Having roughly figured out the intricate details, Chen Yan nodded. Suddenly remembering something, he asked, "Then, besides you, did anyone else come along today?"
"I’m not sure about that." Shopkeeper Li shook his head and explained, "I also just arrived a moment ago. I haven’t even had the chance to look through the whole shop yet, inside and out. I really haven’t had the time to notice anything else."
"I see..."
Seeing him say this, Chen Yan didn’t press the matter further. His gaze fell on the empty teacup in the shopkeeper’s hand. "Do you have ready-made tea in the shop? Or do you need to fetch some from the storehouse?"
"We do, Boss. I checked when I arrived; a batch has already been prepared in the tea room." Saying this, Shopkeeper Li suddenly clapped his hands. "Si!"
As soon as he spoke, Chen Yan saw a man walk out of the kitchen.
The man looked to be around thirty years old. He was short, with a round face, and wore a short, brown, coarse-cloth jacket with tightly bound cuffs. He carried a black-lacquered tea tray in his hands. His pace was quick, and with small, rapid steps, he reached their table in the blink of an eye.
"Boss, Shopkeeper." Bowing slightly in greeting, the young man called ’Si’ by Shopkeeper Li spoke up. His voice was clear and bright, and he wore a perfectly measured smile on his face.
"This is Si, the Tea Master of the shop. When the True Master was here, we agreed that the shop would be staffed with a Waiter so I wouldn’t have to go out and hire people off the street myself." Pointing at Si, Shopkeeper Li introduced him, "Si is quite nimble and efficient, but he’s a bit chatty. Please don’t mind him, Boss."
Upon hearing this, before Chen Yan could even speak, he heard Si cheerfully chime in, "Shopkeeper, if the tea service is quiet, who would even come to drink tea?"
Ignoring his chatter, Shopkeeper Li pointed toward the back kitchen. "There’s another one in the kitchen, surnamed Deng. He’s a silent type who solely focuses on boiling water, brewing tea, and making pastries.
"He doesn’t talk much, but he’s a solid, hard worker. He was also part of the True Master’s arrangements. I only need to manage the business and don’t have to worry about personnel matters."
Chen Yan nodded. The moment he saw Si, he knew this person was likely an accompanying resident as well, including the cook surnamed Deng in the kitchen.
"Come on, Si, show the Boss your skills."
At Shopkeeper Li’s gesture, Si set down the tea tray in his hands and was just about to get to work when Chen Yan stopped him.
"There’s no need." Shaking his head, Chen Yan stood up and imitated them by cupping his hands in a polite salute to the two. "I still have things to do, so I won’t stay. I’ll come back for tea when I have time."
"This..." Seeing him leave, Shopkeeper Li was slightly taken aback but could only cup his hands in return. "Take care, Boss."
"Come again when you have free time, Boss! I’ll treat you to some ’Tea Hundred Plays’!"
Watching Chen Yan’s swiftly retreating back, Si looked disappointed. He called out before finally returning to the back kitchen to work under Shopkeeper Li’s urging.
Hearing Si’s shout from behind, Chen Yan didn’t stop walking, but a wry smile appeared on his face. Actually, if possible, he would have loved to have a cup of tea this early in the morning to refresh his mind. However, when he saw Si bringing over the tea tray earlier—especially when he saw the complete set of unfamiliar utensils neatly arranged on it—he suddenly remembered the tea-drinking customs of the Song Dynasty he had read about online.
It was only then that he learned that before the Ming Dynasty, the way common people drank tea was completely different from today.
Take the Song Dynasty, for instance. The most popular way of consuming tea back then was actually "whisking tea." Setting aside the specific process of whisking tea, there was one detail he remembered very clearly. That was the fact that it took a lot of time and effort—it would easily take ten or twenty minutes just to start.
As for the "Tea Hundred Plays" that Si had offered at the end, it was even slower. It would take at least half an hour. By the time he finished a single cup of tea, the Ancient City would already be open for business.
Normally, he wouldn’t mind waiting, but today was different. Not to mention that the Ancient City would open in a little over an hour, he hadn’t even finished exploring this street yet. What if he missed other original residents? Therefore, he definitely couldn’t stay for tea this time; he could only wait until he was free next time.
Following Qinghe Street as the thin mist gradually dissipated, Chen Yan continued walking forward. As he neared the head of the bridge, a rather familiar stall suddenly caught his eye.
"Lady Boss?!"
Looking at the familiar Guduo stall, Chen Yan stared wide-eyed, almost thinking he had seen it wrong.
"Young Master... Boss!"
The moment he saw the stall, the Lady Boss, who was busy working behind it, also spotted him. Her eyes lit up instantly, and a familiar "Young Master" nearly slipped from her tongue.
"You wouldn’t happen to have been invited by the ’True Master’ too, would you?" Looking at the pleasantly surprised Lady Boss, Chen Yan was amused. "What, your Guduo aren’t selling well over there, so you decided to try your luck here?"
"I saw your portrait at the True Master’s place, Boss, and I was curious. Plus, the True Master promised a lot of conveniences here, so I came." After explaining with a smile, the Lady Boss’s gaze subconsciously fell on Yongtong Bridge not far ahead. "Of course, perhaps this bridge also had something to do with it..."
When Yongtong Bridge was mentioned, the Lady Boss didn’t show much of a reaction, but Chen Yan’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly recalled that, according to the actual timeline of that other world, the Lady Boss standing before him was actually already dead!
Chen Yan could never forget that scene of soaring flames, much less the Lady Boss lying in a pool of blood. But what he absolutely never expected was that he would see the Lady Boss again in his own scenic area—alive.
This couldn’t help but make him wonder: if the Lady Boss became a permanent resident here from now on, would she still suffer that fatal incident by the bridge in the future?
"Forget it. Why think so much? I should just take care of my own side of things first." Shaking his head to dispel the chaotic thoughts from his mind, Chen Yan looked at the Lady Boss again and asked, "This is our second time meeting, and I still don’t know what to call you."
"Greetings, Boss. I am Miss Yu the Third." Upon hearing this, Miss Yu the Third set down her half-wrapped Guduo, crossed her hands, bent her knees slightly, and bowed to perform a traditional greeting.
Chen Yan nodded. Once she rose and resumed wrapping Guduo, he asked again, "Are you not curious about my identity at all?"
Shaking her head, Miss Yu the Third replied in a calm tone, "The True Master said that once we arrive here, we shouldn’t ask questions we shouldn’t be asking. We just need to focus on running our own businesses properly."
As she spoke, she picked up a freshly fried skewer of Guduo from a bamboo mat on the side and offered it to Chen Yan. "It’s the shop’s first day open. Boss, please do the honors of having this first skewer of Guduo."
Accepting the Guduo handed over by Miss Yu the Third, Chen Yan smelled the familiar aroma and didn’t stand on ceremony, devouring it in two or three bites.
"Give me five more skewers. Your Guduo are truly delicious; they’ll definitely sell out."
He laid out ten Heyu Tongbao coins. When Miss Yu the Third handed over two more skewers, Chen Yan simply stood in front of the stall and scarfed them down, just like he had back on the Qinghe Street of that other world.
It wasn’t until he felt a bit stuffed that he remembered something. "The True Master must have told you, the guests here might dress and speak a bit ’differently.’ Please don’t take offense to it; just conduct your business normally."
"I understand. I definitely won’t cause any trouble for you, Boss."
Seeing Miss Yu the Third nod, Chen Yan didn’t say anything more. He waved his hand and left Qinghe Street.
The "master" incarnated by the system had arranged everything perfectly in all aspects, which saved him an immense amount of trouble. However, the system couldn’t possibly take care of every single detail.
After a moment of thought, taking advantage of the fact that the Ancient City hadn’t reached its opening hours yet, he rushed back to his office as fast as he could. Grabbing a wooden box, he hurried toward the ticket office. Today was the day Yongtong Bridge reopened, and it was also the first day Qinghe Street opened to the public. He had to personally man the ticket office.
On one hand, he wanted to see what the visitor volume would be like on Yongtong Bridge’s reopening day. On the other hand, he needed to act as an advance guard for the two shops on Qinghe Street that only accepted copper coins.
Arriving at the ticket office, Chen Yan placed the wooden box next to the ticket window and casually flipped open the lid to take a glance inside. Exactly one thousand Heyu Tongbao coins lay quietly within, emanating a luster that only genuine copper coins possessed.
He only had a little over 1,600 yuan left in his own account, but he still resolutely exchanged for a thousand copper coins from the system, simply because he didn’t want to drop the ball at a critical moment.
Having set up the cash box, he sat down on a chair and quietly looked out the window.
Everything was ready; all that was left was to open the doors and welcome the guests!