"Miss, it's just ahead, not far away."

Shen Shixi said comfortingly, as if he was afraid that Su Zijin would be annoyed by the bumpy road.

From the beginning, Su Zijin walked on horseback, and now he leads the horse and walks slowly behind Shopkeeper Shen. Hearing Shopkeeper Shen comfort him, he calmly said, "It's okay. Anyway, I told my grandfather before I left the city. If I go back I will spend the night outside the city tonight."

Shen Shixi nodded, "Although young lady is young, she can endure hardships."

Su Zijin didn't say anything, and Shopkeeper Shen didn't take it seriously. The delicate little girl always had a bit of a stubborn temper.

Hou Yi, who was behind Su Zijin, frowned and looked at the difficult-to-walk road and the dense forests on both sides of the road.

"Manager Shen, are all the tea gardens of the Chang family located in places like this?"

Faced with Hou Yi's impatience, shopkeeper Shen was not unhappy, but replied kindly, "No, this is just one of the Chang family, and it is the farthest mountain. This place was flooded because of rain that year, and the guardian The tea farmers in this mountain couldn't survive. The master couldn't bear it, so he took over the tea mountain so far away and left the original tea farmers as tenants. What I mean is to check the farthest tea mountain first, and then go back to the city again. Survey the other two."

Su Zijin nodded, "There is no need to explain, Shopkeeper Shen, we will just follow your plan."

Shopkeeper Shen nodded and walked forward to lead the way. Hou Yi also curled his lips, as if he was dissatisfied with Shopkeeper Shen for bringing them to this wilderness.

A few people walked forward all the way, and finally arrived at the tea mountain at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain before noon.

"Boss Lao Cai, is there any ready-made food at home? Let's use some first, and then go to the top of the mountain to check after the food is finished. Shao Dong's house, is this okay?"

Su Zijin looked at the silent Boss Cai in front of him and nodded, "This is my first time here. I'm not familiar with Shopkeeper Shen, so I just follow Shopkeeper Shen's arrangements."

Boss Lao Cai seemed to have a taciturn character. After hearing what Shopkeeper Shen and Su Zijin said, he lowered his head in silence and turned back to the simple house at the foot of the mountain. He took out the table and placed it in the yard, "Miss, if you don't mind, I'll leave it in the yard." Let's have some food. The light in the room is not good, so I won't invite you in."

In the early winter season, if you were in Kyoto, the dripping water would have turned into ice. Unlike in Shu County, you don't need to wear heavy clothes and can move freely outdoors.

Su Zijin nodded, "Old man, please be more casual. We just use some food as we please, so we won't bother you for too long."

After a while, a table of fragrant meals was prepared, with a dish of fried duck in the middle, vegetables, and several bowls of rice. After putting down the food, Lao Caitou asked everyone to sit down, but he wanted to go back to the house.

"Old man, let's use some together. We can't finish all this much."

"Young master, Lao Caitou has always been lonely, let's use it first. After we leave, he will feel more at ease."

Shopkeeper Shen said.

"Really?" Su Zijin glanced at the rickety old man and shrugged, "It's alright, don't force it. Let's eat first, then go up the mountain to have a look. It would be better if we could get to the second tea mountain in the afternoon. .”

A group of people had an authentic farm meal and headed up the mountain under the leadership of Lao Caitou.

"There are few tenants here, so the tea mountain has not been tidied up in a few years. The young master should be careful where he steps."

Shopkeeper Shen said enthusiastically.

Su Zijin looked at Shopkeeper Shen strangely. Even in front of his grandfather, Shopkeeper Shen was not so attentive. He didn't know what he was thinking at this time.

"It doesn't matter, it's just a ditch. Even if you trip, it won't hurt."

Shopkeeper Shen smiled and said no more.

Tea Mountain is not a hill, but two or three small hills stretching from east to west. The mountain is much easier to walk on than the rugged and hilly road just now.

"Old man, it took a long time to level the hills here, right? We came all the way just now, and the road was very bumpy."

Hearing this, Lao Caitou looked at Shopkeeper Shen beside him and shook his head, "This is an industry that has been around for generations. It is not our turn to level the ground."

Su Zijin felt strange and didn't want to say anything, so he followed Lao Cai and headed down the mountain to another hill.

"This road didn't exist before. A few years ago, Mr. Chang bought it and opened it. After a few years of walking, there was this small road that can go through several mountains." Lao Caitou introduced himself.

"Yeah." Su Zijin nodded behind him.

"Except when the tea mountains are flooded by heavy rains, there are rarely bad harvests. The harvest is about the same, but the price of tea fluctuates every year. However, the minimum food and clothing can be taken care of. We have a pond in the mountain, and there is a guardian beside the pond. There are tea farmers, so even if there is less rain, it doesn’t matter, there is water from the accumulated ponds that can be supplied.”

"Yeah?"

Su Zijin thought of the account books she saw a few days ago.

"Yes." Lao Cai walked in front with his head bent and nodded affirmatively.

Hou Yi, who was behind Su Zijin, looked left and right, and with his dignity, he seemed to be as unruly as a street gangster. Shopkeeper Shen, who was also following behind, had been listening to the two of them attentively. Lao Caitou said affirmatively and quickly interjected, "Miss, there is still a long way to go. In our business in the southwest, the profit of tea is dispensable. The tea house collects and transports the tea every year. We are here today. It's late, so in order to avoid worrying my old boss, let's go back as soon as possible and wait until we get to the tea garden closer to take a closer look. It's the same."

Su Zijin stopped and looked back at Shopkeeper Shen. Shopkeeper Shen continued, "This mountain tops hundreds of acres. It is impossible for the Shaodong family to visit every place and visit the Song family tea garden more than ten miles outside the city." Well, they are all tea gardens, the layout is similar, and the young lady understands that they are the same."

Su Zijin paused and glanced at Lao Cai, who turned back to listen to the conversation, "Old man, is the layout of the hilltop in front similar to this one? If it is similar, we won't go there. We will follow Shopkeeper Shen's arrangement and go back first. , I will make a special trip another day when I have free time."

Lao Caitou was silent for a moment and nodded, "They are all tea gardens. Except for the different tenants, everything else is the same. You can do whatever you want."

Su Zijin led everyone back again.

The way back soon reached the foot of the mountain, and everyone led the horses to prepare to go back.

Su Zijin looked at Hou Yi, who was holding his belly, "What's wrong with you? It's rare to take you out, but you can't be on stage like this!"

Hou Yi's face was twisted, and his dark eyebrows were even more ugly, "Miss, maybe I had a good time just now, drank too much raw water, and had some diarrhea."

Su Zijin glared at Hou Yi, "I can't count on you. Fortunately, Shopkeeper Shen has brought enough people. Shopkeeper Shen, let's go first."

Shopkeeper Shen still looked gentle and nodded, "Let's go."

On the way back, Su Zijin felt a little familiar, so he rode back slowly on his horse. Fortunately, it was faster than the walking speed when he came.

"Miss, don't you go slowly and wait for the guards?"
Chapter completed!