When the Cannon Fodder Meets the Love-Brained Female Supporting Character - Episode 11

That day, the mysterious lord requested that she personally brew fruit wine and bury it beneath the century-old locust tree north of the city on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival.

The lord didn’t specify what kind of fruit wine or how much was needed.

Xiao Ran sat in her room, lost in thought for a long time. Her gaze swept over a large bundle, and she suddenly remembered that two days prior, her aunt had sent someone to deliver some items to her among them, there seemed to be fruit.

These past two days, she had been preoccupied with Xiao Li’s coveting of her mother’s dowry and had completely forgotten about it!

She grabbed the bundle and rummaged through it. Inside was a thick garment and some daily necessities. Digging deeper, she found a smaller parcel. Upon opening it, she discovered a pile of plump, ripe grapes.

A few of the grapes had been left too long and had spoiled.

Xiao Ran felt a pang of regret. Nowadays, grapes were cultivated by hand and weren’t particularly rare, but their prices remained stubbornly high.

She dug further into the bundle and, at the very bottom, found a small wine jar about two palms wide in diameter, along with a letter.

The letter contained her aunt’s teasing remarks, saying that Xiao Ran had always been skilled at making food and had once mentioned wanting to send Jiang Huai a jar of her own homemade wine. To indulge her whim, her aunt had sent the wine jar along as well.

Xiao Ran clutched the letter. In the past, such teasing from her aunt would have made her blush furiously, but now, it only stirred a sense of resistance within her.

She folded the letter neatly and tucked it into an old drawer.

Her sole focus now was brewing the wine to fulfill the agreement.

________________________________________

Under Jiang Nan’s lavish spending, the tea-making process reached its final step, light roasting in just seven days.

Jiang Nan pondered for a moment before instructing Fang Rui, “Set aside one-third for light roasting and roast the rest at medium heat. The former will be ready in half a month, the latter in two months.”

Originally, all the tea should have undergone medium roasting to fully bring out Half-Day Demon’s rich dual aroma of flowers and fruit. However, medium-roasted tea required two months of aging to achieve a smooth, mellow flavor without any throat-drying harshness, whereas light roasting only needed half a month though the latter naturally wouldn’t be as fragrant as the former.

But Jiang Nan could use the difference in aging time as a selling point, allowing her to squeeze out a bit more profit.

Half a month later.

Jiang Nan had Fang Rui hire people to advertise in high-end venues, with the final line reading: “Exclusive Half-Day Demon tea. First batch now available, limited to just one hundred portions, first come, first served.”

Fang Rui was puzzled. “Don’t we have at least three hundred portions?”

Jiang Nan smiled. “Dumping them all at once would be boring. Might as well make those young masters bleed a little more.”

________________________________________

Chen Nanjin was widely recognized as Yangcheng’s foremost tea connoisseur.

Whether it was the craftsmanship of the tea or the nuances of each infusion’s aroma, he could dissect them all in detail.

Most teahouses, upon opening or releasing new products, would invite Chen Nanjin for a complimentary tasting and ask him to rate their teas.

If his rating was high, the teahouse would proudly display his score to the public, proving their establishment was worth visiting.

Without exception, these teahouses later thrived.

Tea enthusiasts in Yangcheng trusted Chen Nanjin implicitly.

Only one teahouse had never invited Chen Nanjin, Cangfang Lou.

Chen Nanjin was proud and arrogant. He believed their refusal to invite him was Cangfang Lou’s greatest loss and once prophesied that the teahouse wouldn’t last a month.

Yet, contrary to his prediction, Cangfang Lou not only survived past a month but also flourished. Many of Yangcheng’s teahouses saw their customers flocking to Cangfang Lou instead.

All of Chen Nanjin’s friends had visited. Only Chen Jinnan, stubborn and resentful, refused to set foot inside Cangfang Lou.

At the Wanchun Teahouse.

Chen Jinnan sipped his tea, lost in thought.

The owner of Wanchun Teahouse, who was on good terms with him, sat down beside him and remarked with a mocking tone, “I heard Cangfang Tower has come up with an exclusive new tea. How come they didn’t invite you to taste it?”

Chen Jinnan bristled as if his tail had been stepped on. “Hmph, what new tea? Everyone knows all the tea varieties in our Xu Kingdom. What new tea could there possibly be? It’s probably just like that other teahouse before, mixing two types of leaves and calling it ‘new.’ I wouldn’t even bother going!”

Those in the teahouse who hadn’t been to Cangfang Tower found Chen Jinnan’s words quite reasonable and chimed in agreement.

“Exactly, what new tea could possibly be discovered in our little Yang City?”

“Who doesn’t know Chen Jinnan is the top tea connoisseur in Yang City? If they didn’t invite him, they must be afraid, afraid he’d expose their inferior goods.”

“Right, right! Those praising it must’ve been bribed!”

Someone who had been there whispered, “But it really is good!”

The others immediately turned on him. “If it’s so good, why are you still here at Wanchun Teahouse? Why not rush over to Cangfang Tower? Paid shill, aren’t you?”

The man, indignant, retorted, “Cangfang Tower is far from my home! Fine, I’ll go right now!” With that, he tossed down a few copper coins and left.

Those who had mocked him laughed among themselves. “Hilarious! He got called out and stormed off in shame!”

The owner of Wanchun Teahouse leaned in and whispered a few words to Chen Jinnan.

Chen Jinnan hesitated. “That wouldn’t be right, would it?”

“What’s wrong with it?” Wanfu, the teahouse owner, smiled slyly. “I think what the customers said is spot on! Who in the teahouse business doesn’t know Chen Jinnan? I’ve always admired your skills. Remember how you could even tell the exact level of roasting I used in my tea? If they didn’t invite you, it’s not because they lack silver it’s because they didn’t dare. Why wouldn’t they dare? Probably because they’ve added some trick to fool amateurs, but they know they can’t fool you.”

The more Chen Jinnan listened, the more convinced he became. He slammed the table. “Fine, let’s do it! I can’t let others be deceived!”

________________________________________

At Cangfang Tower.

Many young gentlemen had heard the buzz about Cangfang Tower’s new tea and were intrigued. Not only was it expensive, but it was also limited to the first hundred customers.

They arrived in small groups, arms slung over each other’s shoulders, eager to see what the fuss was about.

A man in black grumbled, “I told you, if you wanted to come, you could’ve come on your own. Why drag me into this scam?”

A woman in green retorted, “How do you know it’s a scam this time?”

A man in yellow shrugged. “Ah, who cares? Isn’t the novelty the whole point? Whether it’s good or not is secondary.”

A man in white added, “If we don’t come and Qin Hao’s group does, they’ll definitely mock us tomorrow for being too cheap to afford it.”

The man in black sighed. “…Whatever.”

Once inside, they immediately ordered two pots of “Half-Day Waist.”

The waiter bowed apologetically. “Sorry, but we only have one pot left.”

The man in yellow frowned. “There are five of us! How is one pot enough? I know you’ve got more just make an exception. More silver for you, right?”

The waiter shook his head firmly. “Apologies, sir, but we don’t make exceptions.”

The man in yellow waved impatiently. “Fine, fine. Then bring us another pot of your house specialty.”

He said to the other four, “This teahouse really knows how to hype things up! Today, I’m going to see just how extraordinary their ‘Half-Day Charm’ really is!”

Two incense sticks later, their tea was served.

The man in yellow couldn’t wait to steep the Half-Day Charm. After a while, he noticed the rich golden hue at the bottom of the cup and laughed, “It really is different! Guess what they put in it, yellow plum or…”

The woman in green remarked, “But the color is truly beautiful.”

“It’s definitely dyed with yellow plum,” the man in black said, his eyes practically spelling out ‘you’ve been scammed’ as he scoffed. “Teahouses are all the same, nothing new. And they charge so much for it. When the bill comes, don’t count me in.”

The man in white clapped him on the shoulder. “We’re all friends here. No need to be so harsh. Maybe the Half-Day Charm really is something special?”

“Tch,” the man in black retorted. “Then let’s make a bet. I say this so-called Half-Day Charm is just cheap swill. If I lose, I’ll pay for this whole table. If I win, you cover my next two rounds.”

The man in yellow grinned. “Fine, fine. We’ll bet it’s the real deal.”

He lifted the teacup, took a sip while shaking his head, and his eyes instantly lit up. “This…”

Everyone except the man in black turned to him with curiosity.

“What? What is it? Does it taste familiar?”

The man in yellow took another sip and said, “Not at all. This Half-Day Charm is genuinely unique—its delicate, lingering fragrance makes you never want to put the cup down.”

The man in black smirked. “You’re just talking nonsense to avoid losing the bet.”

The others also looked skeptical.

The man in yellow shrugged. “If you don’t believe me, take a sip yourselves.”

They each poured a cup and drank, then exchanged bewildered glances. “This really is excellent tea! We’ve never tasted anything like it!”

The man in black was convinced they were all putting on an act. When it was his turn, he took a sip with a cold sneer.

The rich aroma unfurled in his mouth, long-lasting and subtly sweet.

Dumbfounded, he took another sip, and the elegant floral notes washed over him again.

It was delicious!

These days, tea prices kept dropping, making it affordable for everyone. Many seemingly sophisticated teahouses used flashy gimmicks to attract customers but actually diluted their tea, added honey, or passed off inferior leaves as premium. The worst he’d encountered tasted like plain water completely devoid of tea flavor.

The man in black despised businesses that relied on deception rather than quality.

He had assumed Hidden Fragrance Teahouse was no different, but to his surprise, they actually delivered.

His eyes lit up even faster than the man in yellow’s had. He picked up the promotional sign he’d dismissed earlier and studied it carefully.

Every word perfectly matched the Half-Day Charm.

What he’d thought was a scam turned out to be the truth.

The man in yellow chuckled. “Didn’t see that coming, did you? We won the bet! You’re paying for this table!”

The man in black didn’t hesitate. “Fine, it’s on me. But…” His eyes gleamed. “Can I have the Half-Day Charm? I’ll treat you all to a few other expensive pots instead.”

“Dream on!” The man in yellow snatched the teapot away.

For a while, they playfully fought over it, laughing and teasing each other.

When they finally finished, they still craved more and asked Fang Rui when the next batch would be available. Upon learning that another hundred servings would be offered in three days, they reluctantly left, already longing for their next visit.

Halfway through their walk, they suddenly heard people on the street saying that Chen Nanjin’s tea house ratings had been released early and were posted under the locust tree on Tongxiao Street.

The man in yellow glanced at the sky, noting it was still early, and said, “Why don’t we go take a look as well?”

“Of course we should. Chen Nanjin’s reviews are always spot-on.”

“If the review came out today, he must have already tasted the tea from Cangfang Lou. I’m curious to hear his thoughts on Bantianyao.”

“It’s bound to be positive. We tried it ourselves and couldn’t stop praising it.”

“Or maybe he hasn’t tasted it yet and just happened to post the review today.”

Under the locust tree.

In the shade, Chen Nanjin stood on a smoothed-out stone, already surrounded by a crowd.

Someone asked him, “What are you reviewing today?”

Chen Nanjin cleared his throat twice. “Today, I’ll be reviewing the Chunya Longjing tea from Wanchun Lou and the Bantianyao tea from Cangfang Lou.”

The men in yellow and black, who had hurried over from the back, happened to hear this. Exchanging glances, they stayed to listen.