As Ye Hongsheng’s tea was finishing its roasting, he worried about his elderly father and removed the cloth from his hands, standing up. “I’ll go check on him.”
Just as he spoke, Ye Chongming walked in with hurried steps, appearing excited. Hongsheng quickly went to support his father.
“They’ve tasted it! They’ve tasted it! The Emperor praised it, saying it was good!” Ye Chongming was so excited that his lips trembled.
“Father, please calm down,” Ye Hongsheng hurriedly helped him regulate his breathing.
Bai Rui brought tea over and offered it to Ye Chongming, but he waved it away.
“Young Master Lu also said that because the Emperor enjoyed our tea, the Crown Prince seized the opportunity to speak about the extravagance and wastefulness of compressed tea cakes compared to the benefits of loose tea. The Emperor found his reasoning sound and is now having court officials discuss abolishing tea cakes in favor of loose tea.”
Ye Yaming smiled, “That’s wonderful!”
During their previous visit, Fan Yu and his entourage had stayed in Lin’an for four days. Princess Yuning had specifically requested to meet her, and she accompanied her father in showing them the tea gardens and factory, leaving an excellent impression on Princess Yuning and the others.
After they left, father and daughter immersed themselves in tea production, personally sealing the tea in canisters. Lu Guanyi came to collect them in person and delivered them to the capital.
Ye family also sent tea to Master Zhineng and Fan Yu, with some token gifts to Prefect Qi and the Tea Monopoly Bureau officials.
After sending out the pre-Qingming tea, the father and daughter continued to produce rain-season tea, keeping busy until now.
During this time, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji had remained in the capital.
Ye Yaming knew that Lu Guanyi and the Crown Prince would certainly use Longjing tea to make some political maneuvers, but she hadn’t expected them to persuade the Emperor to abolish tea cakes in favor of loose tea so quickly.
“Yaming, is the tea that you and your father have been roasting recently ready to be sold? Also, should we stop producing tea cakes at the factory? If we stop there, can the apprentices come over to learn tea roasting?” Ye Chongming asked.
Now that the Ye family’s Longjing tea had earned the Emperor’s praise, they needed to capitalize on this opportunity to establish their brand. They had to convert this good reputation into tangible silver—that was the proper course of action.
Ye Yaming nodded, “Let’s sell it. However, let’s continue making tea cakes to finish the remaining rough tea. Once that’s done, they can come over to learn tea roasting.”
“Whatever you say,” Ye Chongming said cheerfully, walking out with renewed vigor, as if he’d grown ten years younger.
The rain-season tea that Ye Yaming had processed earlier had already been transported to the capital, just waiting for this moment to go on sale. The subsequent batches were stored in the Ye family residence. With Ye Yaming and Ye Hongsheng continuing to roast tea, they should be able to meet the demand.
He calculated this in his mind as he rode down the mountain in a carriage.
The next day, a sign appeared outside the Jixiang Pavilion announcing: “Longjing Tea Now Available, 15 taels of silver per liang, welcome to sample and purchase.”
The tea customers were stunned.
“Waiter! Waiter! Come here,” an elderly tea connoisseur beckoned toward the inside.
When the waiter ran over, the man pointed at the sign and asked, “Isn’t this written incorrectly? Shouldn’t it be 15 taels of silver per jin?”
The waiter smiled and replied, “Sir, you’ve read it correctly, and we haven’t made a mistake. It is indeed 15 taels of silver per liang.”
The crowd erupted in exclamations.
As everyone was about to question this, the waiter continued, “This Longjing tea is newly created by our proprietor. The pre-Qingming Longjing produced recently was sent to the capital and tasted by the Emperor, Crown Prince, Master Zhineng, Princess Yuning, Prince Consort Fan, and others—all of whom praised it highly. It’s said that because of this tea, the Emperor is now having his court officials discuss whether to abolish tea cakes in favor of loose tea.”
Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.
After his initial surprise, the elderly man at the front huffed, “Even tall tales need some basis in reality. No matter how good your tea might be, surely it doesn’t warrant being sampled by the Emperor and Crown Prince?”
“My goodness, how would I dare to speak falsely about this? This is true. Do you know that young Master Lu who lives near the government office? He’s close friends with young Master Qi from the Prefect’s household.” The waiter pointed in the direction of Lu Guanyi’s residence.
“I know this person,” said a well-dressed middle-aged man from the crowd. “He’s the eldest son of the Marquis of Xuanwu from the capital. My family lives not far from his.”
He often heard his wife and daughter discussing this young Master Lu.
This man was handsome with an excellent family background, making him one of Lin’an’s most eligible bachelors. Many young women would dress up carefully and wander in front of his gate, hoping for a chance encounter with Master Lu to arrange a marriage.
Unfortunately, this Master Lu either remained behind closed doors or traveled far away. On the rare occasions when they did encounter him, he maintained an unapproachable demeanor. His guards and servants were even more vigilant, preventing these young ladies from approaching their master as if they were thieves.
“Master Lu works in the Crown Prince’s household. After tasting this tea and finding it good, he took some to the capital and presented it to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince found its aroma enticing, its taste fresh and sweet, and subsequently presented it to the Emperor,” said the waiter.
Hearing such a detailed account, everyone began to believe it somewhat. “Really?”
“Really!” the waiter swore, “Even if my master and I were filled with courage, we wouldn’t dare use the Emperor and Crown Prince’s names to promote tea!”
Finally, everyone believed him.
Although the current Emperor was lenient, and people could gossip about him in teahouses without consequences as long as they didn’t deliberately slander him, spread false information, or incite rebellion, merchants still wouldn’t dare use the Emperor and Crown Prince for promotion.
However, looking at the price still left them shocked.
“Even so, you can’t set the price this high!”
“Only our Second Master knows how to make this tea. He has to stay in the tea garden, picking and processing it immediately, which is truly laborious, resulting in extremely limited production. During the entire pre-Qingming period, only about thirty jin were produced. Master Lu took ten jin to the capital, two jin were sent to Master Zhineng, and when Princess Yuning, Prince Consort Fan, and the Tan siblings came to watch our Second Master make tea, they each took one or two jin. A few liang were sent to Prefect Qi and the officials at the Tea Monopoly Bureau, and then it was all gone.”
“Everyone knows that rarity increases value. If we didn’t set the price high, wouldn’t it be quickly bought up by one or two people? How would later customers get to taste it?”
At this point, the waiter smiled and suggested, “Just like with the osmanthus tea before, I recommend that everyone chip in together to order a pot. A pot of tea costs ten taels of silver, and each cup costs one tael. For distinguished gentlemen like yourselves with substantial means, one tael of silver is nothing. When you leave here, at the very least, you can say you’ve tasted Longjing tea, right?”
Remembering the pleasant surprise that osmanthus tea had brought them, those who could afford it called their friends over, preparing to pool money together to order a pot.
One tael of silver was not cheap. An ordinary commoner couldn’t save up one tael in an entire year. Even for the wealthy tea customers, spending one tael on a few sips of tea made them wince.
But all thoughts of expense and complaints about the price vanished the moment they tasted the tea.
“How can this tea be so fragrant? How can it be so sweet and mellow without any bitterness or astringency? No wonder the Emperor praised it after drinking it.”
“Indeed! One tael of silver per cup is worth it!”