PCJ – Chapter 340 Tea Industry Association

“Comrades, the meeting has begun. I know it’s tea-picking season now, and everyone is very busy. However, today’s meeting is also very important and cannot be missed. At the beginning of spring, the city tea factory ruthlessly tore up the purchasing agreements signed with various tea gardens in our county, causing great concern among our tea farmers. I remember someone said to me at that time: ‘Deputy County Head Luo, the city tea factory is no longer coming to our county to purchase tea leaves. Where will we sell our tea this year?’ I told him then: ‘Don’t worry, the county will not neglect this matter.'”

“‘County Head Luo, that person was me!’ A middle-aged man in his forties stood up from his seat in the conference room. Everyone chuckled.”

“‘Yes, it was you. How’s the production of this year’s pre-Ming tea?’ asked Luo Changjun.”

“‘This year, the tea is growing well. Although the temperature has been relatively low since the New Year, it seems our tea leaves haven’t been affected by the cold, and they’re growing better than any other year. The yield of this batch is likely comparable to last year’s summer tea. Additionally, this year’s purchasing price has not only not decreased but has slightly increased, mainly because Manager Zhang of the Meizi’ao Tea Factory believes our tea quality is good and has proactively raised the price. However, they require us to ensure the quality when picking the tea leaves. This is something we will definitely ensure. Regardless of whether the price is raised or not, we must guarantee the quality and quantity of what we sell to others. Everyone agrees, right?'”

Luo Changjun nodded, “Good, then let me explain why I was so eager to call everyone together. Yesterday, someone claiming to be the assistant manager of the Zijiang City Tea Factory came to find me. He said he wanted tea leaves from our county. I asked him if they want to throw away the contract, then throw it away; if they want to take it, then take it—there’s no such reasoning under heaven! You can’t take back what’s already spilled! Even if all our tea leaves in Xintian County were to rot, the city tea factory shouldn’t expect to get a single piece. The city tea factory doesn’t want our tea; will our tea leaves rot? Everyone, have your tea leaves rotted?”

“‘County Head Luo, not a single one of our tea leaves has rotted; they haven’t even been picked yet, and the county has already contacted manufacturers for us. The price is even higher than last year’s purchasing price!'”

“‘As soon as my tea leaves were picked, the trucks sent by the tea factory came and took them away. By now, they must have been packaged for sale.'”

“‘I heard that the bamboo tube black tea from Meizi’ao Tea Factory has even won a national gold award. When I have money in the future, I want to buy a box of black tea to see what the tea made from our own tea leaves tastes like.'”

…

“‘Now I understand why Uncle Luo called this meeting,’ Zhang Jiaohua said softly.”

“‘Why?’ Zhang Youping asked.”

“‘The tea from the city tea factory has problems, and they want to buy tea from our county. Uncle Luo must be worried that the county’s tea farmers will secretly sell their tea to the city tea factory,’ Zhang Jiaohua said.”

“‘Why would they secretly sell tea to the city tea factory?’ Zhang Youping asked in confusion.”

“‘Since the city tea factory’s tea has problems and they must buy tea from our county, if they can’t buy through formal channels, they will definitely offer high prices to secretly buy from the tea gardens,’ Zhang Jiaohua replied.”

“‘That makes sense,’ Zhang Youping nodded.”

Seeing the lively atmosphere in the conference room, Luo Changjun quickly pressed his hands down to quiet everyone, “It seems everyone is very resentful of the city tea factory’s actions. However, I still worry that if the city tea factory contacts you privately and offers high prices to buy your tea leaves, what will you do?”

The conference room immediately buzzed with discussion as everyone began to talk excitedly.

“‘County Head Luo, we have already signed contracts with the tea factory. After the city tea factory tore up the purchasing contracts, the county tea factory not only did not lower the price but even proactively raised the purchasing price and signed contracts with us. They are being so benevolent; we cannot be ungrateful. Even if the city tea factory offers us a higher price, we will not sell a single tea leaf to them!'”

“‘Right, absolutely do not sell tea leaves to them!'”

“‘Yes, let’s do it that way!'”

…

Luo Changjun slammed the table, “Exactly! I said that although Xintian is poor, the people of Xintian still have dignity! At the same time, I also warn those who intend to secretly sell tea to the city tea factory. Since you have signed a contract, you must abide by it. If anyone is found violating the contract, the county will impose severe penalties.”

Everyone in the venue expressed their stance, resolutely refusing to sell tea to the city tea factory. However, once the city tea factory raises the purchasing price to a certain level, will these people still be able to keep their promises?

Luo Changjun continued to reveal his trump card, “Has anyone thought about why our tea in Xintian County is so much better than others?”

Everyone was puzzled; they didn’t understand this question.

“‘It’s because of the good feng shui in our Xintian County!’ someone shouted.”

Everyone burst into laughter, and some joined in the commotion. However, everyone regarded this as a joke.

“‘Feng shui is just one aspect. Our Xintian County has beautiful mountains and waters, so it’s natural for the tea to be good. But why wasn’t our tea famous before? The mountains are still the same, the waters are still the same, yet the tea suddenly improved. I remember that before last year, about seventy percent of the tea gardens in Xintian County were on the verge of being destroyed. But suddenly, our tea has rejuvenated, and the quality has improved…” Luo Changjun said up to this point.

Someone had already reacted, and the middle-aged man stood up again, “It was that child who helped us with the transformation. I didn’t believe it at first. I didn’t expect that after the transformation, all the tea trees came back to life and grew better than before. It’s like they’ve changed varieties. Even now, we haven’t really fertilized them much, but the growth of the tea is very good.”

“‘Yes, Jiaohua came to our horticultural field several times last year to pick tea leaves. After the city tea factory unilaterally tore up the purchasing agreement, Jiaohua stopped cooperating with us. Before this batch of tea leaves was picked, Jiaohua hadn’t come to our tea garden. I wonder if there’s any problem?'”

…

Luo Changjun continued, “This year, our county has added many new tea gardens, with the area nearly doubling from the original. Everyone need not worry about whether there will be too many tea leaves in the future to sell. On the contrary, as long as the quality of the tea is good, the larger the yield, the greater the scale effect that can be formed. In the future, don’t say exports; even our county’s tea factory can completely absorb all the tea in the county. Both the existing tea gardens and the newly added ones can choose whether or not to cooperate with Meizi’ao Tea Factory freely. However, one thing is for sure: those who do not follow the county’s unified deployment and secretly violate the contract to sell tea to the city tea factory will definitely be excluded. Therefore, I think it’s necessary to establish a tea industry association to regulate this industry.”

At this point, some who were contemplating how to hold onto their tea leaves began to hesitate. If what Luo Changjun said is true, and the quality of the tea is so good because it was improved by Jiaohua, then once it is discovered that they violated the contract, and the quality of the tea declines in the future, they would not be able to have Jiaohua help with the transformation again.

The Xintian County Tea Industry Association was established at the initiative of Luo Changjun, but many industry regulations still need to be slowly established. The county arranged a place in the county town for the tea industry association as a venue for activities.

“‘Jiaohua, you have really made a great contribution to Xintian County. Today, with the addition of a large area of tea gardens, if they are willing to cooperate with you, it will still take your hard work to help them transform. By the way, Jiaohua, you need to keep this technology confidential. This is crucial for the development of the tea industry in Xintian County,” Luo Changjun said.

“‘Brother Luo, don’t keep praising him too much, or he might get spoiled,’ Zhang Youping said with a smile.”

“‘Youping, I really envy you. If my son had half the sense of Jiaohua, I would be smiling in my dreams every day. It’s a pity my child is a son; if I had a daughter, I would marry her to Jiaohua, then Jiaohua would be half my son. Haha,’ Luo Changjun said, causing Zhang Jiaohua’s face to turn red.”

“‘Brother Luo, what if the city tea factory doesn’t come to our county to collect tea leaves? Could they be scheming something?’ Zhang Youping said with some concern.”

“‘You don’t need to worry about that. In our territory, we have the right to refuse tea leaves from the city tea factory. If they dare to do anything, we can punish them.’ Luo Changjun said confidently. He spoke with conviction, saying that as long as we have quality tea, it doesn’t matter if the city tea factory doesn’t come for it. The provincial government will also pay attention to this issue.”

‘County Head Luo, in this case, can we continue to cooperate with Jiaohua?’

‘Of course, Jiaohua is our key partner in the tea industry. You all have signed contracts with the county and with Jiaohua, so you can completely cooperate with him with confidence. He can help you with the transformation, but it’s very important that you follow the agreement. In short, your interests are guaranteed by the county, and our tea farmers will surely be able to develop better and better.’