Chapter 94: Meeting the Mother-in-law and a New Project (Part 1)

  Liang Sanping is now unaware of his own report, causing Ye Jianwen and Liao Bin to fall into a depression. He is now smiling and drinking tea at his mother-in-law's house, watching as his mother-in-law looks at him with admiration.

  Liang Sanping felt a sense of emotion. His mother-in-law, Yang Yun, did not have the white hair of later generations, and at this time, she was only in her late forties, still with a head of black hair. However, her face had gradually become wrinkled due to the hardships of family life.

  "Little Liang, come on in... sit down! Now that you're here, it's just like being at your own home. Don't be polite!" The mother-in-law looked at her son-in-law, the more she looked, the more satisfied she became. These words were truly not false, Yang Yun now felt this way when looking at Liang Sanping.

  The more I look, the more satisfied I am. This young man smiles very warmly. Where is the ferocity and evilness that those people outside said? Moreover, he is polite and knows to greet me first when entering the door.

  Such a young man is rare nowadays, and he sits down honestly. It's just a warm smile, no extra movement. Steady! This is Yang Yun's first impression of Liang Sanping.

  "Auntie, sorry to trouble you. Is there anything I can help with?" Liang Sanping stood up and bowed slightly towards Yang Yun, asking. Yang Yun smiled and waved her hand in response.

  "Where do you need me to work?! You big man, just drink tea here. Chat with Xiaofeng more, I can handle those dishes by myself." Yet Yang Yun smiled and busied herself, while Li Feng sitting beside her had a flushed face looking at him.

  A faint noise came from outside the door, Liang Sanping smiled slightly but didn't look over. He knew it was Li Feng's three sisters and one brother.

  Li Feng's family was not well-off, although it was a dual-income household. But they had to bear the expenses of five children's food, clothing and education, which was no small expense! However, Li Feng and his family never wore patched clothes, never went hungry, and never owed tuition fees.

  All of this was achieved by Yang Yun and her husband, who worked hard with their bare hands. They gritted their teeth and never borrowed a single penny from anyone. It was all thanks to their own efforts and the help of these sensible children that they were able to support this family.

  "Third sister, is that brother-in-law?!" Little sister Li Zhen curiously looked at the living room's Liang Sanping and asked her third sister. Second sister Li Qing then rolled her eyes and said: "Of course it is! Otherwise, why would big sister be sitting with him there?"

  Liang Sanping just smiled when he heard these words. These were still children, and even their eldest sister was not yet eighteen years old. Indeed, Liang Sanping himself was also very young.

  But his mental age was older than all these children combined. And Li Feng's face turned even redder after hearing her siblings' gossip, and she glared fiercely at the door, causing her siblings to scatter immediately.

  She still has the dignity of a big sister, and the children at home all respect her. Offending Big Sister is something to be reckoned with. There's no room for argument. Now that Big Sister is getting angry, they naturally have to hurry up and get out of the way.

  "Sanping, don't be angry. They are still kids and don't understand things..." Li Feng saw that Liang Sanping was looking at her and couldn't help but lower her head to say softly to Liang Sanping: "Just bear with them for a bit, they didn't mean any harm..."

  "What's the big deal?! They're just kids, it's normal for them to speak casually!" Liang Sanping smiled and said to Li Feng: "Besides, they didn't say anything out of line! Being curious about what their sister's husband looks like is normal, isn't it?!"

  Li Fenghong's face turned red and she didn't say a word, while at this time Li Tingbang who was working outside came back. Liang Sanping quickly stood up to greet him, while Li Tingbang nodded his head with a smile and said "I'm back". Then he sat down.

  Li Feng saw her father return and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. At least here, her father wouldn't be so awkward, although she usually had times when she was alone with Liang Sanping.

  But that was all outside, and there were hardly any opportunities for the two of them to be alone together at home. Not to mention that there was a group of younger brothers and sisters watching from outside the door, which made Li Feng feel even more unnatural.

  "Dad, I'll go help mom with the cooking. You and... just sit for now." Li Tingbang smiled at his daughter, who couldn't even mention Liang Sanping's name in front of him. He chuckled and said: "Go ahead! Go ahead! Make a few more dishes and stir-fry all the eggs. Today I'll have a good drink with Sanping, I've never been to Beijing before! Later I'll ask Sanping what Beijing is like."

  Li Feng nodded and ran down. The younger brothers and sisters hiding outside the door saw their sister come out with gritted teeth, and they all scattered in a flash. Li Feng glared at the backs of her younger brothers and sisters, and reluctantly went to the kitchen to help her mother Yang Yun.

  Li Feng's home was not wealthy, so the furnishings were very simple. In the small triangular tile house, there was a bed that Li Tingbang and Yang Yun had asked their comrades to help make when they got married. A set of combined cabinets.

  Behind the combination cabinet is a long sofa. When this long sofa is put down, it becomes a sofa bed. Guests can rest here when they come. Usually, it's just a sofa when folded up.

  In front of the sofa is a large wooden table with four legs that are forked apart. This serves as both a tea table when guests come and a dining table at meal times.

  Out of the living room/bedroom is a shared courtyard, where everyone can see each other across from their rooms. Behind the courtyard is the kitchen.

  A stove burning firewood, with a large pot on top. This is the three-stove stove that can often be seen in farmhouses at this time, one for cooking rice, one for stir-frying dishes, and the largest one for boiling water to take baths.

  Of course, also boil water and put it in a thermos. Usually drink by yourself, when guests come to make tea. At that time, tea was also a luxury, everyone had some at home but usually didn't dare to drink it on ordinary days.

  Li Tingbang and others, even when they went out to work, often carried only plain water. Occasionally, as a treat for themselves, the most they would do was grab a small handful of tea leaves and toss them into an iron kettle to take with them to drink.

  Only when guests arrive, they will take it out and soak it for the guests to drink. Savoring the tea carefully, Liang Sanping couldn't help but sigh at the richness of the tea at this time. Compared to those teas that were later irrigated with pesticides and fertilizers, it was much stronger.

  As he sipped his tea, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Liang Sanping's mind! He had always been preoccupied with vegetables, but had forgotten about a huge consumer product in Asia, especially in Japan and Korea, which were once greatly influenced by China - tea!

  According to statistics, Japan's national tea consumption in 2006 was over 130,000 tons. The per capita tea consumption is over 1,100 grams. Due to the limited arable land in Japan, the production of tea is not high either.

  In Japan, domestic tea production is only 91,800 tons. The remaining tens of thousands of tons all need to be imported to meet demand.

  Less well-known is that apart from Japan, the United States was also once one of China's largest tea importers.

  In 1777, America was at war with Britain and some hidden tea was discovered in a cellar in the woods. A letter was immediately written to Washington asking how to dispose of the tea.

  As it happened, Washington himself was a tea enthusiast and wrote back, "Have them deliver it to headquarters for the use of the army," with the precious leaves to be distributed according to rank.

  When he first arrived in China, Samuel Shaw was only 29 years old. In 1786, he was appointed as the American Consul to Guangzhou. He came to China three times after the maiden voyage of "Empress of China".

  Based on his observations, he suggested that Americans were mainly engaged in the tea trade, "Americans cannot do without tea, and the consumption of tea will necessarily increase with the growth of domestic population".

  From 1785 to 1895, tea was the largest commodity in Sino-American trade. In 1784, the "Empress of China" carried only over 3,000 chests of tea, but by 1799, the quantity had increased tenfold to 33,769 chests.

  By 1833, the bilateral tea trade had reached 100,000 piculs, and by 1836 it had doubled to 200,000 piculs. In the following decades, the proportion of tea in total US exports from China exceeded 60%, sometimes reaching as high as 90%.

  But after 1904, when Americans invented tea bags, Chinese loose-leaf tea became an antique in the American market, "the three words 'Chinese Tea' have become a relic of the past".

  However, over time, although the US is still the second largest country for Chinese tea exports, the proportion of Americans who consume tea has decreased significantly. Americans no longer like to brew tea or pour loose-leaf tea. They prefer tea bags, coffee, or cola instead.

  Even some tea-drinking crowds have been influenced by British tea-drinking habits. They are used to adding ice cubes, milk and sugar to their tea. They do not like to brew tea leaves or pour out the tea dregs.

  "Sanping, what are you thinking about?!" Li Tingbang was chatting with him just fine when suddenly Liang Sanping couldn't help but ask. It wasn't until then that Liang Sanping came back to his senses and saw him smiling at Li Tingbang.

  Nothing much, I just thought of this tea. Liang Sanping drank his tea, but his mind was racing rapidly. He hadn't forgotten that in 2004, he had evaluated the "Guanyin Wang" in Yangcheng.

  At that time, the third lot of Tieguanyin Wang, which was considered to be one of the best three Tieguanyin Kings in terms of quality, was sold at a sky-high price of 3000 yuan per 500g by Mika from Japan. This caused a huge sensation at that time.

  This year, the minimum wage in Shanghai, China's most developed city, is 690 yuan. In other words, for those who earn the minimum wage, this 500g pack of tea leaves is equivalent to more than four months' work!

  "What's so good about this tea?!" But Li Tingbang smiled and said to Liang Sanping, "This is the tea produced in the tea garden of the autonomous prefecture's capital!"

  "This tea has won several awards, it must be good to drink." Li Tingbang smiled and said to Liang Sanping: "When I go back to my hometown, I'll bring some with me to give to people. There are even people in my hometown who specifically telegram me to send some back for them!"