Jiang Xiaoman set up her camera to the side, drank tea, and learned about the old tea garden from the villagers.
To his and Shan Yan's surprise, this was actually an old tea garden with a story.
According to the village elders, during the war, a troop was once surrounded and driven into the deep mountains. To protect them, the local mountain people hid them deep in the mountains. Although life was extremely difficult for the people at that time, they tightened their belts, went into the mountains to pick tea and sell tea bricks, and raised money from all over the place to buy grain and send it into the mountains. Countless people sacrificed their lives to preserve the precious flame of the nation.
The soldiers saw this and, having no other way to repay the villagers, the military leaders decided to clear the land on the spot and help the villagers plant tea and corn. While becoming self-sufficient, they also left behind artificially cultivated tea forests for the mountain people in this area.
It is said that conditions were very harsh at that time. The soldiers did not have suitable farming tools, so they agreed that each person would set aside a piece of mountain forest, reclaim the wasteland, fertilize the land, and find wild tea seedlings in the mountains to transplant.
In this way, they managed to cultivate tea gardens of varying sizes using only their own hands.
However, later, as the situation down the mountain improved, the soldiers went down to continue fighting before the tea trees could be harvested. Only the tea bushes remained, testament to the heroes who once lived here, sacrificing their lives for their country…
“My grandfather told me that several soldiers lived in his house back then. There were some funny incidents because so many people were clearing land to plant tea trees that all the wild tea seedlings nearby were taken. Later, when there weren’t enough tea seedlings, the soldiers borrowed a saw from my grandfather and cut branches from our old tea tree to propagate the seedlings themselves. I heard that there was a talented man among the soldiers who had returned from studying abroad, and he was the one who taught the soldiers this technique,” Shan Chunhua recalled.
Decades ago, they were already cutting branches to propagate seedlings? This old tea tree is quite large.
Jiang Xiaoman immediately said he wanted to go and see.
"Let's eat first. My family's old tea trees are all in the mountains, and it takes half an hour to climb up," Shan Chunhua's younger brother said warmly.
Chunhua's sister-in-law has two younger brothers and a younger sister. Her older sister married into another village, and I heard that the couple are now working in the city and are doing quite well.
The two younger brothers were slightly less fortunate. The eldest brother was able to get married after his two older sisters had finally managed to scrape together enough dowry, making him the head of the household. The youngest brother, however, never had the money to get married and was eventually taken in by a family in the village.
From the mountain people, Jiang Xiaoman truly experienced the enormous influence of the "remnants of matriarchal social culture" in the old mountain valley!
The Shan family has four children in this generation. The eldest and second eldest sisters are both very capable, which makes the two younger brothers seem somewhat incompetent. Jiang Xiaoman has no doubt that if it weren't for Shan Chunhua's second sister getting married and having a good relationship with her husband, and the couple going to the city to work and earn money, this second sister would probably have followed Qingshan's sister's example, leaving her father behind and taking her children back to her parents' home to take charge of the family.
You can tell by looking at the meals that Shan Chunhua's younger brother, Shan Chunsheng, serves to guests.
Jiang Xiaoman was absolutely certain that Shan Chunsheng had brought out the best things he could from his home. However, looking at the rice mixed with corn kernels, the three meat dishes prepared with one chicken in three ways, the egg flowers faintly visible in the stir-fried green peppers, the ham sausage stir-fried with sauerkraut, and the stir-fried noodles made from two packets of instant noodles... Jiang Xiaoman knew that these were the best things this family could offer.
No wonder Chunhua wanted to bring her family to do tea business with him. If it were his own younger brother who was in such a predicament, he certainly couldn't just stand by and do nothing.
Moreover, Chunhua's younger brothers seem to be nice people, especially her younger brother Shan Chunsheng. When Jiang Xiaoman and her family came, they brought a whole box of instant noodles. Unlike in the city, instant noodles are the most popular souvenirs in their mountains. When visiting relatives, if someone can bring a box of instant noodles to the door, it means that the relationship is definitely very good.
Unexpectedly, Shan Chunsheng accepted the gift but opened the box. There were 24 packets of instant noodles in total. He divided them into three equal portions and packed one packet for his older sister to take home for her children.
In rural areas, a man who treats his married sisters this well is definitely considered a good man.
Jiang Xiaoman observed carefully for a while and nodded secretly. This Shan Chunsheng is someone who can work with us!
Shan Chunhua's second younger brother, Shan Chunxi, was an honest man who wouldn't utter a sound even if you hit him three times. He followed his wife around and did whatever she asked. His wife was a straightforward person and had a very good relationship with her older sister-in-law!
Their relationship is even better than that of some sisters who are prone to infighting!
Jiang Xiaoman was quite surprised at first. After all, according to the current script of self-media, the eldest sister-in-law and the younger sister-in-law are inherently incompatible. This has become the accepted traffic code. However, Shan Chunhua has a harmonious relationship with this strong-willed younger sister-in-law.
However, after observing for a while, he discovered the reason: Shan Chunhua probably treated her youngest brother like a son at home. After she got married, her timid and weak brother was left unattended, and the eldest sister was bound to worry. Now that her sister-in-law is so capable, it's like she's found a new mother for her younger brother. How could she not like such a sister-in-law?
Later, fans who understood what was happening burst out laughing.
Women everywhere have suffered from the "conflicts between sisters-in-law" for far too long!
Especially some strong-willed older female fans, who are usually too lazy to post comments, wrote long comments in the comment section this time, saying that if their boyfriends also had older sisters like this, who were willing to let them manage their younger brothers, then there would be no conflicts between sisters-in-law.
What sister-in-law? They don't exist!
As long as you're willing to take care of my good-for-nothing brother, we'll be the closest sisters in the world!
Chapter 218
After finishing their meal, the group, led by Shan Chunsheng, climbed the mountain for more than half an hour and finally found the old tea trees.
Actually, they had already seen this patch of old tea trees when they turned the corner, because they were really tall!
No wonder Shan Chunhua said that they come back every year to pick some for their own consumption and never thought of selling them.
Just kidding! These tea trees are so tall, it takes more than an hour to climb up and pick the tender leaves at the top. With that kind of cost, who would be willing to go through all that trouble if they didn't sell them for several hundred yuan per kilogram?
"Hey! We don't even climb trees to pick them ourselves. We just tie a sickle to a bamboo pole and hook off the tea tree branches. They'll sprout new branches next year."
Shan Chunhua casually told Jiang Xiaoman that she didn't need to be so careful.
These old tea trees become more vigorous the more they are cut down; they are not so easy to kill.
Jiang Xiaoman: "..."
He seemed to have heard that in a particularly famous tea-producing region in China, anyone who broke off a branch of a protected ancient tea tree would be sent to jail.
Is this how you treat century-old tea trees?
However, Shan Chunhua may have a point. These tall ancient tea trees have such well-developed lateral branches and dense canopies precisely because their branches are pruned every year. It would be a pity to sell such good tea trees as ordinary tea.
Many tea enthusiasts who saw this video shared the same thoughts as Jiang Xiaoman.
These people are obsessed with tea all their lives. When they saw the ancient tea trees in Shan Chunhua's house, they went crazy and loudly appealed to Jiang Xiaoman in the comments section, urging her to protect these precious ancient tea trees!
They're willing to pay a premium for the tea, as long as it's sold at a higher price, and they're willing to place an advance payment to reserve this batch of tea from the ancient tea trees!
These teas look like they're of exceptional quality, don't they?
If you don't buy some now while it's still relatively unknown, the price will skyrocket once the small tea cakes from Langshan become famous, and then they won't be affordable for the average person.
After seeing the old tea trees, Jiang Xiaoman asked Shan Chunhua to take him to visit the tea trees that the soldiers had planted themselves back then.
The tiny seedling that was as thin as a toothpick back then has now grown as tall as Jiang Xiaoman.
It's clear that it has been abandoned for many years.
In Langshan Village, some families still maintain the habit of pruning tea trees every year. For tea trees that are cared for, the branches are pruned after the spring tea is harvested each year. This helps control the height of the tea trees, making it easier to harvest tea next time, and also promotes the branching of the tea trees, allowing them to grow more tender buds.
But these tea trees in front of us have clearly been abandoned for many years. They are no longer tall enough to be picked. The top branches and leaves are out of reach. No wonder Shan Chunhua said that every year when her family picks tea leaves, they just cut off the branches from the top of the tea trees...
However, just by looking at the condition of these tea trees, Jiang Xiaoman was full of confidence in the tea garden restart plan!
After all, if they were to rent land, buy tea seedlings, and grow tea themselves, it would take at least three to five years before the tea garden could start harvesting in large quantities. In the years leading up to that, they would have to keep investing money into it.
However, if we help the cooperative and sign contracts with farmers who already have tea gardens, we can encourage them to revitalize their abandoned tea gardens. Just like these old tea trees, as long as we cut off the branches and nurture them properly for a year, they can be harvested in large quantities next year at this time.
Moreover, the cut branches will not be wasted. They can be used for cuttings and seedling cultivation, and then planted in a new place. In a few years, it will be a new tea forest again.
In this way, if a family has ten mu of tea trees, they can harvest three to four batches of fresh leaves each year and sell them to tea factories. Based on an estimated income of five thousand yuan per mu of fresh leaves, ten mu would yield fifty thousand yuan.
For mature tea trees like these, the maintenance cost is lower than that of seedlings because they are immune to common pests and diseases. Farmers only need to pay attention to watering and fertilizing, weeding a few times a year to ensure that the tea trees do not die, and then they can pick the tea leaves when the season comes. With high yield and good quality fresh leaves, is there a more cost-effective business?
When Jiang Xiaoman said that a mu of tea could sell for five thousand yuan a year, everyone was stunned.
After the initial shock came ecstasy!
These abandoned old tea trees are everywhere here, covering the entire mountainside!
"Mr. Jiang, do you think your factory will continue to sign contracts with farmers? Several of our families also have quite a few old tea trees..." someone finally couldn't help but ask.
Everyone assumed that Jiang Xiaoman and her family came mainly because of Shan Chunhua, and that they wanted to help their family get rich by doing tea business together.
They didn't want to poach customers outright, but earning five thousand yuan a year from one acre of land with minimal upfront costs was just too tempting...
The fish have already taken the bait. If Jiang Xiaoman doesn't pull in the net, wouldn't that be disrespectful to the fish?
"Everyone, don't be anxious, listen to me. Actually, I came here for this very reason."
"The village probably hasn't received any notification yet. We just came back from a meeting in town. Our tea cooperative plans to join hands with the town to launch a 'Restart Plan for Abandoned Old Tea Gardens.' Simply put, the government will step in and hire professional technicians to help everyone restart their tea gardens!"
"Once the town issues its notice, the village will call each household. Everyone should go to the village to register first. After the village registration is completed, our cooperative will organize everyone to sign supply contracts with us."
"With this contract, you no longer need to worry about not being able to sell the tea leaves you pick. As long as you take good care of your tea trees according to the requirements of our cooperative, I can guarantee that the money you earn at home will not be less than what you earn working outside!"
What's so special about just selling tea?
Jiang Xiaoman hasn't told them yet that he plans to pilot the project in Langshan Village first, using the spare time in the tea garden to develop an integrated forestry and animal husbandry economy, growing mushrooms, raising chickens, raising goats... When all these are combined, it's not impossible to earn over 10,000 yuan a year per mu.
However, although the teachers at the Agricultural University were certain that the experiment had already been successful, Jiang Xiaoman had not seen it with his own eyes and was not sure if this model was suitable for Langshan. Therefore, he could only keep it a secret for now and let the tea farmers take good care of their own tea gardens. Once the tea income stabilized and the people tasted the benefits, it would be much easier for him to promote the under-forest economy model.
Most importantly, he still needed to discuss this matter privately with Shan Yan, Lang Ying, and others to further refine the entire plan. After all, developing the under-forest economy couldn't just be about encouraging people to plant and raise things and then abandon them. They also needed to find ways to help tea farmers sell the mushrooms, mutton, and free-range chickens they produced.
He wasn't too worried about mutton, free-range chicken, eggs, and the like. After all, the cold chain logistics for fresh food is quite advanced now. As long as there isn't another super flu like last year, he and Jiang Yu could sell some of it during their live stream. If there were any left unsold, he could ask Shan Yan to help contact some hotels and restaurants in the city to supply the stores, which would be a very reliable sales channel.
Mushrooms are even simpler. We can encourage tea farmers to plant more of the mushroom varieties needed for making mushroom sauce in Langying. When the mushrooms are harvested, they can be sold directly to food factories. This will not only help Langying solve the problem of tight raw material supply, but also help tea farmers solve the problem of selling agricultural products. If it is managed well, it will be a win-win situation.
However, this involves details such as food factory procurement and online sales of fresh produce, as well as whether tea farmers sign supply contracts individually with the cooperative or on a village-by-village basis. These issues need to be carefully considered to avoid any conflicts.
There are many things to do, but we still have to do them one by one.
After filming the footage they wanted, Jiang Xiaoman went back with Shan Yan, and on the way, they also took Shan Chunhua and her husband back.
"Sister-in-law Chunhua, now that you and your brother have stopped running the chicken farm, what are you planning to do next?" Jiang Xiaoman couldn't help but ask on the way.
"I was just about to ask you that, Xiaoman. Look at your brother Dezhi, all he knows is raising chickens and driving. We also have a small truck. Do you think your cooperative is going to set up a transport team or something? If so, how about I have your brother sign up with you first?"
"Hehe~ We're on the same page! I was also thinking that since Brother Dezhi can drive a small truck, I'm actually planning to set up a transport team. Brother Dezhi has always been steady and reliable, so I'd like to ask him to be the captain of the transport team. What do you think, Brother Dezhi?"
Lang Dezhi grinned and said, "What's wrong with that? I'm not as good at making money as you are, but you're not as good as me at driving and leading a team. A few years ago, when our area was flooded, the county recruited truck drivers to help transport supplies. I even signed up and helped for several days. The People's Liberation Army even praised me, saying that with my skills, I could even drive a military vehicle."
"You're just bragging! Driving military vehicles? You should just manage Xiaoman's transport team properly and not cause him any trouble, and I'll be thanking my lucky stars!" Shan Chunhua glared at her husband.
After their chicken farm, which they had run for over a decade, went bankrupt, the couple were indeed dejected and frustrated for a while. But when they thought about how they could work with Jiang Xiaoman and his team to grow tea, pick mushrooms, and raise native bees, plus the wages they would receive from the transportation team, they decided that if they worked hard, they might earn just as much as they would have earned running their own chicken farm.
Although chicken farms can generate cash every day, in bad years, the more chickens they raise, the more they lose. Even though they seem to make a lot of money selling chickens, when they finally do the math, wow! They still lose several thousand yuan from just one shed of chickens!
Thinking about it carefully, it's better to find a job with a stable salary. At least you're guaranteed a stable income regardless of circumstances. You won't get rich, but you also won't lose everything. The boss bears all the risks, and the employees just need to do their jobs well.
Moreover, they had already inquired privately and found that some shrewd families in Langshan Village had discovered that following Jiang Xiaoman earned more than going out to work. This year, none of the men in their families went out to work. In the spring, they went into the mountains to dig bamboo shoots, pick mushrooms, and harvest tea leaves. They also kept dozens of beehives at the same time. Starting in early summer, when wild vegetables came out, they went into the mountains again to pick wild vegetables and a second batch of mushrooms...
Plus, living at home means lower expenses in the countryside. All things considered, the family managed to save 70,000 to 80,000 yuan in just six months! And that doesn't even include the crops in the fields.
Well, crops are indeed not worth much, but this year the villagers of Langshan Village have learned their lesson. Everyone knows that after the first batch of wild vegetables in early summer is finished, Jiang Xiaoman will go to each family's vegetable garden to harvest vegetables and make pickles.
Therefore, many families in the village have stopped growing "traditional crops" like potatoes and sweet potatoes this year. Instead, they have focused on cultivating their mountain land and planting local chili peppers, long beans, young ginger, sword beans, pagoda vegetables, and garlic, which were the crops that Jiang Xiaoman harvested the most last year.
Last year, they suffered losses because they didn't anticipate the situation and planted too little, so they earned less when selling vegetables. This year, everyone made full preparations. Not only their own contracted fields, but some greedy people also reclaimed abandoned land near their contracted fields and planted a lot of sweet potatoes.
They weren't really there to eat sweet potatoes; the main reason was that sweet potato vines were also on Jiang Xiaoman's shopping list. These things have a high yield, and although they're cheaper than other vegetables, the sheer quantity makes up for it! Plus, sweet potatoes are more resilient than other vegetables. Once planted and properly fertilized, they can climb far and wide, as long as weeds don't let them grow wild!
In the past, villagers disliked that the sweet potato vines grew too long and the sweet potatoes below wouldn't grow big, so they would often come and cut some sweet potato vines to chop up and feed to the pigs.
But ever since they learned that sweet potato vines were more expensive than sweet potatoes, the villagers have stopped cutting them down to feed the pigs. They let the sweet potatoes grow as big as they want, or not at all, as long as the vines grow as long as possible.
No wonder she's been a boss for over ten years! Shan Chunhua and her husband put their heads together and exclaimed, "Wow! We've earned seventy or eighty thousand in just six months! If we work harder, and with our tea garden of a few acres, we could probably earn around two hundred thousand a year!"
Isn't this more profitable than raising chickens from dawn till dusk?
Besides, raising chickens requires constant worry, fearing bird flu or a sharp drop in the price of broiler chickens and eggs. You work hard to raise two sheds of chickens for several months, only to end up losing tens of thousands of yuan instead of making a single penny!