Chapter 89: The New Trend on Tea Leaf Street

“Even little foxes need to buy a house to mate.”

Hearing the little fox wanted to manage finances, Yu Xueqing’s forehead twitched with dark lines, but she still comforted Xiao’an gently:

“Xiao’an, don’t be afraid. In Jiule City, the traditional dowry is usually two to three times the bride price.”

“How about we swap? I help you solve the bride price problem, and you help me solve the dowry problem.”

Mentioning marriage, Yu Xueqing suddenly thought of her own situation, and felt a quiet pang.

In Xiadong, wedding customs regarding bride price and dowry vary by region.

In Jiule City originally, bride prices ranged from three to five thousand, up to thirty to fifty thousand, and the bride’s family would typically return two to three times that amount as dowry.

But then.

Enter Master Idea: If I’m already giving cars and houses for marriage, why can’t I get the money back from my in-laws?

Bride prices soared from thirty to fifty thousand to one or two million, and there were even cases where grooms took out massive loans to receive over six million in dowry.

In Jiule City, when people ask about bride price and dowry, they usually get silence in return.

In high school, Yu Xueqing had many female friends and study group companions.

But most were already married or engaged, their lives revolving around family, with no time to meet up with old friends.

Sometimes, lacking a way to get rich is just a matter of the region and in-laws not finding the right path.

“What? Jiule has this custom? Isn’t a full wedding usually costing the groom around eight hundred thousand?”

Upon hearing Yu Xueqing’s words, the little fox’s face showed clear shock.

An Sheng wore an expression of existential doubt.

But then he relaxed.

His past matchmaking partners weren’t from Zhangxizhen but from Changpingshan—different districts, so different customs seemed normal.

Still, compared to this, Auntie Qing’s customs are a bit insane!

No wonder in the past matchmaking market, I never heard of any girl from Zhangxizhen being unmarriageable.

Your lips are sealed tight!

I’ve been coming here every year for oolong tea!

…………

Moved by these thoughts, Yu Xueqing took the little fox out to a teahouse and ordered two baskets of char siu bao.

Sitting cross-legged inside the teahouse, An Sheng stared oddly at the street.

His wish list occasionally refreshed.

【Sob. Wasn’t it supposed to be that fools get lucky? I’m practically exhausted into being an idiot, and the only luck I’ve got is gaining weight. I stayed up all night revising PPTs and now I have to go to work. Sob sob sob, Mazu, I really don’t want to work anymore! I want to roam free! — A tea academy graduate, face grimacing, begging for divine help at 7:30 a.m. for a three-hundred-yuan attendance bonus.】

【Wish fulfilled: A job that can make big money】

“I remember tea academy graduates all specialized in plant cultivation, right?”

In the past, An Sheng never paid attention to similar wishes.

He himself was surviving by being cute; now even foxes had to go out and work, surviving by being cute.

But since Zhangxizhen produced Chen Nian, whenever An Sheng heard someone praying to Mazu for a visa, he’d automatically glance over to see what the wisher was up to.

The girl’s spirit floated ahead, her body trudging behind like a zombie, radiating thick resentment—more potent than that of a wrongfully dead ghost.

An Sheng stared oddly at the street, his gaze fixed on the California phone number in his wish list.

“Sending talent to Amerika like this… doesn’t that feel kind of off?”

“No no no, I’m just a fox—I can’t get involved in those things. Better pretend I didn’t see it. Chen Nian, besides waving his flower hands, now even wields American-style iaido with incredible flair.”

An Sheng forced himself to suppress his urge to watch the drama unfold and turned his attention to the shrimp dumplings on the plate.

“Xiao’an, why do you look so strange? Are you about to poop?”

Yu Xueqing, feeding the little fox, noticed his odd expression and asked.

“Mmm”

An Sheng shook his head, wondering whether he should notify Old Chen that a talented young man had emerged from their village.

He couldn’t get the overseas gossip from Chen Nian.

But seeing Old Chen jump for joy would be entertainment enough for An Sheng.

After breakfast tea, Yu Xueqing took Xiao’an to a nearby commercial street and bought a large money jar.

Since the little fox wanted to save money, Yu Xueqing naturally had no objection.

A fox who earns through talent deserves a salary.

After buying the money jar, Yu Xueqing brought Xiao’an back to her family’s Hongfa Tea House to pick up some sample tea leaves for live-streaming sales.

Only—

As Yu Xueqing stepped out of the car, she heard a string of foxy “mmms.”

“Bro, this meat sausage doesn’t even have meat!”

Yu Xueqing glanced sideways, puzzled, and scanned the tea street—two tea vendors squatted by the roadside, teasing a polar fox.

The polar fox looked deeply unwilling, refusing even the food offered in its cage, whimpering with a thick, unmistakable foreign accent.

“Dad, what are those uncles doing?” Yu Xueqing picked up her own little fox and kept her distance from the polar fox, whose mouth kept spouting “bro” before and after, then entered the tea house and asked Yu Zhenghong.

“Hah, what else? They’re jealous.” Yu Zhenghong beamed. “They saw how our Fu Li Lao Ye lures customers at the door.”

“Last night your live stream suddenly got traffic, so I told all the old guys to come over and boost your viewership.”

“They saw Fu Li Lao Ye earning thousands in tips through live streaming and selling nearly a thousand yuan worth of tea—they went crazy with envy.”

“So this morning, they rushed to the pet market and bought the most spiritually gifted fox they could find.”

Yu Zhenghong was beaming. Whether they made money or not didn’t really matter.

His joy and pride came from gaining face before his old friends.

His family now had Fu Li Lao Ye’s protection—Aqing had truly invited a real fox immortal home.

Forget those old guys. Let me catch some of Fu Li Lao Ye’s luck, baby, come to Grandpa!

“I’ve got premium incense for fulfilling vows.” Yu Zhenghong rubbed his hands, lifted An Sheng onto the altar, and solemnly lit the vow incense while chanting.

“Dad, I feel like the polar fox those uncles bought seems… off.”

“It’s just a fox. What’s wrong with it?” Yu Zhenghong scoffed, then turned with a sycophantic smile toward their own Fu Li Lao Ye, clutching the incense.

“Why believe in such nonsense at your age? Believe in your own hands and hard work. Don’t fall for superstition.”

“Bro, your goods are fake. Swap me a new batch.” The polar fox’s whimper, translated in Yu Xueqing’s mind into a strange West Coast accent, made her picture scenes from The Godfather.

Yu Xueqing felt certain.

That polar fox was full of rebellion.

And then—

Another tea shop owner brought back a polar fox he’d bought from the pet market.

The owners were all pondering how to train their own polar foxes to be like Hong’s—luring customers at the door and earning money through live streaming.

(End of Chapter)