The tea garden is too big, Qiyou's intention was to just take a rough look and it wasn't necessary to spend time walking through the whole thing. People who don't understand tea would say that, Hua Ruchu didn't have much temper, she just stated her reason.

  "I want to go and see the tea trees, also want to find out if there are any varieties different from those in the south."

  Qī Yòu looked at Qī Jūn, who nodded in understanding. "I've had my men thoroughly search the area after taking over, there's no danger here, Young Master can rest assured."

  "Let's go, you still have another appointment, time is limited."

  Hua's face lit up with a smile, her footsteps light and quick as she walked beside Qi You. If there weren't outsiders around, she would have even spun around in circles to express her joy - today Qi You was really too awesome.

  Seeing her excitement, Qi You's mood also relaxed, "You really understand tea?"

  Hua Ru shook her head, "I don't really understand it, I just like drinking tea. At the time, I also spent some effort to look up various materials for making tea, and I still remember a bit."

  "Why is there still a difference between tea in the north and south?"

  "It rains more in the south, and tea trees can grow better in that environment. The north has less rain, so the quality of the tea leaves may not be as good as Yangzhou's, but I've never had it before, so I don't know if that's true."

  Qī Yòu furrowed his brow, "Can't compare in terms of quality?"

  Just by looking at his expression, I knew what he was thinking. Smiling, "Ordinary people can't tell the difference, don't worry, besides, tea can be made in many ways, I used to only care about my own taste, but this tea garden is so big, it's enough for me to think of other things, no matter which one, it won't be worse than brick tea."

  That look of disdain pleased Qi You, his expression didn't change much, but his tone was noticeably softer, "The Crown Prince presented the tea leaves and both the Emperor and Empress Dowager liked them very much. The Crown Prince wanted to reward you, I declined on your behalf."

  "What's it to you? Can't you get some benefits?"

  "The prince's gain is my gain."

  Hua Ru's face twitched as she rolled her eyes, "That's too ridiculous."

  Qī Yòu understood her meaning, but couldn't say it more clearly. His future, and even the future of the Qī estate, were all tied to the Crown Prince. Everything he and the Crown Prince's supporters did was for the purpose of benefiting the Crown Prince, until they helped him ascend to that position.

  Once the crown prince ascends to the throne, they can gain real benefits, and by then, the Qi manor will be able to turn things around.

  Hua Ru Chu no longer spoke to him and seriously squatted down to look at the tea tree. Her understanding of the tea tree was only superficial, but she still knew more than others.

  Picked a few tender shoots and looked at them for a while, then called Yun Shu over, "Don't you think they're longer than the ones from Yangzhou?"

  "It seems like it's going to take a bit longer."

  What tea is best for long leaf pieces? Hua Ru's mind turned quickly and immediately had several ideas.

  "Qí Jūn, do you know how many years this tea tree has?"

  "This small one has been asked clearly, the previous boss said that the oldest is about 20 years old, and what you are looking at now is around seven years old."

  "Not bad, where is twenty years ago? Take me there to have a look."

  "Yes, follow me." Qi Jun stole a glance at his master and led the way with a slight bow. Indeed, as Qi An said, the master was different towards Young Madam. It was unclear whether they were used to it or didn't notice, but Young Madam didn't ask for the master's opinion on everything, and the master didn't get angry at her lack of propriety. On the contrary, it seemed... indulgent.

  "Master, young madam, it's just here."

  In contrast to the lush tea trees earlier, this patch gives a sense of late autumn, with tender buds just barely emerging, carrying fine down that's almost invisible.

  Qī Yòu stretched out his hand and touched it, "How come it's growing so slowly?"

  Hua Ru carefully compared them with her limited knowledge, "The variety is probably different from the one earlier. I can't be specific, but some tea trees are late-maturing varieties, maybe the flavor will be better."

  "Are you confident in doing it?"

  "I'm not sure."

  Qijun's mouth twitched, this answer was also too straightforward and arrogant.

  Qī Yòu didn't say anything, he just looked at her.

  Hua Ru Chu scratched the itch on her face, "I really didn't have a grasp of it. When I first started making tea in Yangzhou, I also didn't have a grasp and wasted a lot before succeeding. This tea garden is so big, wasting some shouldn't be a problem, right?"

  Yun Shu wanted to go forward and help the young lady wipe off the mud on her face, but when she caught sight of her husband's expression, she immediately froze like a mountain, pretending not to have seen anything, while secretly signaling to Qiu Zhen and others with a wave of her hand.

  "As long as it can be managed."

  "I'll try my best, let's go somewhere else and take a look."

  "Wait." Qi You leaned in close to her, pinched her sleeve and wiped it against her face several times, it hurt a bit, Hua Ruochi subconsciously wanted to dodge.

  "Don't move." He changed sleeves and wiped again, the mud dried under body heat and wasn't easy to wipe away. If only he had wiped it off when he first discovered it, Qiyou silently regretted in his heart.

  Hua Ru Chu knew that there must be something on her face, but why was it Qi You who came to wipe it off instead of her maid?

  "Alright, your hands are dirty, stop wiping them on your face."

  Opened his hand and took a look, indeed got quite a bit of mud on it. Took out a handkerchief to wipe it clean, but still couldn't get it completely clean. Forget it, I'll just go wash it when I get down the mountain.

  A group of people climbed over several small hills, but didn't find the precious tea trees they had imagined. Instead, everyone got a foot of mud.

  Seeing that the usually meticulous man's shoes and clothes were all stained with mud, Hua Ruyi also didn't want to run around the mountain anymore, so she let Qi Jun take her down the mountain.

  "Little one, go fetch some water, and ask the master and mistress to wait for a moment."

  "Qiu Jin, go and help."

  "Yes."

  The sun was shining brightly overhead, and almost everyone had broken a sweat. The water that Qi Jun and Qiu Dian had fetched was cool and refreshing, making one feel like taking a big gulp.

  Seeing Qi You turn his back to wipe his face, Hua Ruochu secretly scooped up a bit and sent it into her mouth. Yun Shu just wanted to stop her, but was glared at by Hua Ruochu with a single glance, and could only watch as his own young mistress drank raw water.

  As soon as the water entered his mouth, his original cool thoughts instantly disappeared, and his eyes sparkled brightly.

  "Qí Jūn, where did this water come from?"

  Qijun was attending to his master when he heard her ask, and hastily looked over to reply: "It's just the water drawn from that well over there, Young Mistress. Is this water not clean?"

  Hua Ru's head shook like a rattle drum, "I think I've discovered something earth-shattering."

  Qī Yòu looked at the lady who was obviously more lively than in the mansion, with more words, more smiles, lighter footsteps, and even better spirits. Marrying him actually restrained her.

  "What's good?"

  "Don't tell me for now, Qi Jun, is there anything that can hold water? Fill some up for me, I want to take it away."

  Since the master didn't object, Qi Jun went inside and brought out a gourd. Although it was a bit small, Hua Ruochu endured it for now, she would try it first and if it really worked as she imagined, then someone could be called to bring a wooden bucket to fill it up.

  P.S: I've been typing like crazy and forgot to update, so here's one more chapter. Tomorrow it goes on sale! My dear readers, I've saved up a bit of draft, hoping to maintain the double updates. Also, I hope you'll all support Guigui.