Chapter 641: Next Up, Longjing

’There are so many tourists here. Even with a body as small as Maphario’s, he’d probably be spotted if he went in. A mouse running up to the Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea? That would be a disaster! Wouldn’t the staff immediately try to catch it? This is a bit tricky.’ Shen Yibin scratched his head, feeling conflicted. It seemed his only option was to come back at night.

"You just mentioned there are some other sights that tourists don’t usually see. Could you take us to have a look?" This was the only way to stall for time. Shen Yibin planned to wander around the mountain and come back when there were fewer people in the evening to see if he could find an opportunity.

"No problem. Each of these Mother Trees of Da Hong Pao Tea only produces 500 grams a year, so ordinary people don’t get a chance to drink it. But Wuyi Mountain has other high-quality tea trees that produce equally delicious tea. I’ll take you to see them, and you can taste some of their tea along the way." How could Yue Lingshan have guessed Shen Yibin was hatching a sneaky plan? She immediately led him away from the crowds of tourists to an area not yet open to the public.

"`Sisters, let’s go up the mountain to pick tea...`" Yue Lingshan hummed a local folk song as she walked. It sounded quite beautiful. Shen Yibin even felt like recording a snippet to send to Sun Qian to see if it might give her some inspiration.

For the entire day, Yue Lingshan led Shen Yibin, Hah’Er, and the others on a tour of the mountain. She seemed to know every famous tea tree, recounting their stories to Shen Yibin, who listened with great interest. She even knew how to find locals who kept good tea hidden away, visiting them and using her own exquisite skill to brew Gongfu tea for Shen Yibin.

Not only did Shen Yibin drink it with endless praise, but even Turtle Immortal partook frequently. It had long since tasted Junshan Silver Needle Tea, but this was its first time trying Wuyi Mountain’s Dahongpao. Judging by its reaction, it was quite fond of this type of tea.

Since that was the case, Shen Yibin naturally had to satisfy Turtle Immortal’s small wish. He immediately pleaded with Yue Lingshan to help him buy some tea. This was the locals’ prized collection, stuff they would never part with unless an acquaintance made the introduction. Fortunately, with Yue Lingshan’s help and Hah’Er’s charm, the tea’s owner finally agreed to part with his treasure.

After paying a considerable price, Shen Yibin obtained several packets of tea. The hospitable owner insisted they stay for a meal, and over dinner, he shared many tips with Shen Yibin on how to store and brew tea, making him feel he had learned a great deal.

In the afternoon, they continued to enjoy the scenery on the mountain. As dusk began to fall, Yue Lingshan started leading them back. On the way, Shen Yibin saw the number of tourists dwindling, and his heart leaped into his throat. Whether he could get the seeds from the Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea would all come down to the next few moments.

"Miss Yue, I’d like to see the Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea one more time. Is that okay?" Finally reaching the vicinity of the mother trees, Shen Yibin stopped and asked Yue Lingshan.

"Uh, it’s getting a little late now." Yue Lingshan looked hesitant, but she quickly recovered. "But since you want to go, Mr. Shen, I’ll take you!"

When they arrived near the Mother Tree of Da Hong Pao Tea, there were no other tourists in sight. Shen Yibin feigned curiosity and asked Yue Lingshan a barrage of questions. While she was focused on answering, he secretly gave Maphario a hand signal. Maphario immediately slipped out of Hah’Er’s pocket, zipped over to the base of the rock cliff, and deftly avoided everyone’s line of sight before darting into the cluster of Da Hong Pao mother trees.

’Okay, now it’s all up to whether he can find the tea seeds.’ Shen Yibin secretly clenched his fist. He quickly made an excuse, pretending to be interested in another scenic spot nearby, and led Yue Lingshan aside to create a better opportunity for Maphario.

About ten minutes later, Shen Yibin heard a few squeaks. He turned to look and saw that Maphario had, at some point, returned to Hah’Er’s pocket.

’He’s back? I wonder if he was successful?’ Shen Yibin suppressed his excitement and curiosity. "Oh, I’m getting a little hungry. Let’s head back for dinner."

"Okay, I’ve already had the kitchen prepare it, so you can eat as soon as you get back." Yue Lingshan’s service was very thoughtful. She immediately led Shen Yibin down the mountain and back to the inn. After a quick dinner, Shen Yibin made the excuse that he was tired and declined Yue Lingshan’s invitation to see a show, taking Hah’Er and the others back to his room.

He hung the ’Do Not Disturb’ sign, closed the door, and double-locked it. Shen Yibin ran over to Hah’Er, crouched down to look at Maphario, and asked excitedly, "How did it go? Did you get anything?" If he couldn’t find any tea seeds this way, he’d probably have to give up on these mother trees and see if he could use his connection with Yue Lingshan to find seeds from a secondary or even tertiary grade of tea trees. If that were the case, Shen Yibin would inevitably feel some regret.

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" Maphario chirped a few times, his voice full of pride. He ducked his head back into Hah’Er’s pocket and rummaged around with a RUSTLE RUSTLE sound. When he poked his head out again, he was holding four plump tea seeds in his paws.

"Is that all? Just four?" Shen Yibin quickly took them for a look. He saw that the four tea seeds looked slightly different and could be roughly divided into three types. They had to be the seeds of Qi Dan, Sparrow’s Tongue, and Beidou, respectively. There were two of one kind and one each of the others, but Shen Yibin couldn’t tell which seed belonged to which mother tree.

’Oh, these three mother trees must be highly valued by the staff. If there were any seeds, they would surely be cherished, carefully collected, and stored away. Finding four seeds is already incredibly lucky; how could I dare hope for more? Besides, with Maphario around, it’s only a matter of time before these four seeds grow into a whole tea plantation. There’s no need to worry too much.’

"Here, let me store these properly. We’ll find a good place to plant them when we get back!" Shen Yibin cheerfully placed the tea seeds into a small wooden box for safekeeping. The mission for this trip to Wuyi Mountain was finally a success.

For the next two days, Shen Yibin continued to enjoy his time on Wuyi Mountain. With Yue Lingshan’s help, he managed to acquire a lot of good tea—enough that he could even go back and research how to make Dahongpao tea eggs. He also learned how to cook several local specialty dishes. It was a fruitful trip indeed.

"I’ve really troubled you this time, Miss Yue. When you come to Yunzhong City next time, don’t forget to let me know." Shen Yibin waved goodbye to Yue Lingshan. To thank her for her help, Shen Yibin had Hah’Er pose for several photos with her and gave her permission to enlarge them and hang them in the inn for publicity.

A photo of Hah’Er tasting tea was now hanging in the most prominent spot in the inn, attracting a lot of attention. He hoped it would bring her more business.

After saying his goodbyes, Shen Yibin started his car and drove north, heading toward West Lake.