Seeing Wang Yongzhu, Wang Yongping first let out a sigh of relief, but his anxiety quickly returned. With a few large strides, he left the hunter behind and almost jogged up to Wang Yongzhu, sizing her up and down. When he saw that she was in good spirits, he finally relaxed completely.
Jinhoo also hurried over, asking in a low voice, "Auntie, are you alright?"
The man leading the group beside Wang Yongzhu didn’t appreciate the remark, "Scholar’s Lady is a honored guest of Yingzi Gully; we can’t offer enough hospitality. How could anything be wrong? You young fella, your words are quite offensive!"
Jinhoo wanted to explain, but the following Guan Yifei and Master Qi also approached.
The sight of Wang Yongzhu prompted Guan Yifei to nod with restrained composure, but his steps quickened slightly.
The hunter, who was ostensibly an escort but actually a watchdog, couldn’t help but mutter to himself, "They say these outsiders, especially those from the cities, are pampered and need support even for walking. How come this one, who looks like a boss, moves even faster than me?"
Apart from Master Qi, who was still very composed, walking slowly and looking around at the surroundings, everyone else had gathered around Wang Yongzhu.
Wang Yongzhu nodded to Guan Yifei, "Steward Guan! I have completed the mission honorably!"
An excitement that Guan Yifei had been suppressing unintentionally leaked out, his voice becoming shaky, "Really?"
Wang Yongzhu smiled and introduced the two parties, "Steward Guan, this is Brother Loo Xiaoshan from Yingzi Gully. He is fair and meticulous, and his conduct earns people’s trust."
"Brother Xiao Shan, this is Steward Guan, representing Boss Zhang from the Hengchang Hao in the Capital City."
Guan Yifei was first startled but immediately conjured up an extremely standard, insincere smile, very much in keeping with the image of a Chief Steward.
He greeted Loo Xiaoshan with a clasped-hands gesture, "A pleasure to meet you! A pleasure indeed!"
Loo Xiaoshan, having never encountered such a display, awkwardly returned the gesture, "I’ve long admired your name! Long admired!" These were the polite phrases he often heard the Shopkeepers use when he went to sell mountain goods, and he’d kept them in mind for just such an occasion.
After exchanging pleasantries, Loo Xiaoshan escorted Guan Yifei, Wang Yongzhu, and their companions back into the mountain cave.
Guan Yifei and Wang Yongping’s group, except for Jinhoo, were seeing this setting for the first time and couldn’t help but marvel.
By this time, the children of the cave had all been taken back to their own homes by the elderly.
Once everyone was seated according to their status, Loo Xiaoshan was about to have someone bring up the intensely bitter wild tea that had been brewed that morning, but he was stopped by Wang Yongzhu.
She took out a wrapped parcel, "This is the tea I personally roasted yesterday. Please, have a taste!"
With that, she instructed Jinhoo to boil water and asked Loo Xiaoshan to fetch a stack of clean bowls.
In this mountain cave, they were lucky to even muster enough earthenware bowls for the people present; many households still used roughly carved wooden or bamboo bowls.
The first step was to boil water and use it to clean the grease from the earthenware bowls, then open the paper parcel, releasing a burst of refreshing aroma.
Master Qi, who had been sitting aside with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and stared at the tea packet in Wang Yongzhu’s hand.
Wang Yongzhu placed the tea leaves into the earthenware bowl and then poured in boiling water to complete the process.
Given the circumstances, this makeshift method would have to suffice.
Once the hot water was poured, the subtle fragrance of the tea immediately wafted up.
Master Qi and Guan Yifei closed their eyes, inhaling the aroma of the tea, immersing themselves in its scent.
The hunters, however, just glanced at the tea leaves tumbling in the hot water before settling quietly at the bottom of the bowl; it was quite a pleasing sight.
Although the lighting in the cave was not bad, the dark color of the clay bowl made it impossible to discern the color of the tea.
Guan Yifei and Master Qi, having only smelled the aroma, went straight to tasting it.
After one sip of tea, both of them were silent for a long time.
It was Master Qi who spoke first, and his words were of disdain, "The fire was too strong, the technique unrefined. Half of it is over-roasted, while half has not been thoroughly fixed before being removed from the heat, ruining good tea leaves!"
Seeing Master Qi and Guan Yifei drinking tea, the other hunters also picked up bowls to try something new and find out what exactly the city folk enjoyed.
Then, hearing Master Qi’s comments, they began to wonder, was this really made from the same tea leaves?
Not to mention anything else, as far as they were concerned, although the tea was a bit weak, it did not have a bitter taste, and after a while, a gentle sweetness emerged. Honestly, it was much tastier than their thickly brewed concoctions.
How could it be worth nothing in the mouth of that serious-faced old man?
One of the more outspoken hunters could not hold back, "I say, old man, why are you so unpleasant? I think the Scholar’s Lady did a pretty good job frying the tea, much better than my wife’s skills! At least it could sell for ten Large Coins a pound!"
For these hunters, spending Large Coins on such an unnecessary luxury meant they were showing a lot of respect.
But upon hearing this, Master Qi snorted coldly on the spot, "Ten Large Coins? You should know that with such fine Pre Ming Tea leaves, if I personally made it, you couldn’t even get a sniff of one liang of the new tea without paying one hundred taels!"
"Pfft—" The sound of tea being spit out filled the air.
Even Loo Xiaoshan, who thought himself very steady, couldn’t help but spill his tea all over himself, shivering from the scalding liquid.
In the cave, only Wang Yongzhu, Guan Yifei, and Master Qi remained composed, while everyone else simply could not believe their ears.
Wang Yongzhu addressed Master Qi with a calm demeanor, "Yesterday was my first time frying tea; I lack experience, but with a few more tries, it will improve!"
Master Qi replied with deep distress, "Wasteful! You’re ruining treasures!"
Looking at Wang Yongzhu, he almost wished he could roast her as well.
The moment Wang Yongzhu heard and saw this, she knew that Master Qi must be the tea-making master that Guan Yifei had found. Given his age, it was inevitable that he would be upset seeing such precious Pre Ming Tea ruined.
But she was not a professional, and managing to fry the tea properly on her first try, she thought she had done quite amazingly, okay?
Besides, without practicing more, how was she to gain experience?
Wang Yongzhu did not speak, but her expression betrayed her thoughts, which Master Qi saw, and it only angered him more, "For practice, why can’t you use ordinary tea leaves? Why must you spoil such good leaves? It’s a crime against heaven’s gifts!"
A crime against heaven’s gifts?
Wang Yongzhu silently filled a bowl with the wild tea that the folks from Yingzi Gully commonly drank, and handed it to Master Qi, "Master Qi, please taste this before speaking—"
Master Qi took a sip and nearly spat it out! Was this tea soup? Or was it bitter herbal concoction?
Being thickly brewed and having cooled down, it was even more bitter.
Had he not tasted a hint of tea flavor, Master Qi would have doubted his own tongue.
The familiar sweetness followed, rising up in his throat, darkening Master Qi’s expression as he turned his head away and fell silent.