"Xiaolan, come on back, we're heading out!"
Ah Qing helped her dad move the selected tea leaves to the old pickup truck, two large boxes, sixty pounds, then walked outside the old house and called to the little fox squatting in front of the house.
"Oh oh oh, coming...."
Ansheng responded and turned around, climbing up Ah Qing's leg to her shoulder.
As Master Fuli left, a tortoiseshell cat sitting beside him quickly and seriously ran towards Lin Ying's house, searching for the Madagascar hissing cockroach and the small tea tree nestled in the garden.
"Meow—"
The tortoiseshell cat looked at the hissing cockroach and spoke to convey what Master Fuli had just said.
Master Fuli said he needs a socket wrench, pliers, and needle-nose pliers, ones capable of disassembling a destroyer, as he plans to unscrew the bolts from the destroyer on the high seas tonight.
"Huh?"
The hissing cockroach looked confused, only able to run to Lin Ying's house, gesticulating to transform Master Fuli's words into body language to Lin Bingyun, asking Ms. Housekeeper to help contact the Security Bureau.
The Security Bureau received the news.
An exclamation point popped up above the operator's head.
...
On the way to the Tea Capital, stuck for half an hour, Ansheng followed Lao Deng to Qingxi County. Jiule City's Tea Capital can currently be said to have two locations, one in Qingxi County, which is the most historic old Tea Capital, with a heritage of over two thousand years.
The other Tea Capital is newly built, officially named "Strait Grand Tea Capital," a comprehensive tea industry distribution center, integrating tea, teaware, tea processing, tourism, and museum into a full industrial area.
Most tourists and tea merchants go to the Strait Grand Tea Capital for their purchases.
The old Tea Capital is really too old, every brick and stone is already considered a historical relic, making expansion difficult. Currently, the old Tea Capital's function remains, but its importance has declined, serving more as a place for cultural exchange and tourism rather than a complete tea industry distribution center.
The provincial tea competition venue is set at the old Tea Capital, attracting numerous tea merchants from within and outside the province, preparing to select tea during the competition and sign purchase contract agreements, bringing families along for tourism and seafood extravaganzas.
Quality tea, whether high-end or staple, has always been a scarce resource, requiring advance orders to acquire it.
Only by placing orders do tea farmers have expectations, possibly investing heavily to expand production, otherwise, they fear losses.
Three tea eggs a day, plus boiling two pounds of tea leaves for foot soaking at night; it's practically a nightmare...
Similar to the tea garden of Ah Qing's family, this year's yield, beyond the two boxes in the pickup truck and three boxes at home.
The tea garden really can't squeeze out a drop more, considering Xia Dong's winter temperatures, although tea can be harvested; traditionally, it's generally not done, allowing the tea trees to rest well in winter for a bountiful harvest next year.
Aside from the existing stock, Ah Qing's tea garden is now selling the next year's share.
Tea merchants pay a deposit, following production order, and if there's any surplus, it circulates in the market.
However.
With Lao Deng's tea seedling output, Ansheng doesn't think he can produce according to demand.
Next year, in spring and autumn, Lao Deng will likely experience the joy of being manhandled by tea merchants, truly making one sweat profusely.
Collected deposits, unable to deliver goods.
If placed in the past, Ansheng usually rummages through tea farmers' and tea masters' old baskets, tearing open pants pockets, always able to shake out a few sheets of hidden stock.
This could be said to be a necessary journey when transitioning from tea merchant to tea farmer or tea factory owner.
Ansheng did not remind Lao Deng, some things can only be deeply understood through personal experience.
Otherwise, given Lao Deng's loose lip, if he signs a contract with certain tea companies and fails to deliver, they could genuinely sue him to ruin.
"Here, this is our tea stall...."
With difficulty parking the pickup in a ditch, Yu Zhenghong led Ah Qing off the avenue to a spot in the middle of a street, proudly raising his hand to point at the sign that read "Qing'an Tea Industry":
"From now on, we'll start a business with tea, striving hard to make our fortune and showcase it back home!"
Ah Qing, holding a box of tea leaves, looked at her dad, sweating profusely, so...so energetic.
Entering the tea stall, the interior area was about twenty or just under thirty square meters, enough to set shelves and a tea table for negotiating cooperation.
Yu Zhenghong took Ah Qing to the tea stall, gave her a spare key, then went with qualifications, certificates, and ID to register with the tea leaves.
Ah Qing tidied the shelves a bit, placing the tea leaves from the boxes onto the shelves, then took Xiaolan out to meet the promoter at a shop with WeChat address.
Promotion for the tea competition was usually conducted through official media and local TV.
Online promotion wasn't considered since merchants don't need to see advertisements to know to come, and ordinary people seeing promotions wouldn't travel all that distance.
The essence of the tea competition is still aiding farmers, so the promotion must be targeted to attract those with intentions.
Jiule City's change of approach is actually related to recommendations from Potou City.
Besides the tea industry, Xia Dong has tourism and other industries. Ah Qing, during Potou tourism, gave strong high-intensity free advertising for the local area, pulling out all stops.
Making numerous netizens rush to the grasslands to see big cats.
Or, lining up to experience the steel torrent and recall the glorious days of the predecessors.
Ah Qing benevolently promoted for free locally, the Potou local propaganda office thought about it and recommended Ah Qing to Jiule City and Chang'an cultural tourism, which equates to endorsing her.
Jiule City's publicity department, after reviewing Ah Qing's profile, thought it was astonishing and created a special promotion post.
Ah Qing's background check was printed on A4 paper, but the white page emitted a dazzling sun-like red glow.
Well, what a good family trait, even the family's fox participated in resisting foreign invaders, let alone military foxes we must stand and salute, calling them leaders.
...
After meeting with the promoter, the promoter briefly introduced the job details to Ah Qing.
Job details were there weren't any; Ah Qing only needed to roam the venue, wild at heart, educating the audience about the history and process of the tea competition. Some things she knew, she could educate the audience; if not, she could pass the topic over, not directly addressing unfamiliar areas.
The promotion should be positive, while some old merchant traditions and "customs" shouldn't even be discussed.
The old customs mentioned by the promoter might have been confusing to Ah Qing, but Ansheng understood them immediately.
Old wealthy merchant tradition, finance ≈ wife.
The more branches ≈ the more wives.
If a wealthy merchant doesn't send their closest person to manage finance, they always feel uneasy.
However.
With financial absconding incidents frequent, this phenomenon is gradually disappearing, but we can't say it's entirely gone.
Especially at the tea competition venue, most attendees are tea farmers and tea factory owners, hard to say won't encounter some old wealthy merchants. The promoter knew Ah Qing hadn't been out in the world and made this clear.
Those things aren't meant for promotion!
We don't say a word, wait for more finance people to expose old men's gold coins, this "old custom" will disappear.
...
At night, Ah Qing lay over her desk studying, the little fox seemed inadvertently clicking a calculus video.
"Whew..." Ah Qing, muddle-headed, snuggled into the hotel bed and quickly fell asleep like a dead pig.
"I always feel..."
"The song 'Black Street' by Chen Yawen is playing in my ear." Master Fuli glanced at Ah Qing, mumbled under his breath, carefully closed the hotel room door.
Outside the hotel room, Jin Wanlin, dressed in a black jacket and blue jeans, was already waiting in the lobby.
Master Fuli drifted leisurely through the main entrance and jumped into a black business car.
The business car merged into the traffic flow, heading straight to the port.
"Woof—"
Upon seeing Master Fuli get off the car, Doggy barked joyously, waving at him.
"Where are the others?"
Master Fuli asked curiously.
Besides Jin Wanlin delivering tools to himself, it seemed no others were visible here at the port.
"All ambushed at sea, they're clever, they run faster than rabbits when they see the fleet."
Doggy wagged its tail happily:
"We'll take the spaceship over, switch to the big whale, transfer to dolphins to get close to the ship and climb aboard to borrow money....."
How did Doggy manage to rob the research ship right under the destroyer's eyes?
The answer is: Biotechnology.
Doggy and the golden lion approached on dolphins, they climbed the ship's body, and with a knife, they started the heist.
The crew usually didn't resist.
The sonar is the boss's, not theirs, there's no need to risk fighting lions.
Besides, the doggy was already up.
They dare not bet whether Doggy would indeed throw them into the sea to feed sharks.