Chapter 134: The Crimson Robe

Over the next few days, Lu Kun was practically tireless as he visited various influential figures in Guizhou. As the old saying goes, "If you don't visit for three years, even relatives become estranged," let alone someone met only once at a banquet.

Ji Keliang had thoughtfully prepared the gifts for these visits. After all, Lu Kun was a stranger in Guizhou and unfamiliar with the preferences of these high-ranking officials. If he were to make a mistake and cause trouble, it would likely fall to Ji to clean up the mess.

...

"What's wrong? Homesick?" Lu Kun asked, patting Cheng Hao on the shoulder as he noticed the young man looking dejected.

"I’m missing my aunt’s meat buns," Cheng Hao replied, swallowing hard and stiffening his neck.

Lu Kun: "..."

Wait, was he missing his aunt’s meat buns, or the meat buns made by his aunt? He had better be clear, or the author might be misunderstood for making inappropriate jokes again.

"Hang in there. This is the last person on the list. Let’s pick up the pace and get this visit done; it shouldn’t take long," Lu Kun comforted him.

"This person on the list is really eccentric. He doesn't want to live in the city, but insists on coming to the countryside to suffer," Cheng Hao grumbled with a bitter expression.

"Talented people are often eccentric; there's nothing strange about that," Lu Kun explained.

...

The weather was stiflingly oppressive. Lu Kun suspected that a thunderstorm would break out at any moment.

"Hurry up, let's get in the car before we get soaked to the bone," Lu Kun urged Cheng Yuan, Cheng Hao, and Li Changfu.

*Whoosh...*

A torrential downpour began. The driver sped along the road, unable to slow down; if the rain lasted too long, the roads would turn to mud, and the car would likely get stuck.

"Is this it?" the group looked at each other. Before them stood a typical rural courtyard.

"This is the place. The old gentleman disliked the noise of the city and moved here years ago to retire," explained the driver, who was also their guide, arranged by Ji Keliang.

Lu Kun nodded in understanding. Years ago, when the movie *Shaolin Temple* was released, it sparked a martial arts craze that set the adrenaline of the youth soaring; many young people flocked to famous sects like Wudang and Shaolin to seek tutelage. Then, after the *qigong* craze on the Spring Festival Gala two years prior, many middle-aged and elderly people were so misled they didn't know which way was up—it was even rumored that some had nearly died trying to practice *qigong* by consuming excrement.

Compared to those obsessed with searching for immortals and Taoist enlightenment, this old gentleman was far more grounded simply for preferring country life.

...

Lu Kun supported the old man’s arm as they paced around the courtyard.

"Good day, old master! Good day!" A "heroic-looking" parrot in a cage bobbed its head and chattered away.

"Haha, little Lu, this parrot you brought is quite interesting," the old man laughed, stroking his beard.

"To be honest, it was a gift to me, and I’m just passing it on to you," Lu Kun replied with a smile.

...

"Old master, do you have no intention of going back?" Lu Kun asked cautiously.

"Why go back? I'm at an age where I've got one foot in the grave. Why return to Beijing? To fight for power and profit? I’ve seen through it all. I’ll just live my life in leisure, one day at a time."

Lu Kun’s gaze sharpened, but he remained silent. After a long moment, he probed further: "What about your descendants...?"

"Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes. As long as this old man is still breathing, those old fellows in Beijing will still give me some face. If my descendants are capable, they won't need this old bag of bones to intervene; they can climb the ladder themselves," the old man said, coughing twice and sighing deeply.

"And if they aren't capable?" Lu Kun’s eyes flickered. In his previous life, the descendants of this man’s lineage hadn't exactly been stellar.

"Heh, if they aren't capable, then so be it. At worst, they'll just drift through life. If they can live comfortably, that’s a blessing in itself," the old man paused, then laughed heartily.

The old man made it sound light, but Lu Kun detected a note of arrogance in his tone. It was the same principle as failing one's studies and having to go home to inherit a billion-dollar family fortune. As long as the political climate didn't change, how bad could their lives really be?

...

"Haha, you certainly have a clear perspective, old master." Lu Kun gave a thumbs-up in admiration, though he felt a tinge of regret inwardly—it seemed he wouldn't be able to rely on this ready-made powerful connection.

"Try this tea. It’s a treasure from Beijing; I find it quite excellent," the old man said, gesturing for Lu Kun to help himself.

"Then I shall bask in your reflected glory and savor this fine tea," Lu Kun smiled.

"Well?" The old man held his head high, a hint of pride in his voice.

"This... why does it taste like Dahongpao? But it seems a bit different from the standard stuff," Lu Kun licked his lips and frowned slightly.

"Hey! You young man, I didn't realize you were so knowledgeable," the old man said, surprised. "This tea is authentic Dahongpao. I had to be quite shameless to beg it from that person. These leaves came from those very mother tea trees on the cliffs of the Nine-Dragon Nest!"

The old man was clearly proud; he was one of the few who had managed to wring 100 grams of tea out of that person. When Nixon visited China, the Chairman had only gifted him four taels (about 200 grams) of tea from the mother trees. The Chairman had less than a pound of it in total, and after gifting half of his "sovereign territory" to Nixon, he had little left. The old man had pulled out all the stops to get his 100 grams.

"Oh? No wonder the aroma is so rich," Lu Kun’s eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily.

The history of Dahongpao dates back to the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty. Legend has it that a scholar on his way to the imperial examinations suffered from severe abdominal pain. He met a monk from Tianxin Yongle Temple, who offered him some treasured tea, and the pain vanished instantly. After the scholar topped the exams, he took off his red ceremonial robe and draped it over the tea tree, hence the name "Dahongpao" (Big Red Robe).

While Dahongpao isn't a panacea, its benefits are numerous. Beyond the typical tea properties of refreshing the mind, reducing fatigue, and aiding digestion, it is also said to have special health benefits, including cancer prevention, lowering blood lipids, and anti-aging. Dahongpao is rare, and the authentic variety is limited to those few trees on the cliffs of the Nine-Dragon Nest, with the best harvests yielding only a few hundred grams.

"Thank you, sir. Otherwise, I would never have had the chance to taste such a treasure," Lu Kun said, tilting his head back and downing the tea in his cup in one go.