35: Chapter 35 First Visit to the Teahouse

Meng Yu soon returned with elegant steps, bringing in two young women dressed in cheongsams.

One of the young women held a small, exquisite tin of tea leaves and sat at the tea-brewing station.

She first showed the tea leaves in the tin to Liu Yuan and Su Nange, saying, "This is Rougui from Niulankeng, with a faint peach fragrance."

Liu Yuan sniffed it, nodded, and signaled that she could begin.

And so, the young woman began to elegantly display the unique cultural traditions of China, as if she were a living ink-wash painting.

The other woman, wearing white gloves, held a celadon vase in her hands.

Under the indoor lighting, the ice-crack patterns on the celadon vase shone as brilliantly as gemstones.

Meng Yu began to introduce it: "President Liu, this is the Ge-ware ice-crack twin-handled vase you ordered, crafted by the contemporary art master Qi Qing. The crackle pattern is exquisite, and the glaze color is pure!"

"It is a rare, collector-grade piece!"

Liu Yuan stood up, took a penlight from Meng Yu, shone the light on it, and examined it carefully.

Su Nange was surprised; this woman knew how to appraise treasures?

Little did he know, she was actually just faking it.

Liu Yuan finished looking, nodded, and said with a smile, "No problem, pack it up then!"

Meng Yu asked the young woman holding the porcelain vase to go pack it up, then stayed in the room to personally attend to Liu Yuan.

She asked, "President Liu is a distinguished guest; thank you for supporting my humble shop. I will use tea in place of wine to offer you a toast."

Meng Yu looked older than Liu Yuan, yet she lowered her posture so much.

It seemed Liu Yuan's status in the Qiantang was indeed extraordinary.

Liu Yuan drank a cup of tea with Meng Yu and said, "I've long heard that Boss Meng's items are excellent. Today, I've finally seen it for myself. In a while, it will be my grandfather's birthday, so I'll come back to pick out a couple of items for the old man."

"Hehehe, that's wonderful. I thank Miss Liu in advance!"

Meng Yu then turned around: "President Liu, who is this handsome young gentleman?"

Liu Yuan smiled: "His name is Su Nange, a friend of mine. We happened to be together today, so I brought him along to take a look."

Since he was Liu Yuan's friend, Meng Yu naturally paid him more attention, so she smiled and said, "So it is Young Master Su. I will also offer you a cup of tea."

Su Nange drank a cup and immediately felt that the tea really did have a peach fragrance; he could clearly tell it wasn't synthetic.

Meng Yu was very sociable and started chatting with Liu Yuan. Su Nange didn't understand women's topics, so he gave Liu Yuan a look.

Liu Yuan nodded.

Su Nange then said, "Boss Meng, I wonder where I might be able to smoke? Your environment is so beautiful, I shouldn't be the one to ruin the atmosphere."

Meng Yu laughed, "Young Master Su is truly a gentleman, considering us ladies' feelings. You can smoke in the courtyard outside."

"The leaders and bosses who come here are all very casual; please feel free, Young Master Su."

Su Nange smiled and excused himself, then left the tea room to wander around.

He put on a show, finished a cigarette in the courtyard, and then began to wander aimlessly.

This place was practically a porcelain museum; there were items from the Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, and everything in between.

Of course, these precious items were sealed behind safety glass and could only be viewed.

Some modern porcelain works were displayed on shelves with sale prices marked.

However, Su Nange saw a piece of porcelain called the "Celadon Four Seasons Jar," with the words "Awaiting Pickup" stuck underneath.

Su Nange didn't quite understand, so he asked a young woman in a cheongsam standing nearby, "Hello, miss, what does this mean?"

The cheongsam-wearing server explained, "Sir, this means it has already been sold. The buyer has not come to pick it up yet, so it is still allowed to be displayed here."

Su Nange asked, "This jar is indeed quite beautiful; how much does it sell for?"

The server answered, "Sir, this celadon jar is priced at 500,000 Yuan."

Su Nange was surprised; here, it seemed money just wasn't money.

These people talked about hundreds of thousands as if it were as commonplace as buying groceries at the market.

Su Nange continued to ask, "Do you know who bought this item? I quite like it too."

The server girl shook her head, "Sorry, sir, we have a rule here that we cannot disclose any buyer information."

Su Nange nodded and continued to wander around.

He came to the door of several tea rooms, wanting to hear what the people inside were saying.

But the privacy here was extremely high, and even though Su Nange's hearing was already very good, he couldn't hear a single sound from inside.

Su Nange felt there was no need to continue wandering; there was almost no valuable information to be found.

He simply decided to return to the private room.

When Su Nange entered, he found only Liu Yuan left, sitting there brewing tea by herself.

It must be said, Liu Yuan's technique in handling the tea ceremony was in no way inferior to that professional young woman's.

Su Nange took the cup and drank. Liu Yuan asked, "How was it? Any discoveries?"

Su Nange replied nonchalantly, "I discovered that I am still too poor."

Liu Yuan frowned, "Be serious; that's not what I meant."

Su Nange shook his head, "No discoveries, it's just a place that buys and sells porcelain, plus the environment is nice, that's all."

Su Nange asked Liu Yuan, "What about you? Did that beautiful female boss have anything to say?"

Liu Yuan: "Between her and me, who is prettier?"

Su Nange~~~

"You are! Your whole family is pretty!"

Liu Yuan giggled, "No useful information either. Someone as slick as Meng Yu isn't going to fall into a trap so easily."

Liu Yuan suddenly asked again, "What exactly are you and Wanqing investigating?"

Su Nange: "How do you know it's me and her investigating this place?"

Liu Yuan rolled her eyes at Su Nange, but then suddenly gave a foxy smile, preparing to bait him, "What kind of relationship do I have with Wanqing? What doesn't she tell me? She told me everything today; the information about this place was provided by you."

"However, she doesn't know that you're with me now."

Su Nange~~~

"What do you mean 'with you'? Liu Yuan, explain yourself clearly!"

Liu Yuan smiled wickedly, "You stinky rogue, you should ask around; in this Qiantang City, which man isn't hoping to get involved with me?"

"The people chasing me could line up from the north bank of the river to the south."

Su Nange laughed disdainfully, "Then please, Miss Liu, hurry and have them line up in the river. That way, during the morning rush hour, we can cross the river over their heads. You'd be making a contribution to the people of the Qiantang."

"From now on, this bridge can be called the Yuan Qiantang Bridge!"

Liu Yuan laughed out loud, "You're just a hypocrite; you clearly want to go line up in the river yourself."

Su Nange: "Even if I turn into a turtle, damn it! Even if I turn into a fish, I will never go into the river!"

Liu Yuan smiled wickedly again; she was originally 70% innocent and 30% seductive. At this moment, she had the face of Su Daji.

Liu Yuan asked, "Absolutely not?"

Su Nange answered firmly, "Absolutely not!"

Liu Yuan: "Then why are you sneaking looks at my legs?"

Su Nange~~~

"That was steering; don't you need to look at the rearview mirror when steering?"

Liu Yuan: "Fine, then next time, I'll sit in the back~~"

Su Nange's face flushed red.

Liu Yuan laughed like a fox.

However, on the way back, Liu Yuan still chose to sit in the passenger seat.

Furthermore, she deliberately crossed her long legs, as if she were provoking Su Nange.

Liu Yuan finally felt a bit better, having avenged the earlier lesson.

As for Su Nange, he felt aggrieved; having lost face in front of this woman, he probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

"By the way, you still haven't said, what are you two investigating?"

Su Nange replied, "Actually, it's nothing much, just the insurance bidding for City Investment. Many leaders in the circle seem to be secretly meeting here in advance."

Liu Yuan: "I thought it was some big deal; it's just discussing bid-rigging in advance, what's so strange about that? Which industry isn't like that? It cost me over 300,000 today."

Su Nange was surprised, "That thing is so expensive?"

Liu Yuan: "What did you think?"

Su Nange suddenly said seriously, "It's not that simple. If it were just bid-rigging, why come to a place like this?"

Leaving the teahouse, the car successfully arrived at Liu Yuan's residential complex. Su Nange was about to stop.

However, Liu Yuan signaled for him to drive directly into the garage.

Su Nange was still a bit confused, but the gate recognized the license plate and opened directly.

Under Liu Yuan's instructions, Su Nange drove to the front of the luxurious lobby of one of the buildings.

He suddenly discovered that someone was already standing in the lobby. It was a young man, very handsome!

Furthermore, the man had an extraordinary bearing; even from a distance, Su Nange could feel the aristocratic aura radiating from him.

Liu Yuan got out of the car, carrying the porcelain she bought tonight, and ran happily toward the man in her high heels.

Liu Yuan handed the item to the man and said, "Chenfeng, this is for you. Happy birthday!"

Su Nange watched Liu Yuan take the man's arm and walk into the elevator.

He restarted the car and drove toward the exit.

As he drove, he muttered to himself, "In Miss Liu's eyes, you're nothing but someone to amuse herself with; their world is not one you can climb into!"

"Didn't you see? She just gave away a 300,000 item like it was nothing."

Meanwhile, in the elevator, the handsome man asked with a smile, "Sis, who was that just now?"

Liu Yuan just replied nonchalantly, "What, there are so many people who drive your sister home, what's so strange about that?"

Liu Chenfeng, Liu Yuan's younger brother.

His handsome face was always full of a smile, "My sister is naturally charming, but I don't think anyone has ever driven you to the downstairs entrance before."

Liu Yuan extended her finger and poked her brother on the head, "Little kid, don't ask about things you shouldn't!"

Liu Chenfeng replied, "Sis, today is my 30th birthday~~~"

Liu Yuan extended her hand again, poking Liu Chenfeng hard, scolding, "You good-for-nothing guy, why is your mouth as cheap as his, just as cheap!"

Liu Chenfeng???