PCJ – Chapter 323 Formulating a Plan

“Why am I being accused of trying to profit from the bamboo black tea? Why can’t I speak up for everyone? This craft could bring wealth to the entire village of Meizi’ao. Why can’t Zhang Jiaohua teach it to the villagers? I’ve heard that bamboo black tea is in high demand and supply can’t keep up. Zhang Jiaohua refuses to teach anyone. Isn’t that selfish?” Liu Baoyi’s eyes darted around as he looked at the gathered villagers of Meizi’ao. He could tell his words had swayed them. If everyone caused enough trouble, Zhang Jiaohua would have no choice but to surrender.

“Whether I teach or not is none of your business! If you keep barking here like a dog, I’ll release all the dogs from the garden! Stop stirring up trouble. Let me tell you this: even if you could learn the bamboo black tea processing technique, I still wouldn’t teach you! Haven’t you heard the saying ‘teach your apprentice and starve your master’? Do you think I’m some three-year-old you can deceive?” Zhang Jiaohua sneered coldly at the frantic Liu Baoyi.

“Everyone, take a good look. Zhang Jiaohua is making money from our collective garden, eating it all up for himself, not even leaving a drop for the rest of us. He’s selfish, so don’t blame us for being ruthless. The garden and the pig farm are collective property, and Zhang Dechun alone can’t make decisions. I happen to know that Zhang Dechun contracted the garden and pig farm to Zhang Jiaohua without the village committee’s approval or the consent of the villagers. This contract is invalid and should be voided. If Zhang Jiaohua refuses to teach the black tea technique, we will go to the township or county government to demand they annul this illegal contract and take back the garden!” Liu Baoyi, clearly prepared, launched an attack that left Zhang Jiaohua with no room to fight back.

“You dare!” Zhang Dechun was furious.

Zhang Youlian rushed at Liu Baoyi, “Liu Baoyi, do you believe I’ll tear you apart today?”

“Come on, then! You Zhangs may be tough, but we Lius are no pushovers either!” Liu Baoyi, prepared, was not afraid.

The villagers, hoping for some personal gain, naturally sided with Liu Baoyi.

Zhang Jiaohua laughed coldly, “Do you really think that cutting off my resources will make me submit to you? Some people never learn their lesson! Since you want to act like an unreasonable dog, then bark like a dog for the rest of your life!”

Liu Baoyi, seeing that he had stirred up the crowd’s emotions, smirked smugly, “Woof, woof…”

Just as he was about to speak, his words turned into barking sounds.

Everyone panicked. Zhang Jiaohua had just said Liu Baoyi would bark like a dog for the rest of his life, and now Liu was barking exactly like a dog. The crowd suddenly remembered that although Zhang Jiaohua was small, he was no pushover. They had thought they could bully him because of their numbers, but they realized Zhang Jiaohua was actually the one pretending to be weak.

“Actually, the garden is doing well now. If anyone wants a share, they can be like Zhang Dayun, open up some barren land, and plant tea trees. There’s no need to covet someone else’s hard-earned skills.” Many people began to regret following along and quietly slipped away. Soon, only a few villagers remained at the garden.

Ma Youshan hesitated. He wanted to leave but was reluctant; staying, however, made him nervous after seeing what happened to Liu Baoyi.

Liu Baoyi saw Ma Youshan and a few other village troublemakers wavering, ready to leave, and rushed over to stop them.

“Woof, woof, woof!”

He wanted to scold Ma Youshan and the others for being disloyal, but all that came out were dog barks.

“Ma Youshan, don’t go just yet. Since you’re here, let’s talk this through. First, I ask you: do you want to speak like a person, or bark like a dog?” Zhang Jiaohua pushed Liu Baoyi aside and called out to Ma Youshan and the others as they were about to leave.

Ma Youshan, frightened, quickly confessed, “It’s all Liu Baoyi’s fault. He got us to come here. He told us that if we helped him get the bamboo black tea technique from you, we’d all live the high life. He’s already made a deal with the tea factory in Xintian County. Once he got the technique, he would go work there as the deputy factory director.”

Ma Youshan spilled the truth in one breath, eager to save himself, showing no fear of betraying Liu Baoyi.

Liu Baoyi glared at Ma Youshan, barking uncontrollably, unable to speak a word.

“I warn you all, don’t mess with me. Or else, I’ll make you crawl like a dog for the rest of your life!” Zhang Jiaohua snorted coldly.

“We won’t, we won’t! We’ll never dare again!” Ma Youshan was sweating profusely. Before, they had wondered how Zhang Wenrong and the others had ended up so submissive to Zhang Jiaohua. Now, they understood how terrifying this young boy really was. They wouldn’t even dream of provoking him again.

“Get out of here! Don’t be an eyesore!” Zhang Jiaohua dismissed them.

“I’ll leave, I’ll leave!” Ma Youshan quickly fled.

“Woof, woof, woof!” Liu Baoyi knelt pitifully in front of Zhang Jiaohua.

“If you knew this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?” Zhang Dechun snorted coldly.

Zhang Youlian, equally disgusted by Liu Baoyi, added, “Jiaohua, this kind of person isn’t worth pitying. If you let him off now, who knows what trouble he’ll cause later. People need to understand how formidable you are. That way, no one will dare to target the garden again!”

Zhang Dechun agreed, “Jiaohua, we won’t interfere with how you handle this. Some people need to learn the hard way.”

“Liu Baoyi, if you think I’m letting you off easily, think again. You’re to leave immediately. In three days, you’ll return to normal, but if you plot anything again, you’ll bark like a dog for the rest of your life.” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t going to let Liu Baoyi off lightly, but he also wasn’t going to turn him into a dog permanently. As a practitioner, it was important to leave a way out. However, if Liu Baoyi crossed him again, the consequences would be far worse.

Once everyone had left, Zhang Dechun said, “Jiaohua, I’ve always wanted someone to help lead the entire village to prosperity. But I’ve been afraid of something like today happening. Some people’s greed knows no bounds. Luckily, you have a way to handle them. Remember, the bamboo black tea technique must not be taught to others. Like you said, if you teach it, not only might the village not profit, but Meizi’ao’s tea will become worthless.”

“Exactly. Without distribution channels, Meizi’ao’s tea wouldn’t sell at all. Right now, we’re relying on our bamboo black tea partnership with the Zijiang City Tea Factory. But if they could process bamboo black tea themselves, why would they need to work with us?” Zhang Jiaohua understood the situation clearly.

“That’s right. Jiaohua, our village has lots of land and few people. There’s barren land everywhere. Do you think we could turn all the barren land into tea plantations? I’ve estimated that together, the barren land could cover thousands of acres. If we planted tea trees on all those neglected areas, it would be incredible, rivaling the tea plantations in Gezhuping Town.” Zhang Dechun still wanted to make a difference as the village party secretary.

“Sure. If Dayun’s barren hillside can grow tea trees, why can’t the rest of the village’s barren land? If people are willing to plant tea, I can help them develop the tea plantations.” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t trying to hoard wealth for himself.

“It can really be done?” Zhang Dechun asked.

“It can be done, but I’m not sure how the tea prices will be in the future. If tea prices drop, people might blame me.” Zhang Jiaohua expressed concern.

“I’ll take responsibility. If people want to complain in the future, they’ll blame me. City life is improving, and Shicai said Guangdong’s cities are growing by the day. As more people get wealthier, won’t more people drink tea? The market should only get better.” Zhang Dechun had thought it through.

“True. It’s just a shame that only I can make bamboo black tea. If we could process all the village’s tea into bamboo black tea, we’d never have to worry about sales. Uncle Zhao has been urging me to make more bamboo black tea.” Zhang Jiaohua sighed.

“Well, then tell Uncle Zhao, and let’s plant tea trees on all the barren hillsides!” Zhang Dechun’s determination grew. He had been plagued by a lack of ideas for developing the village. Zhang Jiaohua’s plans gave him hope.

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Uncle Zhao when I get back. In the meantime, you focus on getting the village organized and preparing to plant the tea trees.”