Nowadays, except for a small amount of tribute fruits in the palace, fresh fruits are hardly seen in other markets in the capital.
Therefore, in the newly opened milk tea shops, there are currently no fruit products available. They can only wait for shipments or the next season.
Even so, there are still many varieties of milk tea, listed on the wooden menu board hanging inside the shop.
"Red rice milk tea, five wen."
"Red rice and love pea milk tea, seven wen."
[Red rice, is that blood glutinous rice?]
Xiao Chuchu, being held by Xiao Yunzhou, was wide-eyed with curiosity.
[Love pea, that's red bean?]
Xiao Chuchu was amused, [The milk teas named by Elder Shen Mian all have a literary flair. One cup for the scholar and his lady~]
"Highland barley milk tea, five wen."
"Golden oat milk tea, five wen."
"Double Happiness milk tea (taro ball, choose one more ingredient), eight wen."
"Three Rams Bring Prosperity milk tea (taro ball, choose two more ingredients), ten wen."
"Family Reunion (choose five ingredients), fifteen wen."
[Wow, this is almost no different from modern milk tea shops.]
Held by Xiao Yunzhou, Xiao Chuchu soon saw many students staying in the capital, as well as servants and maids from wealthy merchants' and officials' families, queuing up to buy and try this novelty.
"This is quite interesting. Drinking tea with so many things added. Is this drinking porridge or eating tea?"
Onlookers and frugal commoners chatted among themselves.
"If the things added inside can fill you up, this price is reasonable. Didn't they say they added sheep milk and cow milk from Wu Yun Country? The tea on East Street costs two wen a bowl."
"If you go further out, tea shops outside the city charge one wen a bowl."
"For a meal, five wen isn't expensive, right? After all, it's imperial food."
Farmers who came for the market were still quite poor, calculating if they could afford to buy just one cup of the cheapest option, wondering if it would fill them up.
But the wealthy officials in line were lavish without concern for money, "Give me one Family Reunion."
"I'll take one of everything!"
These particularly extravagant customers usually queued at the front.
Soon, they set an example for the observing commoners.
The shop assistants quickly became busy.
A crisp bamboo tube, about the length of a small arm, was placed on the table. The assistant added half a cup of clear tea, then snow-white cow's milk, and a large spoon of red bean syrup.
In no time, it was delivered to the counter for the waiting servants outside.
This stirred up the watching commoners.
"Five wen for so many things?"
"Is it sweet? Did they add sugar?"
The servant who just bought it turned and answered, "They add sugar, and even asked if I'm afraid of it being too sweet."
"I'm buying it for the young master and miss, and I'm afraid it might be too sweet for them, so I didn't dare to ask for more sugar."
"The assistant said they gave me 50% sugar."
"!!!"
"?"
The observing farmers were dumbfounded.
"What? They add sugar to the tea, and you can choose how much?"
Sugar was something you had to spend silver to buy.
When times were tough at home, sugar water was only given to children, adults couldn't afford to drink even a sip more.
"I'm not afraid of sweetness, can they add more for me?"
At this point, the milk tea shop was surrounded so tightly that not even water could seep through.
[Well, it seems that if a milk tea shop opened in Jing Country, most of the poor commoners would choose full sugar.]
Xiao Chuchu realized that modern society was indeed fortunate, where people had grown tired of sweetness and started pursuing health.
[I didn't expect Uncle Jiang Li from the Ministry of Revenue to come up with the idea of asking customers if they want full sugar or half sugar. That's impressive.]
Hearing his daughter's praise, Xiao Yunzhou felt somewhat gratified.
At least the Imperial Kitchen had found some use.
Usually, when the Imperial Kitchen cooks for the Emperor and Empress, they can't afford to offend any of the masters, so they have to remember everyone's preferences.
This one likes it sweet, that one fears sweetness.
This milk tea shop was the Imperial Kitchen's first business venture, and the imperial chefs were all trembling with fear.
Anyway, asking the customers one more question about how sweet they want it doesn't take much effort.
Unexpectedly, they had stumbled upon the same business approach as modern milk tea shops.
"I'll have one too, I'm not afraid of sweetness, add more sugar."
"Me too, give me the cheapest five-wen one, with extra sugar."
Apart from feeling that they weren't losing out by getting more sugar than others for their money, the common people also felt respected by the milk tea shop.
The hospitality made them feel at home, and the experience was very novel.
"I want two Double Happiness, one with taro ball and sesame ball, one with taro ball and love pea. And one Family Reunion."
A beautiful 'young master' and the maid beside them also reached the shop's service window.
This 'young master's' gaze soon fell on the shop's decor, and their critical look softened involuntarily.
"I didn't expect this shop to be so clean," said the 'young master' with a delicate black mole under their right eye, in a pleasant voice. "It does live up to the 'imperial' hype."
"Yes, if it were like those tea shops outside, all dusty, we wouldn't be able to handle it," nodded the other young master with a black mole at the corner of their left eye, also smiling.
They saw that the assistants inside the shop all wore uniform cyan clothes, looking very neat, and even wore caps that tucked in all their hair.
When the assistants lowered their heads to work, they didn't speak, and their movements were quick and efficient.
At the counter, the cashier only handled money, while the operator only prepared drinks, working in cooperation.
"Interesting, I wonder how it tastes." All three of them were somewhat expectant.
"Three cups, do you like sweetness?" asked the cashier.
The leading 'young master' was startled for a moment, then quickly nodded and shook their head, "I like it, but I'm also afraid of it being too sweet."
"Young... master, I'm not afraid of it being too sweet..." the maid behind them eagerly spoke up.
The cashier nodded, "Then how about 70% sugar for two cups, and 100% sugar for the other one?"
The two 'talented scholars' exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with interest, "That's fine."
"With so many cups, how can you remember who wants how much sugar?"
The cashier looked up at them, chuckled, and then used his brush to make circles and marks on three empty bamboo tubes.
The two 'talented scholars' immediately blushed, realizing they had asked a silly question.
It turned out the staff wrote it on the empty bamboo cups.
The milk tea-making assistants, looking at these marked annotations, would know how to prepare the drinks.
Convenient and accurate.
"Is this imperial shop really run by the court?" the scholar with the beauty mark under their right eye couldn't help but ask again.
The cashier quickly collected the money and gave them a wooden tag with the three milk teas written on it, "Yes, it is. Please wait in the empty space to the side. Next customer, step forward!"
The scholar immediately blushed, realizing they had affected the cashier's speed.
But when she turned her head to look, she was startled. When they had arrived earlier, hardly anyone had been willing to queue up to buy from this milk tea shop.
Upon observation, it was mostly well-dressed people from wealthy families.
But now, quite a few common folk in plain clothes had started to line up.
At this moment, the queue had even extended to the front of the neighboring calligraphy and painting shop!
"Miss, it seems the national treasury of Jing Country is truly desperate for money," Yuan the maid remarked in a hushed voice. "In our Chu State, the court has never sold food to the common people. And this cup is quite expensive."
Ordinary folks obviously couldn't afford to drink it every day.
Those who could frequent the shop were likely merchants and officials' families.
The court was clearly after the silver of these wealthy people!
How desperate for money they must be!
Yuan the maid promptly clutched her own purse tightly.
"The Jing Country court is really good at extorting money. Miss, I think we'd better head home soon..."
But she quickly received their three cups of milk tea from the nearby counter.
As Yuan spoke, she lowered her head to take a sip from the 'Family Reunion' bamboo cup. "If we don't leave soon, all our money will be snatched by Jing Country..."
But after just one sip, she couldn't continue speaking.
The warm, fragrant, and delicious milk tea instantly slid across her lips and teeth, silky smooth with a lingering sweet aftertaste.
Because five different toppings had been added, there was an abundance of ingredients. This single sip brought forth the soft and glutinous red beans and the chewy rice balls.
As she instinctively chewed in her mouth, the sweet and smooth textures, along with the springy softness, added sweetness upon sweetness, instantly capturing her heart!
She had never tasted such delicious tea and snacks before!
Why did it have to be in Jing Country!?
"If we're to leave, it should be after we see the result of our bet with that scholar," said the beauty with the mole by her right eye. "Yuan, don't be in such a hurry."
Yuan was currently using her spoon to scoop up rice balls, mixing them with the milk tea, and had already taken two big mouthfuls. At this moment, her cheeks were completely puffed out.
Mmm...
"Mmmph... Young Miss, I'm... not in such a hurry anymore..."
"???"