Chapter 1300: Too Simple
Song Ming smiled. “Although I already know what the outcome would be, we still have to go through the motions.”
Is.h.i.+ smiled and said, “So you’ve already made preparations to lose. Heh heh, after today, Chinese tea leaves will become a historical relic! Our Hiei family will become the king of tea leaves!”
Song Ming smiled lightly and did not say anything. Instead, she took out an exquisite tea bag and said, “This is our tea candidate.”
She didn’t say the name and just walked over. She carefully handed it over to Song Xian, as though she was holding a piece of porcelain.
Song Xian received the teabag with both hands and poured the tea inside out gently.
At that instant, everyone craned their necks as they looked over to see what tea leaves the Song family had brought out.
Many people exclaimed when they saw this!
“It’s raw tea!”
“No, it’s not raw. It’s fresh tea leaves! Tea leaves that haven’t been fried at all!”
“This… Can this be drunk?”
“Tea leaves have to be sunned and undergo stir fixation. Following that, there’s rolling, piling, drying, compression, steaming, crus.h.i.+ng, and aging. Only then can outstanding tea leaves be produced. If it doesn’t get sunned or undergo stir fixation, the tea leaves won’t be sterilized. In addition, the sunning can activate the yeast in the tea leaves to ferment. The stir fixation can stop the fermentation and, together with the sunning, control the fermentation time of the tea leaves. In addition, it removes the odor and bitterness, leaving only the elegant fragrance of tea leaves behind.
“The subsequent steps are also designed to fix the color and taste of the tea leaves… If any step is missing, the tea leaves will be incomplete.
“However, this kind of tea leaves haven’t been processed at all… Can this… work?” an old man commented worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m afraid we’ll lose!”
…
The moment Is.h.i.+ saw the tea leaves, he immediately determined whether the tea leaves were Seven-Inch Fragrance or a modified species. Although he was a distance away, his familiarity with the Seven-Inch Fragrance was no weaker than any member of the Song family. He also followed the mantra of knowing yourself as well as the enemy.
Therefore, even though Is.h.i.+ had taken a glance from afar, he could tell that it was definitely not Seven-Inch Fragrance!
Not Seven-Inch Fragrance?
Is.h.i.+’s heart began to race. He was really afraid that the Chinese tea merchants would produce some strange tea that he couldn’t understand.
His worries won’t for nothing. He had lost to the sudden appearance of Seven-Inch Fragrance previously due to his carelessness.
This time, he would not allow himself to make such a mistake again!
However, when he saw that it was fresh tea leaves, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief. He shot a glance at Song Ming and said, “Madam Song, are you trying to use this unprocessed tea leaves to compete with me?”
Song Ming smiled. “Why? Can’t I?”
Is.h.i.+ shook his head and said, “Of course. But if that’s the case, the compet.i.tion will be too boring. Our victory was too easy…”
Song Ming immediately laughed. “Is.h.i.+, if I remember correctly, you said the same thing last time, and then you lost quite badly. Why? Are you hoping to have history repeat itself?”
Seeing Song Ming’s confident expression, Is.h.i.+ frowned slightly. However, he shook his head and said, “There’s no unstirred tea leaves in this world that can surpa.s.s exquisitely prepared tea leaves. Let’s compete and use the facts to speak for themselves!”
Song Ming nodded slightly. Both of them sat down and waited for the compet.i.tion to begin.
At that moment, as the referee waved his hand, two spotlights shone over. At that instant, everyone’s attention was focused on the two masters.
Master Chiyo appeared very calm and elegant. His every move was natural. It comforted anyone who placed their eyes on him.
However, Master Song Xian clearly stood rooted to the ground. He was stunned for a few seconds!
Everyone was perplexed. What was wrong with Song Xian?
Only Song Xian himself could clearly see the tea leaves that were illuminated by the spotlight. They emitted a s.h.i.+mmering green glow like jadeite. It was so beautiful that he couldn’t bear to touch it!
Therefore, Song Xian stood rooted to the ground and did not move.
Song Ming frowned. She wanted to say something, but she held back because of the rules.
Thankfully, Song Xian moved after a few seconds of pause. With the same fluidity and the same natural movement, he made everyone feast their eyes on his actions.
However, Chiro was clearly one step faster. After the tea leaves entered the boiling water, he poured it into a teacup!
“He did not wash the tea!” Boss Jia exclaimed.
Boss Qian snorted coldly and said, “That’s right. All the tea leaves have been specially taken care of by someone. No chemical products are used. The entire process is manually overseen. Bugs and the weeds are removed. People even wipe away the dust daily!
“The tea plantation that’s located at Hiei Mountain in j.a.pan is a huge tea plantation of six thousand acres, but Hiei Premium Tea is located in the deepest part of the tea plantation. It’s in a remote place and is spotless!
“The production process of the Hiei Premium Tea is done with complete sterilization, including the final packaging.
“If there’s any fungi, the only segment that can allow it to enter is when it’s in the hands of the customer—the moment when the packaging is opened.
“As for was.h.i.+ng the tea, it’s just was.h.i.+ng the dust off the tea leaves.
“But with Hiei Premium Tea so clean, is there a need to wash the tea?
“Besides, green tea can’t be soaked for too long. The taste will fade after a few times.
“If Hiei Premium Tea is wasted due to the water soaking, the price is secondary, but the key fact is that it will be a pity.”
Hearing that, Boss Jia and the others were dumbfounded.
One of the bosses said, “I knew that the j.a.panese are extremely exquisite and meticulous to the point of madness… But from the looks of it, I’ve underestimated them. It’s no wonder that they are able to develop a Hiei Premium Tea. With such an att.i.tude, it’s hard not to succeed.”
Boss Qian said, “Of course. The Chinese can’t compete on such things.”
Hearing that, Boss Jia chuckled and said, “If there’s a chance, Boss Qian, you should visit the four tea plantations of Zhao, Song, Sun, and Li before saying that. j.a.pan is adapting the strengths of others to overcome their deficiencies, but so is China. Back then, China’s crude way of growing tea was indeed lagging behind. But now… if you go take a look, you will naturally understand what it means to not fall behind. Oh, I almost forgot that you have been blacklisted and cannot enter these tea gardens.”
When Boss Qian heard this, his face instantly darkened. He was puzzled. It hadn’t been long, but why did Boss Jia speak to him like he was an enemy? In the past, they could at least exchange a few words… Now, he was directly slapped in the face!
Boss Qian was about to flare up when someone shouted, “Master Chiro is pouring the tea!”
With that exclamation, Boss Qian ignored Boss Jia. Instead, he looked up ahead.
He happened to see Master Chiyo pour the tea from the teapot. The tea was like a fountain, appearing especially beautiful under the lights.
Master Chiyo poured nine cups of tea—they were meant for the nine judges from the different countries.