Chapter 3 Rude Words
Chengfeng Shan was very depressed.
Thrown to a small place like Lian Town by his family, he felt stifled and depressed, always pondering what he lacked compared to his elder brother. Why did he end up in this situation!
In terms of appearance, he won.
In terms of talent, he won.
In terms of strategy, he won.
In terms of social skills, he won.
He was only three years younger than his elder brother, and the family had stripped him of his right to inherit the family business. It was also thanks to the Shan family being an imperial merchant family that they were so rigid!
Since ancient times, has it not been the capable who hold positions?
Just because of the reason of being born earlier or later, he was not even allowed to compete for power.
When they discovered that Chengfeng Shan intended to consolidate the family’s assets, his elder brother and the elders in the clan were very worried about sudden changes, but they could not bring themselves to kill this outstanding disciple of the family. In the end, they could only send Chengfeng Shan directly to Lian Town.
Under the guise of inspecting goods, but in reality, it was early retirement.
After being placed in Lian Town for retirement, Chengfeng Shan drowned his sorrows in alcohol out of depression. However, after a period of decadence, he suddenly had an epiphany, knowing that he could not continue like this!
Since the family business was not given to him, he would create his own new business!
Therefore, this grand tea party appeared in Lian Town, and it was the first plan prepared by Chengfeng Shan after he recovered.
Although he was still using some tricks with tea, he had to earn enough money first. After all, even if Chengfeng Shan wanted to engage in other businesses, he would need a lot of silver to operate in the early stages.
And at such an important occasion, a young child suddenly appeared, speaking unpleasant words, which naturally made Chengfeng Shan chuckle, his entire attitude instantly becoming sharp, and then he took the initiative to accept the challenge.
He did not want to experience the situation of being defeated before he could even start.
He originally thought that some other guy would come out to cause trouble, but he did not expect that… the first one to challenge him would be a child of a few years old. Was this not looking down on him, Chengfeng Shan too much!
“Scholars and elegant people all get together with tea and are accompanied by poetry. This scene indeed makes me have the urge to compose poetry.”
“Pfft, is this child foolish? Composing poetry? At his age, even if he started reading from the womb, he wouldn’t be able to compose poetry!”
“Exactly, he really doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth. It’s just that Young Master Shan is easy to talk to… if it were someone else, he would have already kicked him out with a stick.”
“I think this is just the child speaking rashly due to eagerness. There’s no need to be so calculative!”
“Heh heh heh, there’s something exciting to watch.”
As soon as Gu Qingheng replied, the surrounding onlookers could not help themselves. One after another, they started talking, saying all sorts of things.
This made Mengyao Gu, who was watching from the side, clench her fists in anger. If she were not in Yu Gu’s arms at this moment, she would really have the urge to rush up and beat these people.
It was truly infuriating that her own brother was being spoken of like this!
However, although Qingheng Gu was young, he stood at the forefront without any fear or panic.
Such a calm and composed attitude slightly reduced Chengfeng Shan’s anger. He thought that although this child was dressed ordinarily, he might actually be capable.
Just looking at his demeanor, it was not the kind of child that ordinary families could raise.
In fact, Gu Qingheng had long cultivated the ability to remain unfazed even when Mount Tai collapsed before him, due to his previous habit of lurking in crowds and eavesdropping on gossip, which prevented anyone from discerning his true intentions of eavesdropping.
Otherwise, when those who gossiped saw a small child constantly showing surprised expressions, although some would speak more excitedly… others would think that they should not let a child as young as Gu Qingheng hear these words, and thus directly drive him away.
He wondered what Chengfeng Shan would think when he learned that Gu Qingheng’s unchanging expression actually stemmed from his ability to eavesdrop on gossip and cultivate this skill.
However, it was also precisely because of what Yu Gu had told Qingheng Gu that he felt very confident now, knowing that he would not be kicked out in the end.
Now he had to take the opportunity to say what his brother-in-law had told him.
“Since you have such elegant taste, then compose a poem! If you truly have real talent, not only will I not make things difficult for you, but I will also reward you handsomely!”
“Really?”
“A gentleman’s word is his bond, like a chariot with horses. How could I lie to you, a child.”
“I can compose poetry, but you have to let me drink a cup of tea first.”
“Alright.”
Chengfeng Shan now began to admire Gu Qingheng’s calmness. Upon hearing Gu Qingheng’s request, he immediately instructed the young boy in charge of making tea to warm the tea and then pour it into an exquisite tea cup without a second word.
Afterwards, the attendant brought the tea to Gu Qingheng and invited him to drink.
When Gu Qingheng saw that the tea had been brought before him, and with everyone watching him enthusiastically, he put on a show of picking up the tea cup, taking a small sip, and immediately wrinkled his brows at the bitter taste that filled his mouth.
If it weren’t for the fact that his mission for the day was not yet completed, Gu Qingheng’s little face would have already been scrunched up!
What kind of tea is this!
It tastes terrible!
It’s not as good as the sugar water that brother-in-law makes!
After drinking a mouthful of the bitter tea, Gu Qingheng deeply regretted speaking out that sentence. He could have directly recited the poem that his brother-in-law had taught him without drinking tea, but he insisted on tasting the special imperial tea to see how it tasted.
Now, he had truly brought this upon himself!
His mouth was full of bitterness, and what’s more, he couldn’t rinse his mouth with water. To successfully complete the mission, he could only endure it… this made Gu Qingheng’s brows furrow tighter and tighter, and his eyes became somewhat vacant, wanting to separate his thoughts from his body, and not let the bitterness continue to spread.
In the eyes of everyone, Gu Qingheng’s current performance looked as if he was deeply contemplating composing poetry, with a rather imposing presence.
In reality, it was just that the child disliked drinking tea.
“Heh heh heh, can he do it or not!”
“Stop pretending. Composing poetry is a refined matter, and it’s not something a child like you can casually spout. Go back and study for a few more years, then talk about it!”
“At his age, he probably has only studied for two or three years. Composing poetry? It would be amazing if he could recognize a few more characters!”
“Don’t speak too soon. There have been many geniuses since ancient times. Perhaps this child in front of us is one too!”
“Come on! Geniuses are one in ten thousand. Just like Lord Qiuzi’s extraordinary talent back then, how many such people can there be in this world!”
“Indeed, I don’t think this child looks like a student from an academy. Instead, he looks like he came specifically to extort something.”
Just as Gu Qingheng was painfully enduring the bitterness in his mouth, because he had not spoken for a long time, the onlookers became impatient.
One by one, they said all sorts of things, making the room noisy.
Although Gu Qingheng looked like he was composing poetry, no one believed that a child of only seven or eight years old could compose poetry on the spot!
If he could really compose poetry, wouldn’t he be a prodigy!
And if he were a prodigy, how could he be unknown in the town!
As the crowd egged him on, Chengfeng Shan did not say much, but quietly waited for Gu Qingheng to compose his poem.
The Shan family was considered quite wealthy in Jiangnan, and Chengfeng Shan, as the young master carefully raised by the Shan family, naturally had broader horizons than ordinary people. He had even met geniuses who passed the provincial examination in their teens, let alone a child like Gu Qingheng being able to compose poetry.
However, Chengfeng Shan did not have high hopes for the poem Gu Qingheng could produce. After all, composing poetry sometimes not only required inspiration but also the person himself to have considerable literary foundation before he could compose poetry on the spot.
Now that he found Gu Qingheng somewhat pleasing to the eye, if he could really compose poetry, Chengfeng Shan would not make things difficult for him.
“What’s the rush! I’m composing poetry, not going to the toilet. How can it come out just like that.”
“…”
Perhaps annoyed by the crowd’s words, and with the bitterness of the tea just passing, Gu Qingheng retorted to the crowd impatiently. His rude words almost made those who were still sipping tea spray it from their mouths.
And when everyone heard Gu Qingheng’s words, their expressions were varied and wonderful.
“One sip cleanses the fogginess, and joy fills the heavens and earth. Another sip purifies my spirit, like a sudden rain sprinkling light dust. A third sip brings enlightenment, why bother with arduous efforts to break through troubles. This thing is pure and noble, unknown to the world, people drink wine and deceive themselves.”
After that, without waiting for anyone to urge him again, Gu Qingheng pretended to ponder for a moment, then relied on his extraordinary memory and recited the poem that Yu Gu had taught him, word by word, at this moment.
Isn’t it just reading aloud? If he made another mistake, Gu Qingheng would truly feel disgraced!
This time, his brother-in-law promised to give him more candy for completing the task!
After Gu Qingheng finished reciting the poem, the entire hall fell silent.
Those who were still jeering now widened their eyes and opened their mouths in astonishment upon hearing the poem recited in Gu Qingheng’s tender voice. They were almost reaching out to rub their ears, wondering if they had misheard.
A few simple lines had delicately depicted the color, aroma, and taste of the tea, and vividly described the feelings of the first, second, and third sips.
It was as if the God of Literature had descended to earth to create such an outstanding poem!
Especially at such a young age, Gu Qingheng was truly a rare genius!
“Good, good, good! My tea party today has truly been worthwhile! To actually meet such a rare genius is my good fortune indeed! Qingmo, quickly prepare the writing materials and transcribe these few lines. I want to treasure them well.”
Unlike the stunned crowd, Chengfeng Shan first clapped his hands after a slight surprise, and his crisp applause brought everyone’s consciousness back to reality.
At this moment, their gaze towards Gu Qingheng was no longer the initial disdain, but immense admiration.
Gu Qingheng did not feel much about this. What he wanted most now was to quickly drink some water to remove the lingering bitterness in his mouth, which was the most important thing!
And Yu Gu, who had been standing quietly in the crowd, had already anticipated this the moment Gu Qingheng requested to drink tea… He knew that his younger brother-in-law, who could not live without sugar, would eventually bring suffering upon himself.
Seeing that Gu Qingheng was about to lose his composure, Yu Gu naturally had to make his appearance quickly.
He first let go of Mengyao Gu, whom he held in his arms, and after giving her a few instructions, he saw Mengyao Gu nod, and then confidently stepped out, drawing everyone’s attention as he walked towards Gu Qingheng.
