Watching their bewildered expressions, Hu Xiaobei glanced at Shinjima Hanako and started,"Aunt, uncle, this...it's hard to explain, but you should know her name is Shinjima Hanako, and that she's my maid; that's enough!"

Upon hearing Hu Xiaobei's explanation, the two of them looked at her closely!

Soon, they realized that this woman was obviously Japanese...

"She's really beautiful—maybe she could stay with Xiaobei!"

Hu Xiaobei's aunt mused over this idea as she looked at Hanako...

Unlike his wife, Hu Xiaobei's uncle was more attentive to the tea ceremony Hanako was performing...

"A master indeed! Truly a master!"

He admired sincerely as he watched her absolutely proficient movements...

He had studied tea ceremonies before, so he knew how difficult it truly was to be as skilled as Shinjima Hanako...

...

"Keeping her around really is useful!"

Hu Xiaobei muttered to himself as he watched Shinjima Hanako perform each step skillfully.

Quickly, Hu Xiaobei turned to his aunt and uncle, "Come, try the flavor of this tea! Oh, and uncle, I remember you owned a tea shop before!"

"Yes, my tea shop is still running, but business isn't what it used to be!"

Hearing this, Hu Xiaobei asked curiously, "Not what it used to be? What happened?"

"Sigh, the distributor I used to work with suddenly stopped cooperating with me, so... ah well, let's not talk about these unhappy things today!"

With that, he waved off the matter and picked up the light blue teacup!

At first, he didn't pay much attention...

But soon, his eyes widened in surprise...

As he brought the teacup closer, he smelled a super rich fragrance...

"This... this... this..."

Shocked, he looked closely and noticed the tea in the cup was incredibly clear.

At the same time, he realized that the tea set used for the brewing was absolutely fine.

Looking somewhat bewildered at Hu Xiaobei, he quickly asked, "Xiaobei, where did this tea come from?"

Seeing his astonishment, Hu Xiaobei said softly, "Oh, I grew it myself. Uncle, if you like it, I can send some back with you when you leave! Whenever you want to drink it, feel free to come over!"

"You... you grew it yourself?"

He stood up abruptly as he asked this!

The woman sitting beside him jumped in fright and quickly said, "Uncle, what... what's the matter?"

Hearing her somewhat reproachful question, he rubbed his nose and said, "You... just take a closer look at this tea and you'll know!"

"Tea?"

Surprised, she looked down and instantly saw the blue tea set!

"Top-notch tea set!"

After praising it, she picked up the teacup, and in that moment, a whiff of refreshing scent filled the air...

"So fragrant!"

She widened her eyes when she smelled it...

She wasn't very knowledgeable about tea, but after many years of exposure, she could tell from the smell alone that this tea was definitely good stuff!

After exchanging a glance with her man, she gently took a sip!

Immediately, she looked at Hu Xiaobei with eyes full of shock!

Just from one small sip, she felt a refreshing sensation throughout her body and a lingering fragrance on her lips and teeth...

After taking in a quiet breath, she stared straight at Hu Xiaobei and said, "Xiaobei, did you cultivate this tea?"

"Yes! Aunt, do you like it too? If you do, there's plenty!"

Hearing Hu Xiaobei's affirmation, she inhaled sharply again in shock!

Xiaobei soon set down her teacup and, looking at her man with curiosity, asked, "Uncle, if this tea is so good, why can't I smell its fragrance after putting it down?"

Hearing such a curious question, the man glanced at Shinjima Hanako and said solemnly, "In the world of tea ceremony, there's a concept known as 'restraint.' This is the pinnacle for all tea artists, and 'restraint' means that during the performance of tea ceremony, not a bit of the tea's fragrance is wasted! I used to think this level was nonsense, because it seemed impossible to achieve! But now I realize there's always someone better out there, and skies beyond skies!"

"You mean..."

"That's right! What Shinjima Hanako is demonstrating right now is the highest realm of tea ceremony: 'restraint.'"

Hu Xiaobei wasn't very familiar with the tea ceremony, and upon hearing her uncle's words, she was quite surprised!

"I didn't expect you to be capable of this!"

"If I have caused the master surprise, it is my mistake. Please punish me, master!"

"This..."

Seeing Shinjima Hanako admit her fault so directly left them stunned.

Before, when Hu Xiaobei claimed Shinjima Hanako was her maid, they didn't really take it seriously.

But now, seeing her show such respect to Hu Xiaobei, they realized that Hu Xiaobei hadn't been joking at all—Shinjima Hanako truly was Hu Xiaobei's maid...

"No need for punishment, continue please."

"Yes!"

After a respectful affirmation, Shinjima Hanako continued her tea ceremony performance...

...

After finishing their tea, they glanced around the area and quickly said, "Xiaobei, your village has really improved a lot! Why haven't you renovated your house?"

"Exactly, if it's a matter of money, you can tell us, we could..."

Before they could finish, they saw several people running over from outside!

They saw it, and so did Hu Xiaobei!

On seeing those people, Hu Xiaobei felt a bit of a headache coming on!

These people were the owners of star-rated hotels in several nearby cities.

They were here for one simple reason: to buy Hu Xiaobei's fruits and vegetables!

Hu Xiaobei had made it clear to them before that she wouldn't be selling her produce!

Because Hu Xiaobei knew that the production was not sufficient yet, it wasn't a good idea to start promoting wildly!

But they were very persistent and came every day, and here they were again today!

"Master Xiaobei, we... we've come again!"

As they spoke, they surrounded Hu Xiaobei with ingratiating smiles...

...

"Oh my God..."

Seeing how shocked her man was, she asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Upon hearing the question, he pointed at one of the smiling men and said, "I... I know him, he's the owner of a five-star hotel in the neighboring city! Rumor has it he's worth billions!"

"This..."

On hearing this, she looked somewhat dumbfounded at Hu Xiaobei, who was being treated like a celebrity in the center...

...

Hu Xiaobei didn't realize they were looking at her in shock; after rubbing her nose, she spoke, "Everyone, I've told you before quite clearly! I don't have any expansion plans right now! So my fruits and vegetables aren't for sale to you! Of course, if there comes a day when I'm ready to expand, I promise you'll be the first I sell to. How about that?"

Right then, Hu Xiaobei truly felt helpless!

Since she couldn't send these people away, she had to try to sway them!

"Alright, Master Xiaobei, whatever you say! Please take the deposit first!"

"Yes!"

"All of us had prepared the deposits beforehand!"

As they spoke, they clapped their hands, and soon several people came in carrying burlap sacks!

Hu Xiaobei's uncle and aunt were quite taken aback by those burlap sacks.

They were completely stunned when they saw stacks of brand-new bills being poured out...

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