Chapter 54
Bai Qingyu, holding his child and having been taken advantage of, sat there blushing, while the little one, oblivious thanks to Uncle Boss’s tissue shield, happily drank his strawberry milk.
Uncle Boss was a good person, he would buy chocolate milk tomorrow.
Bai Qingyu wiped his face. He was a mature tea deity, he shouldn’t be so easily affected.
He Renyuan also felt uncomfortable. He wanted to go to the bathroom but, seeing Bai Qingyu motionless, paused. Many images flashed through his mind… so, the amnesiac tea deity’s body still had some memories?
Every time he kissed him like this, Bai Qingyu would freeze, as if the tea deity was the defenseless human, encountering a beast in the wild, the best way to survive being to play dead.
He Renyuan carried the little one to bed, then returned, picked up Bai Qingyu, and placed him on the bed too.
Cha Bao, sitting on the bed, watched, his eyes blinking, “Uncle Boss is strong.”
He Renyuan took the little one to brush his teeth and wash his face, then put him next to Bai Qingyu, “Sleep.”
Bai Qingyu, “Okay.”
“Goodbye, Uncle.”
“Goodnight, Cha Bao.” He Renyuan unfolded the quilt, the soft silk big enough for a family of three.
He Renyuan went back to his room and felt the dampness in the bed. He smiled wryly. It wasn’t the bed, it was him, yearning for his wife and child. The bed was cold without Bai Qingyu.
In the middle of the night, He Renyuan sat up, finally realizing why the bed was damp – the roof was leaking.
He immediately and rightfully changed rooms, lying down carefully on the edge of the bed.
The next day.
Old Man Deng, brushing his teeth, saw the big bad wolf coming out of the tea deity’s room and felt like the sky was falling.
He knocked his toothbrush against his mouthwash cup, “Boss He, wrong room?”
He Renyuan said, “The roof leaked last night, so I made do with Qingyu.”
Old Man Deng went to the utility room and looked up, seeing a faint light through the tiles, the bricks on the ground damp.
Bai Qingyu, “Old Man Deng, didn’t I give you ten thousand to fix the roof?”
Bai Xiaocha, “Grandpa didn’t fix the roof?”
It was too crowded for Baby to sleep.
Old Man Deng regretted it deeply. He wanted to save the money to buy a house for Bai Qingyu in the city. Houses in the city were expensive, especially ones with high ceilings and good lighting.
He immediately called Zhang Wazi, “Old Zhang, are you free today? Bring some people to fix my roof.”
Fixing the roof required old tiles. Old Man Deng had to contact someone whose old house was being demolished.
Bai Qingyu saw that Old Man Deng was making arrangements. The house couldn’t be lived in during renovations, so he said, “Old Man Deng, come stay with me in Nancheng for a while, Cha Bao also has to go back to kindergarten.”
It was Tuesday, and Cha Bao skipped school again yesterday.
Old Man Deng stubbornly put his hands behind his back, “No, no, I’ll stay at Old Sun’s for a couple of days. You have to supervise when your house is being renovated.”
He knew that the tea deity and his son were living at He Renyuan’s house in Nancheng. Adding him to the mix would make their relationship unclear.
Bai Qingyu, “Alright, then I’ll bring Cha Bao back to see you during the May Day holiday.”
As they spoke, a tricycle delivered ten bags of cement and a cart of tiles, the speed proving Old Man Deng’s regret.
He Renyuan rolled up his sleeves and helped unload. The tiles weren’t new, covered in moss, quickly dirtying his shirt.
Although the tea deity was stronger, He Renyuan seized the opportunity to redeem himself, not letting his wife do the work, “Watch me carry them.”
See how strong he was after eating a full meal.
Bai Qingyu didn’t understand, sitting on a stool, his head turning. He Renyuan, as if equipped with 360-degree cameras, reminded him, “Watch.”
Bai Qingyu, “Oh.” Why did he have to watch? Bai Qingyu watched, his chin resting on his hand. He had found the broken memory orb in the divine realm last night, but he didn’t mention it. He Renyuan seemed more civilized after recovering the first half of his memory. It seemed the first half had a controlling effect on him, the second half was uncertain, what if it unleashed a demon? He would observe first, anyway, he had the orb.
He Renyuan half-squatted by the tricycle. The driver put a bag of cement on his shoulder. He Renyuan easily stood up and carried the cement to the shed behind the house to avoid the rain.
He Renyuan carried the cement in and came out with Cha Bao on his shoulder.
He reached the tricycle, exchanged Cha Bao for cement, Bai Xiaocha followed him in, and was carried out again.
Bai Qingyu couldn’t stand it anymore. Baby, you didn’t even give Uncle a break.
“Old Deng, who is this young man? He’s a hard worker.” The tricycle driver offered a cigarette.
Old Man Deng, “Qingyu’s friend, not a relative.”
The driver glanced at Cha Bao, who was following He Renyuan, and smiled knowingly.
He must be Cha Bao’s uncle or something. Cha Bao’s mother’s identity was really mysterious.
He Renyuan was grateful for the leaky roof, giving him a chance to prove himself before leaving.
When the car came to take them back to the city, Old Man Deng’s gaze was less hostile.
No wonder new sons-in-law loved to work at their in-laws’ place. In a long-standing agrarian society, farm work was perfect for showing off, easily earning Old Man Deng’s favor.
He Renyuan bought tickets according to Bai Qingyu’s and took the slow train with him back to Nancheng.
With him around, no one suspected Bai Qingyu of abducting Cha Bao.
The train sleeper was the narrowest bed He Renyuan had ever slept in, his legs couldn’t stretch out, he couldn’t even turn over. He took Cha Bao and let him sleep on his chest, so Bai Qingyu could sleep well.
In the middle of the night, he took Cha Bao for a walk in the corridor, getting some fresh air himself.
The last few hours of the journey were seated, which He Renyuan found more comfortable than the sleeper.
“Milk tablets, Hulunbuir milk…”
The vendor’s voice came from three carriages away, and Bai Xiaocha climbed up from his uncle’s arms, “Uncle, free milk tablets.”
Bai Xiaocha tilted his head, worried in advance. If the train uncle gave him two milk tablets, should he give one to Dad or Uncle?
He Renyuan asked, “What’s wrong, Cha Bao?”
Bai Xiaocha made a difficult decision, “One for Dad, one for Uncle, Baby won’t eat, it’s okay.”
It was a big deal.
He Renyuan’s heart ached again. He had heard the vendor’s sales pitch in the previous carriage, so when he came in, He Renyuan raised his hand, “Three packs, please.”
Bai Xiaocha, “Huh?”
When the vendor approached, He Renyuan paid, looked at Cha Bao, and asked for free samples, “Can we have two for free?”
Bai Qingyu and Cha Bao looked at He Renyuan with admiration.
The vendor readily gave Cha Bao two, “Such a good boy, here you go.”
Bai Xiaocha, “Baby is a good boy!”
He Renyuan opened the free milk tablets, one for his son, one for his wife.
When he was paralyzed, Bai Qingyu brought him many free things from the human world. He had no right to look down on these small gifts.
Perhaps it was because he had to support him that Bai Qingyu developed a love for free things.
If free gifts could make his wife and child happy, why not ask?
Bai Xiaocha, “Uncle, eat too!”
He Renyuan opened the big bag of milk tablets, “Okay.”
Bai Xiaocha, “So many milk tablets, a handful for Grandpa Housekeeper, a handful for Chef Grandpa, a handful for Grandma Jiang…”
He Renyuan paused. He had never thought of bringing souvenirs for his parents, because they traveled all over, sending money home, rarely bringing anything back.
When they got home, He Renyuan, following Cha Bao’s instructions, sent a pack of milk tablets to the He family.
He Wangzhong immediately called and asked, “Thank you, Cha Bao, for the souvenir. What do you want to eat? Grandpa will make it right away.”
“Good afternoon, Chef Grandpa, Baby can eat anything.” Bai Xiaocha remembered something and added seriously, “Dad said Baby can’t eat bird’s nest.”
He Wangzhong said guiltily, “Grandpa knows, there’s no more bird’s nest at Grandpa’s house.”
He Renyuan remembered the unbearable itching from his bird’s nest allergy and said to He Wangzhong, “Are you sure you searched everywhere? Otherwise, don’t expect Cha Bao to visit.”
He Wangzhong, “Really, really, I swear on your mother’s character.”
After a while, He Wangzhong personally came to deliver food and see his grandson.
Bai Xiaocha finished a bowl of steamed egg custard, “Delicious.”
He Renyuan paused and echoed Cha Bao, “Dad, your cooking is good.”
He Wangzhong, “Trying to flatter your dad now? It’s too late, there are no shares of Cha Bao Restaurant for you.”
He Renyuan: “…” Hmph, it tasted bad.
He stood up to look for Bai Qingyu, who had disappeared after answering a phone call, and found him in the garden.
“Who called you?”
Bai Qingyu hung up the phone, “It was Mr. Yu, he said I can work part-time at his tea house, whenever I want, as long as I’m there, I get a commission on sales.”
It sounded like he just had to sit there and be a mascot to get a commission. Bai Qingyu said happily, “I heard it’s two thousand yuan a day.”
The leaky roof at Old Man Deng’s house reminded him. Old Man Deng actually had another plot of land next to the old house, where he could build a small reinforced concrete house.
He had to work more part-time jobs and save money, hoping to build the house this year.
He Renyuan, “Two thousand to have the tea deity as a mascot for a tea house?”
Bai Qingyu, “They don’t know I’m the tea deity.”
He Renyuan, “I’ll hire you, five thousand a day.”
Bai Qingyu, “No, I won’t fall for your sugar-coated bullets.”
He Renyuan could only watch as his nominal employee, his actual wife, went to work part-time at someone else’s place.
He could only send his son to school, his wife to work, and then go to his own company with a sullen face.
Bai Qingyu’s work at Yu Jingtian’s tea house was very easy. Everyone knew he was parachuted in, but he didn’t compete with them for sales, he was easy to get along with, and he was incredibly beautiful, it was like a workplace perk.
With Bai Qingyu standing at the entrance, there were noticeably more people coming in. Many couldn’t afford the expensive tea, but Bai Qingyu would still smile and introduce it to them, even giving some away.
He just saw off a young couple who said they were looking for a tea gift box to meet the parents, although they didn’t buy anything.
After a while, Bai Qingyu saw the girl with a different boyfriend, again asking to see the gift box.
Bai Qingyu was slightly puzzled. Did this girl have two boyfriends? Should he tell this guy that his girlfriend had been here before?
He was very conflicted until the customer left. His colleague, unable to watch any longer, said, “That girl is just trying to see you, what are you so conflicted about?”
Bai Qingyu was too slow. She was staring at your face the whole time, and you were still worried about her two boyfriends.
“Don’t stand at the entrance anymore, you’re attracting too many lookie-loos who aren’t target customers.” The colleague felt sorry for him talking so much, “I’ll call you when a real customer comes.”
In the afternoon, a rich second-generation came to the tea house.
The colleague kept his word and hurriedly called Bai Qingyu to see a real customer.
The rich second-generation bought fifty thousand yuan worth of tea.
Bai Qingyu: !!!
His first reaction was to share his first sale with He Renyuan.
He Renyuan was petty, “Did you make tea for him?”
Bai Qingyu, “No.”
He Renyuan praised, “Effortless, great.”
The next day, Bai Qingyu sold another fifty thousand yuan worth of tea.
“It’s that rich second-generation again! He bought more. I made him tea after you reminded me. He originally only wanted to buy twenty thousand, but he bought thirty thousand more.”
He Renyuan: “…” Could he quit this job?
Bai Qingyu, “This customer is a true tea lover. You were right, I can meet many refined tea lovers at the tea house, it’s very pleasant to talk to them.”
He Renyuan: “…” Who would buy tea two days in a row? He’s clearly trying to hit on my wife!
He Renyuan regretted it more than Old Man Deng regretted not fixing his roof. He was definitely sick in the head to encourage the tea deity to work at a tea house.
This job was fine for humans, why would an immortal work!
He couldn’t stand this anymore. He Renyuan grabbed his car keys, went to keep his wife company at the counter, and waited.
He wanted to see the rival’s true face.
He Renyuan, in his high-end suit, looked different from the lobby manager, who clearly looked like an employee. He stood there like a CEO inspecting the mall. He Renyuan spent a day at the counter with the tea deity, but no rival appeared.
Good, his presence must have intimidated the rival, making him feel ashamed. He Renyuan relaxed slightly. According to other colleagues, the rival was far less handsome than him.
He had an appointment with the doctor for a blood draw on Friday afternoon, so he didn’t go.
The doctor asked, “200cc this time too?” 400cc in total, it was best to wait six months for the next donation.
He Renyuan casually said “yes” and rolled up his sleeve. The phone on the table lit up.
[Bai Qingyu]: I just sold another one hundred thousand.
He Renyuan gritted his teeth, “Draw 250cc.” Bai Da Cha, you idiot, you couldn’t even see through other people’s malicious intentions.
He had to help Bai Qingyu recover his memory quickly, so he knew that provoking humans like this was wrong.
[Bai Qingyu]: That customer didn’t come yesterday because he was abroad discussing a tea export deal.
He Renyuan sneered, “Draw 300cc.” Enough, he needed to recover immediately.
[Bai Qingyu]: He’s so amazing, selling tea abroad, earning foreign exchange, making the world love Chinese tea.
He Renyuan lost his mind, “Draw 400cc.” More blood was more reliable.
[Bai Qingyu]: He asked me to dinner to discuss promoting tea culture abroad, making tea more popular than coffee.
He Renyuan was furious, “Five hundred!”
He would expose this drama today.
The doctor trembled, “Calm down, sir.”
