Wentang

Chapter 487 Fried Tea
In the backyard of the Yue Mansion, a large iron pot stood in the middle of the courtyard, a servant was lighting a fire in the stove, a man was holding a broom and waving it non-stop, and three or four people were pointing around the cauldron.

"Turn, turn quickly, it's too slow and muddy... It's broken, the fire is too big..."

"No, black smoke is coming out and it's going to burn..."

"Oh, I'm confused again."

Seeing another pot of tea leaves fail to fry, Yue Shan was a little disappointed, but he didn't let people stop there. Instead, he continued: "Don't listen, continue to stir fry, and after the process is finished, I will come back and summarize the reasons."

Hearing this, everyone shut down immediately and continued the process of frying tea.After about ten minutes, the tea maker shouted, "Okay, get ready to cook."

The other four onlookers took action immediately, some with baskets, some with shovels, and some with wet cloths to remove the pot.

After a busy day, he finally sorted out the pot of tea leaves, and Yue Shan and six servants observed the quality of the tea and summed up their experiences.

"Look at the color, it's darker than the one from the last pot, it's a failure." Cheng Laoshi, the person in charge of frying tea, said disappointedly.

"Does it still need to be judged by the color? You can smell the smell, the whole yard is full of burnt smell." Another man named Ma Dacai said.

Seeing that everyone started to find fault with each other, Yue Shan hurriedly said: "Okay, we all know that we failed, now summarize the reasons for the failure, and strive for the next improvement."

Seeing him speak, the six servants immediately fell silent, and then began to sum up their experience.

"The fire is too high. I think a low fire is fine for stewing meat." Cheng Laoshi was the first to speak.

"This time it was mine, and the fire was really not under control. When I first lit the fire, I felt that the fire was a little out of control. I quickly suppressed the flames, and it was already too late." Chen Dazhong, who was in charge of the fire, quickly reviewed it.

"It's okay, next time the fire will be smaller, just follow what Cheng said honestly, and try it with a small fire like stew." Yue Shan comforted.

"Okay, Dalang, just take a look, you won't make a mistake this time." Chen Dazhong nodded hastily.

"Is there any more?" Yue Shan asked.

"Stir-frying is still too slow, and using a broom always feels that there is a layer of barriers that are difficult to grasp. How about...how about using your hands directly?" Ma Dacai hesitated for a while.

"By hand? No, it's too hot." Yue Shan shook his head hastily.

"Hey, Da Lang, you are a noble person and your body is delicate, so you can't help but get hot. We all work hard, and we don't mind getting hot if we have thick skin and thick flesh." Another old man named Han Mouse said with a silly smile.

"Yes, yes, look at our hands, why are we afraid of being hot?" Ma Dacai directly stretched out his hands like old tree roots, covered with calluses and cracks.

Subconsciously, Yue Shan hid his white, tender and flawless hands in his sleeves, feeling ashamed.

"Da Lang doesn't need to worry about us, it's fine. Besides, there are five of us, and whoever can't stand the heat can be replaced by another person, and everyone will take turns." Cheng honestly said.

"Then... just try?" Yue Shan also hesitated.

"Try, we must try, we can only master the speed and heat with our hands, and we can't do it well with a broom." Ma Dacai said.

"Then try it, but if it doesn't work, you must tell me in time, don't burn your hands. We still have a long time to come, so don't rush it for a while." Yue Shan warned.

"Da Lang, don't worry, we rely on these hands for food, and we dare not let them get hurt." Cheng said honestly.

"Cheng honestly, you are a fool. I am different from you. I wish I could burn my hands. Our Dalang is a good man who is hard to find with a lantern. If you burn your hands, you will definitely be able to work in the house." , that is the way to honor the ancestors and benefit the descendants." Ma Dacai said.

"That's right." The others also booed.

How could Yue Shan not know the plan of these people, they just wanted to work in Yue Mansion, after thinking about it, he said: "If this tea is ready, I will build a tea garden, and you all go to work in the tea garden."

"Xie Dalang, Xie Dalang. Don't worry, we will make tea for you." Several people were pleasantly surprised and said again and again.

Yue Shan shook his head secretly, the times are forcing people into slavery.

Of course, it is inappropriate to say that forcing people to be slaves is to force the people to be slaves to the powerful.

There is a difference between a slave and a servant. A slave is an inferior person who has become a slave, and a servant is an ordinary person who works in the mansion of the powerful.

Although the laws of the Tang Dynasty stipulated that the people of the Tang Dynasty should be allocated land, only those with household registration were allocated hundreds of acres.But in fact?There are always some people who are not in the distribution ranks.

Cheng Laoshi and others are the group of people who have been left out. Those who have crafts make a living by crafts, and those who don't have crafts do hard work and become tenants.

For them, being able to find a good master to be a servant is equivalent to entering a foreign company for later generations. If they do a good job, they can pass this job on to future generations.

Yes, it's that ironic.

Cheng Laoshi and others are from Chenggu County. Everyone may not be familiar with this place, but everyone must know about one person, Zhang Qian.Chenggu County is the hometown of Zhang Qian.

Moreover, Chenggu County began to grow tea very early. Although it was not a well-known tea production base in the Tang Dynasty, there were still a lot of tea.

Cheng Laoshi and others belonged to land-lost peasants, and they belonged to the part that was left out when the land was allocated for the second time when the Tang Dynasty established the country, and they could only do odd jobs everywhere.

As the saying goes, relying on mountains to eat mountains depends on water to drink water. They rely on tea gardens and often go to tea gardens to work. They know more about tea than ordinary people, whether it is planting or picking.

Yueshan sent people to look for tea and people who knew tea, so he found them.After a few days of observation, although these people have different personalities, they are generally considered to be relatively honest.

Only Martha escaped a bit, but he is not a bad person.That's why he said that he wanted to keep these people to work.

And it is only to work in the tea garden that will be opened up in the future, not to work in the mansion.

There is a huge difference in this. Only those who have been carefully checked and confirmed that there is no problem will be allowed to work in the government. Ordinary people are not qualified for that.

Sure enough, incentive policies can stimulate people's enthusiasm and efficiency in work. After Yue Shan promised them that they could come to work, the six people broke out with strong fighting power.

Everyone is staring at every step of the tea frying without blinking their eyes. Any problems will be pointed out in time and corrected in the next frying.

After two more times, the heat is under control, after one more time, the amount of tea leaves added to each pot is under control, and after three times, the speed of stir-frying is also under control.

Kneading, molding, dehumidification and other steps are completed one by one, and two days later a pot of tea that is six to seven points like the common tea in later generations appears in front of you.

Yue Shan hurriedly asked someone to find boiling water for brewing, and then watched the boiling water in the glass turn green little by little, and a faint fragrance of tea also escaped.

Yue Shan took a deep breath, that's what it smells like.

After two or three minutes, he didn't think it was too hot, so he picked up the cup and took a sip.There is a very light bitter taste in the mouth, but only a lingering fragrance is left after swallowing.

Looking at the expectant and apprehensive eyes of the six Cheng Chengshis, Yue Shan smiled and said, "It's done."

(End of this chapter)