Chapter 90: Tea Set Design

Madam Wu also looked over curiously.

Ye Yaming was quite satisfied with the quality of the tea sets.

These were made of sweet white porcelain, which was considered very high-end in the Great Jin Dynasty.

Last time, when Ye Yaming brought out the tea sets, she told Lu Guanyi to first let Master Zhineng set up a tea ceremony. Once the tea ceremony was set up and the use of the tea sets became popular in high society, they could start selling the tea sets. It seemed that Lu Guanyi understood her intentions.

Tea, although a beverage enjoyed by everyone from royalty to commoners, is most appreciated by the wealthy, cultured, and sophisticated scholar-official class for its taste and brewing techniques. This pursuit of excellence has formed a tea culture. Since it is a culture, it must be elegant, artistic, and high-end. The formation and promotion of tea culture must start from the upper echelons of society. Therefore, these tea sets must initially follow a high-end route.

The reason why compressed tea is popular is not because of its taste but because it is considered elegant. Loose tea is not popular in the current Great Jin Dynasty because it cannot be played with elegantly. So, starting with tea sets, then using tea ceremonies to showcase the cultural and aesthetic levels of the scholar-officials, and finally innovating in taste, allowing them to discover new types of tea to enjoy, with various brewing methods for different teas. In this way, how could they not abandon the compressed tea they have played with for decades and turn to the ever-changing loose tea?

She didn’t need an emperor like Zhu Yuanzhang to “abolish compressed tea and promote loose tea.” She could still let loose tea replace compressed tea and bring everyone back to the true essence of tea.

Seeing that the tea sets matched her designs, Ye Yaming nodded and smiled at Lu Guanyi, “Very good, nothing is amiss. It’s impressive that you found a master to make sweet white porcelain tea sets in such a short time.”

Qi Ji added, “You don’t know. After you gave him the designs, he couldn’t wait, so he immediately sent someone to Xiping Town in the south to find the best master to fire a kiln. The tea sets were delivered to Zimo in less than an hour.”

Lu Guanyi didn’t refute him and said to Ye Yaming, “People in the capital highly regard sweet white porcelain, so I had these made. If you have any other ideas, feel free to share them.”

He paused and added, “Don’t worry, we will pay for them.”

Advisor Wu, hearing this, looked at Ye Yaming with a subtle expression.

Ye Yaming understood his thoughts. She knew that people of status and position at this time were ashamed to talk about money openly. Only commoners would haggle. As merchants, the Ye family should be doing their best to please Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji, offering any good recipes or items they had.

In Advisor Wu’s view, although he could lower himself to flatter the Ye family, it was only because of Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji. The Ye family should be doing everything to please Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji. If they had good recipes or items, they should offer them all. As for profits, if Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji were kind, they would share some benefits to compensate the Ye family. If not, the Ye family shouldn’t complain. The Ye family should clearly understand their position.

Knowing Advisor Wu’s thoughts, Ye Yaming remained calm and unbothered, determined not to change her stance. She came from a time that promoted equality without the servile mentality of this era. If the Ye family or she started off subservient, they would never be able to stand tall in the future.

She wanted equal cooperation and mutual benefit. The fifty-fifty split was not arbitrary. She smiled at Lu Guanyi and nodded, “Thank you, Mr. Lu.”

Seeing her attitude, not only Advisor Wu and his wife but also Lu Guanyi raised their eyebrows slightly; Qi Ji found it very interesting.

Ye Yaming was different from all the women they had encountered before.

“The tea ceremony I set up last time because Master Zhineng’s meditation room was solemn and serious, I wanted to express the theme of ‘Zen.’ So I used tablecloths, vases, and flower arrangements to match this theme and atmosphere. The vase was ancient and simple, with dried branches representing the withering and death in the tea-making process.”

“But when the tea is infused with boiling water, it unfurls and releases its sweetness, like a phoenix reborn, coming back to life. This represents glory and life. So I chose white porcelain to brew it, contrasting with the color of the dried branches. The tea ceremony’s colors also had contrasting and vibrant elements. This is the aesthetic and insight brought by the tea ceremony setup.”

Advisor Wu, being a scholar, although only having passed the provincial examination, still had a literary and romantic side. When Ye Yaming first spoke, he was full of disdain, thinking what high opinions could a merchant’s daughter have. But now, hearing such profound insights, he was shocked.

Even Lu Guanyi, Qi Ji, and Ye Chongming, who had heard Ye Yaming’s views on the tea ceremony at Chongshan Temple, found her words refreshing.

It was hard to imagine such words coming from a fifteen-year-old girl with no formal education. Even Master Zhineng, who had spent his life studying Dao, couldn’t come up with such theories.

Of course, “no formal education” was relative to those who had studied for ten years and had the level of a jinshi.

Ye Yaming didn’t think she was remarkable. She was standing on the shoulders of giants, expressing the understanding of the tea ceremony and tea setup from future generations. Of course, this understanding wasn’t copied but was her own insights based on those theories.

She continued calmly, “What if I want to express the vibrant life of spring? Spring tea is fresh and green, the scent of spring is in the air; in the scorching summer, we need something to cool down, like lotus flowers blooming on the lake; in winter, amidst the white snow, the sudden bloom of red plum blossoms is stunning. What kind of tea sets should we use if we want to express these in a tea ceremony?”

Everyone in the room was deep in thought.

Ye Yaming looked at Lu Guanyi, her eyes serious, “So tea sets are not uniform. Their colors, textures, and styles can vary. We can design them based on different themes. As long as their functions remain consistent.”