Chapter 28: The Classic of Tea

  Inside the house, Ge Shou and Song Kai sat on either side, with a wooden table in between, on which was placed the land deed.

  "Song Lang, this is the land deed issued by the government office, it has legal effect. If you think there's no problem, we can complete the handover." Ge Shou said with a serious face.

  Song Kai roughly browsed the deed, found no issues, and took out eighteen gold ingots, placing them on the table. He smiled and said: "Ge Lao, from now on we'll be neighbors. You'll specialize in sericulture, I'll focus on selling tea - not a bad arrangement."

  Ge Shou burst out laughing, "Being able to be neighbors with Song Lang is naturally a very good thing."

  Song Kai stood up and walked towards the tea garden, with Ge Lao following behind him.

  There is no clear boundary between the tea garden and the mulberry garden. In the past, because it was all Ge Lao's, there were not many houses in the tea garden, and most of the houses were built in the mulberry garden. Now that they are separated, Song Kai's first thought was to build more houses in the tea garden, so that when summer comes, he can bring his wife, concubine, and others to play here... just thinking about it is intoxicating, this is simply a paradise on earth.

  Upon arrival at the tea garden, more than a dozen farm workers were already waiting there. Some of these workers lived in nearby villages, while others resided in simple wooden huts within the mulberry garden, such as Qingniang, who had been living in the mulberry garden since her parents' death and was in charge of all matters big and small concerning both the mulberry and tea gardens.

  "Lang Jun, the tea leaves and iron pot you mentioned are ready," Qingniang walked forward and said in a low voice, "However, if this tea is roasted with fire, it will affect the flavor. We've tried it before."

  Song Kai nodded, although he wasn't too familiar with tea leaves, but after all, his past life liked to drink tea, so he basically knew the basic methods of green tea and black tea.

  "Tea frying is a technical job," Song Kai walked over to check the tea leaves that had been picked, and he specifically instructed the farm workers in the tea garden yesterday to pick them early in the morning, only picking the two leaves with buds on the top of the tea tree branches.

  "It's okay, although the quantity is not much, but if it's only sold in my store, it should be able to hold on until next year's Qingming Festival," Song Kai nodded while looking at it, then said to Wang Shu with a crooked mouth: "Wang Shu, come over, I'll teach you the basic method of stir-frying tea, you do it."

  Wang Shu excitedly rubbed his hands together, his crooked mouth opening wide, almost squeezing his eyes shut.

  The wok is set up, the fire cannot be large, it must be moderate. Each time the tea leaves are stir-fried, they cannot be too many. After the tea leaves are put in the pot, they must be quickly stirred evenly, using the entire arm to stir the bottom of the pot. When the tea leaves are slightly discolored, they must be removed from the pot. This step is called "killing green".

  Killing green is the most important step in making green tea. Whether the tea leaves can brew out fragrance and remove bitterness mainly depends on this step.

  Song Kai just said, let Uncle Wang operate in person, after all Song Kai only had theory and no practice.

  After a big handful of tea leaves were shaken down, Wang Shu took a deep breath and looked at Song Kai with a tragic gaze.

  Song Kai smiled and patted Wang Shu's shoulder, "Uncle Wang, don't be nervous, even if you mess it up, I won't deduct your wages. Practice makes perfect, take your time, once you master this skill, I'll give you a raise."

  Song Kai said so, Wang Shu pouted his mouth and smiled foolishly, and his heart was put down.

  Quickly stir, tea leaves slightly change color, a refreshing aroma instantly fills the air, then disappears.

  On the side watching Ge Shou was originally smiling, but after smelling the tea fragrance, his old face suddenly changed, staring at the tea leaves in the pot in surprise.

  In Ge Shou's opinion, Song Kai was just a young whippersnapper who wouldn't know the first thing about tea. Most people drink tea by mixing it with scallions, ginger, garlic and vinegar, which is really a waste of good tea leaves. In Ge Shou's view, tea should be enjoyed in its natural state, savoring the bitterness and fragrance, that's what makes it elegant.

  But smelling this faint fragrance, Ge Shou suddenly became unsettled. He suddenly thought of something and stared at Song Kai, his voice trembling: "Song... Song Lang! Could it be that you've seen Master Lu's 'Tea Scripture'?"

  "Lu Lao?" Song Kai looked at Ge Shou with a puzzled expression, then instructed: "It should be about done, take the tea leaves out of the pot."

  "Ah," Ge Shou excitedly pulled Song Kai, "It's Lu Yu, the venerable elder of tea, also known as the Tea Saint."

  Song Kai realized that the methods of making and tasting tea had already taken shape in the Tang Dynasty, and the tea culture of later generations, including Japan's Tea Ceremony, were all influenced by Lu Yu's book "The Classic of Tea".

  Thinking of this, Song Kai felt a little guilty, after all, he didn't know much about the art of tea, just some simple knowledge.

  Ge Shou pulled Song Kai's arm, "Song Lang, you must have seen Lu Lao's 'Tea Scripture', right? Can't you... hehe, tell me about its contents?"

  Song Kai nodded and said: "I've read a bit, but I've forgotten most of it. However, the method of making tea is still remembered."

  Ge Shou's expression was solemn, and he said in a low voice: "Song Lang, you are indeed a man of high integrity and broad-mindedness! This method of making tea is not passed on by other tea houses, but Song Lang has taught them such a precious skill. Ge Mou... Ge Mou is ashamed to be inferior!"

  Song rubbed his head, just smiled, and secretly called himself ashamed. It turned out that the method of making tea was so precious. Well, it's true, now the "Tea Classics" has not been widely spread, and the method of making tea is naturally precious. As for semi-fermented red tea and fully fermented black tea, they have not appeared yet, maybe I can try to make some in the future.

  The first pot of tea came out, and the faint fragrance filled the air. Song Kai rubbed his fingers together, sniffed the aroma, and said, "It seems that the time is a bit insufficient, Uncle Wang, let's slightly extend the brewing time for the next pot."

  "Yes!" Wang Shu looked at the first pot of tea leaves and was also confident, starting to make the second pot of tea.

  Song Kai instructed the others to do the next steps, which mainly involved kneading and then drying, these two steps didn't require much skill, Song Kai was relieved.

  "Judging from the situation, it'll probably be around dusk when the first batch of tea leaves can be roasted," Song Kai muttered to himself, "I'll just wait here for now and leave after I've brought the first batch of tea leaves."

  After half a day of familiarization, the tea garden workers were all familiar with the process. Wang Uncle twisted his mouth and became the core figure, smiling foolishly, constantly stirring the tea leaves in the pot. Others were drying, rubbing, and Qingniang wore an apron, coordinating and arranging everything.

  As they still had a long wait ahead of them, Song Kai walked with his hands behind his back towards the depths of the tea garden.

  The mountains here are not high, but the forest on the mountain is very dense. The unexploited mountains are full of thorns and bushes, and of course, there are many herbs and wild animals.

  Song Kai walked along the small path in the tea garden all the way up, after passing through the tea garden, he arrived at the foot of the mountain, and further up was a forest, with undulating hills connecting to form a continuous piece, surrounding more than half of Taihu Lake.

  "What's this? I'm going!"

  Song Kai was startled and looked down at a tree root, where a large black Ganoderma lucidum grew.

  "A wild lingzhi of this size would be worth at least a few thousand yuan in the future," Song Kai quickly squatted down, muttering to himself.

  Unfortunately, I didn't bring any tools with me.

  After hesitating for a moment, Song Kai still stretched out his hand and dug into the ground. This life was naturally determined not to be a doctor anymore, but digging up this lingzhi shouldn't count as going back on his word. This kind of wild lingzhi, although its medicinal effect isn't as miraculous as those described in martial arts novels, is still quite effective in treating shortness of breath and calming the mind. Who knows when it might come in handy? Even if he couldn't use it himself, selling it to Hui Chun Tang might be able to exchange for a few hundred wen.

  Just as he was digging, the sound of footsteps echoed behind him, and then Qingniang's figure appeared. She still held a cloak in her hand: "Lang Jun, what are you doing?"