Wang Siniang greeted the people and walked all the way up the mountain. Tea gardens like a refreshing environment, so the tea gardens in Phoenix Villa are all in the upper half of the mountain near the top of the mountain. The bluestone path winds all the way up, and new trees have been planted on both sides of the road.
The saplings were planted. Some of these saplings were bought from nearby nurseries, and most of them were unloaded from large ships docked at the riverside pier at the foot of the mountain.
Wang Siniang never knew why Mr. Zhao didn't like local seedlings. Almost all the seedlings planted at Phoenix Villa, especially the profitable ones, were unloaded from ships.
Now is the lip season, and all kinds of flowers and trees are in full bloom. The journey along the way is like walking in the clouds. She walked through a plum forest planted last year. Although the trees were not as tall as a person, the flowers were already in bloom, and the pink flowers were in full bloom.
White flowers float like clouds on the foothills, and a faint fragrance comes to your nostrils from time to time. There are several boxes of honey bees among the trees, shuttling between the flowers. These plum trees were specially planted by the master by ship. Wang Siniang knew
With a bit of literati's knowledge, I feel that although I am a businessman from Guangli, I am also an elegant person.
Zhao Yingong did not plant plum trees on the mountain just for elegance. In fact, he did not arrange anything to be planted on the mountain. Professionals from the Agriculture Committee visited the site and arranged them one by one. The overall principle is to ensure the greening of the hillside and obtain a certain degree of greenness.
Although these dozens of acres of plum groves are good for reciting poems and composing poems, the main purpose is to obtain plums for pickling sour plums.
Walking along the road up the mountain, there are all kinds of newly planted saplings along the way, and some fast-growing tree species have already reached a large scale. The bamboo transplanted the year before last has become a forest and looks lush and green.
The mountain road is winding, and streams are flowing in the canals on the roadside that have both irrigation and drainage functions, bringing down the fallen leaves and flower petals along the way.
Wang Siniang was sweating slightly and looked around. It was very different from when she came to seek refuge the year before last. The long-term workers in the forest were busy, pruning the branches and leaves, loosening the soil and fertilizing, and there were also people who were collecting dead branches and leaves in the forest and clearing away debris.
Grass. A busy scene.
Wang Siniang climbed to a place close to the top of the mountain. There was a large tea garden here, most of which were newly opened last year. The tea saplings were specially bought from the Longjing area.
Naturally, it was impossible to pick tea from the tea tree that had just been planted for a year. The tea garden she was going to was originally opened by someone on the mountain. Later, because the tea was of average quality and could not be sold for money, it was gradually abandoned. Zhao Yingong
We bought it together when we bought land in Fenghuang Mountain. After pruning and fertilizing, the tea trees grew very well last year. However, we did not pick tea trees that year, only summer tea and autumn tea. This year is the first time to pick spring tea.
new tea.
Before the autumn tea came out last year, Cai Shi came to her specifically and asked her to pick and roast 600 kilograms of fine autumn tea, saying that the master wanted to give it away.
Tomb Sweeping Day will be here in a few days, and this is the best time to pick new tea before Ming Dynasty. Although Cai Shi did not come to take care of her this time, Wang Siniang still planned to follow the example of last autumn and carefully select new tea before Ming Dynasty.
, after frying, hurry up and present it to the master before and after Qingming Festival.
A dozen women, old and young, had gathered at the entrance of the tea garden, all dressed in the same style as her. When they saw her coming, they all smiled and stood up to say hello. They were all refugees who were taken in during the severe drought in northern Zhejiang last year.
Many people have a background as tea farmers, so they stay in the villa and work exclusively in the tea gardens.
Wang Siniang is the "old man" and "head" of the villa. The female tea-picking workers cannot help but flatter her. The younger ones call her "fourth sister", while the older ones dare not call her "sister" outright, but at least they have to call her.
A word called "fourth sister-in-law".
Before she could stand still, several usually smart female workers gathered around her like a gust of wind. Some took over her tea basket, some hurriedly brought her tea, and some saw that they couldn't make it in time and hurriedly used their own tea baskets.
He spread the towel on the stone and pulled her to sit down.
Wang Siniang was used to this for a long time. She smiled and waved her hand: "Tea, I'll drink it later. The weather is nice today, it's a good day to mine new tea. This time, Mingqian tea, one flag and one shot."
. This tea must be prepared to be presented to the master, either for personal use, or for the master to give to others, so everyone must handle the errands carefully."
"Fourth sister, what are you talking about? Let alone the master who needs the tea, even if you are here to take charge, how dare we sisters not do our best?" A female tea waiter said with a smile on her face, "You are here.
Have a rest, we’ll start picking tea right now.”
"How can this be done?" Wang Siniang is very smart. Although she has not had much contact with Mr. Zhao, she has heard and witnessed a few things and knows that the master is very disgusted with his servants doing pretentious things, so she is very careful on weekdays.
She stood up and said, "Everyone, let's do it. We have picked the tea, and we have to fry it all night long. Everyone, please work harder."
"Okay." All the female workers agreed together.
Tea picking should be started at noon, neither too early nor too late is appropriate. After picking, let it stand for an hour and a half before starting to fry. The fresh tea leaves picked are generally not left overnight. The tea frying technology in the 17th century has been compared with
It is almost the same in later generations. The only disadvantage is that there is no electric pot and it is difficult to control the temperature. Therefore, tea frying relies more and more on the experience of workers. Fortunately, last year’s great disaster in northern Zhejiang, the victims included all kinds of people. Tea frying experts
The master is about to get two. Wang Siniang's craftsmanship is barely passable. He needs to help the master who is responsible for frying tea. So every day, Wang Siniang and the female tea workers have to work until midnight before going to bed.
The fried Hangzhou new tea was provided to the general office as a special supply for the Hangzhou station. Zhao Yingong could also be considered as making a contribution to the Senate. It would gain some trust for himself in the Senate.
Although the tea is a "special supply", given the stingy style of the Senate, it must be the kind that can be picked with one flag and one shot. Wang Siniang is an expert at picking tea, with a sharp eye and quick hands. While picking, she also teaches a few novices around her: "
Use your fingers to pull, not your nails to pinch!"
The work of picking tea is very hard. Although the sun is warm, it makes people feel unbearably hot when it is exposed to the sun for a long time - not to mention that they still stand in the airless tea bushes for an hour or two, working non-stop with their hands and eyes.
Within a short while, the whole body was dripping with sweat. After working continuously for nearly an hour, some of the weak ones had their faces flushed and stopped to pant from time to time.
"Drink some water and take a breather! Don't stop, catch up immediately!" Wang Siniang kept moving and urging the female workers who were starting to fall behind.
As the leader, Wang Siniang has the right to arrange rest time, but she will not stop easily. Each team has a daily quota of work, which must not only ensure quantity but also quality. This workload is roughly enough to be completed barely.
Although there are experienced hands in her team, there are also quite a few novices. If she doesn’t work hard, she won’t be able to complete the picking quota before the work ends at dark. And the tea leaves picked every day must be sent to the tea roasting room for processing.
―The tea frying master also has his own work quota. If he cannot deliver the full amount of tea in time, the whole link will be taken off. During the assessment, the entire team will have to deduct monthly payments. As the "leader", she herself will suffer even greater losses: in addition to
In addition to the monthly salary, a management allowance will be deducted. If you are unable to complete the consideration, your position as the leader will not be guaranteed.
People who know how to work and do well are everywhere, but there are very few who can lead others to work and still do well. To keep her position, Wang Siniang had to work hard to supervise her subordinates.
Basket after basket of fresh leaves were sent to the tea-frying workshop down the mountain by a special transport team. Wang Siniang kept moving until the breath of the mountain sounded fourteen times in a row before announcing a break.
"Everyone, hurry up, eat, drink, and wipe your sweat. We'll start again later!" Wang Siniang herself was so tired that she didn't forget to encourage everyone.
Everyone came to the big tree where they were resting. An insulated tea bucket had been prepared here, with tea brewed in it, and there was also a small rattan box of snacks.
This kind of snack is actually a kind of military ration from Lingao. It is characterized by containing more sugar and salt. It is an "energy bar" that can quickly replenish physical strength for field workers who consume a lot of energy.
Wang Siniang was holding a bamboo cup, drinking water and eating snacks, looking at the number of work recorded on the blackboard - this is the number of kilograms of tea they have picked so far. According to this progress, they have just completed less than 40% of the quota.
There was still an hour and a half until the end of work in the afternoon, so she still had time to catch up. She was a little unsure about today's tea picking situation, and thought about how to adjust the tea picking routes of each tea picker in the afternoon to maximize their improvement.
The speed of picking tea.
The rest period is thirty minutes, but it is rarely full. After drinking water and eating snacks, everyone will consciously get up and get ready to go back to work - if the schedule is not met, money will be deducted, and if you can exceed the limit, you will also receive a bonus.
.Although tired, I am still very motivated.
In the next hour and a half, she started picking tea according to her re-adjusted personnel allocation. In this way, her hands and feet were busy until the sky was getting dark and the whistle started to sound seventeen times, and today's tea picking work came to an end.
The tea picking is over, but their work is not over yet - the work in the tea frying workshop has not yet begun. They have to help spread leaves, finish greens, pick stems... and do auxiliary chores. Phoenix Villa is not
Work at sunrise and rest at sunset. The basic working time here is twelve hours. Wang Siniang started work at eleven o'clock. According to the twelve-hour work system, she could not get off work until eleven o'clock in the evening.
After packing up their tools, the group meandered down the mountain. The younger girl was so tired that she could not speak. There were many large and small houses and courtyards built in a relatively flat place at the foot of Phoenix Mountain. This is the general manager of Phoenix Mountain Villa.