Chapter 38: Era's Tide

In the Tang dynasty, social gatherings among officials included not only banquets but also tea brewing.

They brew tea, taste tea, and chat casually about state affairs—all at once, both formal and informal, subtly drawing the participants closer.

Tea brewing was a refined and popular pastime; in Chang'an, a high monk loved tea so much that he had to drink dozens of bowls a day before he could stop.

At this moment, in Li Linfu's study at his residence in Pingkang Lane, Li Linfu was personally brewing tea for Zheng Shuqing, observing every protocol perfectly.

He used a bamboo tong to take a tea cake, placed it over charcoal for roasting; the charcoal was mixed with a fragrant spice and shaped like a peony, instantly revealing its exceptional quality.

The tea cake heated evenly on the rack, its interior and exterior fully roasted.

Fresh tea freshly roasted, then brewed for companionship—a superb enjoyment.

The main steps of tea brewing are: roasting the tea, grinding it, sieving it, brewing, and serving. As for the other preliminaries—preparing vessels, selecting water, lighting fire, waiting for the broth—those were naturally handled by the servants for Li Linfu.

This Tang Left Prime Minister began with the roasting step.

"I have already spoken with Wei Jian; he is willing to take over the position of Mayor of the Capital, and I will facilitate his appointment, recommending him as Mayor. As for the role of Assistant Minister of Revenue, what are your thoughts?"

Li Linfu removed the roasted tea cake and ground it with a bamboo grinder into fine, uniformly sized particles.

Tang aristocrats, to display their 'nobility,' often displayed an extraordinary devotion to certain 'refined rituals,' thereby distinguishing themselves.

The most typical example is Li Longji, who adored music and dance and mastered the arts.

Clearly, Li Linfu's tea-brewing skill is formidable. After all, he was once young, once held low office, and once served to please others.

Li Linfu paused, watching Zheng Shuqing sit silently on a high stool, saying nothing.

"All decisions rest solely with Prime Minister Li."

Zheng Shuqing bowed low, offering a deep reverent bow.

Li Linfu hurriedly helped him up, laughing, "I will certainly keep my promise. However, the Assistant Minister of Revenue is no trivial matter, and I cannot favorably recommend you for it out of personal bias.

So then…"

"Prime Minister Li, feel free to speak plainly; I am all ears."

Zheng Shuqing, nervously clutching his cuff, stared intently at the other, his heart already lodged in his throat.

"The Ministry of Revenue has one Minister and several Assistant Ministers, each overseeing a distinct portfolio. You have never served in the Ministry, so even as an Assistant Minister you could not handle ordinary duties. Do you understand this?"

Li Linfu poured spring water into a Yixing teapot and placed it on a wind furnace to bring it to a boil.

On the surface this step seems simple, yet there is much nuance within.

The water undergoes three boils: when bubbles resembling fish eyes appear and a faint sound is heard, that is the first boil; then a proper amount of salt crystals is added for seasoning. When the water at the pot's rim surges like a spring, that marks the second boil.

A ladle scoops out a portion and sets it aside, while a bamboo tong circulates in the pot's center to stir, and a 'ze' (a measuring utensil made of bamboo or copper, spoon- or basket-shaped) measures the tea powder and pours it into the Yixing pot.

After a brief wait, the tea broth churns like a surging wave, indicating the third boil; at this point the previously set‑aside second‑boil water is poured back in to halt the boil, stopping the bubbling.

Li Linfu performed these actions in one smooth flow, looking at Zheng Shuqing with a hint of pride, awaiting his reply.

During the waiting period, he was cultivating tea froth.

Thin froth is called 'mo,' thick froth 'bo,' and the delicate light froth 'hua,' which is considered the finest.

Only after cultivating the 'tea froth' can one serve the tea, i. e., ladle the brew into a bowl.

The first boiled water is described as 'above its froth lies a water film like black mica.' This first ladled water is called 'junyong';

The subsequent first, second, and third bowls are slightly inferior in flavor;

Beyond the fourth and fifth bowls, 'only the extremely thirsty would drink them,' and the aristocracy looks down on such, refusing even to drink to the point of dying of thirst.

When serving tea, the mo and bo should be balanced to keep each bowl's flavor identical. For one liter of water, there is a saying 'serve five bowls, drinking them while hot.'

Using one 'ze' of tea powder, brew only three bowls to keep the broth fragrant; at most five bowls may be brewed.

"Please, use it!"

Li Linfu slid the white porcelain cup, set on a silver saucer, toward Zheng Shuqing—this was the first bowl of tea.

It seemed both more than a bowl of tea and merely a bowl of tea; the exact nature depended entirely on Zheng Shuqing's political acumen.

"I... will follow whatever Prime Minister Li arranges."

Zheng Shuqing clenched his teeth, lifted the cup, endured the slightly hot tea, and drank it down in one gulp!

It must have been good tea, but it was too hot to discern the flavor!

"This Assistant Minister of Revenue does nothing else but manage central finances and supply the campaigns in Hexi. Do you have confidence to take over?"

Li Linfu withdrew his smile and asked softly.

"I am willing!"

Zheng Shuqing suppressed his excitement, speaking in a near‑growl.

Taking this step puts one on the fast track. An excellent Assistant Minister of Revenue becomes Minister of Revenue, and the Minister can directly ascend to Prime Minister!

If he can reach that position, he is only two steps away from Li Linfu!

Moreover, the Ministry of Revenue is a place where one can easily achieve results—or cause chaos, depending on one's ability.

Here, you cannot be a loafer like Mr. Nan Guo!

"In the next few days, draft a financial memorial. If it is well written, this prime minister will forward it to the Emperor and then recommend you as Assistant Minister of Revenue; that should pose no problem.

Otherwise, the Emperor would surely mind your earlier refusal to become Mayor of the Capital."

Li Linfu lifted the cup, took a sip, and indeed the fragrance filled the air.

"This method does seem reliable..."

Zheng Shuqing said with a worried expression.

The court's financial management actually comprises two aspects.

The first aspect is to make good use of collected taxes, employing them scientifically so they are not lost during transport.

This is what Zheng Shuqing wishes to do, and he believes he is capable.

The other aspect can be summed up in two characters: 'making money.'

In short, as long as it does not provoke rebellion, one should freely make money.

Of course, the money we skim must be lawful and compliant; by setting simple rules we can achieve the goal without much fuss.

It sounds simple, but it's like people from different eras answering the same quiz question that has multiple answers.

Easy problems have already been solved by predecessors!

The hard ones offend people; either no one will do them, or the officials who draft and enforce them are overthrown by conservative forces, leading to officials' removal and the cause dying out.

He wouldn't engage in such profiteering!

"Do you have any difficulty? The position of Deputy Minister of Revenue—if you have a problem, I can recommend someone else, then reassign you to a lower post. It's all up to you; I don't mind."

"People like Wang Hong are very interested in this post; I won't make things hard for you."

Li Linfu said slowly, and poured another cup of tea for Zheng Shuqing—this was the second cup.

Zheng Shuqing had a premonition that after Li Linfu finished these three cups of tea, he would see them off.

"I will return now to make preparations."

He stood, gave Li Linfu a deep bow, then turned and left.

"This position is no trivial matter; forcing your way up is risky. Delaying the saint's great affairs, you won't have enough heads to chop. Think it over and come back tomorrow to reply me."

From behind Zheng Shuqing, Li Linfu's cold, faint instructions drifted.

……

"In short, that's how it is, then this, then that, and finally it comes back."

Inside the Fang family residence in Yongjia Fang, Tang, Fang Chongyong patiently recounted everything that had happened over the past three days to Zhang Xun and the others.

As he spoke, he gestured, even recounting how Li Longji had ordered the Ministry of Rites to ruin Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan's civil service prospects.

"Even if we fail this year, Zhang's connections are blocked, Yan Tingzhi has been dismissed, the court is turbulent; at this moment, passing the exam may not be a good thing."

Li Kui couldn't help but sigh.

He was, of course, unwilling to accept it; he had thought this exam was a sure thing, yet so many setbacks arose. The patron who promised to recommend him fell, and the emperor himself rebuked him; the difficulty of the exam path was beyond his prior expectations.

But Li Kui wasn't worried at all, because after this "political investment" he was surely "registered" with Li Longji, and might later be "promoted beyond his rank".

Who can know what the future holds?

"We have no problem; we just didn't expect the Fang Jiedushi's face to be so big."

Xu Yuan also couldn't help but sigh; they had thought Fang Chongyong would be dead or near death after imprisonment, yet he was released after three days. Still, thinking of it, a half‑grown child did something that won the people's hearts.

"If Li Longji were to 'severely punish', wouldn't that perfectly prove to the world that he indeed lacks magnanimity and merely vents his fury on a child?"

Li Longji has been emperor for decades, raised amid palace intrigue, and certainly wouldn't make such a low‑level mistake.

"Young master, your safe return today is cause for celebration. I will now bring the wine and dishes."

Fang Dafu grabbed the dazed Fang Laique, smiled, and greeted Fang Chongyong.

Soon the first dish arrived; aside from Fang Chongyong, Li Kui and the others were slightly stunned.

"This Jushengnu, we rarely eat at home; mainly the cook is incompetent, wasting good food."

Li Kui pointed at the 'dish' Fang Dafu placed on the table and remarked that it resembled the northern 'fried dough sticks' from Fang Chongyong's past life, though only in shape.

"Jushengnu is made by mixing flour with water, cow or goat milk, and honey, or substituting the honey with boiled red‑date broth, then deep‑frying until set, finally sprinkling with Jusheng."

Li Kui explained while breaking off a segment and placing it on Fang Chongyong's plate; the tiny grains stuck to it looked oddly familiar to Fang Chongyong.

Those are just black sesame! Yet they call it 'Jusheng', such a grand name!

Fang Chongyong chewed a piece of Jushengnu; the milky fragrance and fruity sweetness instantly filled his mouth—far tastier than Li Kui described!

No one spoke; in a few bites they devoured the dessert. The marvel of Jushengnu lies in its 'world within'; the fried crust merely locks in the flavor.

Fang Chongyong thought, Zheng Shuqing had also hired a famous chef; the ingredients were rich and costly. But in pure culinary skill, Fang Dafu's cooking far surpasses that 'renowned chef'.

The loss was simply that they lacked the money to buy such expensive ingredients.

Soon Fang Dafu brought another 'dish', still an unconventional shape; apart from a scant broth, the plate held only strings of 'sausage', plain and unadorned.

"This is Tonghua Soft Beef Sausage! This…this…"

Li Kui stammered; this dish was so impressive that only at a post‑examination 'Shouwei banquet' could one see it. He'd only tasted it once in his life!

"Tonghua Soft Beef Sausage" is made by mixing lamb bone marrow with minced lamb, stuffing it into beef intestine; the filling's composition and spice blend are secret, each chef's version differs.

Such dishes aren't about 'showmanship'. Many mediocre chefs can mimic the appearance, but a single bite reveals the master versus the rookie.

Average chefs wouldn't dare serve this dish, fearing damage to their reputation.

Fang Chongyong originally thought that launching 'stir‑fry' in Chang'an would dominate the culinary scene and set trends. Now he sees it isn't so.

Tang aristocrats ate so well that cast‑iron pots weren't exotic; they surely knew the stir‑fry method.

The Chinese pursuit of food is unparalleled and tireless. Even in Lingnan, where proper cookware is scarce, locals invented a 'soil pot', slightly less durable but still effective.

Stir‑fry never flourished because the accompanying stir‑fry techniques never developed; the dishes produced lacked competitiveness in the highly advanced, flourishing Tang culinary world, so they left no record.

As for oil scarcity, the aristocracy faced none; they even loved fried foods! Frying requires no less oil than stir‑frying!

The problem with stir‑fry is that it needs not only a pan but also matching seasonings, processes, and social demand.

And skill improvement requires inheritance and the grind of time.

In other words, stir‑fry isn't impossible; it's just that the lower classes can't afford pricey oil, while the aristocracy, accustomed to delicacies, have their stomachs filled by myriad fancy cuisines, leaving no drive to develop stir‑fry.

Moreover, they especially dislike vegetables!

Frankly, if Fang Chongyong tried to develop stir‑fry in Chang'an's restaurant scene, he'd lose everything, crushed by the city's exquisitely refined other cooking styles.

Seeing Li Kui, Xu Yuan, and Zhang Xun eating with bliss, Fang Chongyong let go of his tangled thoughts and let out a light sigh.

Another money‑making path was blocked—what a pity.

Fang Chongyong couldn't stop sighing, watching Fang Dafu bring out dish after dish he'd never even seen, feeling his heart bleed.

It seemed the massive profit lost from not being able to stir‑fry turned into a river of silver and gold flowing away from him.

At that moment, Fang Laique rushed from the gatehouse and whispered in Fang Chongyong's ear, "Sir, the poor ghost from Kui Zhou who keeps asking us for money has arrived."

Kui Zhou? Poor ghost?

Fang Chongyong stared, still not having come to his senses, not knowing who Fang Laique was talking about.

"Can you, as the messenger, refrain from adding your own judgment and just say plainly who it is?"

Fang Chongyong lowered his voice and rebuked him with an unhappy expression.

"It's Zheng Shuqing who came, and he even brought a whole oxcart of gifts; he's probably come to repay a debt."

Fang Laique said this rather proudly.

"Night Owl comes to my place only when he wants something; he definitely has no good intentions when he looks for me, sigh!"

Fang Chongyong wondered to himself, the Zheng family certainly has no shortage of concubines; having arrived in Chang'an, this bustling world, it's getting late, he should go back to cuddle with a concubine and enjoy the moon—why does he come looking for me, a half-grown child, in the evening?

The ward gates are all closed now—he must be planning to stay overnight!

Fang Chongyong helplessly rose and said to everyone, "A guest has come; I'll go check first and then we'll talk."