Chapter 109 - 109 108 Deviation

Words : 1805 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

109: Chapter 108: Deviation 109: Chapter 108: Deviation “With what Chen Qiming said, Ying Nanhong felt as if her heart had been thrown into an icy hole, immediately cooling by half. She never expected that her well-intentioned act had created such a big problem for Liu Hun, and what the outcome would be was all up to him now.” “As the scoring for the third round of the tea competition ended, Du Yueling announced the current scores, ‘Three Crowns Longjing twenty-six points! Top-Grade Rock Tea twenty-five point five points! Wanbao Ancient Tea twenty-five points...'” “The tea competition was scored out of ten, with only the final category—taste—left. So far, none of the teas in the first three rounds had scored below six, so unless the top three scored less than six in the final round, the Tea King would be one of them, leaving the others just as onlookers.” “Oh! Who knew they actually had some tricks up their sleeves, ranking third!” Li Guangjin scorned Liu Hun, honestly not believing he could lose today. “Should I call this dumb luck? Or a fluke from throwing random punches? It unexpectedly landed on me! But no worries, the last item is taste, that’s where the quality really shows. I won’t hold back this time.” Huang Xian, the owner of the Top-Grade Rock Tea, didn’t think much of Liu Hun at all, candidly declaring his aim was for the Tea King! “You’ll see the truth in the tea cup! Let’s go!” Liu Hun replied casually, as if dealing with trivial matters, since he really didn’t regard these two as a threat. “The sound of boiling water pouring into the tea bowls, tea leaves swirling in the bowl, releasing three distinctly different fragrances.” “So fragrant! So fragrant! Why does it smell so good? No wonder it’s more expensive than cabbages! It’s indeed worth the price!” “Why do these teas smell different? I still find the smell from Bowl One the best! Could we, from Wanbao Village, lose?” “Tsk tsk tsk! Cursed beak! Have you seen the expressions of those three drinking tea? Woah, it’s like they’re at a state banquet, their eyebrows nearly merging with their noses! It’s hard to say who could outdo whom!” “...” “Bowl One contained Three Crowns Longjing, Bowl Two was Wanbao Ancient Tea, and lastly Bowl Three, the Top-Grade Rock Tea. The three judges sniffed meticulously like sniffer dogs detecting land mines, then carefully tasted it, sipping as if each drop mattered.” “Oh my! This is so nerve-wracking to watch! Who drinks tea like this? Just gulp it down and get it over with, declare a winner for our Wanbao Village, why all this fuss?” Wang Dajiao was getting anxious. “You don’t know anything! Stop blabbering! Just watch!” Old Li couldn’t stand his wife’s incessant talking. “Rich! Smooth! Refreshing! Truly captures the essence of Longjing! Very good!” Lu Bomeng set down Bowl One, stroking his beard and nodding with a smile, “This tea, I give eight points!” “After Lu Bomeng’s rating, Li Guangjin was clearly not satisfied, but the following two judges, Chang Genrong gave nine points, and Wang Jian gave eight point five points. Eventually, they settled on eight point five points as the average; the total score was thirty-four point five points.” “Although this score doesn’t fully reflect the true quality of my Three Crowns Longjing, it’s enough for Tea King. Looks like I’m still the one! Ten thousand per tael, tsk tsk, thanks for lifting me up, folks, I’ll gladly take the money!” Li Guangjin boasted as he heard the final tally, already overjoyed at the idea of big piles of money entering his pockets. “Don’t get too cocky too soon! My tea is next!” Huang Xian coldly retorted, though he felt uneasy inside, knowing the final result could really mean money. “As Lu Bomeng set down Bowl Two, he frowned slightly and said, ‘The color and taste of the Top-Grade Rock Tea belong to the upper tier, but this time... it’s not as good as last time, I can only give seven points!'” “Hearing the score, Huang Xian’s face turned green, secretly cursing Lu Bomeng’s ancestors, hoping for a higher score from the others.” “But! Chang Genrong gave it seven point five, and Wang Jian gave it eight. Ultimately, Huang Xian’s Top-Grade Rock Tea scored thirty-three points.” “Ah!” Huang Xian sighed heavily, watching the title of ‘Tea King’ worth ten thousand taels pass him by. His last hope was to find confidence from Liu Hun, sneering at him, “Don’t crane your neck so far, it won’t come to you if it hasn’t come to me! Just follow behind and eat my dust! Tea King? In your dreams!” “Wait till we slap your face! Remember my words!” Liu Hun coldly retorted to Huang Xian, his gaze fixated entirely on the three judges. Finally, it was Liu Hun’s turn to present his Wanbao ancient tea. Seeing Du Yueling placing three cups of ancient tea in front of the judges, his heart swelled like a pond surging with a torrential rain, overflowing with confidence. “Hmm... this tea... hiss...” Lu Bomeng held a mouthful of Wanbao ancient tea, relentlessly rolling it around his throat, constantly trying to find one word to describe this flavor, but it seemed he couldn’t quite pinpoint it. “What’s going on here? Why have all three gone silent?” Bai Lian, standing in the audience, tugged at Fen Ran’s sleeve next to her. Fen Ran was a million times more nervous than her. She watched as the first two judges quickly handed out their scores, and now their own tea suddenly behaved as if possessed. The three judges were as conflicted as if competing in a facial expression contest. She couldn’t bear the agony anymore and grabbed Qin Yue beside her saying, “What’s happening? Is there something wrong with our tea?” “Don’t scare ourselves. I picked these leaves with Hun just this morning from the tree, what could be wrong? These three fools are really driving me mad! At least fart or something! Look at everyone here, they’re holding their breath, just waiting for those three to speak!” Qin Yue was fiery-tempered and anxious, simply grabbing Fen Ran’s hand. Suddenly, just as Lu Bomeng’s beard and eyebrows were nearly squished together, a voice exploded. “Beautiful! Wonderful! This...” Like a startled badger, Chang Genrong leapt up, excitedly nearly spilling the Wanbao ancient tea he was holding and wanting to let everyone taste it—the best tea he’d ever tasted in his life. “Try it, everyone! It’s so beautiful! There’s such a wonderful tea in this world! I... I’m too excited! I don’t know what to say. Too excited!” As Chang Genrong spoke, he wiped away tears from his eyes with trembling hands, words failing to capture his feelings. “Mr. Chang, would you mind giving Wanbao ancient tea a score?” Du Yueling’s rosy cheeks glowing bright, her dimples bursting forth as she nearly jumped in excitement, but still knew what she needed to do. “Full marks! Ten out of ten! Less than ten wouldn’t express my excitement!” Chang Genrong nearly shouted to the audience with a quivering voice, and then couldn’t resist finishing off the tea left in his bowl. “That scared the life out of me! Look at my poor little heart! It almost stopped!” Qin Yue, grabbing Fen Ran’s hand, jumped up, never having imagined that Chang Genrong would give Wanbao ancient tea a full score! Fen Ran and Bai Lian were nearly in tears, hugging Qin Yue and jumping around like headless flies, sheer joy. “Awesome, Mr. Ying! This trip isn’t about giving face to you; it’s about you giving me the opportunity! I must make it clear here, I’ll take as much as Wanbao Village has, money’s no object!” Chen Qiming eagerly said to Ying Nanhong. As a tea merchant who had long dealt with Chang Genrong, he had never seen him behave so crazily. A tea that could drive Chang Genrong mad must be extraordinary, and in his view, that was money! “You’re about done! How much will you take? Am I just decoration? Don’t compete with me on money; I’m only left with money!” Wu Liang quickly interrupted Chen Qiming’s words, not letting him monopolize this gold mine. Even without a shovel, he’d dig out his treasure with his fingernails. “Lu Bomeng and Wang Jian haven’t spoken yet, are you sure you want to place orders now?” Sitting next to Ying Nanhong who was so nervous she nearly tore her dress corner, Cai Yan helped manage the situation for her. She really hadn’t expected Liu Hun to truly have such skills. His move had completely conquered Chang Genrong, and just Chang’s verdict alone was worth the set-up costs. If he really secured the title of Tea King, this deal would fatten Liu Hun’s wallet enormously. When they heard this, they realized it was true. Wang Jian was a representative of the new school; his opinion could be ignored, but Lu Bomeng, a grand master’s verdict, was indeed worth listening to. “Pah! What is this tea? It’s terrible! Too bad! This tea thinks it can compare with Longjing? It’s a joke!” Wang Jian, curling his lips as if he had drunk a bowl of dung juice, disdainfully poured the Wanbao ancient tea onto the ground. Shocked! Stunned! Utterly astonished! Everyone at the scene was as incredulous as if they had seen the sun rise from the west. They couldn’t believe the judges’ reviews could be so polarised. “What is this idiot babbling about up there? Did he get the wrong bowl? Old Li, check whether he grabbed the bowl for feeding his dog?” Wang Dajiao couldn’t keep her mouth shut again, truly thinking Wang Jian was up to no good. Qin Yue, Bai Lian, and Fen Ran didn’t share Wang Dajiao’s mood for jokes. Their spirits, just floating on clouds, “splat” fell into a ditch. Who could endure such a turnaround? The three women just stood dumbstruck, unable to utter a word. “Hey! Really gave me a scare. What ancient tea what stuff? Chairman Wang’s evaluation is the fair and unbiased one! The Tea King title and the money are mine!” Li Guangjin said triumphantly. Just a moment ago, hearing Chang Genrong speak, his expression was like a dead dog, but now it sprung back to life. Huang Xian also let out a long sigh of relief. Even if they didn’t win the Tea King title, they had to secure the second place, “Fake stuff will eventually be exposed, the true quality will eventually come to light!”

Chapter 109 - 109 108 Deviation

Comments (0)