Roasting tea

The chat channel kept refreshing messages, filled with survivors discussing Base Blueprint and calling for teams. Lu Heng scrolled through several pages but didn't see any valuable new information, so he simply closed the channel.

He got up from the bed and went to the Planting Room.

Various crops grew quietly in the room. Lu Heng picked up an empty bottle from the side and placed it in the corresponding position to collect the Star Tear. The transparent liquid dripped into the bottle one by one. After so much accumulation, the bottle was more than half full, and only a little more was needed to fill the whole bottle.

After setting the bottles in place, he began harvesting the ripe vegetables from the ground. He gently pinched the roots with his fingertips and broke them off, harvesting only the fully mature plants and leaving the roots to continue growing. Once all the vegetables were harvested, he neatly gathered them and carried them one by one to the Storage Room.

After doing all that, he turned to look at the tea trees beside him.

The branches are covered with tender new leaves, ready to be picked.

Lu Heng reached out and picked a large handful of fresh tea leaves. The leaves were emerald green and moist, carrying a strong grassy aroma. He knew that they couldn't be drunk directly after being steeped in water; the astringent and bitter taste was unbearable. They had to be processed by roasting.

But he had absolutely no idea what to do; he had no clue what to do at all.

With that thought in mind, he tapped the Wristband again and opened the public chat channel.

Perhaps someone in the channel knows this simple solution; they could offer some of their resources in exchange.

Lu Heng scrolled through the past posts one by one, slowly searching for his target. After a long time, he saw a familiar ID— Huang Quan.

He remembered that this person used to be a short video blogger in his original world, often sharing content about food processing and handmade tea.

Lu Heng clicked into the other party's private chat window.

He briefly explained that he had a batch of fresh tea leaves but lacked a simple method for drying them, and offered to provide some meat as payment in exchange for their advice.

He sent the message and waited quietly for a reply.

A few minutes later, a reply finally popped up in the private chat window.

Huang Quan: Dude, I'll take the meat. Supplies are scarce these days. Thanks.

Huang Quan: I have two methods for making tea—one simple one, suitable for your current conditions, which you can learn right away; and another one with more complex processing, which yields better results. I'll think about it some more and send it to you when I've organized it.

Huang Quan: Let's practice with the simplified version first, don't waste such good tea leaves.

Immediately afterwards, Huang Quan sent a detailed and simplified baking process. It didn't require any complicated tools, and each step was tailored to the current conditions, making it highly practical.

Lu Heng read it word by word and memorized the entire set of steps.

With this method in place, we can now proceed with processing the batch of fresh tea leaves.

Lu Heng noted down the steps, and without delay, got up and walked to an open space next to the Planting Room.

He first set up the stone slab, took a deep breath, and activated his innate Talent.

An invisible force spread from his palm, enveloping the space in front of him. The air distorted slightly, and the temperature gradually rose.

The first step is to wrap up filming.

Lu Heng spread the fresh tea leaves evenly on the stone slab, using his Talent to maintain a stable temperature while constantly turning them over. The moisture in the tea leaves slowly evaporated under the heat, the grassy smell gradually dissipated, the leaves changed from emerald green to dark green, and the texture softened.

However, with his Talent continuously being unleashed, his physical and Mental Energy were being rapidly depleted. Only halfway through filming, Lu Heng felt a distinct dizziness, his temples throbbed, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He had to retract his Talent and stop to catch his breath.

Once his breathing had calmed down a bit, he activated his innate Talent again and continued heating and turning the water.

After the initial processing was complete, the tea leaves became soft and elastic. Lu Heng gathered the tea leaves and began kneading them while they were still hot.

He pressed the tea leaves with both hands, repeatedly rubbing and pressing them to allow the juice to slowly seep out, and the leaves gradually curled into strips. The force couldn't be too strong, or they would break apart; nor could it be too light, or the tea flavor wouldn't come out.

This step doesn't require much Talent, but it tests one's feel for the touch. Lu Heng had no experience and relied entirely on Huang Quan's description to figure it out. Halfway through, he felt something was wrong, so he adjusted his technique and started over.

Once the tea leaves had released a light tea juice and were mostly formed, he wiped the sweat from his brow and moved on to the final step—drying.

He once again unleashed his Talent, spreading the kneaded tea leaves onto a stone slab and slowly drying them at a low temperature.

However, his physical and Mental Energy had been largely depleted, and his Talent output had become unstable. The temperature fluctuated wildly, and a few times, after a brief moment, the edges of the tea leaves quickly curled and turned black, releasing a faint burnt smell.

Lu Heng frowned, quickly lowered the output, and picked out and discarded the burnt parts.

It hurts, but I have to accept it. It's my first time doing it, and I'm figuring out the timing and feel by feeling. It's impossible to be perfect without making any mistakes.

He gritted his teeth, steadied himself, and dried the area for a while, then rested, then dried it again. After several rounds, his face had turned pale, and his arms were trembling slightly.

Just as he was barely maintaining his rhythm, the Wristband suddenly vibrated.

It was a private message from Huang Quan.

Huang Quan: It's all sorted out. The second method is much more refined than the simplified version, with more steps, but it also significantly improves the quality of the tea. If you have any leftover fresh leaves, you can take some to try.

Immediately afterwards, a much more detailed tea-making process was sent over.

From controlling the withering time to adjusting the temperature in stages during fixation, to the strength and direction of kneading, and even the ventilation requirements during drying, every step is clearly written.

After reading it, Lu Heng remained silent for a moment.

He glanced down at the tea leaves on the stone slab that were almost dried, then looked at the new method that had just been sent to his Wristband.

The simplified version already exhausted him this much; just looking at the steps in the advanced version, you can tell the difficulty has more than doubled.

But the results are certainly worth looking forward to.

After reading the process, Lu Heng didn't say much, only replied with an "OK" emoji before closing the private chat window.

He took out a pen and copied down the in-depth tea-making method that Huang Quan had sent him, word by word, and wrote it into the notebook on the bookshelf.

Just write it down.

When we have better tea leaves and more time and energy, we can try it slowly. This simplified version is enough for now, and there's no need to rush into more complicated procedures.

After putting away his notebook, Lu Heng turned to prepare tea.

He took out a pot, put in the tea leaves that he had just roasted with his Talent, and then took out a water jar and poured out all the water in it.

After the water boiled, he didn't rush to pour it into the kettle, but instead set it aside to cool. Freshly boiled water is too hot, and pouring it directly into the kettle could damage it; he wanted to wait for it to cool down.

After finishing these steps, Lu Heng sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began practicing the Starlight Meditation Method.

His consciousness sank into his body, and his Mental Energy slowly recovered. He had consumed a lot of energy earlier by using his Talent to roast tea leaves, and now meditation was just the right time to replenish it.

Time passed little by little.

When he finished meditating and opened his eyes, the water in the pot had almost cooled down.

Lu Heng took the tea leaves, put them into the teapot, poured in warm water, and waited quietly for a while.

The tea slowly infused its color, releasing a delicate aroma.

He picked up the cup and took a few sips.

It has a slightly bitter taste at first, but it quickly dissipates, leaving a refreshing sweet aftertaste that slides slowly down the throat.

Cool and comfortable.

Lu Heng leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.

After all this trouble, I finally got to drink my first cup of tea. Although the heat wasn't perfectly controlled and it had a faint burnt taste, it was a world of difference compared to eating raw leaves.

He looked down at the pale tea in his cup, a slight smile playing on his lips.

In the apocalypse, being able to drink a sip of hot tea is already a rare luxury.