I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 365 Tian San
Inside the main courtyard of the Yang family, the heads of the four major families gathered once again.

"Brother Yang, you need to come up with a plan. Tang Zhao is driving the four great families to their doom!"

The Jin clan chief gritted his teeth, not only cutting off the financial lifeline of the four major families' salt merchants, but also not sparing the tea merchants. This was simply outrageous!
Chief Jiang complained, "If the Yang family hadn't offered all the tea gardens in Minzhou to Tang Zhao, where would Tang Zhao have gotten the confidence to challenge us?"

Chief Yang raised an eyelid and asked, "When Tang Zhao sent people to buy tea seedlings, didn't the Jiang family get involved?"

When it's time to make money, everything is wonderful, but when problems arise, they try to shift the blame onto the Yang family. There's no such thing as a free lunch!

Chief Jiang's imposing aura weakened, and he awkwardly turned his head away.

Chief Zou said impatiently, "What's the point of pursuing this now? We should hurry up and come up with a solution to curb Tang Zhao's arrogance!"

Chief Yang exhaled a breath of stale air, "Have you ever tasted the tea sold at Qiancha Baihui?"

Of course I've tasted it. The tea from Qiancha Baihui became famous overnight, and everyone was talking about it. If you didn't know anything about it, you'd be embarrassed to show your face!
"I had someone buy half a pound of pre-rain Longjing tea," Chief Yang said, summoning a tea-serving maid. "Since everyone is here now, let's all try some."

The tea-serving maids placed the tea-making tools one by one on the sandalwood table, and Master Yang personally brewed the tea.

Tearing open the beautifully packaged tea paper, a faint aroma of beans mixed with orchids filled the air. Master Yang Er scooped two spoonfuls of tea leaves into the purple clay teapot and poured boiling water over them to open the tea leaves.

The moment boiling water is poured into the teapot, the aroma of beans and orchids bursts forth, accompanied by a sweet fragrance that is refreshing and delightful.

After the tea had cooled slightly, Master Yang poured it into teacups and personally served it to the four clan leaders.

Master Yang watched silently from the side, inwardly sneering.

Chief Jin couldn't wait to take a sip. The slight astringency quickly melted in his mouth, then turned into a distinct sweetness, leaving a lingering aftertaste.

The taste was even better than the carefully selected tribute tea.

Chief Yang sighed inwardly. Pre-Rain Longjing tea is a famous variety of green tea in Jiangnan, worth ten gold coins per tael, but the Pre-Rain Longjing tea sold at Qiancha Baihui only costs thirty taels per tael.

Good quality, low price, it has the advantages of both, what can they compare with it?

Master Yang has already brewed the tea a second time. "Father, please try it. Is the taste any different from the first time?"

Chief Yang took a sip, savored it for a while, then shook his head and said, "There is no difference."

The Jin clan leader was shocked. Before Master Yang could pour tea, he poured himself a cup and tasted it, his face turning ugly.

The pre-rain Longjing tea produced by the four major family tea gardens can only be brewed once; the taste is greatly reduced the second time, which is one of the important reasons why pre-rain Longjing tea is so expensive.

But now, the tea leaves at Qiancha Baihui can be brewed twice.

No, not just twice.

Master Yang brewed the tea a third, fourth, and even fifth time before the aroma began to fade.

The faces of everyone inside the main courtyard were a mixture of pale and ashen.

With Tang Zhao developing such tea, how could they possibly fight back?

"Burn down the tea plantation!" Jin Ge suddenly spoke up. "If we burn down the tea plantation, Tang Zhao will have no source of tea leaves and naturally won't be able to make tea!"

This idea is far too frivolous.

The land that the Yang family gave to Tang Zhao was scattered across various prefectures in Minzhou. If one place caught fire, it could be a coincidence. But if fires broke out everywhere, even a fool would know that someone was deliberately setting fires. With Tang Zhao's mad dog-like nature, wouldn't he bite them off?

"I will contact the merchants of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan and Hubei provinces and forbid them from selling tea to Tang Zhao," Chief Jiang took a deep breath, "but I cannot guarantee that all the merchants will obey."

"Stop as many as you can, and weather this storm first," Chief Yang said with a deep gaze. "But this method can only last for three years at most." Three years later, the tea seedlings in the tea garden will have grown, and Tang Zhao will no longer be subject to others.

"This method only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. In my opinion, we need to work harder on the art of tea itself."

Master Yang said, "The servants I sent to keep an eye on the Wuqi Immortal Mountain Farm reported that Princess Zhaoshan has selected five hundred women on the farm and taught them all the tea-making techniques."

In other words, this tea-making technique was not known only to Tang Zhao.

Chief Jin's eyes lit up. "Brilliant! As long as we bribe one of them and learn the tea-making technique, we can rival Tang Zhao!"

Master Yang poured cold water on the idea, saying, "Tang Zhao is so shrewd, how could he not have taken precautions in advance?"

“Those who are proud of their reputation will also be burdened by it,” Master Yang said confidently. “Princess Zhaoshan is known for her love for the people, which means she cannot arbitrarily kill the people and their families.”

You must understand that the common people are the most ignorant and greedy. If you promise them great benefits, they will risk their lives, let alone any sense of propriety, righteousness, or shame.

If he were Tang Zhao, he would definitely choose a secluded place and send hundreds of guards to keep a close watch on the tea-making workers to prevent the secrets from being leaked.

Jin Ge volunteered, "Let the juniors handle this!"

Chief Yang glanced at Chief Jin, and seeing that he did not object, he agreed, "The plan must be thorough and there should be no mistakes."

"Yes!"

As soon as Jin Ge left the Yang family ancestral home, he sent his men to the Wuqi Immortal Mountain Farm to gather information, and they quickly identified their target.

The next day, as dawn broke, Tianjia Village came alive with activity.

The women went to the plantation to fry tea in groups, while the men carried hoes to the fields, and the children carried small baskets to the mountains to dig wild vegetables and cut pig feed.

In a low wooden house at the end of the village, Tian San's wife got up early to prepare meals, serving food to her eldest daughter while feeding her youngest daughter.

boom!
The wooden door was kicked open with force, and Tian San staggered in.

Tianhua hid in her mother's arms in fear.

Hiccuping from the alcohol, Tian San plopped down in the spot Tian Hua had given him, yelling, "Get me a bowl of rice!"

Tianhua glanced at her mother.

Tian San kicked him, yelling, "What are you looking at? I can't even order you around!"

Tianhua was kicked to the ground but didn't cry. She got up, went to the kitchen, picked up a bowl, and scooped out the last bit of rice from the pot.

Tian San snatched the bowl and started eating heartily, also finishing off all the dishes on the table.

After eating and drinking his fill, Tian San threw down his bowl and chopsticks and walked into the house, saying, "Go tell the manager today that I need an advance of half a month's wages. I need it!"

Tian San's wife shook her head subconsciously, "I've already received half a month's wages in advance, I can't ask for any more."

"What did you say?" Tian San turned around fiercely. "You've gotten too bold, daring to contradict me?"

Tian San's wife lowered her head and dared not utter a sound.

"Damn it!" Tian San walked over with his hand raised.

When Tian San's parents, who had been hiding in the house, saw that Tian San was about to beat his wife again, they quickly came out to stop him and managed to pull their son back into the house.

Tian San's wife lowered her head and wiped away her tears.