"Everyone, please follow me."
A young man dressed as a servant saw that all the people listed on the post had arrived, and led them inside as instructed.
Before everyone had time to be disappointed that Mingzhengxuan was just a big house in the countryside and not the leisurely and elegant place for drinking tea and discussing philosophy as they had imagined, they were shocked by what they saw along the way.
From the hallway to the inside, there are large baskets on every corridor. The baskets are placed on benches, and they are full of green tea leaves. These tea leaves are larger, with two or three leaves on one bud. Compared with the freshest one bud and one leaf, they are naturally rougher. After being stir-fried, the tea brewed is richer than the one bud and one leaf. Everyone has different tastes in tea, and some people prefer this kind.
There are one or two people sitting next to each basket. They are lowering their heads and carefully picking out the tea leaves inside, picking out the old stems or broken leaves or other impurities mixed in. After the moisture has dried up, they can be put into the pan for frying.
The green scenery makes everyone feel relaxed. After passing through the first tea drying yard, a strong tea fragrance rushes to the nose. This tea fragrance is not the fragrance when brewing tea, but a stronger one, accompanied by smoke and fire, and the fragrance roasted in the hot temperature. The originally light fragrance of green tea is extremely tempting at this moment. People who like tea can't help but take a deep sniff, and their faces are slightly tipsy, as if they have been intoxicated by the tea fragrance.
Looking around, there were seven or eight large pots in the huge yard, and there was a fire under each pot. Even if you didn't get close, just looking at it made you feel hot. There were several people standing in front of the pots, stir-frying something in the pots with their hands. As they stir-fried, the tea fragrance became more tempting. They looked carefully and found that the green-turned-black tea in the pots was actually tea leaves.
They knew that tea leaves were fried, but they had never seen the specific process of frying tea. When they went to the south to buy tea, the owners of the manors wanted to cover up the tea mountains with something, so they would never let them see these things. As businessmen, they could understand, but why were the people of Cangzhou so generous
"Isn't he afraid that we might learn it?" someone asked in a low voice. His shop was the only one of its kind and he would never show anyone how to make it.
The one being asked shook his head: "Go and learn it, but what are you going to do with it? Pick some leaves from the tree and fry them in a pan?"
Uh... yes, I've never heard of tea being produced in the area north of Cangzhou. Even in Cangzhou, tea was only produced this year, otherwise this area would never have been poor for so many years.
Some people do find it strange. If tea grows on the mountain, why has it only been discovered now? But if you think about it carefully, you will understand. People who go up the mountain are ordinary people who have never drunk tea. People who know tea never go up the mountain. Moreover, the tea tree is very different from the roasted tea leaves. Even if they see them, they probably won't confuse them.
The group watched the tea frying with great interest for a while, and the men even wanted to stir the tea themselves, but were politely persuaded to stop. At the reminder of the guide, the group continued to walk inside.
This is another yard. There are many people in the yard. Some of them are cutting paper, some are weighing the cooled tea leaves with a small scale and dividing them into half a catty, one catty, and two catties. Some are wrapping the tea leaves with paper, tying ropes, and then stamping the seal with a red seal with three big characters "Cangzhou Green" written on it. It should be that Manager Xu sent a letter back and told them about this.
Everyone's movements were so quick and swift, and the neat assembly line greatly improved their work efficiency and also dazzled the group of people.
After looking for a while, they walked further in. The yard seemed much smaller. In front of an open space, there were many chairs. The servant who led the way asked them to sit down and then left.
These people sat down according to their closeness and could not help but discuss the procedures they had just seen. This trip was a feast for the eyes, and it was much more interesting than what they had imagined before, just sitting together drinking tea and chatting.
After reading these procedures, some people could not help but have an idea. Since tea can be grown in Cangzhou, can he buy a piece of mountain land in Cangzhou to grow tea and sell it? In this way, he would not have to worry about others getting ahead of him in the tea business next year.
Amidst the discussion, someone noticed that two men walked out of a door on one side. One of them was in casual clothes, but his aura and excellent appearance could not be concealed by a piece of clothing. The other one had a smiling face and looked handsome and lively, making people feel close to him at first sight, as if he were a nephew of the family.
"Dear guests, you have come from far away. I am sorry that I have not entertained you well." The handsome young man bowed to them. After hearing this, these people hurriedly said they dared not.
If tea was the most talked-about topic these days, then Pei Che, the governor of Cangzhou, and his male wife were the second most talked-about topic. Whether it was the imperial decree granting the marriage or the disparity in status between the two, it could arouse people's speculation.
Their speculations were similar to those of Liang Jing before, but businessmen were more cautious and preferred conspiracy theories. In their opinion, the possibility that this marriage was forced was far greater than other possibilities.
However, after meeting the two, they realized they were wrong. Because from the moment they entered the room, the noble man from the Duke's Mansion had never taken his eyes off his male wife. With a faint smile, he looked gently at the handsome young man they were dealing with. This kind of natural expression of emotion was definitely not something that could be faked.
The guest who was reminded smiled embarrassedly and reached out to take the teacup. This tea must have been freshly roasted. The clear green tea soup in the white porcelain cup looked particularly beautiful. After taking another sip, it tasted more indescribable than what I had tasted from Manager Xu before. In short, it was delicious.
"You have all come from afar, you must be here for Cangzhou Green. I won't waste any time, our tea is divided into three grades: high, medium and low, and the price of each grade is different. Because you are our first batch of customers in Cangzhou, in order to express our welcome to you, we have decided to give you a discount and promotion, and give you the biggest discount so that your trip will be worthwhile." Jiang Miao said with a smile, his expression very sincere.
The merchants sitting below said "good" in cooperation, and asked what kind of discount it was. Jiang Miao didn't rush to answer, but clapped his hands. As soon as the sound started, a person came in from the small door next to him and handed out a piece of paper to everyone present.
Merchants all know how to read, and they often have to sign contracts. Those who can't read have been cheated into bankruptcy. They took the "contract" and looked at it carefully. The more they looked, the more frightened they became. It was more like a bundled sale than a discount. The pricing method on it was a tiered pricing, with different prices written on it, which made people dizzy. Some people felt dizzy after reading it, and couldn't help but take out the small abacus they carried with them to start calculating. For a while, the whole yard was filled with the sound of abacus clacking.
Soon, they figured out that the best quality tea was the most expensive if bought alone, and that buying all three together was indeed cheaper, and the more they bought, the better the price. They couldn't help but compare the price of Cangzhou Green with other teas in the south, and found that no matter what quality, the tea was cheaper than in the south.
They were delighted in their hearts, but frowned on the surface and began to raise questions.
Some people say, "This Cangzhou Green is new and may not be as popular as other well-known teas. If you buy it and leave it in the warehouse, won't you lose money?"
Some people say, "This tea tastes a bit light, and the northerners, who have strong tastes, may not like it. If we ship it there, we will have to lower the price, and the cost is too high to justify it."
"… "
They talked at once, and although their reasons were different, the central idea was very clear, which was to lower the price of Cangzhou Green, purchase it at the lowest cost, and then sell it at a high price when returning to their hometown.
Jiang Miao just listened with a smile, but did not respond. After everyone had finished speaking, he spoke: "Not long ago, my family's caravan came back from the south to buy food and found out something. This year, the south got hot early, and the tea trees grew wildly before Qingming Festival. The tea garden owners did not prepare early, and were caught off guard. They could only watch the tea leaves grow old on the trees. Therefore, the tea production in the south has decreased a lot this year, especially the high-quality tea, which is even scarcer."
"There are wealthy people in the north and a lot of rich people in the south. I'm sure they have bought all the tea. Even if they haven't, the selling price must be much higher than in previous years. It's really not worth it."
Everyone was a little surprised when they heard the news. If it was true as he said, then most of the people who went to the south this year would have made a wasted trip.
"As for Cangzhou Green, although it is the first time it has appeared in front of everyone, its quality is obvious to all. I believe that people who know tea will not make a mistake. Even if people are not used to it at first, as long as they drink it a few more times, I believe it will still attract a group of regular customers, and it will definitely not be a loss to hold stocks."
"In addition, this price is set because you are our first batch of guests from Cangzhou. The next batch will not have this price. I hope you can consider it as soon as possible. I just received a letter from Manager Xu saying that another group of guests has arrived. Please consider it, and we will leave first."
After Jiang Miao finished this last sentence, he and Pei Che, who had not said a word from beginning to end, left the yard. As soon as they left the yard, Pei Che asked, "Did Manager Xu send a letter?"
"No, I'm just trying to coax them." Jiang Miao said, "If we don't put a little pressure on them, they will think about it tomorrow. What if after a long time, this group of people come together to lower the price?"
Pei Che said: "You still have a way." He really liked to see Jiang Miao's confidence when he talked about business, as if everything was under control.
"Of course." Jiang Miao smiled proudly, "After all, I have been doing business for so many years, and I have mastered some sales tactics. But this is also due to the scarcity of tea. If it were something else, I'm afraid it would be difficult to convince them." He is still very self-aware. He is still young to deal with these old foxes. Fortunately, the tea business is a seller's market, so he doesn't have to rack his brains to deal with them.
(End of this chapter)