Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 103 Two Sets of Tea Sets
It was already a quarter of the hour when Fanning returned to the dormitory, almost 09:30 at night, and he was really exhausted.

It was the first time he was a teacher for others, and on the first day of class, he realized that it was not easy to be a teacher.

First of all, he has a strong sense of responsibility on his shoulders. He hopes that all five students will be admitted to the county school. Secondly, he is not familiar with the county school exam, so he has to work hard to find the rules.

Of the five students, except for Mingren and Mingli, he didn't know the other three before.

But people's emotions are so wonderful, the moment they called him senior brother, Fan Ning felt that he had some kind of indescribable bond with the three of them in his life.

The dormitory was very quiet, the two roommates had already fallen asleep, Fan Ning did not turn on the lamp, and walked towards his bed in the dark.

"Fanning, are you only coming back now?"

Duan Yu was not in good health, and his sleep was light, but Fan Ning's slight footsteps still woke him up.

"Well, go to sleep! I'm going to sleep too."

"Let me remind you that tomorrow is March [-]th, and I will participate in the hobby club activities in the afternoon."

"Oh! If you don't tell me, I really forgot."

Fan Ning scratched his head, he was still talking about tomorrow's hobby club yesterday, but when the cram school started tonight, he completely forgot about the hobby club.

Fan Ning sat down at his desk, took out a piece of information given to him by the tea house, and required him to prepare some items in advance, but the light was too dark for him to read the words clearly.

But turning on the lights will affect the rest of the roommates, so Fan Ning had to put the materials back in the drawer, and read it at dawn!
Fan Ning was lying on the bed, but he was always thinking about this matter in his heart. If he didn't figure it out, he might not sleep too sweetly tonight.

This is a habit left by Fan Ning in his previous life. If he is concerned about something in his heart, he will think about it and will not sleep well.

He finally couldn't help asking in a low voice: "Duan Yu, what do I need to prepare in advance when I go to the teahouse tomorrow?"

Duan Yu yawned lightly, and said sleepily: "I think at least there should be a tea set!"

"Tea set!"

Fanning knocked on the head, yes!How could I forget such an important item?
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In fact, Fan Ning is not ignorant of ordering tea. On the way to Beijing with Fan Zhongyan last year, Fan Ning watched Xiaofu order tea all the way. Although he did not try it himself, he basically knew the process.

As the saying goes, 'Tang wine and Song tea', tea in the life of Song Dynasty people is comparable to three meals a day.

In the Song Dynasty, the upper class took tea cooking as a fashion, and the most enjoyable thing in the spring of March was "Jingliao Fighting New Tea".

And the most pleasing thing in mid-winter in November is "Picture Tower Snow Sencha".

Tasting tea is an essential part of the gathering of literati. The literati invite their friends, bring a few beautiful tea prostitutes, and choose an elegant place to drink tea and fight tea.

Su Shi's poem goes: "The Zen window is beautiful at noon, and the Shu well produces ice and snow."All guests are welcome, and the hands of the tripod are self-cleaning. '

It is about the scene of him attending a tea party at Shita Temple in Yangzhou.

Fan Ning didn't even bother to eat lunch. He hurried to Nanqiao Wasi, south of Jingxian Bridge, just after class.

Wasi is a bit like today's complex, it is a special market, which has all kinds of food, drink and entertainment. It is much larger than today's complex, and the content is more colorful.

Fan Ning found a tea set shop, the shopkeeper was very short, but his eyes were vicious.

When he saw Fan Ning wearing the county school's green jacket, he knew that he was a freshman in the county school this year, and he still didn't know anything about tea, so he didn't need to take out expensive tea sets.

"I'm interested in clubs this afternoon. You must be a freshman! Three freshmen came to buy tea sets yesterday."

Fan Ning smiled and said, "I don't quite understand, can the shopkeeper introduce you?"

"no problem!"

The short shopkeeper pointed to a row of tea sets on the shelf and introduced to him, "A complete set of tea sets has ten kinds of utensils, tea baking, tea basket, anvil, tea bell, tea mill, tea Luo, tea cup, teaspoon, tea whisk and a soup bottle."

Fan Ning was dizzy when he heard it. He was thinking about the large pile of tea sets in Xiaofu's box, and he felt that they didn't match up at all.

"what is this?"

Fan Ning picked up a round pot that looked like a bamboo cage. It was delicately woven, with two layers inside and fine holes on the top.

"That's tea roasting, for growing tea."

It turns out that this is tea roasting. Fan Ning remembered what Xiaofu said to him, and smiled: "Tea cakes generally need to be heated regularly! The maintenance of tea cakes is very important. There is a saying that 'three parts of tea, seven parts of nourishment'. "

"That's right!"

The shopkeeper gave a thumbs up and praised: "Tea cakes are afraid of moisture, so they need to be stored in a dry and ventilated place, especially in our Jiangnan area, once it gets wet, it will easily rot, but it should not be too dry, as tea cakes that are too dry will turn yellow. Color, become a defective product."

"Should I buy all these tea sets?" He asked again, pointing to a long row of utensils on the shelf.

The shopkeeper shook his head and said with a smile, "You are students, so you don't need so much. You only need to buy four tea cups, tea spoons, tea whisks and soup bottles."

"Please recommend the shopkeeper!"

The shopkeeper took out a black lacquered wooden box from the cabinet, "This is the most common tea set. If you have an average family background, you can just buy this four-piece set for five hundred Wen."

"Do the other students buy this?" Fanning asked.

Fan Ning didn't want to compare, he remembered Xiaofu told him that the quality of the tea set was directly related to whether he could order a good cup of tea.

Although he didn't know much about tea sets, he was really happy to pick up a tea set that was pleasing to the eye. The tea set that the shopkeeper sold him was indeed too ordinary and had no sense of beauty at all.

The shopkeeper still depends on the people who order the food. If the county students are from a wealthy family, they will not come to buy tea sets at all, because they already have them at home.

Generally, only students from poor backgrounds or those who come from the countryside will come into contact with tea technology for the first time and come to buy tea sets. It is not necessary to introduce them to good tea sets, the cheapest tea set is enough.

But if a scholar came to buy tea sets, the shopkeeper would bring out a set of tea sets and explain the sales in detail.

So when Fan Ning walked into the shop, the shopkeeper didn't intend to waste too much energy on him.

"Look at each family situation!"

The shopkeeper said indifferently: "There are also many students who come to buy good tea sets. How to buy them varies from person to person. I just recommend them. I don't force small officials to buy them or not."

Fanning didn't have much money in his hand?
This time when he came to the county to study, he only had a few taels of silver. He was really reluctant to buy an expensive tea set, but the white porcelain tea set in his hand was too ugly, and he really didn't like it, so he even asked for five hundred Wen.

"Shopkeeper, make it cheaper! Five hundred Wen is too expensive."

The shopkeeper chuckled, "Tea sets pay attention to what you get for what you pay for. Unlike other daily necessities, it doesn't matter if they are rough. The tea set itself is more particular. You can see that the mouth of the soup bottle is large, which is good for running water, but the mouth It is small enough to prevent the boiling water from splashing, which is different from the teapots used at home."

The shopkeeper of this set of tea sets can earn [-] Wen. Although sparrow meat is small, it is still meat.

Seeing that Fan Ning didn't really want to buy it, he cheered up and introduced: "Every literati who drinks tea will have a set of high-quality tea sets. Because the petty officials are beginners, I recommend a set of ordinary tea sets. I will wait for the petty officials next year." Once you get started, I will recommend you to buy this set again.”

The shopkeeper took out another set of tea sets. The tea bowl was black and thick, the soup bottle was made of brass, the teaspoon was actually silver, and the tea whisk was made of fine red lacquered nanmu.

Compared with the tea set just now, the grade is completely different.

"This set is called Yinque, and it costs three pennies. It is an entry-level tea set, and the tea cup is a black glaze cup."

"Is this a high-end tea set?"

The shopkeeper shook his head, "It's just an entry-level tea set, not even a mid-range one, but it's a relatively good tea set in a small shop."

"How much does that good tea set cost?" Fanning became a little interested.

"A set of the best tea sets is worth thousands of guan. It is said that the soup bottles are all made of gold. They are called gold vases and jade cups. Only nobles and officials can afford them."

Speaking of this, the shopkeeper curled his lips, "However, gold vases and jade cups are a bit vulgar for literati. Apart from showing off their wealth, they are not helpful for ordering tea."

"What kind of tea set do literati like most?" Fanning asked again.

The shopkeeper sighed softly, "At present, the most respected set of tea sets by literati is the fine tea made by Beijing Liuriju, and its selling point is its tea cup, which is a rabbit hair tea cup fired in Jian kiln.

But this is not the best. The best tea set is Hei Dingyao Bianchacup. I have been selling tea sets for 20 years, but I have only heard of them and never seen them. "

Of course, Fan Ning knew that there were only two Yaobian tea cups left in later generations. Even in the Song Dynasty, the firing of this kind of tea cups was rare and extremely precious.

Fan Ning shook his head and asked again: "How much does it cost? I mean this set of refined tea."

"The price is around [-] yuan, and you can buy it on Panlou Street in the capital."

"Then what about Yaochang teacup?"

The shopkeeper shook his head, "The quantity of Hei Dingyao's variable lamps is too small, even if you have money, you may not be able to buy them."

Seeing the shopkeeper's sincerity, Fan Ning stopped haggling. He took out five qian and put it on the table, cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Thank you, shopkeeper!"

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Fan Ning hurried back to the county school with the wooden box in his arms. It was not too late, and he could still have lunch if he ran faster.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the county school, he saw a carriage speeding towards him, and Fan Ning stopped quickly.

Zhu Pei is probably the only one who can travel by horse-drawn carriage in Wu County.

Carriage 'creak! With a sound, it stopped in front of Fan Ning, and the car window opened, revealing a beautiful smile like a flower.

Zhu Pei wore a fragrant-colored plum-patterned blouse with a cloud-patterned wide skirt underneath. He combed his hair in a double-ringed bun with several gem-studded crown combs inserted into the bun. This seemed to be the most popular style in the Song Dynasty. hair accessories.

Her face seemed to be different, with several golden tines of plum blossoms pasted on her forehead, which was said to be the most popular plum blossom makeup, and her eyebrows were redrawn, becoming slender like a crescent moon.

This little lady has actually started to learn makeup!

Although it is normal for young ladies of rich families to wear makeup at the age of seven or eight, which is a compulsory homework for them, but for Fan Ning, who just came out of the countryside and is used to seeing young ladies with their faces up to the sky, it is still very novel.

Zhu Pei noticed that Fan Ning was looking at her makeup, and she was secretly proud, so she asked with a coquettish smile, "Dumb, do you know why I'm looking for you?"

Of course Fanning didn't know, but he still scratched the back of his neck habitually, "Is your third grandfather going to invite me to dinner again?"

Fanning was hungry, and food was the most important thing for him now.

"You have a good idea. My third grandfather has rushed to the capital. How can I have time to treat you to dinner?"

Zhu Pei took out a large beautiful box and handed it to him, "This is the tea set I gave you, and I will return your favor from Three Pools Reflecting the Moon."

She suddenly saw the box in Fan Ning's hand, and her chubby mouth pouted immediately, "You've bought it already!"

Fan Ning's eyes lit up immediately when he saw the two large characters 'fine tea' printed on the box. Isn't this the best tea set in Beijing as the shopkeeper said just now?
He quickly waved his hands and said, "I borrowed this set of tea sets. I will use them temporarily today, and I will return them tonight."

Zhu Pei said triumphantly: "I knew that country kids would never think of bringing a tea set on the first day of their tea art class, so this yamen is kind enough to give you a better set, so that others won't laugh at you!"

"Thank you little Bodhisattva for showing mercy!"

Fan Ning happily took the tea box, only to feel that his hand sank, and he almost couldn't hold it firmly, it weighed at least a dozen catties.

He looked at Jupe's slender arm, but he couldn't see it!It was quite powerful.

"Dumb, I heard you had a cram school last night?" Zhu Pei asked curiously again.

Fanning was taken aback, how could Jupe know?
Only seven people knew about this matter. Apart from myself and the director, there were five students. Who leaked the news?
"Juppe, who told you?"

Zhu Pei raised his crooked eyebrows, and looked at Fan Ning with a half-smile, "This yamen is always well-informed, so don't worry about the source. Seriously, I also want to make up lessons. I will take the county school exam in May. Is Professor Fan interested?" Accept me as an apprentice?"

Fan Ning felt dizzy for a while, if this little girl gets involved, it doesn't matter who will teach whom?
But Fanning's heart suddenly moved, this little girl must be teasing herself!She was qualified as a county magistrate like herself. If she wants to go to the county school, she still needs to take an exam?

Having figured this out, Fan Ning immediately smiled warmly and said, "Zhu Xiaoya Nei wants to take make-up lessons, I can't ask for more, once every five days, make up lessons at night, Xiao Ya Nei is welcome to participate."

Zhu Pei wanted to taunt Fan Ning, but he saw through it, and she lost interest immediately. She snorted, "I never go out at night, so I'm just joking with you! I'm too lazy to talk to you, I'm leaving first!" "

The carriage started and drove off into the distance.

Seeing that the carriage was going far away, Fan Ning entered the county school with two boxes between his hands. He stopped suddenly after he had not gone far. He knew who had leaked to Jupe about his make-up lessons.

If it was leaked by one of those five guys, then Jupe should have said 'are you interested in accepting her as a junior student', but she said 'apprentice' instead.

(End of this chapter)