"Sun drying, cooling...."
Old Chen had been gone for an hour, and it was almost nine at night when he finally hurried back. Ansheng had already processed nearly thirty pounds of tea leaves, leaving only the step of spreading them out in the sieves and placing them in a temperature and humidity-controlled room for cooling.
Tea processing involves chemistry, and some unconventional methods even brush up against nuclear physics.
But for local competitions, they don't go that far. Ansheng diligently followed the traditional procedures.
The reason for his earlier research was that he forgot the temperature and humidity settings of the control room, along with details about the moisture content during the cooling process.
If a tender tea leaf from Ah Qing's family appeared in Ansheng's previous life, he wouldn't have purchased it, so he has no experience in handling this kind of tea.
The old man's life is still a life; if you buy cheap and low-quality tea leaves, the old tea master could strangle Ansheng.
"Phew... finally done."
Ansheng was responsible for spreading the tea leaves, while Old Chen was in charge of placing them on racks in the temperature-controlled room.
Old Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead and instinctively looked at Master Fox. He initially intended to give some advice on the cooling process but decided against it, keeping the words to himself.
Our Changxi Town's three-tailed Master Fox...
In the mountains can play with guns, and on the ground can browse the internet.
Old Chen suspected Master Fox had passed some exams but had no concrete evidence.
Ansheng, not missing a beat, ran to the control room to adjust the temperature and humidity.
Over thirty pounds of tea leaves, all processing steps were completed.
"Let's go! Time to eat!"
The sun drying process usually takes ten to twenty hours. Ansheng had no patience to keep an eye on it, so the little fox waved at Old Chen, ready to invite him to dinner.
Old Chen understood Master Fox's intent and followed him back to the village.
"Master...Master Fox?"
Yu Zhenghong, who had been waiting at Old Chen's house, was taken aback when he saw the little fox sitting in the moped's basket and rushed over in surprise.
"Oh, Master Fox! How come you're sitting in the basket? Aren't your little feet getting pinched by the basket?"
Yu Zhenghong is not one to easily bow to anyone, except for Master Fox, who's skilled in tea production and live streaming to attract customers.
Seeing Master Fox in the basket, Yu Zhenghong quickly and respectfully lifted him out.
"How could it pinch? There's padding at the bottom of the basket." Old Chen casually muttered, "By the way, is the food ready? We're starving."
"Plenty of fish, meat, and good wine."
Yu Zhenghong confidently invited Old Chen to enjoy the feast he had prepared.
During the meal, Yu Zhenghong and Old Chen discussed the tea competition.
The competition format hasn't changed; it's still the usual village showdown hosted by the county, determining the top five, and the top three would then compete in the grand four-county battle.
The city-level, provincial-level, and Two Gorges competitions are scheduled for September, October, and November respectively.
This year's county village competition platform happens to be in Changxi Town.
"Ahem..."
While eating, Yu Zhenghong naturally offered Old Chen a drink, but Old Chen waved it off and mysteriously ran back to his room, coming out with a few cards.
Ansheng and Yu Zhenghong looked puzzled at Old Chen, who seemed like he was up to no good.
"When it's time to pay, say it's your treat." Old Chen glanced at his wife's room, stuffing the cards into Yu Zhenghong's hand:
"Don't get me wrong, I found these while sweeping the house."
Old Chen couldn't help but feel a bit helpless as he said this.
He doesn't accept gifts outside and has no desire for political achievements or socializing. He just wants a comfortable retirement, where he can travel across the country with his wife for a few years before returning to take care of his grandchildren.
But he couldn't stop some former Changxi Town residents, owing Chen Fengshui a favor, kept coming back, calling him their old leader or commander, driving Old Chen nearly mad.
He wasn't anyone's commander; he just spent a few years in the military as a grunt.
After these visits, there would always be random things left in his home.
Whenever he tried to ask who left something, no one seemed to know.
"What's this stuff?"
Yu Zhenghong took out the card, and out of curiosity, Ansheng looked and saw the words "Hailinglong VIP Card."
Yu Zhenghong looked at Old Chen in disbelief.
Old Chen subconsciously glanced at Master Fox, who had earlier muttered about wanting a foot massage, and then looked at the wide-eyed, shocked Yu Zhenghong. With a heavy face, Old Chen announced:
"Later we'll pay our own way, but use this discount card to settle the bill. All of Master Fox's expenses are on me..."
To Old Chen, Master Fox wanting a foot massage seemed perfectly normal.
Doesn't every big brother visit entertainment venues?
Master Fox going there would probably be like going home.
"Alright..."
Yu Zhenghong, still dumbfounded, started up the car, ready to take Old Chen and Master Fox to the club.
"Mayor... Is Hailinglong legit? You watched Peipei grow up; you should know her position after leaving the military and joining the militia team."
Looking at the lavishly ornate place, with its bright, shimmering lights and the hostess's qipao slit absurdly high, Yu Zhenghong hesitantly asked Old Chen, "I can't handle mortars."
"I don't know if it's legit or not, but your thoughts are certainly not legit."
"What does it matter to us if it's legit? We'll just go to the legitimate areas." Old Chen chided Yu Zhenghong.
"Do they serve foxes here?" Ansheng sighed as he looked at the familiar entrance. "It's a pity I didn't bring my card from my past life. Otherwise, with my public expense hospitality card, I'd be an SVIP here..."
In fact, Hailinglong does serve foxes.
Anyway, the prices are the same for people and foxes.
Having been here before, Ansheng confidently directed Old Chen to the third floor with a hum.
The first floor is for eating and drinking, the second for karaoke, and the third for foot baths and massages.
The fourth is for mahjong, and the fifth is for massages, but Ansheng hadn't been to the fifth floor.
Not that he didn't want to, but he couldn't exactly take business clients there, could he?
Finance and marketing would strangle him at the company.
"Ding—"
The elevator opened on the third floor, with access to the fourth and fifth floors across the way.
Ansheng did a double-take at the person in the elevator.
Yin Pengfei, who previously claimed to be Zen City's most affectionate and was willing to be Mo Yiqing's dog, was in the elevator.
But Yin Pengfei appeared not to notice Ansheng, who was with two middle-aged men.
Wearing a robe and talking on the phone, he casually walked onto the third-floor carpet.
"Yes, Mom! You know, Mo Yiqing's family runs a chemical plant; they're loaded with money!"
"She's seen all sorts of glamorous worlds; someone like Mo Yiqing, a top-notch wealthy beauty, needs patience and persistence to win over. I'm just starting."
"Anyway, let's not talk about that now. Transfer two hundred thousand to my bank card. I'm planning to rent a restaurant tomorrow for a romantic encounter with Qingqing." Yin Pengfei said confidently, not stopping as he walked towards Foot Bath City.
"???"
Ansheng looked at Yin Pengfei, a face full of question marks, his ears filled with Yin Pengfei's words.
Mom! Not enough budget for wooing! Hurry and send money!