Chapter 1055, A Professional Set of Steps

Translator: Silavin

 

As evening fell, Su Bai finished his dinner and settled into the long chair, looking thoroughly at ease.

 

In his hand was a freshly brewed cup of tea, with one or two tea leaves floating on the surface.

 

The tea he had been drinking lately had all been grown by the Tribe. The tea leaves the System had opened for him had long since been used up.

 

“Shaman, what would you like for a late-night snack?” Yu Ying asked.

 

She was mainly asking on behalf of Min. Ever since the older of the two Sisters had gone to help in the kitchen, Yu Ying had found herself much more at leisure.

 

Many things were now being handled by Min, which made Yu Ying a little more like a supervisor.

 

Still, she had to teach Min many things before she could truly relax completely.

 

“We only just finished dinner, and you are already asking about supper. Is that not a little bit hasty?” Su Bai laughed heartily.

 

He had eaten extremely well and had no desire whatsoever for a late-night snack. In fact, he was rather averse to that idea.

 

“Then I will ask again later.” Yu Ying sat obediently down in the chair beside him.

 

She picked up some fabric and began embroidering. Yu Ying had recently taken up embroidery as well.

 

Stitching one’s favourite patterns onto fabric to be made into clothing was a pleasant enough thing.

 

“By the way, how is the Tribe’s tea crop coming along?” Su Bai asked, taking a sip.

 

“The first batch has been harvested. We followed the method the Shaman had taught us, step by step. The first batch of tea leaves has gone to the Yong’an Building, and the rest is being stored in the warehouse.”

 

Yu Ying answered with full attentiveness. “If the Shaman requires it, we can bring all the remaining tea leaves to the Yong’an Building.”

 

Su Bai had passed the entire tea-making method on to the people of the Tribe, all for the purpose of getting them fully involved in picking and producing tea.

 

Tea leaves were a consumable commodity. The Flame Dragon Tribe alone could not consume enough of them, so they would naturally need to be sold to other Tribes.

 

This was why the handful of tea growers from before would not be enough. The workforce would need to be expanded, which naturally meant sharing the production method with more people.

 

“Good. Do you still remember how to produce the tea leaves? Have the people who were trained retained it?” Su Bai asked.

 

“I do, and those who were trained are still in the process of learning it. I will ensure they master it as quickly as possible.” Yu Ying replied earnestly.

 

“Good, then walk me through it. Let me check whether the steps are in order.” Su Bai smiled and asked, having nothing else to occupy him at the moment.

 

“The first step is to harvest the fresh tea leaves. We use the index finger and thumb to pinch the middle of the young stalk, and use the strength of those two fingers to snap the tea leaf free.”

 

Yu Ying was practically using her hands and feet to demonstrate. “Different teas require picking from different parts of the plant. Some require picking one top bud and the first leaf beside it, which is called one heart, one leaf. Some pick one additional leaf, making it one heart, two leaves, and some pick three…”

 

“Great, you remember it very clearly. You are nearly catching up to Ah’Lan. What is the next step?” Su Bai continued.

 

“The next step is sun-drying to wither the leaves. After harvesting, the tea leaves must be spread out in sunlight, or hot air can be used to allow the moisture in the leaves to evaporate to the appropriate degree. The Shaman calls this reducing the water content of the cells, though I do not entirely understand what that means.”

 

Yu Ying’s expression was so adorable at this moment. “But I do remember that it involves letting the tea leaves lose a portion of their moisture so that they can undergo that thing called… a reaction. I cannot recall the name.”

 

“Ha ha ha ha, that is quite alright. Not remembering certain technical terms is not a problem. The steps themselves are correct.” Su Bai laughed warmly.

 

“Hehe. The next step is indoor stirring. Once the leaves have softened, they are moved indoors. The main purpose of stirring is to encourage moisture to evaporate, as well as to allow the leaves to rub against one another, which promotes the process called oxidation, also known as fermentation.”

 

Yu Ying’s face was bright with anticipation as she finished speaking, clearly waiting to be praised, her pink fox tail swishing steadily.

 

“You remember it well. What is the next step?” Su Bai gave a satisfied nod.

 

“The next step is stir-frying the leaves. Once the tea leaves have fermented to the right degree, they must be stir-fried at high heat to stop the fermentation, and to remove the raw, grassy smell from the fresh leaves.”

 

Yu Ying pondered for quite a while, as these were the steps she had followed herself when producing the tea.

 

“Correct. You’ve remembered well. Nothing omitted at all.” Su Bai was quite pleased.

 

“We must also take the tea leaves and knead them, as one would knead dough, because pressure causes part of the juices to be squeezed out and to coat the surface of the leaves.”

 

Yu Ying tapped her chin with one finger and continued. “This way, when the tea is brewed, those juices dissolve easily into water, which is what gives the tea its fragrance.”

 

“That step is also correct. What else?” Su Bai took another sip of tea.

 

“After that comes cloth rolling, which means wrapping the kneaded leaves from the previous step into a ball inside a piece of cloth, then holding the cloth with one hand while rolling the cloth bundle in a consistent direction with the other, so that it keeps moving.”

 

Yu Ying murmured in her soft little voice. “The cloth gets tighter and tighter as it is rolled. Once it reaches a certain degree of tightness, it is set aside to cool and take shape, and then… and then…”

 

Yu Ying could not quite recall what came next. Without the hands-on practice, it was somewhat difficult to commit everything to memory.

 

“Then you open the cloth and loosen the leaves again, reheat them, and wrap and roll them again. This is repeated over and over until the tea is shaped into the required form with the desired characteristics.” Su Bai added.

 

He was not the least bit bothered by Yu Ying’s mistake. This was genuinely a complex process, and forgetting a step in the middle was perfectly understandable.

 

The important thing was to remember it when doing it in practice. The theoretical side of things could be supplemented gradually over time.

 

“Thank you, Shaman. The final step is drying, which means evaporating the remaining moisture from the finished tea leaves. This is what makes them suitable for storage and transport.” Yu Ying smiled, showing her white teeth, and added. “To ensure even drying throughout, the drying step is typically repeated several times. This is done to ensure that the leaves are truly and thoroughly dried!”

 

“Correct. Every step of the tea-making process is right. Thank you for memorising all of that.” Su Bai said warmly.

 

He had to teach the people of the Tribe how to produce tea. It was a skill essential to the Tribe’s development.

 

People of the Primitive Era would inevitably come to treasure tea deeply. After all, they were people who subsisted almost entirely on meat.

 

Everyone needed tea to cut through the meatiness of their diet, and tea leaves were set to become one of the Flame Dragon Tribe’s most significant sources of income.

 

“It is not hard. For the sake of the Tribe’s development, this is a small matter.” Yu Ying said earnestly.

 

Tiring? Not in the least. The process was simply a little complex.

 

“Good.” Su Bai pinched her cheeks gently.