“We’ll discuss it when we get back,” Ye Yaming said.

So Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng held back their questions and followed Ye Yaming back to the Ye residence.

Only after entering Ye Chongming’s study and dismissing all the servants did Ye Yaming finally say: “For the tea I’m going to make next, I’ll need to process it directly in the mountain tea gardens. The fresh leaves must be processed immediately after withering; they cannot be stored. Time is tight, the task is substantial, and we don’t have experienced hands.”

She looked at Ye Chongming and Ye Hongsheng with a serious expression: “And the tea I want to make is something even better than the osmanthus tea—it will revolutionize tea-making techniques.”

Osmanthus tea was merely a reprocessed tea; whether it tasted good or not depended on the quality of the tea base. But the invention of pan-fried green tea represented a revolution in production techniques.

Since the emergence of pan-fried green tea in the Ming Dynasty, why had steamed green tea had gradually declined to the point that, in modern times, except for a few varieties like Enshi Jade Dew, almost all famous teas were pan-fried green teas.

This was because pan-fried green tea was generally more fragrant, better tasting, and the production process was simpler.

History has proven the value of pan-fried green tea with facts.

Therefore, Ye Yaming’s introduction of pan-fried green tea would inevitably cause an even greater sensation than osmanthus tea.

Hearing Ye Yaming’s words, Ye Hongsheng was fine, merely interested in the production techniques of this tea. Ye Chongming, however, immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.

The booming sales of osmanthus tea and the frustration of having no tea to sell were still fresh in his mind. Did he want such a situation to happen again? And if they mass-produced the tea Ye Yaming spoke of, what benefits would it bring to the Ye family? Beyond money, there was also reputation.

Their Ye family would become the premier tea-making family in Great Jin.

If the Emperor tasted this tea and found it good, was it possible for the Ye family to become imperial merchants?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

“You can have all the tea masters from the factory. Do whatever you want with them. I’ll personally supervise, and whoever disobeys you will be severely punished,” he declared decisively. “If you have any demands, just tell me. If I can’t fulfill them, I’ll seek help from Young Master Lu and Young Master Qi.”

No matter what, they had to produce this tea.

Ye Yaming shook her head: “I don’t want a single one of the tea masters from the factory.”

“What? Why?” Ye Hongsheng asked.

These tea masters had made tea for the Ye family all their lives. He spent every day with them, and in his view, their character was reliable.

“The production technique for my tea is completely different from what they know,” Ye Yaming said. “Originally, I thought that since they understand tea properties and have steady hands, they would certainly be better than people who have never made tea before. That’s why I went with you to meet them today.”

She shook her head: “But I found it won’t work.”

“Is it because of their attitude?” Ye Chongming asked anxiously. “With me there, they wouldn’t dare disobey you.”

Ye Hongsheng, who better understood the tea masters’ temperaments, said: “If you want to teach them to make tea, you’ll have to make it once first, right? Let them taste it then. Once they taste that this tea is better than other teas, they will naturally be convinced.”

“I know. In the face of real skill, no one can be convinced. My refusal to use them isn’t because of their attitude.”

She looked at the two men: “They’re all getting on in years, and their physical strength isn’t sufficient. My tea-making method requires hands-on work; it can’t be done through teamwork. Fresh leaves won’t wait, and the season won’t wait. With their physical condition, they might be exhausted after just making ten batches or so.”

“If I go to the trouble of teaching them, only to find they can’t do the work, what’s the point? It’s better to teach young people. Once young people learn, they can make tea for several more decades. As for those tea masters, even if they have good physical strength now, they won’t be able to continue after a few more years.”

“Besides, aren’t we still collecting rough tea from the garden owners? That rough tea doesn’t keep for long either and needs to be processed. If we assign all of them to me, what about that work?”

Ye Chongming frowned and nodded: “Indeed.”

His granddaughter had only received the ancestors’ blessing and inherited their knowledge in autumn.

At that time, he didn’t fully understand his granddaughter’s abilities and didn’t trust her enough. Besides, there were no fresh tea leaves then, so it was too late to train tea masters even if they had wanted to.

Now, spring tea was almost ready. And the best tea of the year was spring tea.

Now they had fresh tea leaves and an exceptionally powerful tea-making method, but they were helpless because they had no tea masters. This truly left Ye Chongming at a loss for words.

Ye Hongsheng considered the problem purely from a technical perspective: “Is the new tea-making method difficult? How long would it take a newcomer to learn it?”

“Whether it’s difficult or not is hard to say,” Ye Yaming frowned. “The weather is getting warmer now, so there should be some fresh tea leaves on the mountain. Why don’t we go up the mountain tomorrow, and I’ll make some for you to see?”

“Good,” Ye Hongsheng nodded.

“I’ll go too,” said Ye Chongming.

Early the next morning, before dawn, the three generations went to the tea mountain in Baifeng County.

The carriage stopped at the villa, and after entering the courtyard, Ye Chongming instructed a servant: “Go tell the estate manager to pick some fresh tea leaves and send them to the villa.”

The servant agreed and ran toward the tea mountain.

The villa was built right in the tea garden, with the tea mountain just outside the door. However, the villa was some distance from where the estate workers lived.

Although some tea buds had already sprouted, the yield was too low, and it wasn’t time for harvesting yet. They would need to wait a few more days for the temperature to rise higher for the best tea-picking season.

Ye Yaming asked the guards and carriage driver to keep watch outside the courtyard. After they left, she instructed Zan’er and Shui’e to fetch things from her carriage.

Knowing the importance of the matter, the three had brought minimal staff, only their most trusted personal maids and servants. As for the guards and carriage driver, Ye Chongming had carefully selected them as well.

Ye Hongsheng watched as Zan’er and Shui’e carried an iron wok from the carriage. He gave Ye Yaming a curious look but didn’t say anything.

After placing the wok under the corridor, the two servants carried a stove from the carriage, and finally, a basket of firewood.

Ye Yaming said: “Tea picking and spreading takes time; we won’t be able to process it until at least late afternoon. Grandfather and Father, you’ve been in the carriage for the whole journey, please go rest for a while, and come back for lunch later.”

They had set out before dawn and left the city as soon as the gates opened, so it wasn’t yet lunchtime.

“Alright,” said Ye Hongsheng. “I’ll take a walk up the mountain and return in about half an hour.” He planned to check on the condition of the tea trees and chat with the estate manager.

Ye Chongming, being older, felt stiff after sitting in the carriage for half a day, so he went inside to rest.

After about half an hour, someone brought a basket of fresh tea leaves. Ye Yaming directed her two maids to spread the tea leaves out on bamboo trays to wither.

By this time, the servants had prepared lunch, and Ye Chongming was called to join his son and granddaughter for a simple meal.