The daily life of a concubine's daughter

Chapter 385 Returning

Xie Jibai shook his head: "I have actually heard about that merchant a long time ago. You should know that the jewelry in his jewelry shop comes from the sea.

If the Minister of Personnel succeeds in seizing his family's property, more officials will follow suit, which will be no less than a natural disaster for the merchants. Therefore, the merchants in Jiangnan jointly guaranteed his entry into the capital."

Shi Yao understood instantly: "Someone in the court wants to get involved in maritime trade, and Minister Guo is just exploring the way? But the court has banned the sea——"

At this point, she suddenly paused and sighed, "Money can move people's hearts. Merchants risk their lives to engage in maritime trade and make a lot of money. How can the ministers not be jealous? I really don't know how to comment on this."

Xie Jibai nodded: "Our Xie family can just live in peace."

Everyone wants to get involved in this life-threatening business.

Shi Yao wanted to make black tea and wanted to get involved.

She didn't want to exploit anyone, nor did she think about infringing on anyone's interests. She just wanted to dig more gold and silver from the West.

It is said that Japan also has a huge silver mine. Seeing that they are honestly doing maritime trade and following Daxing to reap the benefits, maybe the silver mine has not been discovered yet?

After working for more than half an hour, Xie Jibai finished adding the yeast. He said, "The next step is fermentation. Madam, I'll carry it, you take a rest."

Shi Yao looked at the unused yeast in her hand and an idea suddenly came to her mind.

Fermentation?

She seemed to have heard someone mention that black tea has a fermentation process. It should be when she was traveling in her previous life and buying souvenirs for her parents, she heard the clerk mention it when she was buying tea.

She didn't care about it at the time, but now this sentence has become her code to wealth.

How is black tea fermented?

Yeast?

No way?

Xie Jibai picked up the two wine jars, looked up and saw that she was in a daze, so he asked, "Madam, what are you thinking about?"

"I'll hold an umbrella for you." Shi Yao came back to her senses, threw away the yeast, opened a green Luo embroidered umbrella, and said with a smile, "I was just thinking, what would happen if we use yeast to ferment tea leaves?"

Xie Jibai turned his head slightly, his face full of indescribable expression: "...Can it be drunk? I can't imagine the taste. But, you can try it."

Shi Yao thought for a moment and said, "I don't know what it smells like, but it shouldn't smell like alcohol. We use yeast to make dough, and the steamed buns we make don't smell like alcohol. Tea shouldn't smell like alcohol either, right?"

Xie Jibai once again demonstrated his action-oriented spirit. He said he would give it a try and after moving the wine jars, he and Shi Yao tried to ferment green tea.

Shi Yao knew that this way of making tea was definitely not right, but she wanted to give it a try to see if green tea could turn red through fermentation.

On the next day, which was the third day of the city lockdown, Shi Yao opened the pottery jar. As expected, the tea leaves had gone bad in such hot and humid weather.

She made a cup of tea, which was slightly red.

The taste is extremely strange.

Xie Jibai held the copper bowl in front of her and said, "Rinse your mouth quickly! How can you try it yourself? What if it's poisonous?"

Shi Yao rinsed her mouth and poured out a cup of rotten tea, a little discouraged: "I want to make black tea."

Xie Jibai washed a pink peach and handed it to her: "Red tea? Think carefully about where you have had it before, I'll ask someone to find it. Eat this first to suppress the smell."

Shi Yao took a bite. The color looked sweet. It was indeed sweet. The sweet peach juice soothed her decadence. She shook her head and said:

"I forgot. I ate it a long time ago. The taste is still fresh in my memory. The tea leaves are dark red, and the tea soup is red."

Xie Jibai nodded slightly, as if thinking about something.

The two played two games of chess. Shi Yao felt tired and went to rest.

Xie Jibai went to the study room in the outer courtyard and called Gui Quan: "Go ask the people below if they have ever tasted black tea. The tea soup made from black tea leaves is red."

Guiquan was surprised. Only moldy tea would turn black and red, right? However, what the Third Master wanted to ask about was definitely not moldy tea leaves.

He bowed and agreed.

He was about to leave when Xie Jibai stopped him and said, "Let me see the list of return gifts."

Guiquan hurried to find it.

Xie Jibai read it from beginning to end twice and said, "Open my private storehouse and add another pair of Nanji Old Man Jade Ruyi and a pair of Entwined Lotus Ruyi Heart-turning Bottles."

Guiquan agreed: "Third Master, is there anything else?"

Xie Jibai said: "Tomorrow, the Third Madam will return home. She will probably stay at the Duke's Mansion for lunch and pay her respects to the First Madam and the Second Master of the Duke's Mansion. Don't tie a red string, or it will be eye-catching.

Prepare another return gift of equal value, and we will have dinner at my mother-in-law's house.

Before we go to the Ji family, I will send someone to tell you that you should wait in the mansion in the afternoon and deliver the return gift in time, so that we don’t go empty-handed and be disrespectful to our elders.”

Guiquan smiled and said, "Third Master, you are very thoughtful. I understand. Third Master, do you have any other instructions?"

Xie Jibai shook his head: "No, it's hot, if you can't stand it, go to the kitchen and ask for a bowl of ice cream."

"Hey, I thank you for your consideration, Master San."

After saying that, Guiquan turned around and left the study.

More than half a year ago, he would never have expected that the girl whom he stopped from seeing his third master would one day become his mistress.

He walked briskly and said happily, "This is what we call a marriage made in heaven! No wonder the Third Master gave two big red envelopes to Miss Chenyu and Miss Luoyan when they were released from the mansion."

On that day, the girl Chenyu cried every day and knelt for three days to beg the Third Master to save her sister. Only then did the Third Master set off, travel thousands of miles, and go to Jinling to redeem the girl Luoyan.

Afterwards, I suddenly felt like going to the mountain to worship Buddha and enjoy the view, where I met Miss Shi Er.

This is life.

The second Miss Shi was a country girl from the mountains when he first met her, and he didn't expect that she would have a fate with his third master.

The second time he saw Shi Yao was at Ziyang Villa. He and the Third Master went to rescue the Prince Zhou Ji who had fallen into the water, and saw the Second Miss Shi playing the flute among the flowers inside the wall.

The Third Master recognized her at the first sight. At that time, Miss Shi was the daughter of the Duke's Mansion, and her status was very different from that of the Third Master. He did not expect that the two of them would have a connection.

It just so happened that these two people who seemed to have no destiny became husband and wife after many twists and turns.

This is the fate!

As a witness to both of them, Gui Quan felt a secret joy in his heart.

The next day, the city lockdown was lifted, traffic in the capital returned to normal, and the city was busier than usual.

Citizens were discussing the two fires on the eve of the city lockdown, and the Shi family once again topped the hot topic list.

A white banner was hung at the main gate of the Shi family. Shen, Rong, and Shi Jianan went to the gate in person to welcome the new brother-in-law and aunt.

Shen held Shi Yao's hand, and with red eyes she sighed and said, "Second girl, I'm sorry for putting you through this."

The joyous return visit to one's parents' home turned into a funeral. Which girl wouldn't feel aggrieved?

Shi Yao was wearing a light crimson dress. When she heard this, her eyes instantly filled with tears. She covered her handkerchief and said, "It doesn't matter if I feel wronged. I just didn't expect that my aunt and my second brother would be gone. If they were fine, it would be worth it even if I suffered ten or a hundred times more wrongs."

No wonder!

No one present believed this nonsense, but they all surrounded Shi Yao and tried to comfort her.

In a big family, face is more important than anything else.

Shi Yao was able to cry twice just to give face.