smoothly
Upon hearing this, Zhao Mingyan's eyes suddenly lit up, and the excitement in her heart far exceeded the excitement she felt when she was teased by Tan Linshuang in bed last night.
May I ask who is your husband after you get out of bed?
Only making money can make her happy.
"Yan'er will follow grandma's instructions."
She controlled the corners of her mouth that were about to smile, and obediently held Fan Wenlan's hand. Then she frowned and hesitated, "But will my third cousin agree?"
Helping out is just a superficial statement. These side branches are just empty shells and do not have as much power as Er Chaofeng. Asking her to assist Tan Lao San now is tantamount to driving him out of the company.
Fan Wenlan pulled up the corners of his mouth to reveal a half-smile, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, "His mind is no longer on the real work. You need to help him, so that he won't be overwhelmed..."
She deliberately dragged out the ending tone and took several turns in the tune, showing her sarcasm.
Zhao Mingyan smiled silently, recalling the conversation he heard between Fan Wenlan and the shopkeeper at "You Ming Qi" that day. It seemed that this Mr. Tan liked tea-drinking competitions and had close contacts with a tea merchant from Huizhou Prefecture.
Fan Wenlan is a man of great courage. Today he said that he would let Zhao Mingyan go to assist Tan Laosan, and tomorrow he would take her to the trading company and let Tan Laosan teach her how to do things.
Tan Laosan was only transferred to the main trading company at the beginning of this year. He is still not familiar with the business here, let alone training new people.
So, when Zhao Mingyan came over alone, the two of them couldn't help but stare at each other, not knowing where to start.
After staring at each other for half an incense stick of time, Tan Lao San rubbed his hands and asked with a wry smile, "Yan'er, are you thirsty? Would you like some tea?"
Zhao Mingyan almost laughed out loud.
After holding it in for a long time, this is the opening line I came up with.
"Thank you for your help, Third Uncle."
She nodded, smiled, and said, "I've always heard that my third cousin is an expert in tea making. Today, I'm finally lucky enough to get to taste it."
Hearing this, Tan Lao San's heart was filled with joy. He quickly waved his hands and shook his head, "No, no, no. It's not like I know anything about tea art. I just know a little bit."
Then, he took Zhao Mingyan to his tea table and began to prepare the utensils, placing the tea stove, tea kettle, teapot, and teacup one by one, and then selected water and started fire.
"There are certain rules for water, and the fire also needs to be controlled."
He picked up a small round fan and fanned it back and forth. "The Tea Records says: 'When you fan, you should fan lightly and quickly. When you hear a sound, you can fan slightly faster. This is a sign of new civil and military skills.'"
Zhao Mingyan nodded, bent down with his hands behind his back, and looked carefully.
The currently popular "tea brewing method" focuses on steeping loose leaf tea to make a tea soup, using a small porcelain pot to brew it, and pays attention to the choice of tea utensils, water quality, and brewing techniques.
"瀹" means to boil, soak or dredge, which is suitable for brewing loose tea. It is convenient and can retain the true taste of tea. It is said to be "the ancestor of tea drinking through the ages."
After lighting the fire, it's time to wait for the soup to boil. Tan Lao San said, "'Tengbo Gulang' means mastery."
"This is young bud tea, so it's best brewed using the top-down method. Wait until the hot water is 70% full before adding the tea leaves."
Soon, the aroma of tea filled the air, fresh and tempting.
Zhao Mingyan sniffed and felt refreshed.
It is true that everyone has strengths and weaknesses.
Tan Laosan is not good at business, but there is no problem for him to be a tea doctor.
Zhao Mingyan took a sip of the tea he brewed, and when she thought of this, she couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
I guess his branch would not allow him to leave the Bamboo Forest Trading Company and do other business, right?
According to Tan Linshuang, all the relatives in their family rely on the bonuses from the business to support their families. The more positions they hold in the business, the more money they get. Even if they don't have the skills, they will try their best to take on the porcelain work.
After a cup of tea, Zhao Mingyan got down to business. "Third uncle, if there's anything you need my help with in the future, just let me know."
"Well……"
Tan Lao San rubbed his hands and glanced at Qin Bo, the Second Court Official, who was sitting behind the counter. Qin Bo immediately stood up and walked over. "Young Madam, there's a paper mill in Jiading Prefecture that wants to buy a batch of processed bamboo from our company for papermaking. They sent someone to negotiate at the beginning of the year, but they couldn't agree on the price."
"Is the other party trying to lower the price?" Zhao Mingyan asked directly.
Qin Bo nodded. "They mainly grow bitter bamboo there, selecting young bamboo as the raw material for making bamboo paper. Earlier this year, for some unknown reason, many bamboo forests were attacked by bamboo wasps, destroying at least one-fifth of the bamboo. As a last resort, they had to look for other bamboos in the surrounding areas, and they chose our company."
"But they're used to being self-sufficient. Asking them to pay money to buy bamboo is a big loss for them, so they naturally want to keep the price as low as possible."
"But doesn't it cost money to plant bamboo and maintain bamboo forests? And don't we have to pay the guys for processing bamboo?" Zhao Mingyan laughed.
"you do not say!"
Qin Bo clapped his hands and praised her generously, "Young Madam, you can tell at a glance that you understand business."
"That's right!" Tan Laosan nodded happily.
Qin Bo continued, "The old lady still wants to make this deal. If we need bitter bamboo in the future, we can establish a good relationship with her. However, we can't sell our own bamboo at a low price, let alone at a loss."
Zhao Mingyan understood and further asked him about the other party's minimum price for opening a business.
At the same time, I also learned about the background of the paper mill.
It is not a large business, otherwise they would not purchase bamboo from other places, but it is also a century-old brand that has been rooted there since the Song Dynasty.
While listening to Qin Bo's talk, Zhao Mingyan muttered to himself: Bamboo paper absorbs ink quickly and is suitable for quick writing. Rice paper has the characteristic of "ink is divided into five colors" and can present rich layers of brush and ink, so the lantern covers are mostly made of rice paper.
However, bamboo paper has a low interweaving density, is thin and soft, and has good light transmittance...
"Young Madam?"
When he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard Qin Bo calling him. Zhao Mingyan quickly came back to his senses and said to him, "Why don't you let me write a letter to him first."
"Write a letter? What are you going to say?"
At night, when Tan Linshuang learned about this, he couldn't help but feel curious.
He felt that this was probably another problem that his grandmother had given Zhao Mingyan.
But he didn't intend to say it.
At this moment, he was lying on the bed with his hands on his pillow. Zhao Mingyan was riding on him, wearing only a light green bellyband. Her towering blue breasts made the two lotus flowers embroidered on the bellyband stand out as if they were about to bloom, making him unable to help but stroke the petals.
Zhao Mingyan trembled slightly, but did not dodge. She moved down a few inches and started to untie Tan Linshuang's belt.
After several days of lovemaking, she was already familiar with the routine. She untied her belt in a few seconds, and with one hand up and the other down, they made love, and Tan Linshuang's breathing became heavier.
Her chest rose and fell, and her voice was soft: "Let's talk about cooperation. Let's not talk about selling bamboo first, but buy bamboo paper from them."
"Bamboo paper?"
Tan Linshuang paused and asked, "Making lantern clothes?"
"But bamboo paper isn't durable!"
Zhao Mingyan moved her hips down further, her hands following suit. "But bamboo paper is transparent, making it more aesthetically pleasing. We can sell it as Lantern Festival lanterns, not for illumination, but simply to suit the occasion. Once the Lantern Festival is over, it will die."
"ha!"
Tan Linshuang raised her head and smiled, "My wife still has many ideas."
"It's like returning a favor. If you buy their bamboo paper and then sell them bamboo, and they still haggle over the price, then you're in the wrong."
Zhao Mingyan raised her lips slightly, her eyes bright with joy, "Husband, it's your turn to return the favor."
Tan Linshuang smiled knowingly, stood up, took the pillow next to her, put it at the foot of the bed, then hugged Zhao Mingyan and lay down gently, hugging her and kissing her.
“Haha…”
Xiaozhu in the side room was woken up by the continuous rustling. She turned over, covered herself with the quilt and continued to sleep...
"My lady, you will be the phoenix tonight and I will let you fly."
After taking off each other's clothes, Tan Linshuang took Zhao Mingyan's hands, asked her to lift her legs, then hugged her slender waist and knocked on her jade door with the golden hammer.
Zhao Mingyan closed her eyes shyly, her red lips slightly parted, and as Tan Linshuang moved left and right, she let out a slight gasp.
Until the lubricating fluid boiled out, it was as if a phoenix from a red mountain was soaring into the sky. She couldn't help but moan softly, secretly sighing that her husband was still the best in bed.
The next day, both of them felt refreshed. After breakfast, one went to the study to review his lessons, while the other returned to the bedroom to write a letter.
After writing the letter, Zhao Mingyan took Xiaozhu to the post station to deliver it, and then went to the Chastity Hall to chat with the chaste women.
"Sister Zhao, how is Ah Xiang these days?"
During this period, Aunt Zhuang took Zhao Mingyan to inquire about Tan Moxiang's situation.
Zhao Mingyan frowned and shook her head, not hiding anything. "My aunt is still under house arrest, so it's not convenient for me to visit her. Although the weaving room is operating as usual, it depends on what my grandmother wants..."
She showed a helpless expression.
"What a vicious woman!"
Aunt Zhuang spat on the ground and said, "A Xiang's life has been ruined by her."
"She was clearly keeping her chastity at her husband's house, yet they insisted on sending her here. She finally found something to do, something new to look forward to, and now she's here to cause trouble again."
"That old vicious woman just can't stand seeing her doing well!"
As she spoke, Aunt Zhuang spat on the ground again.
"I heard that her grandmother sent her to the Chastity Hall because her husband's family blamed her for not having children for many years and treated her harshly?" Zhao Mingyan asked with a little surprise.
"fart!"
Aunt Zhuang was furious. "That vicious woman is just talking nonsense."
"She's been treated very well by her in-laws, and it's not her fault that she hasn't had any children for so many years..."
At this point, she stopped abruptly, looked around, and walked a little further away with Zhao Mingyan before she lowered her voice and said, "Ah Xiang's husband is a sickly man, just as bad as the one in your family... cough!"
Seeing that she was about to say the wrong thing, Aunt Zhuang quickly stopped herself and said, "Anyway, her in-laws never blamed her for her infertility. After her husband's unfortunate death, they treated her even better. They didn't treat her like their own daughter, but at least they didn't treat her like the mother-in-law and then the daughter-in-law."
"But her father-in-law is just a lowly local official of no rank. He can't match the Tan family's wealth, and his power is certainly no match for the prefect. This vicious old woman came up with a high-sounding excuse to send her to the Chastity Hall, and the other family had no choice but to comply."
"I guess the old evil woman deliberately married her to a sickly man because she didn't want her, but she didn't know that true love can't be hindered by illness."
"True love can never be stopped by illness or pain..."
Zhao Mingyan murmured these words with mixed feelings.
"Why does grandma hate my aunt so much?" she asked stammeringly.
Is it disgust?
"What is disgust? It's hatred." Aunt Zhuang said.
"Because..."
Without waiting for Zhao Mingyan to ask why, she took the initiative to speak: "The old vicious woman hates her mother, and hates everyone in the house as well."
"If Mr. Tan hadn't died so early, Ah Xiang's mother would have been promoted to a concubine, and Ah Xiang would have been the only legitimate daughter of the Tan family."
"Just one step away, but the difference is as great as heaven and earth!"
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