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Chapter 11

Jin Yu's face turned pale, clearly frightened. She seldom encountered Xin Yunmao during work hours.

"It's okay, there will be other chances to clean." Chu Zhishui, noticing Jin Yu's timidity, glanced at Xin Yunmao and took charge of the situation, "Although we all know each other, it's rare to reunite like this, so let's go through the process and get to know each other again."

"This is Jin Yu, and this is Xin Yunmao. Both were previously in the Logistics Department and now in the Economic Development Department. It seems we are all fated to meet again."

Chu Zhishui acted like a kindergarten teacher, gently guiding both parties to break the ice.

Jin Yu obediently bowed her head, "Hello."

Xin Yunmao nodded.

That marked their first communication. Jin Yu used to avoid Xin Yunmao in the Logistics Department, where Xin Yunmao simply ignored others, creating a less than healthy workplace atmosphere. Now in the Economic Development Department, things were slowly changing.

Chu Zhishui had been worried that Xin Yunmao might say something outrageous, but she now realized she had been overly concerned; he remained silent even in the presence of other demons.

Jin Yu looked at her empty desk and hurriedly said, "I'll go to the Logistics Department to get my things."

"I'll help you."

Chu Zhishui had noticed when she arrived that her desk in the Economic Development Department was arranged just like in the Logistics Department, even down to the position of the pen she had used the day before. She wondered how that was possible.

But Jin Yu's new desk was still empty, her belongings not yet moved.

The two greeted Niu Shi in the Logistics Department and promised to visit often before leaving with the documents.

In the corridor, Chu Zhishui couldn't suppress her curiosity any longer and took the opportunity to ask, "Jin Yu, why are you so afraid of him?"

She had known that Xin Yunmao was an outcast in the Logistics Department, but she didn't understand why.

"Maybe I'm still too weak, haven't been a demon for long enough, I always feel such a strong oppressive aura." Jin Yu murmured, "I'm just not on the same level as him."

"Do you demons have levels?"

Jin Yu honestly nodded, "Yes, you might not feel it as a human, but we naturally can tell. Like the heads of the Observation Department and others, their demonic energy is much stronger than ours who work in logistics. My ability is just to erase memories, they have much stronger talents."

Chu Zhishui comforted her, "You're still young, the sky's the limit."

"And I remember someone once said it's best to keep your distance from him, that it could be dangerous..."

"Dangerous? Like what?"

Jin Yu racked her brain trying to remember, then ashamedly bowed her head, "I'm sorry, it seems it was when I first joined the department, but I can't quite remember now, I've forgotten who said it."

"It's okay, it's scientifically proven."

Jin Yu was puzzled: "What scientific proof?"

"Fish have poor memory," Chu Zhishui joked, "Maybe after a while, you'll even forget Director Wu."

"He's so annoying, I can't forget him. You didn't see how mad he was in the office after Director Hong's announcement yesterday," Jin Yu said excitedly as he escaped the grip, promising loudly, "I will work hard in the Economic Development Department from now on!"

Back in the room, Chu Zhishui arranged for Jin Yu to enter old data into the computer for the Economic Development Department, as Xin Yunmao was not adept with electronic products, so such tasks couldn't be assigned to him.

Chu Zhishui originally wanted to explain further, but Jin Yu, full of fighting spirit, took the order and left. She didn't mind at all that a former colleague had become her boss, nor did she raise any objections to the work distribution.

The morning passed without incident. Chu Zhishui reviewed the tea garden data, and Jin Yu entered information, even Xin Yunmao sat quietly in the room, not wandering outside.

When lunchtime came, Chu Zhishui stretched lazily. She turned around to find the desk behind her empty, blinking in surprise, not knowing when he had slipped away, although he had been there just minutes before.

Xin Yunmao disappeared the second lunch started, perfectly keeping his promise to appear only during working hours prescribed by the bureau, and never lingering in the office during breaks.

Chu Zhishui didn't mind; if he was too slow, inviting him to lunch would be another issue.

"Jin Yu, let's go have lunch."

In the cafeteria, the two found a corner but didn't see Xin Yunmao. Chu Zhishui chatted with colleagues over lunch, discussing future business plans.

Huaijiang Observation Bureau had various strange resources; just categorizing them took time, and it was unclear where they all came from. After reviewing the documents, Chu Zhishui found records of a wild tea garden, about fifty acres of green tea, not a large scale.

There were quite a few tea farmers in Huaijiang, but Huaijiang tea was not well-known nationally, nor was it produced on a large scale. Some families who didn't rely on tea farming kept one or two acres of green tea, which they would fry in a dry pot for personal use or as gifts.

Chu Zhishui was now eyeing the tea garden, thinking about whether it could be operational.

"A tea garden?" Niu Shi pondered, "It seems there is such a thing, it's been many years, and no one has managed it."

"Now is the tea picking season, and it will soon be too late. If we miss the timing, there will be no harvest this year," Chu Zhishui said. "Huaijiang is already a tea-producing area, whether it's hiring people to pick tea or quickly selling it, it's relatively easy to get started, at least we can find channels."

Jin Yu curiously asked, "Can our tea be sold?"

"If we sell to customers from other regions, we definitely can't compete with professional tea merchants. Their operations and scale are mature, while we are just about like a small workshop, merely supplementing the department's performance," Chu Zhishui said with a smile. "But as long as we have the tea garden, we can scrape something together. When it's time to sell the tea, we'll think of some ways to leverage the department's advantages."

Jin Yu seemed to understand but not quite.

"Brother Niu, I'm thinking of visiting the tea garden in a few days. Do you know anyone nearby who is familiar with the tea industry?"

Niu Shi had been at the department even before Wu Changgong, and managing the cafeteria allowed him to meet many people, undoubtedly making him the most knowledgeable about the surroundings.

Niu Shi replied, "I'll ask around for you another day."

Chu Zhishui quickly thanked him.

Everything is difficult at the beginning. The Economic Development Department is in its pioneering phase; it's not possible to create a well-known brand right off the bat. Fortunately, with only about twenty people in the department, if the Economic Development Department could earn a million a year, that would mean an extra forty thousand per person annually, which works out to over five thousand a month.

This was the short-term goal Chu Zhishui had set. Although it was still far from her previous salary, everything must be done step by step; one cannot become fat with just one bite. She often reminisced about her fulfilling days in school, rushing between various events, hoping her efforts would bear fruit, much like her current situation.

The so-called high-end wild tea garden was actually unattended. The records stated it was green tea, mainly old Longjing and Longjing 43.

The most valuable part of green tea is undoubtedly the bud tips. The tender leaves of early spring are small, and the yield is not high, but the price can reach a thousand yuan per kilogram. As the green leaves grow robust, the color of the fine leaves gradually changes, and the yield increases, but the price of green tea actually drops. The larger the tea leaves, the higher the yield, but the lower the price, until the season is completely over.

Moreover, green tea cannot be stored; green tea from the previous year loses its aroma, only the fresh ones taste good.

The green tea mountains stretched on, with gentle undulations, like soft emerald gauze scattered on the ground. Cars could not climb the narrow paths and could only stop at the entrance to the tea mountain.

Chu Zhishui gathered with the tea farmers at the foot of the mountain, looking up to take in the expanse of green. She had been to the tea garden several times recently, consulting on the harvesting and sales processes, and had finally gotten a clear picture of the situation with the fifty acres of green tea.

"Your fifty acres of tea isn't much, but you'll definitely need to hire people to pick it. Seven or eight people to pick the bud tips should do, then arrange for the tea frying. Later, when the green tea leaves come in bulk, you'll need a dozen or twenty people to handle it," she inquired humbly.

"How much does it usually cost to hire tea pickers around here?"

"People usually only hire during the busy season, some pay daily wages, others by package," the man looked her up and down, "If you're serious about doing this, I can find people for you, and give you a discount, including helping you wholesale it out."

The man in front of her specialized in selling tea and naturally had sales channels, occasionally even buying tea from the farmers.

Chu Zhishui remained noncommittal, skillfully steering the conversation towards packaging and shipping costs. She had recently tasked Jin Yu with checking for any overlooked business licenses, considering that the bureau had previously registered a small company, and it wasn't strictly necessary to sell to other tea merchants at wholesale prices.

As the group prepared to leave, the tea merchant surveyed the lush tea garden. Seeing that she didn't pick up the conversation, he continued to persuade, "I see you guys don't have time to manage it, why not lease out the tea mountain? This garden has been neglected for several years, right? You hear about high tea prices, but it requires maintenance every year, and you only make money for a couple of months. Honestly, it's quite troublesome; leasing it out would be less of a headache!"

Chu Zhishui listened to his relentless persuasion and quickly realized that the bureau's tea garden was quite decent. Since the tea merchant was interested in renting, it indicated that the existing tea trees were of exceptional quality; otherwise, he wouldn't be so actively initiating.

Chu Zhishui smiled and said, "Could you leave me your contact information? The situation at the bureau is special, and I need to report to the leadership."

"Sure, sure, a phone number? Or shall I scan your WeChat?"

Busy with collecting tea, the merchant left his contact details and hurried off to his next stop.

Others, seeing the exchange of phone numbers, waited for the tea merchant to leave and then chimed in with good intentions, "Hey, young lady, I advise you not to rent it to him. Your family's tea garden is quite good; you could get a higher price with someone else. This kind of trader will always try to drive the price down!"

Chu Zhishui, clearly young and appearing knowledgeable, gentle, and composed, drove a mid-to-high-end car in Huaijiang City, looking like a wealthy young lady who might be easily deceived due to her privileged background and lack of harsh societal experiences.

The crowd, perceiving her as inexperienced, felt uneasy about her renting the tea garden to the merchant and began to dissuade her.

"Thank you, but the tea garden isn't mine," Chu Zhishui replied gently. "Do you also grow tea?"

"Yes, my family's tea garden is quite close to here, and we grow some white tea as well."

"Is it also fifty acres?"

"Oh no, more than that, about a hundred acres."

Chu Zhishui showed admiration, "That's quite impressive, not easy to manage."

Someone else interjected, "That's nothing. My family has two hundred acres. To really scale up, you need thousands of acres!"

Chu Zhishui was merely starting the conversation, and the topic of tea growing unfolded, allowing her to learn about the situations of other tea farmers. Seeing her amiable demeanor, everyone began to chat eagerly.

Tea gardens typically struggle to profit in the first two years, with yield mainly depending on the age of the trees and varying by harvesting methods, including single buds, one bud one leaf, and one bud two leaves.

She was puzzled because, according to the tea farmers, tea gardens required meticulous care, yet the bureau's was a wild tea mountain, which logically shouldn't have such high-quality tea trees.

Having gathered the information, Chu Zhishui sighed softly, remarking, "It's all hard-earned money."

"Exactly, but there's no choice but to sell, otherwise how would we support our families!"

Tea farmers generally mobilize the whole family to keep labor costs down, but it's usually the tea merchants who end up making the money. However, tea farmers rarely have the capability to create valuable brands and lack direct control over sales channels, so they only make a little money from supplying raw materials, which is an unavoidable situation.

Chu Zhishui knew that growing tea wasn't enough to compete with the farmers; to earn more, one needed other strategies.

After several inspections, Chu Zhishui discussed this matter with Jin Yu.

Jin Yu was confused, not understanding the intricacies of tea garden management, and asked what she was most curious about: "How much can we make if we rent it out?"

"It might be just around a hundred thousand; not much money," Chu Zhishui said, "but we still need to negotiate the specifics."

Jin Yu's eyes widened: "That's already a lot! It would take me several years to earn that!"

Chu Zhishui couldn't help but smile wryly, "But that hundred thousand is the total profit. After the division within the bureau, each person would only get a few thousand. If we handle the sales ourselves, the profit could be even higher."

"But we would need to hire people to pick the tea first, right?"

"Yes, if we don't accept their all-in-one package, we'll need to hire people to pick the tea first, then figure out how to sell it," Chu Zhishui pondered, "We might need to get an advance from the bureau to cover the hiring costs."

"From the Finance Department?" Jin Yu felt troubled, "I don't see that as very realistic; even the Observation Department argues over money with the Finance Department every day."

The Observation Department is the most powerful division in the Huaijiang Observation Bureau, and all funding requests must go through multiple levels of approval.

Chu Zhishui understood this well. Director Hu readily agreed to cooperate, but when it came down to each department, the department heads were not pushovers. Why should they bother with her, a newcomer at the deputy level?

"It seems the most profitable ventures are always illegal," Chu Zhishui lamented, "It looks like we need to find a shortcut."

"What kind of shortcut?"

"How to keep labor costs as low as possible without violating labor laws."

"?"

Managing the tea garden kept Chu Zhishui busy, and she spent several days running around outside.

Chu Zhishui had no time to stay in the office, so much of the paperwork fell on Jin Yu. Although Jin Yu didn't mind, thinking it was less work than in the Logistics Department, Chu Zhishui still felt bad about it.

Thus, every time she drove back to the bureau, she would also buy three cups of milk tea to share with her colleagues in the Economic Development Department. Although she preferred coffee, Jin Yu liked pearl milk tea with regular sugar.

Over time, Jin Yu felt embarrassed, "You really don't have to keep bringing milk tea; I was fine just trying it once."

"It's okay, I like milk tea," Chu Zhishui reassured her without changing her expression, "I want you to join me."

"But you never take money for it; that must cost a lot," Jin Yu said, looking down uneasily. She felt that Chu Zhishui was not very conscious about money, unlike Wu Changgong who boasted everywhere, but her every move still showed lavishness.

"It's not much money."

Chu Zhishui wasn't lying when she said that what costs a cup of milk tea in Yinhai City could buy three in Huaijiang City. Now, it indeed didn't stress her out. She looked around at her two colleagues and whispered, "The most important thing is that everyone is happy. Or do you guys not like drinking it?"

Xin Yunmao, usually a man of few words in the office, had no objections and quietly sat by the window.

Jin Yu blushed slightly, "I do like it, but..."

Chu Zhishui smiled, "If you like it, that's good enough. Don't overthink it."

Jin Yu was thus persuaded, although she always felt something was off but couldn't pinpoint the details.

The Economic Development Department was just getting started, and there were indeed many tasks to handle. Jin Yu occasionally had to leave the office to handle procedures and wasn't always stationed at her desk. Chu Zhishui usually bought pearl milk tea when Jin Yu was around. Truth be told, she wasn't too fond of the overly sweet, high-sugar milk tea.

In the office, Xin Yunmao noticed Chu Zhishui returning empty-handed from outside. Recalling her recent habits, he pondered for a few seconds and curiously asked, "You seem to have bought less milk tea these past few days. Don't like that sweet drink anymore?"

"Jin Yu went out to handle some business today and probably won't be back until after work," Chu Zhishui replied, puzzled. "Do you want some? I feel like you're not very interested in pearl milk tea."

She had packed milk tea from several places before and observed her colleagues' drinking speeds, which roughly indicated their preferences. Both colleagues had a sweet tooth, but Jin Yu preferred the extra sweet pearl milk tea, while Xin Yunmao leaned towards the lighter fruit teas.

"It's not about what you like..." Xin Yunmao's brows furrowed slightly, and he suddenly realized, incredulously, "You've been buying it specifically for her and just bringing it along for me?"

She had said she hoped everyone would join her in drinking it, but it turned out to be all about accompanying that 'fish'!

"Yes."

Hearing her unapologetic response, Xin Yunmao was even more upset: "Do you think that's reasonable?"

Chu Zhishui saw his icy face tint with slight anger, completely baffled by his sudden temper.

Xin Yunmao took a deep breath, not exploding immediately but coldly said, "If we're talking about offerings, what you're doing is almost blasphemous. I'll give you a chance to rephrase that—say it's you who likes drinking it, or that it's specifically bought for me and just brought along for her."

Chu Zhishui, puzzled, replied, "Give me a chance to rephrase?"

Xin Yunmao's gaze was deep, "Yes, I'm being quite generous here. Just change your statement, and all will be forgiven."

Her actions were akin to bringing a Christian Bible as an offering to a Buddhist temple, a move not just about losing faith but outright provocative and insulting.

Yet, Chu Zhishui was unyielding, calmly stating, "I won't change it."

Xin Yunmao's eyes darkened like the spreading night, his lips barely parting as he warned, "This is your last chance..."

Chu Zhishui's tone remained serene, "Thank you, but aren't chances meant to be wasted?"

Xin Yunmao, seeing her unrepentant, finally became thoroughly annoyed and exclaimed, "So you think I should be treated the same as that fish!?"

It was bad enough that she compared him to Hu Chenrui, but Jin Yu was just a little demon who had only recently become sentient.

The gap between Xin Yunmao and Jin Yu could be likened to a top-level pro versus a complete novice.

Chu Zhishui was taken aback: "Of course not."

Xin Yunmao's expression softened slightly, thinking she still had a will to survive.

Chu Zhishui blinked, "Jin Yu has a heavier workload than you, so naturally, shouldn't his compensation be higher?"

"???"