Glory

"Let's discuss this back home," Ye Yaming said.

Thus, Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng both suppressed their questions and followed Ye Yaming back to Ye Jia.

Only after entering Ye Chongming's study and dismissing all the servants did Ye Yaming speak: "I need to make tea next, and it must be done fresh at the mountain tea garden. The freshly picked leaves must be processed immediately after withering—they can't be stored. Time is tight, the task is heavy, and we don't have experienced hands yet."

She looked at Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng with a serious expression: "And the tea I'm going to make is something that can surpass Osmanthus Tea—it's a complete revolution in tea-making techniques."

Osmanthus Tea is merely a reprocessed tea—its quality fundamentally depends on the base tea leaves. The invention of pan-fired green tea, however, represents a revolutionary breakthrough in production methods.

Since pan-fired green tea emerged in the Ming Dynasty, why did steamed green tea gradually decline? Why is it that in modern China, aside from a few exceptions like Enshi Yulu, all famous teas are pan-fired green teas?

It's because pan-fired green tea is generally more fragrant, tastes better, and has simpler production techniques.

History has proven the value of pan-fired green tea with facts.

Therefore, when Ye Yaming introduced pan-fired green tea, it was bound to cause an even greater sensation than Osmanthus Tea.

Upon hearing Ye Yaming's words, Ye Hongsheng was merely curious about this new tea's production method. But Ye Chongming immediately recognized the gravity of the situation.

The memory of Osmanthus Tea's explosive sales and the subsequent frustration of having no tea left to sell remained vivid. Should he let such a situation happen again? And if they mass-produced the tea Ye Yaming described, what benefits would it bring to Ye Jia? Beyond money, there was reputation.

Their Ye family could become the premier tea family in the Great Jin Dynasty.

If the Emperor tasted this tea and found it excellent, could Ye Jia possibly become Imperial merchants?

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in that moment.

"All the tea-making masters from the tea factory are yours to command. Do whatever you need. I'll personally supervise—anyone who dares disobey you will be severely punished," he declared decisively. "Make any requests you have. If I can't fulfill them, I'll seek help from Young Master Lu and Qi Gongzi."

No matter what, this tea must be produced.

Ye Yaming shook her head: "I don't want any of the tea-making masters from the tea factory."

"Ah? Why?" Ye Hongsheng asked.

These tea masters had been making tea for Ye Jia their entire lives. Having worked closely with them daily, he believed their character was reliable.

"The production technique for my tea is completely different from what they're used to," Ye Yaming explained. "Originally, I thought their tea knowledge and steady hands would make them better than complete novices. That's why I went with you to meet them today."

She shook her head again: "But I found it won't work."

"Is it because of their attitude?" Ye Chongming asked urgently. "With me there, they wouldn't dare disobey you."

Ye Hongsheng, understanding the tea masters' personalities better, suggested: "If you're going to teach them tea making, shouldn't you first produce a batch? Let them taste it first. When they realize this tea tastes better than all others, they'll naturally be convinced."

"I know. In the face of real skill, no one remains unconvinced. My reason for not using them isn't about their attitude."She looked at the two men. "They are both quite old and lack sufficient physical strength. My tea-making technique requires hands-on work and cannot be done through group collaboration. Fresh leaves won't wait, and the season won't wait either. Given their physical condition, they might be exhausted after processing just ten or so batches."

"After all the effort I put into teaching them, if they can't actually do the work, what's the point? It would be better to teach young people. Once young people learn, they can continue making tea for decades. As for those tea-making masters, even if they are physically capable now, they won't be able to keep up in a few more years."

"Besides, aren't we still purchasing crude tea from those Estate Holders? That crude tea doesn't have a long shelf life and needs to be processed by someone. If you assign all of them to me, what will happen over there?" Ye Chongming frowned and nodded. "That's true."

His granddaughter had only received the ancestors' blessing and inherited the techniques in autumn.

At that time, he didn't fully understand his granddaughter's abilities and didn't have enough trust in her. Moreover, there were no tea leaves available then, so even if he wanted to train tea-making masters, it was too late.

Now spring tea was about to arrive. And the best tea of the year was spring tea.

They had tea leaves and exceptionally skilled tea-making methods, yet they were helpless due to the lack of tea-making masters. This left Ye Chongming at a loss for words.

Ye Hongsheng considered the matter purely from a technical perspective. "How difficult is the new tea processing method? If it's a complete beginner, how long would it take them to learn?"

"Whether it's difficult or not is hard to say." Ye Yaming frowned. "The weather is gradually warming up now, so there should be some tea leaves on the mountains. Why don't we go up the mountain tomorrow, and I'll demonstrate for you."

"Alright." Ye Hongsheng nodded.

"I'm coming too." Ye Chongming said.

Early the next morning before dawn, the grandfather and his two descendants went to the tea mountains in Baiteng County.

The carriage stopped at the villa. Upon entering the courtyard, Ye Chongming instructed the page. "Go inform the manor serf overseer to have them pick some tea leaves and deliver them to the villa."

The page acknowledged and ran toward the tea mountains.

The villa was built within the tea garden, with tea mountains right outside the gate. However, the villa was some distance from where the manor serfs lived.

Although some tea buds had emerged by this time, the yield was too low, and it wasn't yet the right time for harvesting. They needed to wait a few more days for the temperature to rise a bit more for the optimal tea-picking season.

Ye Yaming asked the manor guards and carriage driver to wait outside the courtyard. After they left, she instructed Zan'er and Shuie to fetch items from her carriage.

Knowing the importance of the matter, the three of them hadn't brought many people—only their most trusted personal maids and pages. As for the manor guards and carriage driver, Ye Chongming had carefully selected them.

Ye Hongsheng watched as Zan'er and Shuie carried an iron pot down from the carriage. He gave Ye Yaming a curious look but didn't say anything.

After carrying the iron pot to the corridor, the two pages brought down a stove from the carriage, and finally a basket of firewood.

Ye Yaming said, "It will take time for the picked tea leaves to wither—we won't be able to process them until this afternoon. Grandfather, you and father have been traveling all this time. Why don't you rest for a while and come back for lunch?"

They had set out before dawn, leaving as soon as the city gates opened, and it wasn't yet lunchtime.

"Alright," Ye Hongsheng said. "I'll take a walk on the mountain and return in a little over an hour." He planned to check on the tea trees on the mountain and chat with the manor serf overseer.

Ye Chongming, being older, felt uncomfortable after the half-day carriage ride and went to rest in the room.About an hour later, someone brought over a basket of Tea Leaves. Ye Yaming directed two maids to spread the Tea Leaves on bamboo trays for airing.

By then, the servants had also prepared lunch. Ye Chongming was awakened and shared a simple meal with his son and granddaughter.

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