Chapter 66 of 100

Chapter 66

16 min read3,885 wordsMature

Yue Lin's resonant voice echoed through every corner of the venue. At this moment, whether it was the onlookers or the tea enthusiasts participating in the tea competition, all eyes were on the man at the third table.

The man's table was simply adorned with a few tea-making utensils, appearing very plain. The man stood with his hands behind his back, facing the crowd, without showing any joy from winning first place.

"Thank you all for your recognition. I, Lu Fan, am deeply grateful!" The man at the third table was Lu Fan. He first bowed to the two officials at the head table, then bowed to the ten judges to express his gratitude.

Wu Lao, the leader, gently stroked his gray beard and nodded approvingly, saying, "It is truly rare for a young man to have such skill. Winning first place without becoming arrogant, this composure is a deep understanding of the tea way. Excellent! Excellent!"

"Old Wu, Sir Yang, before the competition began, I said that there are many outstanding individuals in the tea world. This young man, so young and already so skilled, will surely have a bright future!" Yue Lin walked a few steps from his seat to Wu Lao and said with a smile.

Wu Lao and Yang Wanli both nodded in agreement, also surprised that the first-place winner of this session was a young man. After all, among the tea enthusiasts participating in the competition, the youngest in previous sessions was thirty years old.

The tea way emphasizes a kind of cultivation. How could a young person with a restless mind possibly settle down? Even Ye Menggeng, who won eight consecutive sessions, was already twenty-eight when he first participated in the tea competition!

But this young man named Lu Fan, at the age of twenty, had already scored full marks in all three evaluations, which was undoubtedly a breakthrough in the history of the competition.

Regardless of whether he could ultimately defeat the previous tea champion, this young man was destined to be extraordinary.

Seeing everyone praise Lu Fan so much, even Yue San Niang's bright eyes showed admiration, Ye Mingzhi couldn't help but feel a bit envious. He then sneered, "Every year, there are outstanding individuals, but most stop at the tea champion level. They are nothing special..."

This statement immediately drew the attention of the crowd. It was clearly a display of arrogance and arrogance, which naturally made people uncomfortable. Hearing his son's lack of grace, Ye Mengxin angrily whispered, "Don't talk nonsense!"

Ye Mingzhi's father's reprimand made him look dejected. He pouted and fell silent again, but his eyes still held a hint of disdain when he looked at Lu Fan.

Lu Fan, however, smiled slightly and bowed to Ye Mengxin, saying, "What your son said is not wrong. But since I have participated in this tea competition, I am not just here for the first place. I am here for the tea champion title!"

"Oh? It's good for a young man to be confident, but don't be arrogant! The tea champion title may have been won by my brother, but my tea skills are not inferior!"

"Of course! I have heard that the two tea masters of the Ye family, Ye Zang's tea skills are naturally not inferior to those of Ye Gong!" Lu Fan openly acknowledged Ye Mengxin's tea skills, but then changed the subject: "But so what? New talents emerge in every generation! Please!"

"Good! A new generation of talents! Today, I will teach you a lesson, you arrogant young man!" Ye Mengxin angrily flicked his sleeve and walked into the Drunken Scholar Pavilion first.

Lu Fan followed without hesitation, instructing his servant to carry the tea equipment into the pavilion. Everyone knew that the real competition was about to begin, so they all gathered around the Drunken Scholar Pavilion.

The pavilion was divided into two parts. On the left side, all the necessary tea-making tools were already set up, while the right side had only a table and was empty. After entering the pavilion, Lu Fan and his servant arranged the tools properly and then signaled the two officials that they were ready to begin.

Wu Lao first asked if both sides were ready. Seeing that both sides nodded without objection, he announced, "The competition will last for the duration of one incense stick. Both sides will use their best skills without interfering with each other!"

A gong sounded, and the ultimate tea competition began. Everyone watched quietly as the two sides prepared their tea, with some whispering and discussing the subtleties of the tea-making process.

At this moment, Ye Mengxin took out a small tea cake from a sandalwood box. It was tightly pressed, as fine as green jade, with a faint fragrance. Just a glance revealed that it was far superior to the tea used in Lai'an Prefecture.

Wu Lao, who was watching, pointed to the tea cake and explained to the two officials, "Gentlemen, please look. That is the Longtuan Shengxue tea made by the Longyun Tea House!"

"Oh? This 'Longtuan Shengxue' is different from what I have seen before?"

Yang Wanli, as an official of the tea tax office, was well-versed in various types of tea. He was familiar with Longtuan Shengxue, which belongs to the white tea category and is slightly white.

However, the one he saw was white with a hint of green, slightly transparent, which he had never seen before.

Yue Lin also nodded in agreement, puzzled, "I also have a small amount of this tea cake at home, but as Sir Yang said, the tea cake held by Ye Zang is different from what I usually see!"

Regarding the officials' doubts, Wu Lao smiled mysteriously, "Gentlemen, you may not know, but the tea cake held by Ye Zang is the supreme grade of 'Longtuan Shengxue,' made from 'Yinxi Shuiya'! It is naturally different from the tea we usually see!"

Wu Lao's explanation made the two tea experts suddenly enlightened. Tea is divided into three grades: 'Zi Ya' (purple bud), 'Zhong Ya' (medium bud), and 'Xiao Ya' (small bud).

'Zi Ya' refers to purple leaves, which are not used for imperial tea. 'Zhong Ya' refers to one leaf and one bud, also known as 'one flag and one spear,' praised in poetry as "one spear smiling, about to become a leaf, all herbs ashamed, not daring to bloom."

This shows that small buds, resembling sparrow tongues, are already of high quality, and among small buds, those that look like fine needles are called 'Shuiya'! If the tea made from 'Yinxi Shuiya' is called supreme, it is not an exaggeration.

The other judges also turned their attention to Ye Mengxin, seeing the tea that looked like frost and snow, with a hint of green floating in the frost, looking very pleasing.

Finally, everyone nodded and sighed, "Just with this supreme tea cake, he is already unbeatable..."

"This tea is not made by human effort, but by chance. The buds are rare, and the steaming and roasting are particularly difficult. If not done properly, it becomes ordinary. It must be made with the utmost precision, and it cannot be bought with gold and silver..."

Hearing this, the others fell silent, nodding in agreement.

Ye Mingzhi, born into a tea merchant family, naturally understood the tea-making process, so he assisted his father with ease.

"May I ask where the water used comes from?" someone asked.

Ye Mengxin skillfully performed each step of the tea-making process. During the idle time while waiting for the charcoal to warm up, he smiled and said, "In the art of tea competition, the first is the tea, and the second is the water. Both are essential.

The water in this tin pot comes from the Pearl Spring at the foot of Bagong Mountain in Shouzhou!"

This statement made everyone marvel. The Pearl Spring at the foot of Bagong Mountain is the best choice for tea-making, and in the Huai and Yangtze regions, it is the only sweet spring.

The water is very light, but it flows very slowly, like droplets, hence the name 'Pearl.' Bagong Mountain is quite far from here, so it must have been difficult for Ye Mengxin to obtain this water.

"Tsk tsk! As the ancients said: the best water for tea comes from the mountains, and the best is sweet spring water and bamboo water. Now, with the best tea and water, and the skill of a master, how can it not produce the finest tea?"

"It seems there is no suspense in this tea competition..."

"..."

Hearing the praise, Ye Mengxin and his son were quite pleased. They looked at Lu Fan on the opposite side and sneered.

Ye Mengxin put down his tea utensils and mocked Lu Fan, "Young man, the art of tea competition is not just about confidence, but also about preparation and accumulation!"

At this moment, Lu Fan had already ground the tea and placed it on the small stove to start brewing. As he added charcoal, he said calmly, "The tea and charcoal used by Ye Zang are of the highest quality, even the charcoal is made from olive pits..."

"Oh? You have some knowledge!" Ye Mengxin was surprised that his use of olive pit charcoal was recognized by this young man.

Lu Fan then smiled and said, "But so what? Before I came to the tea competition, someone told me that the true art of tea competition is facing oneself, and the opponent is oneself! Ye Zang sees everyone as opponents, but the true opponent is oneself. If you can't even win against yourself, how can you win against others?"

"Nonsense! My father is a tea master, how can you make such arrogant and baseless claims?" Ye Mingzhi, already annoyed by Lu Fan's sudden rise, could not tolerate his criticism of his father.

"Oh? If not, why care about these superficial things outside of tea? If these embellishments are the tea way, then everyone in the world would be a tea master, and there would be no need for such competition."

"You!... Talking is useless, let's see who is better in the tea!"

"..."

Although it was just a verbal exchange during the tea competition, it made everyone reassess this young man.

Especially Wu Lao, the old tea expert, found Lu Fan's words quite reasonable. He couldn't help but ponder, what is the true tea way?

As they spoke, the first infusion was ready, and both sides took their pots off the stove. Ye Mengxin first warmed the tea cups with the remaining heat, then placed them back on the table, poured in some water as a base, and added the tea powder, followed by a little more water to mix.

In contrast, Lu Fan's process was much simpler. He took out a small, exquisite box from his tea equipment and removed a purple-black teapot. He then poured the tea infusion into the teapot and warmed it with the remaining heat.

After the paste was prepared, the key step was the tea pouring. Pouring the water seven times is the best, and the tea looked like cold porridge, clinging to the cup without loosening. The dark green lines contrasted with the white tea foam, making the tea color pure and appealing.

Ye Mengxin used a tea spoon to evenly distribute the tea infusion. Lu Fan, however, did not go through such a process. Once the teapot was warm, he announced to Wu Lao and the others that he had completed the process!

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