"Lin County, I've been planning on doing just that, but I haven't found a place or dealt with the paperwork yet!" Lu Feng said, readily taking the opening Lin Xuecheng had offered.
'Now that we're on the subject, it'd be a shame if a deputy head like you didn't help smooth the way, right?'
Hearing that Lu Feng already had this in mind, Lin Xuecheng immediately turned to Huang Yuan beside him and said, "Xiaohuang, I want you to follow up on Boss Lu's tea factory. I'll make a few calls later to arrange things."
Huang Yuan was overjoyed by the sudden order and replied, "Understood, Lin County."
'This was tantamount to running errands directly for Lin County.'
'This was definitely a good thing for him; others couldn't get such an opportunity even if they begged for it.'
'He never thought that helping his childhood friend, Da Fei, would end up with this kind of benefit.'
"Boss Lu, I won't disturb you any longer. I still have matters to attend to in the county," Lin Xuecheng said. He didn't stay long and left with two packs of +2 Qingfeng Tea.
Lu Feng personally saw him downstairs.
At the door, Lin Xuecheng remembered something and added, "Boss Lu, when the factory opens, remember to send some of the first batch of tea to the county. The county can try to help you apply to get your tea on the intangible cultural heritage list for traditional tea artistry!"
"Of course, Lin County," Lu Feng replied with a broad smile.
'This was likely the return favor, including arranging for someone to handle the factory's paperwork.'
After Lin Xuecheng left, Yang Ming came forward with his men and asked curiously, "Xiaofeng, what was that factory this Lin County was talking about?"
Lu Feng explained, "A tea factory. I can make this Qingfeng Tea myself, so I plan to open my own factory."
Da Fei was astonished. "Young Master Feng, you can make the Qingfeng Tea we're selling yourself?"
"Mhm. When the time comes, I'll let you invest for a share in the factory," Lu Feng said with a nod and a smile.
'Since Da Fei understands the tea business, it makes sense to let him be in charge of the factory. Giving him a share is normal.'
'Besides, he'd already been thinking about repaying his cousin and his brothers and getting them on the right track. With the recipe for Qingfeng Tea, the factory was a guaranteed money-maker. If his cousin and the others were willing to invest, they could get shares too.'
'He didn't really care about the shares in a single tea factory. After all, with the game world of *After the Apocalypse*, he would acquire many more life skills like this.'
'Besides, aside from things like Gold, he would surely have chances to get other technologies from the game world.'
'The key was that with his cousin and the others holding shares, he wouldn't have to worry about the factory's affairs, and no one would dare to cause trouble there.'
"Young Master Feng, I can invest too?" Da Fei's face lit up with joy.
'He knew the tea industry best. He was well aware that if they could produce this kind of Qingfeng Tea, the factory would definitely be profitable.'
'And now Young Master Feng was opening this factory and giving him a chance to invest for a share. He had to invest, even if it meant begging his parents to mortgage their house for a loan.'
Lu Feng gave Da Fei a firm nod and instructed, "For now, help me buy some ingredients. Then prepare some tea leaves and a place to roast the tea."
As he spoke, he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, wrote down all the necessary ingredients, and handed it to Da Fei. "See if you can buy all of these. Once you have everything, prepare the tea leaves and a place to roast them."
The reason this Qingfeng Tea tasted so good wasn't actually the tea leaves themselves—it didn't even require high-quality leaves. The key was in these ingredients.
These ingredients could be used to concoct a special tea powder. This powder was harmless to humans and had no effect on its own.
But when added during the tea roasting process, it would merge with the tea leaves and trigger a reaction, giving the tea its unique fragrance and sweet aftertaste.
Moreover, the invigorating effect of Qingfeng Tea was also due to this special ingredient powder.
This special ingredient powder was part of a unique tea-roasting technique from that era in the game world.
"Okay, leave it to me!" Da Fei replied, full of motivation, and hurried off.
Lu Feng then sat down with Yang Ming and the others to brew some tea. The young woman, Xiaoyao, proactively took the seat for preparing the tea.
Chen Bo was clearly not interested in the tea factory. After drinking tea for a short while, he left.
By evening, Da Fei came to report to Lu Feng. "Young Master Feng, I was able to buy all the ingredients. I've got one full set, but the price wasn't cheap. There are several expensive Chinese medicinal herbs, and it cost 5,000 yuan in total. Also, the tea leaves and the place for roasting are ready. Should we head over now?"
'5,000 yuan for one set of ingredients was a bit expensive, especially since one set couldn't produce much tea.'
'So, it made sense that Qingfeng Tea roasted with such ingredients would taste so good.'
"Let's go!" Lu Feng said. He then turned to Yang Ming, Ah Lin, and Ah Pao. "Cousin, you all coming?"
"Mhm!" Yang Ming nodded and went to get the BMW 740. He had Da Fei put the purchased ingredients in the trunk, and then Da Fei gave directions. The group fit perfectly into one car and set off.
Before long, Da Fei had directed them to a small workshop. Inside was a cafeteria, which happened to have a large stove and wok, perfect for roasting tea.
Da Fei was on good terms with the chef there, so he had borrowed it for the time being.
"Young Master Feng, what do you need us to do?" Da Fei asked immediately.
"Wash the raw tea leaves first, then maintain a certain level of moisture!" Lu Feng instructed. He then took the ingredients and began to concoct the special tea powder.
With the right ingredients, concocting the special tea powder wasn't difficult. The main thing was to master the sequence and proportions.
Because it was a life skill obtained directly from the game world, Lu Feng's preparation was skillful and effortless. In a short time, he had concocted the ingredients into a batch of the special tea powder.
By this time, Da Fei had finished washing the tea leaves and had kept them at the proper moisture level.
"Put all the tea leaves into the wok," Lu Feng instructed.
Da Fei did as he was told, placing the tea leaves in the wok and then starting the fire to roast them.
Lu Feng began to press his palm against the surface of the wok, sweeping it across as he started to stir-fry the leaves in a rotating motion. Thanks to his life skill for making Qingfeng Tea, his movements were crisp and highly practiced.
At the same time, he continuously added the special ingredient powder to the tea leaves. As they roasted, the powder rapidly dissolved into the leaves.
An intoxicating tea aroma began to waft through the air.
This fragrance alone made Da Fei's eyes grow brighter and brighter. Just smelling it was invigorating.
This was the very scent of Qingfeng Tea.
About half an hour later, the special ingredient powder was all used up. After being roasted and dehydrated, only a small amount of tea leaves remained—about half a pound.
Lu Feng looked at the tea leaves and said directly, "Brew a pot. Let's see how it turned out."
Da Fei immediately grabbed a kettle, took some of the tea from the wok, and brewed a pot. He poured a cup for Yang Ming and the others, then eagerly poured one for himself and began to taste it.
After a few sips, Da Fei was stunned. "This is the flavor! Young Master Feng, you really roasted this Qingfeng Tea yourself!"
Yang Ming, Ah Lin, and Ah Pao were also filled with astonishment.
'They knew a single box of Qingfeng Tea sold for 7,500 yuan, and each box held less than 100 grams. The amount in the wok could easily fill three boxes.'
'Three boxes of Qingfeng Tea could sell for 22,500 yuan, while the cost of the ingredients was only 5,000. The price of the tea leaves themselves was negligible.'
'In other words, excluding the cost of ingredients, the profit margin for the tea in that wok was over 17,000 yuan. If they opened a factory, even after accounting for other costs, the profits would be terrifying.'
'No wonder everyone said the tea business was outrageously profitable.'
Lu Feng also drank a cup of the freshly roasted Qingfeng Tea. It was no different from the one he got from the game, which set his mind at ease. He said to Da Fei, "Next, you go find a factory building. Also, liaise with Huang Yuan about the paperwork; he'll help us handle it. On top of that, go check out some tea-roasting machines. Finally, add it all up and see how much capital we'll need to open a tea factory."
Tea can be roasted by hand or by machine. Most premium teas rely on manual labor, which requires a very high level of skill and careful attention.
'He didn't need that. As long as he mastered the concoction of the special ingredient powder, the roasting could be done entirely by machine.'
"Right, Brother Feng," Da Fei immediately nodded.
Lu Feng also said to Yang Ming and the others, "Cousin, you guys should invest and take a share in the factory too."
These words brought looks of joy to the faces of Yang Ming, Ah Lin, and Ah Pao.
'Anyone could see that this factory would be a gold mine. The fact that Lu Feng was willing to let them invest for a share was like him handing them free money.'
'This made them look at Lu Feng with gratitude. If they didn't follow a person like this and work hard for him, they'd truly have no conscience.'