With the tea base syrup ready, the most crucial part of the lemon tea was prepared. However, before officially setting up the stall, there were still miscellaneous items to acquire, such as containers, water sources, and a signboard.
Shen Xuan could use the time before the stall cart was finished to arrange these.
Jinli Street, as a commercial street, has a history spanning hundreds of years, even longer than the Great Jin Dynasty's founding.
As a very mature commercial system, the surrounding residents have long had a history of renting out well water.
Many shops on the street, lacking space to dig their own wells, would find someone nearby to rent from.
This would cost around ten wen a day, or about three hundred wen a month. This small amount of money was nothing to the shop owners doing business, but the surrounding residents with wells could rely on this income.
Just renting out a well could bring in three to four taels of silver a month. Some quick-witted individuals even opened hot water shops at home, helping to boil hot water and selling it by the vat. A vat of hot water cost thirty wen, which was another decent income.
During the days Shen Xuan was writing memorial texts on Jinli Street, he had already figured out these avenues through conversations with people.
Now, it was just a matter of finding a suitable household to make arrangements with. However, after visiting a few homes, he found that some well-located households had already signed long-term agreements with popular shops on the street.
While they were willing to supply water to Shen Xuan, their priority was naturally their big clients. After some searching, only a household near Caohua Alley seemed suitable.
Although Caohua Alley was a bit far from Guiyun Tower, it was relatively close to Lezhou Academy.
Shen Xuan stood there for a while at noon and saw many students from Lezhou Academy passing by. He felt that setting up the stall here could still lead to good business.
This household was run by a widow named Ge. Besides her, there was an unmarried daughter and a Ger, making the household simple and unable to take on too much work.
It was precisely for this reason that many shops were hesitant to deal with them. But Shen Xuan was just setting up a small stall, and his water needs weren't great, so these issues were naturally not a problem for him.
He saw that Widow Ge's courtyard was impeccably clean, and although the family wasn't wealthy, the few members were dressed neatly and cleanly.
So, he made an agreement with her, promising to rent her well water daily, plus purchase two vats of boiled water. However, since the weather was hot, Shen Xuan requested that the boiled water be cooled in advance, which would require her to wake up before dawn every day to boil water.
Widow Ge's family relied on this income to survive. Shen Xuan would pay her seventy wen a day, so what was waking up two hours early?
Widow Ge readily agreed and even politely asked, "Young brother, if you have any bowls or dishes that need washing, you can also ask us to do it."
"I'm not a young brother; I'm a Ger," Shen Xuan said with a helpless smile. "If I need help, I'll ask you." He hadn't yet decided what kind of containers to use...
Widow Ge was surprised to hear he was a Ger. Seeing him, a Ger, setting up a stall alone, she thought he was truly clever and capable, perhaps facing difficulties at home just like her.
Empathizing with him, Widow Ge felt a sense of camaraderie with Shen Xuan and spoke to him more intimately.
Hearing that Shen Xuan also needed containers for his tea, she said, "Many stalls on this street don't buy their own bowls and dishes; they rent them. They return them to the shop every day after renting, which is much more convenient than carrying them back and forth yourself."
"You can rent bowls and dishes?" Shen Xuan was surprised to hear this for the first time.
"Of course! If you turn right at Swallow Alley, two hundred meters down, there's a shop that specializes in renting out various containers. Many stalls rent bowls and dishes there," Widow Ge explained.
This was knowledge only known to "old hands" on Jinli Street. Had Shen Xuan not talked to her, he probably wouldn't have known.
Shen Xuan thanked Widow Ge and went to the shop she mentioned. The shop's entrance wasn't large, it looked like just a small, dilapidated door.
But upon entering, it opened up into a spacious courtyard filled with all sorts of bowls and dishes. Indeed, a moment later, Shen Xuan saw a familiar figure wheeling a stack of bowls and dishes out of the shop.
The shopkeeper saw Shen Xuan and stepped forward, asking, "Esteemed customer, are you looking for any containers? Allow me to assist you."
"I want large cups for drinking tea," Shen Xuan said.
"Large tea cups are all here." The shopkeeper led Shen Xuan to a section and pointed to stacks of cups on the ground, saying, "They're all here. Please take your time and choose, whether you want to rent or buy."
Shen Xuan looked and saw the ground indeed filled with various large tea cups. There were colorful porcelain, blue-and-white porcelain, celadon, earthenware, and even wooden and bamboo ones.
Shen Xuan inquired about each one and found that the exquisite and beautiful porcelain cups were frighteningly expensive, many costing one taels of silver each, making buying them very uneconomical.
Renting them, however, was only two wen per day, which explained why many surrounding shops came here to rent. Compared to the porcelain cups, earthenware and wooden cups were much cheaper, costing only one wen per day to rent, making them even more cost-effective.
However, the cheapest were the bamboo cups, made directly by splitting bamboo nodes from coarse bamboo, very natural and rustic. Ten wen could buy eight of them.
After careful comparison, Shen Xuan decided to simply buy bamboo cups. The main reason was that rented cups would require him to wash them himself, or pay Widow Ge's family to wash them, and that cost would roughly equal buying bamboo cups.
Furthermore, while these bamboo cups were rustic, each person could take one away, making them cleaner and more hygienic.
Pedestrians who bought tea from him and walked around the street with a bamboo cup would also serve as living advertisements for him.
After discussing with the shopkeeper, Shen Xuan finalized an agreement to pick up two hundred bamboo cups daily.
His original plan was to sell only two hundred cups of tea per day and then stop. A daily container cost of two hundred fifty wen was acceptable.
With these details settled, the necessities for the tea stall were mostly arranged.
***
Shen Xuan thought for a moment, then returned to Jinli Street. A little later, he rode his mule back home, the mule laden with a roll of canvas and some paints.
These were for making his stall's signboard. The spot where he planned to set up his stall was very close to the academy, and the students passing by were all literate. A signboard with words would be more attractive.
Having been influenced by the modern world, Shen Xuan didn't believe the nonsense about good wine needing no bush.
Marketing battles in the modern world were incredibly fierce, and advertisements were everywhere.
To quickly stand out among the many stalls on Jinli Street, he would need to use some marketing tactics.
As soon as he got home, Shen Xuan spread the canvas on the table, ground his ink and paints, and carefully pondered what to name his tea.
He wouldn't dare use names like "Duck Poop Scent Lemon Tea" from the modern world, fearing people would actually think there was duck poop in the tea.
Moreover, the tea recipe was currently a secret, and he didn't want to directly reveal its ingredients.
After thinking for a while, Shen Xuan decided that since the tea needed citrus slices, its name could include something related to citrus.
Additionally, Shen Xuan had specifically used expensive honey in the syrup, and even though the quantity wasn't much, it should definitely be mentioned.
So, he tentatively settled on "Honey Orange Tea" and wrote it down on a piece of scrap paper.
While Shen Xuan was racking his brain to name the tea, Xue Fenglin was watching nearby. Shen Xuan's focused expression, with his brow furrowed as he held the brush, looked like a beautiful scene to him.
As a Ger, Shen Xuan's handwriting was quite good. Though it lacked a bit of strength, it was elegant and neat, better than many noble ladies in the capital.
Furthermore, when he wrote, he stood on one foot, while the other was bent somewhat restlessly, his knee on the stool.
When he bent down to write, his back remained perfectly straight, making his backside appear even rounder and more shapely...
Shen Xuan looked up and saw Xue Fenglin just staring at him, not saying anything. For some reason, he instinctively felt Xue Fenglin's gaze was somewhat fiery.
His face flushed with discomfort after being looked at by those eyes. He quickly diverted his gaze and said,
"Lin Ye, don't just stand there watching. Come over and help me think!" Xue Fenglin heard him, rose from his seat, and slowly walked over to Shen Xuan.
"What do you think of the name I came up with?" Shen Xuan asked Xue Fenglin, pointing to the characters for "Honey Orange Tea."
Xue Fenglin then looked at the characters, thought carefully for a moment, and said, "The name is straightforward and easy to understand. But since you're setting up a stall near the academy, why not use a homophone that scholars would like?"
"What homophone?" Shen Xuan asked curiously. The words had barely left his mouth when he felt Xue Fenglin suddenly grasp his brush-holding hand from behind.
Xue Fenglin's hand completely enveloped Shen Xuan's entire palm. After dipping the brush in ink, he guided Shen Xuan's hand to write the large characters for "Honey Scholar Tea" (蜂蜜吉士茶 - Fēngmì Jíshì Chá) in a bold, flowing style on the scrap paper.
At this moment, the two were already very close. Xue Fenglin's action felt as if he had embraced Shen Xuan from behind, giving Shen Xuan a fright.
Shen Xuan froze for a moment, the parts of his body touching Xue Fenglin felt hot, and he wasn't sure how to react.
He only felt Xue Fenglin's breath near his ear, and a faint fragrance from his body, which made his brush-holding hand feel a little weak.
By the time he reacted, Xue Fenglin had already finished writing the characters, then released his right hand and stepped back, looking perfectly natural, as if nothing had happened, and said,
"Jishi (吉士) is an official position after passing the imperial examination, and its pronunciation is similar to '橘子' (júzi - orange) in the Lezhou dialect. Using Jishi instead of 'orange' would be very auspicious for scholars, and might have a good effect."
Literati and scholars in the Great Jin Dynasty were very particular about auspicious good luck, and they loved all sorts of wordplay.
In the capital, many restaurant menus were filled with auspicious names; without an introduction, one wouldn't even know what they were eating.
Xue Fenglin, having seen much of this, and hearing Shen Xuan say the stall would be near the academy, immediately thought of the idea of replacing "orange" with Jishi.
Shen Xuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He immediately forgot the awkwardness of writing earlier and nodded in praise, "This name is indeed good!"
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