Chapter 118: Once a Teahouse
There were two tables on the second floor of Zheng's beverage shop, one for entertaining the four people from the Su family, and the other for the work meals of the two store employees.
The Zheng family’s two stores employed six employees, four in the specialty store and two in the beverage store.
The daughter-in-law of the Zheng family's elders hurried over to say hello to the Su family, ate a few bites of lunch quickly, and went back to work.
Several employees also took turns coming to eat.
It is the May Day holiday, the peak tourist season in Lushan. Hotels, restaurants and other shops in Guling Town are all very busy.
Grandma Zheng’s cooking skills are quite good. Su Yu had two large bowls of rice and enjoyed it very much.
While eating, he praised, "Grandma Zheng, the food you cook is so delicious!"
Grandma Zheng smiled lovingly, "If it tastes good, eat more."
Su Xing also ate a lot.
But she finished the meal "crying".
Grandma Zheng cooked the dishes according to the normal taste of people in Jiangxi Province, so naturally she put a lot of chili peppers in them. It was really too spicy for Su Xingxing!
Grandpa Su felt both distressed and amused when he saw his granddaughter crying because of the spicy food.
He filled his granddaughter's glass with water and said, "Drink more water."
"Hmm!" Su Xing picked up the cup and drank a large glass in one breath.
Grandma Zheng apologized, "Oh! I should have used less chili! How about I make you something less spicy?"
She said as she got up and went to the kitchen.
Su Xing quickly stopped Grandma Zheng and said, "No, no, don't bother, Grandma Zheng. Although these dishes are a little spicy, they are delicious. I like them very much. You see, I ate a lot..."
Su Xing wiped her tears and continued eating...
Everyone at the table couldn't help laughing.
Su Yu was laughing so happily.
Uncle Su secretly glared at his daughter who was gloating over his misfortune.
Grandpa Su and Grandpa Zheng hadn't seen each other for a while. After everyone finished their meal, Grandpa Su saw that it was still early and was not in a hurry to go back, so he showed off his newly made tea to his old friend.
He brought the "Silent" model with him.
Everyone went downstairs and sat in a circle in front of the tea table where Mr. Zheng usually drank tea.
Mr. Zheng looked at Su Xing and Su Yu and said, "Can you kids sit still? Do you want to go out and walk around?"
Su Xing said: "I think it's nice to sit here and drink some tea and listen to you guys chatting."
Su Yu originally wanted to nod, stand up, and take Su Xing out for a walk. It was too boring for her to sit here and drink tea.
But when she heard Su Xing's words, her butt, which had just left the chair by one centimeter, suddenly sank again.
She couldn't let her cousin make her look so unstable...
"I, I also want to taste grandpa's tea..."
Uncle Su glanced at his daughter and refrained from exposing her.
Su Xing drank tea while listening to the two old men and his uncle chatting.
Mr. Su sighed, "What a pity for your teahouse..."
Mr. Zheng sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do. Fewer and fewer people are drinking tea these days. If this shop only sells tea, it will lose money..."
Mr. Su shook his head. "I don't understand either. Are those things mixed with flavorings and saccharins really that delicious? They are not healthy at all!"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zheng quickly clarified: "Don't talk nonsense! At least the juices in my house are all freshly squeezed, and the milk tea is made from genuine tea soup!"
This old guy is still like this, saying whatever he wants.
Fortunately, there are not too many customers in the store at the moment. A few customers are sitting under the open-air sun chairs at the door. They are chatting quietly, so I can't hear what they are talking about, right?
Grandpa Su glanced at his old friend. "Your family uses real tea soup, but most of those milk teas use flavors and blends, right? Even if some stores use real tea, most of them are low-quality tea! And they all use flavors to scent them. For example, that popular store in the city claims that their milk tea uses real good tea, and they also sell tea cans and so on. I asked the eldest brother to buy a can of their signature peach oolong. When I opened the tea can, the flavor almost made me faint! That's not the aroma of the tea itself... Alas..."
Mr. Zheng sighed again, "Using good tea to make milk tea is a waste of tea, and the cost is too high! If you sell it cheaply, you lose money, and if you sell it expensively, who will drink it? For the milk tea I sell at home, I can't use too good tea. I use ordinary ration tea, which is considered conscientious. At least I won't cheat people."
Su Yu, who was standing by, lowered her head to hide her slightly curled lips: "But milk tea is more fragrant, sweeter and tastier than pure tea! It's OK if it's refreshing to drink, who cares if it's healthy or not, I don't drink it every day..."
Su Xing felt a little complicated.
She turned around and looked around the beverage shop. The decoration inside the shop was really nice, with a bit of ancient charm, as well as some modern elements that young people prefer, but the combination of styles was not abrupt. However, on every table there were tea trays, tea sets, and carefully arranged vases.
It was obvious that Zheng’s grandfather originally wanted to run a teahouse, but in order to make a living, he changed it to a beverage shop that was more acceptable to young people.
Su Xing suddenly understood why the Zheng family's old couple were running this trendy beverage shop...
She picked up a drink menu on the table next to her and looked at it.
There are traditional teas at the top, and basically there are several types of the six major tea categories, but at the back there are more beverages such as various fruit juices and milk teas.
Nowadays, teahouses may survive better in Chengdu, where people live a leisurely life, and in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, where people have always had the habit of having morning tea.
Otherwise, there are some high-end teahouses in big cities that attract customers who like to do business in a quiet place.
However, it is not easy for a mid-range teahouse that caters to the general public to do good business.
Unless you turn the teahouse into a beverage shop like Grandpa Zheng did, selling traditional tea together with the beverages that young people like...
The temperature in Lushan is slightly higher in the afternoon.
Some tourists came into the store one after another, intending to rest and have a drink to quench their thirst.
The few open-air tables outside the store were gradually filled with people.
Su Yu could no longer sit still and stood up under the pretext of helping.
Su Xing also stood up and started to help.
Grandma Zheng wanted to stop the two little girls, "You are not needed, sit down and rest."
Mr. Su said, "Don't worry about them, young people, it's good to do more work."
There was a table at the door with four young guests sitting there, two men and two women. They looked like college students traveling on vacation, and seemed to be two couples.
Su Yu went to entertain that table of guests.
The girl in blue said, "Give me a cup of milk tea, iced! Put more pearls and red beans in it!"
The girl in white looked at the drink menu and said, "Since we're already in Lushan, I'll try the local cloud tea."
She ordered a moderately priced cup of ration tea.
A guy with a buzz cut said, "Give me a glass of orange juice, with lots of ice, thank you."
The last boy was dressed in an artistic style, with a small braid on the back of his head: "Then I'll try black tea? This... this Dianhong!"