[Wish Fulfillment: The good should be rewarded (if their ancestors' graves could smoke with pride, perhaps Yu Xueqing's family could change? At least, they wouldn't face the tragedy of a child burying a parent.)]
"Huh?"
Ansheng, while looking at the wish list, was taken aback by Yu Xueqing's wishes and fulfillment conditions, and his little fox face turned serious.
Because in the wish fulfillment, it is stated that good people should be rewarded, with the perfect fulfillment condition being shockingly marked: a child burying a parent.
Previously, Ansheng was only indignant, angrily engaging with the uncouth business dealers who were humiliating his owner.
But upon reflection, it becomes clear that the perfect conditions in the wish list aren't as shocking as they seem.
If Yu Xueqing hadn't met Ansheng, the Shangpo Mountain Tea Garden her family leased would have been wasteland.
Moreover, a rat infestation could have affected the entire mountain.
Though tree roots aren't part of the mountain rats' diet, once the canned goods in the armory run out, hungry rats wouldn't care if roots are edible.
Through generations of vigorous reproduction, countless mountain rats would swarm out of Shangpo Mountain.
This Frosted Oolong tea garden, for two years, couldn't yield any crops, and inviting a professional team to eradicate the rat problem, and conduct pest treatment, would incur considerable expenses.
Yu Xueqing's father, Yu Zhenghong, while leasing land for cultivation, simultaneously manages the tea shop and does online livestream sales.
According to what Ansheng learned, Yu Zhenghong and Chen Peipei don't plan on having a second child.
They've already got a car and a house, so they shouldn't have any major expenses.
Ordinary people wouldn't push themselves so hard unless they urgently needed money, even if they worked tirelessly.
Thus, Ansheng could only think of one possibility.
Yu Zhenghong's tea shop must have encountered significant operational difficulties, which necessitates upstream supply chain investments and a multi-pronged strategy.
Without understanding tea, many people would consider it an expensive, unapproachable, tightly controlled, and highly profitable industry.
After all, the prices of Da Hong Pao or Longjing Green Tea online often reach into tens of thousands, making one tremble in disbelief.
Giving people a preconceived notion, not even considering those mixed teas, regular teas can sell for three to five currency units per pound, and higher-quality ones can be in the hundreds.
With 3-7 grams of tea, one can brew about 700 ml of tea, enough for a person to drink all day.
After a tea customer consumes it, they might not return for half a year.
With the development of online shopping, seasoned local tea drinkers are trying out famous teas from other regions, gradually reducing the likelihood of them patronizing local physical tea shops.
Ansheng faced a similar issue in his past life.
After going it alone, he encountered the wave of online versus brick-and-mortar store competition prevalent in other industries.
The market then offered Ansheng two choices.
One was to increase investment, transforming from a retailer to a supplier or tea plantation owner.
The second was to invest more, imitate other shop owners by opening an online store, and spend heavily on publicity, simultaneously engaging in both online and offline areas to maximize losses.
No matter the choice, failure meant starting with a debt of millions.
However, Ansheng chose neither; instead, he decided to delve into niche markets, specifically targeting those avid tea connoisseurs.
Drink hammer machine-fried tea! Come and taste this; an old man, a small iron pot, frying it all day long, producing scorched aromatic leaves, three pots to make you tea-drunk.
In his past life, Ansheng famously brewed tea from old tree leaves, defeating gourmet tea aficionados in the street.
Of course, these were just Ansheng's self-deprecating jokes. To develop niche markets in his previous life, he traversed numerous mountains and forests to select a few varietal tea trees for new tea production.
The "old man" he mentioned was a renowned local tea master in Jiule City.
The small iron pot is part of ancient tea-making techniques — its small size retains high heat, requiring careful attention, or the meticulously processed tea material would be ruined.
But tea fried this way exhibits a caramel fragrance and the rich aroma of grains, and when tasted, it reveals an astringent mouthfeel that transitions into a relaxingly smooth sensation.
In layman's terms, it's like the astringency one experiences when eating an unripe persimmon, which quickly dissipates, leaving behind a comforting sensation.
This path, Ansheng succeeded in his past life.
Those so-called gourmet tea lovers were merely people who fancy new things and neglect the old ones.
Throw a pickup truck at them, and they'll soon behave.
However!
Rather than focusing on helping Yu Xueqing's family earn money to tide over the current financial crisis.
Ansheng now more desires to dig up the ancestors' graves of those business brokers!
Damn it! Their business was already struggling, tea tree cultivation was resulting in losses, and now even their slightly recovering livestream sales were sabotaged by you!
According to the wish list, if Yu Xueqing hadn't picked up Ansheng at that time.
Yu Zhenghong would have died from a cerebral infarction, the tea garden would yield no harvest for years, and due to chemical use in the soil, it would take years to naturally degrade.
During this period, Chen Peipei and Yu Xueqing would have to incur costs for tea garden maintenance and rodent extermination.
Those brokers, intentionally or not, directly drove Yu Xueqing's family into a dead end.
Ansheng doesn't know if Yu Xueqing can endure this.
But Ansheng absolutely can't swallow this grievance.
"Xiaolan... what's wrong? Why the serious look?"
Preparing for an evening barbecue gathering in the courtyard, Yu Xueqing was sweaty, her small face smeared with some charcoal dust, looking quite cheeky.
While starting the fire, Yu Xueqing didn't notice that her little fox had been silent the entire time.
Now that the fire was ready, Yu Xueqing saw Ansheng solemnly crouching on the flowerbed, with sharp eyes, seemingly pondering something serious.
If only her phone were nearby, Yu Xueqing would certainly have snapped a cute photo of her little fox.
"Yip yip yip..."
Hearing Yu Xueqing's call, Ansheng snapped out of his reverie, temporarily setting aside his inner displeasure, gleefully hopping into Yu Xueqing's arms, and chirping nonstop.
"Hahaha—"
Seeing the little fox snuggle into her embrace, Yu Xueqing couldn't hold the fox due to dirty hands, yet its nose tickled her sensitive waist, causing cheerful laughter:
"Xiaolan, stop it... Hahaha, that tickles." Yu Xueqing laughed heartily, leaning back and forth, and then placed her charcoal-stained palms on Ansheng's cheeks.
Leaving several dirty fingerprints on the once pristine fox's face.
"Yip yip—" Ansheng was furious, scrambling all over Yu Xueqing, leaving footprints all over her.
While they played and bantered, they didn't notice someone approaching their doorstep.
Yu Zhenghong happened to be coming home with Chen Fengshui.
Before entering, Chen Fengshui heard the fox's cry and felt a jolt in his heart.
This distinctive voice... There's no mistake, it's definitely that fox that's become a spirit.
"Ah Hong..."
At Yu Zhenghong's doorstep, Chen Fengshui saw the spirit fox and his face changed. He said to Yu Zhenghong, "Let's skip the meal thing."
"It was just a courtesy visit, and I suddenly remembered I forgot to turn off the heater for my aquarium at home. I need to check on my Ranchu fish..."
"Yip?"
Had Chen Fengshui not spoken, it would've been fine. But the moment he did, Ansheng, who had been goofing around with Yu Xueqing, turned its gaze.
Ansheng let out a yip, staring intently at Chen Fengshui by the door, perched on Yu Xueqing's shoulder.
Feeling Chen's unease, he stiffly looked at Yu Zhenghong and said, "Ranchu fish soup... the taste might be worth trying, actually."
Darn it, got so carried away chatting with Yu Zhenghong, completely forgot his daughter picked up a tough cookie.
"Yip yip yip—"
Ah, Old Chen, you arrived just at the right moment.
I was just thinking of visiting you tonight, to inquire about that gang of brokers' background, and here you come delivered right to the doorstep... Ansheng couldn't help but chuckle.