"Mr. Xia? Where did Mr. Xia come from?"
Fifty taels of silver jobs are not easy to find, and having a competitor will naturally not attract good looks.
The small pavilion is not big, and there happened to be one person sitting on each side.
There is a cushion in front of him, a short-legged desk on top, and an incense burner in the hall, with green smoke curling.
Xia Shang took off his bamboo hat, shook off the rain and dew on his body, and sat cross-legged. The old man Mr. Jia smiled sideways and sneered: "You are a young boy who is probably as old as the daughter of the Sai family. How can you teach him?"
Indeed.
Xia Shang is too young. His eighteen-year-old appearance and fair complexion make him look like fifteen or sixteen years old. If it weren't for Xia Shang's steady and decent manners, he would probably be mistaken for a student.
Sai E was also puzzled, thinking why would a maid invite a young boy in? But the maid stood outside the pavilion without moving, so she turned her eyes to Xia Shang and asked softly: "Mr. Xia, let me ask you, do you have any achievements or reputation?"
"My lady, neither of them."
Sai'e frowned slightly, not knowing how to answer for a moment.
The young man on the side heard that Xia Shang had neither achievements nor reputation, and couldn't help but sneered: "You really don't know how high the mountains and seas are. I'm afraid he is an opportunist who comes here just for the fifty taels of silver?"
Xia Shang ignored him and looked at Sai'e indifferently. The woman was plump and sat lazily, looking rich and noble. Although she looked gentle on the surface, she was actually majestic without anger. Her innate elegance made the two people beside her dare not look at her.
Only Xia Shang, the youngest, had the most stable temperament.
This made Sai'e a little suspicious. What was the origin of this handsome young man who was as beautiful as a girl? Sitting cross-legged is like a green bamboo outside the courtyard, swaying with the wind, neither hard nor soft. Looking at it is like being bathed in the spring breeze, but not weak.
Xia Shang said: "I heard outside the pavilion that the lady will test it. Since I am here, why don't I give it a try?"
Sai E nodded: "That's right, I'm here, please sit down. The three of you will listen to me in detail."
Sai E made a gesture of invitation, meaning to invite everyone to have tea.
On the desk, the tea in the celadon teapot was already fragrant. The people in the pavilion were content with themselves. While sipping tea, Sai'e continued:
"I have only one daughter. We have been dependent on each other for 16 years. I have always regarded her as my dearest daughter and the root of my life. It is also because I am used to being spoiled. Jiangnan has been unruly and willful since she was a child. It is difficult to discipline her. The teachers I invited before were all talented. Unfortunately, they lacked some skills and were difficult to teach Jiangnan, so they ran away without saying a word.
In order to ask you to truly discipline Jiangnan, I have prepared a few test questions here, not only It is to test your practical knowledge and also your wit. Do you have any opinions?
"Madam, please feel free to speak."
"Well, the first question I will ask is tea tasting."
"Tea tasting?"
"Yes, it is the tea you three drank before. Tea tasting can reveal a person's state of mind and insights. Tea tasting is like observing a person. The tea taste is the person's character. Only when the character and mind of a person match mine, I will feel at ease to hand over my daughter to you. Who of you will speak first?
This tea tasting may seem like a little fun, but it is actually great wisdom.
To put it in a broader sense, tea tasting is like discussing the current situation. You can be imaginative and express your own opinions, but you can also see a person's character, pursuit, temperament, etc. at a glance.
Which aspect should be approached from? Should we taste the taste of tea alone? Or should we use tea to express our meaning? This all needs to be considered.
The young scholar couldn't hold back his temper first, and stood up first, holding the folding fan horizontally, and quietly placed the teacup on it. Although it was shaking and almost spilling the tea, there was also the elegance of the fingertips, which matched his blue shirt and scarf, making him look very chic.
This style was enough, and it could be said that the scholar's flaunting spirit was brought to the extreme.
Just as he was about to speak, Xia Shang suddenly sneezed violently.
"Ah!"
The sudden sneeze scared everyone, and the scholar holding the folding fan was no exception.
Others would at most break out in a cold sweat, but the scholar was so startled that he spilled tea all over himself, and the teacup fell to the ground and shattered. The previous flaunting spirit was gone, leaving only a mess and extreme embarrassment.
"Hahaha..." After Mr. Jia opened the size, he squinted his eyes and twisted his beard, muttering to himself, "After all, he was young and frivolous, lacking a little stability, lacking a little stability!"
Such a big mess happened at such a critical moment!
Who can bear it?
With tea all over his body, he didn't know what to do and stood in the pavilion. Not to mention the embarrassment of the scholar himself, Sai E, as the host, also blushed a little and hurriedly called the maid outside the pavilion:
"Xiaoxiang, give the gentleman a handkerchief."
After the scholar wiped his clothes with a handkerchief, the embarrassment was relieved. He blamed Xia Shang for his anger and shouted:
"It's you! You must have done it on purpose!"
Xia Shang spread his hands: "Brother, it's unfair! If a person sneezes, even gods can't stop it. This... this, this, how can you blame me?"
"You didn't sneeze earlier or later, but you did it on purpose!" He hit me just when I stood up and raised my cup. It was obviously intentional!"
"Brother, what you said is wrong. Can't you just hold the cup in your hand? Why did you put it on the fan?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Mr. Jia was laughing happily, and felt something in his heart, "This is stealing a chicken but losing the rice! Hahaha..."
"You...you!" The scholar blushed, and did not argue with the two. He turned to Sai'e and said, "Madam, please judge. You saw it with your own eyes just now. It must be that Xia Shang who did bad things and deliberately made trouble for me."
"This..." Sai'e was also embarrassed.
Everyone with a discerning eye knew that Xia Shang did it on purpose, but if this matter was made clear, it would be bad for everyone.
Just when he didn't know how to answer, Xia Shang took the initiative to admit it.
"Forget it. Xia admits that I did it on purpose."
"You still dare to admit it?"
"Don't blame me, brother. I have my reasons."
"You are playing tricks on me. Do you have any other reasons?"
"Didn't Madam say before? Not only should we test our actual knowledge, but also our quick wits. You and I are both candidates for the test, and we are competitors. I know that I am not as good as you in actual knowledge, so I have to use a sneeze to ruin your grand talk. This is my plan to get a lot with a little effort. I hope Madam can see clearly. Can what Xia did be called quick wits?"
Saie was stunned. She never thought that this kid had such a plan. She couldn't help laughing, and then clapped her hands and nodded: "Great, great, it is true that all is fair in war. Mr. Xia's sneeze is good. My daughter Jiangnan will have to use some such means to control her.
As for this gentleman, I apologize to you on behalf of Mr. Xia. How about we let this matter go?"
The scholar was helpless after suffering a loss. He sat down angrily and stopped talking.
At this time, Mr. Jia, who was smiling, knew it was his turn.
"Madam Sai, your elegant residence in the bamboo forest adds a lot of color to this tea. The tea is good tea, a newly made flower tea in the Liuzhuang tea garden outside Yangzhou. This flower tea is fragrant and sweet, not astringent or bitter, the soup is sweet and pure, and the flowers are not broken during brewing. The soup and tea are distinct, and it is smooth to drink. It is the best tea.
Madam Sai can place this tea in the pavilion in the bamboo forest. It can be seen that Madam Sai is also a person who understands tea very well, that is, a soulmate. Then I don't need to say more, I believe Madam Sai has understood it in her heart."