Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

After the spring rain in the tea mountains, the sky is as clear as water and the young leaves are green.

A few days ago, tea was also being picked, but only on a small scale by tea farmers.

The rain has increased in the past few days and new shoots have sprouted in large numbers, so all nearby villagers must be mobilized.

Hundreds of men and women were scattered everywhere, carrying bamboo baskets around their waists, plucking new shoots with their fingernails and throwing them in. In order to make more money, most people concentrate on their work, while a few tea-picking masters talk, laugh and sing.

There is also a tea collection point. After farmers pick a basket of tea, they will weigh it and calculate their wages.

Before weighing, it must be inspected first. If there are too many unqualified tea leaves, wages may be deducted.

"Brother, Mr. Saburo is here."

"where?"

"there."

The five Baiford brothers were also picking tea, and all the nearby tea mountains were owned by the old man. Those small-scale tea farmers have poor risk resistance and have long been forced into bankruptcy by the government.

A few acres of barren mountainous land can be given away by Lao Bai on his own initiative.

If it were replaced by dozens of acres of tea hills, Mr. Bai would have to take advantage of it!

The five Byford brothers made their fortune very late, relying on their girls to work as extramarital affairs for nobles. After bullying the village neighbors for several years, and with the money sent back by the girl, they now only have about a hundred acres of land. Taking into account their parents' small family, the total is less than ten acres of land per person.

There are only a few acres per person, and it includes mountainous land. To be honest, it is not wealthy.

They are not qualified to be small landowners. The identity of homesteaders is more suitable for them. They even have to work picking tea themselves every year.

"Give me the tea you picked!"

Bai Fudou gathered the tea leaves from several brothers, filled a bamboo basket, and pretended to go to weigh the tea. In fact, he wanted to get close to Bai Chongyan.

The guy walked away excitedly, and before he had gone very far, his smile suddenly disappeared because he saw the Zhu family's father and son.

How can two foreigners who have settled down live together with Mr. Saburo?

After much thought, Byford decided to postpone the plan and not directly confront the Zhu family and his son. He is a man with brains, otherwise he would have been doomed long ago. After all, he has been causing trouble under the nose of the old white man.

"How are you, Mr. Sanlang?" Baiford nodded and bowed in greeting.

Bai Chongyan looked kindly and said with a smile, "Okay."

Baiford complimented: "Mr. Sanlang is really filial. He went home so many days in advance to wish the old lady a birthday."

"It's just the duty of descendants." Bai Chongyan said.

The two sides had nothing in common, and Baiford became more and more awkward as they chatted. Seeing that Baisanlang was impatient, he took the initiative to leave after saying a few words.

A breeze blew and the tea trees swayed gently.

Listening to the singing of tea-picking songs coming from time to time, Li Hanzhang couldn't help but get inspired by poetry. He wrote a poem on the spot: "It's not clear yet on the day of the gongs and drums, and you can see your sincerity when you go up the mountain to pick tea. When the song is played in the spring breeze, the leaves are steaming with clouds and the jade sticks are new."

Jade strips are spring tea.

"What a poem!"

Bai Chongyan clapped his hands and praised him. Although Ping Ping was a little unprofessional, it was not easy to blurt it out.

Li Hanzhang felt quite satisfied with himself and felt that the poem could still be revised. He thought carefully for a moment and didn't know how to change it, so he turned to test Zhu Ming: "I heard that Zhu Dalang is full of talent and learning, why not compose an impromptu poem based on the scene of tea picking in front of me?"

Ju Ming declined politely: "I am not good at poetry."

"If you're not good at it, you just have a rough understanding of it. You can do limericks." Li Hanzhang said with a smile.

He didn't want to make Ju Ming look bad, but he wanted to test Ju Ming's talent and see if the word "public and private" came to him by chance.

Bai Chongyan stood beside him, also smiling and saying nothing, having similar thoughts to Li Hanzhang.

Zhu Ming turned to look at his father, and Zhu Guoxiang turned to look at the scenery. Comrade Lao Zhu can recite many Tang poems and Song lyrics, but he can’t recite any of them related to tea.

Should we continue to "hide our clumsiness", or should we show it?

Ju Ming quickly searched the inventory in his mind. Although he had time-travel golden fingers, he had not read many tea-picking poems. Not far away, a woman was busy picking. There was a sleeping baby on her back. She was not afraid of the slippery mountain road after the rain. It was probably because there was no one at home to take care of the child.

Thinking again about Grandma Yan's flower arrangements on her temples, Zhu Ming suddenly had an idea and clapped his hands and said, "I have it!"

"Listen attentively to the masterpiece." Bai Chongyan looked forward to it.

Zhu Ming recited: "The white-headed old man wears red flowers in his hairpin, and the black-headed girl wears her bun in three buns. I go up the mountain with my son sleeping on my back. I have no time to pick mulberry trees, so I can pick tea."

Li Hanzhang smiled and praised: "Good poetry, good literary talent!"

Bai Chongyan commented: "Brother Ke Zhen's poems describe the emotions and scenes of the time. Zhu Dalang's poems specialize in writing about things and people. The combination of the two poems makes the interest renewed."

The poem copied by Ju Ming is not considered to be of high quality, but it is just right to put it here - it shows off his talent without overpowering Li Hanzhang.

If you really want to recite a famous line from time to time, how can this son of a state magistrate come to Taiwan?

A tea-picking poem was thrown out, and Li Hanzhang already recognized Ju Ming and determined that Ju Ming belonged to him.

They are all scholars, not ignorant.

Several people here laughed loudly. Baiford vaguely heard the movement, and instantly felt his head hurt. He told his brothers: "Don't mess around, these two foreigners are not easy to mess with."

"Big brother is right." The brothers agreed.

How did they know that just one word from Old Bai Yuanwai had already sentenced the brothers to death!

Bai Chongyan took everyone to continue touring the mountains, and met Mrs. Yan and Shen Yourong who were picking tea on the way.

They said hello to each other and left.

Bai Chongyan said to Li Hanzhang: "That is brother Shi Yu's widow. Since brother Shi Yu died of illness, she has been educating her young son with great care."

"It's extremely rare." Li Hanzhang said with emotion.

Both of them, as well as Shen Yourong's deceased husband, had studied under Guanzhong.

The relationship at that time was just a casual acquaintance. It wasn't until Li Hanzhang came to Yangzhou with his father that he and Bai Chongyan quickly became good friends.

After wandering around the tea mountain for a while, Zhu Guoxiang suggested going to see the land and finalizing the land sale as soon as possible.

Bai Chongyan was not in a hurry and invited: "There is a deep valley ahead. I found a sweet spring in it and named it 'Lingquan'. I also built a pavilion by the spring and called it 'Biyun Pavilion'. Today is leisurely and the spring breeze is pleasant. If you go to the pavilion first to taste the new tea."

The new tea is of course not picked today, but the Beginning of Spring tea more than a month ago.

The host invites the guest, and it is difficult for the guest to refuse.

The four of them took Bai Qi to enjoy the scenery and walked towards the valley in the mountains.

The water from the stream falls into a waterfall and falls into the valley pool. A few hundred meters away from the pool are Lingquan and Biyunting.

The stone tables and chairs in the pavilion have been cleaned in advance.

Several slaves were busy carrying charcoal, cooking utensils, tea cups and other items, as well as a complete set of tea-making equipment.

Bai Chongyan sat down and immediately shouted: "New tea!"

As soon as the words are spoken, there must be a response.

Several servants quickly came forward with tea leaves, including two kinds of mocha and wax tea.

Bai Chongyan smiled and said: "Here are four new teas, please choose as you like."

"Haha, brother Juncai, are you going to have a tea fight?" Li Hanzhang laughed heartily.

Bai Chongyan said: "It's all our tea. It's not interesting to fight. I just want Brother Ke Zhen to show off his tea skills."

Rich people in the Song Dynasty, especially elegant people, often gathered together to fight over tea and have fun.

Also, often bring your own tea.

Li Hanzhang did not directly select tea leaves, but scooped out half a bowl of spring water. He carefully tasted the taste of the spring water before choosing a suitable new tea. He looked at its color and smell, and finally picked a ball of wax tea.

Bai Chongyan immediately laughed and said, "Brother Zhen has a good eye!"

Wax tea is the most valuable, and the tea leaves are strictly selected, and they must be the buds of early spring - the wax of the twelfth lunar month.

The Xiaolongfeng Tuan tea highly praised by the royal family of the Song Dynasty is the best among wax teas. The best tea buds are selected from the best. When picking, you must not touch them with your fingers. You must leave long nails to pinch them off. You cannot put them into bamboo baskets after picking them. You must immediately put them into the spring water you carry with you.

The production process is even more complicated. It is first steamed, then pressed, and ground into powder. During this period, there are procedures such as drying and baking. There are also some tea leaves that are ground and boiled to make tea paste, with many spices added. Finally, the tea paste and tea powder are mixed, and there are several processes, and finally they are pressed into tea balls for storage and transportation.

"Brother Kezhen, please order some tea." Bai Chongyan raised his hand and said.

The tea ball was very small. Li Hanzhang took the utensil and slowly ground the tea ball into powder.

Then use the tea dagger to take the powder and put it into the cup. The spring water has boiled. Pour some gently and start to mix the tea soup.

He is holding his right sleeve with his left hand and holding a tea spoon in his right hand. He behaves elegantly and calmly. The tea whisk is poured into the tea soup, and the tea whisk is gently flicked back and forth, and a wonderful scene ensues. As the tea whisk is flicked, strands of silver threads float on the surface of the tea soup, forming various patterns, like a picture of snow falling on the river.

Before you drink it, the aroma of tea hits your nostrils.

Li Hanzhang praised: "Good tea! The tea soup is pure white, the buds are fat and tender, and the making skills are excellent. Brother Juncai has a good tea maker in his family."

As the man spoke, he flicked the tea spoon, and the patterns on the surface of the tea soup continued to change.

Bai Chongyan proudly said: "This tea is made after the Dragon and Phoenix Tea. The tea buds are all picked before the beginning of spring. Although it is not as exquisite as the Dragon and Phoenix Tea, it is still rare. I will call it 'Jinghong Treading Snow'."

"Jinghong Treadsue, it's really a good name!" Li Hanzhang admired sincerely.

When the water was no longer so hot, Li Hanzhang picked up the tea cup, poured the tea into the cup, and even poured a cup for the little brat Bai Qi: "Please taste the tea."

Ju Ming raised his glass curiously and tasted it. There was no strange smell, not bitter at all, and it was very fragrant. Although it contained tea paste, it didn't make people feel greasy.

There is even a hint of sweetness.

Just this taste can throw off the loose tea that common people drink.

"It tastes good, looks good, and smells great!" Bai Qi admired sincerely, and then drank the tea in one gulp.

Children's compliments are the most genuine, and both Bai Chongyan and Li Hanzhang laughed.

…

Along the Han River.

A passenger ship docked, and the servant reminded: "Erlang, Shangbai Village has arrived."

A little fat man stretched himself, yawned, and walked out of the cabin while rubbing his sleepy eyes.

This guy is about 25 or 26 years old. He is dressed like a scholar. He has a fat head and is less than 1.6 meters tall.

Due to the slippery road after the rain, he fell down as soon as he got off the boat. He got up and continued walking, cursing.

On the way, he sent his servant to inquire about the residence of Mr. Bai, and then went to hand over his invitation.

The little fat man was dressed in silk, and the old concierge did not dare to neglect him. He hurriedly went in to inform him, and soon led the guests into the hall.

Mr. Lao Bai received him personally, bowed and asked, "Are you the husband of Grand Official Zheng's family in Yangzhou?"

"When I'm at home, everyone calls me Zheng Er. This time I'm here to find Li Erlang (Li Hanzhang)." said the little fat man.

"It's hard to welcome our distinguished guests from afar," Old Bai said. "My family, Sanlang, and Li Erlang have gone up the mountain. Your distinguished guests can wait at home. They will be back before evening."

The little fat man waved his hand and said, "I won't wait any longer. I'll go up the mountain to look for them."

Member Lao Bai immediately called his servants and led the little fat man up the mountain.

This old man, who was famous all over the country, dragged his sick leg and leaned on a cane, and asked the servants to support him from left to right, and personally sent the little fat man out of the front door.