Tea Merchants of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 110 Huangshan

The Welcoming Pine on Mount Huangshan poked its head out, as if welcoming Jiang Yin's arrival.

If he wasn't busy with all these trivial matters, Jiang Yin really wanted to climb Mount Huangshan to take a look.

Jiang Si Niang said with a smile: "If Ah Yin wants to go to the mountain to play, go ahead. I'm here, so don't worry."

When she first arrived at Huangshan, she was also shocked by its spectacular scenery.

But I was also worried about something, so I could only stop and watch at the foot of the mountain and had not climbed up yet.

"The Huangshan Mountain is four thousand feet high, with thirty-two lotus peaks. Red cliffs are flanked by stone pillars, and lotus flowers are in full bloom." Jiang Yin smiled and said, "Such a fairy mountain is worth a visit. However, now is not the time yet."

She retracted her gaze, stood up, dusted herself off and said, "I'll continue frying tea. After I finish frying this pot, please take me around the tea garden."

Although the tea garden we rented is not as big as any of the five peaks of Mount Meng, it is still the largest Maofeng tea garden in Huangshan. It will take some time to visit it.

Jiang Si Niang spent a lot of time before she was able to get the tea growers to lease the tea garden to her.

She was very grateful to Si Niang for having achieved this in such a short period of time.

Jiang Si Niang said angrily, "What's the trouble? I'll have someone clean up the room first, so we don't have to work again at night."

After all, this house in the tea garden is a temporary one, and she only uses it to take a short rest.

In fact, she also rented a small courtyard in the town and went back to the town to live at night, leaving only a few people here to guard the tea garden and warehouse.

However, judging from the current situation of Huangshan Maofeng, no bad people will come to steal this tea.

Jiang Yin nodded: "Everything will be decided by Si Niang."

She brought a lot of people with her, and there was no room for them to stay, even if they squeezed together.

The town is only a quarter of an hour away from here, so you can go back and forth every day.

While Jiang Si Niang was arranging matters at the house, Jiang Yin quickly fried the pot of tea in his hand.

As for the rest, she temporarily gave it to the other two to fry, while she followed Si Niang to wander around the tea garden.

The sun was high at this time, and the tea leaves were a little wilted in the sun. It was really not a good time to pick tea.

Jiang Yin and Jiang Si Niang wore straw hats to keep out the hot sun. They also held palm-leaf fans in their hands, fanning themselves to cool off as they walked.

"I told you to come back later but you didn't listen." Jiang Si Niang scolded, "You are so delicate, what will you do if you get sunburned later?"

It was okay for her who had been digging in the fields for a long time, so it didn't matter what she looked like. After all, her husband was not here, so what did she look like?

But Ayin is different. She has been a delicate girl since she was young and needs to be carefully protected.

Jiang Yin shook his head and said, "Don't worry, Si Niang, I'm not that squeamish. Besides, it's just after Qingming Festival, and even if there's sunshine, it's not as hot as midsummer.

Besides, after making tea, I have to rush back to Mengshan. Things here need to be handled quickly.

Although the eldest and second wives are at the tea plantation in Mengshan, I should show up at the Tea and Horse Department before the tea is delivered."

She will not stay in Huizhou for too long this time, so she can only seize the time and determine the general direction of Huizhou in the next few days.

If she could find a way to improve the taste of Huangshan Maofeng before leaving Huizhou, that would be even better. If not, she would return to Huizhou after the Mengshan incident was resolved.

At that time, she could also stay in Huizhou for a longer period of time.

Jiang Si Niang sighed and said, "Thank you for your hard work this time, but don't worry, my elder sister and the others are at home, so there will be no problem.

It's just that you rushed here in such a hurry, which is really a lot of trouble."

It would be fine if we could find a way to improve the situation, but if not, then this trip is really not worth it.

Jiang Yin waved his hand and smiled, "It doesn't matter what's worth it. When doing business, you have to be prepared to get nothing. Besides, I gained a lot from my trip to Huizhou."

Not to mention that he accidentally helped Ru Niangzi in Guanzhong, and also discovered the abnormality of the Lin family.

Just take what she saw and heard in Huizhou City as an example. It broadened her mind and she could also draw on it for reference in the teahouse at home.

Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. There is truth in what our ancestors said.

Huangshan has towering peaks, crisscrossing hills, crisscrossing ridges and valleys, clear and flowing waters, and winding streams. The soil surface has a thick humus layer and a high content of gravel.

The soil in the tea garden is very fertile, with good water and air permeability, which is conducive to the tea trees absorbing nutrients in the soil.

Jiang Yin grabbed a handful of soil and crushed it in his hand, then walked and looked at it, looking at the difference between it and Huangshan Maofeng.

After turning around, she couldn't help but ask Jiang Si Niang, "Si Niang, do you think there's anything wrong?"

Si Niang was more familiar with tea planting than she was. After all, Si Niang grew up in the old house, and it was not an exaggeration to say that she went to Mount Meng every day.

"They planted it very well. Although not too meticulously, they took good care of it. The tea trees grew very well, but..." Jiang Si Niang changed the subject, looked up at Huangshan Mountain, and continued, "However, this tea garden is at the foot of the mountain and is not shrouded in clouds all year round. It lacks some advantages after all."

If the tea garden could be shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, with high air humidity, short sunshine hours and a large temperature difference between day and night, it would be very suitable for the growth of tea trees.

Jiang Yin followed her gaze and nodded in agreement, "Yes, it's just like Mengshan tea. The taste of tea at the foot of the mountain is different from that at the top."

She paused and continued, "Could it be because of this reason that the taste of Huangshan Maofeng has not improved?"

Good tea also requires a good environment.

She didn't know what the growing environment of other Huizhou teas was like, but she thought it must be better than here.

"I've thought about this question, too." Jiang Si Niang said with a wry smile, "But I've done some research and found that the terrain of Huangshan is steep and the government won't sell land to tea farmers.

These at the foot of the mountain are almost all the ancestral properties of the tea farmers, and there are very few newly purchased lands. "

Even if someone comes specifically to buy land and start a tea garden, they will only choose to grow other more profitable Huizhou teas, and not Huangshan Maofeng.

Jiang Yin frowned slightly and said, "But not every side is steep. For example, this side of the mountain is clearly suitable for growing tea trees."

She pointed upwards along the tea garden. Although the mountains here were steeper than Mount Meng, it was still possible to grow tea trees.

Unless the imperial court deliberately refused to sell the land in Huangshan to tea farmers.

But she didn't understand why she didn't sell it?

Jiang Si Niang continued with a wry smile, “I heard from the tea farmers that even if they could buy it, they would not spend the money to buy the land on the mountain.

The price of Huangshan Maofeng tea is extremely low, and the land on those mountains is also expensive. Without seeing the benefits, no one would take the risk to think about this issue. "

There are not many people growing Huangshan Maofeng tea, and most of them are family workshops, not large-scale ones.

They all focus on having enough food and clothing, and as long as the money they earn from selling is enough to make ends meet, that’s enough.