Chapter 442: Reminiscing the Past

The sunlight was just right. The warm morning rays slanted onto the octagonal pavilion, casting a golden sheen on the eaves still damp with morning dew.

Inside the pavilion, Gu Ning’an sat opposite the father and daughter of the Wu family. On the wooden table before them were cups of “Wishing Spring”—this year’s new tea, crafted by Old Wu himself.

The tea’s fragrance lingered through the pavilion, complementing the perfect spring light—it was truly a harmonious pairing.

Old Wu sat with his hands clasped on the table, the wrinkles on his face gathering together with his smile. “Mr. Gu, if we count the days, it’s been over twenty years since we last met!”

“You haven’t changed a bit!”

“Unlike me—I’ve gotten so old I barely recognize myself.”

Beside him, Wu Lan chimed in, “What do you mean ‘barely recognizable’? Dad, with your teeth and your health, who would believe you’re in your seventies?”

“That’s true!” Old Wu nodded and turned to Gu Ning’an, drawing a circle with his hand as he said, “Mr. Gu, I’m not bragging, but within a fifty-li radius—”

“No, at least a hundred li—there’s no one else my age who still has all their teeth and can walk dozens of li in one go!”

Then, his tone shifted. “Of course, this is all thanks to your ink tea!”

“Not entirely.”

Gu Ning’an pointed at the tender green tea leaves in his cup. “Your strong body is also thanks to your active lifestyle. I heard you handed the teahouse over to Wu Lan, yet you still remember to roast me a whole vat of new tea every year?”

“Ah?”

Old Wu paused, then gave an exasperated sigh. “It must’ve been that rascal Wu You who blabbed. I just didn’t want to waste the old tea and had him drink more of it, and the kid went and told you!”

At that, Gu Ning’an gestured for calm. “Next time, just keep the old tea too. New and aged teas each have their own flavor—I enjoy both.”

Smack!

Old Wu slapped his thigh. “Ah! If I’d heard that from you earlier, I wouldn’t have let that rascal finish off all the aged tea…”

“Giving it to him was a waste!”

“But from now on, I’ll store the aged tea properly for you—you’d better come get it!”

“Don’t worry. I’d never forget the world’s one and only Wishing Spring.” With that, Gu Ning’an finished his tea and poured himself another cup. “But don’t go overboard and roast me several hundred catty of it… If word got out, people might think I’m mistreating an old man…”

“One vat a year, like this, is more than enough.”

Old man? Mr. Gu, you’re surely older than me… Old Wu grumbled inwardly before waving his hand. “A vat a year won’t do. I’m already seventy-two!”

“To speak a bit morbidly, who knows how many more years I’ve got left… Next time you visit, I might already be a pile of yellow earth…”

“So while I can still roast tea, I’d best leave you a little more…”

“Dad!” Wu Lan widened her eyes. “What nonsense are you saying? Spit, spit, spit!”

“I’m just being real…” But seeing his daughter with her hands on her hips, Old Wu gave a helpless smile. “Alright, alright, spit spit spit! Happy now?”

Satisfied with his three careless ptuis, Wu Lan added, “Besides, even after you’re gone, you’ve still got me, haven’t you?”

“I can roast tea for Mr. Gu too!”

“You?” Old Wu chuckled and shook his head. “Mr. Gu already tried your tea earlier, didn’t he? Ask him yourself—does your skill match mine?”

Ahem! Gu Ning’an cleared his throat. “Old Wu… Wu Lan’s tea-roasting skills have inherited your legacy. Honestly, at first sip, I couldn’t even tell it wasn’t yours.”

Old Wu was visibly surprised and hesitated before asking, “Really? You’re not just saying that to comfort her?”

Gu Ning’an nodded. “Her technique is flawless. But when I drank your tea again, I could sense… a difference.”

“Yours carries the flavor of years gone by. Each sip brings me back to that old tea stall…”

Hearing this, Old Wu seemed to understand and smiled with a hint of nostalgia.

Beside them, Wu Lan’s eyes flashed with a trace of unwillingness to concede. “Mr. Gu, are you saying my tea lacks spirit?”

Gu Ning’an shook his head. “Calling it ‘spirit’ isn’t wrong… but your tea has a different kind of spirit.”

Wu Lan tilted her head. “What kind of spirit?”

“That of a little baby girl barely over five catty… Little Sanhua.”

As soon as Gu Ning’an finished, Wu Lan, now in her forties, felt her cheeks burn.

After all, she was a middle-aged woman now, while Mr. Gu still looked as youthful as ever.

Even twenty years ago, calling Gu Ning’an “Uncle” had already made her feel shy.

Let alone now. Earlier in the teahouse, it was only because memories surged back that she accidentally let a “Uncle” slip. Afterwards, worried it was inappropriate, she followed her father’s lead and addressed him as “Mr. Gu”…

Now, suddenly being called by her childhood nickname made Wu Lan feel an unfamiliar but nostalgic embarrassment. And strangely, it all felt just like back then.

That sense of distance built over years of separation seemed to vanish completely, as if time had merely flown by and they were all just the same as before…

“Haha~” Old Wu, seeing his daughter’s flustered expression, couldn’t help but laugh heartily. “Girl, why’d you call him Uncle Gu earlier, but now you’re not?”

“Don’t tell me you want to be on equal footing with me?”

“Dad!” Wu Lan shot him a glare.

“Alright, don’t tease your daughter.” As he spoke, Gu Ning’an took out a golden kumquat and handed it to Old Wu. “Have a taste.”

The moment the golden-glowing fruit appeared, a rich citrus aroma filled the air, even overpowering the fragrance of the Wishing Spring.

Staring at the egg-sized kumquat, Old Wu swallowed and asked, “Mr. Gu, how does this fruit compare to that ink tea?”

Not expecting the question, Gu Ning’an paused before replying, “It surpasses it.”

“Then I won’t eat it.” Old Wu averted his gaze and sighed. “If it helps me live even longer, I fear my wife will grow impatient waiting…”

Gu Ning’an blinked. “Your wife?”

Old Wu smiled. “You may not know this, sir, but the day you let our family reunite in a dream, my wife and I made a promise.”

“She told me to live well, to see our daughter married and settled. Once I pass away naturally, she’ll come find me… and we’ll be childhood sweethearts in the next life, continuing this life’s bond…”