Chapter 26: This Is Profiteering!

Chapter 26: This is Profiteering!

"County Magistrate Lin, I was just thinking about that, but I haven't found a location yet, nor have I handled the paperwork," Lu Feng replied, seizing the opportunity the moment Lin Xuecheng spoke.

Since the conversation had reached this point, it would be remiss of the Deputy County Magistrate not to offer some assistance, wouldn't it?

Hearing that Lu Feng already had the intention, Lin Xuecheng immediately turned to Huang Yuan, who was standing nearby. "Xiao Huang, follow up on this tea factory for Boss Lu. I will make a call later to give some instructions."

Caught off guard by the order, Huang Yuan responded with delight, "Understood, Magistrate Lin."

This was effectively a chance to run errands for the magistrate himself. To him, this was an absolute blessing that others would beg for. He had never expected that doing a favor for his childhood friend, Da Fei, would end up yielding such benefits.

"Boss Lu, I won't disturb you any further. There are still matters to attend to at the county office." Without lingering, Lin Xuecheng left, taking the two pouches of "Qingfeng" tea with him.

Lu Feng personally saw him downstairs. At the entrance, Lin Xuecheng seemed to recall something and added, "Boss Lu, when the factory opens, remember to send some of the first batch of tea to the county office. The county can try to help your tea apply for inclusion in the Intangible Cultural Heritage list for traditional tea arts!"

"Understood, Magistrate Lin," Lu Feng replied with a beaming smile.

These were the returns he could expect, including having someone handle the paperwork for the factory.

After Lin Xuecheng left, Yang Ming and his group approached. Yang Ming asked with curiosity, "Xiao Feng, what was this factory the magistrate was talking about just now?"

Lu Feng explained, "It's a tea factory. I can produce this Qingfeng tea myself, so I plan to open a factory."

Da Fei was stunned. "Young Master Feng, you can actually produce the Qingfeng tea we've been selling?"

"Yes, I'll let you take a share in the factory when it opens," Lu Feng said with a nod and a smile.

Since Da Fei understood the tea business, it made sense to have him manage the factory and offer him a stake. Besides, he had always intended to repay his cousin and his friends by helping them get on the right track. With the formula for Qingfeng tea, the factory was guaranteed to be profitable. If his cousin and the others wanted to invest, giving them a share was only natural. He didn't care much about the equity of a single factory; after all, with the *After the Apocalypse* game world, he would continue to acquire many such life skills. Furthermore, beyond items like gold, he would certainly have opportunities to obtain other technologies from the game world. Most importantly, with his cousin and the others holding shares, he wouldn't have to worry about the factory's operations, and no one would dare to cause trouble.

"Young Master Feng, I can invest too?" Da Fei asked, his face full of joy. He knew the tea industry best and was well aware that being able to produce this kind of Qingfeng tea meant the factory would be a gold mine. Even if he had to beg his parents to mortgage their house, he would invest.

Lu Feng nodded firmly to Da Fei and instructed, "Now, go buy some materials for me, and then prepare some tea leaves and a place for stir-frying." He pulled out a pen and paper, wrote down the required materials, and handed the list to Da Fei. "See if you can find all these. Once you have them, prepare the tea and the workspace."

The reason Qingfeng tea tasted so good wasn't actually due to the tea leaves themselves—it didn't require high-grade leaves—but rather these specific materials. These materials could be processed into a special powdered tea additive. This powder was harmless and had no inherent effect on its own, but when added during the stir-frying process, it fused with the leaves and triggered a reaction that created that unique fragrance and sweet aftertaste. Moreover, the refreshing effect of the Qingfeng tea also stemmed from this special additive, which was a unique tea-processing technique from that specific era in the game world.

"Got it, leave it to me," Da Fei said, bursting with energy as he hurried off.

Lu Feng sat down with Yang Ming and the others to drink tea. Xiao Yao, the young woman, proactively took the seat to serve the tea. Chen Bo, clearly uninterested in the tea factory, left after a while.

By evening, Da Fei returned to report, "Young Master Feng, I managed to buy all the materials. It wasn't cheap; there are several expensive traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients. It cost 5,000 in total. Also, the tea and the stir-frying area are ready. Shall we go now?"

5,000 yuan for one batch of materials was quite expensive, especially since it wouldn't produce much tea. It was no wonder the resulting Qingfeng tea tasted so good.

"Let's go!" Lu Feng said, turning to Yang Ming, A-Lin, and A-Pao. "Cousin, let's go together!"

"Alright!" Yang Ming agreed. He drove his BMW 740 over, let Da Fei load the materials into the trunk, and they drove off with Da Fei giving directions.

Before long, they arrived at a small factory building. It had a canteen equipped with stoves and large woks, perfect for stir-frying tea. Da Fei had a connection with the chef and borrowed the space.

"Young Master Feng, what do we need to do?" Da Fei asked immediately.

"Wash the raw tea leaves first, then keep them at a certain level of humidity," Lu Feng instructed. He then began preparing the special additive powder. With enough materials, preparing the powder wasn't difficult—it was all about the sequence and proportions. Thanks to the life skills he had acquired directly from the game world, Lu Feng was proficient and handled the process with ease, creating the special powder in no time.

By then, Da Fei had washed the tea leaves and maintained the required humidity.

"Put the tea leaves into the wok," Lu Feng ordered. Da Fei complied, and they started the fire.

Lu Feng began sweeping his palms over the surface of the wok, stirring and tossing the leaves. His movements were agile and practiced, a product of his life skill. At the same time, he added the special powder in intervals; as they stir-fried, the powder rapidly dissolved into the leaves.

A wave of tea fragrance began to permeate the air, intoxicating everyone. The scent alone was enough to make one feel refreshed. This was undoubtedly the Qingfeng tea.

After about half an hour, the powder was depleted. Once the leaves were stir-fried and dehydrated, there was only about half a jin left. Lu Feng looked at the tea and said, "Brew a pot and let's see how it is."

Da Fei grabbed the kettle, brewed a pot with the tea from the wok, and poured cups for Yang Ming and the others. He couldn't wait to pour one for himself and began to taste it.

After a few sips, Da Fei was amazed. "This is it! Young Master Feng, this Qingfeng tea really was stirred-fried by you!"

Yang Ming, A-Lin, and A-Pao were equally stunned. They knew that a box of Qingfeng tea sold for 7,500 yuan, and that box held less than two taels. There was enough in the wok to pack at least three boxes. Three boxes would sell for 22,500 yuan, while the cost was only the 5,000 yuan spent on materials—the cost of the raw leaves themselves was negligible. In other words, excluding the material costs, there was a profit margin of over 17,000 yuan in that wok alone. If they opened a factory, even after accounting for other expenses, the profit would be staggering. No wonder everyone said the tea business was profiteering.

Lu Feng also drank a cup of the freshly stir-fried tea. It was no different from the tea retrieved from the game, which put his mind at ease. He told Da Fei, "Next, find a factory space. Coordinate with Huang Yuan on the paperwork; he'll help us with that. Also, look into tea-processing machinery and calculate the total capital needed to open the factory."

Tea processing is divided into manual and mechanical methods. Generally, famous teas rely on manual labor, requiring high-level technique and extreme attention. But he didn't need that; as long as he mastered the preparation of the special tea powder, the stir-frying could be entirely handled by machines.

"Understood, Brother Feng," Da Fei nodded immediately.

Lu Feng turned to Yang Ming and the others. "Cousin, you should all take a share in this tea factory."

This brought smiles to the faces of Yang Ming, A-Lin, and A-Pao. It was clear to anyone that this factory would be profitable, and for Lu Feng to offer them a stake was essentially handing them money. They looked at Lu Feng with gratitude; to not follow someone like him wholeheartedly would be truly heartless.