

Looking at Song Song Sancheng like this, her blood pressure was about to spike.

Song Tan thought left and right, but her cultivation wasn't high enough to see past this eighty thousand; her heart ached.

Feeling pained and conflicted, she could only play her trump card—

"Mom!"

Zhang Zhang Yanping sat restlessly at the dining table, his eyes darting toward his uncle.

"Tan Tan, there's no need for that."

Song Tan also looked sheepish:

"I just wanted my mom to talk to my dad about not being so generous, but I didn't expect the dumplings plus the tea to be like adding fuel to the fire..."

The siblings looked at each other until Song Qiao Song Qiao came over with a large bowl:

"Brother, Mom says the best dumplings are for you."

What followed was a broken version of dumplings with skin and filling for everyone.

But as soon as the dumpling skin broke, the aroma in the air became even more intense. Zhang Zhang Yanping took a deep breath:

"Auntie, your cooking is much better than my mom's. These dumplings are truly delicious!"

Wu Lan laughed: "You have such a sweet tongue, child! You haven't even eaten them yet, and you know they're delicious?"

Zhang Zhang Yanping patted his chest: "When it comes to eating, I can tell if it's good or not just by the smell. These dumplings definitely taste great!"

Saying this, he opened his mouth and took a bite.

The flavor of the dumplings exploded in his mouth—the exquisite combination of shepherd's purse and meat left him with no time to even chew, and he wolfed down the second bite.

With dumplings like these, let alone eating them for one meal, he wouldn't get tired of them even if he ate them every day!

If he had known Auntie's food was this delicious, he should have come sooner.

Like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds, muddled and confused, like a piglet rooting for food... after finishing a large bowl just like that, he rubbed his stomach, still wanting more:

"Is there any more?"

Beside him, Song Song Sancheng was eating white noodles boiled in the dumpling soup, glaring at him on the sly:

He really does have a huge appetite!

——————Aside——————

Ten thousand words! That's it, really, I've squeezed myself dry...

Because the timeline of this story moves very slowly, some plants haven't been planted yet, so don't be anxious, everyone; we'll take it step by step. But you are welcome to sign up enthusiastically and let me see the differences across the country!

In short, thank you all for your support. To tell you something you'd love to hear: I'll keep up the ten thousand words a day tomorrow!

Thank you!

The rest will be in the comments section.

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