"Ah Qing, get up! It's time to grab our spot!"
The eve of the Tea Competition.
Ansheng, who usually only goes to bed at three or four in the morning, surprisingly chose to stay up all night this time. Before dawn had even broken, he lay in bed, his head pressing against Ah Qing's waist, while his feet kicked Mo Yiqing's arm. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novelFirｅ.net
As the little fox made soft sounds and stretched its head and legs, Yu Xueqing and Mo Yiqing gradually woke from their slumber, staring blankly at the little fox sitting on the bed, chest puffed out.
"Based on my experience in tea competitions, going there at half past six is actually kind of late..." Ansheng said confidently, telling Yu Xueqing about the tea competition and various related matters.
Although Ah Qing is a local, the locals at the tea competition are more like visitors. The participants are all the tea companies, tea factories, and tea farmers; only those who have truly gone through the process know the inside secrets.
"If we don't hurry to claim a spot, all the positions left for us locals in Changxi will be gone!"
Mo Yiqing rubbed his puzzled head, scratched his chest line that had been itchy all night, and said:
"...Ah Qing, what did the little fox say?"
"Xiaolan said the villagers are heading to the ancestral hall, and we should hurry to gather there too..." After carefully pondering the machine-translated words, Yu Xueqing explained to Mo Yiqing what the little fox was saying.
"Not the Chen's ancestral hall! Over there, they're burning incense and honoring ancestors; it's okay if we're a bit late. We should prioritize taking spots at the village committee!"
Under the guidance of the elder Ansheng, Yu Xueqing and Mo Yiqing rummaged through the old house, grabbed the red plastic chairs used during New Year, and brought out the folding table that children sat on during the festivities.
Yu Xueqing stacked a dozen red stools together, lifted them, and walked toward the door; Mo Yiqing carried the folding table.
The little fox held a water kettle in its mouth, kicked a yellow brass alcohol lamp base with its front paw, and went straight out the door.
The two humans and one fox arrived at the front of the Dodge Hellcat. Mo Yiqing opened the trunk and forcibly shoved the dozen red stools, the folding table, the kettle held by the fox, and a set of white ceramic teaware into the trunk.
Seeing this scene, Yu Xueqing couldn't help but speak out instinctively, "Momo, your sports car is kind of subverting my previous stereotypes about sports cars..."
Mo Yiqing closed the trunk lid, raised her hand, casually slapped Yu Xueqing's butt, chuckled, and headed toward the driver's seat, saying jokingly:
"It's better not to be subverted. This car is just an American muscle car, not really a sports car..."
"Plus, a large trunk is a tradition for us Americans. Without a big trunk, how could we participate in daily shootouts, and conveniently store the war trophies from gunfight hunts?"
Mo Yiqing's sarcasm left Yu Xueqing dumbfounded.
As an owner of an American car, Mo Yiqing never understood what such a big trunk was really for.
Like the old Lincoln in her family, sacrificing rear space for trunk space.
Though she is an owner of an American car, that doesn't stop her from mocking American designers' peculiar ideas.
"Yeah! What can you fit into a car trunk?" Some Indian old chief scratched his head in puzzlement, said Ansheng while snuggling in Ah Qing's arms, full of joy and sarcasm.
America's Hell jokes, classic and passed down.
The Tea Competition in the Xia Dong District culture is not considered particularly significant.
Tea contests began in the Tang dynasty, flourished in the Song dynasty, and initially were elegant amusements for the wealthy of ancient times. Tea contestants each showcased their finest tea, took turns brewing, and judged the best through tasting and scoring.
But developed into today's world, the Tea Competition is akin to an exchange meeting between tea farmers, tea merchants, and tea customers.
Annually, the Xia Dong region hosts as many as seven or eight hundred independent tea competitions from various major tea production areas.
Calling it a Tea Competition is better described as an exchange meeting, which is why the market is flooded with teas labeled as big winners of some competition, with exorbitant prices, yet tasting just like any other.
Because... it really is just like that, some tea companies even organize their own events, acting as judges and contestants, forcibly arranging ranks for their own tea.
But this year in Changxi Town, the nature of the tea competition held was different.
It is an official competition.
Every tea entry must first meet national production standards, prioritize safety, followed by concerns about the flavor and taste of the tea.
The Tea Competition evaluation is divided into two categories.
The first category involves professional Tea Masters, who assess and score the tea soups which have undergone secondary packaging to conceal contestant names, identified only by numbers, across various dimensions.
The second category is public scoring, where the tea soup, similarly unnamed, is presented at the Tea Competition for all visitors to taste and score, measuring composite scores.
The grand prize winner often receives a prize of around thirty to sixty thousand yuan, the runner-up two to fifty thousand, depending on the sponsors' investment.
[The 6th Changxi Town Tea Competition]
[Thanks to Lin Group Holding Company, Jiule Energy Group, New Hao Entertainment... sponsors.]
A multitude of banners were hung at the entrance of the village committee, bearing the official tea competition gold label, and banners thanking the venue sponsors and financial investors.
The office space of the Changxi Town village committee was not built by Changxi Town itself; they just rented an office in this small agricultural market.
Of course, upon knowing Changxi Town had obtained rights to host the Tea Competition, the owner of the agricultural market generously offered free venue rentals for Changxi Town residents and the village committee to hold events, providing cleaning services.
The small agricultural market is indeed his.
But the land belongs to the collective of Changxi Village.
No need for interpersonal considerations; the market manager proactively handled everything.
"That pesky hanger-on is here again..."
The Dodge Hellcat drove up to the gate, where Yu Xueqing presented her ID to the agricultural market's security to obtain a booth operating permit, necessary for setting up her tea stand inside the market.
Meanwhile, in the car, Mo Yiqing glanced in the rearview mirror and immediately noticed a BMW X6 following behind, with Yin Pengfei at the wheel.
Mo Yiqing's originally cheerful expression quickly turned sour, as if stepping in something unpleasant.
In Mo Yiqing's mind, Yin Pengfei isn't classified as good or bad.
His presence is like that of severe cramps.
Women fear him upon sensing, avoiding him at all costs.
"No worries! This is just the agricultural market; I'll borrow a cactus later and help you leap up and directly strike his knee." The little fox said as it looked into the rearview mirror and continued speaking:
"Moreover, this guy isn't a decent person. He deceives his family for coffin money under the guise of flirting."
"Previously, I was occupied with tea making and forgot to use a cactus to shut his big mouth, but now that he's here, it's just right."
The Dodge Hellcat drove into the agricultural market, followed closely by a BMW SUV, and then a business car driven by Lin Shu, with three cars entering in succession.
While Yu Xueqing and Mo Yiqing were setting up their booth in the exhibition area, Ansheng went off to buy a cactus.
He had barely taken a couple of steps when Lin Shu approached Ansheng and said: "Master Fox... Miss Lin's flight just landed not long ago, and she'd like to invite you over for some tea."