Zhonghui County Town.
At a crossroads in a small alley on the west side of town stood a teahouse. Every day after sunrise, a group of elderly neighbors would gather under its thatched awning to chat and pass the time.
It was early spring, a time when savoring fine tea had become the norm throughout the southern regions. Coupled with the South's growing prosperity over the years, all sorts of teahouses had sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
More importantly, many people, especially the elderly, now had time on their hands and needed a place to gather. Small teahouses like this one thus sprang up to meet the need, though being tucked away in a small alley, they barely made enough to cover the cost of charcoal for boiling water.
