Richest Rag-picker

Chapter 510: Chapter 482: It’s Expired, Isn’t It?

"Whoa there, my friend. This is some top-grade Da Hong Pao Tea. Judging by the look of it, is this from the mother trees?"

At first, he hadn’t been paying much attention, but the moment he saw the tea leaves inside the oil-paper package, Brother Xiaoma cried out in astonishment.

He couldn’t help it; the sight was simply too shocking. Da Hong Pao Tea from the mother trees was something that was basically impossible to buy these days.

After all, the leaves from those few mother trees weren’t even being harvested anymore.

Therefore, this particular Da Hong Pao Tea had long since gone out of production. As for the ones circulating on the market, they were all, without a doubt, fakes.

Those so-called "top-grade mother tree Da Hong Pao" teas were simply cultivated versions that people put out themselves.

But the tea Fang Chenyi presented was clearly different. His love for the art of tea over many years had allowed Brother Xiaoma to develop a keen eye for tea leaves.

Furthermore, Brother Xiaoma had once been fortunate enough to drink this mother tree Da Hong Pao Tea, and the memory of its faint, unique fragrance was still fresh in his mind.

Of course, even a seasoned tea master would have trouble discerning some of the finer subtleties. But Brother Xiaoma had his own method for telling the difference between mother tree Da Hong Pao Tea and the common varieties.

He carefully brought the package of tea before him, observing it for a moment before gently sniffing its aroma. Finally, he delicately picked up a tiny speck of a leaf with his finger, placed it in his mouth, closed his eyes, and savored it. ’That’s it,’ he thought. ’This is the taste of Da Hong Pao from the mother trees.’

Watching Brother Xiaoma’s ecstatic expression, Fang Chenyi was rendered speechless. ’It’s just some tea,’ he thought. ’Is all this really necessary?’

’Besides, you’re the richest man in Huaxia. Do you really need to make a face like that over a little tea?’

Of course, a person like Fang Chenyi—who would brew Da Hong Pao Tea in a giant mug—could never understand the excitement a true tea lover feels when encountering such a peerless treasure.

Even with Brother Xiaoma’s current net worth, getting his hands on this Da Hong Pao Tea was no simple task.

Again, the main issue was that this Da Hong Pao Tea had long ceased production. The few people who owned any from the mother trees had an ounce or two at most.

And they wouldn’t dream of drinking it. Instead, they would carefully preserve it in their collections. To call it tea was not quite accurate; it was more of a collector’s item. It was a classic case of something with a price but no market—something money simply couldn’t buy.

At this point, you might be wondering, for a man as powerful and influential as Brother Xiaoma, wouldn’t people be lining up to gift him tea?

But you have to understand one thing: how many of the people who could possess such an exquisite tea would be of a lesser stature than Brother Xiaoma himself?

And as for those who weren’t as prominent as Brother Xiaoma but wanted to curry favor with gifts, how could they possibly obtain tea that even he couldn’t acquire?

"I don’t know what kind of tea it is; a friend gave it to me. It all tastes the same to me, I can’t tell the difference. In fact, I think the ten-yuan-a-pack tea I buy tastes better. If you think this is decent enough, shall we drink it today?"

Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but interrupt when he saw Brother Xiaoma’s enraptured expression.

’Seriously,’ he thought, ’it’s not worth wasting so much time over a bit of tea. We could be using this time to talk business.’

After hearing Fang Chenyi’s words, Brother Xiaoma showed no sign of embarrassment. After all, Fang Chenyi was a man whose wealth surpassed his own, so he felt he could be more relaxed and didn’t put on his usual cold, aloof expression.

"Haha, alright! Let’s try your tea today, my friend."

With that said, Brother Xiaoma immediately poured out the tea he had just brewed. He then meticulously washed the teapot, clearly afraid that the flavor of the previous brew would contaminate this peerless mother tree Da Hong Pao Tea.

After another meticulous cleaning, he carefully began to brew Fang Chenyi’s mother tree Da Hong Pao Tea.

Fang Chenyi watched Brother Xiaoma’s fluid, practiced movements and couldn’t help but shake his head.

Fang Chenyi felt a sense of resignation, but in a way, so did Brother Xiaoma.

He had wanted to treat his guest to some fine tea, but the tea his guest had casually produced was leagues better than his own.

If it wasn’t clear that Fang Chenyi had no intention of showing off, Brother Xiaoma might have thought he was being deliberately humiliated.

’Of course,’ he thought, ’if it meant he could drink this supreme Da Hong Pao Tea, he’d gladly be humiliated once a day.’

"Mmm, mother tree Da Hong Pao Tea really is in a class of its own. The flavor is just different... aah, what a pity. Every sip of this tea means there’s one sip less in the world."

Once the tea was brewed, Brother Xiaoma poured a cup for Fang Chenyi and another for himself. He lifted his own cup, took a delicate sip, and closed his eyes in bliss, unable to stop himself from sighing. A tea this good... every sip was one sip less in existence.

Fang Chenyi, however, didn’t think much of it. For one, he wasn’t a big tea drinker. For another, he had about ten kilograms of the stuff in his bag.

’At this rate,’ he figured, ’if I’m the only one drinking it, these ten kilograms of tea will last me for years.’

"Brother Ma, if you like this tea, just take it," Fang Chenyi said. "Honestly, I don’t get anything special out of drinking it."

Fang Chenyi also downed his tea in a single gulp, then spoke with an air of casual indifference.

The moment he finished speaking, Brother Xiaoma’s eyes lit up. The package contained a full ounce of tea, and he had only used a tiny pinch for the brew. The rest would be enough for many, many more sessions.

However, as much as he was itching to keep it, he was still keenly aware of just how precious this tea was.

If it had been anyone else, he would have offered to buy it. But it was obvious that Fang Chenyi’s fortune was far greater than his own. Mentioning money would just be embarrassing.

"No, no. I couldn’t possibly accept something this fine. My friend, if this little packet of tea were put on the market, it would be worth at least ten million."

Fang Chenyi was stunned.

"Ten million? For this little bit? I’ve looked into this before. Isn’t even mother tree Da Hong Pao Tea worth only a few tens of thousands an ounce on the market?"

Seeing Fang Chenyi’s bewildered expression, Brother Xiaoma realized he truly didn’t understand the situation, so he began to explain.

"Hah. What you’re thinking of isn’t the real mother tree Da Hong Pao. Those ones you see are the kind I put out myself. They’re auctioned under the ’mother tree Da Hong Pao’ name, but harvesting from the actual mother trees was banned decades ago."

Upon hearing this, Fang Chenyi’s stomach suddenly churned, and he couldn’t help but exclaim:

"Holy crap! So you’re telling me this tea has been sitting around for decades?? Is it even safe to drink? I’m not going to get sick, am I?"

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