“Afterward, they brought up the matter of doing business together. Prefect Lü comes from a humble background, doesn’t have much family wealth or salary, and has parents and siblings to support back home. Since he would be cooperating with people of Master Lu and Master Qi’s status, he was quite willing and agreed to it.”

“That’s good,” Ye Yaming said. “Fourth Uncle, you should go back and rest early. We need to set out early tomorrow.”

…

The next day, everyone departed for Fuxi Town.

The origin of Huangshan Maofeng tea was in the Chongchuan and Tangkou area. Ye Yaming had inquired extensively from teahouse owners in Xin’an Prefecture and finally heard of two place names: Fuxi Town and Chongtou Yuan. Chongtou Yuan was the original name for Chongchuan, and Tangkou wasn’t far from Fuxi. It should be the place she had visited in her previous life.

Therefore, today everyone headed straight for Fuxi Town.

There weren’t any decent inns in Fuxi Town. Yesterday, Lü Xuanlin had sent someone to make arrangements at the local post station, so when they arrived, everyone stayed there.

Lu Guanyi said to Ye Yaming, “Miss Ye, please stay at the post station tomorrow. We’ll go look first. Carriages can’t go up the mountain, and the paths are difficult. After we select a site, if you feel it necessary to take a look, you can come with us then.”

How could Ye Yaming agree to that?

She said, “I’ve come all this way to personally select a tea mountain. How could I turn back at the foot of the mountain?”

She added, “Don’t worry, I can ride a horse, and my stamina is good. I’ll only bring Guan Ting along and won’t slow you down.”

To legitimize her horse-riding skills, she had specifically “learned” from Guan Ting before coming. The reason they had been traveling by carriage instead of horseback was that the cold weather made horseback riding inadvisable.

Seeing her insistence, Lu Guanyi couldn’t say much else and turned to look at Ye Hongrong.

Ye Hongrong spread his hands, indicating he couldn’t persuade Ye Yaming.

Lu Guanyi also knew about the Ye family situation. Not to mention Ye Hongrong, even Ye Chongming had to listen to Ye Yaming.

He could only advise, “Bring two more guards and escort masters. If you get tired, just head back first.”

“Alright,” Ye Yaming nodded.

Seeing her agree and appearing particularly obedient, the corners of Lu Guanyi’s mouth curved into a faint smile.

The impression of docility was just an illusion.

The next day, when Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji were ready and stepped out of their quarters, they found Ye Yaming and her uncle already prepared and waiting outside.

Ye Yaming wore a practical outfit with knee-high boots and a skirt that ended just above her knees. Her sleeves were narrow, and apart from a wooden hairpin, she wore no accessories, just a small earring.

This attire was extremely practical and efficient.

Guan Ting was dressed similarly.

Both women wore somewhat worn cloaks over their outfits.

In contrast, the men’s attire hadn’t changed much; they still wore long robes. Due to the cold weather, they did wear leather boots.

“Let’s go. We’ll take the carriage first. We can ride horses when the carriage can go no further,” Ye Yaming said, taking the lead and getting into the carriage.

Previously, mindful of propriety between men and women, Ye Yaming and Ye Hongrong, though uncle and niece, had found it inconvenient to sit in the same carriage and had traveled separately. But today, such considerations were set aside. The two of them shared one carriage, Lu and Qi shared another, and the guards and escorts rode horses as they headed to Chongtou Yuan.

Upon their arrival yesterday, they had paid a substantial sum for a local guide arranged by the post station officials.

Ye Yaming had visited this place many times in her previous life and knew about the tea gardens here. Yesterday, she had discussed with the man and specified the direction, so now everyone was heading straight for the place they had agreed upon rather than searching around.

When they reached a point where the road ended, everyone switched to horses and continued forward.

Everyone had been concerned about Ye Yaming, but seeing her ride so well and appearing quite at ease on horseback, even having the leisure to enjoy the scenery, they all relaxed.

The guide’s surname was Huang, and he was called Huang Hansheng. He pointed ahead and said, “Over there is a tea garden. It’s quite large, with several dozen gardener households. It belongs to Master Wu from Xin’an City.”

Ye Hongrong laughed upon hearing this, “Master Wu wanted to exchange this tea garden for our osmanthus tea formula.”

“What happened?” Qi Ji asked in surprise.

Ye Hongrong then related what had happened the day before yesterday.

“Hmph, truly doesn’t know his limitations,” Qi Ji sneered.

Master Wu’s tea garden was located at the foot of the mountain and was quite large. The guide had them take a detour around it. Now, having gone around, they needed to climb the mountain.

He said, “Up ahead, we can’t even ride horses. We need to proceed on foot. The mountain path is rugged and steep, not easy to walk.”

Lu Guanyi glanced at Ye Yaming, thought for a moment, then guided his horse to her side and said, “I’ve remembered what you said. It needs to be above one hundred zhang and below two hundred and forty zhang, with fertile soil and a gentle slope. The mountain paths aren’t easy to navigate. Perhaps you shouldn’t go up after all.”

Ye Yaming smiled, “It’s alright. I’ve been preparing for this by walking several rounds in our garden every day, and I’ve climbed mountains when visiting the tea gardens in Baifeng County. I think I can manage.”

Lu Guanyi nodded, “Very well, let’s try. But don’t push yourself if it’s too difficult.”

“Alright.”

Meanwhile, Ye Hongrong and Qi Ji, seeing Lu Guanyi approaching Ye Yaming and engaging in casual conversation, had already turned their full attention to them.

However, Lu Guanyi and Ye Yaming merely exchanged a few simple words before parting, both with ordinary expressions. Ye Hongrong and Qi Ji couldn’t help feeling somewhat disappointed.

Ye Yaming, however, felt good about it.

Lu Guanyi’s ordinary demeanor meant they could work together. If he had shown other emotions, she would have had to avoid interacting with him in the future, which would have been inconvenient for their collaboration.

Soon, everyone dismounted and began walking up the mountain.

Fortunately, woodcutters and herb gatherers frequented this mountain, so there was a small path. Everyone followed the guide along this path upward.

After walking for a while, everyone discovered that Ye Yaming hadn’t exaggerated. Although she was somewhat short of breath, her pace wasn’t slow, and her climbing movements were quite agile. She didn’t slow the group down at all.

In comparison, Qi Ji and Ye Hongrong were in a similar condition to her. Only Lu Guanyi, probably due to his martial arts training since childhood, climbed the mountain as if walking on flat ground, with his breathing and complexion unchanged from normal.

“This height should be about right,” Lu Guanyi stopped and looked at Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming nodded, “It should be suitable.”

She grabbed a handful of soil from the ground and began testing its pH value.

Although the place name overlapped with the origin of Huangshan Maofeng tea from her previous life, whether it was exactly the same location and suitable for growing tea still needed to be verified.

The soil for tea gardens must be slightly acidic, with a pH value preferably between 4.5 and 5.5. As she walked along, she felt that the soil layer thickness, drainage, and surrounding environment here were all good. If the pH value met the standard, then they could establish the tea garden here.

She took out two small dishes, put a bit of soil in each, and then added white vinegar to the dish on the left.

After adding it, she observed quietly and found that the soil didn’t make a “hissing” sound, indicating it wasn’t alkaline.