Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Wang Yao did not distract him and quietly sat in a corner observing.

  Fry, knead, fry and knead again.

  With each repetition, the strength and time taken for each action were different.

  The process relied on one’s experience to control and operate. This was done without an advanced appliance and without a temperature gauge and timer. It was this handmade process that was very attractive.

  Some things could never be created using machines.

  The frying of the harvested tea leaves from Nanshan hill was completed in the afternoon. During the process, Master Xu did not rest; in fact, he continued to be immersed in a special state. Wang Yao silently observed and recorded and did not distract him.

  Whew! When the final drying process completed, Master Xu let out a long sigh of relief.

  “It’s okay now. We haven’t let down these quality tea leaves.” Looking at the finished product, Xu Maosheng used a towel and gently wiped away the perspiration that beaded on his forehead.

  “You have worked hard!” Wang Yao remarked sincerely.

  Frying tea was technical work. It was not the first time Wang Yao had seen Xu Maosheng’s frying process. The process required control of the temperature, repeated frying, and kneading. Patience, physical strength and energy were required. It was extremely tiring to go through the whole process.

  “It’s alright; I am already used to it. Let’s go over there to take a seat. This tea needs to cool for a bit and then get packaged.” Xu Maosheng used his towel to wipe his forehead again.

  “Okay.”


  In the house, Xu Maosheng’s wife had already prepared water and fruits for them. She meticulously cooled a large glass of water for her husband. When Xu Maosheng sat down, he took up the cooled glass and gulped down the large glass of water. He didn’t have a sip of water while he was frying the tea.

  “Ah, I am getting old. If I were younger by five or six years old, this work would have been easy,” Xu Maosheng sighed after drinking the glass of water.

  “Your age is a healthful age,” Wang Yao smiled and commented.

  “Healthful age? Haha,” Xu Maosheng laughed. “I really want to do this for a few more years. There is no one willing to learn this craft anymore.”


  “Yes, there are not many who are willing to learn this,” Wang Yao said.

  A handmade craft like this required meticulousness, patience, and intensive study. Young people these days tended to be flippant and always on the lookout to earn more money, and they lacked these traits.

  “There are machines specially meant for processing tea leaves. There is no real requirement to hand process them. However, such tea leaves are not comparable to handmade ones. They seem to lack something.”


  “Yes, the shape and taste of the tea, they seem to lack something—an artistic conception.”


  The two of them rested a while and went back to the room for processing tea. The room’s ventilation was very good, and the tea had cooled down already.

  “These can now be packaged. The weight is around 600 grams. How many portions do you need?” Xu Maosheng weighed the completed tea leaves and asked Wang Yao.

  “Six portions.”


  “Okay. I have some packaging. Choose one.”


  Xu Maosheng processed tea and also sold tea, so he had the packaging and the tools required to package them at his disposal.

  “Anything is fine. Something simple will be good.” Wang Yao picked the simplest packaging.

  The packaging he picked had the same interior and exterior designs—a simple picture of the mountains and water, with a Chinese character for “tea” written on the outside.

  Originally, Xu Maosheng wanted to put the six portions of tea into another type of packaging, but Wang Yao declined.

  “This is for me and some friends. There is no need to be so particular. Here, this is for you to try it fresh.” Wang Yao gave a portion of tea to Xu Maosheng.

  “This is too precious. I don’t want it. There is still a small portion left.” Xu Maosheng pointed to the remaining small portion of tea.

  “That’s too little. You have been busy the whole day, and yet you have earned lesser than your day’s wages?”


  “No, no, it’s okay. But thank you, I shall accept them.” Xu Maosheng smilingly accepted the tea. After all, he was a lover of tea, and this tea was hand processed by him.

  “Shall we try the tea?”


  “Sure.”


  Xu Maosheng took out a tea set, took out an appropriate amount of tea leaves and poured boiling water into the teacups that held the tea leaves.

  A tea fragrance wafted out immediately, the scent was pure, and it leisurely wafted out. The liquid was a mix of green and yellow, and it was crystal clear. The tea leaves were well shaped; each leaf and sapling literally had no damage. This was evidence of the tea master’s skillful craftsmanship!

  “Good tea, this is really good tea!” Xu Maosheng exclaimed. He was genuinely emotional.

  To detect truly good quality tea, actually tasting it was not necessary. From smelling the aroma, looking at the color and observing its shape, these tea leaves had fulfilled all the criteria of a quality grade tea.

  Xu Maosheng held up the teacup and carefully sniffed the aroma and then took a small sip. It was sweet, full-bodied and refreshing and left a fragrant taste in his mouth.

  “Excellent!” Xu Maosheng exclaimed. “Ah He, come drink this tea!” He was about to dash into the courtyard to call for his wife who was busy with her chores. His wife heard him and entered the house.

  “How fragrant!” She smiled and said upon entering the house.

  “Try it. This is rare and excellent tea; it’s wild tea planted by Doctor Wang on the hill, and it’s of the highest grade!” having said that, Xu Maosheng poured his wife a cup.

  “Hmmm, it’s indeed very nice. Better than the ones we plant at home,” his wife drank the cup and complimented.

  “Of course. Wild tea and cultivated tea are different. Besides, we use fertilizers on our tea.” In front of Wang Yao, Xu Maosheng did not hold back and said directly what was on his mind.

  The pot of tea was brewed multiple times, yet the taste remained strong, and the liquid continued to be crystal clear.

  “This is really the highest grade of tea, the best quality tea!” Xu Maosheng complimented. He smiled constantly. As a tea master that had made tea for decades, the happiest thing for him was to personally hand process high-quality tea leaves. Such high-quality tea leaves were so elusive!

  The feeling of happiness was similar to how Wang Yao felt when he successfully treated a patient. This was a sense of accomplishment. At the point of starting a certain career, attaining certain achievements created a sense of accomplishment.

  When Wang Yao left Xu Maosheng’s place, it was already past 4 pm in the afternoon.

  When he returned home, he presented a portion of tea to his parents.

  “Mom and Dad, this is the tea that I planted on the hill, help yourself to it,” he said.

  “Okay,” his father responded. Since a few of Wang Yao’s friends had gifted some renowned tea, his parents had started to like drinking tea. Whenever they felt like it, they would brew a pot daily. Hearing that this was their son’s planted tea, they were even more delighted.

  Wang Yao was prepared to gift the remaining portions of tea to Tian Yuantu and the rest of Wang Yao’s friends.

  The next day, after his morning’s exercise, Wang Yao went down the hill and drove his car to the city. He stopped by at Wang Mingbao’s place first. Wang Mingbao’s business was doing better than ever; there were numerous customers at his shop looking at the renovation materials that morning.

  “Hey, how come you have the free time to visit me?” Wang Mingbao showed him into his office and made him a cup of tea.

  “Don’t bother. I am here to give you something. I will be leaving soon,” Wang Yao said and then placed a package of tea on Wang Mingbao’s desk.

  “Tea?” Wang Mingbao was slightly surprised.

  “I planted them myself and asked a tea master to hand process them. I don’t have much so please try it.”


  “I bet they taste great!” Wang Mingbao remarked. To the things coming from Wang Yao’s hill, Wang Mingbao had almost blind faith in them. Previously, the unbelievably delicious taste of the dates and chestnuts were fresh in his memory. He was certain that the hill’s tea would be of high quality.

  “I think I have to put this away.” Wang Mingbao put the package of tea into his drawer.

  Wang Yao did not stay long at Wang Mingbao’s place. Subsequently, he departed and drove his car to Tian Yuantu’s office. Upon arriving, it happened that Tian Yuantu had a guest. It was an old gentleman in his 60’s. He was quite skinny but looked full of vigor, and he had a profound expression on his face. Tian Yuantu treated Wang Yao with familiarity and asked him to join him in his office.

  “You’ve found time to come today?”


  “I’m here to give you something. It’s tea from my hill and hand processed by Master Xu. Do try it, it’s fresh.” Wang Yao placed the package down.

  “Is it? I have such good fortune to enjoy this!” Tian Yuantu smiled, took the small package of tea and put it away.

  “Stay for lunch, why don’t you?”


  “It’s okay. You go ahead with whatever you’re busy with. I’ll take my leave now.”


  Eh? After passing by the old gentleman, Wang Yao paused momentarily. He could detect some noise in the man’s breathing. It was similar to bellows, and his breathing was quite rapid. There was a foreign matter in his lungs that caused unsteady breathing. It was likely to be phlegm.

  “What is it?” Tian Yuantu was a little surprised. He noticed Wang Yao looking at the old gentleman and immediately smiled.

  “I forgot to introduce you guys earlier. This is Professor Lu, a civil engineering expert. This is Wang Yao, my friend. He may be young, but his medical skills are exceptional!”


  “Oh?!” Professor Lu was a little shocked. Using the word “exceptional” on such a young man—he must be gifted.

  “Mr. Tian has given me too much credit.”


  “Young lad, why were you staring at me?” Professor Lu smiled and said.

  “Professor, were you unwell recently? You are breathing unevenly and have phlegm.”


  “That’s right!” Professor Lu was stunned upon hearing these words. If he was shocked earlier by Tian Yuantu’s praise for Wang Yao, he was now shocked by the young man’s ability. Merely by looking at him, Wang Yao could tell that he was unwell and could even accurately say where Professor Lu was unwell. Wang Yao was indeed extraordinary.

  “That’s amazing, young lad! I had a cold a few days ago, and I have phlegm in my lungs. I am feeling better today,” said Professor Lu.

  “Do you want to let Wang Yao take a look?” Tian Yuantu suggested.

  “Sure!” Professor Lu agreed.

  “Okay, I’ll take a look.” Wang Yao sat down and took Professor Lu’s pulse. There were some problems detected from taking the pulse.

  “Professor Lu, you have kidney stones. Is this an old ailment?”


  “Yes, it is,” Professor Lu replied.

  “You like to eat meat. Also, you had slightly more serious constipation this morning?”


  “My god, you can detect all this just by taking my pulse?” Professor Lu was stunned.

  Wang Yao merely smiled and did not reply to him.

  “You don’t have many problems with your body. However, you may need to make some changes to your lifestyle,” Wang Yao commented after the diagnosis.

  “Drink more water daily; take more vegetables and less meat. You can consider consuming some white fungus and walnuts.”


  “Can you prescribe medicine for me?” Professor Lu had now withdrawn his biases towards this young man. A youth who possessed such abilities at this age—it was impressive.

  “Your condition is not too serious. It will be ideal if you can start by improving your lifestyle habits. I can decoct you something. However, it can only treat you for the moment, the effects won’t be lasting,” replied Wang Yao.