The Tycoon's Enchanted Mermaid-Chapter 63 - : The Not-So-Serious Master

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: The Not-So-Serious Master

Is he Master Ting Chan? Why does he look so different from his disciple Yao Qingzhi?

It was also vastly different from what she had imagined.

Qin Yu seemed to see through Ah Da’s thoughts and whispered, “He is Master Ting Chan.”

Before Ah Da could speak, there came a voice from the tea table.

“What, little girl, do you think I don’t look like a master?”

Ah Da lifted her gaze and saw that the old man who had been dozing off had at some point sat up straight; his withered yellow hair messily scattered over his ears, his beard untrimmed.

...

“It’s just not what I expected.”

Ah Da pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment before honestly speaking.

The old man burst into loud laughter upon hearing this, stroking his white beard, “You are not the first to think so, but you are the first to dare tell me to my face. Little girl, your courage is commendable. Do you know what the consequences could be?”

A sudden silence fell around them.

The young girl involuntarily tensed, and Qin Yu pulled her to sit across from Master Ting Chan, speaking indifferently, “Master, don’t scare her. She cries easily.”

Master Ting Chan looked at him with profound meaning, “Are you afraid of this?”

The Qin Family Patriarch, holding the lives of countless people in his hands, could cause a storm of blood and violence in the business world with a single minor decision—afraid of a young girl crying?

Wouldn’t that be a laughingstock if word got out?

“I’m not afraid, just not in the mood,” said Qin Yu, raising his eyes without evasion, his cold expression softening slightly.

Master Ting Chan shook his head with a smile, “I’ve said it before; you are not like your father but rather like your grandfather. However, you are even more arrogant than he was in his youth.”

“When I said you were destined to be a lone star in your youth, it wasn’t nonsense. I’ll give you a piece of well-intentioned advice, young man, being too arrogant is sometimes not a good thing.”

“You talk too much,” Qin Yu’s voice was slightly cold.

Master Ting Chan’s smile froze on his face, then he suddenly slammed the table, puffing his beard and glaring, “Qin boy, don’t forget your place. After all, I’m your elder, or at the very least, a reputable master. Can’t you give me some face? You came here asking for a favor today, didn’t you? So, do you not want the young girl’s life anymore?”

Ah Da was startled by the noise of the table being hit.

Qin Yu gently patted her back to comfort her, and spoke unhurriedly, “Regarding the expansion plan for Lingcheng Mountain, Qin’s investment…”

“Alright, I’ll do my best with the little girl’s matter.”

Master Ting Chan immediately broke in with a smile, his demeanor changing as swiftly as a face-changing act in Sichuan Opera, inwardly criticizing that this kid was truly worthy of the Qin Family, even his methods of threats were like those of his grandfather.

No wonder the ancients often said, a penny makes a hero.

One old one went, a young one came; Master Ting Chan couldn’t help but sigh at how quickly times change, how every profession has its difficulties—the so-called master is but an empty title. Masters are human too, flesh and blood, needing to eat and drink; not to mention supporting a whole bunch of disciples behind him.

Today’s visit from Qin Yu was quite a surprise to Ting Chan; he remembered how, more than a decade ago, Grandpa Qin was still alive and had brought his two grandsons to Lingcheng Mountain a few times. Back then, Qin Yu was still young, and in his leisurely tea-tasting moments, Grandpa Qin had jokingly asked him to read the grandsons’ fortunes to see what fate had in store for the kids.

Such things as fortune-telling, Master Ting Chan generally didn’t engage in; in his view, each person has their destiny, life and death, fortune and misfortune, all are inevitable, going with the flow is the true path.

He had thought to politely decline, but to his surprise, he ended up being taken aback by the child’s response, “Feudal superstition is untrustworthy, I only believe in what I can hold in my hands.”

Because of that statement, Ting Chan had indeed made an exception and divined the young boy’s future, even telling him that one day his fate would make him seek Ting Chan’s help—and now it seemed his prediction was spot-on.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

“I just can’t tell if it’s a harmful relationship or a destined one.”

Master Ting Chan personally poured a cup of tea and with a few casual strokes of his fingers on the surface, pushed it towards Ah Da, “Little girl, try this Pre-Rain Longjing tea brewed by yours truly.”

Ah Da looked down at the clear, almost transparent tea in the white porcelain cup, catching a hint of tea fragrance at the tip of her nose but not strong.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m not a bad person and won’t hurt you,” said Master Ting Chan with a chuckle as he stroked his beard and watched the interaction between them.

Ah Da shook her head and explained, “It’s not fear, it’s just that the tea I drank next door not long ago was too bitter and unpleasant to drink.”

It was more than unpleasant; it was so bitter that it haunted her memory, and Ah Da even dreaded recalling that taste.

That had been the most unpleasant thing she’d drunk since leaving home.

Hearing the young miss’s words, Master Ting Chan laughed heartily, “What they serve next door can hardly be considered tea. It’s made by boiling two unique herbs from Lingcheng Mountain—Thunder Bitter Root and Tengnan Leaf, both are excellent for cooling and relieving the summer heat.”

“Of course, they’re fine herbs, but when combined, the bitterness compounds—I certainly can’t stomach it.”

“Hahaha, but rest assured, my Pre-Rain Longjing tea is absolutely not bitter at all.”

Master Ting Chan gestured with his hand, indicating for her to try it.

Reassured by his promise, Ah Da held the cup with both hands, first sipping lightly at the edge. Finding it tasteless, she then downed it all at once.

Seeing the young girl finish her drink, Master Ting Chan immediately asked, “How is it? I didn’t lie to you, did I?”

Ah Da felt the sweetness lingering at the back of her throat, her eyes lighting up with delight, “It’s nice.”

Qin Yu turned to look at her bright and lively young face, and found himself unable to look away for a moment.

“Exactly! There’s always someone in the big world who understands, it’s not that it’s impossible, just that the right moment hasn’t come yet,” Master Ting Chan slapped his thigh excitedly, “I knew my tea wasn’t bad—finally, someone can vouch for me.”

Ah? Is this tea actually not tasty either?

Ah Da blinked her big eyes looking at Qin Yu, who chuckled softly, and with a gesture of his hand, he wiped the tea stains from the corner of her mouth, taking the opportunity to pinch her cheek and tell her, “The tea is too weak.”

Master Ting Chan’s tea is famously weak in Capital City, barely distinguishable from plain water.

His excitement was simply because the young girl was sincere and didn’t flatter him just because he was a master. In fact, the only people who had dared to criticize his tea were his close disciples and the late Grandpa Qin, who had complained more than once.

Ah Da pursed her lips and thought carefully, “When drinking, it doesn’t taste like much, but there’s a bit of sweetness afterwards.”

Master Ting Chan was elated by her words, “Little girl, you have the same refined taste as I do. Would you like another cup?”

As he was about to pour her another cup, Qin Yu raised his hand to stop him, urging, “It’s getting late.”

Master Ting Chan deflated, glaring at Qin Yu: “Always rushing, day in and day out, as if prodding the dead.”

Qin Yu remained silent, and the quietness enveloped them. With Qin Yu’s presence far outweighing Master Ting Chan’s, he sat there, not looking like a guest but more like the master of the house.

After a while, Master Ting Chan admitted defeat.

“Fine, fine, biting the hand that feeds you, I never thought there would come a day when I’d wholesale myself for a living, little girl, put your hand out.”

Master Ting Chan thought it better to finish the work and rest early than to have the young master of the Qin Family staring him down, lest he really bore a hole into him with his gaze, or the money at hand flew away.

Ah Da quickly placed her hand on the table, palm open.