The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 102 Tea Tree Insect Plague
"Eldest sister, has there been anything unusual with our family's business recently?" Shang Mingshu felt uneasy, always feeling that Shi Houqiong was brewing a huge conspiracy.

"There's nothing unusual in the family's business." Shang Wenshu is in charge of the accounts. If there's anything fishy, ​​it will be exposed once the accounts are checked.

"My heart is in turmoil." In order to avoid becoming a loophole for Shi Houqiong to shake up the Shang family, Shang Zishu locked herself in the yard and studied the classics of tea since she came back from the execution ground that day.

When Chen Che came this time, Mrs. Chen copied the Longjing tea recipe in detail and asked Chen Che to give it to her. She had some understanding of the method of removing the astringency of new tea trees, but she didn't dare to take people to the mountains to pick tea. Now is the best season for autumn tea, so she can only spend a lot of money to hire tea farmers.

To avoid being involved in a murder case, she also sent a security guard to accompany her...

"Sister, I will go with you to visit various teahouses tomorrow." Shang Mingshu was still worried.

In the past, there would be some conflicts between the Shang family and the Shi family every three to five days. In the past few days, she sent people to inquire about it. In recent months, the people of the Shi family seemed to be under control and would turn around and run away when they saw the troublemakers in the Shang family.

Shi Houqiong wasn't just playing around; she was planning to wipe out their entire clan. She was definitely going to start with the Shang family's livelihood. She felt there must be something Shang Wenshu had overlooked.

"Okay." Shang Wenshu was also worried that she had overlooked something and would be scolded by Shi Houqiong. Shang Mingshu was very meticulous, and she would feel more at ease with Shang Mingshu keeping watch.

"Madam, Hemu said he has something important to report." When the three sisters were worried, He Sui's voice came from outside the door.

Shang Zishu and Shang Wenshu wanted to stand up and leave, but Shang Mingshu said, "Eldest sister and second sister, listen, maybe it's related to Xiang Ming Zhai."

She only asked Hemu to focus on this matter these days, and there was nothing to hide.

The two sat down as instructed. He Mu's dark face was serious and anxious. "Madam, many teahouses today are saying that many tea gardens in Guangdong, Guangxi, and even Fujian have been plagued by insect pests. The tea trees are sick and the autumn tea supply is difficult to supply."

Shang Wenshu and Shang Zishu stood up suddenly, excitement in their eyes. If this news was true, they would stockpile tea as quickly as possible and ship it to Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian to seize the market.

"The news suddenly appeared today?" Shang Mingshu was cautious and not as excited as her two sisters.

"My wife did hear about it when she went to Xihang, but only in one or two teahouses did she occasionally mention it," Hemu replied seriously. "I never took it to heart, but today the rumors have suddenly increased..."

"Third sister, do you suspect that the Shi family is spreading rumors?" Shang Wenshu calmed down.

"I'm not sure either." Shang Mingshu frowned and shook her head. She stood up and said, "Let's go find Dad."

The whole family must sit down and discuss this matter. If the news is true and they don't catch it, it will cause great losses to Xiang Ming Zhai and may even cause Xiang Ming Zhai to decline.

The news is false, and if they step in, they will be doomed.

As the three sisters arrived at the study, a group of Shang family members came out dejectedly. They were all managers or accountants in various teahouses of Xiangmingzhai.

"Have you three heard the rumors?" Shang Jinliang looked at his three beautiful daughters and tried to smooth out the wrinkles on his brow. He smiled gently and said, "Don't worry, Dad has his own way."

"Dad, I'm afraid our reason for coming here is different from what you're worried about right now." Shang Mingshu keenly sensed that Shang Jinliang was talking about something else. "Today, teahouses are all talking about the tea plantations in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian being infested by insects."

"Is this true?" Shang Jinliang was indeed unaware of this. "I'll send someone to verify whether the news is true."

"Dad, is there anything more urgent than this?" Shang Zishu could see that Shang Jinliang was not too upset by the tea tree pest issue. He obviously didn't know whether the news was true or not, but he was more aware of the difficulties he would face if he fell behind.

"Just now, the owners of various tea shops came to me to find me because the tea farmers broke the contract." Shang Jinliang did not think of hiding the family affairs from his three daughters. "Maybe they also heard about the insect pests in the tea gardens in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian, and would rather pay compensation than sell the tea to Xiangmingzhai." The Shang family has a tea garden, but the tea garden alone cannot support the stalls opened by the Shang family. After so many years of dealing in tea, they naturally have good friends with the tea farmers, but with huge profits, these friendships will be insignificant.

"Are they going to raise the wages?" Shang Wenshu asked. "How much?"

"Someone has already signed contracts with several households at a high price. Someone even told me privately how much the premium was..." Shang Jinliang frowned again unconsciously. "We can't compete with each other in bidding, otherwise the tea market will be in chaos."

"Is someone trying to maliciously drive up the price of tea?" Shang Zishu asked tentatively.

The room was silent, and no one answered Shang Zishu immediately.

"Not necessarily." After a long while, Shang Mingshu said, "If the insect plague in the tea gardens of Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian is real, and tea farmers get wind of it, the price of tea will rise even without speculation."

"Ultimately, we still need to confirm whether the tea garden insect plague is real?" Shang Zishu said anxiously, "Let's quickly investigate."

"I'll go ask people from other businesses." Shang Jinliang said this and strode away.

"I'll go count the stockpile of tea." Shang Wenshu followed closely.

Shang Zishu watched her father and sister hurried away. She seemed completely unable to help: "What about me? What can I do?"

"Second sister, just focus on researching new tea." Shang Mingshu comforted Shang Zishu, who was extremely anxious.

"How can I calm down now?" Shang Zishu was not a calm and steady person. Her family was facing such a big thing, and she felt useless and was scratching her head in anxiety.

"Second sister, listen to me." Shang Mingshu held Shang Zishu's hands, forcing her to look into her eyes. "No matter whether this crisis is man-made or natural, as long as you develop the new tea, it doesn't matter if we make a mistake. We can always turn things around. You are our backer."

Her clear eyes were like an unfathomable pool of water, with no bottom in sight, yet clean, bright and spotless. When Shang Zishu met her sister's gaze, she felt inexplicably drawn by an invisible force.

The peace and calmness in Shang Mingshu's eyes were as gentle as the warm spring sun, evenly spreading in Shang Zishu's heart.

She took a deep breath and said, "I already have an idea. I'll start developing it right away."

Everyone found something to distract themselves, leaving Shang Mingshu alone standing in her father's study. Her slender body wrapped in a fresh skirt was out of place in the solemn and dignified study.

"Spices of wheat..."

"Miss?"

Shang Mingshu stared at the ears of wheat in a daze. She opened her mouth several times to speak, but finally swallowed it back: "Grind it for me."

She also knew a few people in Guangdong and Guangxi, but the correspondence was too slow, and by the time they went back and forth, everything that should have been settled had already been settled.

In any case, she still wrote a letter in the hope of getting the most authentic news.

(End of this chapter)