Xiangbei first concentrated her mental energy to pluck the green shoots from the treetops in her space, filling three or four baskets. She moved them all to a bamboo mat beside the hot spring camp.
After allowing them to wilt naturally for half an hour, she bunched them together and slowly kneaded them until they turned a deep green. She then spread them out in bunches on the bamboo mat, covering them layer by layer with cotton cloth moistened with honey water. This fermentation process would take four to six hours.
Prepared with a cast-iron stove for fixing, Xiangbei used slate and clay to construct a small shack for smoking and roasting. With some pine wood collected, and still having time before the next step, she decided to make some thin silk face masks to add to the new product list.
After all, earning money from women had always been the most reliable, an enduring truth throughout history, hasn't it?
Below the cliff, near the mulberry tree grove, the silkworms placed on the trees had evidently multiplied on their own.
Empty shells from hatched cocoons and newly spun transparent silkworm babies mixed together, alongside large double-layered silk cocoons hanging from the branches.
She separated the empty shells from the new cocoons into two baskets, and the mulberry branches, cut into arm-length pieces, into another basket. Xiangbei left everything directly under the lodge's sleeping quarters in the mountain village, ready to be taken as luggage on her way down, to be planted by the hunters in the estate when they rise early.
As the time approached, Xiangbei quickly killed the fermented tea leaves in a hot iron pot over a small fire. She spread them all in the stone shack, allowing them to slowly dry until they turned deep red with a hint of black – the first batch of ancient tree small-leaf red tea was ready!
Now she could enjoy her favorite pearl milk tea with a subtle honey sweetness. Ah, but there was no cow's milk; she decided to use goat's milk.
Heading to the hot spring valley where she had placed the group of sheep and spotted deer, she noticed several new lambs and fawns. Unable to wait any longer, Xiangbei used her mental energy to control one of the ewes, quickly milking half a bucket of milk.
She rushed back to the camp, added some red tea to the fire, infused the milk, filtered it with a bamboo net, sweetened it with honey, and poured it back and forth between two bamboo tubes for a silky matcha flavor. Adding some pearls would make it even more delightful.
Xiangbei cut some sugarcane, boiled it down into a thick syrup, and gathered some arrowroot and sweet potatoes in a basket, placing it outside the lodge. After moving other items out, she left them in the bedroom, then simply brewed some tea with hot spring water, washed up, and headed downstairs.
"Sister, sister!" She heard the excited shout just as she stepped down a couple of stairs. Looking up at the sky, barely lit by the dawn, Xiangbei had a moment of confusion. How did this person find her here? Could it be that he was no longer foolish?
"He woke up and insisted on finding his sister. He searched through the kitchen, stove house, and the courtyard for half the night, waking up everyone in the eastern courtyard. The female guests had difficulty with their morning routines, so I had to promise to bring him over and wait for you." Tong Xi stepped out from behind him, explaining with a hint of helplessness. Even in the dim light, his exhaustion was evident.
"Leave him to me. Go back and get some rest." Xiangbei waved and led the excited, seemingly naive guy upstairs, resembling a little puppy thrilled to see her. She took him into her own bedroom, leaving Tong Xi momentarily stunned. After hesitating for a while, she turned away from the staircase without saying a word and stood outside.
Xiangbei poured a large cup of hot milk tea for the guy, watching him drink with sheer delight. His childlike smile revealed satisfaction.
She thought if this flavor could genuinely win his simple heart, Cheng Mo should be able to accept it too. She returned the remaining milk tea to the Jade Snowflake Cave, handed a large basket to the guy, took a smaller one for herself, and grabbed the thick planning book. Then, with him in tow, she headed downstairs.
Freeing up one hand, Xiangbei and the guy lifted a bamboo basket filled with mulberry branches from the corner as they walked out. She noticed Tong Xi standing quietly, gazing at the growing number of figures in the distance.
"Tong Xi, thank you." In that instant, Xiangbei understood. This refined and slender young man silently guarded her reputation in the chilly early morning. Apart from his care for her, he demonstrated a delicate understanding that set him apart from the others.
Tong Xi didn't say anything, just nodded gently, helping lift the various baskets and containers downstairs. On the way, they encountered a few people getting ready to go to the oil workshop.
Xiangbei asked the brothers to carry the arrowroot, cassava, and sweet potatoes to the stone mill for peeling and grinding. Then, accompanied by several hunting sisters and aunts, they went to the terraced fields outside the village to plant mulberry branches.