Short Story 'Tea Competition'

[Huoshen Sharing]\Time: 2013-02-01 19:56 Source: "Story Club" Issue 3, 2013 Author: Guan Zhonglengwa Clicks: 5598\1. The White-Faced Monkey\ In the early Qing Dynasty, there was an old entertainer in the martial arts world, known as Hou Laosan, who always traveled with a white-faced monkey, wandering north and south, making a living by performing with the monkey.\ That spring, Hou Laosan came to Xiamei Town, a tea-producing village in Wuyi Mountain. Whether due to the exhaustion of travel or something else, he fainted by the dock. Seeing this, his monkey was extremely anxious. It rolled its eyes rapidly and sneaked into a nearby tea shop, picking up a basket of tea leaves and ran back to its owner.\ The monkey's every move happened to be noticed by someone, a man surnamed Geng, named Youde, who was the owner of the Yingchun Tea Shop. Seeing the monkey stealing tea leaves, he hurriedly shouted for his staff to chase after it.\ The white-faced monkey reached its owner and began shaking the unconscious man with its paws. At this moment, Hou Laosan woke up, saw the basket of tea leaves the monkey gave him, and then noticed people chasing toward him, immediately feeling that the situation was serious.\ Several staff members reached Hou Laosan and tried to catch the monkey. The monkey, being clever, threw the bamboo basket to the ground and quickly leapt up into a nearby big tree. Hou Laosan hurriedly knelt on the ground and begged, "Gentlemen, please spare it! It's just an animal, it doesn't know anything!"\ "Doesn't know anything? How did it know to steal my tea leaves then?" Boss Geng, who caught up, angrily questioned him, then said, "That beast ran up the tree, and I can't reach it, so I'll teach you, the old man, a lesson first." Saying this, he began punching and kicking Hou Laosan.\ "Stop!" At this shout, Boss Geng was startled and turned around to see the newcomer, who was Boss Zou Manchun of Manchun Tang Tea Shop. The Zou family was one of the wealthiest in Xiamei, running the town's largest tea shop. In the annual tea competitions of Xiamei over the years, the Zou family had repeatedly won the Tea King title. In the Zou family's tea garden, there was a cluster of tea trees called "Iron Arhat," said to have been left behind from the imperial tea garden. It was said that the reason the Zou family repeatedly won the Tea King title was relying on this cluster of Iron Arhat trees.\ Boss Zou looked at the man lying on the ground with concern and asked seriously, "Brother Geng, what exactly happened here?"Boss Geng pointed at the tea leaves on the ground and angrily said, "That old bastard actually sent his monkey to steal tea leaves from my tea shop."

"It's a false accusation! It's really a false accusation!" Old Hou III cried as he recounted the whole story. It turned out that Old Hou III was normally obsessed with tea; if he ran out of tea, he would lose his energy and often fall into an unending sleep. Today, he had fainted here, and the monkey may have thought that his old illness had acted up again. Since the tea next to him had run out and the monkey couldn't find any, it risked running off to steal a basket of tea from the owner.

Boss Zou was moved by the loyalty of this white-faced monkey, and hurriedly, with a smile, said to Boss Geng, "It's rare to see a monkey so loyal to its master. These tea leaves are all mine; I will pay for them entirely. How does that sound?"

Seeing Boss Zou inserting himself into the situation, Boss Geng felt displeased and deliberately made things difficult: "Brother Zou, this isn't about the money. You don't know, these tea leaves were picked by my own hands, carefully roasted, and specially prepared for this year's Tea Competition. But now look, they're all ruined by this damn animal. Otherwise, would I be so furious?"

Boss Zou understood the implication of these words—this was clearly an attempt at extortion. He frowned and said, "From what you're saying, do you mean I have to pay you a Tea King before you'll let them go?"

Seeing Boss Zou's expression, Boss Geng realized this guy was determined to pick a fight with him today. He suddenly laughed out loud and said, "Look at what you're saying—I didn't mean that. If you want me to let them go today, I will do as you say. But the honor of your Tea King, I still have to respect it!" Saying this, he called his men and left.

Boss Zou hurriedly went forward to help Old Hou III, took out a silver ingot, and stuffed it into Old Hou III's hand, saying, "Old sir, take this silver to buy some medicine first and get well. In the future, if you encounter any difficulties, you can come to Manchun Hall Tea Shop to find me."

Old Hou III received the silver gratefully, repeatedly expressing his thanks, and left with his monkey.

At this moment, a scholar stepped out from the observing crowd, looking at Boss Zou with respect, and said, "I had heard for a long time that the Zou family in Xiamei is virtuous and honorable. Seeing it today, the reputation is indeed well-deserved!"

Boss Zou humbly said, "It was just a small effort, hardly worthy of mention. May I ask what this brother's name is?""Little brother Li Guangdi, a native of Anxi, is a scholar heading north to the capital to take the imperial examination," the scholar said with a smile, clasping his fists in salute.

Boss Zou was greatly delighted upon hearing this: "So you are the renowned talent of Anxi in southern Fujian, Li Guangdi! I have long admired you! Long admired you!"

Being someone who cherished poetry and literature, Boss Zou immediately invited Li Guangdi to his home to receive him as a distinguished guest. The two enjoyed tea and discussed philosophy, conversing happily for several consecutive days.

2. The Dispute Over the Big Well

One day, just as Boss Zou was preparing a farewell banquet for Li Guangdi, a shop assistant hurriedly ran in and said, "Shopkeeper, bad news! Today, Boss Geng ordered people to encircle the big well, claiming the well belongs to his family, and henceforth, no one is allowed to fetch water from it."

This big well, as it turned out, was related to tea competitions. The water from this well was clear, sweet, and of excellent quality. Every year during tea competitions, people from town would rush to fetch water from this well to brew their tea.

Originally, the big well belonged to the Zou family, but years ago, when the Geng family was opening a tea shop, the Zou family sold the plot of land with the well to the Gengs under the condition that the well must remain accessible to the townsfolk. Now, Boss Geng was tearing up that agreement to monopolize the well water, hoping to gain an advantage during the tea competitions.

Boss Zou went to the well to reason with Boss Geng. However, Boss Geng, holding the land deed, argued unreasonably: "It's written in black and white here that this land belongs to my Geng family. Since the well is on this land, it is naturally also ours."

Just as the two were going into a fierce argument, an elderly scholar from the town intervened amicably: "Brothers, harmony is most important! If you keep fighting like this, neither of you will come out well. I have a good idea, but I don't know if you two will agree."

"What idea? Do tell us!"

The elder pointed to the well and said, "The name 'Big Well' is too common. Since everyone is present today, whoever can give this well a good new name will own it. Of course, the name cannot be chosen casually—it must be based on the two characters 'Big Well,' and you may not add or remove more than two strokes. The time limit is one incense stick. How does that sound to you?"

Hearing this plan, everyone cheered in agreement. Little did they know, this whole scheme was masterminded by Boss Geng, and the elderly scholar had long been bribed by him.The old scholar had two tables brought in, along with ink, brushes, paper, and inkstones. On each table was placed a sheet of white paper with the characters 'Dajing' written on it. He lit an incense stick and solemnly announced the start of the competition.

Not long after the incense was lit, Boss Geng walked to the table, grabbed a brush, and clumsily wrote the three characters 'Taiyi Well,' exclaiming excitedly, 'Mount Wuyi is a sacred place for Taoism, and Taoism respects Taiyi Zhenren the most. So I will name this well Taiyi Well!'

Everyone was stunned and couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for Boss Zou.

Boss Zou pondered deeply for a long time but still found no clue. Seeing the incense nearly burned out, he grew anxious and flustered. At that moment, he spotted Li Guangdi in the crowd. Their eyes met, and Li Guangdi suddenly looked up at the sky, then drew a horizontal line across his chest with his hand. Boss Zou had a sudden inspiration, held the brush steadily, dipped it generously in ink, and added two strokes to the paper. The crowd exclaimed in astonishment, 'Tianyi Well—elegant yet not vulgar!'

Setting down the brush, Boss Zou explained, 'Our tea business is most afraid of fire, so naming it "Tianyi Well" aligns perfectly with the principle in the I Ching: "Heaven produces water, Earth completes it," implying that "Tianyi Well" can counteract fire. Moreover, this Tianyi Well carries another meaning: the world as one family. I also hope this well belongs to everyone under heaven.'

His explanation drew even more applause, and the old scholar had no choice but to declare Boss Zou the winner.

Afterward, Boss Zou thanked Li Guangdi for his secret assistance, but Li Guangdi firmly refused, saying, 'Brother Zou, it is your quick thinking and heart for the benefit of all under heaven that enabled you to come up with such an excellent name!'

That afternoon, Li Guangdi bid farewell to Boss Zou and headed north to take the imperial examinations.

3. Iron Arhat

In the blink of an eye, it was the following spring. One day, Magistrate Zhang suddenly visited the Manchun Hall Tea House. As the saying goes, no one comes to the Three Treasures Hall without cause. Having heard that Prince Jingnan was coming to Xia Mei, Magistrate Zhang sought out Boss Zou, hoping the tea king could personally present tea to welcome His Highness.

Boss Zou detested this prince, whose ancestors had once sold him for personal gain, and refused, saying, 'I am just a commoner; I won't go mingle in such festivities. I'd rather stay home and properly roast my tea!'

Magistrate Zhang left Manchun Hall in a huff. As soon as he stepped onto the street, he ran into Boss Geng.Boss Geng busily invited Magistrate Zhang into his tea shop and asked with concern, "Magistrate Zhang, what's the matter with you today? You don't look very well."

"Don't mention it, it's all because of that ungrateful scoundrel Zou Manchun who angered me!" Magistrate Zhang said angrily, then recounted what had just happened.

Boss Geng secretly rejoiced in his heart, added some embellishments while speaking about all of Mr. Zou's faults, and even fanned the flames by saying, "Isn't he just arrogant in front of you because he relies on being the Tea King?"

Magistrate Zhang was furious: "So what if he's the Tea King? I can still deal with him."

"That's right, Sir. You can certainly deal with him—it would be like stepping on an ant, no problem. But you still need a reason that makes sense…"

Magistrate Zhang furrowed his brows and whispered, "You're right. I need to figure out a way!"

Boss Geng hurried to the magistrate's ear and whispered a whole plan, finally offering a suggestion: "Sir, if you can present the ‘Iron Arhat' to the Prince, he would be overjoyed. The Zou family's ‘Iron Arhat' used to be in the Imperial Tea Garden!"

This time, Magistrate Zhang smiled with satisfaction.

After the Spring Equinox, tea shops of various families began to go to the county office to collect "Tea Permits," which were official tea shipment tickets issued by the government. One permit allowed the issuance of a hundred jin of tea.

Boss Zou's tea shop successfully obtained their tea permits, but unexpectedly trouble arose! When merchants transporting Zou's tea were carrying it out, the government discovered that the permits were fake. Zou checked the remaining permits at home and was stunned: the red official seal on the permits had inexplicably turned blue.

After careful thought, Boss Zou understood: someone must have tampered with them. Besides Magistrate Zhang, who was in charge of the official seal, who else could have done it?

Not long after, Boss Zou was arrested and imprisoned for forgery of the permits, and the Manchun Hall tea shop was also closed.

Zou's elderly father was anxious and desperate. With no other option, he used the Zou family residence and tea garden to rescue his son from Magistrate Zhang's hands.

When Boss Zou was released from prison, his father, exhausted and ill, lay bedridden. Thankfully, before his death, he was given a chance to see his son one last time. His father had him brew a cup of tea, and pointing to the teacup, he said meaningfully, "Manchun, people are just like these tea leaves in water. You see, when tea leaves float and sink, you can always tell which are good and which are bad."Although our Zou family is now facing this misfortune, our righteousness still remains. You must live well; as long as our Zou family upholds faith and integrity, we will prosper again in the future!”\ Shortly after saying this, the old father closed his eyes and passed away.\ Magistrate Zhang acquired the Zou family's tea gardens and tea business, selling them at a low price to Boss Geng. Benefiting from this, Geng naturally took the lead and personally presented tea to Prince Jingnan.\4. Gongchun Teapot\ Seeing his family business fall into others' hands and his father's passing, Boss Zou was heartbroken. With nothing left, he had no choice but to work as an assistant in another tea business, barely making a living.\ One day, while Boss Zou was busy, an elderly man came to him, choking back tears, and said, “Benefactor, you have suffered!” It turned out that Hou Laosan had learned of the Zou family's ordeal from someone along the way and, worried, had come to visit him.\ The two entered a nearby teahouse, and after sitting down, Hou Laosan took out a purple clay teapot and proudly said, “Look at this teapot, what do you think?”\ Boss Zou's eyes immediately lit up. The teapot was rustic in shape, exquisitely crafted, full of spirit, with the seal-script characters “Gong Chun” at the bottom. Gong Chun was the ancestor of purple clay teapots, and people named the teapots he made after him as “Gongchun Teapots.” Boss Zou asked in astonishment, “Could this teapot be the legendary Gongchun Teapot?”\ “Boss Zou has a true eye for quality. To be honest, this teapot was indeed made by the teapot ancestor Gong Chun and is a treasured family heirloom,” Hou Laosan said solemnly. “Zou...