No one knew how much time had passed before someone finally broke the silence.
Wang Wu sighed and said, “You two are simply too impatient. Boss Zhu came all this way, yet instead of entertaining him properly, you made things difficult for him at every turn. You really shouldn’t have.”
At these words, both Zhang San and Li Si were stunned.
Zhang San, possessing a fiery temper, immediately pointed at Wang Wu’s nose and cursed, “Wang Wu! What on earth do you mean by that?! It was clearly you who—”
“Now look what happened! Boss Zhu is only dividing the tea into two shares. The two of you can hardly shirk the blame!” Before he could finish, Wang Wu cut him off again.
Li Si instantly grasped his intention.
Knitting his brows, Li Si sneered, “Well played, Wang Wu! You’re trying to kick both of us out of the game, aren’t you?!”
Wang Wu feigned surprise and said, “When did I ever say I wanted to kick you two out? I’m merely speaking the truth. For the past half-month, you two have been trying every trick in the book to make things hard for Boss Zhu. It’s utterly revolting! Even I can’t stand by and watch anymore!”
“You shameless hypocrite!” Zhang San gnashed his teeth in fury.
To the side, Lou Tingxue and Zhu Dongfeng exchanged a glance.
Zhu Dongfeng mouthed silently, thinking to himself: Young Master Lou’s scheme is brilliant indeed.
Lou Tingxue smiled without saying a word.
Wang Wu sneered, his gaze locking straight onto Li Si.
His tone dripped with sarcasm as he said, “Fourth Brother Li, last year a major client visited my shop, only for you to turn around and poach him with a undercut price. What makes you think you’re any better?”
Li Si exploded on the spot, slamming his hand on the table to retort, “Wang Wu! How dare you bring that up? Take the new tea I crafted at the beginning of the year—before I even set a price to sell it, you took it to curry favor with the nobility and lied, claiming you made it yourself! You shameless bastard!”
Not to be outdone, Zhang San rolled his eyes at Li Si and snapped, “As for that new tea you made, do you still remember that the leaves came from me?! Without my permission, you took the yield of an entire hillside of mine, and to this day, you haven’t paid me a single copper! You aren’t any good either!”
In an instant, the former polite front inside Fan Tower vanished, leaving only arguments and mutual slander among the three.
The grudges and losses they had bottled up over the years were all dragged into the open now. Exchanging jab for jab, each accused the others of being scum. Whatever brotherhood they once shared shattered into pieces in the face of profit.
Zhu Dongfeng turned to look at Lou Tingxue.
He saw him holding a teacup, his expression serene, as if everything unfolding before him was entirely within his expectations.
As the three argued tooth and nail, Lou Tingxue slowly stood up and threw a meaningful glance at Zhu Dongfeng, saying, “Boss Zhu, it’s getting late. Let us head back first and let the three bosses ‘discuss’ things thoroughly.”
Understanding the hint, Zhu Dongfeng stood up, cupped his hands to the bickering trio, and said, “Take your time chatting, gentlemen. We shall talk another day.”
Flush with rage, the three couldn’t spare the breath to make them stay.
The carriage slowly set off, and silence temporarily settled over the interior.
Zhu Dongfeng let out a soft laugh and said, “Young Master Lou, today was truly thanks to you. I’m just genuinely curious—how were you so certain the three of them were merely friendly on the surface, and that a single push would throw them into disarray?”
Lou Tingxue replied calmly, “I didn’t know in advance. It’s simply that most merchants in this world prioritize profit above all else, and they are no exception.”
Hearing this, Zhu Dongfeng fell silent.
Lou Tingxue looked out the window at the passing streetscape and added, “The three of them appear to be good brothers, but in reality, each wishes the others dead. The fact that it escalated to this point isn’t due to any brilliant scheme on my part—it’s their own greed. Even if it hadn’t erupted today, they would have turned on each other over some other gain sooner or later.”
Zhu Dongfeng smiled and said, “Young Master speaks the truth. But I must ask, which two tea merchants does Young Master Lou have his eye on?”
Lou Tingxue turned back to look at Zhu Dongfeng and said, “Boss Zhu, this business is yours, so naturally, you have the final say. Whether you want one, two, or all three, any option works.”
Zhu Dongfeng laughed even louder and asked, “Is Young Master Lou truly this confident?”
Lou Tingxue replied without a moment’s hesitation, “I am precisely this confident.”
Zhu Dongfeng fell silent for a moment.
Lou Tingxue then asked, “Now, I would like to know: how strong are Zhang San, Li Si, and Wang Wu in terms of capability?”
Hearing this, Zhu Dongfeng leaned forward slightly and candidly laid out everything about the three men with a smile.
“In terms of capability, Wang Wu is the strongest of the three. He has a silver tongue and excels at reading people. From high-ranking nobles down to common tea patrons, he flatters everyone into high spirits, which is why he earns the most.”
“Next is Li Si. He lacks a silver tongue, but he possesses exceptional tea-processing craftsmanship. The tea he roasts has a rich aroma and a lingering flavor. He enjoys an excellent reputation in the Huainan region, and many customers come specifically for his skill.”
“As for Zhang San, he falls far behind. He neither knows how to network like Wang Wu nor possesses Li Si’s roasting craft. He can only cultivate tea leaves, doing the most grueling work for the least amount of money.”
Lou Tingxue nodded slightly and softly murmured, “I see.”
Zhu Dongfeng looked at him and asked, “What does Young Master Lou see? Care to explain in detail?”
Lou Tingxue asked instead, “Boss Zhu, you haven’t answered me yet—how many people do you actually want to do business with?”
Zhu Dongfeng smiled and said, “What if I want all three, Young Master Lou? How would you handle that?”
“Nothing special, except it might not be possible this time. But if Boss Zhu returns to Huainan for tea business next year, you will definitely be able to secure all three of them,” Lou Tingxue said with conviction.
Zhu Dongfeng lapsed into silence, looking at Lou Tingxue thoughtfully.
Early the next morning, before the morning mist had dissipated.
Lou Tingxue and Zhu Dongfeng stepped ashore side by side.
It was the same teahouse as yesterday, and the same three square tables pushed together, yet the atmosphere was entirely different.
Although Zhang San, Li Si, and Wang Wu sat at the same table, each occupied a separate side, leaving a vast gap between them.
Wang Wu casually munched on melon seeds, spitting the shells all over the floor; Li Si silently wiped a teacup, his knuckles white; Zhang San stared out the window, his gaze drifting.
At the sound of footsteps, all three looked up at once.
Lou Tingxue sat down calmly, with Zhu Dongfeng taking his seat beside him.
Suddenly, Wang Wu slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, startling Lou Tingxue.
Wang Wu declared, “Boss Lou, Boss Zhu, truth be told, any tea leaf in the Huainan region—whether sold to noble lords or common folk—must pass through the hands of me, Wang Wu!”
As Wang Wu spoke, he cast a smug glance at Zhang San and Li Si, his tone becoming increasingly arrogant: “Rather than splitting these two shares of tea, you might as well give them both to me! I guarantee I’ll make Great Liang’s tea an instant hit in Huainan, far better than if you sold it through two different people!”
At these words, both Zhang San and Li Si were left dumbfounded.
This time, even Li Si couldn’t hold back. He slammed the table, rose to his feet, and roared, “Wang Wu! Don’t push it too far! Yesterday you were still calling me a useless fool, and today you want to swallow all the profits yourself? There’s no such cheap bargain in this world!”
Zhang San also clenched his fists, his face flushed red with rage, “Wang Wu! What gives you the right to swallow this shipment all by yourself?! Careful not to let your greed choke you to death, you bastard!”
“What gives me the right? The fact that I’m better than both of you!” Wang Wu sneered.
He stood tall, looking down at the two of them, and added, “In this Huainan tea market, the strongest always calls the shots! One of you only knows how to roast tea, and the other only knows how to pick it. Compared to me, what are you if not useless fools?”
“You dare call me a useless fool?!” Zhang San trembled with rage.
In an instant, the teahouse erupted into chaos once more.
Wang Wu spat insults furiously with grand arrogance, while Zhang San and Li Si retorted with burning fury. Whenever Wang Wu stopped for a sip of water, Zhang San and Li Si turned on each other instead.
Sitting to the side, Zhu Dongfeng looked at Lou Tingxue.
Lou Tingxue shook his head slightly, signaling him to remain calm.
Only when the three had shouted themselves hoarse did Lou Tingxue speak up slowly, “Bosses, are you done arguing?”
His voice was not loud, yet it acted like a bucket of ice water, instantly dousing their tempers.
The three stopped reluctantly, still breathing heavily as they glared at one another fiercely.
Lou Tingxue’s gaze swept over the three of them, his tone suddenly turning cold: “Since all three of you consider yourselves so capable, the terms of this partnership ought to change as well.”
“Change the terms? How do you want to change them, Young Master Lou?” Wang Wu narrowed his eyes, sensing something amiss.
“The seventy-thirty split we discussed yesterday is void. Starting today, I want a fifty-fifty split,” Lou Tingxue stated word by word.
“What?!” all three shouted in unison.
A cold smile tugged at the corner of Lou Tingxue’s lips as he added, “The tea belongs to us, and the risks are ours to bear. You only need to provide the storefronts and the clientele to walk away with half the profit after selling the tea. To offer such a deal is already the height of generosity.”
“You go too far!” Wang Wu exploded in rage.
Lou Tingxue remained unbothered, staring back at him coldly.
Wang Wu was a shrewd man; with a roll of his eyes, he pieced the entire plot together. He then snapped, “Well played, you fellow named Lou! You look like a celestial, yet you act with such ruthless cruelty! You deliberately set a trap to break the relationship between us three brothers, all so you could catch us all in one sweep! Keep dreaming! We won’t fall for it!”
With those words, Wang Wu turned to look at the two brothers beside him.
However, Zhang San and Li Si wore angry expressions, no longer standing by his side as they used to. Wang Wu’s heart jolted.
They had bickered for a day and a night, dragging up every trivial grievance from years past and tearing away their facade completely. They had managed to stay in the same boat before only because these matters were never brought into the light. Now that everything was laid bare, their brotherhood had reached its end.
“Whether you do it or not is up to you,” Lou Tingxue said indifferently.
He lifted his teacup, taking a leisurely sip before continuing, “At any rate, the tea is on the Ten-Thousand-Dan Barque, and we have all the time in the world to wait.”
A dead silence fell over the room.
The three looked at one another, their faces filled with rage and unwillingness, yet none dared to actually turn around and walk away.
They had long lusted after this batch of tea from Great Liang.
Furthermore, in this business deal, they stood only to gain and nothing to lose. They could never bring themselves to let it go!