Chapter 230 - 226: Asking for Tea Leaves

Chapter 230: Chapter 226: Asking for Tea Leaves

That evening, Hu Zhiming received a call from his father.

"Zhiming, I heard Lin Xian Village harvested some special tea today. You know your old man’s hobby..."

Hu Zhiming cut his father off. "Dad, don’t even think about it. The harvest was very small, and it hasn’t even been processed yet.

When I get my share of the tea, I’ll give you a little bit."

"What do you mean, ’a little bit’? You brat, you get your hands on this tea and you’re not even thinking of showing some respect to your old man!"

"Then if you’ve got the guts, go ask my sister for it!

However much tea my sister gives you, I’ll give you the same amount."

Hu Yousheng was instantly overjoyed. ’My son must be so busy he’s lost his mind. His sister doesn’t even like tea.’

"You said it yourself. Whatever your sister gives me, you’ll give me the same."

"Don’t worry, I’m a man of my word." ’As if I don’t know what you’re plotting,’ Hu Zhiming thought.

His sister didn’t like tea brewed from tea leaves, but that depended on the tea.

Who wouldn’t like this Lin Xian Tea from Lin Xian Village? You’d have to have something wrong with your taste buds.

Earlier that day, his sister had already told Brother Lin that she’d be willing to take a pay cut in exchange for a share of the tea.

Everyone who had tasted the Lin Xian Tea today couldn’t forget its flavor.

Meanwhile, Zhou Jun was answering his phone, confused.

His father, who never called him on his own initiative, had actually called him.

"Dad, what’s up?"

"I heard that Lin Xian Village picked some special tea."

Zhou Jun said in astonishment, "Huh? Dad, you’re keeping up with what’s happening in Lin Xian Village?"

"Is it so strange for your old man to be interested in Lin Xian Village?

Your grandparents on both sides are planning to go there to recuperate, and even your mother is nagging me about it every single day."

"Dad, if you want some tea, you’ll have to wait. It hasn’t been processed yet.

If I get a share, I’ll send you some."

"What do you mean, ’some’? Not all of it?"

Hearing this, Zhou Jun was a little speechless. Given the tea’s flavor, giving his father even a little bit was already a great display of filial piety.

"Dad, what are you thinking? Don’t I have to give some to Grandpa? And what about Grandpa on Mom’s side?

How about I give Grandpa a call and have him discuss the tea distribution plan with you?"

"No, no, that’s fine. Just try to get me a bit more."

Zhou Jun almost rolled his eyes. ’Does he think I can get more just because I want it?’

It all depended on how much Lin Feng gave him; that’s how much he would get.

That night, many people were on the phone, asking about the tea from Lin Xian Village.

Regardless of whether it was actually good or not, the plan was to try and get some first and worry about the rest later.

Unfortunately, the news that the tea was not for public sale had already spread through various channels.

Lin Feng was looking at the information on his data panel, at a loss for words.

’These people... If they want tea, why not just ask me directly? To think they’d go steal from the tea trees.’

When he first saw the alert, he thought thieves had broken in near the tea trees. It was only after checking the panel that he realized it was the security guards who had come with Wan Jianghong.

He had long known that five people in that group were trouble. They wandered around the village every night, thinking he hadn’t noticed.

They had no idea he could see everything that happened in the village.

’I wonder what expressions they’ll have after they taste the Lin Xian Tea but can’t get any more of it.’

He would let this theft of the Lin Xian Tea slide, but if they tried it again, they couldn’t blame him for kicking them out.

Early the next morning, just as Lin Feng was leaving the restaurant, he ran into Daoist Qi Yangming.

"Daoist Qi, are you looking for me?"

Qi Yangming looked a little embarrassed. "I heard you picked some tea from South Mountain yesterday?"

"We did pick some. Does Daoist Qi want some too?"

"I heard that patch of tea trees has mutated. I would indeed like a little taste."

"The tea hasn’t been processed yet. If you want some, Daoist Qi, you’ll have to wait ten days."

"Then I’ll wait ten days. When the time comes, just a small taste from Lin Xiaoyou will be enough."

’Once you’ve tried the Lin Xian Tea,’ Lin Feng thought, ’I’m afraid ’a small taste’ won’t be what you want anymore.’

They had picked about 8,500 leaves yesterday. The leaves from the old tea trees were larger, while those from the new ones were a bit smaller.

Through his experiments, he found that one leaf from a new tree was perfect for one pot of tea, and one leaf from an old tree was just right for two pots.

He wondered what the Lin Xian Tea would be like once it was ready in ten days.

This tea would definitely have to be distributed by the leaf, not sold by the canister like regular tea.

After learning the tea’s name, Zhao Shiyun, Hu Xia, and the other girls went to find someone to design tea boxes. They planned to procure a batch of special wood and have the Woodworking Workshop produce the boxes.

Outside Lin Xian Village, Yang Deyu got out of a car, followed by several old friends.

One of them looked at the mountain path and recited, "The path turns, and green mountains meet; the peak returns, as the sun’s light fades."

"Old Peng, stop with the poetry.

Brother Yang, this really is a great place. You weren’t just bragging this time."

Yang Deyu said, "Are you all finally ready to admit it? I told you this was a good place, but you just wouldn’t believe me.

Oh, right. That Land God Temple inside—think carefully before you pray there. I’ve already told you all about it."

He knew what his old buddies were like. They certainly hadn’t committed any crimes.

But when it came to private morality, some of them were definitely lacking.

The man next to him asked, "Is it really that magical? I’m a bit skeptical."

"They’ve already caught several criminals with it. You tell me if it’s magical or not.

In your case, Old Guo, the worst that’ll happen after you pray is you’ll have some bad luck."

The group didn’t take the shuttle bus, opting to walk up the mountain instead. Many tourists did the same.

This was mainly because Lin Xian Village had such a beautiful environment. Even in winter, after a light snowfall, there was still plenty of green vegetation on both sides of the path.

Some among them even felt the urge to stop and paint, as the scenery here was just that special.

"Let me tell you, once you’re here, don’t throw any tantrums. The higher-ups are watching this place closely. No one dares to mess around..."

"Make way, make way! Excuse me, people up front, please make way..."

The old men were nearly knocked over by men in black. They watched the men in black running ahead, followed by a group of youngsters, and their expressions turned grim.

"Who is that?"

"One cannot establish oneself without learning propriety."

"Brother Yang, what were you about to say?"

Yang Deyu hadn’t expected this scene to unfold just as he was about to brag about how great this place was. What rotten luck.

"You just wait and see. That group is definitely in for some trouble."

Yang Deyu refused to believe that Lin Xian Village would let people like that go unchecked.

Old Lu said, "That’s obviously a celebrity. This kind of thing happens all the time, and no one ever does anything about it. Lin Xian Village probably can’t control it either."

"Exactly. I’ve seen stuff like this online plenty of times. In the end, it always just blows over."

The other tourists on the path, annoyed by the disturbance, immediately posted about the incident online.

They couldn’t believe someone would dare to be so arrogant in Lin Xian Village.

"Some dumbass with a bunch of men in black is running wild on the mountain path in Lin Xian Village."

"Some Z-list celebrity acting high and mighty in Lin Xian Village!"

These headlines quickly attracted the attention of netizens, who were surprised that someone could be so audacious.

Before the topic could gain much traction, some entertainment companies that saw the news began checking if any of their artists were visiting Lin Xian Village today.

Any entertainment company with a bit of influence knew that this place was absolutely not to be offended.

Offending a person might get an artist blacklisted at worst, but offending Lin Xian Village could bring ruin to the entire company.

Riding the shuttle bus up the mountain, Qiao Yu said to his manager beside him, "This crappy backwater... I have no idea why it’s so popular."

The manager felt a headache coming on. He realized he’d made a mistake; he never should have told this guy about Lin Xian Village in the first place.

Other people might be uncultured, but at least they had brains. This guy was uncultured *and* brainless. He was truly impossible to manage.

He looked at the men in black on either side—bodyguards Qiao Yu had hired. As for the youngsters following behind, he had no idea where he had found those "fans."

He knew nothing about any of this; the celebrity was completely out of his control.

The manager didn’t answer him. He was busy looking down at his phone, reporting the situation to his boss.

This ’talent’ was someone the boss had forced on him. There was nothing he could do. ’Let it all burn!’ he thought.

"Brother Qi, I’m talking to you. Why aren’t you answering?"

"What do you want me to answer? You tell me what’s with these bodyguards! And what about the people following behind us?

If you’re so damn determined to ruin yourself, don’t drag me down with you!"

Qiao Yu’s face darkened as he muttered, "I call you Brother Qi out of respect. Don’t you go thinking you’re actually somebody important!

What’s wrong with me hiring bodyguards? What’s wrong with me finding fans?

Other celebrities do the same thing. They can shut down entire train stations and airports.

This is what you call buzz. I see you don’t understand it at all.

When I get back, I’m going to have the company get me an obedient manager."

"Stop the bus!" Brother Qi got off the shuttle directly. "No need to wait until you get back. You can get a new manager right now."

The more Brother Qi thought about it, the angrier he got. "FUCK! How did I end up with a moron like you? Trying to make it in showbiz? Go home and eat shit!"

Before Qiao Yu and his bodyguards could react, the fans following behind them erupted.

"Our Qiaoqiao is so well-behaved and cute! Even if you’re his manager, you can’t curse at him!"

"What a useless manager! It’s because of managers like you that Brother Qiaoqiao can’t get famous."

"Expose him! Record a video and expose him!"

"..."

Watching a dozen people make a commotion worthy of a few hundred, Brother Qi understood for the first time why extremist fans were so reviled online.

These people were immature, completely irrational, and prone to extremism.

’Alright, I probably shouldn’t say that,’ he thought. ’Back when I managed other artists, I loved this type of fan.’

They were brainless, willing to spend money, easy to use, and had strong ’combat power’ online.

As the person being defended by such a group, who wouldn’t like it?

Brother Qi turned and walked away. He didn’t want to get tangled up with these people any longer. After what happened today, his career in the industry might be over.

He’d heard rumors in the industry that this Lin Xian Village was a place you absolutely couldn’t afford to offend.

He had originally thought Qiao Yu was just using Lin Xian Village to generate some hype. Who knew he was trying to generate hype by getting himself cooked?

Qiao Yu was completely unbothered by his manager’s departure, even wearing a smile. What he needed right now was buzz.

In showbiz, you weren’t afraid of trouble; you were afraid of being a nobody.

As long as he didn’t get blacklisted, he wasn’t afraid of anything.

It was just Lin Xian Village, a tourist spot. Could it really get him blacklisted?

Did they really think he was stupid? The manager was just one part of his calculation. All he wanted was the buzz.

"Love you all! Let’s head up the mountain!"

He took out his phone and saw that his actions had indeed attracted attention online.

’Not bad, not bad. I’ll apologize after I get back, and I can milk another wave of hype from it.’

Up on the mountain, Wu Jiaxing received a call from his master. When he heard that a celebrity and a group of fans were running rampant on the mountain path, he thought he had misheard.

Once he confirmed it was true, he immediately called his girlfriend, Wan Qianqian.

Hu Xia quickly learned of the situation and notified Wu Xin, telling her to take security guards to handle it and drive the people out of Lin Xian Village.

When Hu Zhiming and Zhou Jun heard the news, they immediately rushed toward the mountain path.

"Brother Zhou, some real dumbass actually came to Lin Xian Village to cause trouble."

"I just looked him up. A completely unknown minor celebrity. He’s trying to use Lin Xian Village to get famous."

"All I can say is this guy is crazy for fame."

While Lin Xian Village didn’t have the power to blacklist him, that didn’t mean he could get away with this and still survive in the entertainment industry.

When the two of them arrived, Wu Xin and her security guards had already intercepted the group.

And from the looks of it, the other party didn’t seem to want to leave Lin Xian Village.

The people who came with him were even trying to break through the blockade set up by the Lin Xian Village security.

The two also noticed someone livestreaming on their phone not far away, and more streamers from around Lin Xian Village were rushing over.

The troublemaking minor celebrity was surprisingly polite at this moment. It seemed he wasn’t a complete idiot after all.

Lin Feng had been inspecting the soybeans, peanuts, and rapeseeds he had acquired from the surrounding area. He was taken aback when he heard the news.

He hadn’t expected someone would actually try to use Lin Xian Village for self-promotion.

He had no interest in going to see such a clown. He’d rather use the time to test out the functions of the Water Mill and the Oil Workshop.