Chapter 49

After Erzhu’s family left, the Cha family remained in the courtyard, enjoying the cool air while chatting.

Zuo Mingyan took out a pair of new insoles she was stitching—these were for Jiang Tiantian. She had learned this craft from the village women after arriving in Chajia Village. Whenever she had free time, she would make a pair for her family members.

Meanwhile, Cha Jizu sat by the stone slab, inspecting the “crab feet” (a type of medicinal herb) that Jiang Tiantian had picked earlier in the day. Jiang Tiantian stood beside him, casually sifting through the pile while asking, seemingly unintentionally, “Grandpa, how is the quality of the tea leaves from our village’s ancient tea trees?”

Cha Jizu’s face filled with pride. “Of course, they’re excellent! When I was young, I traveled far and wide and tasted tea from many places, but none of them compared to the tea from our Chajia Village.”

He looked at Jiang Tiantian’s bright, curious face and continued, “You young people don’t like drinking tea, so you don’t understand its benefits. But look around—how many elderly people in our village are weak and sickly? Aren’t they all full of energy, still able to climb mountains and wade through rivers?”

“Do you remember those elders we met when we went to update the family genealogy?”

Jiang Tiantian nodded. “Yes, I remember.”

They were all elderly men with white hair, yet they stood strong and had rosy complexions.

Cha Jizu chuckled. “They are all in their nineties or even over a hundred years old. Did they look like it to you?”

They’ve practically become immortals!

Jiang Tiantian was amazed. “I really couldn’t tell—I thought they were at most eighty!”

Cha Jizu gave a triumphant nod. “See? They all share one habit—they have been drinking tea for decades. The tea from our village helps prolong life.”

“Our ancestors were tea lovers. When they fled here during troubled times, they discovered this ancient tea forest and found the feng shui of the place favorable, so they decided to settle here and live in seclusion.”

“Even our family name, ‘Cha’ (which means tea), comes from this history.”

After finishing, Cha Jizu sighed with regret. “Unfortunately, as time passed, most young people in the village have forgotten our origins.”

Jiang Tiantian was surprised to learn that even the family name carried such a deep history.

What an incredible brand story!

And there were living examples to back it up.

With such tea, if they couldn’t sell it, it would be an absolute waste.

“Grandpa, since our village has such amazing tea and even these rare ‘crab feet,’ has no one thought about producing tea for sale?”

Cha Jizu shook his head. “It’s not that we haven’t thought about it. But picking, drying, and processing tea is hard work. And even if we make the tea, it doesn’t sell well. Over time, young people in the village stopped learning the craft.”

“Now, only some of the elders pick and process a small amount each year to share among families.”

Jiang Tiantian frowned. “But the village has roads now—you could transport it outside to sell, right?”

“Tea doesn’t fetch a high price. People prefer harvesting caterpillar fungus, picking matsutake mushrooms, or raising livestock. Those make more money, so no one wants to bother with tea.”

Jiang Tiantian sighed. “But our village’s ancient tea trees are incredibly rare outside. It would be a waste not to sell the tea.”

Cha Jizu paused and looked at Jiang Tiantian. “Do you have an idea?”

Ever since she trained the mop to find matsutake mushrooms, he had realized that this girl had a lot of clever ideas.

Jiang Tiantian grinned. “Grandpa, the reason no one wants to do it is simply that it doesn’t make money, right?”

“And because our village’s tea is so high-quality, we shouldn’t sell it cheaply.”

“But what if we could sell our tea for a high price?”

Cha Chengye, who had been listening, joined in. “Tiantian, how do we sell our tea for a high price?”

Jiang Tiantian turned to Cha Jiuzhang and asked, “Why can our village’s matsutake mushrooms be exported directly to Japan for high prices and still be in demand?”

Cha Jiuzhang, who had handled the sales process, immediately answered, “Because the Japanese love matsutake mushrooms. They believe wild matsutake has strong anti-cancer properties, and eating it is almost synonymous with good health.”

“But wild matsutake is naturally rare, and the ones from our village are of exceptional quality, so they’re highly sought after there.”

Jiang Tiantian nodded. “Exactly. So, if our village’s tea has significant health benefits, drinking it should also be linked to good health, right?”

Cha Jiuzhang agreed. The elderly people in the village were proof of that.

Jiang Tiantian continued, “Ancient tea trees are scarce worldwide—they are a rare resource. If matsutake mushrooms can be sold at high prices, why can’t our tea?”

The three men of the Cha family fell silent.

Since the village’s roads had been built, Cha Jiuzhang had tried selling the village’s tea a couple of times, but mostly to supply cooperatives in Rongcheng at low prices.

He had never considered the possibility of selling it at premium rates.

Jiang Tiantian guided them further. “With so much loose tea on the market, how can ours stand out?”

Zuo Mingyan, who had been listening, finally spoke up. “Tiantian, you just said ancient tea trees are rare—that’s an advantage!”

Jiang Tiantian replied, “We know that, but if we tell outsiders, will they believe us?”

Cha Chengye asked, “Tiantian, then what should we do?”

“If a product meets the criteria of being rare, highly effective, high quality, and reputable, would it struggle to sell or fetch a low price?”

Cha Chengye shook his head. “No, it would definitely sell well.”

Jiang Tiantian clapped her hands. “Exactly! Our village’s ancient tea trees already have rarity and health benefits. What’s missing is quality, reputation, and a recognized selling point.”

“As the saying goes, ‘Even the best wine fears a hidden alley.’ If you don’t package and promote it, who will know how good it is?”

Cha Jiuzhang nodded in agreement.

They had never thought about it this way before. Tea wasn’t like matsutake mushrooms—its quality wasn’t immediately visible. Only true tea lovers could taste the differences.

And without consistent long-term consumption, its health benefits weren’t obvious either.

If they didn’t actively promote it, no one would ever know.

Cha Chengye asked eagerly, “Tiantian, how do we establish quality and reputation?”

Jiang Tiantian raised a finger. “Dad, we either don’t do it, or we do it right.”

“In the future, when people think of ancient tree black tea, they should immediately think of Chajia Village.”

“For quality and reputation, we need a two-pronged approach.”

“If we want to expand, the current household-based tea-making method won’t work—it’s not good for maintaining quality control.”

“First, I suggest establishing a professional tea processing factory in the village. Everything from managing the ancient tea forest to harvesting, processing, and packaging should be standardized.”

“This will ensure that the final product maintains consistent quality and taste.”

“Second, we need a dedicated branding and marketing team. The branding team will create a unified image for our village’s tea, focusing on its history, the longevity of our elders, the ancient tea forest’s environment, and the tea’s health benefits.”

“Our tea brand will be called ‘Chajia Village Ancient Tree Black Tea.’ The marketing team will package it beautifully and promote it with brochures and elegant presentation.”

“If we get influential people to endorse our tea, it will become a symbol of quality and status. Eventually, our tea might even be exported, just like matsutake mushrooms!”

“In fact, the global demand for black tea—especially in Europe and the U.S.—is massive!”

“And with the tea factory, villagers can have stable jobs and year-end bonuses.”