Chapter 531 Golden Flower Fuzhuan Tea
At daybreak, Manager Li of Fulin Hall, the Tea and Horse Commissioner and the County Lieutenant of Jingyang were successively arrested and taken to Shunfeng for detention. This had never happened before.
In the past, it was the constables and garrisons who arrested people and put them in jails guarded by prison wardens. But today, Shunfeng was particularly powerful and suddenly a lot of manpower was added, so they went straight into handling the case.
Zhao Yulin accompanied Yuqi to take a short rest before leaving the inn. Yuqi went to Shunfeng to handle a case, and he went straight to Tiantai Inn. As soon as he arrived at the door, Zuo Liangchen came forward and greeted: Xuzhou Manager Zhao greets Madam Jinhua.
Madam Jinhua immediately went out to greet him, and saw that the shopkeeper was actually a handsome and elegant young man. The little woman was shocked, and said apologetically: A thief broke into our shop last night, I hope Shopkeeper Zhao will not embarrass me.
Zhao Yulin nodded expressionlessly and said: It’s okay, lead the way, he wants to see the goods.
The woman immediately called the two masters to walk towards the backyard together.
Zhao Yulin saw the rows of tea leaves drying on the drying mats in the yard and said with a smile: It's such a good tea, it would be a waste not to make Fu tea with it.
He walked over, squatted down, grabbed a handful of tea leaves, squeezed them hard in his hand, and then opened his fingers, and the wet tea leaves fell out.
Zhao Yulin was very satisfied, the moisture content was just right, so he asked the master to collect all the tea leaves so that he could pile them up.
Mrs. Jinhua asked nervously: "Why do you do that? If you pile the tea leaves before they are dry, won't they go bad? This tea has not even left the gate of Tiantai. If it goes bad, how can Saijinhua continue to do business?"
When Zuo Liangchen saw Sai Jinhua trying to stop him, he became anxious and said: San... Hey, what our young master said is true.
When Zhao Yulin heard Liangchen utter the word "three", he immediately glared at him. The guy forced himself to hold back the two words "young master" that followed and replaced them with a distorted "what" to cover it up.
Seeing Sai Jinhua with a confused look on her face, he said: He is very pressed for time and cannot waste any time. He has helpers here. He will ask the waiter to pile the tea leaves according to his method and they will talk in the room. He has a brand new method of making tea and he hopes his wife can use it.
Zhao Yulin watched his master and guards prepare the first batch of tea, then went back to Madam Jinhua's room to chat. He asked everyone to leave before letting Zuo Liangchen bring the brocade box to Madam Jinhua.
He said with a smile: This is the tea-making method passed down from his Zhao family's ancestors. It was a pity to see the tea boat sink yesterday, so he sorted out this tea-making method last night and gave it to Madam Jinhua to try.
Our family's method of making tea is called pre-fermentation tea making, which involves fermenting the tea leaves in a pile, steaming the tea, putting it into molds, pressing it into tea bricks and letting it dry, so that the beneficial bacteria in the tea can ferment more fully and form plump golden flowers.
Madam Jinhua was surprised when she heard this. How could golden flowers with the same name as her grow in tea bricks?
Is he trying to make her happy?
Zhao Yulin continued: After thirty to fifty days of fermentation, the tea leaves will turn completely black, and can also be called black tea. The tea leaves are best made after being harvested in spring and summer, which is the dog days of summer, and can also be called dog days tea.
Our tea leaves are pressed into tea bricks after fermentation. Over time, golden-colored tea-scented fungi with a strong aroma similar to that of Poria cocos will grow inside the tea bricks. This golden flower fungus is only found in Ganoderma lucidum, and this is the uniqueness of our Poria cocos tea.
In addition, if we press the fully fermented tea leaves into tea bricks, it will be more convenient for merchants in the west and north who don't have waterways to transport them in large quantities. This will make it just right for production and sales in Jingyang.
While Zhao Yulin was still explaining, Mrs. Jinhua was already fascinated by the handsome man in front of her. She felt as if this Fu tea was tailor-made for her tea shop. The lady looked at Zhao Yulin in a daze of surprise.
Outside the house, the master was shouting: Madam, the tea leaves are piled up.
Zhao Yulin stood up and smiled, asking people to go out and take a look.
The masters had already covered the tea piles with the white cotton cloth that Zhao Yulin had bought. He opened the two tea piles and looked at them, saying: Not bad, not bad, this is how it should be. Tea is to be eaten, so it must be hygienic and clean.
He said that Jingyang's climate is dry, and the moisture in the air is just right for the growth of golden flowers. The Pu'er tea made here is definitely delicious and must be sold well. Someone must keep an eye on it to avoid being harmed by bad people.
Madam Jinhua nodded woodenly and sent the guest away.
Zhao Yulin left Tiantai store and asked Zuo Liangchen to lead the way to a woodworking shop. He wanted to get the tools for pressing tea bricks because the brick mold could not be too big.
The newly made Fu tea is a rare and high-quality tea in the world, so it must be sold at a higher price. How can we set a price that is close to the people?
In Jingyang, in a favorable direction, the county magistrate arrived with a group of yamen runners and a squadron of garrison troops.
This fellow broke into the inner hall without being told, obviously not taking the favorable situation seriously. After being stopped by the gatekeeper, he shouted and cursed at the person in charge, asking him to get out and questioning why his county lieutenant and the tea and horse commander were arrested without permission. He was so audacious.
The head of Shunfeng Office came out with Luzhu, bowed and said: Luzhu, the special envoy of Shunfeng Office, is here on duty. The county lieutenant and the chief officer are involved in the case of Fulintang harming the owner of Tiantai store four years ago, and Shunfeng Office is questioning them one by one.
The county magistrate was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, this is not good. If the county lieutenant has confessed, why doesn't he give him away as well?
This fellow immediately said with confidence: If the county lieutenant committed a crime, it should be reported to the state official, and he, the county magistrate, should personally investigate it. When will it be the turn of Shunfeng Office to handle the case directly?
The fellow immediately ordered the captain of the garrison to go in and arrest the men, and brought the county lieutenant and the deputy commander back to the county government office for personal interrogation by him.
Damn, aren’t you trying to steal people? Are you going against Shunfeng?
They are all government offices, haha, not fun.
The garrison captain didn't know what to do and stood there in a daze.
The county magistrate was anxious and shouted: "What are you standing there for? Don't you understand? Hurry up and do it."
This called Shunfengchu to be alert, the county magistrate was trying to forcibly seize the prisoner. A small group of officials rushed out of the inner hall of Shunfengchu and stood behind Luzhu, and the two sides immediately formed a confrontation.
The county magistrate was furious and cursed rebellion, and questioned the person in charge of Shunfeng: Who is the boss here?
Doesn't what he said count?
Seeing that the person in charge was indifferent, he ordered the garrison to rush in to rescue the people and bring the county lieutenant back to him.
The troops on both sides immediately stepped forward with their swords drawn.
At this tense moment, a group of people came out from the back hall. Wu Yuqi walked up to the scene with her hands behind her back and said: This is new. I have never heard of internal strife among the people in New Song. Today, she saw it.
The county magistrate felt guilty when he heard Wu Yuqi's calm and composed words. He suspected that this person's official rank was definitely not low. Could it be that Qiu Ju, the chief steward of Shunfengsi's Chang'an Prefecture, had arrived?
The fellow hesitated for a moment, then pretended to be righteous and roared: "Who are you? According to the law, I am asking for advice from the downwind place. I want people from the downwind place. All go away."
Damn it, this guy is just pretending to be stubborn and trying to fool people by playing tricks.
Wu Yuqi asked: Who else do you want? The Tea Horse Commissioner has confessed to participating in Fulintang's tax evasion, and the county lieutenant has also confessed to colluding with the Fulintang shopkeeper to harm the country, oppress his peers, and conspire to murder the Tiantai storekeeper. You, the county magistrate, are also guilty of this crime, why are you playing dumb?
The county magistrate was stunned after hearing this and immediately shouted: "You are slandering me, you are slandering me. I am wholeheartedly serving the people and have an incorruptible character, how could I have done such a shameful thing?"
Lu Zhu shouted contemptuously: "Shunfeng Division Wu Daguanguan speaks, how can you allow a rat to question it? Take him down." Then he showed Wu Yuqi's gold pass. Everyone saw a phoenix flying in the sky on the glittering commuter card, and a big Shun character below was particularly eye-catching. It must be fake.
The captain of the garrison immediately knelt on one leg and saluted, shouting that he did not know that the lady had arrived and begged for forgiveness.
Wu Yuqi said with a smile: Ignorance is not a crime, but the garrison is protecting the safety of the people of Jingyang, so we cannot turn a blind eye.
The brothers in the garrison immediately hung their heads.
Although Wu Yuqi did not blame the garrison for the collision, she did subtly criticize the garrison for only eating and not doing anything.
She asked the garrison captain to temporarily take over the duties of the county lieutenant, take on the important task of protecting the safety of Jingyang, and assist Shunfeng in investigating the case.
The captain immediately kept his promise and took his men to carry out the mission.
The county magistrate collapsed to the ground, muttering that he did not participate in the murder. He just collected some silver and gold in the past two years. He really did not participate in the murder.
None of this matters anymore. Wu Yuqi walked away without even looking at him.
Lu Zhu shouted to the stunned yamen runners: "Come on, let's go to the county yamen." The runners from the Shunfeng Office had already picked up the county magistrate and were dragging him to the Shunfeng Office.
Word soon spread through the streets of Jingyang County that the county lieutenant had committed a crime and his house had been raided.
The Tea Horse Commissioner broke the law and his house was confiscated.
Manager Li of Fulintang was sent to jail and all the shops were closed down.
Soon, news came that the chief steward of Chengdu Shunfengsi had arrived in Jingyang, and the county magistrate had been detained for questioning.
It is true that good news never travels far, but bad news travels far and wide. In a short while, the whole city knew about it.
Madam Jinhua's maid brought two shopkeepers, one tall and one short, who had long-term business dealings with her family to the living room. The tall and thin businessman said with surprise: Madam, I heard that Mr. Wu, the chief steward of the Chengdu Shunfeng Division, has come to our Jingyang to personally investigate the case of the chief shopkeeper. This time he will surely be able to clear your name.
The tall and thin businessman told Sai Jinhua: The county magistrate has been arrested and interrogated, and the county lieutenant, the tea and horse commander and Manager Li were arrested last night. None of these evildoers can escape, and our tea business will be easier to do.
In recent years, after Fulintang monopolized the tea business, they treated them poorly by arbitrarily raising the prices and suppressing their profits to the point where they had no profit at all. They were forced to raise money everywhere to help Sai Jinhua reopen the Tiantai store, but then the tea boat sinking in the river happened, which really made the situation worse.
They all hope that Sai Jinhua can clear her grievances and do business smoothly.
Sai Jinhua had learned from her neighbors that Jingyang Shunfeng was investigating the case. She was so excited that tears filled her eyes at the thought that she would finally get her day. She wiped her tears while inviting her two friends to have tea.
Then she said: This time when she was buying tea, the ship sank in the river and she suffered huge losses. Fortunately, she got help from a noble person and bought her tea. However, the tea was bad, and she couldn't cheat the merchant, so she had to return the money she received.
Sai Jinhua asked the two brothers to understand that it would take some time before she could repay the money she borrowed from them . She also asked them to rest assured that she would keep her promise about the agreed repayment period and dividends, and would not delay the repayment by a day, let alone reduce the repayment by a penny.
