Early the next morning.

The sky is hazy, and the tea pickers have come to the tea mountain to pick a bud of tea leaves.

The weather in autumn was good, with only a few light rains, and all of them rained in the evening and stopped in the middle of the night. Today is another sunny day, in the words of the tea farmers, a good year, everyone should make a fortune.

Ye Chen went out very early, rode a motorized tricycle to Carpenter Zhang's house and loaded three retorts back.

It is not an ancient earthenware retort, but a modern wooden barrel retort that is still used in many remote areas, and is a tool used to steam rice. A wooden barrel with drawers and no bottom, and the rice on top is steamed by steam.

"Master Zhou, help light the fire. Four stoves ......"

"No problem. ”

Three stoves to cook wooden barrels, go to the wood gas of the new retort. In the other stove, cotton cloth and silk cloth were boiled, and pieces of cloth thirty centimeters square were used to wrap tea leaves, fifty sheets each.

The cloth is boiled for more than ten minutes, and it is removed and dried. These square veils will be used to wrap tea in the future, and they have been positioned to make high-end tea, so they are not afraid of this investment.

After seven o'clock, Zhao Jiyang sent Ye Chen the morning, followed by Connor and Anderson, two white men, which were very attention-grabbing.

"Eat. Zhao Jiyang wiped the sweat on Ye Chen's forehead and said, "Is there anything you need help with?"

"There's nothing you can do to help, just watch from the sidelines. Ye Chen shaved his meal in two or two and called Luo Wei: "Have you arrived?"

"It's time to Shimizu Village. Nine tea masters, 175 temporary workers. Luo Wei said.

"Okay. Hurry up and come here, it's almost ready here. Ye Chen hung up the phone and asked Zhou Kang to go to the tea mountain to inform the tea pickers to collect the tea and collect some of it first.

175 temporary workers with their own stools. As for the iron basin, Ye Chen has to prepare it here.

The overall arrangement of 175 people is a huge job. I couldn't sit down while cooking, so I had to wait on the side of the road.

"So many people?" Anderson was curious, "making the tea that the emperor drinks?"

"That's right. Ye Chen said that he asked Luo Cheng to distribute the iron basin, clean it, and explain to the temporary workers how to take out the tea core.

The few dollars of green tea left over yesterday, Ye Chen used it to demonstrate to everyone, using a toothpick to peel off the two leaves on the outside of the tea buds, and only take a wisp of tea core. The tip of the tea core is as small as a needle, blue and white in color, and cannot be touched by fingers. If you come into contact with it, the young tea core will change color, that is, it will be 'ripe'. It's a delicate job that requires patience......

Ye Chen explained several times that his fingers could not touch the tea core, and if he touched the tea core, he would discard it directly.

The requirements are so strict because of Ye Chen's character, a natural perfectionist, and a little bit of cleanliness himself. Besides, the tea leaves are not for oneself to enjoy, but for exhibition and guest tasting.

Connor and Anderson learned to pull the core and couldn't help but say, "It's too hard." Is it really a tea for the emperor?"

"Of course. "Ye Chen deliberately looked up relevant information on the Internet last night, and the dragon group Shengxue made by the master may really be the lost dragon group Shengxue. Regardless of the production process, the tea mold is very similar to the book record. What's more, during the Northern Song Dynasty, people drank 'ground tea', that is, ground tea leaves. For more than ten years, it is unlikely that Master Ye Chen will read books to find such a troublesome tea-making process......

There is also a tea mold plate like a baby, that thing is not an ordinary thing at a glance, the grinding is exquisitely carved, and it may not even be a modern object.

The dew tea is taken back,

31 skilled pickers, more than an hour, picked the most less than three taels, most of them only picked one tael and five yuan of tea. A total of only 5.7 catties were distributed to 175 workers.

This process is called 'tea picking'.

The dragon group wins the snow and needs to pick tea leaves in the early morning dew.

Autumn tea is thin and old-fashioned, and the length of the tea buds is about 1.5 cm.

In the past, the dragon group Shengxue made by the old man was the tea before the sting. The sting is a solar term, probably at the beginning of March. I have to steam and boil a piece of tea before picking tea, but last night I read "Beiyuan Beilu", which was compiled by Zhao Ruli in the Song Dynasty...... and recorded in the whole book of Siku, which was attached to the Xiong Fan Gong Tea Record. There are also some other accounts of the dragon group Shengxue......

Before the sting, the tea buds are germinating, and the tea leaves are too tender, so they need to be steamed first and then picked. Autumn tea is old-fashioned, you can pick it first and then steam it. So there is only one process left......

"Master Ye, I read the record in the book that only water buds are taken to make Longtuan Shengxue, that is, first remove the two small leaves outside the tea leaves, and then peel off the two young leaves, and only take a strand in the center, which is as thin as a hair and as clean as a silver thread......" A master who was hired to peel off a real water bud, the white bud heart, the most delicate of the tea buds. This kind of bud is rolled when it sees the wind, so it is peeled off and soaked in water, also called water bud.

"It's going to mean it, and it's not really for the emperor. The corners of Ye Chen's mouth twitched slightly, if according to the history book process, it is estimated that the two hundred people here will not be able to make three or two dragon groups in a day.

The tea master smiled and said, "Anyway, the government pays the bill, so it's better to be more authentic and open everyone's eyes." ”

"Ye, come out seriously, let's take a look. Connor also peeled off a water bud and held it in his hand.

"This ......" these guys don't know about trouble. Ye Chen looked at the workers who stopped and said, "Okay, let's make it according to the "Beiyuan Farewell". "There is a record of the general process in the "Beiyuan Bielu", but it is ominous when it comes to the details. Just like the several masters who wanted to make Longtuan Shengxue before, they didn't know that Longtuan Shengxue was a 'tea cake', and they made something plausible, light and tasteless.

Next, peel the four leaves, the work is slower, but fortunately, there are more people.

After nine o'clock, the sun rose, and Luo Wei sent five catties of tea buds from the tea mountain, and then sent the tea buds ordered from other villages, 13 catties.

Today, the tea buds used to make Longtuan Shengxue are a total of 24.2 catties.

All of them were distributed, and Ye Chen and Zhao Jiyang also began to pick tea.

A pound of tea buds is about 8,000, 24 pounds of tea buds, 19 to 200,000 tea buds, meticulously peeling out the heart of tea by hand, even if there are 200 people involved in the work, the work will not be completed until two o'clock in the afternoon.

Everyone didn't eat at noon, and after it was finished, Ye Chen asked Zhao Jiyang to settle the bill for everyone, seventy per person, and the extra twenty was the lunch subsidy at noon.

Chen Kang and the others went to cook, and Ye Chen steamed the buds with the assistance of the invited tea master.

The peeled water buds are rinsed four times with well water, poured into a wooden retort flat, and the pot is boiled on high heat, and the water is taken out as soon as the water boils and there is no steam.

Here it is more elegant, the color of steaming is too ripe and turns yellow, light and tasteless, and the color of steaming is green and has the smell of grass and trees. The steamed tea leaves are taken out immediately, poured with well water until the tea leaves are cold, taken out and put in a mold to squeeze the water, and then wrapped in three layers of white pure silk cloth, tied to the dried bamboo skin for heavy pressing, and can be free to make other tea here

Ye Chen and the invited roasted tea master fried ordinary tea leaves, and fried 12 kilograms of finished tea leaves. Then take out the water buds and knead them well, and beat them repeatedly with a wooden board for about two hours......

Making Dragon Regiment Katsuyuki is really not an easy job.

Nine masters stayed up late with Ye Chen, as well as Connor and Anderson. The harder they worked, the more curious the two became, and if they didn't watch the whole process, they really couldn't sleep.

Repeated patting to remove the green paste of the tea, and then grind the tea.

On the snow and the snow, there is a tax law of sixteen waters. Use a wooden pestle and a clay pot, which was brought back from the old man's family.

The tea has been squeezed in the process of squeezing, it has been dried and there is no water, and water must be added when the tea is grinded, and it can be soaked one by one.

Sixteen cups of water are sixteen cups of water, and each time you add water, you have to wait for the water in the pot to dry, and grind it sixteen times......

Almost forty minutes at a time.

What the hell......

This is a boring job, and in the middle of the night, these tea masters fall asleep and go back to their respective homes.

"It's going to be a long time, it's almost two o'clock. Zhao Jiyang took out his mobile phone, looked at the time, and yawned.

"It's very early, or you go home and rest. "Ye Chen has only added water 4 times now.

Connor and Anderson's drowsiness had already come: "Anderson and I won't stay up late with you." Connor said.

"Hmm. Ye Chen nodded and said to Zhao Jiyang: "You are also going home, rest early." ”

Zhao Jiyang yawned, nodded, and sent Connorke Anderson back, and after a while, he drove over again, took a coat for Ye Chen, and went back to the car to take a blanket: "You can't sleep when you're not there, come and accompany you." ”

"Dizzy. Ye Chen smiled, put down the work at hand and pointed to the clay pot: "Are you stupid?" Such a large clay pot, take it home and grind it. ”

Zhao Jiyang pursed his lips and chuckled, leaned on his shoulder and kissed him: "It's just that I'm busy and stupid." ”