Chapter 336: I Supply the Stories, You Tell Them
Manager Fang hurriedly introduced, “Old Wang, these two are our new owners.”
He then said to Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong, “Both owners, this is Old Wang—our teahouse’s Wang Kuaizui.”
Wang Kuaizui understood—they were actually two owners—and offered another deep bow.
Wen Yao sized up Wang Kuaizui: an energetic, middle-aged to elderly man carrying a scholarly air.
“Mister Wang, please sit,” Wen Yao said, pointing to the empty seat opposite her.
Cupping his hands in respect, Wang Kuaizui sat down in the empty seat across from them. He was a scholar; though he had switched professions, his academic title remained, so he fully deserved to be addressed as ‘Mister’.
Seeing him seated, Wen Yao took the initiative to speak: “As Mister knows by now, this teahouse has changed hands and will be managed by us two sisters from now on. However, Mister need not worry; although the teahouse has changed hands, its roots remain unchanged. In the future, we still hope Mister can remain in our teahouse to continue storytelling.”
Sitting there, Wang Kuaizui cupped his hands to the two: “Since the owners think highly of Wang, Wang naturally will not decline, so long as the owners do not mind my advanced age.”
Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong smiled: “An advanced age brings greater experience, making the stories told all the more captivating.”
This praise left Wang Kuaizui almost feeling embarrassed.
“Both owners, how about this humble self perform a segment for you two first?” To earn respect, one first had to possess sufficient strength, so Wang Kuaizui decided to perform well.
Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong exchanged a glance: “That would naturally be wonderful! Manager Fang, prepare the items.”
Manager Fang immediately had someone prepare the items for Wang Kuaizui. As he stepped onto the stage, the sparse few customers clapped as well, with someone teasing, “Yo, Wang Kuaizui, we thought you weren’t coming anymore!”
Standing on the stage, Manager Wang cupped his hands to the audience, glanced around, and spoke in a clear voice: “Thanks to your continued fondness for our teahouse, Wang hereby bows to offer his thanks to everyone.”
A customer laughed out loud: “Alright, alright! We haven’t heard your storytelling in a long time; give us a segment!”
With that, sparse applause sounded across the hall.
Manager Fang cleared their confusion: “These few are all regular patrons of our teahouse. They don’t go elsewhere, preferring to come to our place to drink tea and listen to stories. It was also because of them that the previous owner refused to close down business.”
The two understood. Over on the stage, Wang Kuaizui struck his gavel and began his performance.
Storytelling and comic cross-talk shared similar traits: everything depended on the storyteller’s capability to deliver a captivating and brilliant story.
Perhaps to perform better, Wang Kuaizui told the story with exceptional smoothness and brilliance, so much so that even Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong couldn’t refrain from calling out praise.
Manager Fang had servants serve them pastries and tea. As the two listened to the storytelling, they spent more than a double-hour idling away inside the teahouse.
“To find out what happens next, please listen to the next installment. Everyone, take care!” As the closing words fell, Wang Kuaizui offered a bow from the stage to the audience, bringing his segment to an end.
Including Wen Yao and her group, there were merely four tables of customers below. At this moment, a customer finally asked in a clear voice: “Wang Kuaizui, I heard your teahouse has changed hands? Will you still come in the future?”
Wang Kuaizui’s footsteps paused, and he subconsciously looked toward Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong.
Hearing this, Qiu Rongrong stood up directly, speaking with a cheerful smile: “Everyone, my younger sister and I are the new owners of this teahouse. Thanks to your continued patronization, us two sisters do not plan to alter this teahouse either. If everyone wants to drink tea and listen to stories in the future, just come as you please, and Mister Wang will continue storytelling right here permanently.”
The several tables of customers only then noticed these two young girls, all looking over in surprise.
“So you are the new owners.” The people at each table cupped their hands in a respectful gesture toward the two sisters.
Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong curtsied slightly to return the courtesy as well.
“However, this teahouse will still undergo some slight alterations.”
The people at the tables froze, asking out of curiosity, “How will it be altered?”
Qiu Rongrong offered a confident smile: “As for that, allow me to keep it a secret for now. But I can guarantee everyone that it will definitely not disappoint you.”
Only then did the people at the tables laugh out loud: “Good, good, good! We didn’t expect the young owners to possess such business acumen at such a young age. Then we shall wait and see!”
In a delightful mood, Qiu Rongrong waved her hand generously: “Then my thanks to everyone! Manager Fang, waive the bill for everyone present today. For the coming period until our teahouse reopens, waive the bills for these gentlemen whenever they visit—they are welcome to drink tea anytime.”
It was merely a bit of tea and pastries; she could afford to give it away.
Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter: “Then we won’t stand on ceremony!”
The scene was harmonious and pleasant.
Wang Kuaizui returned to the side of the table. Though calm on the surface, he felt anxious and uneasy in his heart, deeply afraid that poor performance would render him unable to continue working here.
Who knew that Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong were thoroughly satisfied with Wang Kuaizui? He truly lived up to his nickname, fully deserving it.
Furthermore, Wen Yao believed that placing her stories into Wang Kuaizui’s hands would surely yield an unexpected surprise.
“Were these stories of yours written by yourself, Mister Wang?” Wen Yao asked.
Wang Kuaizui smiled, nodding then shaking his head, replying, “Some were written by myself, while others were procured by the previous owner. We tell whatever stories people like to hear nowadays, merely making a living.”
Propping her head with one hand while tapping the table with the other, Wen Yao said, “If I were to give you a few stories, are you confident you can tell them well?”
Wang Kuaizui cast a glance at her. Rather than agreeing outright, he merely said, “That depends on what kind of stories the young owner provides.”
Wen Yao offered a mysterious smile: “Naturally good stories, though they are kept at home and weren’t brought over. Next time I’ll have someone deliver them to you, but I have one condition.”
Wang Kuaizui froze, then asked, “Please speak, young owner.”
“You must sign a contract with us. My stories are given to you to tell, but you can only tell them in our teahouse. If you no longer wish to work in our teahouse in the future and go elsewhere, you may no longer tell these stories,” Wen Yao said. Of course, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to hand the entire book over to him all at once—she would naturally transcribe one segment at a time as he told it—yet she still had to guard against this person taking these stories elsewhere in the future.
Wang Kuaizui smiled: “So it is this. Rest assured, young owner—this is a rule in this line of work. The stories belong to the owner; once outside this building, we may no longer tell them.”
He had quite a strong awareness of copyright.
“That is good. As for wages, how did Boss Li set your wages previously?” Wen Yao asked further.
Wang Kuaizui answered truthfully: “The owner did not give a fixed wage; it was all based on tips. Of the tips received from customers, half went to the teahouse and half belonged to myself, with the teahouse providing meals.”
Wen Yao nodded—this was reasonable as well.
“Then we will keep it the same in the future; this point won’t be changed. Still, spoken words carry no proof, so it is better to draw up a written agreement. Manager Fang, please fetch paper and brush.”
Manager Fang brought paper and brush over quickly. Raising her brush, Wen Yao began writing the employment contract. Looking at her neat small script, Wang Kuaizui’s eyes lit up—writing such beautiful script at such a young age suggested these two new owners were likely young ladies from a prominent family who had come out to experience life.
At this moment, holding a handful of dirt while crouched in the fields, Wen Xiuyi had no idea that without realizing it, their Wen family had become a prominent family.
