Chapter 138

They sat under the eaves, quietly watching the rain, and could smell the smoke from the cooking fires of their fellow villagers—some elderly people in the village still burn firewood, and the smell of their cooking smoke is very distinct.

Qing Mengzhu was no longer in a hurry. Looking ahead, he felt completely relaxed and said lazily, "It feels like I've traveled through time. I guess hundreds or thousands of years ago, people would also be waiting for tea to boil on a spring rainy day like this."

Ming Chunxi: "Stealing half a day of leisure from a busy life, we're all the same."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and said, "That's wonderful!"

The air of spring is moist and fragrant, and the moistness becomes even more pronounced as the Spirit Spring Water boils.

They scooped water from the earthenware pot and brewed the freshly roasted tea from the teapot.

As the water and tea leaves blended, the aroma immediately filled the air, forming a tea mist. Even before tasting the tea, just smelling this tea mist made Qing Mengzhu feel her lungs and heart refreshed.

The Spirit Spring Water adds at least three points of aroma to the tea, making the fragrance of the tea leaves even more even.

The two each held a small cup of tea, blew on it, and took a small sip.

The freshly brewed tea was still scalding hot. After drinking it, one felt completely relaxed. The aroma rose from the throat, spreading into the nasal cavity and mouth, and then the whole person was immersed in the delicate fragrance of the tea.

Before, when he drank tea, Qing Mengzhu didn't really understand what it meant. Now he completely understands what it means for tea soup to be full-bodied and mellow, and what it means to produce saliva and have a sweet aftertaste.

He glanced down at the tea soup. The tea soup was very bright in color, and the small tea leaves floated in the tea, the tender leaves unfurling like small fish.

Qing Mengzhu didn't have time to speak; she was completely immersed in the aroma of the tea, savoring it carefully for a while.

After a while, he said, "I can't tell whether the Spirit Spring Water or the tea is better now?"

Ming Chunxi: "Both are good; they complement each other, like adding wings to a tiger."

Qing Mengzhu sighed, "The thought that everyone just uses ordinary water to brew our tea makes me feel a little sorry for them."

Ming Chunxi: "Then we won't sell them. We'll keep them for ourselves to drink; there aren't many anyway."

Qing Mengzhu: "Store it, store it! I'll order some ceramic jars to store the tea. Aren't some teas said to get better with age? I guess our tea will be the same."

Ming Chunxi nodded. "Keep it."

Qing Mengzhu thought for a moment and then said, "We can still give some to our friends. How about giving some to your senior brother in your sect too? He seems quite interested in tea."

Ming Chunxi thought for a moment, "Give me some, and send some to my advisor too."

Qing Mengzhu smiled, "Okay, give me the address, and I'll mail it tomorrow. I'll find something to pack it then. I saw some people using bamboo shoot husks; I'll go up the mountain to look for some of our bamboo shoot husks and see if we can use them."

Ming Chunxi held his hand. "I'll go with you. Thank you for letting my sect benefit as well."

Chapter 138

The sealed ceramic jar that Qing Mengzhu ordered from the online store arrived quickly.

After Qing Mengzhu cleaned the earthenware jar, she placed it in the sun to dry, and then it could be used to store tea.

He hadn't yet sent tea to Ming Chunxi's sect, so he decided to go up the mountain to find bamboo shoots.

Many bamboo shoots sprouted in spring, but they didn't dig them up.

As bamboo shoots grow into bamboo, many of their outer sheaths fall off, and these are the sheaths that Qing Mengzhu is looking for.

The large bamboo shoot husks, after being cleaned and flattened, become perfect wrapping paper for tea, which helps preserve the aroma of the tea.

The two dogs, the Dharma Protector and the Guard, followed Qing Mengzhu up the mountain, running back and forth excitedly with the tips of their tails.

They would fetch bamboo worms and flowers for Qing Mengzhu, darting around Qing Mengzhu feet, forcing Qing Mengzhu to be careful not to trip over them.

Qing Mengzhu tugged at the scruff of the Dharma Protector's necks, warning them with a wry smile, "Stop it, aren't you tired?"

The Dharma Protector grinned and said, "Woof woof!"

The Guard nudged Qing Mengzhu's thigh with his head. "Woof!"

These two are female dogs, but they are unusually large.

They were born last April, so they are only ten months old now, but both dogs weigh over 60 pounds.

Last time they weighed themselves, the Dharma Protector weighed 63 jin and the Guard weighed 61 jin. They'll probably grow even more.

Qing Mengzhu didn't know if these two guys were just naturally bear-like German Shepherds, which was why they were so robust, or if they were well-fed and cared for.

However, the presence of these two imposing dogs was already quite intimidating, and their headbutting and leg-pounding really did hurt.

Qing Mengzhu lightly tugged at the Guard's ear. "Don't bump into me."

Upon hearing this, the Guard nuzzled against him, his soft ear brushing against his leg, appearing very obedient.

Today, Qing Mengzhu is going up the mountain not only to find bamboo shoot husks, but also to inspect the bamboo forest.

In spring, the bamboo forest leaves are exceptionally green, and there are many bamboos. The biggest difference from autumn and winter is that many weeds grow in the bamboo forest, including various kinds of weeds and some Chinese medicinal herbs.

Qing Mengzhu glanced at it but ignored it.

Bamboo groves are different from vegetable gardens. Bamboo grows tall and large, making it a dominant plant, and weeds can't compete for much nutrition.

Hazel grouse and cows can eat some of the weeds. If that doesn't work, they can bring in geese, which will also consume some of the weeds. The weeds shouldn't become an uncontrollable problem.

Qing Mengzhu walked around the bamboo forest, then went to see the plum grove and mulberry trees.

There are more and more fruit trees in the plum grove. In addition to plum and mulberry trees, there are also orange trees that were bought before. In addition, two tea tree branches that were cut down in the wild forest last year have also been moved here after they have taken root.

Now, all the fruit trees are thriving.

The plum blossoms have fallen, and unripe green plums have formed. In a few months, they will swell and turn yellow.

The orange tree has recovered, its branches and leaves are lush, and it looks particularly elegant.

The mulberry tree is still small, as the seeds were bought from the Interstellar Mall and have only recently sprouted. It will probably take two or three years for it to bear mulberries—if they don't use Growth Liquid.

Seeing the mulberry tree reminded Qing Mengzhu of their mulberry orchard, so she sent a message to Zhao Hexi asking how the mulberry tree was doing.

Zhao Hexi quickly sent over the surveillance video from the orchard: [The mulberry trees are growing very well; they've already started to flower and bear fruit. Once the fruit is a bit riper, I'll arrange for someone to live in the orchard to guard it.]

Qing Mengzhu zoomed in on the video and looked at it: [Quite a few flowers?]

Zhao Hexi: [There are quite a few. We used good fertilizer this year, and the mulberries are plentiful. We'll see if there's enough to supply one batch of vegetable packages. If there is, we'll give the members a change of pace.]

Qing Mengzhu: [I'll go over there in the next couple of days to take a look, and also check on the blueberry seedlings.]

Zhao Hexi immediately said, "[I'll go with you, and we'll make a record of it.]"

Zhao Hexi was out running errands, but seeing that he had some free time today, she drove over to pick him up after lunch. "Let's go see the orchard first, and then we can have lunch in Jingnan this afternoon. I want to try their spicy hot pot."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then I'll tell Chunxi to pack it up and come back later."

As Qing Mengzhu sat in the passenger seat, she casually took out the earthenware jar she was holding. "This is some freshly brewed black tea. Take it home and drink it later."

Zhao Hexi took the earthenware jar, opened it, and first saw the tea bricks inside, tightly wrapped in bamboo shoot husks. "Huh, why are they wrapped up? You wrapped them up too tightly! I can't smell any fragrance at all."

Qing Mengzhu: "Wrapping it tightly will help preserve it. You can open it when you want to drink it."

Zhao Hexi: "Okay, Mengzhu. I won't take them apart yet. I'll finish the green tea you gave me first. When the two tea trees grow a little bigger, will you also cut off branches for cuttings?"

Qing Mengzhu: "Yes, let's see if we can cultivate this tea variety, and then contact Yi Yanbai and his team to plant it."

Zhao Hexi: "That'll keep us busy."

Qing Mengzhu: "Let's talk about it later. We need to finish picking this batch of tea in the spring and let the tea tree branches grow stronger before we decide what to do."