gnovel Chapter 8 Gao Ming, do you want to invest?
Chapter 8 Gao Ming, do you want to invest?
The inner garden of Taiji Palace, Chang Le Hall.
On the table were two pink sheets of paper, in which were copied two excellent poems that Yang Zhengdao had copied from the Complete Tang Poems.
Li Lizhi picked up the colored paper on the table and was about to tear it up, but in the end she couldn't bear to, sighed, and put the paper down.
What a shameless scoundrel!
Li Hui is also a shameless scoundrel!
Just as she was sulking, a palace maid came forward to report.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince brought a letter with him when he entered the palace."
Li Lizhi absentmindedly took it, but her eyes immediately lit up when she opened it.
Although she had never seen Yang Zhengdao's handwriting, she figured that only that shameless guy could write such a poem.
Yun Xiang's clothes are beautiful and beautiful, and the spring breeze is blowing.
If it weren't for Qunyu Shantou, we would meet at Yaotai.
After reading it, Li Lizhi cursed "bad person" in her heart, and could no longer suppress the smile on her lips.
Yang Zhengdao was certainly not foolish enough to copy a poem for Li Lizhi that was far inferior to the one for Li Hui.
After all, he's a college student, and he's had relationships before.
Although college students may not understand poetry, they do understand Li Bai.
Copying Li Bai's work is sure to be right and will definitely suppress all rivals.
Li Lizhi read the poem again, carefully put it down, and looked at the two poems on the table again, her mood completely changed.
Her fair little hand gently brushed across the colored paper.
Seeing the phrase "the peach blossoms and the woman's face are reflected in each other's redness," she thought of her chance encounter at Xuandu Temple half a month ago, and pouted, looking quite adorable.
Upon seeing the phrase "rouge stains the crabapple branches," she recalled their outing at Da'an Palace the day before, during which her cheeks had already turned crimson.
Thinking of the poem "We will meet again under the moon on the Jade Terrace" again, I couldn't help but smile foolishly.
Immediately, she thought of what her father and mother had said a few days ago in the Ganlu Palace, and sighed deeply.
Originally, during the family banquet on New Year's Day this year, the elders said they planned to marry her off to her cousin, Changsun Chong.
No, it's not needed now.
Judging from the tone of the Empress Dowager, it was the Immortal Sun who said that close relatives should not marry.
But judging from the Emperor's tone, it was that shameless person behind all this trouble.
However, this shameless guy did do one good thing.
Thinking of this, Li Lizhi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
I won't blush when I see my uncle anymore, and I won't be nervous when I see my cousin Chong.
She didn't even know what it meant to like someone.
When he was with his cousin Chong, he was gentle and polite, but he always seemed aloof and unapproachable.
However, when you're with that shameless guy, you don't feel the slightest bit restrained; on the contrary, you feel close to him.
Oh dear! How could I compare him to my cousin Chong!
It's just embarrassing!
Li Lizhi rubbed her face, which felt like it was on fire.
She read the three poems on the table again before carefully putting them away in an exquisite mother-of-pearl inlaid wooden box.
Meanwhile, Yang Zhengdao and Li Ke's group stayed at Huaili Temple for two days.
On the third day, the group took a shortcut along the Mangshui River Valley to reach Xianyou Temple in Zhouzhi County.
The road ahead became increasingly treacherous, and the population dwindled.
After an hour's trek, we came to see Xianyou Temple, located on the south bank of the Mang River at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain.
Xianyou Temple has been a royal temple since the Sui Dynasty. Although it is not as large as Daxingshan Temple in Chang'an, it has a unique simplicity and solemnity against the backdrop of towering ancient trees.
As soon as Yang Zhengdao was welcomed into the temple by the monk in charge of receiving guests, he saw the minor official who had come the day before to carry out the edict of the retired emperor.
The leader was a slightly overweight man in his forties, dressed in a light blue official robe, who was a rank-eighth-grade official in the Ministry of Rites.
The others included minor officials from the Ministry of Revenue who registered permanent landholdings, and minor officials from the Ministry of Works who repaired villas.
After exchanging pleasantries, Wang, the highest-ranking official from the Ministry of Rites, explained the situation to Yang Zhengdao.
"According to the decree of the Emperor Emeritus, a separate courtyard is granted next to Xianyou Temple for Young Master Yang's use in his cultivation. The courtyard is located south of Xianyou Temple and has more than ten rooms. The Ministry of Works will repair it as soon as possible."
"In addition, there are ten hectares of permanent farmland. We will complete the boundary survey in the next two days, and then the Zhouzhi County official will set up the boundary markers."
Yang Zhengdao quickly bowed and placed a few gold beans in Steward Wang's hand.
"What's wrong, Young Master Yang?"
"Of course, I am happy with the money. Although the Emperor Emeritus’s decree has not been officially issued, I dare not be happy alone for receiving such a generous reward."
Manager Wang immediately accepted it with a smile. Now that there was a formal explanation, it wouldn't be considered accepting a benefit or a private transaction.
He took out the illustrated books and documents and showed them to Yang Zhengdao.
"Young Master Yang, although these ten acres of Yongye land are all mountainous and barren land, there is a tea garden of one hundred and fifty acres."
"Is this really true?" Yang Zhengdao immediately feigned surprise.
"We only discovered it after we arrived here. There is no record of it in the Sinong Temple, so it must be wild."
The monk next to him was grinding his back teeth so hard they were almost crushed.
This is clearly a tea garden belonging to Xianyou Temple. Although it is not registered with Sinong Temple, isn't that an open secret?
Now that Manager Wang is blatantly lying, there's nothing Xianyou Temple can do.
The guest monk angrily turned and went to the abbot's meditation room.
Wang, the steward, looked at the monk with disdain and even spat at the monk's retreating back.
Yang Zhengdao smiled wryly. It seemed that the conflict between Taoism and Buddhism in the early Tang Dynasty was indeed real.
Many officials in the early Tang Dynasty believed in Taoism, which is why Xuanzang traveled to the west to obtain Buddhist scriptures, intending to restore the influence of Buddhism.
Yang Zhengdao doesn't have any particular faith. If the system could give him tea-making skills, he would be willing to worship all the gods.
The moment this thought crossed my mind, a system message arrived.
[You have successfully checked in at Zhouzhi County, Yongzhou]
[Reward: One random draw]
Yang Zhengdao hurriedly began to silently worship all the gods in the heavens: the Jade Emperor, Buddha, Erlang Shen, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Jesus Christ, Allah…
Finally, he didn't forget to recite the winning mantra one last time.
Black hands, black hands, bad luck go away quickly; red hands, red hands, I have the world at my fingertips.
He then took a deep breath and started the lottery.
You have obtained the complete guide to tea-making techniques.
Indeed, when it comes to matters of metaphysics, one still has to rely on metaphysics.
Yang Zhengdao suppressed his inner joy, thanked Steward Wang for his kindness, and then took Jiang Cheng and Tan Feng to the tea garden.
The tea garden is located on the hillside outside Xianyou Temple, built along the mountain slope.
Next to the tea garden, there was a cluster of thatched huts where the tenant tea farmers of Xianyou Temple lived.
Clearly, these tea farmers are unaware that they have changed owners.
Since Yang Zhengdao had not received the land grant document, he paid to buy several baskets of freshly picked tea from the tea farmers.
Then they rented a large pot and some existing tea-making tools from the tea farmers.
Pre-Qingming spring tea is naturally best suited for processing into green tea.
He immediately directed Jiang Cheng and Tan Feng to start frying tea.
After all, college students are quite good at applying theory to practice.
After wasting two baskets of new tea, they finally produced ten jin of finished product.
While such a product might only be used to make tea eggs in later generations, in this era it would be an absolute game-changer.
Around noon, Yang Zhengdao finally got to drink the first batch of roasted green tea in China.
Looking at the 150 acres of tea gardens on the hillside, he seemed to see a mountain of gold.
Yang Zhengdao had already figured out the funding and sales channels: he would tie himself to the Crown Prince's palace.
This is tantamount to bribing Li Er in disguise.
As for the management and manpower of the tea garden, Yang Zhengdao decided to leave it to Xianyou Temple as before.
Such a large tea garden must be managed by at least a dozen households.
It would be unwise to rashly acquire tenants and retainers before gaining Li Er's trust.
At noon, after a simple vegetarian meal, Yang Zhengdao knocked on the door of the abbot's meditation room at Xianyou Temple.
The abbot, Master Mingkong, was about fifty years old and wore a white monk's robe.
Although he harbored deep resentment towards Yang Zhengdao for losing a tea plantation, he outwardly maintained the refined demeanor of a hermit.
A moment later.
On the table, two white porcelain teacups were already set out, one of which contained the roasted green tea brewed by Yang Zhengdao.
The tender, yellow-green buds floated in the water, releasing a delicate aroma of tea.
"Master, this is a gentleman's tea, yet it possesses the charm of Bodhi. As the saying goes, 'Like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without artifice.'"
"Like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without artifice." Mingkong's eyes flashed with admiration. "What talent you possess, sir!"
Oh! Yang Zhengdao just wanted to cover his face; he had accidentally copied a poem again.
He coughed lightly and quickly steered the conversation to the main point: "Master, please appreciate the taste."
Mingkong picked up the teacup with some skepticism, took a light sniff, and then looked expectant.
He then took a sip, his expression pausing slightly, as if he were savoring the moment.
With the second bite, his expression relaxed, and a smile slowly appeared on his lips.
The third bite is satisfaction.
The fourth bite was already a delight.
Seeing the change in Mingkong's expression, Yang Zhengdao knew that the matter was settled.
Tang Dynasty temples owned land and had dependent farmers and laborers. Once Mingkong was persuaded, the manpower problem was easily solved.
In addition, the fact that the new tea comes from a Zen temple also tells a good story.
After all, college students do understand marketing.
The negotiations went smoothly, and Xianyou Temple received 10% of the profits.
The remaining task was to recruit Donggong.
That evening, Yang Zhengdao spread out a square of beige mulberry paper on the table, preparing to write a letter.
He had an irrepressible smile on his lips.
While pondering how to phrase it, he muttered to himself, "Brilliant! My business empire, would you like to invest...?"