Chapter 1459: Chapter 1459

Compared to Liu Liu’s ambitious determination to make money, the others who were just here for the fun seemed much more relaxed.

Especially Top Brother Nian Xu, who was fidgeting with a basket: "I see it’s all women picking tea, I’m a big guy mingling with them, isn’t that kind of embarrassing?"

Gastric Bypass Brother said expressionlessly: "What, am I not a man?"

Not just him, there were four other big guys with baskets too! Everyone came to recover, why should they just be the background scenery?

Everyone stared at him, Nian Xu went silent: "Mainly... life here is quite nice, my tea picking skills aren’t great, and going to earn money feels a bit awkward..."

That’s true, they had never done this kind of work, and Yunqiao Village’s tea is mild in flavor, with spring tea being mainly tender Maojian—the unopened bud tips on the stems. Some of them were not exactly skinny, with fingers short and chubby, and if they fuss around in the field for half a day and pick only a few tea leaves...

That would be pretty embarrassing.

While they were hesitating, Self-taught Sister breezed by with her basket, dismissing them: "Stop dawdling. We’re here to work, even the boss hasn’t criticized us, but you’re already feeling inferior."

"What? Are you all this unconfident at work? Then it’s understandable you haven’t gotten any promotions or raises for so many years and wrecked your health in the process."

She was outgoing, chatting with people from the village in the dining hall every day, and now her speech even carried more of a local accent.

Indifferent Sister, having rested for a while, now had a healthy glow and spoke with more vigor than before: "Don’t say that, aren’t you here too?"

The youngest among them, the wide-eyed girl with the least social experience, giggled: "Why think so much? Just treat it like an unusual spring outing! If we end up picking very few, think of it as working for the boss for free for half a day. But if we do okay, then we can earn some pocket money with a clear conscience!"

"No overtime, no socializing, no bosses, as long as we’re a bit serious, it doesn’t matter how much we pick. Where else can you find such a great job?"

"Our company’s cleaning lady earns 2,500 a month and still gets criticized!"

But also, makes a lot of sense.

While chatting, the group had already followed the crowd to Tea Mountain.

The Tea Mountain they came to wasn’t the one owned by Lao Song’s family near the Chestnut Garden, but a larger one that used to be part of Old Man Li’s estate, with several acres of old tea trees and over a hundred acres of tea seedlings.

The tea seedlings were thriving now, some had already been inter-planted with early-ripening watermelons.

And the old tea trees had been meticulously pruned after being taken over last winter; with proper fertilization and cultivation during the winter, plus suitable spring weather, they now sported layers of lush, tender leaves.

Anyone in the village would say, doesn’t Lao Song’s family have skill?

The vegetables are grown well, and the tea is nurtured so vigorously! Check latest chapters at 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢•𝓷𝓮𝓽

Now, Wu Lan was reminding the newbies: "Our tea pickers are just barely enough, you guys can just treat it as fun, as long as the tea leaves picked are up to standard."

"Besides, if you have no experience, it’s best for each person to choose a row and pick slowly. Because if you run around recklessly, the efficiency for those picking the tea trees you’ve picked will be much lower."

"Try to pick the Maojian thoroughly from each tea tree. If not picked clean, they’ll grow into leaves later. The tea tree will think it’s grown enough, and the new buds will be thin and light, which will be hard to pick later."

As she spoke, she let them watch those who were proficiently tying baskets around their waists and picking tea leaves quickly either with a single hand or both hands.

Wu Lan hollered, "Don’t pick leaves, otherwise we won’t pay you the good price."

Her words were half-joking, half-serious, and the village women naturally knew the difference—Maojian and leaf buds have different weights and efficiencies. Initially, they had some little calculations because of the high price of 50 per pound, but now Wu Lan had reminded them, so they held back.

To the villagers, picking tea had no difficulty, and since it wasn’t peak summer yet, it wasn’t particularly strenuous.

Moreover, besides them in the field were all these young men and women—if they picked Maojian poorly, with so many employees around, if Wu Lan really didn’t hire them back, the losses would be theirs.

Everyone scrutinized the young adults, each carrying some concern!

The young folks had no idea how many schemes a seasoned farmer could plan in their mind. After observing and learning, they each picked a row, fastened the basket around their waist smartly, carefully pinched a handful of Maojian, took a photo, and posted it on their social media!

Meanwhile, the experienced Wu Lan didn’t forget to offer some big promises: "Practice more, and once you’re proficient, you’ll be able to pick more. When you leave, I’ll give you half a day dedicated to picking tea, and you’ll get it fried, as a souvenir."

The gang quickly calculated—heard that skilled workers here can pick 4 pounds a day, which means 2 pounds for half a day. They were amateurs, surely a pound would be achievable?

A pound of Maojian makes how much dry tea? About two and a half ounces.

Who wouldn’t be tempted! Who hasn’t heard of Qiaoqiao’s tea? Starting at 10,000 a pound, later sold by the gram, and still depended on daily grabs!

And they, while earning money, recovering their health, could also get tea!

As these words were spoken, even the somewhat uncomfortable young master Nian Xu energized! Liu Liu was even quicker with her hands, fully focused!

Among their colleagues, there was a wealthy young guy who often talked about spending big bucks on tea, she wondered if she could sell it directly to him if she ended up with two or three ounces?

Thinking about money, thinking about children, she became even more motivated!

But the village lady ahead started laughing: "Hey, only for the young ones, we don’t get any?"

Wu Lan laughed as well: "They are after night shifts, kind of like overtime, from all over the country, treat them as Qiaoqiao classmates!"

"Why, aren’t you earning several times more than them? Envying this?"

The crew wasn’t sure exactly how much the tea should be worth, but the legendary expensive tea weighed less than money, right? Not to mention every household had a bit of tea, what they needed to do was speed up, and not let the young ones catch up to them!

After all, heard they were all from the big city for a vacation... Tsk, city people really don’t know how to enjoy!

However, since Maojian couldn’t be provided, Wu Lan added: "If you’re still working when the summer tea is being picked, I’ll let you pick for half a day too, okay?"