Chapter 12

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The young Tea Deity cub, so little yet already knows how to maintain premium clients.

While Bai Qingyu was freshening up, Tea Treasure found a pair of scissors, blindly snipped off a tuft of hair, leaving a straight patch of short hair at the back of his head, as if he had been injured in a fight outside and the doctor shaved the area for stitches.

He opened the tea canister and put it in, then patted the lid with his palm: “More now.”

When Bai Qingyu came out, the tool was still in Bai Xiaocha’s hand. He stepped forward to take it, reaching out to touch the patch of hair. “Baby, you look like a kid from the underworld gang.”

Bai Xiaocha didn’t understand and automatically replied, “I’m a black-haired baby.”

Suddenly, Bai Qingyu recalled that He Renyuan had a scar on his forehead about an inch long—was this how it happened? How did he get injured?

Always scowling to scare people, could he really have come from a gangster background?

The next morning, when Bai Qingyu got up to help Sister Liu prepare breakfast, Bai Xiaocha crawled up behind him, pouted, and grabbed the canister on the bedside table. “Daddy.”

Bai Qingyu: “Hm?”

“For Uncle Boss’s tea.” Bai Xiaocha struggled to lift the lid and poured tea leaves into his father’s palm.

He held the tea canister upside down with both hands, shaking it up and down, even spilling some tea dust.

Bai Qingyu: “Alright then.” Since he was about to resign anyway, and the tea collecting was mainly for He Renyuan, he might as well let him drink it all.

Bai Xiaocha tossed away the empty container—a truly generous little Tea Deity cub.

At dawn, Bai Qingyu went downstairs to the kitchen and saw Sister Liu busy at work.

“Sister Liu, up so early?” Bai Qingyu asked. According to the simple menu he designed, breakfast could be prepared within half an hour to an hour.

Sister Liu carried a prepared chicken, continuously rubbing seasoning onto it and stuffing scallion knots and ginger slices inside. “Afraid my skills will get rusty, so I got up to stew a claypot chicken.”

Bai Qingyu watched and felt a bit regretful. The Jiang family’s garden was too small—they could only raise hens, not broilers. If they could expand the farm, it would be better. Uncle Deng used to love roasting small Luting chickens for Bai Xiaocha.

Sister Liu placed the chicken and seasoning into the claypot and set it to simmer.

Bai Qingyu asked, “Sister Liu, can I add a step to the chicken?”

Sister Liu immediately understood, “Tea leaves?”

Bai Qingyu nodded and took out a lot of tea leaves, ready to toss them into the pot. No matter the cooking method, as long as there was tea, it was fine.

Sister Liu hurriedly stopped him, “Why don’t you save it to brew tea for the young master?”

Bai Qingyu replied, “I don’t have any requests for him, so why make tea for him?”

Sister Liu, with a knowing tone toward young people, said, “Is it because the young master forbade you from raising chickens, and you’re sulking?”

Bai Qingyu: “Huh?”

Sister Liu: “Want to reconcile but feel shy?”

Bai Qingyu: “No.”

Sister Liu: “How could no? You never took out so much tea at once before.”

Bai Qingyu was left speechless.

Now Sister Liu was a little more passionate about cooking; she took a bowl and put some tea leaves in it. “Add them later; it’s not time yet.”

Bai Qingyu watched Sister Liu work in the kitchen. Once the chicken in the claypot was tender and cooked through, she deep-fried the tea leaves, then poured the hot oil and tea leaves over the chicken, releasing a sizzling aroma.

Claypot Tea-Scented Chicken.

So fragrant.

Bai Qingyu felt a bit ashamed and worried about his future as a housekeeper—the Jiang family hadn’t hired any other cooks. He had to clean the chicken coop, care for the elderly couple’s meals, and do all the housekeeper’s chores for the He family alone.

Here, he could use tea leaves to appease He Renyuan because the latter liked tea and would compromise for a top-quality brew. But once he left, his cooking skills wouldn’t be enough to qualify as a live-in housekeeper.

He planned to learn from Sister Liu over the next few days and find a half-day nursery to place Bai Xiaocha so he could focus on his work.

At seven o’clock, He Renyuan woke up.

Sister Liu served the tea-scented chicken. He Renyuan glanced at it and frowned slightly. The tea leaves almost completely covered the chicken.

A lethal dose—enough to willingly meet death.

Since when had Bai Qingyu become so generous?

The chicken must be toxic.

He Renyuan stared thoughtfully at the claypot but didn’t touch the food.

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Bai Qingyu: “You’re not eating?”

He Renyuan: “No talk about the chicken farm.”

Bai Qingyu: “Don’t worry, young master, I won’t raise chickens anymore.”

The butler watched anxiously. If he hadn’t promised Bai Qingyu to keep it secret, he would have told the young master to be a bit nicer to win Bai Qingyu back.

Suddenly, the butler had a clever idea and joked, “Putting so much tea in today’s meal—is this your last supper? Taking out all the tea from the bottom of the barrel?”

Bai Qingyu candidly admitted, “Yes, the tea canister is empty.”

The filial son had poured it all out.

He Renyuan remained unfazed, firmly believing there were still recycled tea leaves in the trash bin.

The butler looked at the young master with frustration—why no reaction at all?

He emphasized, “How come it’s gone? Have the plans changed?”

He Renyuan: “No worries, the trash bin will grow new ones.”

Bai Qingyu’s pupils slightly trembled. What did He Renyuan mean? Did he know the tea leaves grew from Bai Xiaocha? Being exposed as a deity by a human made him truly panic.

He Renyuan caught his nervousness and quickly clarified, “I mean the tea trees in the garden have new leaves. We can harvest the pre-rain tea.”

Bai Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, he meant the garden’s tea trees. “I’ll pick tea today.”

He Renyuan responded with a “hm,” pushed aside the tea leaves covering the claypot, revealing golden, tender chicken, and said to Bai Qingyu, “You sit opposite and eat.”

Bai Qingyu: “Aren’t you worried I’ll eat your leftovers?”

Sister Liu stewed a whole chicken; missing a leg or wing wouldn’t look good. So, no matter how much she liked Bai Qingyu, she could only promise to make some for him next time.

He Renyuan: “I’m afraid you’ll poison me.”

Bai Qingyu found He Renyuan’s worry absurd but was glad he cared like that. He tore off a chicken leg and started eating first.

He Renyuan silently retracted his hand as if offering gloves, his gaze lingering on Bai Qingyu’s hands, trying to find evidence of “food contamination.”

After a long look, when Bai Qingyu’s fingertips were glazed with the oil on the chicken shining in the light, and his lips were ruby red, He Renyuan felt no aversion. Instead, the aroma of tea made him hungry.

Alright then, eat.

…

After breakfast, He Renyuan went to work. Bai Qingyu fetched a ladder from the warehouse, set it by the tea tree, and carried a basket to pick tea.

Bai Xiaocha saw this from the third floor, squeezing his face between the railing posts. “Does Daddy need help?”

Bai Qingyu called out loudly, “Then slowly come down.”

“All right!”

Bai Xiaocha quickly climbed up and held onto the bottom of the stair railing, carefully stepping down.

“Daddy!”

“You pick the lower leaves; I’ll pick the high ones.” Bai Qingyu stood on the ladder about a meter off the ground, his head about ten centimeters above the tea tree.

“Okay, Daddy.” Bai Xiaocha plucked a tender green tea leaf. “Helping Uncle Boss pick tea leaves.”

“Tea Treasure is doing great,” Bai Qingyu praised him, then suddenly noticed the SUV that had left fifteen minutes ago was returning the same way!

!!!

The SUV stopped in front of the garden. The door opened, broad daylight; He Renyuan was making a sudden U-turn!

Thanks to the tea trees blocking the view, the driver couldn’t see Bai Xiaocha yet, but if they came around, such a big cub would be exposed without hiding…

Bai Qingyu pursed his lips, realizing he had no time to move Bai Xiaocha.

Seeing the boss approaching, Bai Qingyu whispered, “Boss is here, Tea Treasure, hide in the pit.”

Time to play hide-and-seek with Uncle Boss again!

Bai Xiaocha, next to the pit Bai Qingyu had dug for play, skillfully slid down the edge.

Bai Qingyu cast a spell, turning the little cub back into a small tea seedling.

He Renyuan, about ten meters away, noticed Bai Qingyu’s body swaying as if about to fall, his heart tightening.

Did he not set the ladder properly? Stupid enough not to have someone hold it while picking tea—did he need He Renyuan to teach him?

The closer He Renyuan got, the more nervous Bai Qingyu became, glancing between him and Tea Treasure.

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A composed and graceful Tea Deity of considerable age never imagined he would be so flustered by He Renyuan discovering Tea Treasure, even though he had long accepted the consequences.

At worst, he’d get scolded, then kicked out, find another job as a housekeeper elsewhere. He wouldn’t end up homeless.

So why the nerves?

Was he worried He Renyuan would speak harshly to Tea Treasure?

Yes, he was worried about that. He Renyuan really disliked children.

For some reason, Bai Qingyu didn’t want to see He Renyuan show dislike toward Tea Treasure.

Tea Treasure would forget malice after a little coaxing—so why was Bai Qingyu so unsettled?

When He Renyuan could fully see the pit, Bai Qingyu’s tension peaked. He suddenly remembered he should have gotten down from the ladder first to intercept He Renyuan.

Panicked, he missed a step.

“Ah.”

He didn’t fall to the ground; strong hands caught him steadily. But the weight of an adult was no joke. He Renyuan caught Bai Qingyu and took two steps back to steady him. Just then, Bai Qingyu covered his eyes to prevent him from seeing the tea seedling unmoving in the wind.

He Renyuan stumbled over the basket, staggering. The next moment, He Renyuan became a cushion, preventing Bai Qingyu from hitting the ground.

Bai Qingyu quickly propped himself against He Renyuan’s chest, breathing slightly hard. “Daddy, I’m okay.”

So Bai Xiaocha obediently played tree.

He Renyuan opened his eyes. Bai Qingyu still dared to call himself “Daddy.” “Why are you covering my eyes?”

Before he could finish, He Renyuan froze. From his fallen position under the tea tree, he saw Bai Qingyu and was suddenly flooded with scattered memories.

He imagined a long-haired youth.

He Renyuan blankly raised his hand, touching the air—Bai Qingyu had short hair.

“Are you hurt, boss?” Bai Qingyu saw He Renyuan dazed and grew nervous, instinctively brushing aside some hair on his forehead. His soft fingertip touched a scar, his eyes momentarily distant.

Had he healed humans before?

He Renyuan awkwardly turned his face away. “No, get up.”

“Then let go.”

He Renyuan realized his hand was still pressed against Bai Qingyu’s waist—such a slender waist, barely noticeable. He released his grip, feeling a sudden emptiness in his heartbeat.

Bai Qingyu stepped away.

He Renyuan sat up, his gaze deep and penetrating, fixed on several large tea trees.

Moving these trees here was the right choice. Today’s scene brought back some memories.

Three years ago, he had indeed seen someone under the tea trees.

If he could find that person, who hadn’t suffered brain injury, they should remember what happened.

“Boss, aren’t you going to work today?”

“Back to get some files.” He Renyuan dusted off his clothes, then his gaze shifted to a tea seedling.

Bai Qingyu: “You won’t let me grow loofah, so I plan to plant a new tea tree. Tea trees are okay, right?”

He Renyuan: “What variety?”

Bai Qingyu: “Uh, just bought it casually online.”

He Renyuan frowned. Casually bought online?

“Less online shopping. If you need anything, have the butler buy it. Things bought online…” He Renyuan paused and swallowed the words “aren’t good.”

This tea seedling had a missing leaf—long-distance shipping and squeezing damaged the plant.

Bai Qingyu held his breath, awaiting He Renyuan’s judgment.

He Renyuan: “Too small. When will it grow up?”