To the southeast of Xinyang Army is Zhenlei Mountain. The mountains are not high, the trees are dense, and the scenery is quiet. After leaving Xinyang Military City, walking for more than ten miles, you will find endless hills and hills. This area has a lot of rain and is filled with moisture all year round, making it a good place to grow tea.
Wang Xiaolie took Zhang Jun and set off early in the morning to the tea farm in the south of the city.
At this time, tea planting was strictly managed by the government, and casual planting and trading were generally not allowed. Instead, it is arranged uniformly by the government, and when the season comes, it is purchased by the government. Sales channels are in the hands of the government, so managers naturally find ways to exploit growers.
According to Lu Yu's "The Book of Tea", Guangzhou ranks first in Huainan Tea Farm and second in Xinyang Army. However, in the Song Dynasty, the tea plantations near Guangzhou became important. Although Xinyang Army also grows tea, it is not easy to make group tea and sell it to the government. Most of them make loose tea.
When we arrived at the teahouse, the management officials had already come to greet us. Please ask Wang Xiaolie and others to sit down in the hall and serve them carefully.
After tasting the tea brought to him, Wang Xiaoxing said: "While traveling along the way, I saw that this area is shrouded in clouds and mist and is a good place to grow tea. Why did the imperial court set up a tea farm in Guangzhou but not here? After tasting this tea, it was indeed bad. Some flavor."
The official said: "After observing, the Xinyang Army has been growing tea for many years, but the tea quality has never been good. Moreover, the production is not much, so the government naturally does not set up a tea farm here. We collected it and took it to Guangzhou for sale."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Now is the time to harvest tea. I wonder if there is anything left to harvest."
The official said: "Most of them have been harvested. The remaining ones are mostly new growth. They are already in spring and are not worth much."
Wang Xiaolie sighed: "Tea is divided into Yuqian and Mingqian. It's almost Qingming now, so it's really late. I have a method for making tea, and I came here to try it. You ask the tea farmer to come over, and I will teach you. They. Practice more this year, and wait until next year to pick good tea to make."
Officials say so. He quickly went out to find a few teahouses and saluted Wang Xiaolie.
Wang Xiaolie saw five or six people standing there, all of them elderly. Obviously this official didn't understand what Wang Xiaolie meant, so he found a few older and more mature people to avoid trouble. Wang Xiaolie wants all the tea farmers, what's the use of a few?
In my previous life, I only watched documentaries and knew the general steps of making tea. Wang Xiaolie actually didn't know what details to pay attention to and how to operate the technology. We can only rely on these tea growers to do more and try more to perfect the technology.
After listening to Wang Xiaolie's instructions, the officials had no choice but to find all the people in the tea mountain. There are about twenty or thirty families, old and young.
Looking at everyone, Wang Xiaolie said: "It's the Qingming Festival, and the tea now is not very good. There is no other way, I have to do this this year. I have a method of making tea here, but I have never had a chance to try it. So I taught him. You guys, practice more this year. Once you are proficient, you can pick tea early next year and make new tea leaves."
All the tea farmers were obedient, and no one dared to say anything.
Wang Xiaolie said: "If you make it well, I will give you a reward. Also, you don't have to hand over the tea to the tea farm this year. You can handle it yourself. How you grow tea in the future depends on whether you do well or not." "
After hearing this, Chahu was overjoyed, and the atmosphere was obviously much more lively.
In the past, it was tea farm officials who determined the income of these people. When the harvest was good, the price of tea was lowered, forcing them to work endlessly. If the harvest is not good, let alone, the officials will force them not to stop for a moment.
The tea method of the Song Dynasty was changed again and again, countless times. But when it comes to changing the tea law, what the government cares about is just how much revenue it earns. It was nothing more than that it was originally under the direct control of the government and was instead handed over to tea merchants. Or instead of using tea merchants, you can directly send officials to manage it. There is always no benefit to the tea growers at the bottom. Wang Xiaolie asked them not to pay tea this year, and they would have a good life at least for a year.
Looking at the sky, Wang Xiaolie said: "The sun has already risen, and it is a bit late to pick tea. There is no way, I am too busy to stay here for a long time. You go pick some tea, and I will give you the method. I will do it later. How you do it depends on your understanding."
After receiving the order, the tea pickers in the tea house picked up their tools and went to the mountain to pick tea.
Wang Xiaolie, Zhang Jun and others were checking the tea-making equipment in the shed. At this time, it is all steamed green, even the loose tea is the same, but it is not pressed into a ball. Steaming tea leaves can easily damage the tea leaves, resulting in loss of nutrients and a lighter taste. Therefore, most tea-making methods in later generations of China did not use steamed green tea. Although there are many methods, the most popular is fried greens.
After reading it once, Wang Xiaolie ordered two large iron pots to be brought for making tea.
Seeing Wang Xiaolie commanding people to set up the pot, Zhang Jun said: "Zhizhou, what are you doing? It needs to be fried. If the tea is fried in the pot, won't it be cooked? What flavor will it have? When drinking tea, you just add spices. It will have a special flavor.”
Wang Xiaolie said: "Tea itself is a rare good medicine in the world. It has its own fragrance, so why add spices? My method can make a good tea with full fragrance and sweetness. Just watch it and let it go in the future. Just practice diligently, Chato."
Zhang Jun curled his lips, somewhat disbelieving. At this time, there were ways to drink tea, and there were even special tea sets. People in the Song Dynasty also liked tea fighting. There were explanations for everything from the tea leaves to the utensils, to the water, to the floating powder when making tea. How to fight the fried tea?
Wang Xiaolie was too lazy to say anything more, and just inspected the equipment carefully. People drink tea. In fact, it is not just tea. Many habits are liked by people at the top, become popular, and gradually become popular among the people. Just like Henan, because a big leader liked black tea, the government soon made black tea popular, and within a year or two it became popular throughout Henan. The place where Xinyang Maojian is produced also quickly produces Xinyang Red.
As long as you like it, people around you will naturally like it too. As status rises, how difficult is it for society as a whole to change its habits? As long as the tea is made well, all the previous rules will have to be changed.
After about half an hour, the tea pickers came back. Wang Xiaolie asked them to pour out the tea and let it dry under the shed for two hours.
At noon, the officials in charge of the tea farm cooked some game. It was nothing more than pheasants, hares, and fish caught in the nearby river. Wang Xiao was invited to hunt for wine and meat. In this era, the taste of game meat is naturally not as good as that of domesticated food, it is just a fun thing to eat.
Wait until noon to see if the time is about the same. Wang Xiaolie ordered to collect the dried tea leaves and fry tea next to the pot.
Wang Xiaolie originally wanted to do it himself, but how could the officials be willing? Find a mature and steady person to fry tea in the pot according to Wang Xiaolie's instructions. After frying in one pot, change to another pot and fry again at a slightly lower temperature.
The most important process of green tea is frying. If this step is done well, the quality of the tea will be basically guaranteed. The rest is nothing more than drying, cooling, and re-drying several times to stabilize the quality of the tea.
After the entire craft was taught, the sun was already setting in the west.
Wang Xiaolie said: "With this new method of preparation, the tea will have a different aroma. Every half a month, you will send it to me. If I taste it well, I will tell you."
The official on the side said: "Observe, I have never heard of anyone making tea like this before. It smells like smoke, so I don't know if it tastes good."
Wang Xiaolie said: "Firework gas is also a taste in the world. As long as it is done well, how can it not taste good? Just do it with your heart. If you make good tea, I will reward you."
All the tea farmers expressed their thanks. What they are after is the reward. As for the new tea, who cares?
