"The shop is closed." A male voice shouted through the door.Hu Lei could hear the irritation in the tone. However, she did not intend to leave without knowing a little more about the shop. Usually, she did not like to overthink situations. However, she now felt that it was strange that her father would recommend a medicinal shop to purchase tea.
She did not drink most types of tea, and she was content to purchase ma.s.s-produced products. If it was not for this Zhong family matter, she would never have thought of coming to Cauldron Street. Now that she was here, she could not help thinking that there had to be more to her father"s recommendation.
She lifted her hand and knocked the door loudly and insistently. She could only apologise in her heart for her rudeness. After continuously knocking for a while, the door opened.
"Can"t you read the sign on the door?" An angry voice retorted.
An old man in a white overcoat stepped through the door with a furious expression. He was somewhat tall and had an air of authority. His head was covered in grey hair and his black, fierce eyes were concealed by thick spectacles.
"I am sorry, grandfather. I would not insist if it was not an emergency." Hu Lei channelled her cuteness into a humble smile.
The old man looked at her up and down.
"Humph… how is there an emergency? You do not look ill." The old man spoke sharply.
"It"s a different kind of emergency." She laughed awkwardly. "I am going to see some elders, and I need some good medicinal tea."
The old man could not help feeling dissatisfied. With the way she had been knocking, it had seemed as if someone was on fire. Now looking at her smiling ingratiatingly, he felt that she had taken advantage of his good heart.
"I do not have tea. This is a medicine shop." He declared and made a move to close the door.
But how could Hu Lei allow this old grandpa to escape after he finally opened his door? She stretched her small hand and placed it on the surface of the door.
"My father told me that there is definitely tea in this shop." She spoke with certainty.
The old man tried to push his door closed but found that he could not make it budge. He looked at the short girl"s harmless smile and curved crescent eyes. He suddenly realised that she was not a simple person. Moreover, her beautiful face was hiding a questionable personality.
"Who is your father?" He finally stopped attempting to close his door with a sigh.
The shop was not famous. It was only known by people who were familiar with him. More importantly, he did not sell tea openly. He had some quality tea, but it was reserved for personal use and fleecing his close friends.
"His name was Hu Ming. He was a doctor." Hu Lei looked down in sadness when she spoke of her father. Therefore, she did not discover the change in expression in the old man"s face. She gathered herself before looking at him again.
"Do you know him?" She asked.
"No, I can"t say that I have heard of him." The man responded with a cough.
Hu Lei had expected this response, but she still felt a little sad. Maybe she had been overthinking because she missed her father.
"Oh, I thought you might have known him because of the "Soothing Blossoms"." She responded with a little smile.
"What is soothing blossoms?" He asked.
Hu Lei looked surprised for a moment, but she realised that her father probably called the medicine "Soothing Blossoms" to make it sound a little more fun for her.
"That is what my father called the medicine you are brewing. I could smell its aroma from afar." She explained.
The old man"s eyebrows rose to his hairline at the words.
"You must have a really sharp nose." He looked at her with appreciation.
Hu Lei laughed awkwardly.
"So are you going to sell me some tea?" She asked, pushing the door completely open and stepping into the shop.
The old man looked at her in disbelief. However, Hu Lei acted like she did not see anything. If she wanted to achieve her goals, she would need to be shameless. Finally, he sighed and closed the door. It was obvious that he would not win against her.
Hu Lei looked at the simple shop with curious eyes. There was a comforting mild medicinal scent in the entire s.p.a.ce. The store was quite large with cabinets which were divided into small compartments. Each individual section was locked and labelled clearly. It was obvious that the owner of the shop was meticulous.
"I do not have tea for sale, but I can give you some for the sake of your determination." The old man finally said.
"Thank you, grandfather. But I will pay. It would not be good if you gave it to me for free." She smiled to the point of sparkling.
"Girl, do you think that the tea that this ancestor has personally prepared from the finest national tea leaves can be bought with a little money?" His voice was tinged with pride.
Hu Lei felt that this elder was too complicated. If his tea was that valuable, would it be good to just give it away?
The old grandfather went to the back of the shop and returned with a black canister container. He looked at Hu Lei with some arrogance, causing her lips to twitch at his antics. He took out a white box from a drawer with only the word "Apothecary". He placed the canister and sealed the box.
Finally, he offered the package to Hu Lei.
"Is it really alright for me to take your tea just like this?" She asked.
"Humph… right now, you do not understand the value. Once you present to the elders you plan to visit, you can come back." He said with more pride, his nose rising into the air.
"Alright, then I will see you on another day, grandfather." She said with a bright smile.
The old man looked a little stunned. When she was just about to step out of the shop, he shook off his daze.
"Girl, what is your name?"
"I am Hu Lei." With that, she left and closed the door behind her.
Outside, she found a handsome man in a maroon suit standing with a single handing his pocket. She hopped over to him with excitement. He immediately reached out to pull her into him. She slapped away his hand. Even though the lane was abandoned, she definitely did not want to engage in PDA.
"Did you find what you were looking for?" He asked.
Hu Lei lifted the sizeable box which she was holding in her left arm. Zhong Feng looked surprised after seeing the package. He lifted his eyes to look at the simple shop with concealed emotions. However, he did not say anything unnecessary.
"The shop owner is eccentric and claimed that he definitely did not sell tea. But I wore him down with my charm. Am I not amazing?" She asked.
Zhong Feng patted her head.
"You are amazing." He agreed.