The Sojourn Teashop by Pingwa Jia

Author:Pingwa, Jia
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781838905316
Publisher: Sinoist Books
Published: 2023-02-27T00:00:00+00:00

“Amazing! I never knew you had such literary talents!” says Qiyu.

“I’ve read a smattering of the classics. This is from the tea writings of Lu Tong,” Shen explains.

“I’ll copy it down for the boss of the Sojourn Teashop. She could have it written out and displayed in her shop, what a perfect advert!”

“You know her too?”

“We’re practically sisters.”

“I hear they sell the best tea in Xijing.”

“Absolutely,” Qiyu confirms, getting up to pour more hot water for his cup, and then pulling open the curtains.

Qiyu’s studio is in the southeastern corner of a large compound. Nearly 2,000 square metres are filled with trees of various sizes – pine, willow, cherry blossom, Chinese crab apple, lilac, dwarf elm, pagoda tree and peach. At the foot of the trees, roses, peonies and canna grow. China rose bushes have scrambled up the compound wall and made a dense thicket on top.

“Such a nice spot for your studio,” says Shen.

“How so?” asks Qiyu.

“There are so many trees here, and they really understand the environment in which they live.”

“Is that so?”

“Once a tree is planted, it never moves, but every tree dreams of flying. See how their leaves are cut like feathers?”

“Are you talking about me or you?” asks Qiyu. “I didn’t know you were so knowledgeable.”

“I know a few bits and pieces about plants, that’s all,” Shen chuckles. “I normally don’t talk about it, but you get me going. I hope you don’t think I’m showing off?”

“I like it when you show off.”

And so he does, and Qiyu indulges him. “Slow down, I’m trying to take notes, so I can show off to other people,” she says, scribbling on a piece of paper.

Shen begins, “Cherry blossom is the most unconventional. It flowers brazenly before any leaves appear, as if it were pregnant before marriage. Willow is full of affection. In the past, when a scholar set out on a long journey, he’d receive willow branches as a parting gift. When the new leaves bud, the whole willow turns a misty green. The pagoda tree is a liar – many of its flowers are sterile. The toon tree’s leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. The pomegranate is sexy! A ripe fruit splits open and reveals the seeds, just like a glamorous woman showing off her cleavage. The walnut cycles between years of good and poor harvests – to get a good harvest every year, you need to ring the bark with a knife. You need to graft the persimmon, too. Otherwise they only have fruit the size of a jujube, called ‘soft jujubes’. Do you see that tangle of dodder vine, climbing up that pine? It’s parasitic, and yet it seems to cling with real emotion. See that pile of white rocks? Eventually, it’ll be covered in moss. You’ve heard of Ningxia goji berries? It is a prolific plant, one goji bush can bear tens of thousands of berries each year. And its roots extend for scores of metres, nobody has ever dug them out completely.

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