PCJ – Chapter 210 Medicinal Tea

“Do you want to try?” Zhong Jinxiang saw Zhang Jiaohua eager to give it a shot and smiled.

Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head, “Master Zhong, can I try my own method?”

“Your own method? Do you know how to fry tea?” Zhong Jinxiang asked curiously.

“I don’t know how to fry tea, but I can process medicinal herbs. Let me try processing the tea leaves,” Zhang Jiaohua intended to use the Meishan Shaman’s method to process the tea leaves.

Zhong Jinxiang chuckled, “You can give it a try.” He wasn’t angry; to him, Zhang Jiaohua was just a young child. It was natural for a child to like playing.

Zhang Jiaohua didn’t use the frying pot but took a clay pot instead. Zhong Jinxiang had always wondered why Zhang Jiaohua had placed some pots there. Now he understood that Zhang Jiaohua intended to use them to process the tea leaves. But could tea leaves really be processed without a pot and heat?

Zhong Jinxiang, a tea master, had never seen a physician process medicinal herbs. Typically, traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions were decocted in clay pots. Few doctors nowadays knew how to process medicinal herbs. Zhang Jiaohua had learned the authentic ancient method of processing medicinal herbs from the Meishan Shaman. Don’t think that the shaman’s medical treatment only involved chanting spells. Sometimes, they also used medicines. Patients’ illnesses varied; evil diseases were treated with spells, but sometimes a combination of medicine and spells achieved miraculous effects. The method of processing medicinal herbs by the shaman was quite different from that of orthodox Chinese medicine.

Zhang Jiaohua filled the clay pot with seven or eight ounces of tea leaves and began chanting, “The sun rises, the world is red, the Dao method is in hand, looking up at the blue sky, the master is by my side, left invites left spirit, right invites right spirit, inviting without invitation, first invites the ancestor to gather medicine, second invites Hua Tuo to fry medicine, third invites the Medicine King to deliver spiritual medicine, four kinds of immortal medicine at hand. Urgently as the order!”

Zhong Jinxiang saw Zhang Jiaohua chanting and smiled, thinking he was playing a game. But as Zhang Jiaohua continued chanting, forming various hand seals, and rotating the tea leaves in the clay pot, a rich fragrance began to emanate, more intoxicating than when he fried the tea leaves.

“This, this, this…” Zhong Jinxiang was stunned. How could mere hand rotation make the tea leaves emit such a strong fragrance? Was his hand on fire?

Zhong Jinxiang watched Zhang Jiaohua’s tea processing with amazement, curious about the result.

Zhang Jiaohua was entirely focused on processing the tea leaves. To him, these tea leaves were like medicinal herbs, and his processing method was the same. The tea leaves in the clay pot began to soften, sticking together like clay. Zhang Jiaohua let it be, allowing it to happen naturally.

The fragrance grew stronger, as if a tea leaf bomb had exploded, spreading the rich aroma around. But when Zhang Jiaohua formed the last hand seal, the surrounding fragrance seemed to be absorbed back into the tea leaves, vanishing from the air, leaving the aroma condensed within the tea leaves. Zhang Jiaohua stopped chanting and forming seals, took out the sticky tea leaves, and squeezed them into a bamboo tube, forming a black lump.

“Who taught you to process medicinal herbs?” Zhong Jinxiang asked curiously.

“Of course, my master taught me,” Zhang Jiaohua replied without looking up, focused on handling the tea leaves.

Zhong Jinxiang thought Zhang Jiaohua had learned from some herbalist. But he didn’t understand why processing medicinal herbs involved chanting and stirring by hand. Zhong Jinxiang didn’t ask further.

“How do you brew this tea?” Zhong Jinxiang had seen various compressed teas. Though Zhang Jiaohua’s tea was peculiar, it should still be brewed similarly.

Zhang Jiaohua scratched his head, “This is my first time processing tea. It should be brewed with boiling water.”

“Good thing we have boiling water ready. Let’s brew a cup and taste it,” Zhong Jinxiang said. He didn’t want to fry tea anymore and decided to try the unique tea processing method. Without tasting, he felt itchy with curiosity.

Zhang Dechun and Zhang Jiwang also came over from the pig farm, ready to take a break, drink tea, and smoke. Rural work was hard, but these old farmers worked leisurely.

“Jiaohua, is the tea ready? I want to brew a cup. I heard the new tea has a strong aroma,” Zhang Jiwang called out from afar.

“It’s ready. Everyone, take a break and have some tea,” Zhang Jiaohua responded loudly.

Hearing that the tea was ready, everyone stopped their work and came over.

Given the limited conditions, Zhong Jinxiang took his own enamel cup, which had a “prize” character on it, awarded by Gezhu Ping Town Tea Factory in 1976. Zhong Jinxiang treasured this cup, keeping it undamaged. He pinched a small piece of the tea lump made by Zhang Jiaohua, placed it in the cup, and poured boiling water over it. The tea leaves dissolved instantly, spreading a rich green color and an enchanting fragrance.

“Good tea!” Zhong Jinxiang couldn’t help but praise.

Zhang Jiwang and Zhang Dechun thought he was praising the horticultural field’s tea. Zhang Dechun quickly said, “Our horticultural field’s tea was often praised before. It’s a shame it got ruined when contracted out. Fortunately, Jiaohua revived these tea trees.”

Zhong Jinxiang shook his head, “I’m talking about the tea leaves processed by Jiaohua. It’s truly good tea.”

“Huh? Didn’t you fry this tea, Master Zhong?” Zhang Jiwang asked, looking at the tea leaves fried by Zhong Jinxiang.

“That was fried by me. But the tea I’m brewing is processed by Jiaohua. Try it and see how it tastes,” Zhong Jinxiang said. Blowing on the tea surface, he sipped it. The rich and sweet tea flavor exploded in his mouth.