Without waiting for Pei Yaoqing to ask, Li Yi continued.
"Starting from Qingming, then Guyu, Lixia, and Young Man, I want all the tea plantations and wild teas around the capital office. I want as much as I can.
This time, not only will there be a shortage of manpower, even the people who have finished producing large amounts of mud will have work to do. Five thousand people, no problem. "
Li Yi remembered that his tea was not good. He picked it late and did not make it in time for last year's Qingming and Yuqian.
The earlier the tea was, the more tender it was and the stronger the taste of green tea would be.
Nowadays, people pick tea leaves to cook, but not many people eat it. If it is not handled well, the tea leaves will be bitter.
Almost every household in Chang 'an has tea leaves, and it is not necessary to buy them.
There are wild teas outside, pick them and let them ferment naturally.
Roll them up, dry them, and boil them when drinking.
Rich people will naturally eat tea with better fermentation techniques.
The green tea that Li Yi wants is equally complicated, and the farmers need more people to learn.
Pei Yaoqing was stunned. He took a sip of tea and smacked his lips, "Brother Yi, there are more than five thousand people. There are many places with tea. Take out the recipe, I …"
Pei Yaoqing stopped and squeezed out an awkward smile at Li Yi.
Li Yi wanted to send him off with tea, but he knew that Pei Yaoqing did not understand this rule.
"Brother Yi, the tea made with this method cannot be sold at an expensive price. I can't afford it." Pei Yaoqing quickly turned back.
"Brother Pei, why do you need to buy tea? Come to me … I will ask someone to send it to you." Li Yi was generous.
"This year, the imperial court will give me a promotion. I don't want to be promoted. I want to stay here for two years, at least one year. Brother Yi, you know Gao Lishi, tell him."
Pei Yaoqing mentioned another matter. He wanted to stay here and not be promoted.
"You don't want to be a higher official?" Li Yi asked.
"I can't let go of the people. It is not easy to have good things to look forward to. Once I leave, I can't control what the new county magistrate does."
Pei Yaoqing nodded and expressed his worries.
Li Yi nodded. At this moment, he found Pei Yaoqing pleasing to the eye. Not many officials could decide whether they could be promoted or not.
"Alright, when General Gao comes to pick up the things next time, I will tell him." Li Yi agreed.
Then he said, "Since that's the case, little brother, think about it some more. There are always new types of jobs. We can't do anything if it's too far away, but it's still possible to add more labor-intensive industries to the nearby Chang 'an. "
Pei Yaoqing stood up and bowed deeply. "On behalf of the people of Chang 'an, I thank Li Dongzhu."
"Brother Pei, you don't have to do this." Li Yi hurriedly stood up to return the greeting. This was troublesome.
Pei Yaoqing was very excited. He poured more hot water and drank three cups of tea in a row. When the tea was tasteless, he went out to see Zhuangzi with a stomach full of water.
"Look, the tea leaves were picked late. After three soaks, they'll lose their flavor. This year, we can sell tea leaves for a lot of money. Finally, we have a simple way to make money. "
Li Yi happily muttered to himself.
In the entire Tang dynasty, he was the only one who knew how to make tea, and he did not intend to spread it out immediately.
When he went out, he went to find Song De personally. Song De was busier than him, and he might not be at any place.
Along the way, he asked people and saw Song De at the place where the large Sky Cracker Monkeys were made.
The Sky Cracker Monkeys were being trimmed and tested again. They did not connect the fuse to the explosives at the front first.
The charge was adjusted accordingly. After each launch, the flying distance and stability, including the launch angle and landing point were checked.
This was a huge project, and the craftsmen were very willing to do it.
"There's no hurry." Li Yi stood next to Song De and said.
"There's a hurry!" Song De retorted. "Dongzhu, there are too many good things in Zhuangzi, and there are also many that need to be kept secret. In case there are strong people who come to rob, there must be a way to deal with them."
The craftsmen next to him nodded vigorously to show that they agreed. Yes, we are afraid.
"How can there be strong people in Chang 'an? Unless the imperial court wants to rob, how can a few or a dozen people defeat Zhuangzi's guards? "
Li Yi did not believe that. If a few hundred horse bandits appeared around Chang 'an, Li Longji would go crazy.
"I'm just afraid that some king from the imperial court will come to rob without His Majesty's knowledge. Let's beat them first."
Song De threw out the rebellious words, which meant that as long as it was not His Majesty's order, they would beat anyone who came.
"Mm! Good, very good! "Li Yi patted his steward's shoulder and praised him.
Then he got down to business. "Two days before the Qingming Festival, many people will pick tea leaves and send them here. Ask the farmers to learn how to fry tea.
In addition, prepare the bamboo tubes to hold the tea leaves in advance. This year, Zhuangzi's main product is tea leaves.
They are divided into different grades and sold at different prices. The cheapest one tael of tea leaves is sold for three coins. "
Li Yi told him the arrangement. This was the real deal. It was much better to buy soap.
When he heard that there was something good to make money, Song De immediately beamed with joy. "Dongzhu, three coins is too low."
"Wrap it in paper and break the foam. Tea leaves are divided into different grades. "Li Yi explained. The broken foam wrapped in paper was three coins per tael, which was forty-eight coins per catty.
When he thought of the high tea leaves, which were forty-eight coins per catty, Li Yi hesitated. "One coin per tael of foam, which is sixteen coins per catty."
His Gao Shun tea was not the best tea leaves, and the foam left behind was the worst.
So he changed his words again. "Broken foam is also divided into different grades. Fifth-grade foam is slightly cheaper. A bag of half a catty, which is five coins."
"Dongzhu, only five grades?" Song De felt that it was too little.
"What grade is this Dongzhu? How far does it take to rise to the first grade? "Li Yi asked.
"The imperial court's physicians are from the fifth grade and above. Above is the fifth grade, fifth grade, fourth grade, fourth grade …"
Song De counted.
Suddenly, he paused. "How did Dongzhu divide it?"
Song De understood. Rank-1, Rank-2, and Rank-3 were divided into Positive, Submissive, and Rank-4 and below were divided into Positive, Submissive, and Up and Down.
There were six grades in the first, second, and third grades. There were eight grades in the fourth and fifth grades. In total, there were fourteen grades.
"Why didn't Dongzhu add the sixth rank and beyond?" Song De felt that he could get more.
"Fifth rank officials are allowed to attend court. The worst tea leaves are of the fifth rank. When others think about it, they will think that it matches. Drinking this tea, even the worst tea leaves would allow one to enter the main hall."
Li Yi recalled the time when he was selling tea. No matter what kind of tea it was, no matter how bad it tasted, it would always have the words' special 'or' excellent 'written on it. He never saw any' good 'tea.
Only the exported tea was differentiated by serial numbers. Otherwise, the tea sold from a few yuan to a few hundred yuan would be of the same grade, and the taste would be much worse.
Therefore, he decided to follow suit. Even if he sold foam, it would still be a fifth-rank item.
"The owner is indeed the owner." Song De praised from the bottom of his heart.
"Well said." Li Yi chuckled. He walked back to the courtyard and continued to copy books.
During lunch, Pei Yaoqing, who had been wandering around, brought the yamen runners to the canteen.
"Li Dongzhu, I'm here." Li Yi had just sat down when Gao Lishi, whom Pei Yaoqing had been waiting for, appeared.
"Coincidentally, I have something to ask of General Gao." Li Yi mentioned directly.
Since someone was willing to not be promoted, it would not be difficult for Gao Lishi to do it.
"Ah, Chang 'an Magistrate is also here? From last year to this year, Chang 'an has been governed quite well. Let me congratulate you first. "
Gao Lishi congratulated Pei Yaoqing.
Pei Yaoqing looked at Li Yi with a bitter face.
"General Gao, please sit down. I was just about to ask for your help. Pei Ming does not want to be promoted and wants to work for another year."
Li Yi invited Gao Lishi to sit down and said to him.
"Then let's go back and talk to Her Majesty?" Gao Lishi looked at Pei Yaoqing and asked softly.
Pei Yaoqing nodded vigorously. Yes, that's right. Don't transfer me away.
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