Madam Li smiled happily and said, "I'm glad Madam Luo likes it. There's a story behind this tea."
Yunrong asked with a curious look, "What story?"
"This tea was only discovered not long ago. It's all thanks to my master's thoughtfulness; otherwise, this tea tree would have been destroyed. The tea looks no different from that of an ordinary tea tree, so when a villager brought it out to sell, it was mistaken for a regular tea tree. The villager didn't know what was going on with this tea tree, so he sold it as an ordinary tea tree."
As luck would have it, when they were selling the tea tree, they ran into a rent collector on the street. The rent collector was in a bad tone and said that the villager had encroached on commercial land and had to pay money. The villager, who only wanted to sell a tea tree, naturally refused when he heard that he had to pay money.
So he said he wouldn't sell anymore, but the rent collector wouldn't let him go, saying he wouldn't let him leave until he paid the money. He even had someone pick up his tea tree, saying that if he didn't pay the money, he would smash the tea tree first.
At this moment, our master appeared. He came to inspect the shop, which was right across from the villagers' stalls. As soon as he stepped out, he saw this scene. He went in to take a look and wanted to ask what was going on so as not to delay his business. Then he saw the tea tree.
My husband used to be a tea merchant and has a deep understanding of tea. Although the tea tree looked like an ordinary tea tree, the leaves were slightly different, and the roots of the tea tree were also different. So my husband wondered if it might be a new tea tree.
Thinking about it this way, we decided to buy the tea trees. After buying them, we examined them carefully and found that they were indeed new tea trees. We then sent people to find the villagers who buried the tea trees and inquired about the locations where the tea trees were dug up. We found quite a few more. Because we were worried that these tea trees wouldn't be able to adapt to the external environment, my husband bought the entire hill.
Yunrong never expected that a tea tree could have such a tortuous history, but she found it interesting to hear about it.
"Master Li truly has a discerning eye!" Yunrong exclaimed.
Madam Li was very pleased to hear Yunrong's words, but she still wanted to be modest: "I wouldn't call it having a discerning eye, I was just lucky."
Isn't it just that we were a bit luckier?
Yunrong then said, "I just heard Madam Li mention that Mr. Li used to be a tea merchant. Tea business is doing quite well these days, so why did he stop?"
Madam Li sighed and explained, "The tea business is indeed good, but it requires a lot of effort to take care of the tea trees, and you also have to worry about the quality of the tea. Moreover, once the tea is picked, it is quite time-consuming and laborious to process, and there are also great risks involved in transportation."
Later, when he was younger, he became acquainted with a foreign businessman. Once, the businessman was in a hurry to leave and needed to sell a batch of imported goods. The old man bought them on the spot, and from then on, the family gradually stopped doing tea business.
Yunrong sighed, "So there's such a thing. Speaking of which, is the business of imported goods easy to do? I came from the capital, and although there are shops there that sell imported goods, they don't seem to have much to offer."
Madam Li, with a look that said, "You don't know this, do you?", said, "It's like this. We're close to the sea, so imported goods from overseas are usually sold off in bulk. It saves them time and effort, and they can quickly get what they want. So the goods here are the most complete, with a wider variety of styles."
"Places closer to Guangzhou are fine, since transportation is easier. But places like Beijing present too many inconveniences during transport. If something goes wrong along the way, you could lose half your entire fortune. It's better to trade locally; it's safer and more reliable!"
Yunrong looked at her with an "I see" expression and said, "Oh, I see! Hearing Madam Li say that, I'm really interested in this imported product."
Everyone could tell that Yunrong was no ordinary person and knew that she was interested in imported goods, so they started talking about it. Besides, today's banquet was related to this topic anyway.
Madam Li said, "If Madam Luo likes these imported goods, we have them in the manor. Whatever Madam Luo likes, I will have someone bring some back for her later."
Yunrong naturally refused her gift, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your kindness, Madam Li. I have only heard that imported goods are very precious and I am very interested in their origin. There is no need to possess such good things. I am afraid I will have to disappoint Madam Li's kind intentions."
Madam Li wasn't angry. She said very kindly, "Since Madam Luo wants to know the origin of this imported product, Madam Cheng seems to know more about these things in detail."
One of the ladies sitting below smiled and said, "Madam Li, please don't flatter me. I only know a little about her."
Then, looking at Yunrong, he said, "Since Madam Luo likes these things, I'll just say a few words, and Madam Luo can just take it as entertainment."
Yunrong smiled and said, "Since Madam Li has spoken, Madam Cheng must be an expert. I'll listen attentively."
This Mrs. Cheng was quite knowledgeable and knew a lot about these things.
“I married a British merchant and went on a merchant ship once, but I didn’t go far. I only learned some things. What I know is that these imported goods all came from very far overseas.”
There are many of these imported goods there, just like our Qing Dynasty's tea, porcelain, and embroidery, which are very common. Overseas, our Qing Dynasty's tea, porcelain, and embroidery are very popular, and only nobles and wealthy people can afford them.
Therefore, most overseas merchants would use a large portion of their wealth to exchange for these items, which they would then resell back in their own countries. If they could return safely from a single voyage, they could essentially live a life of wealth and prosperity.
However, the sea is not particularly safe. Besides the harsh marine environment and numerous dangers, pirates frequently roam the seas, and those with bad luck often lose their lives at sea. This is why, although maritime business can be profitable, only a small number of people dare to engage in it…
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