Chapter 179: Fox Master

After tasting the roasted Tieguanyin that Yu Xueqing handed him, An Sheng explained from both an academic and craftsmanship perspective why this Tieguanyin tasted bad, while openly criticizing her poor and immature processing techniques.

But An Sheng's critique, when it reached Yu Xueqing's mind, instantly simplified into:

'Master! Master! Don't drink this! Wow! It tastes like chewing on burnt pine needles—Fox Fox's mouth and tongue are numb, it's neither fragrant nor sweet, nothing like our home's sweet water.'

'Fox Fox feels like she just ate a mouthful of ash!'

After thinking it over, Yu Xueqing, summarizing her own impression of this roasted Tieguanyin, addressed the livestream:

'After our Fox Master's in-depth evaluation, he bluntly said it's like bumping your nose into a wall of ash!'

As soon as Yu Xueqing spoke, a few question marks drifted lazily across the livestream.

Meanwhile, the tourists around the tea stall froze, then instinctively nodded—they felt her description, though strange, was oddly accurate.

Tea that has not undergone the annealing process still carries a harsh, smoky bitterness and an astringent alkaline aftertaste.

Isn't that exactly like bumping your nose into a wall of ash?

'That's a pretty good description—your palate's sharp.'

The tea stall owner, upon seeing Yu Xueqing, didn't fly into a rage despite her pointing out the product's flaws; instead, he said with interest: 'I remember you—you're that little one from Ah Hong's family, right?'

'You're absolutely right—my roasted Tieguanyin hasn't undergone conventional de-firing; it's made with a new process, but the final product still fails to meet the standard for either roasted or light-aroma Tieguanyin.'

'Currently, light-aroma Tieguanyin dominates half the market, while electric-roasted Tieguanyin has carved out another portion—even traditional charcoal-roasted Tieguanyin favors light roasting.'

'But there's still a market for deep roasting. My factory often receives complaints like this, so we've been trying to improve the process. This batch is an experimental tea, and we're here for the tea duel and discussion.'

The tea stall owner beamed, praised Yu Xueqing's sharp palate, and introduced her to the surrounding tea drinkers.

Everyone here was either a tea drinker or a tea merchant—he didn't bother explaining basic details.

The Tieguanyin market was enormous, once wildly popular across Dajiangnanbei.

But what became popular was 'light-aroma Tieguanyin.'

This was a product of cost-cutting, and due to immature processing, drinking too much caused acid reflux and vomiting, similar to drunkenness.

Meanwhile, the most traditional, authentic 'roasted Tieguanyin' was abandoned because its complex production hindered profits.

As the capital frenzy faded, true Tieguanyin lovers were stunned to discover that traditional deep-roasted Tieguanyin had vanished from the market.

This is the history of Tieguanyin—this tea factory owner saw this market gap and developed a new process to target the lower-tier market.

But improving a process isn't something you can achieve just by opening your mouth.

How to simplify the process while preserving flavor, or balance cost and price, is a heavy problem.

Old Chen, the tea factory owner, came here to set up a stall primarily to listen to tea drinkers' opinions, consult experts with formal training, and determine his next improvement direction.

He came to the tail market to make money, not to jump into a pit and make contributions.

So when he heard Yu Xueqing's critique, he felt no anger—instead, he showed keen interest and asked her for suggestions on improving this tea.

'Uh…'

Seeing the village elder invite her to sit down and discuss 【deep-roasted Tieguanyin improvement and feedback】, Yu Xueqing's gaze drifted, slightly embarrassed.

She could brew and drink tea fine, but when it came to the core processing techniques, she was a complete outsider.

The tea-making process wasn't hard, but she didn't understand the meaning of each step or the corresponding chemical formulas.

【???】

Meanwhile, in Yu Xueqing's livestream, which she hadn't been paying attention to, question marks began multiplying.

According to the usual plot tropes, shouldn't Yu Xueqing's blunt remarks have provoked an angry owner who stormed out in a tantrum?

Then, scolded her for lacking experience—how dare she, after drinking tea for a few years, point fingers so boldly?

Finally, wouldn't she be driven to tears by the owner's insults, only for the crowd to intervene with righteous mob justice?

But now, the owner was politely inviting her to sit down and discuss the future of the tea industry and deep-roasted Tieguanyin?

The livestream viewers were utterly baffled, so they started flooding the chat with question marks.

Mo Yiqing, who had been watching the livestream closely, seeing what looked like a potential conflict point, said nothing—just instantly dropped a Note No. into Yu Xueqing's livestream to boost its heat and help her climb the rankings.

'So that's the story—take a look at your own taste and give me some feedback.'

Old Chen from the tea factory opened his notebook, ready to record this sharp-tongued girl's opinion as market research.

Hearing this, Yu Xueqing instinctively glanced at the little fox on her shoulder.

'Why are you looking at me? Look at him! Get Uncle to pay me fifty thousand in tea money for my throat, or why should I give him free advice?'

'Yu Xueqing, seize the chance to make money!' The little fox's muffled squeaks continued as it leapt, light as a feather, onto the tea table, wearing an expression of pride.

Then.

Under the confused stares of Old Chen, the tea drinkers, and the livestream viewers, the little fox sniffed the dozen or so tea bowls and teas brewed at different steeping levels.

'Ying ying ying!'

The little fox turned to Yu Xueqing, raised its paw, and tapped three times on one of the covered bowls.

'You want me to scoop three spoonfuls of this tea and pour it into a high-iron-content Jianzhan?'

After hearing An Sheng's squeaks, Yu Xueqing froze, then turned to the stall owner. The owner, bewildered and sweating, instinctively turned aside and pulled a high-iron-content Jianzhan from a storage box.

Jianzhan was originally one of Xia Dong's specialties.

But compared to Da Hong Pao, Jianzhan's reputation wasn't nearly as prominent.

'Ying ying!'

The little fox trotted to another fairness cup, tapped it, and Yu Xueqing hurried over, using a disposable spoon to scoop out the corresponding tea infusion.

Then, the little fox jumped under the table, rummaged through the storage box, pulled out two packets of tea leaves, carried them in its mouth to Yu Xueqing, and signaled her to brew.

Under everyone's stunned stares, the little fox directed Yu Xueqing to blend a new pot of hot tea—about three hundred milliliters—using fresh leaves and fresh infusions.

'Ying ying ying!'

The little fox lifted its head high, exposing its chest and neck, and patted the 【blended deep-roasted Tieguanyin】 as it flowed through the Jianzhan and settled into the tea bowl.

'Xiao An says you should try it,' Yu Xueqing said softly, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

(End of Chapter)