Hangzhou City, an ancient city under the rule of Yuezhou Prefecture. The mountains and rivers here are beautiful, the climate is pleasant, and nearly half of the tea in the entire Gangnam Province is produced here.

At noon, Lu Xin took three Xufu family members to sail on the West Lake, surrounded by sparkling waves, reflecting the verdant mountains. Before the crossing, Lu Xin's home was in Hangzhou, and he was very familiar with the West Lake. But in the Tang Dynasty, he came to Hangzhou for the first time.

At this time, the area of West Lake is much larger than that of modern times, and the environment is more secluded. There are not so many houses, and there are not so many tourists. Listening to the guys around me, twenty years ago, Yang Su, a minister of the Sui Dynasty, was ordered by the emperor to dig the Jiangnan Canal. This made the originally quiet city of Hangzhou lively. Lu Xin naturally understands this truth, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. In ancient societies where transportation was extremely difficult, waterways were much faster than land.

Rao is like this, the West Lake in 627 A.D. is obviously not famous in the world. Lu Xin watched on the lake for a long time, but he didn't see the second boat. At the end of the line of sight are secluded mountains, locked in a thick fog, like a fairyland. West Lake is not yet famous, perhaps missing a few temples. Perhaps, it is the missing words of a few poems that have been passed down through the ages. But in Lu Xin's eyes, the West Lake he saw at this time should be the most beautiful moment in history.

"Lu, shopkeeper Lu, there is still half an hour to dock. However, if you want to climb Shifeng Mountain, you still need some twists and turns. Shall we eat some dry food first to fill our stomachs? ”

The name of the person who spoke was He Meng, a second-class family member of the East Courtyard, thirty-seven years old, and he was considered an old man in the Xu Mansion. Although Xu Sanjin asked Lu Xin to take over the tea business, he only gave him a shop. Responsible for going back and forth between Shanyin County and Hangzhou City, reselling tea on Shifeng Mountain, but business has been tepid. Lu Xin has read the account book, if he does not change his business model, it is very difficult to earn two hundred taels of silver in a few years.

So this time, he decided to climb the mountain himself, take a look at the place where tea is grown, and then think about the doorway. However, because of his young age, several guys in the store didn't really treat him as a shopkeeper, and Lu Xin's command was not easy.

"No, didn't you say that there are still people in the mountains? We buy their tea, and they will naturally give them food, so why bother with dry food. ”

After Lu Xin left the Xu Mansion, he carried a sword with him. It was given to him by the mute Wu to practice swordsmanship, not sharp, but heavy. Every night, when everyone else was sleeping, Lu Xin would practice with a sword for several hours. In just a few days, both arm strength and spirit have become much stronger.

The three guys didn't care about Lu Xin's identity, but they were a little afraid of the sword in his hand. Coupled with Lu Xin's indifferent expression, they still didn't dare not listen to the words of this little shopkeeper.

When the group climbed Shifeng Mountain, the tea farmers had already begun to pick tea. It is said that it is a tea farmer, but in fact, it is an ordinary person living in the mountains, all of which add up to less than 20 people. The so-called relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, the only income of these mountain people is to sell tea. But now it's summer, and summer tea is relatively bitter and not very easy to sell. So when they learned that the tea merchants from Xufu had come to buy tea, the mountain people were very enthusiastic.

"Xiaoyu, the distinguished guests from Fucheng are waiting at home, you go and make them the new tea that grandpa just picked, don't be lazy."

"Okay, I'll go."

In the middle of the ridge, a fourteen-year-old girl was happily running to her residence. Her name is Tian Yu'er, and she is the granddaughter of Tian Gui, the eldest person in the village, and his only relative in the world. The people on Shifeng Mountain all fled decades ago and were not subject to the control of the imperial court. Therefore, these dozen or so mountain people respected the elders according to custom. Every time a merchant arrives, it is Tian Gui's grandfather and grandson who come forward to entertain and decide the price of tea.

Lu Xin sat in the ventilated bamboo house on all sides, smelling the fresh fragrance of tea, and suddenly felt refreshed. The temperature on Shifeng Mountain is much lower than that below, and it is a good place to cool off from the heat. But not long after he sat down, Tian Yu'er hurriedly ran in. With her long hair and shawl, she rolled up her sleeves because she was sweating, revealing her snow-white skin. Drops of sweat rolled down his cheeks, like a crystal mountain spring. Tian Yu'er is very beautiful, although she is only fourteen years old, she is tall and delicate. Coupled with the unique temperament of the mountain people, everyone couldn't take their eyes off it for a while.

Lu Xin was also stupid, the girl in front of her was clean and dusty, and there was no smell of fireworks in the world on her body at all. It's like the little fairy I saw when I watched TV before, but I only met it in a dream. Lu Xin couldn't help but swallow his saliva, but then he felt a little embarrassed and quickly turned his head.

"It turned out to be Uncle He, huh...... It's the first time I've seen this little brother. ”

"Presumptuous, this is the Lu shopkeeper of our Xu Mansion. In the future, the tea on Shifeng Mountain will be purchased by the shopkeeper Lu himself, and he will not see it soon. ”

"Poof! Lu shopkeeper? How old is this kid, not as tall as me...... Hehehehehe Ladies and gentlemen, I'll make you tea. ”

He Meng and the others have gone up the mountain more than once, and Tian Yu'er obviously knows each other. But as soon as he heard that Lu Xin was the shopkeeper of the Xu Mansion, he immediately touched his head and laughed. Lu Xin was a little embarrassed when a girl said that he was short. But Tian Yu'er's hands were particularly soft and warm, although he was touched on the head, he did not dodge, but blushed. In the end, He Meng's face changed on the side, and Tian Yu'er ran away with a smile.

After a while, the girl brought the brewed tea. Lu Xin smelled a strong fragrance from afar, and as soon as the tea was served, he picked it up and drank it. I just feel very sweet and delicious, and when I roll it into my throat, I feel refreshed and comfortable. But the strange thing is that He Meng and the three of them did not drink tea, but looked at the cup in their hands and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

Lu Xin was puzzled, thinking that there was something wrong with this tea. At this time, Tian Gui, who was over seventy years old, walked into the house. As soon as he smelled the fragrance of tea, his face changed suddenly, and he looked very nervous.

"Xiaoyu, what's the matter with you, you can make a mistake when you make a tea. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm really sorry. This tea was stir-fried by Xiao Lao'er privately with fire, so the water brewed looks a little strange. Don't drink it, I still have fresh tea in the morning, so I'll brew it for you. ”

Tian Gui quickly accepted everyone's teacups, and then made a pot of tea again. The new tea leaves are freshly picked in the morning and have not been processed in any way. Tian Gui brewed directly with boiling water, although it also has a fragrance, but it is not strong. Lu Xin was a little unaccustomed to drinking, but He Meng and the others were complacent.

At this time, Lu Xin remembered that Xu Sanjin made tea and drank tea, using fresh tea leaves. And the entire Gangnam Province is almost like this. But in modern times, all tea leaves are stir-fried and processed through special steps, and the taste of the two brews is completely different.

"No wonder no one in the Tang Dynasty drank tea, put the directly picked leaves into the water, how could there be any taste, and it was not easy to store. It seems that this old man is the originator of the roasted tea industry. ”

Lu Xin was extremely excited by this discovery, and if the tea everyone drank was fresh and unprocessed, then he would definitely increase sales as long as he stir-fried the tea leaves before selling. More importantly, tea processing is an extremely important part of the future tea ceremony. If done properly, Lu Xin is likely to become a witness and witness to the development of tea ceremony culture.

But roasted tea is also a university question, in modern times, the price of tea, and the way tea is processed has a deep relationship. Lu Xin naturally doesn't know how to roast tea, but Tian Gui seems to have made some discoveries. Just as Lu Xin put down the teacup and was about to ask Tian Gui, another group of people came outside the bamboo house.

The leader was a fat man who looked to be about forty years old, dressed in a rich and noble dress. He had a folding fan in his hand, his two front teeth were exposed, his eyes were small, and his smile was very obscene. Five strong men followed him, looking like slaves. After Tian Gui saw this group of people, his expression immediately became nervous, and he was even a little scared.

"Hey, hey, old man Tian, I haven't seen you for many days, but you've never been lonely. That's it, I'm going up the mountain today, and I just want to ask you, how is Xiaoyu's marriage considered? It's better to choose a day than to hit the day, and it's time to give a sentence, right? ”

The fat man didn't care that there were guests in Tian Gui's house, and walked in as if no one was around. A pair of small eyes looked around, as if looking for something.

"Niu Yuan, you are one of the richest people in Hangzhou, and you have thirteen wives and concubines in your family, not one of our families. That Nizi is still young, except for picking tea, she can't do anything, but she can't enter the door of Niu's house. ”

"Hmph, you dead old man who doesn't eat oil and salt, toast and don't eat and drink, get out of the way. Whether Tian Yu'er can enter the door of my Niu family or not, Master Ben has the final say! ”

Tian Gui stepped forward to laugh, but was kicked to the ground by the fat man. Seeing this scene, Tian Yu'er, who was originally hiding in the back room, hurriedly rushed out.

"Grandpa, grandpa, are you alright? Niu Ercheng, you get out quickly, even if you die, I won't step into the door of Niu's house for half a step! ”

"Hahahaha, Master Ben likes a strong woman like you. Die? In front of this master, it is difficult for you to die. Come on, tie me up and take it back to the house, this master is going to be a cave tonight! ”

Niu Ercheng looked down at Tian Yu'er, smiling obscenely. Na Tian Gui is very old, how can he withstand his kick, he is already paralyzed on the ground and can't get up. A few people outside the door saw their master giving an order, rolled up their sleeves and prepared to enter the house. But before he had taken a few steps, he saw a sword slam down on the threshold.

Niu Ercheng was startled, but then looked at Lu Xin and his party with a furious expression.

"Who are you who want to meddle with my Niu family's affairs? Aren't you afraid that you won't be able to get out of this Hangzhou city? ”

"Hmph, Tian Gui is a tea farmer in my Xu Mansion, if you dare to touch the two of them, you will be against the entire Xu Mansion."

Lu Xin sneered and slowly stood up.