Drive to the Tang Dynasty, where supplies are refreshed daily!

As Xiao Ran and the others were laughing, they noticed that the little princess and her group of little ones were also laughing.

The group exchanged glances, and Xiao Ran smiled and said, "I'm afraid Si Zi and the others had the same expression when they looked at us just now."

Upon hearing this, Li Lizhi and the others laughed.

The little princesses were playing together, and Li Lizhi was also talking with Princess Yuzhang and Zhang Erya. Seeing this, Xiao Ran was a little puzzled.

"Why aren't you playing mahjong anymore? Are you tired of it?"

Princess Yuzhang was addicted to mahjong; how could she possibly get tired of it?

Hearing Xiao Ran's words, she shrugged.

"Jinniang hasn't returned yet; Hongxiu is helping the old man identify the medicine."

So, they're one player short again.

Thinking of Li Lizhi's incredible luck last time, Xiao Ran was afraid they would drag him to play mahjong again, so he stood up and was about to leave.

"I have something to do, I'll go out for a bit."

With that, Xiao Ran turned to leave.

If he hadn't moved, Princess Yuzhang wouldn't have remembered him at all, but Xiao Ran's hurried departure reminded them of that day.

Princess Yuzhang deliberately said, "The chores at home are naturally done by servants, what chores does the young master need to do?"

Li Lizhi covered her mouth and laughed, defending herself by saying, "Young master, that day was really just an accident. How can anyone always have such good luck? You can ask your second aunt if you don't believe me."

Xiao Ran looked at Zhang Erya, knowing that Zhang Erya would never lie to him about something like this.

Zhang Erya did indeed nod.

"That's right, we've had both wins and losses these past few days."

Xiao Ran hesitated for a moment.

Was it really because he was a bad card player? Or was it just bad luck?

Regardless, Xiao Ran's curiosity was indeed piqued.

He couldn't believe that Li Lizhi always won and lost when playing cards with others, so why did things change when it came to him?
Xiao Ran firmly refused to admit that there was a problem with his skills; he firmly believed that the problem lay with the previous incident.

So Xiao Ran went back to the card table, completely forgetting what had happened that day.

However, Li Lizhi's sudden burst of luck last time seems to have really been a coincidence.

Although Xiao Ran didn't win today, it was still much better than the last time.

A light rain had started falling outside the window sometime earlier. A servant brought over a pot of tea. Xiao Ran looked at the scenery outside, took a sip of tea, and suddenly thought of something: "Fifth Sister and Sixth Sister, do you still remember the tea we made last year?"

Upon hearing Xiao Ran's words, Li Lizhi and Princess Yuzhang also remembered. However, when they were making tea last year, Li Lizhi and Princess Yuzhang had only learned the basics. They mainly focused on memorizing the steps of making tea and the subsequent procedures.

Li Lizhi stopped drawing cards and turned to look at Xiao Ran with a curious expression.

"Remember, what happened?"

Xiao Ran smiled and said, "How about we go and stir-fry some tea again? I think I'll definitely be better than last time."

Li Lizhi and the other two exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. However, Princess Yuzhang still said, "Second Madam, it's your turn to play. Hurry up."

Zhang Erya came to her senses and immediately played a seven of bamboo.

Upon seeing the seven of bamboo, Xiao Ran grinned and pushed the cards out of his hand.

I've lost!

Princess Yuzhang found it somewhat novel.

The young man actually agreed?

The rain lasted until midnight yesterday, and when I woke up this morning, I could still feel the dampness outside.

"Little Pouch-kun~ Little Pouch-kun~"

Xiao Ran had just finished punching when he heard the little princess's cheerful voice.

Looking up, I saw several little ones following behind the little princess, as well as Li Lizhi.

"Little Nangjun~" The little princess pounced on Xiao Ran's lap.

Xiao Ran bent down and picked up the little girl, letting her sit in his arms: "Sizi got up very early today."

Li Lizhi, standing behind him, said helplessly, "Last night we were talking about going to pick tea, and this little guy overheard us, so he came to bother me first thing this morning."

Xiao Ran burst into laughter.

"Let's go eat first, and then we'll go pick tea!"

The tea trees being picked were transplanted from the mountain last year. It was yesterday's rain and that cup of tea that reminded Xiao Ran of the pre-rain Longjing tea, which is why he decided to go tea picking.

When the little princess heard it was time to eat, she immediately kicked her little legs, wanting Xiao Ran to carry her to finish her meal.

After breakfast, Xiao Ran and his group headed towards the tea trees.

The tea trees weren't far away, and we arrived in no time.

Princess Yuzhang approached a tea tree and examined it closely: "Young master, is this the tea tree that was transplanted last year? It's growing so well, with tender buds already sprouting."

Looking at the green expanse before her, the little princess's eyes filled with confusion.

"Little Nang-kun~ This department is so cute~"

The little princess pointed to an old tea leaf and said...

Xiao Ran squatted down and pointed to the tea leaves in front of the little princess.

"Yes, tea leaves are the leaves of the tea tree, and what we need to do today is to pick these leaves."

Although the little princess didn't know why she was picking leaves, it was just like picking up stones; for her, it was all a form of play.

So the little princess took her own little basket, casually picked two or three old tea leaves and threw them in, and then continued picking.

Seeing her rough handling, he quickly stopped her, saying, "Sizi, that's not how you pick tea."

The little princess, confused, asked, "Little Nangjun, do you want this?"

The little princess pointed to the little basket and said.

Xiao Ran first stood up and called the little ones over, then bent down and gently pinched a tender bud. "Look, these little green buds are tea leaves. We need to pick them, not those big leaves."

Then, Xiao Ran said, "Watch carefully, when picking tea leaves, you must use the 'pinching' technique. You can't pinch them with your fingernails; you must gently lift them with your fingertips."

As he spoke, he demonstrated, precisely pinching the tender tip of a bud and a leaf with his thumb and forefinger, and with a gentle lift, the whole bud fell into his palm.

He spread out his palm so the children could see clearly, "See, this way the leaves won't be damaged, and the tea leaves can remain intact."

The little princess looked intently, her mouth slightly open, her focused expression making Xiao Ran unable to suppress a smile.

"Alright, you guys should give it a try too. Give it a try," Xiao Ran said.

The little princess instantly reached out her tiny hand, imitating Xiao Ran, and tried to pinch a tender leaf with her thumb and forefinger. The first time, her fingers slipped away; the second time, she pinched the leaf but tore it; the third time, the little princess held her breath, carefully pinched the base of a tender bud, and gently lifted it.

"Little Nangjun! Come quick, aren't I amazing?" The little princess excitedly held up the tender green tea leaf in her hand, her little face flushed.

Xiao Ran took the tea leaf and examined it carefully. Although his technique was still a bit clumsy and there were slight dents on the edges, it was generally intact.

"Sizi is so smart, he learned it in one go!" Xiao Ran never hesitated to praise him.

When Sizi received the praise, her eyes crinkled into crescent moons as she carefully placed the tea leaf into her small bamboo basket, as if it were a priceless treasure.

Afterwards, the children scattered to pick tea. Li Lizhi, Princess Yuzhang, and Zhang Erya also agreed to go to pick tea together in one direction, leaving Xiao Ran alone in the spot.

Xiao Ran shook his head and smiled helplessly, then picked up the bamboo basket himself.

The tea garden quieted down, with only the occasional chirping of birds and the crisp sound of tea picking. Sunlight filtered through the sparse clouds, casting dappled shadows on the tender green tea bushes.

After picking three or four leaves, the little princess gradually got the hang of it. Although her movements were still slow, she picked each leaf carefully.

After picking each leaf, she would examine it carefully for a while before gently placing it in the basket. Her focused expression softened Xiao Renzhong's heart.

About fifteen minutes later, a small layer of tender sprouts had formed in the little princess's basket. Holding the basket, she wobbled over to Xiao Ran's side: "Little Pouch-kun~ Nikon~"

Xiao Ran stopped what she was doing and looked at her basket. The tender green tea leaves lay neatly, and although there weren't many, almost none of them were damaged.

"You picked the rhinoceros horn really well!" Xiao Ran praised sincerely.

“Look, every leaf is intact, much better than when I first picked tea.”

Hearing the praise, the little princess happily spun around, her little tuft of hair bobbing as she did so: "I'm going to pick some leaves!"

Seeing the little princess's spirited expression, Xiao Ran's heart softened, and he smiled and said, "Okay, but tell me if you get tired."

"Mmm-mmm~" The little princess skipped back to the tea tree and continued her "work" on tiptoe.

As the sun rose higher, the temperature in the tea garden also increased. Xiao Ran noticed that the little ones' foreheads were already sweating, so he called out, "Let's go over there and rest for a while."

There is a pavilion not far away, which is used for resting.

Xiao Ran and his companions arrived at the pavilion with baskets, and the little ones also came over.

Xiao Ran looked around and found that they had picked quite a lot.

"This amount of tea leaves should be enough. Let's go back and have lunch, then we'll roast the tea!"

Speaking of tea frying, Li Lizhi covered her mouth and laughed, "I still remember last year when the young master was very dissatisfied with the tea he fried."

Xiao Ran nodded, "Last year was the first time, so I shouldn't be so unfamiliar with it now."

Then, Xiao Ran bent down and asked the little princess, "Has Sizi had enough playing? Is she hungry?"

The little princess hadn't had enough fun, but she was indeed a little hungry, so she rubbed her tummy and said, "I'm hungry~"

So after resting in the pavilion for a while, everyone went home.

Back home, Xiao Ran ate lunch first, and then prepared to stir-fry tea.

The little princess held her little basket high in the air.

"Little Nang-kun~ Use Wodada Duck~"

Seeing the little princess's enthusiastic attitude, Xiao Ran smiled.

On their way back, the little princess asked many questions about tea, including what tea frying was, why tea frying was done, and what tea was used for.

Although we usually drink tea at home, the little princess doesn't like it because tea isn't as sweet as honey water.

When Xiao Ran talked about tea to the little princess, he mentioned tea-infused chicken, which made the little princess's mouth water, hence her current enthusiasm.

Xiao Ran smiled and took the little princess's basket.

"Okay, let's use the tea leaves that our Sizi picked to make tea chicken for Sizi first."

The little princess nodded quickly.

"Yes, yes, ducks~ Seven chickens~"

While Xiao Ran and the others were eating, the tea leaves had already been sorted by the servants, with those of the same quality grouped together.

Only a few of the little ones' baskets remained untouched, because there were too few of them, and the quality was about the same.

At this moment, Xiao Ran first poured the tea leaves from the little princess's basket into the pot. Of course, such a small amount was definitely not enough, so the tea leaves from the Chengyang little princess, the Gaoyang little princess, San Niang, Yan Yao, and Di Renjie were all put into the pot.

From the moment the tea leaves were put into the pot, the little princess stared intently at it, as if the tea leaves would be ready in the next moment and she could eat tea-infused chicken.

Seeing the little princess staring longingly in their direction, Xiao Ran instantly understood what she was thinking. With a mix of helplessness and amusement, he said to Li Lizhi, "Fifth Sister, take Sizi away from here. It'll get very hot in a bit. Oh, and get Sizi some hawthorn cake. I think she's about to go straight into the pot and eat tea leaves."

Li Lizhi couldn't stop laughing at the little princess's appearance. Then, as Xiao Ran had instructed, she led the little princess back a bit and said, "Sizi, have some hawthorn cake first. You watch the tea leaves; they won't be ready right away."

Princess Yuzhang nodded in agreement, reached out and pinched the little princess's cheek, saying, "That's right, you little glutton, have some hawthorn cake first."

With food to eat, the little princess happily munched on hawthorn cake.

At this moment, Xiao Ran had already started stir-frying. With a few stirs, the fragrant aroma of the tea leaves instantly wafted out.

The first step in tea frying is called 'killing green', which involves using high temperatures to destroy the enzyme activity in the tea leaves and prevent fermentation.

After the tea leaves are processed, they will soften and darken in color. The timing of the heat is crucial. If it is not hot enough, the tea leaves will turn red and ferment. If it is too hot, they will become burnt and bitter. Therefore, it is very difficult to make good tea.

Xiao Ran didn't expect to be able to roast tea as well as those tea masters; he would be satisfied as long as he didn't burn any more.

After a series of stir-fries, the "cooking" was finished.

Then, Xiao Ran quickly took out the tea leaves and spread them out on a bamboo tray to cool.

At this moment, Xiao Ran reached out and beckoned the little ones over.

"Who wants to come with me?"

Although they don't know what they're going to do yet, the little ones are very interested and enthusiastic.

Xiao Ran took a small amount of tea leaves in his palm, gently rubbed them together, and then said, "This step is called 'rubbing,' which is to shape the tea leaves and squeeze out the tea juice. It must be done gently, so as not to crush the tea leaves."

The little ones imitated Xiao Ran, carefully kneading the tea leaves.

After kneading, Xiao Ran put the tea leaves back into the pot.

This is the final step, called drying. This step involves slow and careful drying to completely remove the moisture from the tea leaves, while also creating a unique aroma.

This time the fire was much smaller than before, and Xiao Ran's movements became even lighter.

As time goes by, the aroma of the tea gradually changes, transforming from the initial grassy scent into a delicate, dry fragrance that is refreshing and delightful.

"It smells so good!" Princess Yuzhang took a deep breath.

Li Lizhi nodded, "It smells much better than last year's!"

Frying tea requires experience, but Xiao Ran lacked experience, so he could only rely on intuition. (End of Chapter)