Chapter 68: Fermented Tea

Chapter 68

Fermented Tea

After Song Qilin left, Nie Shuang’s life returned to its usual routine—just her children and her work. But for some reason, she didn’t feel quite the same anymore. In the past, her focus had been solely on her tasks, but now, whenever she had a moment of free time, her thoughts drifted to him.

She wondered how he was doing. Had the negotiations to trade tea for horses been successful? What was the weather like in the Xi Region? Was he eating well and staying warm...?

On the business front, she was now organizing the logistics for distributing the goods. The merchants who had purchased the rights to open Xiangyun Shop branches had already set off on their journeys. Soon, once they had secured locations and finished decorating their shops, Xiangyun would start sending them products. Nie Shuang had ordered signs to be made for each of them to carry along. The signs bore the characters for Xiangyun and the symbol of auspicious clouds, with the character ‘茶’ or ‘Tea’ in the center. The bottom corner of each sign also featured the name of the city where the branch was located. She even gave each merchant suggestions on how to arrange their stores.

Nie Shuang also hired salespeople and transport crews. Initially, there were only four people, each responsible for a different part of the region. As the business expanded, the territories could be further divided. The transport crews would carry goods from Huangjing City, making rounds to various cities in their designated territory. Whenever a branch ran low on stock, the transport crew would deliver the goods and collect cash payments.

She also consulted Yan Zhan. Having worked in protection agency for years and with extensive experience escorting trade caravans, he was well-versed in the geography of the Ye Region. He knew which areas posed risks and would assign more guards for dangerous routes, while reducing the number of escorts in safer areas.

Before long, it was already the tenth month, and the weather had begun to cool. The leaves had turned a beautiful red. By this time, the Xiangyun Tea House had become a symbol of Huangjing City. In addition to the premium tea from Mount Dushan, they also offered delicious sweets and snacks to enjoy with the tea, such as tea leaf-boiled eggs, sticky rice cakes with red bean filling, plum blossom Chinese steamed cakes, and fish crackers. For women, dried flowers like jasmine and rose petals were added to the tea, giving it a fragrant aroma. Floral teas became so popular that they had to be boxed and sold separately. Nie Shuang visited the Jiang family’s tea plantation several times. Jiang Ru was always delighted to see her. The plantation was no longer on the verge of being sold off at a low price as it had been in the past. Jiang Zilu had even expanded the tea planting area to the very edge of the property, hiring many more workers to plant tea.

Jiang Ru now had a bright expression. She took Nie Shuang’s hand affectionately and led her into the tea fermentation workshop.

“The red tea that we fermented last year, I steamed it to rehydrate and then re-fermented it, just as you suggested. This year’s batch should be even richer in flavor,”

She picked up a dark block of tea to show her. Nie Shuang smiled with joy.

“Let’s try some. Jiang Ru, you’re truly talented.”

Jiang Ru beamed with pride. Her father no longer complained about not having a son. It was clear that his three daughters were all capable, not only helping to restore the tea plantation but also leading it to greater prosperity than ever before.

The tea poured into the cup was dark in color. Nie Shuang lifted it to her lips, savoring the fragrant aroma that filled her nose and the bitter taste that lingered on her tongue.

"Excellent!"

"There’s a large quantity of the tea I re-fermented. Will you sell it this year?"

Jiang Ru asked, but Nie Shuang shook her head.

"This year, we’ve already launched two new types of tea. Let’s save this black tea for next year. This type of tea, the longer it ferments, the richer it will become, and the more valuable it will be with age. When we finally release it, we’ll need to hold onto a significant stock. Since this is the first year it’s been produced, its value will skyrocket in the future."

Jiang Ru’s eyes widened at the thought. She no longer felt inclined to sell it at all. Seeing her reaction, Nie Shuang laughed.

"Don’t be too attached. Next year, we’ll introduce it in limited quantities so that people can get familiar with it. The rest, you can keep fermenting for future years."

It was clear that Nie Shuang intended to make this black tea a collectible, much like aged wine—its value would only increase with time. Jiang Ru nodded. She and her two younger sisters were now responsible for all the tea fermentation, not only for the Jiang family’s plantation but also for the neighboring plantations whose harvests they purchased. Da Shi had sent another of his brothers to help at the Jiang family’s plantation. The fermented tea was sent down the mountain, where Nie Shuang had purchased over a hundred mu of land to serve as a packaging and storage facility. During peak production, they even had to hire nearby local villagers to assist with the work.

That afternoon, when Nie Shuang returned to the mansion, she found that Kang Wang was already waiting. True to his promise to Song Qilin, he frequently visited to check on her and the children. Each time, he brought food and supplies from the palace to the point where Nie Shuang felt a bit embarrassed. Although Kang Wang hadn’t entirely let go of his feelings for her, he no longer entertained any unrealistic hopes. The children were always delighted to see him, crawling around him playfully.

Kang Wang sat in the pavilion, looking composed and elegant. He sipped tea calmly, seemingly unfazed by the chaos of the children around him. Bao Bao mischievously snatched a toy from Bei Bei’s hands and crawled behind Kang Wang to hide. Bei Bei, unwilling to let it go, crawled after him to reclaim it. Meanwhile, Xiao Hua Hua looked up at a butterfly that had landed on Kang Wang’s shoulder, her big round eyes wide with wonder. She pointed her chubby finger at the butterfly, and Kang Wang set his tea down, extending his hand to her.

“Xiao Hua Hua, come to your godfather.”

The little girl crawled over, her gaze still fixed on the yellow butterfly. She climbed onto Kang Wang, reaching out toward the yellow butterfly. Just then, Bao Bao and Bei Bei pushed each other, falling backward and bumping into Kang Wang’s straight back, causing the butterfly to fly away. Xiao Hua Hua began to cry, and Kang Wang couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

“There, there, Xiao Hua Hua, good girl. Next time, your godfather will have someone weave a butterfly for you.”

He gently patted her head to comfort her. Meanwhile, Bao Bao and Bei Bei started pulling at each other’s hair, both crying loudly. Within moments, Kang Wang felt a headache coming on. Xiao Tong and the wet nurse quickly rushed over to kneel and pick up the little young masters and young miss to calm them down.

Fortunately, Nie Shuang appeared just in time. The children immediately stopped crying and crawled toward their mother. After greeting Kang Wang, Nie Shuang sat down to play with her children. She gently wiped the tears from their chubby cheeks. Kang Wang watched with a smile. These little ones—how quickly they behaved once they saw their mother.

"While Mother was away, were you being naughty? Did you help welcome His Highness?"

Nie Shuang playfully asked the children. Bao Bao immediately raised his hand proudly, grabbing a toy that had been left on the floor and crawling over to offer it to Kang Wang, babbling as he did so. Kang Wang couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the sight.

“Da Ge is quite a handful—just like his father.”

At the mention of Song Qilin, Nie Shuang’s expression dimmed. He had been gone for three months now, and she wondered if the negotiations had been successful.

As she was about to ask Kang Wang about it, a servant came in to report.

"Young Furen, there are guests here asking to see you. They refuse to say who they are, so the butler sent me to inform you first."

Nie Shuang couldn’t think of who these visitors might be. If they were from Huangjing City, surely the gatekeepers or the butler would have recognized them. It seemed she would have to go meet them herself. With that in mind, she glanced at Kang Wang apologetically. He smiled and spoke kindly, reassuring her,

“Go ahead. The children will be fine here with Xiao Tong and the wet nurses. Don’t worry about me.”Nie Shuang nodded in apology before leaving to meet the guests in the main hall.