The techniques for frying tea include flipping, grabbing, kneading and twisting. After Jiang Miao pours the tea leaves into the iron pan, he quickly pushes them apart with his hands to make them heated evenly. Then he quickly stir-fries them with his hands to prevent some places from being burnt.
After a while, the fragrant tea aroma was released along with the burning flames. After smelling this aroma, the people present were refreshed and their minds became much clearer.
Most of the people present were ordinary people. Those who were better off had also drunk tea before. But how could the old tea with old leaves and stems compare to the new tea just picked from the branches? The difference was immediately apparent from the fragrance they exuded. Those who had never drunk tea were even more excited. This tea really smelled good. No wonder rich people all drank tea. Isn't it much better than tasteless water
Thinking that they can grow and make tea by themselves in the future, all the people's faces are full of expectations. Although the price of mountain products has increased significantly after the harvest, the dangers in the mountains can be fatal. Especially in summer, there are many poisonous snakes and insects in the mountains. If you are bitten by accident, no matter how many mountain products you pick up, it will be useless. If the tea business can be successful, they will not have to go up the mountain to risk their lives when they encounter more dangerous seasons and weather in the future.
Jiang Miao was concentrating, stirring the food non-stop. The pan was very hot, and he would not get burned if he kept moving his hands. If he stopped suddenly, he would be burned easily.
Pei Che stood beside him, watching his movements closely, thinking that if he could learn it sooner, he wouldn't have to stir the tea leaves in this hot pot. Pei Che felt that he was a martial artist after all, so his ability to withstand heat was definitely better than Jiang Miao's.
After a long period of frying and rolling, the color of the tea leaves in the pot gradually changed from the initial green to dark green, and after being roasted by the fire, the dark green turned into dark black. At this time, the moisture of the tea leaves has been almost dried up, and the originally stretched leaves have curled into a ball, and the tender buds are standing upright like needles. The tea leaves in the original pot, after frying, are only piled up in a thin layer at the bottom of the pot. Jiang Miao looked at the finished tea with satisfaction, and a strong self-confidence burst out in his heart, and he suddenly felt energetic in everything he did.
The freshly fried tea leaves were spread out in a clean basket to cool. During this time, Jiang Miao took out a jar and put some lime in it. Cangzhou has many mountains and forests, and it is always humid no matter what season it is. If the lime is not put in to absorb water, the tea leaves will probably get moldy due to the moisture if they are placed alone in the jar.
After putting the lime in, he put two sheets of white paper inside to prevent the tea leaves from coming into contact with the lime. After a while, the tea leaves had completely cooled down, and Jiang Miao took out the paper, wrapped most of the tea leaves and put them into the jar, leaving only a small handful.
Nearly ten kilograms of fresh tea leaves only produced less than two kilograms of dried tea leaves. In total, it takes about four or five kilograms to produce one kilogram. Although the shrinkage is serious, the price of the tea leaves is worth such a complicated process.
In modern times, 20 grams of mother tree Da Hong Pao can be auctioned for 280,000 yuan, which is equivalent to about 10,000 yuan per gram. Jiang Miao was shocked when he heard it. After deducting the rent, water, electricity, labor and food materials, the net profit of his small shop was less than 200,000 yuan a year. He worked hard for a year, but it was not worth 20 grams of tea. At this moment, Jiang Miao felt the disparity of the world.
Although the price of tea in ancient times was not as high as that of this tree, the expensive tea was still extremely expensive. Take the tea Pei Che drank, for example. He drank Junshan Yinzhen, which was said to be picked from an old tree hundreds of years ago. The annual output was not much, and one tael of tea cost more than ten taels of silver, and one catty cost more than two hundred taels. Tea was purchased uniformly by the Duke Zhongguo's Mansion. Everyone had different tastes, so there were many types purchased. Among these teas, the tea that Pei Che liked to drink was actually relatively cheap.
Jiang Miao didn't understand, but he also understood that as an old aristocratic family, all utensils should match their status. If someone comes to visit your home and the tea you serve is too cheap, others will either think you are being rude or that your family is in decline. If the news gets out, you will lose face and dignity. Therefore, many aristocratic families who have fallen on hard times like to pretend to be rich. Even if they are running out of money, they still can't let go of their so-called dignity and spend money beyond their means.
Jiang Miao was looking forward to Pei Che's favor for his tea this time. He almost had a heart attack just hearing about tea costing more than 200 taels per pound. Jiang Miao was not very good at making tea. When he usually drank tea, he would just put some tea leaves into the cup and then pour hot water over it. It was very simple and crude. Fortunately, Pei Che also studied the tea ceremony. He ordered someone to bring some tea sets and the handful of tea leaves that he had just left, and began his performance.
The smooth movements stunned everyone. Pei Che was good-looking and his movements were smooth. Even if he was just sitting under an old tree that had just sprouted, he seemed to be in an elegant hall, which made people feel that it was a feast for the eyes.
Jiang Miao stared at his every move intently, with pride and admiration unconsciously appearing on his face. When Pei Che met his gaze, he couldn't help but chuckle, which made Jiang Miao's face flush.
"Everyone, try this tea and see how it tastes." Pei Che divided the tea into many small cups and invited everyone present to taste it together.
The people around felt a little uneasy when they saw such exquisite white porcelain tea sets. They were afraid that their hands would shake while drinking tea and break other people's cups, and they would not be able to afford the compensation. It is said that the tea sets of rich people are sold in sets, and if one is broken, the whole set will be thrown away.
Jiang Miao saw everyone's concerns, and stepped forward to distribute the tea to everyone, saying with a smile: "Everyone just drink it, these cups will stay here, and we can all taste the new tea when it is brewed later."
Although other people were not very good at tasting tea, they could still feel whether it tasted good or not. This tea did not taste bitter and numb like the ones they had drunk before. After drinking it, they only felt their mouths watering and the fragrance lingered on their lips and teeth.
Pei Che brewed it himself, so of course he had to taste it. As soon as he took a sip, his eyebrows raised, obviously the taste was beyond his expectations. From a fair point of view, this tea is still inferior to Junshan Yinzhen, but from a personal point of view, this is the best tea in Pei Che's heart.
After a group of people finished drinking the big pot of tea, they felt more excited about the tea business and their faces showed more enthusiasm.
In the next few days, Jiang Miao stayed in Tuyan Village, roasting the tea leaves picked every day into dry tea and storing them in the jar.
After Qingming, tea picking is not so intense. The temperature rises now, and tea trees grow rapidly. Often, after one night, there are many more tea leaves on the branches. Jiang Miao selected two clever villagers in each village and asked them to be responsible for frying tea leaves. Before teaching, he said that the tea leaves fried by each village would be sold separately, and they would bear the cost of the tea leaves themselves, regardless of whether they were good or bad. When these people heard this, they all studied very seriously. It was related to their own interests, so they naturally had a different spirit when learning.
Among these people, there are old and young, men and women. The women are delicate, while the men are bold. Their personalities are different, and the taste of the tea they roast is also different.
The vigorous tea picking and tea roasting business continued until after Grain Rain. The roasted tea leaves were divided into different grades, sealed in jars with strips, waiting for merchants to come and buy.
Jiang Miao and Pei Che discussed it and decided to target the areas north of Cangzhou, which is Liangjing.
In previous years, they would go to places further south to buy tea. Because the journey was long and difficult, the tea was more expensive. After buying it in the north, only the rich could afford it. They were closer to the northern cities, so they could lower the price of tea a little, which benefited the merchants. Naturally, they didn't need to invite them next year, so everyone rushed to come.
Of course, Manager Chen had to take charge of the business. He left Cangzhou with a small jar of tea of various qualities. If anyone came to Cangzhou with a note with the seal of the shop, they would sell the tea to him.
After Manager Chen left, Jiang Miao was excited for two days, but soon calmed down. During this free time, he realized that he was really too tired recently. He hadn't been so tired for a long time, and the temperature suddenly dropped. After a night of heavy rain, Jiang Miao tragically fell ill.
This was the second time he got sick since he came to the ancient times, the first time was when he first came here. Of course, the time when he got beaten by someone in the middle was not considered an illness.
When he got sick for the first time, there was no one around to take care of him, only the neighbor uncle asked a few questions. At that time, Jiang Miao felt that getting sick was no big deal, everyone would get sick, just take care of it. He went to get medicine by himself, cooked his own meals, and didn't feel wronged. All living beings suffer, why should he be an exception
However, when he was sick this time, many people were around him to ask about his health. Pei Che even took a rare leave to take care of him at home. He took care of all the big and small things by himself, and was determined not to let Jiang Miao get tired. Maybe it was because he hadn't been sick for too long, but this time the cold came with great force. He had a fever day and night for several days, but no matter when Jiang Miao woke up, he could see Pei Che sitting by the bed with a caring look on his face, serving him medicine and food. Jiang Miao was not used to being taken care of. While he felt uncomfortable, he felt sweet in his heart. Maybe it was because sick people were more fragile. Every time he woke up and saw Pei Che, his heart softened.
At this moment, he completely let go of worldly prejudices and willingly accepted the fact that he would be tied to a man for the rest of his life. Isn't it just a house, two people, three meals and four seasons that people want? Having someone who shares the same mind by your side is more important than anything else. Although feelings are too easy to change, Jiang Miao believes that no matter what happens in the future, he will not regret the decision he made at this time.
(End of this chapter)