“Hahaha, Xiaodao has real clout! Crashing Weibo twice in one day!”
In a private room at an exclusive restaurant, Deng Paopao raised his glass and laughed heartily.
Zhao Xiaodao lifted her orange juice and clinked it against his. “My fans all suspect you were the one overdoing the tonics and ended up getting me into trouble.”
Deng Paopao immediately protested. “It wasn’t me, I didn’t, don’t spread nonsense. I’m perfectly robust. Why would I need tonics?”
Zhao Xiaodao gave him a look of pure scepticism, clearly unconvinced.
Lu Zheng, sitting nearby, smiled and joined in. “The moment I walked in, I could smell the goji berries in your thermos.”
Deng Paopao: (⊙o⊙)
Deng Paopao asked in astonishment, “You can actually smell that?”
His thermos had stayed inside his bag the whole time, never taken out, and it was properly sealed.
As soon as the words left his mouth, Deng Paopao switched to a sly tone. “Does it work, then?”
Lu Zheng rolled his eyes. “You tell me. Don’t you already know?”
“Ahem!” Deng Paopao cleared his throat twice, raised his glass and clinked it with Lu Zheng. “I pushed myself pretty hard when I was younger. Now I’m just starting to look after myself a bit. Perfectly normal, perfectly normal.”
Lu Zheng glanced at him a couple of times. “Don’t you know Duan Yukai? How come Old Master Duan hasn’t prescribed you a couple of remedies?”
Deng Paopao paused. “I’m not ill. Why would I need prescriptions? Mr Duan just told me to soak some goji berries and not to tonify randomly.”
Deng Paopao was only just over forty, so he could still, at a stretch, be counted as the same generation as Zhao Xiaodao. It was hardly time for him to be tonifying yet.
All the same, once a man reaches middle age, popping goji berries in the thermos is standard procedure.
Lu Zheng nodded. “Old Master Duan has a point. It’s just that the actual medicinal effect is limited. The placebo is stronger than the real benefit. It’s still not as good as proper exercise.”
At that, Lu Zheng changed tack. “Are you free tomorrow?”
Deng Paopao’s eyes lit up. “Yes, yes, yes!”
“Then let’s meet up. I’ll give you a jar of wine tomorrow. One liang every three days, and I guarantee you’ll feel stronger and full of energy.” Lu Zheng added, “By the way, Sun Niangniang can drink it too. Great for beauty and nourishing the skin.”
Sun Niangniang’s eyes sparkled. She quickly raised her glass and thanked him along with Deng Paopao. “Thank you, Brother Lu!”
It might not be the kind of elixir Zhao Xiaodao had received, but any medicinal wine that Lu Zheng personally offered was bound to be excellent.
“No need for thanks.” Lu Zheng smiled, then turned to Zhao Xiaodao. “What time are you leaving tomorrow? If you’re not in a rush, come along and take a jar for yourself.”
“Thank you, Brother Lu! I won’t stand on ceremony, then!”
Zhao Xiaodao was much closer to Lu Zheng and Lin Wan. After all, Lin Wan had saved her life from the jaws of a tiger. They shared a bond forged in danger, so she added without hesitation, “I’m not leaving until tomorrow evening.”
Lu Zheng nodded and smiled. “Then let’s meet at a tea house. I’ve recently got hold of some good tea. Perfect chance to share it with you all.”
Deng Paopao jumped in quickly. “Leave that to me. I know several places like that.”
He lived in Haicheng. Apart from acting, he owned several companies, and much of his business and social life happened in such tea houses, so he knew the best ones inside out.
“Fine, tomorrow afternoon then.”
…
They finished the meal and went their separate ways.
The moment Deng Paopao got home, he started turning the place upside down looking for tea.
“Where did I put that Longjing Mr Liu gave me last time?”
“Right, and that premium Dahongpao from Mr Jin the time before. That should be good enough, surely?”
As soon as Zhao Xiaodao reached her hotel, she summoned her assistant. “Quick, quick, quick. Cancel tomorrow morning’s flight and book one for tomorrow evening instead.”
“But tomorrow afternoon there’s a company meeting you’re supposed to…”
“Postpone it!”
…
The next afternoon, Lin Wan skipped work. Lu Zheng casually took three jars of medicinal wine from his gourd, the kind that replenished qi and blood and nourished yin for beauty.
He had plenty of medicinal wine. Every year he sent some to his own parents and to Lin Wan’s mother. Besides scorpion wine and red centipede wine, there were others infused with spiritual herbs.
For ordinary people, it was serious tonifying. A ten-jin jar, sipped over the course of a year, was enough to bring anyone’s constitution into excellent order.
Lu Zheng’s parents and Lin Wan’s mother had been drinking it steadily for several years now. Just looking at them, their skin appeared years younger. They were fit as fiddles, ate everything with gusto, could stay up late, work overtime, climb mountains, go running, and never felt tired. It was as if they had turned the clock back to their vigorous thirties.
He loaded the jars into the boot, climbed into the Dongfeng Fengshen that Lin Wan had deliberately left for him, followed the satnav, and soon reached a tea house called Danming Zhai.
He pulled into the car park, switched off the engine, and stayed put. He simply opened the [Hotpot Group] chat.
Lu Zheng: Here yet? Come to the car park. We’ll move the wine first.
Deng Paopao: On my way!
Zhao Xiaodao: Nearly there!
Soon Deng Paopao and his wife, along with Zhao Xiaodao, arrived in the car park. Each took a jar and stowed it in their own car.
Then Lu Zheng shouldered his backpack and went into the tea house with them.
The moment they stepped into the private room, Lu Zheng caught a rich fragrance.
Seeing Lu Zheng raise an eyebrow, Deng Paopao smiled. “Brother Lu is sharing good tea, so I can’t be stingy, can I? This is a tin of pre-Qingming Longjing someone gave me. Brother Lu, give it a try!”
“Excellent!” Lu Zheng smiled.
Since Deng Paopao had already brewed Longjing, Lu Zheng saw no need to rush out his February Fragrance.
On the table stood four cups and a teapot. In the centre were delicate pastries. The décor was pure traditional Chinese style: solid wood furniture, with faint wisps of sandalwood in the air.
“Nice place.”
Deng Paopao smiled. “It’s reckoned to be the best around here. My friends and I often come.”
Sun Niangniang gave a subtle eye-roll.
Zhao Xiaodao was far more direct. “I don’t believe you. Prove it. Show us the payment records.”
Deng Paopao, “…”
…
They ate, drank, and chatted.
The pre-Qingming Longjing Deng Paopao had brought was genuinely a treasure. The fragrance filled the room, clear and refreshing.
If there had been no February Fragrance to compare it with.
After finishing a pot of Longjing, Lu Zheng took a tin of February Fragrance from his bag, then called the server and handed her the tin.
Soon afterwards, as she carried the teapot in, the clear fragrance drifted ahead of her all the way.
“So fragrant!”
Deng Paopao sniffed, eyes widening as he watched the server enter with a tea tray. On it sat a pot of tea. Inside the transparent glass pot, the liquor was crystal clear and the leaves exquisite.
The server poured for all four, set the pot down, said “please enjoy”, and withdrew discreetly.
Deng Paopao took a sip. “Incredible fragrance! Far better than my so-called pre-Qingming Longjing. I really made a fool of myself earlier.”
Zhao Xiaodao offered consolation. “Your pre-Qingming Longjing was actually very good.”
Deng Paopao nodded gravely, grateful to Zhao Xiaodao for helping him save face. “Still, Xia…”
“It’s just that when goods are compared, some have to be thrown away.” Zhao Xiaodao finished the sentence for him.
Deng Paopao, “…”
