Great Imperial Merchant

Ever since Fumanlou launched the dark fragrance soup in spring, their position as a tea merchant has been firmly established.

Dim Fragrance Soup is not actually tea, but it has a profound artistic conception and is quite pleasant. In addition, the price is cheap, so it made Fumanlou's business easier for a while.

After the Qingming Festival, Fumanlou's new tea also hit the market, and it became a household name in Quzhou.

Although in order to avoid the Gu family's Chongling Xueya, Fumanlou makes more black tea and black tea, but their tea is very good, and the price is not ridiculously expensive, so it is very popular among Quzhou people.

In the summer, they sold another batch of new tea from the Northland, which really attracted the attention of the Cao Gang.

Originally, they gave the Cao Gang a favor in the winter of last year to help them solve their big troubles. Recently, they transported tea from Beidi to Quzhou, which can be regarded as a formal cooperation with the Cao Gang.

Fumanlou has been open for more than a year, and it has become a well-known restaurant in Quzhou. Whenever Fumanlou changes new dishes, the business is often so hot that other merchants can't stand it, but there is nothing they can do about it.

Who are the two young bosses of Fumanlou, who have real skills in their hands?

It wasn't until the red leaves fell on the ground in autumn that it was the first time that a foreign tea merchant came over and said that they wanted to sell their tea as an agent.

Fumanlou's tea products, the more expensive ones are all first-class, and the cheap teas also use the best leaves. No matter how much or what grade of tea you buy, when you brew it at home, not a single leaf is The bad ones show their sincerity and intentions.

In addition, their packaging is exquisite, and they are never short of weight. Every time new tea products are introduced, they also introduce new dishes. This has completely earned their reputation and let merchants from other places know that Quzhou is a new tea merchant.

They now have one tea garden in Beidi and three in Quzhou. The day before yesterday they even went to the foot of Chongling Mountain and bought dozens of acres of land, waiting for the spring to plant new tea.They have enough tea leaves and confidence, so when someone came to talk about cooperation, the two of them didn't refuse.

It's just that when I went home at night, I discussed it carefully.

The most profitable tea merchants are not the tea houses and tea houses, but the finished tea sold elsewhere.Of course they know this, and it is natural to find someone to cooperate with, but who and how to find them are very important.

At night, the two coaxed their son to sleep, and then they lay on the bed together, chatting with each other: "What did Boss Zhang who came today say?"

The first merchant who came to the door came directly to the main store. At that time, Yang Zhongyuan was busy at the branch store, so he didn't have time to meet with him.

Cheng Weizhe wiped his hair with a cloth towel, and said: "He is quite sincere. Didn't Brother Xia give us a list of merchants from other places before? Their family is on it, and they are the largest merchants in Huai'an. They do business in the county mansion. Pretty good."

Hearing that this person was on Xia Junran's list, Yang Zhongyuan was relieved, leaning softly on Cheng Weizhe as if he had no bones.

"Let's see what he means. If he wants to act as an agent for Chengcha in Huai'an, then give it to him." Yang Zhongyuan said.

Cheng Weizhe took a shower when he came back this afternoon, so his hair was already dry.Yang Zhongyuan was so busy that he didn't come back until dinner, and after dinner he waited for the young master to fall asleep, and he didn't have time to rest until the middle of the month.

He was a little sleepy, but Cheng Weizhe insisted on drying his hair before going to bed, so Yang Zhongyuan had no choice but to chat with him about business matters, so as to wake himself up a bit.

"Now that we have the first one, there may be many more in the future. Daliang has a vast territory. As long as we make enough tea, we can spread the signs all over the country. However, we have to set a rule, and all future cooperation will be based on that. , then no one will gossip, and word of mouth can be maintained.”

Yang Zhongyuan nodded, and when he said this, he really lost a little drowsiness: "I have thought about it, first of all, the merchants who cooperate with you should check the word of mouth first, and then talk about it after the word of mouth is good. If the word of mouth is not good, just don't agree. Secondly The prices here are all the same for all the merchants, and then we will set a floating price for them according to the distance and local conditions. They can sell whatever they like at that time, as long as the price does not exceed the range. Others I I haven't thought about it yet, but most of the orders given to us by Brother Xia are also for his family's wine, so there should be no problem."

Cheng Weizhe put the wet towel aside, and continued wiping with a clean one: "Well, Brother Shang gave me a few names before, saying that those companies have cooperation with them, and they are old partners. , reputation and word-of-mouth are real. If they come, we will talk directly as you said, if not, we will wait. I believe that with our quality, they will always come to us in the future.”

"Okay, how about this, just find one merchant in one place and let them make our tea alone, so that they can feel at ease and we can control it." Yang Zhongyuan said with a smile.

Cheng Weizhe gave a "hmm", and finally wiped his hair, and went to fetch another Mrs. Tang.Even if the hair is dried, it is still damp, and it will be completely dry after warming it with Mrs. Tang.

Now that it was late autumn, Cheng Weizhe became more and more concerned about Yang Zhongyuan's body. He asked almost everything about his husband and son's affairs. Yang Zhongyuan persuaded him several times, which showed that his attitude was still extremely firm, so he had to give up.

The bottom line is that he scared Cheng Weizhe when he gave birth to Doudou, so after the child was born, Cheng Weizhe treated him too well, and Yang Zhongyuan said he didn't want him to worry about it like this, but he was happy in his heart.

When Yang Zhongyuan's hair was finally dry, Cheng Weizhe finally let go of his hair and let him lie down on the bed: "Is it cold? You sleep with Mrs. Tang in your arms. If it's colder than now in two days, we'll burn it." warm wall."

Yang Zhongyuan vaguely agreed, and the warm Mrs. Tang in his arms made him feel very comfortable.

Cheng Weizhe didn't know what to do, Yang Zhongyuan waited for a long time before he lifted the quilt to go to bed, and hugged him into his arms.

Yang Zhongyuan put Mrs. Tang between the two of them, holding the warm porcelain pot together, the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "Azhe..."

"Huh?" Cheng Weizhe answered him.

"Azhe, sooner or later, the tea from our Fumanlou will spread all over Daliang." Yang Zhongyuan said softly.

Cheng Weizhe opened his eyes to look at him, but found that he had fallen into a deep sleep, couldn't help laughing, and hugged him even tighter.

"Yes, we can definitely do it."

Ten days later, Cheng Weizhe finally made the loose tea relying on Ronghua and Tao Pian.

In the past half a year, even if he hadn't tried a thousand times for the new tea for next year's imperial offering, he would have tried it more than a hundred times.For the last time, he completely abandoned the method of adding spices, and instead added pear and sweet-scented osmanthus, together with the fragrance of peach slices, the glory made is not so fresh and lubricated.

If you compare it with the previous Xiaoronghua, the fragrance this time is more complex and special. It tastes a little sweet, but it has a different aftertaste. There are many levels of taste.

Especially the last few times he tried it, he used top-quality sparrow tongues, and even if the tea he made wasn't the best one he wanted, it should still be of the best quality.

If it was the new tea that was going to be served in his own shop, he could have sold it directly on the shelves half a year ago, but what he wanted to do was to make an imperial offering.

What is an imperial offering?That is the tea to be tasted by emperors and emperors.As the master of Daliang, the taste of the two of them must be extraordinary. If it is not the best, not only will he be unable to do it himself, but he will also spoil the audience.

As soon as the tea was made, he immediately boiled a pot for Yang Zhongyuan to taste. After Yang Zhongyuan tasted it, he nodded and agreed, so he tremblingly invited the master to come.

Han Shiqian can judge excellent tea, although there are not many in this world, there are not many.

During Cheng Weizhe's apprenticeship for two or three years, he only heard him talk about the reunion of the dragon and the phoenix, Xiao Ronghua and Qian Chongxue.Most of the other compliments were given to the imperial confessors of previous years, and there was nothing else.

Therefore, when he pushed the teacup in front of the master, he was very nervous.

Han Shiqian didn't drink it right away. He first looked at the color of the loose tea, and then at the shape of the boiled tea leaves. Finally, he held the teacup under his nose and smelled the smell carefully.

Cheng Weizhe looked at him nervously, and Yang Zhongyuan couldn't help but squeeze the hem of his clothes tightly, and almost stopped breathing.

As if it had been a long time, and as if it was just a moment, Han Shiqian suddenly took a sip, then closed his eyes and remained silent.

He seems to be savoring all the flavors of that tea, how many ingredients are in it, how much heat is used when roasting, all of which can spread out from this shallow bowl of tea soup and become a unique taste.

"Okay." Finally, Han Shiqian opened his eyes and looked at his young apprentice seriously.

He has made three decisive decisions in his life.It was the first time to make the reunion of dragon and phoenix, which brought the supreme glory to the Han family.The second time, he got engaged to Cai Rongxin, which brought disaster to the Han family.And for the third time, he took in an apprentice who seemed to be a bit sloppy.

It was this apprentice who respected him like his own father, gave him a new home, and passed down their Han family's tea-ordering skills.

Han Shiqian has never regretted the third decision he made.

Now that he tasted such a cup of tea, he sincerely thanked God for sending Cheng Weizhe to his side, so that his already gloomy life regained its vitality.

"There are more pears than peaches? Are the flowers sweet-scented osmanthus? You don't use much, but they lose their flavor. Azhe, you are a better teacher than you were back then." Han Shiqian drank the tea soup in a cup, and finally said.

Hearing Master's words, Cheng Weizhe's uneasy heart finally calmed down, and he gradually became less nervous, and his young and handsome face regained his confidence: "Well, pears are used more than peaches, so as not to be attached to Xiao Ronghua, I tried many fruity flavors, and finally chose pear as the main flavor, and the sweet-scented osmanthus was just opened the day before yesterday, and the petals fell into the pot by accident that day, but the taste is more delicate and fragrant than before."

After he finished speaking, he took the initiative to fill another cup for Master.

Han Shiqian tasted another cup, and finally came to a conclusion: "This time, I think the tea is better than Xiao Ronghua. Just follow this recipe and use Ronghua's best bird tongue. Make it, and remember to use the real pot."

Cheng Weizhe was taken aback, and an ecstatic expression appeared on his face. Han Shiqian's simple words affirmed his new tea and gave him more confidence.

Although Xiao Ronghua is not as good as Dragon and Phoenix Reunion, it is said to be the second among the tea cakes, and no one dares to be number one except for Dragon and Phoenix Reunion.For so many years, it is possible to know whether it is good or not by looking at the tea that is similar to Xiao Ronghua for the imperial offering every year.

With Han Shiqian's words, Cheng Weizhe seemed to be reassured, and rushed to hand over the newly fried loose tea before the county government finally finalized the case.

All that's left is to wait.

On the eighth day of December in the 16th year of Tianqi, everything is suitable.

On this day, the Quzhou County Government issued a document ordering tea merchants Gu, Yang, Chu and Baili to go to Beijing to fight tea in the early spring of the following year.