Chapter 45: Red Ruby Tea

Chapter 45

Red Ruby Tea

About twenty days later, the Ding family transported their tea in a procession of ten carts. To leave the city, they even took a detour past the Xiangyun Tea House, as if to mock, though it wasn’t even on their route. Unfortunately for them, no one from the tea house bothered to step outside and watch; they were too busy serving guests who had come to taste the Dragon Well Shrimp and Lü Cui Tea.

Nie Shuang once again sent out invitations to the merchants of Huangjing. This time, no one refused the invitations. In fact, receiving one was considered a mark of honor. If you weren’t important, there was no way Xiangyun Tea House would invite you. The merchants had also heard rumors that Kang Wang would be attending the event. It was A’Yi who had ‘accidentally’ let that slip while shopping at the market. Some merchants even went as far as to have new outfits made specifically for this event.

By now, Da Shi could handle almost everything on Nie Shuang’s behalf. When she had previously taken him along to negotiate with a paper mill for the packaging of the Lü Cui tea, he had listened carefully as she explained the design, colors, and specific details to the mill owner. She had emphasized the importance of producing samples for approval and giving an accurate cost estimate before placing a full order. When Da Shi heard the production cost of each box, his jaw dropped.

"Isn’t the packaging more expensive than the tea itself?"

Da Shi asked, his face full of concern, thinking that the Lady Boss was spending money too recklessly. The tea hadn’t even gone on sale, yet she was already paying large sums.

"If the box isn’t expensive, how could the tea inside sell at a high price?"

Nie Shuang replied confidently. Later, when the Lü Cui tea became a massive hit, Da Shi no longer doubted her. In fact, he began to see her as a goddess of wealth. He was well aware of how much she spent, but he was also just as aware of how much they earned—it was several times more than the expenses. If he hadn’t worked for her, Da Shi would never have believed people would willingly pay such high prices for products with much lower production costs. It was as if the Lady Boss had cast a spell on her customers, who scrambled to buy her products. She seemed to understand the psychology of people so deeply that it was almost frightening.

Da Shi had become highly adept at handling various tasks and was incredibly reliable and honest. Nie Shuang never regretted hiring him. During her maternity leave, the strengths of her team became even more apparent. Da Shi managed external affairs with ease, Wang Dongpo kept the staff and the tea house in order, and Yan Zhan ensured security. With all this support, Nie Shuang could rest easy. In early July, they launched a new product.

This time, the tea house was packed with people. The moment they saw the red boxes displayed on the sales table, their eyes lit up. Some guests didn’t even sit down before inquiring with great interest. Nie Shuang, dressed in a red gown that contrasted beautifully with her fair skin and jet-black hair, wore her favorite white Hetian jade accessories, a gift from her tea ceremony. Her hair was styled in a married woman’s updo with jade hairpin, looking simple yet elegant. Just sitting there, she was like a lone red blossom blooming in the room. If she hadn’t been married, the young men of the city would have been sending matchmakers to her door every single day.

Nie Shuang smiled sweetly and addressed the crowd in a loud voice.

"Thank you all for honoring us with your presence today. Rest assured, Xiangyun Tea House will not disappoint you all. Today, you will have the opportunity to taste a new type of tea that has undergone a special production process and has never been available for sale anywhere else. If you had the chance to taste our Lü Cui tea before, you would understand how special this new tea is. Someone once said that Lü Cui is clear green, fresh and fragrant like the scent of spring, while Hong Bai’s rich flavor and bold color are as fiery as autumn..."

Before she could finish, a loud laugh echoed through the room.

"Lady Boss, did you hire scholars to write poetry praising your product just to sell tea? In the past, I stayed silent out of consideration for your fledgling business. I’ve been in the tea trade for years, and I can see right through your attempts to elevate your tea just to sell it at a higher price. Fine, your Lü Cui tea sold well—that was luck. But it hasn’t even been a full year, and I bet you’ve already run out of your two hundred jin of Lü Cui tea. Now, you’re trying to introduce a new tea to fool the townspeople again."

Ding Tao was the one who spoke, and he wasn’t entirely wrong; Nie Shuang did indeed elevate the perception of her tea to sell it at a higher price. But what he failed to realize was that she wasn’t just selling tea—she was selling the feeling of importance, the sense of belonging to the elite, to those who had money to spend, taste to flaunt, and a reputation to uphold. Her tea fulfilled their inner desires. If they had money, she simply provided a way for them to spend it. There was nothing wrong with that. Nie Shuang didn’t respond immediately; she let Ding Tao continue his tirade.

"What makes your tea so special? Why should anyone pay ten times the price just to taste it? Tea is just tea! You can only fool fools into buying it!"

At this, the so-called fools in the room flinched and were left speechless. Many of them had purchased her tea before, with some even being regulars at Xiangyun Tea House. As fellow merchants, they couldn’t help but agree with Ding Tao’s words. They understood basic business principles and pricing strategies. Yet, they had already bought the tea, and today, they had come merely to boast about it later. Ding Tao’s words had ruined the mood and embarrassed them. If they continued to support Xiangyun Tea House’s tea leaves, wouldn’t they be seen as fools?

Still calm, Nie Shuang smiled coolly and replied,

"Boss Ding is correct. I am nearly out of Lü Cui tea, which is why I must quickly introduce a new product."

Ding Tao smirked in satisfaction as murmurs spread through the crowd. Many began to doubt the new tea Nie Shuang was about to unveil.

"The reason Lü Cui tea is nearly sold out is because I have become the royal merchant, supplying Lü Cui tea to the palace for distribution to the three imperial courts and six palaces of the inner palace. If, as you say, all tea is the same, why did the Emperor and his consorts not order tea from your Chun Shui Shop?"

A louder murmur ran through the crowd once more, and the merchants who had felt deflated began to feel proud again. They weren’t fools! Even the Emperor and his consorts drank the same tea as they did!

"Hmph!" Ding Tao scoffed arrogantly. "The tea from Chun Shui is also supplied to the royal palace. Didn’t you see last month? Ten carriages full of Chun Shui’s tea were headed to the capital."

Nie Shuang raised her hand to cover her mouth as if suppressing laughter before speaking.

"I’m afraid Boss Ding didn’t tell the whole story. That tea wasn’t for consumption in the inner palace but was part of the ’Tea for Horses’ trade agreement between our region, Da Ye, and the Xi Region, wasn’t it?"

The mention of ‘Tea for Horses’ immediately highlighted the stark contrast between the teas from Xiangyun Tea House and Chun Shui Shop. While one was sent for the Emperor and the high-ranking royals to enjoy, the other was merely a trade commodity exchanged for horses in the barbaric land. The guests could instantly decide that they would continue to support the products in Xiangyun Tea House.

Ding Tao’s face turned green with anger. He hadn’t expected the young woman to know exactly where his tea had been sent. He had boasted about it so much that now, he felt utterly humiliated. Luckily, Boss Hong, who was seated next to him, tugged on his sleeve and smoothed things over.

"Come now, it’s all good news. For merchants like us, selling products is what matters, right?"Fortunately, the merchant association members knew how to keep the peace, so no one held a grudge against Ding Tao for saying such words, causing further embarrassment. Just then, there was the sound of a carriage approaching and stopping outside the tea house. Since most of the merchants lived nearby and usually walked, it wasn’t hard to guess who might have arrived. The atmosphere in the room became lively once more.