Chapter 6
No wonder Young Master He had such suspicions. Why did Bai Qingyu say he didn’t have any in the morning, but suddenly had some at night?
Bai Qingyu was stunned. He was a tea deity, would he deceive people with second-hand tea?
“No, this is new tea.” He had just cut it from the back of Tea Xiao Bao’s head with scissors.
Bai Qingyu said disappointedly, “Can’t you even tell the difference between the first and second brew of tea?”
He Renyuan frowned, “Who said I can’t tell? But yours has been soaking in rice for five hours, can it be the same?”
Bai Qingyu said, “I can tell.”
Being bested in tea appreciation by a nanny who used tea for bathing was a disgrace.
He Renyuan picked up the spoon and scooped up a spoonful of rice soaked in tea.
Aside from the poorly soaked rice grains, the tea was good tea.
It wasn’t suitable to eat greasy food at night. Tea congee was refreshing and appetizing, barely edible.
He Renyuan sank into thought, letting the tea wash over the stubborn seal in his mind like a stone knocking on the door of memory. Thanks to his excellent brain, his studies and work in the past had been smooth sailing. He Renyuan had never experienced the feeling of racking his brains and emptying his mind, but he had experienced it all in the past three years.
Extreme thinking was an exhausting task. In a moment, cold sweat broke out on He Renyuan’s dark temples.
The white porcelain spoon touched the bottom of the bowl, making a clanging sound. He Renyuan came back to his senses and found that he had finished the unappetizing tea congee.
Although he didn’t recall anything, this bowl of tea confirmed that he had indeed lost a long period of memory, although he couldn’t find a place for it on the real timeline, it was more like his fantasy.
Bai Qingyu praised him like he praised Bai Xiaocha, “Very good.” Today, the boss ate as attentively as Bai Xiaocha, but had he heated the tea congee too much? Why was he sweating?
He Renyuan, “…”
The moment Bai Qingyu leaned over to take the bowl, He Renyuan suddenly grabbed his wrist. The wrist was slender, and the fingers were like jade, not like those of someone who had done manual labor. He was being wronged in his house.
He Renyuan looked directly at Bai Qingyu’s bland eyebrows and said very calmly, “The tea in the bowl is not the same variety as the tea on your body.”
Bai Qingyu almost blurted out a rebuttal. How could it not be the same variety? Bai Xiaocha was his child, of the same lineage. Was the boss suspecting that he and Bai Xiaocha were not related by blood? They had a household register.
He Renyuan said bluntly, “The growing years are different.” Bai Qingyu even had the aura of the legendary mother tree Da Hong Pao.
Bai Qingyu’s fingers curled involuntarily, obviously a sign of guilt. He had only released a little bit of his tea deity aura, the fainter it was, the closer it was to Bai Xiaocha. He Renyuan’s level of discernment was the most tea-savvy human he had ever seen.
“It’s not quite the same… because on the train here, I met an old man who mysteriously said he was going to a tea competition. Seeing that Cha Bao… that I knew a lot about tea, he gave me a small handful.” Bai Qingyu flattered the boss, “If you were on the train, I’m sure the old gentleman would have given you some too. Experts appreciate each other.”
He Renyuan sneered, “Someone gave it to you, and you didn’t drink it, you used it for a bath?”
Bai Qingyu, “I drank it twice before using it for a bath. Most of the Da Hong Pao on the market is blended. I wanted to try the taste of two kinds of rock tea blended together.”
Blending meant that professional masters blended different kinds of rock tea in different proportions to create a more mellow flavor. Therefore, the taste of Da Hong Pao from different brands was slightly different.
He Renyuan felt that the wrist in his hand was really slippery. He tightened his grip in anger. He clearly felt that Bai Qingyu had the aura of pure Da Hong Pao, even the top-grade mother tree.
However, the mother tree had stopped being harvested seventeen years ago, and the last batch of tea leaves was sent to the National Museum for preservation.
How could Bai Qingyu, a poor boy with no background, be related to the mother tree? If he said it out loud, Bai Qingyu would laugh at him.
The nanny was not only cunning but also knew tea culture. He really hadn’t been a lawyer for too long, he was losing in a battle of words.
He Renyuan let go of his hand and was about to get up.
Bai Qingyu volunteered, “Can I make breakfast tomorrow?”
Auntie Liu’s breakfast for the young master was really a waste of food, but Auntie Liu didn’t dare to ask He Renyuan to order, so she could only make a little of everything. And the boss and the employees prepared their food separately. By the time He Renyuan finished and left, everyone had already eaten their fill.
Bai Qingyu dared to ask, “What do you want to eat in the morning, boss?”
He Renyuan glanced at the empty bowl and had no expectations for what Bai Qingyu could make. He got up and went upstairs, “You don’t need to make it.”
Bai Qingyu held the mahogany stair railing and coaxed, “How about tea eggs? I still have a little bit of tea!”
Bai Xiaocha hadn’t had a haircut in three months, he could cut a little more.
He Renyuan stopped, his fingers gripping the railing, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, “How much tea do you have?”
Bai Qingyu felt like the boss was about to rush down and strangle him. He hid behind the first pillar of the railing and whispered, “A little bit.”
According to the growth rate of the tea deity cub’s hair, there would be a little bit every day.
How could He Renyuan be manipulated by Bai Qingyu with tea every time? He was going against the grain.
“How about tea eggs with peanut soy milk?” Bai Qingyu asked.
Hah, was he treating him like a beggar? He Renyuan didn’t even turn his head.
Bai Qingyu raised his voice, “Add a plate of boiled vegetables and a pot of tea after the meal.”
He Renyuan closed his eyes, as if he had entered a black shop. If it weren’t for his desire to restore his memory, he wouldn’t be in this situation, “You better have it on the table by seven o’clock.”
Bai Qingyu, “Okay.”
Watching his employer go up to the second floor, Bai Qingyu went upstairs, his steps very light.
When he reached the third floor, Bai Xiaocha sensed his father’s approach and put down the building blocks in his hand – the building blocks were sent to him by the kind auntie on the train.
He didn’t have time to stand up, he propped himself up with his hands, crawled two steps, and rolled to his father’s feet, “Dad.”
“Dad, did a bug bite you here?” Bai Xiaocha blew on a faint red mark on his father’s wrist.
“It’s okay, it was a not-so-fierce bug.” Bai Qingyu had achieved all his goals today. He happily picked up his son, “We’ll go make tea eggs later.”
Tea eggs tasted better after being soaked and refrigerated overnight, so they had to be made in advance. It would be even better if they were made with eggs from free-range chickens. He wondered when he could raise chickens.
Bai Qingyu instructed, “We’ll go to the kitchen later, we have to be quiet.”
Bai Xiaocha nodded, “Okay.”
Bai Qingyu was still worried. The employer was really too astute, “Baby, my boss is very smart. If he comes up to the third floor to check, you have to hide well.”
Bai Xiaocha’s chubby cheeks were full of seriousness, “If Uncle Boss catches me, I can’t work with Dad anymore.”
Bai Qingyu, “Right, because other children don’t work with their dads. Housekeeper Grandpa secretly let you in.”
Bai Xiaocha, “Housekeeper Grandpa is so nice!”
Bai Qingyu restrained his aura, pretending that he had washed away the tea fragrance in the bath, so that He Renyuan wouldn’t notice that the age of the tea tree didn’t match.
Bai Qingyu carried his child quietly downstairs, locked the kitchen door, and started boiling eggs.
“One for Dad, one for Baby…” Bai Xiaocha saw his father put three eggs into the pot, “Oh, one for Uncle Boss.”
Actually, two for Uncle Boss, Bai Qingyu wouldn’t eat. He Renyuan was so tall, he needed to eat more for breakfast.
After the eggs were cooked, he took them out and put them in cold water. Bai Qingyu added spices, soy sauce, salt, sugar, and tea leaves to the pot.
This wasn’t Bai Qingyu’s first time making tea eggs, even Bai Xiaocha was familiar with the process.
“Baby, give me some tea leaves.” Bai Qingyu wanted to use his own tea leaves, but He Renyuan was used to the taste. Changing it would cause trouble tomorrow.
Bai Xiaocha obediently lowered his head and didn’t move. He was the top-performing child in the eyes of a barber. Bai Qingyu cut a few of his son’s hairs, quickly stir-fried them in his palm with divine power, and then threw them into the small milk pot.
Bai Xiaocha sat on the floor leaning against the cabinet, picked up an egg, tapped it on the cabinet door, rolled it, cracked the shell, and held it up to his father.
Bai Qingyu took the egg and put it in the marinade to simmer for twenty minutes.
While waiting, afraid that Cha Bao would be bored, Bai Qingyu opened the refrigerator, took out a box of yogurt and a cod sausage.
He microwaved the cod sausage, opened the yogurt lid, and handed them to Bai Xiaocha.
Bai Xiaocha dipped the sausage into the yogurt, coating it with a sweet and sour taste, like French fries dipped in ketchup.
Bai Qingyu opened the refrigerator again, thinking about what vegetables to boil for the boss tomorrow morning.
Broccoli, perhaps. City people seemed to like to eat this.
Bai Xiaocha saw the food in the big refrigerator, it was full of food. He opened his mouth in amazement, and the cod sausage covered in yogurt missed its target and landed on his face, leaving a white mark.
What a big mistake!
Bai Xiaocha wiped his face with the back of his hand and focused on eating the yogurt again.
After twenty minutes, Bai Qingyu turned off the heat and carried the little one, who had finished a box of yogurt, back to their room.
The next day.
He Renyuan stared at the bland breakfast in silence for three seconds.
Auntie Liu didn’t make the young master’s breakfast, but she still made the staff meal, and everyone ate a delicious and abundant breakfast.
Oh no, Bai Qingyu would definitely be fired this time. It was her fault for not explaining the young master’s terror clearly yesterday, so that Bai Qingyu’s casual actions resulted in Young Master He’s breakfast becoming tea eggs, soy milk, and boiled vegetables.
Just as Auntie Liu thought that He Renyuan’s anger was loading, He Renyuan picked up a tea egg.
One had to say that the young master’s appearance was good-looking. Even peeling a tea egg was elegant. The eggshell peeled off in a continuous spiral, like peeling an apple.
Bai Qingyu supervised, thinking, Cha Bao was really good at rolling eggs, making it so smooth for the boss to peel the shell.
Watching He Renyuan finish his breakfast without wasting anything, Bai Qingyu held out a 500ml big-bellied cup filled with tea. The light green tea leaves gracefully unfolded in the water and gradually sank to the bottom.
“Take this to work.” Bai Qingyu generously lent He Renyuan the big-bellied cup he had gotten from registering as a new user, his expression as if rewarding He Renyuan for obediently finishing his meal.
The big-bellied cup was a green dog design, with a strap to hang around the neck, and a straw.
Fire appeared in He Renyuan’s eyes. He stared at Bai Qingyu with a thunderous gaze, “Did you pick this bottle up from outside?”
Bai Qingyu, “I bought this as a new user for one cent, and I haven’t used it yet.”
He Renyuan rubbed his temples. New user, one cent. According to the cost of customer acquisition, even if this thing was bought at its actual price, it wouldn’t exceed ten yuan.
Was he supposed to carry this ugly thing to work? Even the oldest men in the most old-fashioned government offices knew to carry a glass or a thermos.
Bai Qingyu really liked the two straps on this cup. You could carry it, and if you couldn’t hold it, you could hang it around your neck. It was very suitable for people who worked.
The tea deity was very tolerant. He Renyuan’s criticism of the cup wouldn’t make him angry. He only cared about the result, “Then are you going to drink it or not?”
He Renyuan swore that this was the last time he would swallow his anger. He grabbed the big-bellied cup. The warm tea instantly warmed his dry palm through the cup wall.
He Renyuan twitched his lips and strode away.
When Bai Qingyu and He Renyuan were talking, no one else spoke. As soon as He Renyuan left, Li Ru and Li Yuan, the mute sisters, immediately started signing vigorously, as if they had a lot to say, but their gestures couldn’t accurately express their emotions.
The housekeeper asked the sign language interpreter, “What are they saying?”
The interpreter stared for a while and found that the sisters were so bold as to ship the young master and the nanny. She said weakly, “Nothing, they said they’re going to do a deep clean.”
The housekeeper “oh”ed. He was more concerned about whether Cha Xiao Bao had eaten.
Bai Qingyu, “He hasn’t eaten yet. I saved some food for him. Since there’s going to be a deep clean downstairs, I’ll go up and feed him.”
Bai Qingyu took the tea eggs and a cup of soy milk upstairs and placed them in front of Bai Xiaocha, letting him eat on his own. He sat cross-legged on the floor and used his phone to search for nearby kindergartens.
Bai Xiaocha was over two years old and could attend the toddler class. It was best if the kindergarten was close by, so he could easily pick him up and drop him off. Although He Renyuan had a bad temper, he had given him three months’ salary in advance as soon as he arrived, a total of fifteen thousand yuan. He had money to let Bai Xiaocha start kindergarten early.
Bai Qingyu opened the map, entered “kindergarten,” and the nearest one popped up, 1.5 kilometers away, called Lemon International Kindergarten.
Bai Qingyu called the number, “Hello, I have a two-year-old child. Are you still accepting students?”
The other party’s tone was that of a standard customer service representative, “Hello, the spring semester has already started a month ago. If your child enrolls, he will be considered a transfer student and may not be used to interacting with other children. The fee is also charged for the entire semester.”
Bai Qingyu said, “It’s okay, Cha Bao is very adaptable.”
The customer service representative said, “Our fees for children under three are 26,000 yuan per month. If you need school bus service, there will be an additional charge…”
Two, twenty-six thousand? Per month? Bai Qingyu was shocked. So his three months’ salary couldn’t even cover one month of Bai Xiaocha’s kindergarten fees?
Kindergarten in the city was so expensive?
“Sorry, I’ll think about it.”
Bai Xiaocha repeated without looking up, “Dad will think about it.”
“Okay, take your time. We also suggest that you send your child to school in the fall, the curriculum progress will be more consistent.”
“Okay, thank you.” Bai Qingyu hung up the phone, shocked. How could it be so expensive? Only the boss’s son could afford kindergarten. The tea deity’s son couldn’t.
But Zhang Xiujuan and the bricklayer’s children had successfully enrolled. There must be something wrong here.
When in doubt, ask the browser.
Three minutes later, Bai Qingyu understood. There were many types of kindergartens: elite private, international bilingual, specialized private, and affordable… Ordinary working people could send their children to affordable kindergartens, which only cost two thousand yuan a month.
He was in a wealthy area, and the only nearby kindergartens were elite and international ones. The nearest affordable kindergarten was 12 kilometers away.
Bai Qingyu decided to visit in person another day.
“Qingyu, you have a delivery.” The housekeeper called up to inform him.
It must be the “rainproof stroller” he bought. The boss wasn’t home at the moment, so Bai Qingyu blatantly carried his son downstairs to sign for it.
“Such a big box?” The housekeeper was surprised. Was he buying new furniture? “You don’t have to spend your own money. If you need furniture, put it on the young master’s account. I’ll reimburse you.”
Bai Qingyu was an honest person. He felt that buying a stroller was not a necessary work expense, “It’s okay, it wasn’t expensive.”
Bai Qingyu quickly unpacked a huge green trash can. Both Bai Xiaocha and the housekeeper were stunned.
“Such a big box.” Bai Xiaocha was only half as tall as the trash can.
The housekeeper wondered, were they short of this kind of trash can at home?
Bai Qingyu said, “I bought it to use as a storage cabinet.”
The housekeeper, “…”
The housekeeper watched the father and son happily push the trash can into the elevator, sighed, they were still too poor.
He should still reimburse him. The housekeeper was about to transfer the money when he suddenly received a call from He Renyuan’s father, He Wangzhong.
“I heard that Ah Yuan has been staying at home for two days in a row?” Although He Wangzhong was asking, he was very sure, he had his own sources.
The housekeeper, “Yes.”
Father He, “Then do you think he’ll stay at home tonight too? I’ll send a bowl of soup over tonight, remember to make him drink it.”
The housekeeper, “The young master didn’t say he was coming home tonight.”
Father He, “Let’s take a chance.”
When He Wangzhong was young, he and his wife were always on business trips, away from home for 350 days a year. After making it big, he suddenly wanted to be a chef, immersing himself in cooking to make up for his son.
He had some good intentions, but not many, mainly reflected in the expensive ingredients. His cooking skills were not as good as Auntie Liu’s.
He Renyuan’s company wouldn’t accept anything other than documents. If he wanted to send food, he could only send it home, and He Renyuan’s days at home were even more random than his parents’ back then.
In short, like father, like son, the whole family had no concept of family. They didn’t think they had to go “home” at night. The company was more like home.
As soon as He Renyuan stepped into the house, he regretted it a little. Wasn’t this self-torture?
Wait, since when did he have to consider other people’s feelings when returning to his own home?
He had already arranged dinner, asking Auntie Liu to stir-fry him a plate of matsutake fried rice. He wouldn’t be manipulated by Bai Qingyu’s tea congee and tea eggs again. Young Master He put the washed plastic dog cup on the table with a sense of resignation.
He had to throw this thing away after using it once, but he was afraid that the nanny would make a fuss about it.
In the kitchen, Auntie Liu said to Bai Qingyu with joy, “You really have a way. This is the first time the young master has specified a meal. I only need to make a plate of fried rice.”
Bai Qingyu said modestly, “It shows that the boss is reasonable and listens to advice.”
Auntie Liu, “Anyway, you’re great. This is what young people call upward management, right?”
He Renyuan ate a reassuring dinner. At this time, the housekeeper brought over a bowl of white truffle and pumpkin soup.
“This is the soup sent by the chairman.”
He Renyuan glanced at it. The truffles and pumpkin were mixed into a sticky, thick soup, which was unappetizing. He said, “Take it away.”
The housekeeper took it away awkwardly. The appearance was average, and the taste was probably average too. But it used Alba white truffles, known as white diamonds. It was a pity not to eat it.
Huh? A certain scene of a child eating flashed through Housekeeper Qi’s mind.
He hurriedly carried this precious white truffle and pumpkin soup and took the elevator straight to the third floor, afraid of spilling a drop.
“Cha Bao.” The housekeeper called softly at the door, “Come eat something.”
Bai Xiaocha quickly poked his head out from behind the door, “Housekeeper Grandpa?”
“It’s something good, come eat it quickly.” The housekeeper lovingly placed the bowl on the small stool and stuffed the spoon into Bai Xiaocha’s hand.
Bai Xiaocha held the spoon, sniffed it, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in his mouth.
He had never tasted this before, it was delicious!
The housekeeper smiled and watched, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
After a while, he received a call from the chairman.
“Did Ah Yuan eat it? Was it good?” He Wangzhong asked steadily.
“He ate it, he ate it.” The housekeeper answered vaguely.
The big boss didn’t eat it, the little boss did.
————————
Housekeeper: )
