The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure
Chapter 770 - 769 Sincerity

Chapter 770: Chapter 769 Sincerity

Guan Yifei saw that Master Qi, who always held nothing but tea leaves in his regard and was the most prideful, actually fell silent after drinking a bowl of soup, and instantly, curiosity arose in his heart.

What kind of profound soup was this?

Seeing that Master Qi had only taken a sip before setting the bowl aside, Guan Yifei picked it up and took a sip himself.

Then everyone saw Guan Yifei, who always had a standard, proper, and pleasant smile on his face, his complexion twist up, struggling for quite a while before he barely managed to swallow, avoiding any breach of etiquette.

With a lamenting glance at Master Qi, no wonder he didn’t speak! Compared with this medicinal soup, the tea that Wang Yongzhu half-heartedly fried was already a delicacy.

Not daring to stay in the cave any longer, lest he might have to drink more strange concoctions.

Guan Yifei squeezed out a smile, "Why don’t we go take a look at the tea trees?"

After all, to see such fine tea with one’s own eyes and confirm it, that would be best.

Loo Xiaoshan naturally had no objections.

He instructed the others to entertain guests in the cave, and he personally led Wang Yongzhu and Guan Yifei, along with Master Qi, to see the wild tea grove.

Walking along, he introduced the scenery beside the road to Guan Yifei and Master Qi.

Master Qi’s originally sullen face slowly relaxed.

He occasionally asked a few questions, and judging by his expression, he seemed to be satisfied.

Arriving at the hillside, before Loo Xiaoshan had a chance to speak, Master Qi, with his sharp eyes, spotted the nearest wild tea tree, took three steps as if they were two, and with a speed unbecoming of his age, dashed to the side of that tea tree.

After carefully examining it, he pinched the tip of the bud to smell, then chewed it a few times in his mouth, showing a look of surprise on his face, "Excellent tea! Excellent tea!"

Looking over the hillside, dotted with tea trees, Master Qi’s eyes almost glowed green with excitement, so much so that he became speechless.

He merely nodded at Guan Yifei and then buried himself among the tea trees.

Gaining Master Qi’s affirmation, Guan Yifei felt reassured.

Looking over the hillside, suddenly everything seemed different; these weren’t just tea trees—they were tea leaves, they were silver! They were the glory of his latter half of life!

He took two deep breaths, and seeing that there were no outsiders around, only he, Wang Yongzhu, and the leader from Yingzi Gully, it was an opportune moment to discuss the matter of the tea leaves.

According to Guan Yifei’s thinking, the people from Yingzi Gully would be responsible for gathering the tea leaves before Qingming and Gu Yu festivals, and during those two seasons, they would send people here to process the tea, and afterward, they would transport it away, as this would maximize benefits.

However, looking at the ever-smiling Wang Yongzhu and Loo Xiaoshan, who occasionally glanced at Wang Yongzhu nervously, he knew his plan was not going to work. It seemed that Wang Yongzhu was also going to get involved in the tea business.

If he refused, it would seem rather unreasonable, for without Wang Yongzhu’s assistance, acquiring the tea leaves wouldn’t be so simple for him.

Moreover, they were outsiders after all, and these hunters definitely harbored wariness towards them.

With the Wang family as a mediator, these hunters would cooperate with them.

After some thought, biting his lip, Guan Yifei articulated the terms he had reconsidered—doubling the price for purchasing the tea leaves, and then giving Wang Yongzhu a ten percent share!

Loo Xiaoshan became somewhat anxious upon hearing this; it was far from the terms Wang Yongzhu had discussed with them the day before.

However, he was ultimately a composed individual and knew that now was not the time to speak recklessly. His only choice was to look to Wang Yongzhu.

Wang Yongzhu gave Loo Xiaoshan a reassuring glance, and somehow, that alone seemed to settle his nerves.

Wang Yongzhu smiled, "Steward Guan, you’re really pushing it! These tea leaves have been guarded by the people of Yingzi Gully for generations. Now that we’ve found a connoisseur, they’re sure to make a splash on the tea market, and their value will double! But with your arrangement, the people of Yingzi Gully lose their tea leaves and get nothing in return. Isn’t that a bit unscrupulous?"

Guan Yifei’s face twitched, "What does the Scholar’s Lady think would be a fair distribution?"

Wang Yongzhu’s plan was simple: since it was a collaboration, all parties needed to show sincerity.

Yingzi Gully had nothing else, but what they did have was the most valuable thing: the tea leaves! Without them, everything else was just talk!

To be honest, if Wang Yongzhu didn’t intend to keep her involvement a secret or to advance too quickly, she could have taken the tea leaves for herself and cut Guan Yifei and the others out completely.

But integrity is the foundation of one’s standing, and she wouldn’t stoop to such dishonorable behavior.

The advantage that Guan Yifei had was years of experience and channels in the mountain goods trade, and with Zhang Yinbao’s influence, they could fully launch this wild tea, transforming it from a neglected mountain product into a high-grade tea coveted by officials and nobility.

Wang Yongzhu’s suggestion was, given these circumstances, why not form a partnership? Yingzi Gully would be responsible for the maintenance of the tea trees—it couldn’t just be a one-off deal, harvesting this year’s tea and then forgetting about it, could it?

It wouldn’t be a problem for the people of Yingzi Gully to occasionally check on things during their free time.

Guan Yifei would handle the sales and the initial few years of tea processing. In the meantime, he would teach the people of Yingzi Gully how to process the tea. That way, when tea season came around twice a year, the people from Yingzi Gully could process the tea leaves themselves, and Guan Yifei would only need to transport the processed tea for sale throughout the country.

As for Wang Yongzhu, she would be in charge of liaising and introducing the Lee family to Boss Zhang.

This point immediately changed the slightly unwilling expression on Guan Yifei’s face; he began to fidget with his hands, "Scholar’s Lady, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Is it the Lee family from the Capital City?"

The Lee family of the Capital City naturally referred to Ninth Master Lee’s family.

Don’t let Ninth Master Lee’s unreliability fool you; in the Capital City, the Lee family was indeed renowned.

The Lee family originated from merchants, but the Ancestor of the Lee family was extremely insightful. When the Grand Ancestor conquered the kingdom, the Ancestor of the Lee family contributed his entire fortune to the cause.

With the full support of the Lee family, the Grand Ancestor swept through the battles and successfully established his empire.

When the Grand Ancestor secured his reign and began to reward his supporters, the Lee family naturally was included.

Granted with a plaque by the Grand Ancestor, awarded with noble titles and the promise of imperial endorsement for their business, the Lee family also received the right to manage the purchases for the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Several generations later, the past two generations of the Lee family faced some issues while managing the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Lee family made a decisive move to cut their losses.

They relinquished most of their control over the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which just about settled those issues, although their standing within the palace was not as prominent as before.

But among the world’s merchants, the Lee family held a different significance.

What merchant wouldn’t wish to achieve such status as engaging in trade by imperial decree?

Zhang Yinbao had spent several years in the Capital City cultivating connections, but only managed to meet some lesser officials, costing him a fortune in silver.

Now, merely by forfeiting some profits from the wild tea, he could establish a connection with the Lee family. Surely he wouldn’t pass up this opportunity, would he?