When they left, the seventh cousin pondered: "Tan Tan, is your mother still picking tea leaves on the mountain? Give her a call and show me a few tea branches when she comes back."
"Okay."
Song Tan sent the message directly without asking the reason. Only Zhang Yanping did not miss any changes in the family and quickly asked: "Seventh cousin, why do you need the branches?"
The seventh cousin did not hide it: "I thought, if the tea leaves grow well, the old branches and old leaves must be fragrant as well. It would be a pity to just cut them and throw them in the ground or use them as firewood."
"Try it first when you come back. If it tastes good, you can make it later -"
"I see!"
Zhang Yanping clapped his hands fiercely: "Is it right to make tea bricks or tea foam?"
The cheap tea bricks, or the minced tea leaves included in scented tea, are made by crushing and stamping old branches!
Seventh Cousin:......
He looked complicated, and then sighed: "Yan Ping, Tan Tan asked you to be responsible for selling things. You are really a professional counterpart."
"I just want to use dried tea sticks to smoke some duck and pork. You're welcome. I also want to crush them to make tea bricks... Shen Wansan can't even think of you!"
Zhang Yanping guessed wrong and did not feel embarrassed. Instead, he smiled openly and said: "I don't dare to compare, he is the richest man after all, and I am just an ordinary worker. My salary is still two thousand five thousand!" "
Even the food was great. Not to mention the salary, even if there was no salary, he would not be willing to leave.
And because he was so satisfied with the food, other material desires were reduced. With his current salary, apart from paying phone bills and game cash, there is no use at all...
If this continues, saving 20,000 yuan by the end of the year will not be a dream!
The seventh cousin just made a few jokes, and after saying that, he fell into deep thought: "But you are right, the tea is so good, the tea bricks and powdered tea should also be very fragrant... Let me study it."
When it comes to matters in the kitchen, the seventh cousin has always been very resolute.
Wu Lan came back with a basket at half noon, and sure enough he pulled out a lot of tea branches, and a camellia the size of a quail egg had already bloomed on one branch.
The snow-white petals are slightly closed, revealing the pale yellow stamens inside, which is particularly fresh and moving.
This surprised Qiao Qiao: "Mom, are the tea trees about to bear tea seeds? If they bear tea seeds this year, can I still pound tea oil?"
Pound tea oil——
Song Tan also fell into memories.
In her childhood, this was a skill that every child in the village knew.
Take a small wine cup and prepare an unused pen, preferably with a lid. Peel the ripe tea seeds on the mountain, smash the milky white round fruits into the wine cup, and use the pen to pound them downwards. Press...
Over time, the mashed tea fruit will become dark brown and translucent, and a layer of yellow tea oil will precipitate on it.
When she was young, her classmates often compared each other like this, and even in class and after class, they would take pens and mess with them...
After all, in the countryside at that time, there were not as many types of entertainment as there are today.
Who would have thought that it was Qiaoqiao's turn, and since he had no playmates, he actually did the same thing.
"Okay." For Qiao Qiao, the family has always been free-range, and Ulan was even more cooperative this year: "You can buy a beautiful wine cup yourself, and then pound the tea oil and cook for everyone."
Qiaoqiao's eyes lit up instantly!
In the past, pounding tea oil was just a recreational activity, but now tea oil can be used for cooking - he was instantly full of enthusiasm!
"Is there tea fruit on the mountain now? I'll go now!"
That’s not to say there isn’t one – among the tea trees all over the mountains and plains, there are always one or two that are blooming now or have already produced fruit. But...
"It's too hot now and it's easy to break. Just wait until autumn and winter. You can choose a beautiful little cup for yourself first, and mom will give you the money!"
"Okay!" Qiao Qiao blinked - after all, his money has been used for travel expenses!
He must study hard during this trip. Once he learns it, if he saves money, he will take his parents to travel in the winter when he has no job!
The seventh cousin has already put the tea branches on the fire to smoke them - now the conditions are simple, he just puts the tea branches a little away from the flames, slowly smokes them, and then takes them out to smell the aroma -
"The taste is not bad, but I don't know how it tastes when smoked and grilled with meat."
Skilled people like them can actually tell what the combination will taste like just by smelling it, but it's not absolutely accurate.
To be on the safe side, the seventh cousin decided - "Tan Tan, let's try killing two ducks later."
The duck at home is half big and not small, so it is quite suitable for roast duck.
Song Tan thought for a while: "Goodbye, our chickens and ducks are still small, and they must be delicious. If you mix the two, you can't tell which one is more prominent."
"I'll go back to the market and buy an old duck so I can judge whether it tastes good or not."
The seventh cousin thought about it and it made sense: "Okay, the smoked duck is better to choose the old duck, which is more chewy. When the time comes, I will smoke a dry duck for you as a snack."
Then he stretched out his hand to call Qiao Qiao over: "Go, get the big shears, cut these into small branches, cut them into small pieces, one centimeter or two centimeters will do, be careful not to hurt your hands."
"OK."
Without saying a word, Qiao Qiao took the scissors for cutting branches at home, holding the tea branches in one hand, and started cutting into the prepared small stainless steel basin.
Here, the seventh cousin asked again: "Ulan, who else raises chickens in the village? Go and ask if there are any eggs, and we can buy some."
"What Yan Ping said just now makes sense. Our tea smells very good. I would like to try to see if the old tea branches can cook tea eggs."
After all, their tea leaves are too expensive, and no one is willing to use them to boil tea eggs.
Not to mention fresh tea leaves, Huang Pianzi's seventh cousin wouldn't part with it - after all, he drinks two cups a day!
"Okay." Ulan immediately picked up the small basket and said, "I'll go right away."
After all, the tea branches cut off in previous years were either given to factories that collected old tea branches, or were picked up as firewood by other old men and women in the village.
These things can only ignite fires, but can't be burned. They don't have enough labor, so they don't take care of them.
It was a coincidence that before Ulan went out, his cell phone rang.
She answered the phone, and the loud voice on the other end could be heard throughout the courtyard:
"Ulan, a factory has come to the village to collect old tea branches. Do you want to prune yours? If so, come and register as soon as possible! They say each of the first ten households will receive two boxes of beer!"
Wu Lan hesitated for a moment.
Zhang Yanping was curious: "This factory is quite good, and there are gifts for door-to-door purchases. How much does it cost per pound for him to buy these old tea branches?"