Chapter 28: Seizing Power

  The words of the two people caused Gao Mingyue to turn her head and look around, and when she saw the letter, she was also shocked.

  To be precise, what's astonishing is not the content of the letter but the handwriting in this letter about tea-picking techniques. In ancient times, scholars would practice calligraphy from a young age and generally learn to imitate model letters. The more aristocratic one's family background was, the better the model letters they learned to imitate would be, mostly those written by famous calligraphers.

  Gao Qianxue and Gao Mingyue were both members of the royal family, and from a young age they had been studying the art of calligraphy. As a result, they both wrote excellent characters and could recognize many famous calligraphers' styles. At first glance, they immediately recognized Lingyun's handwriting, which was none other than the extremely famous Qianmen Xiansheng style. This style was learned from the great master Zhiyong, who was a Buddhist monk and still alive at that time. However, he also had a secular identity as the seventh-generation descendant of Wang Xizhi, the Sage of Calligraphy. Zhiyong devoted himself to studying Wang Xizhi's calligraphy for thirty years and became one of the greatest calligraphers of his generation. His most famous work was the "Thousand Character Essay" in true script. During the Southern Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Liang ordered the selection of 1,000 non-repeating Chinese characters from Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, which were compiled into a text by Zhou Xingsi, creating the first "Thousand Character Essay" in Chinese history. Zhiyong's "Thousand Character Essay" was copied and studied by countless people. Three other great calligraphers of that time, Zhi Guo, Bian Cai, and Yu Shinnan, were all disciples of Zhiyong.

  The calligraphy of such a family has a very distinctive style. Gao Qiu Xue sisters recognized it at a glance, which is exactly the Iron Gate School and also the Wang Right Army's calligraphy. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were not many people who could read books, and most of the children of book-reading families were either from aristocratic families or local tyrants, while poor children couldn't afford to read books. Those who could learn a famous family's calligraphy style were even more exceptional, and most of them came from large families. A scholar's handwriting is like a general's weapon; those who write in a famous family's style are extraordinary, just like generals holding spears, they are obviously from aristocratic families. Writing ordinary characters is like being equipped with an iron spear or long spear, which is only a symbol of ordinary origin.

  Lingyun's calligraphy is as good as Wang Xizhi's, and it's even more impressive that he has mastered the iron gate school of Zhong Yong. His iron gate school calligraphy is already outstanding, at a high level. Even if he doesn't have the same level as Yu Shinan, the difference isn't much. Gao Qianshu couldn't help but think of the time she accidentally heard Lingyun reciting the poem "The Moon is Bright and the Country is Unbearable to Return" by Qu Yuan. With such talent, such good calligraphy, and he can also ride horses, wield swords... what kind of person is this husband? He even knows how to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for drowning victims and has heard of blood transfusions. She suddenly felt that she didn't understand her new husband at all.

  "Is this the new method of picking tea leaves that Yilang was talking about?"

  "Uh-huh." Qinglian nodded.

  The letter only mentioned the method of tea picking, and nothing else. At first glance, it was hard to see what was special about this new way of making tea. However, Gao Qiu Xue already had some expectations for her husband's new tea, "Did Yi Lang say specifically how to make the new tea?"

  "The tea master said he would pan-fry the tea, which means that after picking the new tea according to the method above, he uses a special method to pan-fry it, allowing the tea leaves to maintain their original shape. At this point, the tea can be directly infused without needing to be roasted or cooked, and the flavor is more fragrant and rich."

  "Oh, really?" Gao Qianxue responded thoughtfully, her eyes filled with curiosity.

  At lunchtime, Lingyun had lunch with Gao Bo and Zhang Bo. Although they ate together, it was still a separate meal system. Each person had their own table, and the dishes were naturally served separately. Although Lingyun was not used to eating separately like this as a family, fortunately, the food was good, and several dishes were made very delicately, with great taste.

  "Yi Lang, I heard Qing Lian say that you plan to use a new method to make tea?" Everyone was silent while eating, but after the meal, Gao Qian Xue had someone serve the freshly brewed tea to everyone and asked with a smile.

  Lingyun didn't expect Shallow Snow to find out about this so quickly, if the two little maids hadn't told Shallow Snow, he would have been suspicious instead. After all, the master of the Gao family is Shallow Snow, not him.

  "Yes, indeed, I plan to make some new tea. This kind of pan-fried green tea is most suitable for brewing and can better preserve the original fragrance and essence of the tea leaves. No need to add any seasonings, it has a unique flavor."

  Gao Qianxue smiled and nodded, seemingly completely believing in Lingyun's description of the new tea's wonderful taste. "If such a new tea can really be made, I believe it will definitely be very popular. Our Gao family has many tea houses in Jiangnan, to be honest, when we were going over the accounts just now, Mingyue told me that our tea houses aren't doing well. This is perfect timing, if your new tea becomes popular, it'll revive our tea houses and bring in an unexpected profit. It's also good that you don't have anything on right now, I think I'll hand over these tea houses and the tea shops in each state and county for you to manage. You can get familiar with them first, and when you're more experienced, you can take care of managing the Gao family's affairs."

  Lingyun was somewhat surprised, he originally just didn't get used to the heavy flavor of tea in this dynasty, so he thought it would be good to take advantage of the new tea that could be picked now and make some new tea to satisfy himself. Also, it's a good way to pass the time, let yourself have something to do, and not be idle. But unexpectedly, Gao Shanshui not only didn't oppose his dereliction of duty but also wanted to hand over all the tea gardens and tea shops of the Gao family to him to manage. These tea gardens and shops may be just a small industry for the Gao family, but they represent Gao Shanshui's trust in him, she didn't force him to follow her to discuss those things he didn't want to do now.

  "Thank you!" Lingyun sincerely thanked him. Perhaps, he really couldn't make the Gao family's tea industry bigger and stronger, for the Gao family and for Gao Shanshui, contributing his own strength.

  Tea has been a monopoly of the government since the Tang Dynasty, with heavy taxes imposed. However, during the Sui Dynasty, tea was not yet monopolized, but it had always been a highly demanded commodity. From the nine kings to the common people, everyone loved drinking tea. In fact, tea was also an important trading commodity between the northern barbarians and the Chinese, and tea could be exchanged for horses, fur, and other goods.

  Now with the strong support of Gao Shanshan and such a good external environment, Lingyun believes that his first project after joining Dayou can be done very well.

  Gao Qianxue handed over the more than 30 tea gardens scattered throughout Jiangnan and the more than 100 tea shops opened in various states to Lingyun, directly ordering him to take charge. From then on, all the personnel in these tea gardens and tea shops, from the managers to the apprentices and tea farmers, were all under Lingyun's management. Even Mulan and Qinglian, the two maidservants, were assigned as his project assistants, and more than 20 servants were transferred from the manor to serve as his errand boys. Suddenly, Lingyun had his own project department and subordinates, and looking at the group of people standing in front of him in the east courtyard, he felt a surge of excitement.