Glory

After the meal, they waited for a while longer until Ye Yaming saw that the tea leaves had been spread and withered sufficiently. She went back to her room to change into old clothes more suitable for work and wrapped her head with a cloth.

When she stepped outside, everyone couldn't help but laugh at her appearance. Ye Chongming teased, "They say some people don't look like a crown prince even when dressed in royal robes; but you, even dressed as a peasant woman, don't look like one."

His granddaughter seemed to have received guidance from their ancestors, as her entire demeanor had undergone a tremendous transformation. Not only was she poised and dignified, with a noble bearing, but she also carried the authority of someone in command. When she gave orders, he found himself instinctively obeying them.

Ye Yaming instructed Shui E, "Stoke the fire."

In this era, without gas or electricity, controlling the fire required a dedicated person to tend to it. Whenever Ye Hongsheng processed tea, it was always Shui E who managed the fire. With a single instruction, he could adjust the flames to meet the required intensity.

Thus, for this tea processing session, Ye Yaming had him tend to the fire.

Although those remaining in the courtyard were trusted servants, to be cautious, Ye Chongming dismissed everyone except Bai Rui and Shui E.

Bai Rui was kept behind in case Ye Yaming needed any assistance or care during the tea processing.

Soon, the fire was blazing vigorously. Placing her hand at a certain distance from the iron wok and feeling the scorching heat, Ye Yaming poured a portion of the tea leaves into the wok. After wrapping her hands with two layers of cloth, she began stir-frying the tea leaves barehanded.

Ye Hongsheng watched intently, not taking his eyes off her.

After the steps of green wok frying, refining wok frying, and sifting, it was already over half an hour later by the time Ye Yaming finished processing the tea.

Ye Hongsheng looked at the flat, smooth tea leaves with a slight roasted aroma in the small porcelain jar and asked Ye Yaming, "Is it done now?"

"It's basically done. But to achieve the best flavor, it needs to rest for a day or two to let the roasted aroma mellow. However, you can taste it now."

Upon hearing this, Shui E immediately moved the fire to the small red clay stove. Bai Rui brought over a pot of water, placed it on the stove to boil, and began preparing the tea set.

Soon, the water boiled, and Ye Yaming personally brewed a pot of tea, pouring cups for Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng.

An entirely different aroma from the previously steamed green tea wafted into their noses. As the tea soup entered their mouths, the tea fragrance and the refreshing, mellow, and sweet flavors distinctly filled their entire palates.

Ye Hongsheng widened his eyes in astonishment, pointing at the teacup and exclaiming, "This flavor, this flavor... How can such simple stir-frying make the tea taste so much better?"

As a master of tea processing and tasting, with a lifetime of experience and a wealth of knowledge, he was never at a loss for words to describe the taste of tea.

But at this moment, he was so tongue-tied that he couldn't utter a single word of praise.

Ye Chongming, on the other hand, was beaming with delight.

Ye Yaming actually understood Ye Hongsheng's feelings and deliberately teased him, "How can you call it simple stir-frying? Is it really that simple? There's a great deal of knowledge involved."

"Ah, I misspoke," Ye Hongsheng said, slapping his own forehead. Staring at Ye Yaming, he asked, "Can you explain the principles behind it?"

Ye Yaming shook her head, "I can't explain it. I only know that I dreamed of someone teaching me this method, and I just followed their instructions to make it."

"Ancestors' blessings, ancestors' blessings," Ye Chongming murmured, bowing toward the sky in gratitude.

Ye Hongsheng, who had been savoring the tea's flavor, had no choice but to set down his teacup and stand up with a speechless expression.Father was kneeling, should he kneel as well?

Ye Yaming went to help Ye Chongming up, saying, "Grandfather, Qingming Festival is approaching soon. We can pay our respects then."

"Yes, yes, yes." Ye Chongming stood up, nodding repeatedly.

Ye Hongsheng, completely absorbed in tea production, had no time to comfort his father. His eyes burning with intensity, he stared at Ye Yaming and asked, "Can I learn it?"

"Of course." Ye Yaming then explained the process to him.

Fortunately, the Estate Holder had delivered two more baskets of Tea Leaves, which Bai Rui and Shui'e had spread out to wither according to Ye Yaming's instructions.

Father and daughter, one teaching and the other learning, produced two more batches of tea.

Of course, due to the limited quantity of Tea Leaves, these two batches were relatively small—only half the amount Ye Yaming had produced.

The first batch ended up completely scorched by Ye Hongsheng.

The second batch wasn't burnt, but its flavor was far inferior to Ye Yaming's tea.

Now, Ye Hongsheng finally understood why Ye Yaming hadn't answered when he asked if it was difficult.

This method of tea frying seemed both simple and challenging. On the surface, the process was simpler than steamed green tea, yet the quality of the tea depended entirely on the skill and intuition of the hands doing the work.

As someone responsible for quality control in the Tea Factory, he asked with a grave expression, "If everyone becomes proficient, will the tea they produce taste exactly like yours?"

Ye Yaming smiled. "Impossible."

Hand-fried tea relies entirely on the Tea-making masters' intuition and experience. Even an experienced master's tea can vary due to factors like physical condition, mood, or even the weather. This was precisely why machine production later became the norm.

While machines couldn't replicate the exquisite flavors of handcrafted tea, they offered consistency. And consistent quality control was the key to a tea enterprise's success.

While father and daughter were engaged in teaching and learning, Ye Chongming, after his initial excitement and dreams of the future, began pondering the issue Ye Yaming had raised.

The current Tea-making masters couldn't be used, but their apprentices could. These apprentices were usually their sons, nephews, or talented individuals with good character whom they had taken under their wing.

From the day they became apprentices, they worked alongside their masters in tea production. Often, the masters would merely give instructions while the apprentices did the actual work.

With his experience, Ye Chongming could see the potential of his granddaughter's new "Pan-fired green tea" at a glance.

Given the declining popularity of Pressed tea and the rising trend of Loose tea, this Pan-fired green tea might very well surpass both and become the new favorite.

If that happened, the lifelong Tea-making masters of Ye Jia would feel deeply disheartened. Those with narrower minds might not only refuse to continue producing tea meticulously for Ye Jia but could even cause trouble.

Ye Chongming decided to let the Tea-making masters select some of their own apprentices to learn the new tea-making method from Ye Yaming.

Even if they couldn't make the new tea themselves, their sons, nephews, or beloved apprentices could. That way, they likely wouldn't object.

When Ye Yaming's teaching session concluded and Ye Hongsheng was left to ponder on his own, Ye Chongming shared his idea with her.

"What do you think? Is it feasible?" he asked.

Ye Yaming nodded. "Alright, let's do it that way."After all, these people are familiar with the nature of tea. Having worked at the Tea Factory for so long, their character is also evident. They're certainly better than those whose backgrounds are unknown.

"How many people do you need?" Ye Chongming asked.

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