Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 28 0027 [Tea Arts]

After the spring rain in the tea mountain, the sky is as clear as washing, and the young leaves are green.

A few days ago, tea was also picked, but only on a small scale by tea households.

The rain has increased in the past few days, and a large number of new shoots have sprouted, so all the nearby villagers must be mobilized.

Hundreds of men and women were scattered all over the place, carrying bamboo baskets around their waists, picking out sprouts with their fingernails and throwing them into them.In order to make more money, most of the people are dedicated, while a few master tea pickers talk, laugh and sing.

There is also a tea collection point, and after the farmers have picked a basket of tea, they will weigh it to calculate their wages.

Before weighing, it is necessary to check first. If there are too many unqualified tea leaves, wages may be deducted.

"Brother, Lord Saburo is here."

"where?"

"there."

The five Baiford brothers are also picking tea, and all the nearby tea hills are owned by the old Baiford members.Those small tea growers were too weak to resist risks and were forced to go bankrupt by the government.

A few acres of barren mountain land can be given away by old white members.

If it is replaced by tens of acres of tea hills, the old white members will steal it by chance!
The five Byford brothers made their fortunes very late, relying on their sisters to act as outsiders for the nobles.After bullying the neighbors in the village for several years, plus the money sent back by the sister, now they only get about a hundred acres of land, and counting their parents' small family, the average amount of land is less than ten acres per person.

The per capita is only a few acres, including mountainous land, so it is not rich to be honest.

Small landlords are not enough. The status of self-cultivated farmers is more suitable for them, and they even have to pick tea by themselves every year.

"Give me the tea you picked!"

Bai Fude gathered the tea leaves of several brothers, filled a bamboo basket, and pretended to go to weigh them, but in fact he wanted to get close to Bai Chongyan.

This guy walked excitedly, he didn't go far, and his smile stopped, because he saw the Zhu family and his son.

Two foreigners settled down, why are you walking with Mr. San Lang?
After much deliberation, Byford decided to suspend the plan and not directly confront the Zhu family and his son.He is a man with a brain, otherwise he would be finished, after all, he has been making troubles under the nose of the old white man.

"Hello Saburo!" Byford nodded and bowed his head.

Bai Chongyan smiled kindly and said, "Okay."

Bai Fude complimented: "Mr. Sanlang is really filial. He went home many days in advance to wish the old lady's birthday."

"It's just the duty of descendants." Bai Chongyan said.

The two sides had nothing in common, and Baiford became more and more awkward as they chatted. Seeing that Bai Sanlang was quite impatient, he said a few more words and took the initiative to leave.

A breeze blows, and the tea tree shakes gently.

Hearing the singing of tea-picking songs from time to time, Li Hanzhang couldn't help but become very poetic, and wrote a poem on the spot: "When the day of gongs and drums is not yet clear, I can see my sincerity when I go up the mountain to pick tea. In the spring breeze, the leaves are steaming and the jade is new."

Yutiao is spring tea.

"Nice poem!"

Bai Chongyan clapped his hands in praise, although Pingze was a bit unworkable, but it was not easy to blurt out.

Li Hanzhang felt very satisfied with himself, and felt that this poem could continue to be revised.He thought about it carefully for a while, and didn't know how to change it for the time being, so he turned to test Zhu Ming: "I heard that Zhu Dalang is full of talent and learning, how about writing an impromptu poem with the scene of tea picking in front of him?"

Ju Ming politely refused: "I am not good at poetry."

"If you are not proficient, you just have a rough knowledge, and doggerel is fine." Li Hanzhang smiled.

He didn't want to make Zhu Ming look ugly, but to test Zhu Ming's talent and see if the word "public and private" happened by chance.

Bai Chongyan stood beside him, also smiling without saying a word, similar to Li Hanzhang's thoughts.

Zhu Ming turned his head to look at his father, and Zhu Guoxiang turned to look at the scenery.Comrade Zhu can recite a lot of Tang and Song poems, but he can't know anything related to tea.

Should we continue to "hide our clumsiness", or should we show it off?
Zhu Ming quickly searched the inventory in his mind. Although he has crossed the golden finger, he has not read many tea-picking poems.Not far away, a woman was busy picking. There was a sleeping baby on her back. She was not afraid that the mountain road would be too slippery after the rain and she might fall.

Thinking about the flower arrangements on the temples of Grandma Yan, Zhu Ming had a flash of inspiration, and clapped his hands: "Yes!"

"Listen to the masterpiece with all your ears." Bai Chongyan looked forward to it.

Zhu Ming recited: "The white-headed old woman has red flowers on her hairpin, and the black-headed woman has three buns. She sleeps on her back and goes up the mountain, picking mulberries and picking tea."

Li Hanzhang smiled and praised: "Good poetry, good literary talent!"

Bai Chongyan commented: "Brother Zhen's poems are all about the current situation and the situation. Zhu Dalang's poems are dedicated to writing about things and people. The two poems are combined, and the interest is renewed."

The poem copied by Zhu Ming is not considered excellent, but it is just right here - it not only shows off his talent, but also does not overwhelm Li Hanzhang too much.

If you really want to recite a famous sentence through the ages, how can this son of the state judge get down?
After throwing out a tea-picking poem, Li Hanzhang already recognized Ju Ming and confirmed that Zhu Ming belonged to him.

They are all scholars, not ignorant Qianshou.

A few people here laughed loudly, Bai Fude vaguely heard the movement, and instantly felt a headache, and told the brothers: "Don't mess around, these two foreigners are not easy to mess with."

"What elder brother said is true." Several brothers agreed with each other.

How did they know that the old white member had already sentenced the brothers to death with a word!

Bai Chongyan took everyone to continue the mountain tour, and met Mrs. Yan and Shen Yourong who were picking tea on the way.

They greeted each other and left.

Bai Chongyan said to Li Hanzhang: "That is brother Shi Yu's widow. Since brother Shi Yu died of illness, she has been carefully raising her youngest son."

"Extremely rare." Li Hanzhang said with emotion.

The two of them, as well as Shen Yourong's deceased husband, had studied under teachers in Guanzhong.

At that time, the relationship was mediocre, just a nodding acquaintance, and it wasn't until Li Hanzhang came to Yangzhou with his father that he quickly became good friends with Bai Chongyan.

After wandering around the tea mountain for a while, Zhu Guoxiang proposed to visit the land and finalize the land sale early.

Bai Chongyan was not in a hurry, and invited: "There is a valley in front of me. I found a sweet spring in it and named it 'Lingquan'. I also built a pavilion beside the spring and called it 'Biyun Pavilion'. Today is leisurely and the spring breeze is pleasant. If you go to the pavilion to taste the new tea first."

The new tea, of course, is not picked today, but the beginning of spring tea more than a month ago.

It is inconvenient for the guest to refuse the host's invitation.

The four of them took Bai Qi to enjoy the scenery all the way, and walked towards the valley in the mountains.

The stream falls to form a waterfall and falls into the valley pool.Hundreds of meters away from the water pool are Lingquan and Biyun Pavilion.

The stone tables and chairs in the pavilion have been cleaned in advance.

A few servants rushed over, carrying charcoal, cooking utensils, tea cups, etc., as well as a full set of tea ordering equipment.

Bai Chongyan sat down and immediately shouted: "New tea!"

When the voice falls, you have to respond.

Several servants quickly came forward with tea leaves in their hands. There were two kinds of powdered tea and waxed tea.

Bai Chongyan said with a smile: "There are four new teas here, please choose as you like."

"Haha, brother Juncai is here for a tea fight?" Li Hanzhang laughed heartily.

Bai Chongyan said: "It's all my family's tea, and it's not very interesting to fight. I just invite Brother Kezhen to show some tea skills."

Wealthy people in the Song Dynasty, especially the elegant ones, often got together to fight tea and have fun.

And, often bring your own tea.

Li Hanzhang didn't choose tea leaves directly, but scooped up half a bowl of spring water.He tasted the spring water carefully, and then went to choose a suitable new tea, observe its color, smell its taste, and finally picked a ball of waxed tea.

Bai Chongyan immediately laughed and said, "Brother Zhen has good eyesight!"

Bacon tea is the most precious, and the selection of tea is strict, and it must be the tender buds in early spring—the wax of the twelfth lunar month.

The Xiaolongfengtuan tea highly praised by the royal family in the Song Dynasty is the best among waxed teas.To select the best tea buds, you must not touch them with your fingers when picking them, and you must leave long nails to cut them off. After picking, you cannot put them in a bamboo basket, but must immediately throw them into the spring water you carry with you.

The production process is even more complicated, first steaming, then pressing, and grinding into powder, during which there are procedures such as drying and baking.There is also a part of tea, which is ground and boiled into tea paste, and many spices are added.Finally, the tea paste is mixed with tea powder, and there are several processes, and finally pressed into tea balls for storage and transportation.

"Brother Kezhen, please order some tea." Bai Chongyan raised his hand and said.

The tea balls are very small, so Li Hanzhang fetched utensils and slowly ground the tea balls into fine powder.

Then use the tea dagger to take the powder and put it into the cup. The spring water has boiled, pour some lightly, and start to mix the tea soup thoroughly.

He is pulling his right sleeve with his left hand and holding a tea whisk in his right, with an elegant and calm demeanor.Put the tea whisk into the tea soup, flick it gently back and forth, and a wonderful scene follows.With the flicking of the tea whisk, strands of silver threads float on the surface of the tea soup, and then form various patterns, just like a floating picture of snow on the river.

Before drinking, a scent of tea came to the nose.

Li Hanzhang praised: "Good tea! The tea soup is pure white, the buds are plump and tender, and the craftsmanship is excellent. Brother Juncai has a good tea craftsman at home."

As the man spoke, he struck the tea whisk, and the patterns on the surface of the tea soup continued to change.

Bai Chongyan proudly said: "This tea is imitated from Longfeng Tuancha. The tea buds are all picked before the beginning of spring. Although it is not as exquisite as Longfeng Tuancha, it is still rare. I call it 'Jinghong Treading Snow'."

"Jinghong Treadxue, it's really a good name!" Li Hanzhang praised from the bottom of his heart.

When the water temperature was not so hot, Li Hanzhang picked up the teacup, poured the tea into the cup, and even poured a cup for the little boy Bai Qi: "Please enjoy the tea."

Ju Ming raised his glass curiously and tasted it. There was no strange smell, not bitter at all, and it was very fragrant. Although it contained tea paste, it would not make people feel greasy.

Even, there is a faint hint of sweetness.

With this taste, the loose tea that ordinary people drink can be thrown out of Shibajie.

"It's delicious, it looks good, and it's very fragrant!" Bai Qi admired sincerely, and then drank the tea in one gulp.

The child's praise was the most genuine, both Bai Chongyan and Li Hanzhang laughed.

……

By the Han River.

A passenger ship docked, and the servant reminded: "Erlang, Shangbai Village is here."

A little fat man stretched his waist and yawned, and walked out of the cabin rubbing his sleepy eyes.

This guy is about 25 or 1.6 years old, dressed as a scholar, with a fat head and brain, and his height is less than [-] meters.

As the road was slippery after the rain, he fell down as soon as he got off the boat, got up and cursed and continued walking.

On the way, he sent a servant to inquire about the mansion of the old white member, and then went to hand in his invitation card.

The little fat man was dressed in silk, and the old concierge didn't dare to neglect, so he hurried in to make an announcement, and quickly led the guests into the hall.

The old white member received him in person, bowed his head and asked, "Your Excellency is the lord of the family of Zheng Daguan in Yangzhou?"

"I'm walking around at home, and everyone calls me Zheng Er. This time I'm here to look for Li Erlang (Li Hanzhang)." The little fat man said.

"The honored guest is coming, and we are far away to welcome you," the old white member said, "Sanlang, my family, went up the mountain with Li Erlang, the honored guest can wait at home, and they will be back before evening."

The little fat man waved his hand and said: "I won't wait any longer, I will go up the mountain to find them."

The old white member immediately called his servants and led the little fat man up the mountain.

This old man who was so powerful in all directions, dragged his sick leg and leaned on crutches, let the servants support him from side to side, and personally sent the little fat man out of the main gate.

(End of this chapter)