Spring tea is the best tea of the year.

After resting and recuperating through the winter, tea trees store a vast amount of energy, enriching their leaves with substances like polyphenols, amino acids, and caffeine. These not only give spring tea a fresher, crisper flavor but also boost its nutritional value.

The finest of all spring teas is Mingqian tea, which is harvested before the Qingming Festival. The next best is Yuqian tea, picked before the Grain Rain festival.

Mingqian tea is a treasure, and Yuqian tea is a top-grade product. The later the harvest, the poorer the tea quality and the lower the price.

Of course, some heavily fermented teas, like black tea, are also harvested in other seasons—summer, autumn, and winter. The quality can vary greatly, and while some high-quality summer or winter teas exist, they absolutely cannot compare to spring tea.

Besides its superior quality, spring tea also has less pesticide contamination. The lingering spring chill after winter means pests have not yet become a problem. Tea farmers typically only begin spraying pesticides after the Yuqian harvest is complete.

The spring tea harvesting window is short, lasting only about three weeks from a few days before Qingming to the Grain Rain festival. Consequently, the yield is low, and the price is relatively high.

At the end of March, just as the Mingqian tea harvest was beginning, Li Xiang drove his luxury SUV, with Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui in tow, to a tea estate about sixty kilometers away.

The area had a long history of tea cultivation, dating back over three thousand years. It was a major tea-producing region in Sichuan Province, lauded as a green and ecological tea zone. Besides bamboo shoots, tea was another of the specialties from Li Xiang’s hometown region.

He had some wild green tea bushes on the mountain behind his own home, but not many. To buy good tea in large quantities, he had to go to an authentic production area.

That area was in the neighboring county.

Even within the same county, some areas grew tea while others didn’t.

At Li Xiang’s suggestion, Lei Xiaohui had dressed in camouflage for the trip. All three women wore sunglasses. And although none of them had their driver’s licenses yet, with Lei Xiaohui standing in the back, she already had the distinct air of a female bodyguard.

"Brother, should I be carrying some kind of weapon?" Lei Xiaohui asked with a smile.

"Go for it, if you’re not afraid of getting arrested!" Li Xiang joked.

"Never mind then."

In truth, if Lei Xiaohui wanted a weapon, Li Xiang could make it happen a few years down the line. She could have whatever weapon she wanted; she could even carry an anti-aircraft missile if she felt like it.

They were heading to a decently-sized tea factory this time.

This factory used to supply Gongfu black tea to the tea house where Zhao Xueqing had worked. In addition to Gongfu black tea, it also produced green tea and Kuding tea.

Kung Fu Tea, Gongfu black tea, and black tea are three different concepts. Kung Fu Tea primarily refers to a method of brewing tea, popular in the Chaoshan region of Guangdong Province. Gongfu black tea, on the other hand, is a specific variety of black tea made from tender tea buds through processes like withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying.

Gongfu black tea is divided into large-leaf and small-leaf varieties. The former is made from the fresh leaves of arbor or semi-arbor tea trees, while the latter comes from the fresh leaves of shrub-type, small-leaf tea trees. Large-leaf Gongfu black tea typically has a mellow body and a pronounced aroma, whereas the small-leaf version has a softer taste and a lighter fragrance.

As for black tea, it is a broad category of tea that includes Gongfu black tea.

Li Xiang’s group had contacted the factory and scheduled a time before their arrival. The other party had done a little research on Li Xiang and discovered he was a major influencer with over three million followers, as well as a member of the neighboring county’s political consultative conference. As a result, the owner took their visit very seriously, personally coming out to greet them when they arrived.

"Welcome, welcome! Teacher Li, and the other teachers, please come in."

In the Sichuan and Chongqing Region, much like in Qi and Lu, it’s common to address people as "teacher." This form of address is actually popular in many provinces now because it’s rarely incorrect and sounds polite. Of course, in Qi and Lu, the custom stems from the legacy of Confucius.

The owner, along with a group of his subordinates, led Li Xiang and his companions into a conference room. After they took their seats as guests and host, a young woman came forward to serve tea.

The air filled with its rich aroma.

After some pleasantries, they began introducing their respective companies. The factory owner had even prepared a PowerPoint presentation, which a female employee delivered. Li Xiang and the others listened with great interest, asking questions from time to time, which were answered in detail. Overall, the atmosphere was quite pleasant.

When it was his turn, Li Xiang spoke eloquently, shamelessly hyping up his ventures. Although his National Tea House was still under construction and wasn’t even past the rough framework phase, that didn’t stop him from describing it based on the architectural renderings. He also mentioned his National Style Tavern, coffee shop, milk tea shop, and so on. He even added that he had reached a partnership agreement with a coffee plantation in Yunnan Province to purchase a large amount of coffee annually.

After all, when you’re out and about, you create your own status and power. It’s not like they knew the specific details.

Then he mentioned the recent pro-farmer charity livestream he had participated in, organized by the county government. Yao Yao, ever so sharp, immediately and excitedly detailed Li Xiang’s sales figures, which left the tea factory owner completely stunned. ’Damn, over thirty-six million in five days? That’s incredible!’

Then again, it wasn’t really a bluff. These were real results, verifiable through official channels, and had even been in the news.

Yao Yao said, "Boss Chen, if you don’t believe it, you can search our county government’s website. It’s absolutely true. Our Brother Xiang never deals in smoke and mirrors."

"I believe you, I believe you! Your team is truly amazing!" the factory owner praised. He was inwardly astonished. He hadn’t realized that besides the tea house, Li Xiang had so many other businesses. And his sales performance was so formidable.

He had also been thinking about getting Li Xiang to promote his products. Now, the opportunity was right in front of him, and everything was on the table.

When Zhao Xueqing introduced herself, she did so as the person in charge of the National Tea House.

This Boss Chen had visited the tea house where Zhao Xueqing used to work a few times and had admired her intangible cultural heritage performance of long-spout pot Kung Fu Tea. He had been deeply impressed at the time, thinking the girl’s skill was exquisite. But back then, she was just a server. How had she suddenly become the manager of a tea house after just one New Year holiday?

"Teacher Zhao, it’s only been a few months, but you’re already opening your own tea house. Congratulations, congratulations!" said the factory owner.

Zhao Xueqing quickly clarified, "I didn’t open it myself. I work for my boss!" She pointed at Li Xiang.

"That’s still very impressive, being the person in charge, a manager-level position," Boss Chen said, giving her a thumbs-up. He then added, "I’m also very grateful that you recommended my tea to Teacher Li!"

Zhao Xueqing smiled faintly. "You’re too kind. I only recommended your tea because the quality is good and the price is right."

Yao Yao cut in, "Our future order volume is going to be huge, so you’ll have to give us an even better price, you know."

"Of course, of course."

Without Li Xiang having to say a word, the three women began to haggle.

Women are formidable negotiators. The owner was having a hard time keeping up and quickly changed the subject, inviting them to tour the tea processing workshop.

"That’s exactly what we were hoping for!"

The purpose of their trip was to conduct a site inspection. They needed to see both the processing workshop and the tea plantation.

As they walked, Li Xiang asked, "Teacher Chen, are we allowed to take photos in your workshop?"

The factory owner readily agreed, "Yes, yes, no problem at all. It would be even better if you could help us with some publicity."

Yao Yao smiled. "We do offer that service. Hmm, our advertising fee is 200,000 for a 60-second spot."

The factory owner thought for a moment and said, "We can offer a discount on our tea, and you can give us a better price on the advertising fee. How about we barter resources for a win-win collaboration?"

Li Xiang replied, "No problem. We can discuss the details later." He secretly gave Yao Yao a thumbs-up. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Bringing three articulate women along for a business negotiation was a huge help.

Zhao Xueqing frowned slightly. ’This tea business is my responsibility. Why are you always butting in?’

Yao Yao noticed and felt a secret thrill of victory. ’I’m just being helpful,’ she thought. ’You should be thanking me, Miss Green Tea.’

Zhao Xueqing mulled it over. ’Fine. Next time you’re handling the liquor business, I’m coming along. I won’t let myself lose out like this.’

Although the tea factory wasn’t particularly large, the workshop looked very professional and was extremely clean. It was filled with large tea sorting and roasting equipment, and the workers all wore clean, uniform work clothes, complete with caps and masks. Beneath their caps, they wore hairnets to keep their hair contained, preventing it from falling into the tea.

The factory owner led Li Xiang and the others through each stage of the process, explaining as they went.

In reality, the tea roasting process wasn’t complicated, nor was it some closely guarded secret. Since this county was an authentic tea-producing region, many people were familiar with it.

But knowing the process was one thing; the meticulousness of the execution and the control over each step were what truly had a major impact on the final quality of the tea.