Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The next day, inside the official chambers.

Liu Er had delivered the tea he'd snatched up first thing in the morning.

Several Grand Secretaries gathered around the jar of tea on the table, clicking their tongues in amazement.

"Fifty taels is really too expensive, but this small jar is quite exquisite! It must be good stuff!"

"Indeed, I can smell the fragrance of the tea even before it's brewed."

"It's good, but there's too little of it. It won't last for more than a few days!"

Liu Er stood outside the group, hesitant. Seeing that they had finished chatting, he quickly approached Li Yansong and said cautiously, "Lord Li... this tea didn't cost fifty taels, it cost seventy taels, hehe. I borrowed another twenty taels to buy it."

"When I went early in the morning, there was already a long queue outside, and it was sold out. I bought this from someone else... You see..."

Li Yansong raised his eyebrows and exclaimed, "Seventy taels! Heavens! The tea in our tea room is only three taels per catty!"

"Quickly brew it! Today, I'll treat you all to tea. Let's all have a taste!"

Liu Er stood there, his face seeming to turn a little red.

Li Yansong slapped his forehead and laughed, "I almost forgot, there are still twenty-one taels here. Take it and brew the tea. Remember to use only plain water and don't add anything else!"

Seeing the silver returned, Liu Er's lips stretched into a grin, and he happily ran off to brew the tea.

A short while later, Liu Er returned with a pot of tea.

Everyone hurried over.

Zhang Dongxiang asked curiously, "Huh! Why doesn't it have any flavor! Liu Er! Did you buy a fake?"

Then he directly lifted the lid of the pot, revealing three pitiful leaves floating inside.

"Are you trying to fool ghosts! What kind of tea are you brewing with just three leaves!"

Liu Er chuckled, "Oh, Lord Zhang, this tea is too expensive. I was afraid of brewing it badly and wasting it!"

Zhang Dongxiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He picked up the tea jar, pinched a bit of tea, and threw it into the water.

The Grand Secretaries stopped their work and focused intently on the teapot.

As the steeping time increased, the tea fragrance began to waft out of the teapot.

Everyone was already impatient. Zhang Dongxiang picked up the teapot and poured a cup for each person.

He said spiritedly, "Everyone! Please, this Celestial Tea is something we've been looking forward to for a long time!"

Li Yansong picked up the teacup, carefully smelling the tea's fragrance. The steam constantly warmed his face. With the power of suggestion, he already felt a bit more comfortable even before drinking.

"Hmm... this is the taste. His Majesty drank this tea yesterday!"

"Clear fragrance, elegant and lingering!"

After blowing on it a couple of times, Li Yansong carefully took a sip.

The tea's fragrance slowly permeated from his nose to his throat, then a warmth settled into his stomach.

Li Yansong breathed out a sigh of satisfaction.

Ordinary tea soup always has various seasonings added, making the taste strong and complex, which Li Yansong disliked.

But stir-fried tea just brings out the original flavor of the tea, offering a unique experience!

Completely different from tea soup! And a hundred times better than drinking water!

Wonderful! Truly wonderful!

Li Yansong drank the tea little by little, sighing inwardly.

It's good, but it's really too expensive. One tael of tea, I'm afraid, wouldn't even last him seven days.

Seeing that everyone else was carefully savoring the tea, Li Yansong couldn't help but ask Zhang Dongxiang, "Lord Zhang, how is it?"

Zhang Dongxiang smacked his lips and said puzzledly, "It's okay, but it's too weak. Adding some jujubes, ginger, and scallions should make the taste richer! I don't feel it's that miraculous!"

"........"

Li Yansong was speechless for a moment.

Zheng Qiao, on the other hand, had a serious expression, sipping the tea in small sips.

Li Yansong saw this and said, "Lord Zheng, what do you think?"

Zheng Qiao closed his eyes again and carefully savored it, praising, "Wonderful! Truly wonderful! The world actually has such magical tea!"

Li Yansong smiled, "Oh? Tell us more!"

"The tea flavor goes without saying, everyone should be able to taste it, but upon closer inspection, it also carries a slight medicinal fragrance!"

"Hmm~ It has the fragrance of licorice and mint, as well as the taste of fleeceflower stem, and upon further tasting, it even carries a hint of grassy fragrance!"

"If you don't believe me, everyone, feel it again!"

Hearing his explanation, everyone quickly took another sip.

Li Yansong asked curiously, "Lord Zheng, do you also understand the art of medicine?"

Zheng Qiao stroked his beard proudly, "Hehe, it's nothing. I learned a little when I was young. I haven't looked at it for many years, so I'm making a fool of myself."

"This mint and licorice can relieve fever, invigorate the spleen and qi, clear heat and detoxify, resolve phlegm and relieve cough, relieve urgency and pain, harmonize various medicines, etc."

"And the fleeceflower stem can nourish the heart and calm the mind, dispel wind and unblock the collaterals, and replenish blood and qi."

"And this grassy fragrance indicates that this tea is a very vital plant!"

"This tea can actually integrate three flavors and is full of vitality, which shows its magical medicinal properties. No wonder it's called Grand Celestial Tea. Fifty taels is not expensive!"

Everyone suddenly understood after hearing his explanation!

So there were so many secrets in it! Fortunately, there was someone who knew what he was doing!

With such a high evaluation from Lord Zheng, it seems that Grand Celestial Tea deserves its reputation!

Afterwards, everyone looked at the tea in their hands with a bit more eagerness.

Then they lowered their heads and began to savor it carefully again.

"Not simple, not simple!"

"Indeed! I also tasted the grassy and minty flavors!"

"Hmm... drinking this tea actually gives me the urge to write poetry!"

For a time, the sound of chanting rose in the official chambers. Everyone expressed that they felt energized after drinking it in this joyful atmosphere and clamored to buy another batch!

Liu Er, guarding the door, stared dumbfounded at the rare scene of joy in the official chambers, drool uncontrollably flowing from the corner of his mouth...

.......

Taoyuan County, tea-making workshop.

Fang Zheng, accompanied by Zhang Biao, routinely inspected the various industries in the county.

At this time, the stir-frying tea masters in the tea-making workshop were shirtless, diligently stir-frying the tea leaves in large iron pots.

Previously, these tea leaves were basically consumed within Taoyuan County. Fang Zheng prepared to expand some production capacity, estimating that Li Long could sell those tea leaves in a month or two.

Stock up a batch of goods first, anyway, there is no need to worry about the tea going bad in a short time.

He was not afraid of not being able to sell it. The entire Da Jing was still drinking that kind of flavored tea soup.

And stir-fried tea has long been proven by history to be a major trend! How fast the shipment goes depends entirely on Li Long's ability.

Looking at the workers working enthusiastically, Fang Zheng nodded in satisfaction.

When his eyes swept to the corner, he suddenly frowned and cursed, "Which bastard put the tea leaves and straw stacks together! Don't you have any craftsmanship! ?"

"If it gets cross-flavored, I'll hang you all on the city wall! This is the county's new export business, and if something goes wrong, I'll hold you accountable!"

"Also! Pay attention to stir-frying tea! Control the proportion of those medicinal materials!"

"After stir-frying, pick out all the impurities inside!"

"This is not for our own use, the quality control must be stable! No matter which batch, it must be the same taste! Do you all understand?"

The stir-frying tea masters straightened their backs and shouted in unison: "Reporting, Lord! We understand! ! !"