Chapter 19: Fox Folly
[Wish Fulfilled: Good Deeds Are Rewarded (If only their family could bring glory to their ancestors, with black smoke rising from their graves, perhaps the Yu family could change? At least they wouldn’t have to see their loved ones leave prematurely.)]
“Ah?”
Seeing Yu Xueqing’s wish and the fulfillment conditions on the wish list, An Sheng’s expression froze; the entire little fox face grew serious.
Because the wish fulfillment clearly stated that good people deserve good rewards, and the perfect completion condition shockingly read: “Black-haired people send off white-haired people.”
Previously, An Sheng was too angry and upset about the commercial brokers humiliating his family’s caretaker to pay attention.
But upon deeper reflection, the perfect conditions on the wish list were not exaggerated.
If Yu Xueqing had never met An Sheng, the uphill camellia tea garden her family managed would have become barren wasteland.
Worse, the rodent infestation might have spread across the entire mountain.
Although tree roots aren’t part of the mountain rats’ diet, once the canned supplies in the armory ran out, those starving rats wouldn’t care if roots were edible or not.
After several generations of breeding, thousands upon thousands of rats swarmed the uphill mountain.
This tea garden, famous for its Dongding Oolong, would yield no harvest for years, and hiring professional teams to exterminate the infestation, along with pest control for the mountain, would be a significant expense.
Yu Xueqing’s father, Yu Zhenghong, while managing the contracted land and planting, also ran a tea shop and livestreamed sales online—juggling three jobs.
From what An Sheng knew, Yu Zhenghong and Chen Peipei currently had no plans for a second child.
They owned a car and a house, so they shouldn’t have major expenses.
Most people, even the hardest workers, wouldn’t push themselves so hard without urgent financial needs.
So, An Sheng could only think of one possibility.
Yu Zhenghong’s tea shop was clearly struggling, forcing him to invest upstream and adopt a multi-pronged business strategy.
Many people unfamiliar with tea might think it’s an expensive, exclusive, and highly profitable industry.
After all, seeing online prices for Da Hong Pao or Longjing green tea reaching tens of thousands breaks the heart.
This creates a misleading impression: ignoring blended teas, tea priced at a few yuan per pound can be enjoyable, and so can those costing tens or even hundreds.
A single brew of three to seven grams yields about seven hundred milliliters of tea—enough for one person to sip for half a day.
After one purchase, a tea customer might not return for half a year.
With the rise of online shopping, loyal local tea drinkers explore famous teas from other regions, gradually reducing their visits to physical stores.
An Sheng had faced similar issues in his past life.
When he went solo, he encountered the same e-commerce versus brick-and-mortar retail battle raging in other industries.
Back then, the market gave An Sheng two options.
One: increase investment and transform from retailer to supplier or tea plantation owner.
Two: invest more and follow other shop owners opening online stores, spending heavily on traffic, competing fiercely both online and offline, maximizing losses.
Whichever choice, failure meant starting with debts in the millions.
But An Sheng chose neither.
He focused on the niche, deep-sinking market, targeting the wallets of discerning tea connoisseurs.
“Drink my stir-fried old tree leaves! Come try—an old man, a small iron wok, stirring all day, producing dry-leaf caramel aroma and strong tea. Three pots to get you drunk on tea.”
In his past life, An Sheng’s strength was legendary, and he used old tree leaves to make tea, beating all competitors and earning fame.
Of course, this was An Sheng’s self-mockery.
In his past life, to cultivate the deep market, he trekked countless mountainous forests to select tea tree varieties for new teas.
The “old man” he spoke of was a renowned local tea master in Jiu Le City.
The small iron wok followed traditional tea-making methods. Because the wok was small and concentrated heat, any slight misstep could ruin tea leaves processed through several steps.
But tea fried this way carried caramel and rice aromas, and after drinking, one could taste a relaxing sensation following the initial tightness in the mouth.
To put it simply, it’s like biting into a raw persimmon—initially astringent but quickly fading to a pleasant feeling.
An Sheng’s past path had been successful.
Those so-called connoisseurs were just fickle folk craving novelty.
A bulldozer run through them would set them straight.
Yet!
More than helping Yu Xueqing’s family earn money and weather their current modest financial crisis,
An Sheng now wanted to dig up the graves of those commercial brokers!
Damn it! Their business was already bad, they made losses in tea planting, and now the only somewhat promising livestream sales were ruined by them!
From the wish list, if Yu Xueqing hadn’t found An Sheng,
Yu Zhenghong would have died from a stroke, the tea garden would have yielded nothing for years, and with chemical pesticides used on the land, it would take years for natural degradation.
Chen Peipei and Yu Xueqing would still have to pay for equipment maintenance and pest control during this time.
Those brokers, whether intentionally or not, had pushed Yu Xueqing’s family to the brink.
Whether Yu Xueqing could bear it, An Sheng didn’t know.
But he absolutely couldn’t swallow this grievance.
“Xiao An… what’s wrong? Your face is so serious.”
Yu Xueqing was sweating profusely, tending a charcoal fire in the courtyard, preparing for a barbecue dinner.
Her face was smudged with coal dust, and she hadn’t noticed that the little fox beside her had been silent all this time.
Now that the charcoal fire was ready, Yu Xueqing saw An Sheng crouching by the flowerbed, his expression grave and eyes sharp.
He seemed to be contemplating some serious matter.
His phone wasn’t nearby, or else Yu Xueqing would have snapped some cute photos of her little fox.
“Ying ying ying…”
Hearing Yu Xueqing’s call, An Sheng snapped out of his thoughts, momentarily setting aside his displeasure, and joyfully jumped into Yu Xueqing’s arms, whining softly.
“Hahaha—”
Seeing the little fox nuzzle into her, Yu Xueqing’s hands, covered in coal dust, couldn’t hold him, but the fox’s nose pressed against the ticklish flesh at her waist, making her burst into joyful laughter.
“Xiao An, stop it… hahaha, that tickles.” Yu Xueqing laughed heartily, then pinched An Sheng’s cheeks with her coal-stained hands.
The once pristine white fox now had several dirty finger marks on his cheeks.
“Ying ying—” An Sheng was furious, clawing wildly at Yu Xueqing’s body, leaving footprints all over her.
During their playful tussle, they didn’t notice someone approaching the door.
Yu Zhenghong was returning home with Chen Fengshui.
Before entering, Chen Fengshui heard the fox’s call and felt a sudden chill.
That sharp, clipped voice… it could only be that magical fox.
“Ah Hong…”
At Yu Zhenghong’s doorstep, Chen Fengshui saw the enchanted fox and his expression changed.
He looked at Yu Zhenghong and said, “Better skip dinner.”
“It was just a quick trip. I suddenly remembered I forgot to turn off the heater in the fish tank at home. I have to go check on the arowanas…”
“Ying?”
Chen Fengshui was better off silent, but once he spoke, An Sheng, who was playfully pestering Yu Xueqing, glanced sideways.
An Sheng whimpered and rested on Yu Xueqing’s shoulder, eyes burning as he stared at Chen Fengshui at the door.
Sensing something, Chen Fengshui’s face stiffened as he looked at Yu Zhenghong beside him and said, “Arowana soup… well, it might actually taste good.”
Damn, just as they were hitting it off, Chen Fengshui forgot Yu Zhenghong’s daughter had picked up a tough one.
“Ying ying ying—”
Old Chen, you sure arrived just in time.
Just now, I was thinking about visiting you tonight to ask what tricks your broker friends are playing, but you’ve just delivered it to my doorstep… An Sheng couldn’t help but chuckle.