Wang Shijing quickly got off the kang bed and put on his outside clothes, while the person outside shouted, “Is Shijing home?” Grandpa Sun? Wang Shijing quickly opened the courtyard door. Inside the house, Shao Yunan had also gotten up from the bed, got dressed, and rolled up the bedding before putting it away.

The person outside the door was indeed Grandpa Sun. “Shijing, Grandpa Sun didn’t disturb you and Yunan, right?” Shao Yunan was a male wife, so Grandpa Sun couldn’t directly ask if Shao Yunan was at home, even if he actually came to meet Shao Yunan. “No, please come inside Grandpa Sun.” Shao Yunan also came out at that time. “Master Sun.”

“Grandpa Sun wants to talk to you about something.”

“Come in and sit down, Master Sun.” Shao Yunan invited him inside, while Wang Shijing went to pour some water. Grandpa Sun entered the room, sat down on the kang, and said with a bit of embarrassment on his face, “Yunan, that boy Genshu brought me some chrysanthemum tea and said that you gave it to him. This chrysanthemum tea is a very good thing, so grandpa wants to buy some from you. Do you have a lot of it?”

Shao Yunan smiled. “Master Sun, what a coincidence. I was just talking to Brother Shijing about sending you some tonight. I think this stuff could be used as medicine. Brother Shuping said that you are friends with the head of the pharmacy in the county town.”

Grandpa Sun was delighted. “What a coincidence. Genshu heard you say that this thing helps to clear the liver, improve eyesight, and reduce fevers, so he sent some to me to ask if his mother can drink it. I checked the chrysanthemum tea and it was indeed very good! I also use chrysanthemum in some medicines, but compared to your tea, my medicine is much worse. It also tastes very bad.”

“Sometimes when there is very little sunlight, the medicine would get moldy and the medicinal properties will spoil. Yunan, if you have more of the chrysanthemum tea, sell some to grandpa. Also, the boss of the ‘Yongning Hall’ in the county town is familiar with me. He is an honest person, so if you want to sell it, you can sell it to him. It will not be a loss for you and he might even order more!”

Wang Shijing came in with a cup of chrysanthemum tea and put it in front of Grandpa Sun. Grandpa Sun said, “Look, it’s so well dried. Not to mention, as a medicine… even as a drink, it’s beautiful and tasty.” Shao Yunan’s Longjing tea had not yet been taken outside, so Wang Shijing did not brew the Longjing tea. He just sat down next to Shao Yunan and did not talk.

Shao Yunan looked at Wang Shijing with a look of ‘You call the shots and getting ‘encouragement’. He turned to grandpa Sun. “Master Sun, I made this chrysanthemum tea on a whim and never thought about whether it can make money or not. If you think it’s good, why don’t you make it yourself?”

Grandpa Sun froze, not understanding. “What? You don’t want to do this business? This stuff will definitely sell for money. Other people might not understand, but some poisons can also be used as medicine if they are dried well. I have never seen such good dried chrysanthemums. It’s not worse than your jam recipe.”

Shao Yunan said, “Master, you misunderstood. I know this chrysanthemum tea of mine is definitely good. It’s just that the process of making this chrysanthemum tea is very troublesome, much more troublesome than the jam that I handed over to uncle Zhao. Also my family is small and Shijing and I need to do a lot of things, so we don’t have the energy to make large quantities of the jam. It’s the same with this chrysanthemum tea.”

“You can’t think that the whole process is only drying the chrysanthemums in the sun. It takes at least half a month to make, which is troublesome, but it is also a delicate process. Grandpa, as you might already know, Uncle Sun, Aunt Sun, Erjiang, and Sun Xiao Jiang are familiar with my family. Especially Erjiang and Sun Xiao Jiang, who are also good brothers. So why don’t I give you this recipe, so your family can do this business.”

Master Sun, who finally understood, immediately shook his head. “No, no, this is not possible, absolutely not.” Wang Shijing spoke. “Master, you should listen to Yunan first.” Shao Yunan continued, “Grandpa Sun, this chrysanthemum tea is different from a jam. Shijing and I really want to give it to someone who has been kind to our family. Originally, I wanted to give it to Aunt Wang’s family, but when Wang Dafu’s family came, I became worried that I would cause trouble for Aunt Wang’s family instead. Aunt Wang’s family can’t be compared to Uncle Zhao’s family after all.” Grandpa Sun frowned. “There are so many people in the village who are not right-minded.”

Edited by: Jaisland

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