Chapter Forty-Five: Stir-Frying Tea

  After sending off Princess Qinghe, Qin Yu thought about it and still felt it was necessary to remind Cheng Huailiang. In history, Princess Qinghe married Cheng Huailiang at the age of ten, thinking of this made Qin Yu feel a headache.

  Qin Yu found Cheng Huailiang when he was smiling foolishly by himself, Qin Yu went over and lightly coughed, "Cough, cough." Suddenly catching Cheng Huailiang's attention, he quickly restored his serious expression and said, "Brother-in-law, why have you come?"

  "Hey, this is my home, okay?" Qin Yu said in a bad tone, "Second uncle, there's something that I must tell you as your brother-in-law."

  Cheng Huailiang nodded somewhat awkwardly, apparently this guy had just come to his senses, and this wasn't the Cheng residence. "Speak up, what's going on? You're being so serious."

  Qin Yu thought for a moment, organized his words and then said, "Second uncle, do you understand women?"

  Qin Yu's words left Cheng Huai Liang stunned for a moment, and then he showed an "you underestimate me" expression, opening his mouth to say, "How could I not understand? Think back to when I was ten years old..." As soon as he said this, Cheng Huai Liang hastily shut his mouth.

  "Unbelievable, indeed a precocious era." Qin Yu muttered to himself, he naturally understood what Cheng Huailiang said, but shook his head helplessly and continued, "Second uncle, I'm not talking about that. Forget it, I'll just tell you directly."

  "Women have the ability to reproduce from their first menstruation, but at this time, a woman's body has not fully developed. In other words, her body is still growing."

  Qin Yu paused for a moment, waiting for Cheng Huai to digest it, and then continued, "If we were to do husband-and-wife things at this time, the harm to this woman would be unpredictable. To put it mildly, she would be plagued by illness and have a short lifespan. More seriously, there could be uncontrollable dangers, even threatening her life."

  Cheng Huailiang was taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly regained his composure. Qin Yu was referring to Qinghe Princess again, and he furrowed his brow before speaking up, "Is it as severe as you say?"

  Qin Yu let out a sigh and said very seriously, "Second uncle, it's even more severe than what I've said. Don't know if Your Majesty has investigated, you can also go investigate yourself, take a look at those girls who got married and gave birth early, aren't their mortality rates extremely high? This is not an exaggeration."

  Cheng Huailiang remained silent for a while before speaking up and asking, "So tell me, at what age can this woman have children?"

  "This is... " Qin Yu stopped halfway, remembering that this was the Great Tang and he had said too much. Cheng Huai Liang would definitely think he did it on purpose. In the end, he just said, "Sixteen years old, best to wait until eighteen years old, of course, husband and wife matters also have to wait until then."

  As soon as Qin Yu's words fell, Cheng Huailiang furrowed his brow and paced back and forth without stopping. After a while, he finally spoke up, "Alright, I'll go investigate."

  It was clear that Cheng Huailiang did not quite believe Qin Yu's words, and Qin Yu nodded helplessly, thinking to himself, "You go investigate and you'll understand."

  The palace, the Zhengzhi Hall, a eunuch came forward and handed Li Shimin a book. Li Shimin waved off the eunuch and began to flip through it immediately.

  Before long, Li Shimin's eyebrows furrowed, and Empress Longsun hastily asked, "Your Majesty, what is troubling you so?"

  "Alas, Guanyin, what Qin Yunfei said about not rushing into marriage between men and women is indeed true. Look at the result." Li Shimin finished speaking and handed the investigation results to Empress Longsun.

  At this time, Li Shimin smiled and said, "I only know that people with the same surname cannot get married, but Qin Yunfei said that close relatives are not allowed either. Now it seems that this child is fond of Zhi'er, so he spoke recklessly. Heh, this kid."

  Qin Yu would definitely shout "unfair" if he heard Li Shimin's words. It is true that children born to close relatives may have defects, but not all of them must have defects, it's just that the probability is a bit higher. Moreover, the number of people Li Shimin investigated was too small, how can this be called an investigation result?

  The Empress Dowager looked at the investigation results, nodded slightly and said, "Your Majesty, this child is indeed a bit reckless, but at that time, he seemed to not recognize the princess, otherwise, he wouldn't have said such things."

  Li Shimin nodded in agreement, and Empress Changsun looked at the investigation results for a while before suddenly thinking of Princess Changle and Qin Yu's marriage. She hastily asked, "Your Majesty, if the yield of sweet potatoes is indeed very high, when will the wedding be held?"

  Li Shimin naturally understood the meaning of Empress Changsun, which was to set a suitable age for marriage. After some thought, he opened his mouth and said, "Since I have made up my mind to prohibit early marriage, my daughter will be a model for the Great Tang Dynasty. Not only is she a princess, but from now on, no princess of the Great Tang Dynasty can get married before the age of sixteen."

  The Empress Dowager nodded and said, "This is for the best. The royal family takes the lead, and the people of Tang Dynasty will naturally not object."

  "However, Your Majesty, a married couple cannot be separated now that the investigation results are clear. It would not be inappropriate for you to gather your ministers to discuss this matter since it was Qin Yunfei who brought it up."

  Li Shimin listened and nodded after a moment of contemplation, "This is for the best."

  Qin Yu was unaware that Li Shimin and Empress Longsun had already made plans to push him forward as a scapegoat.

  Qingfengju, after Qin Yu and Cheng Huailiang parted ways, felt a bit parched in the mouth. After all, it was a hot day and they had spent a lot of effort talking, how could they not be thirsty? But when Qin Yu picked up the water bottle to pour water, he suddenly remembered something, "Oh no, tea leaves."

  Qin Yu hastily arrived at the warehouse, instructing his servant to open the package containing tea leaves, carefully inspecting it before finally letting out a long sigh of relief, "It's okay, it's okay."

  "After a long time, the withered steps can be omitted, but it's better to dry them. Qin Yu thought and ordered, 'Spread a piece of cloth on the ground, and then call some maids to come over and spread these tea leaves evenly on top.'"

  "Yes, young master." The servant said, and then quickly took a roll of fabric from the warehouse, went to the front yard, and spread it out on the ground. Fortunately, Qingfeng House was big enough; otherwise, it would have been difficult to lay it out.

  Before long, the maids arrived at the warehouse and carried the tea leaves to the front yard. They spread the tea leaves onto a cloth bit by bit. Qin Yu watched from the side, occasionally saying a few words. No choice, if it's too thick, the effect won't be good.

  The tea leaves were laid out, and after a while, it got dark, so they had no choice but to wait until the next day to continue.

  The next day, at dawn, Qin Yu gathered all the maids in Qingfeng House. After the tea leaves were dried for another two hours, Qin Yu went to check on them and felt they were about right. He then ordered the maids to put the tea leaves into bamboo sieves and shake them back and forth.

  Then put it on the cloth and dry it. After repeating this process seven or eight times, Qin Yu nodded in satisfaction, "Thanks to everyone's hard work, you've done a good job."

  The maids heard Qin Yu's praise and said with a smile, "Young master, we are not tired."

  Jia Ding can do this job, but Qin Yu doesn't like it. He feels that the tea leaves made by the maids are more delicious, a weird habit, that's what Qin Yu thinks.

  Ordered the family to set up several iron pots that had been prepared overnight, and immediately started the big business of stir-frying tea.

  Qin Yu didn't order the servants to take action, it was all done by the maids. Qin Yu kept reminding them from the side, and the maids were a bit nervous because Qin Yu took it very seriously. Because of their nervousness, they ruined several pots of tea leaves. Qin Yu did not blame the maids, but instead encouraged them from time to time.

  Gradually, the maids became familiar with the entire process, their operating techniques becoming more and more skilled, and finally, the tea leaves began to show up as finished products.

  The weather was originally hot, and the tea-roasting fire made it even hotter. The maids were all sweating profusely, especially the ones responsible for roasting the tea, whose clothes were stuck to their bodies, revealing their curves. Qin Yu couldn't help but swallow his saliva at the sight.

  And those few maids also intentionally or unintentionally let Qin Yu see, making Qin Yu's flames rise straight up, of course, not in anger.

  The thoughts of the maids, Qin Yu also understood, and did not blame them, nor was there any reason to. After all, Qin Yu was not a decent person either. However, Qin Yu just took a look and wouldn't mess around, it was enough to satisfy his eyes. Besides, with the big wedding approaching, Qin Yu didn't want to stir up any trouble either.

  Even if I were to fool around, I would have to find those extraordinary ones. The maids may look decent, but they are all quite ordinary. Moreover, one of my future wives is a princess, and if I were to bring in a bunch of concubines, who knows what kind of trouble that would stir up.

  After roasting the tea leaves, they shrunk by more than half. The tea leaves themselves had moisture content and needed to remove the waste from roasting, so the final product was only 31-32 kilograms of tea, luckily enough for Qin Yu to drink.

  Qin Yu looked at the well-fried tea leaves, then picked up a piece of tea leaf and smelled it, put it in his mouth and chewed it for a while, let out a long sigh, and said, "Everyone has worked hard, all will be rewarded."

  Qin Yu finished speaking and took out two silver coins from the money pouch on his waist, handing them to the tea-frying maid, "Take it, you girls can split it among yourselves."

  "Thank you, young master." The several maids who were frying tea happily bowed and said.

  Qin Yu nodded and immediately ordered the maids to put away the tea leaves, placing them in a room in the backyard. All they needed to do was wait quietly for one or two days, and the smoky flavor would dissipate, the remaining moisture would evaporate, and then they could drink the tea.

  Qin Yu was busy on this side, Cheng Huailiang and Cheng Huaimo came over once, and immediately felt uninteresting, so they didn't pay attention to it anymore. In their opinion, isn't it just tea leaves? It's not like it's something good, the taste is terrible, really can't understand why Qin Yu is so particular about tea leaves.

  Frying tea is no big secret in modern times, and Qin Yu naturally knew it too. However, whether the brewed tea tastes good or not is beyond Qin Yu's control. After all, craftsmanship is key, and Qin Yu was just a theorist, while the maids were newbies.

  Although the quality of this tea cannot be guaranteed, there is one thing that Qin Yu can confirm: the roasted tea leaves are definitely a hundred times better than those from the Tang Dynasty. At least, that's what Qin Yu thinks. The tea from the Tang Dynasty was something that Qin Yu truly couldn't get used to drinking.