Guga Milk Tea Was Back

East Street, Dragonhide City.

The shop had stood empty three days ago. Today, a long line stretched from its door, around the corner, and into the alley. Ordinary townsfolk, Soul Masters, and silk-clad merchants crowded together, craning their necks. Some stood on tiptoe; others hoisted children onto their shoulders. The woman who sold cloth next door leaned halfway out her window and clicked her tongue. The steamed-bun seller beside her simply shut his shop, carried a tray of buns into the line, and ate while he waited.

"What is that? It smells incredible."

"Guga Milk Tea. That's what the flyer says."

"Milk tea? Never heard of it."

"Of course you haven't. It's new. They've been handing out flyers for three days. The whole city knows about it." An old man beside them butted in.

Inside, two members of the Breaking Clan stood behind the counter. One brewed the tea while the other added ingredients. Shelves held rows of bottles and jars—herbs, tea leaves, syrups—sorted into three tiers by color. The counter gleamed. The cashbox was still empty.

Yang Wudi stood in a corner, watching the long line. He couldn't keep the corners of his mouth from rising.

Lin Yuan sat behind the counter with the cashbox before him. Guga and Dark Gold Guga lay at the counter's edge, their wide eyes fixed on the cup in the brewer's hand. Starry Guga sat at the pickup window, a vine curled around an empty cup.

"So many people, guga!"

Dark Gold Guga's ears twitched, and she edged aside.

Starry Guga took the first cup of milk tea from the pickup window with her vine and passed it out steadily.

"Here you go, guga! Your milk tea, guga~"

A middle-aged man in a coarse-cloth jacket took it. He sniffed it first and frowned, then took a sip.

He froze.

Someone beside him poked his shoulder.

"Is it good?"

"Well?"

He said nothing and took another sip. Tea and milk mingled across his tongue, sweet without being cloying. He looked down at the cup, then up at the sign behind the counter. Turning toward the back of the line, he shouted, "I'll have another!"

The line erupted.

"Two for me!"

"Three!"

"Stop pushing!"

People surged forward from the back, shoving those in front against the counter. Another dozen people joined the end of the line after hearing the news. Someone had run over from the next street so fast he had lost a shoe.

The two clan members sweated through their work. One brewed with both hands at once, cup after cup. Starry Guga darted back and forth between the counter and the customers.

"Here you go, guga! Your milk tea, guga~"

"Three originals, guga! Please take them, guga~"

Lin Yuan's hand never stopped taking money. Copper Soul Coins and Silver Soul Coins clinked into the cashbox.

He glanced down at the cashbox, then beside him.

Guga was gone.

Lin Yuan turned and found Guga crouching beneath the counter, her short little hands holding a cup of milk tea and a ring of milk on her lips. Dark Gold Guga crouched beside her, guiltily averting her eyes. Her claws still gripped a half-finished cup.

The corner of Lin Yuan's mouth twitched.

"Is it good?"

"It's good, guga—gah?"

Guga looked up and met Lin Yuan's gaze. She looked down at the cup in her hands, then back up at him, and nudged the cup toward Dark Gold Guga.

Lin Yuan picked her up, set her on a chair at the front counter, and pushed the cashbox toward her.

"Take payments."

"Guga?"

"One cup sneaked, one hundred customers served. That'll settle it."

Guga pouted, then obediently gripped the edge of the cashbox with her little hands. Dark Gold Guga had just started to slip away when Lin Yuan pressed a hand onto her head.

"You. Go carry in the milk and tea leaves."

Dark Gold Guga's ears drooped. She turned toward the back kitchen.

Once Lin Yuan saw Guga handling payments smoothly, he went to the back of the shop. Bai He and Yang Wudi sat at a small table. When they saw him, they poured him a cup of tea and pushed it over.

Bai Chenxiang dragged Yang Qiumo in through the crowd. She stood on tiptoe to look inside, her eyes sweeping over the bottles and jars behind the counter.

"This is the milk tea shop?"

Yang Qiumo, still caught by the sleeve, glanced over the herbs piled behind the counter and paused.

Bai Chenxiang squeezed up to the counter and rolled up her sleeves.

"I'll help."

She took a Copper Soul Coin from a customer and tossed it into the cashbox with a snap. Guga stood on the chair beside her, eyes round as saucers.

"That's my job, guga!"

"Then keep doing it." Bai Chenxiang tossed in another coin.

Yang Qiumo stood nearby. Bai Chenxiang gave him a shove.

"Go carry things."

Yang Qiumo looked at her, then turned toward the back kitchen. Dark Gold Guga was coming out with a crate of milk, and they bumped into each other in the doorway. The two silent types exchanged a look, then each stepped aside.

The clan member brewing tea set down his cup and called to the waiting crowd.

"Everyone, we offer home delivery."

The crowd fell quiet for a moment.

"What's home delivery?"

"If you live far away, don't want to go out, but still want milk tea." He patted a stack of wooden plaques beside the counter. "Take a door plaque home and hang it outside. Write what you want on a slip of paper and attach it to the back. When we see the plaque hanging up, we'll collect your note, prepare your milk tea, and bring it to your door."

"Deliver it to my door? You can do that?"

"The plaques are free. Delivery costs ten Copper Soul Coins."

People in the crowd began calculating. An old woman counted on her fingers, muttering to herself. A young merchant beside her had already finished the sums; his eyes lit up.

"Ten Copper Soul Coins... For someone to make the trip, that isn't much."

"My house is three streets away. It's a half-hour round trip. Ten Copper Soul Coins for delivery is worth it."

"How do we get a plaque?"

The brewer bent down, hauled a crate of wooden plaques out from beneath the counter, and set it on the table. Each plaque was palm-sized, with four characters carved on the front.

Guga Milk Tea.

"They're free. Take one if you need one."

For an instant, the crowd was still. Then the people at the front reached out. A young man in a gray cloth shirt snatched the first one, turned it over twice, and tucked it into his clothes. People behind him pressed forward. The plaques in the crate dwindled before their eyes. Someone grabbed two, caught a glare from the person beside him, and put one back.

"One for me."

"I want one too."

"Don't fight! There are enough!"

The whole crate was cleared out in less than half an hour. Those who hadn't gotten one crowded around the counter, refusing to leave and asking when more would arrive. A fat man in silk squeezed to the front and slapped a Silver Soul Coin onto the counter.

"I'll pay. Sell me one."

The brewer pushed the Silver Soul Coin back.

"The plaques aren't for sale. We only give them away. The next batch arrives in two days. Come back then."

Unwilling to give up, the fat man slapped down a Gold Soul Coin. The brewer still shook his head.

"...Then give me a few cups of milk tea." The fat man took back his Gold Soul Coin.

The people behind him began jeering.

"You think money makes you special?"

"Get in line!"

The fat man slunk away.

At dusk, during the hour of the rooster, the last customers left with their milk tea. The clan member who had brewed it slumped into a chair, both hands trembling.

Bai Chenxiang came running from the front, dragging Yang Qiumo all the way to the back of the shop. He stumbled as she pulled him along.

Bai He and Yang Wudi were drinking tea with Lin Yuan at the small table. Bai He set down his cup and beckoned them over.

"Chenxiang, Qiumo, come here."

Bai He gestured to Lin Yuan. "This is my granddaughter, Bai Chenxiang." Yang Wudi added, "And my grandson, Yang Qiumo."

Bai Chenxiang studied Lin Yuan curiously, her eyes bright. Yang Qiumo glanced at him and gave a slight nod.

Bai He turned back to Bai Chenxiang and Yang Qiumo and pointed at Lin Yuan. "This is Lin Yuan, our business partner."

Lin Yuan smiled. "Just call me Lin Yuan."

Lin Yuan stood. "Come on. Let's check the accounts up front."

They returned to the front counter. Bai He took the account book from the clan member and went through the figures. He calculated them twice, then handed the book to another clan member.

"Check it yourself."

The man took it, turned each page, and counted on his fingers. After a while, he looked up at Bai He.

"Clan chief, it's right."

Bai He's lips moved. He looked down at the account book, up at the empty shop, then down at the book again. His fingers gripped its edge until they went white. The account books he had handled in his life would stand taller than he did if stacked together, yet not one had ever made his hands shake.

"One hundred and twenty-three Gold Soul Coins."

Even after saying the number aloud, he could hardly believe it. The entire Speed Clan couldn't earn that much in a year of hard work. They had earned it in a day.

Yang Wudi patted the brewer on the shoulder.

"Thanks for the effort."

"It was nothing, clan chief." The man shook out his hands. "They're just sore."

Yang Wudi smiled and turned to Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan was emptying the cashbox. Gold Soul Coins, Silver Soul Coins, and Copper Soul Coins covered half the table. The three Gugas lay beside the pile, eyes round as saucers.

"So many, guga..."

"Can we buy braised pork, guga?"

"Enough to buy it for a year, guga."

Bai He clutched the account book and stared at the money spread across half the table. Bai Chenxiang's eyes widened.

She opened her mouth, looked at Bai He, then back at the money.

"So much..."

Bai He was still dazed and didn't answer. Bai Chenxiang poked a Gold Soul Coin. She drew her finger back at the touch of cold metal, then poked it again. Leaning against the doorframe, Yang Qiumo stared at the pile, his pupils widening slightly.

Bai He looked at the money covering half the table, then at the account book. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Never in his life had he seen so much money laid out before him. He could touch it. He could hear it clink.

Lin Yuan glanced at him.

"Old Bai, what's wrong?"

"I..." Bai He's voice was a little dry. "I never imagined I could make this much in a single day."

His gaze stayed fixed on the Gold Soul Coins without shifting. His Adam's apple bobbed.

Yang Wudi coughed beside him.

"Old Bai, keep up appearances."

Bai He came to his senses, though his eyes remained on the money.

"Lin Yuan. What do we do next?"

Lin Yuan looked at Bai He and laughed.

"We've barely begun."

Bai He finally looked away from the pile and toward Lin Yuan. Yang Wudi turned to him too.

"Once we've opened milk tea shops throughout the Star Luo Empire," Lin Yuan said, "a single day's takings will be more than ten times today's."

Bai He's eyes lit up again.

Gold Soul Coins glinted in his pupils. Yang Wudi stood beside him, watching his expression. The corner of his mouth twitched, and at last he couldn't hold back a snort.

"Come on." Lin Yuan stood. "Let's close up."

He divided the money on the table into three shares. He pushed one toward Bai He, one toward Yang Wudi, and kept one for himself.

Bai He reached for his share. His hand trembled when his fingers touched a Gold Soul Coin. He picked one up, turned it over several times, set it down, then picked it up again, like a child holding his first New Year's gift money. He raised it to his eyes and studied it under the lamplight for a long while before biting it.

Yang Wudi didn't touch his share. He looked at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan stood and put the money away.

"Old Bai, Old Yang, thanks for all your hard work these past few days."

Bai He looked up, still gripping the Gold Soul Coin. His voice was a little hoarse. "What hard work? I've never been this happy in my life."

Yang Wudi patted Lin Yuan on the shoulder.

Bai Chenxiang sprang up from her chair. "I'll come help again tomorrow."

At the door, Yang Qiumo glanced back at Dark Gold Guga. Her ears twitched, but she didn't turn around. Yang Qiumo left with Yang Wudi.

Bai He and Bai Chenxiang went out too. Only Lin Yuan and the three Gugas remained in the shop.

Lin Yuan locked the door and headed deeper into East Street. The three Gugas followed, hopping along. Moonlight washed over the bluestone pavement, stretching their three little shadows far behind them.

Guga rubbed her belly.

"I'm hungry, guga!"

Dark Gold Guga followed behind, glancing down the deserted street.

"...Hungry, guga."

Starry Guga's starlight flickered.

"I'm hungry too, guga."

Lin Yuan looked down at them.

"Come on. I'll take you somewhere good to eat."

Guga bounced into the air.

"Lin Yuan's the best, guga!"

Dark Gold Guga's ears twitched. She didn't look back, but her steps grew lighter.

Starry Guga tilted her head.

"Thank you, Lin Yuan, guga."

The lanterns on East Street were still lit. In the night breeze, the sign outside the shop swayed gently, its four characters shining in the moonlight.

Guga Milk Tea.

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