Chapter 640: Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea

“I’ve reached Wuyi Mountain.” Shen Yibin sent a text to Xu Ye, then continued following the GPS toward the Dahongpao Scenic Area.

Soon, his phone rang. He pulled over and answered. A young woman’s voice came from the other end. “Hello, is this Mr. Shen? I’m Xu Ye’s friend, Yue Lingshan. Where are you right now?”

“Oh, hello! Let me see.” Shen Yibin glanced at his GPS and reported his location. “I’m currently… about twenty kilometers from the Dahongpao Scenic Area… I’m driving a Mercedes SUV, license plate number…”

“Okay, keep heading toward the scenic area. I’ll wait for you at the entrance. Just give me a call when you arrive,” the voice on the other end responded immediately.

“Alright, thank you for your trouble!” He hung up and continued driving. It wasn’t long before he reached the entrance to the scenic area. He had just parked and hadn’t even pulled out his phone when he saw a pretty young woman approaching him.

“You must be Mr. Shen from Baiyun City, right? I’m Yue Lingshan.” The young woman introduced herself gracefully. What Shen Yibin found a little strange was that she didn’t have much of a local Hu Jian accent; instead, her speech had a hint of a Shaanxi cadence.

“Oh, hello! I’m so sorry to trouble you.” Shen Yibin quickly got out of the car and shook her hand. He’d originally thought that visiting the Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea would be a complicated affair, which was why he had asked Xu Ye to find him a guide. He never expected to arrive at the scenic area and see signs pointing directly to the path for viewing the Mother Tree. ‘Looks like I went to all this trouble for nothing,’ he thought, feeling rather embarrassed.

“It’s no problem. The Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea may be open to the public, but there are still many other worthwhile sights in these mountains. They can be hard to find without a local guide,” Yue Lingshan said with a smile, seeming to have guessed what was on Shen Yibin’s mind.

“You don’t sound like a local, though. You sound a bit like you’re from Shaanxi,” Shen Yibin couldn’t help but ask.

“You must have been to Shaanxi. Yes, my hometown is over there, but I met my husband, who’s from Hu Jian, in college and married him. So now I’m here. I guess that makes me a semi-local. I know all the attractions here very well. Let me take you to your accommodations to rest first!” After speaking, Yue Lingshan moved to get in the car, but as she turned, she saw Hah’Er sitting in the passenger seat, staring at her with a cute expression.

“Oh, this is my pet, Hah’Er. The hamster in Hah’Er’s pocket is Maphario. The monkey in the back is Xiaoliu, and next to him is Turtle Immortal. Everyone, say hello to Miss Yue,” Shen Yibin introduced them quickly, wondering at the same time, ‘Should I show her my permits or something?’

Hah’Er extended a paw and waved at Yue Lingshan. Xiaoliu scratched its head. Maphario squeaked twice, and Turtle Immortal slowly turned its head.

“When Xu Ye called earlier, he said he had a surprise for me. I was wondering what it could be. I can’t believe you brought the panda, too! This is a huge surprise! My husband and I have watched *Panda Hero* several times—we’re huge fans of Hah’Er! Ah, it’s a shame he’s away on a business trip. He would have been thrilled to see Hah’Er.” Yue Lingshan was getting excited. “Mr. Shen, can I take a few pictures with Hah’Er to send to my husband?”

‘Hey, could you not flaunt your love in front of a single guy? It’s so depressing,’ Shen Yibin felt a pang of misery, but he kept a smile on his face. “No problem. Hah’Er, come take a few pictures with Miss Yue!”

“Maybe later. You must be tired after such a long drive. I’ll take you to my family’s inn to rest first.” Yue Lingshan finally calmed down, waving her hands dismissively. She opened the back door, sat down, and gave Shen Yibin directions, guiding him through a series of turns until they arrived at her family’s inn. The inn was quite stylish, blending local architectural features with modern, fashionable elements. If Wen Yuan were here, he would have been able to point out all the finer details.

“Don’t worry about your things in the car. I’ll have someone bring them to your room. The kitchen has prepared a simple meal. Why don’t you eat first and then go to your room to rest? I’ll take you up to see the Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea first thing tomorrow morning.” As Yue Lingshan got out of the car, a few employees immediately came forward to carry Shen Yibin’s luggage upstairs.

“Thank you, then!” Shen Yibin took Hah’Er and the others into the dining room, sampled some of the local dishes, and then returned to his room to rest.

He woke up feeling completely refreshed, the fatigue from days of driving gone without a trace. After having breakfast downstairs, Shen Yibin followed Yue Lingshan into the Dahongpao Scenic Area.

There were quite a few tourists along the way. They were a little surprised to see Hah’Er and Xiaoliu, but they were all quite well-behaved. At most, they took pictures from a distance; no one crowded around. The staff members maintaining order didn’t seem very surprised to see Hah’Er either. Yue Lingshan had probably given them a heads-up.

“Tianxin Temple is just ahead, and a little further on is where the Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea is located,” Yue Lingshan explained as she led the way. “The Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea actually consists of six bushes in three clumps, but only three of them are the true, original mother trees. They are of the Qi Dan, Sparrow’s Tongue, and Beidou varieties. The other three were propagated from cuttings of the mother trees.”

“I see,” Shen Yibin replied casually, but inwardly he was thinking, ‘In that case, should I have Maphario focus on those three older mother trees? Nah, Maphario knows way more about plants than I do. He’ll definitely be able to find the best ones.’

“Mr. Shen, up ahead is the ‘World’s Greatest Egg.’ They specialize in tea-leaf eggs made with Dahongpao tea. Would you like to try one?” Every scenic area has its own specialty snack, and here, it was the “World’s Greatest Tea-Leaf Egg.”

‘Whoa, they really use such good tea to make tea-leaf eggs?’ Shen Yibin’s interest was piqued, and he followed Yue Lingshan inside to buy a few.

“Mmm, they definitely taste much better than ordinary tea-leaf eggs.” Shen Yibin could tell that the tea used for these eggs wasn’t as good as the tea Yue Lingshan had served him yesterday, but it was still pretty decent, and the eggs were indeed delicious.

‘Once I get some seeds and grow my own tea, I’m definitely going to use authentic Dahongpao to make some tea-leaf eggs. They’ll be way better than these,’ Shen Yibin resolved to himself.

After eating the tea-leaf eggs, Yue Lingshan led them onward. Before long, they arrived at the location of the Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea. There, beneath a cliff face, grew six seemingly unremarkable tea bushes. Carved into the rock beside them were the three characters for “Dahongpao.”

‘We’re finally here. Now, how should I go about this?’