Chapter 128 Chapter 11 Taxation Department of Lujiang Hanguan

At the end of the bookshelf, there is a desk and some tables and chairs, like a court in a yamen, majestic.The table and chairs are bigger than the dragon chairs in the Forbidden City. Anyone who looks at it will imagine that the person sitting there is either a big fat man or a pig.If this is a real library, that desk would be the equivalent of a librarian's desk. Liao Laoer and I walked over mutteringly. There were some brochures on the table, but we were not interested in those. Instead, there was a stone screen behind the desk.The stone screen is gray all over, with no patterns on it, only densely packed characters.Those characters are different from the Xuanji picture on the stone gate, they are a narrative note.When I walked into this blessed place, I understood the meaning of Xuanji Tu. It represented a wealth of knowledge and symbolized the tea books behind the door that I could never finish reading in my lifetime.

The gray stone screen is not only engraved with notes, but also a red square seal, and a title - "Letter from the Taxation Department of Yujiang Hanguan to set up a factory to rectify tea affairs".Liao Laoer thought I was walking slowly, so he stretched his neck all the way, trying to see the writing on the stone screen clearly.I didn't read it, but I already knew what was recorded on it. In fact, it was the reason why the Jianghan Customs Tax Department set up a tea factory. The "Yujiang Hanguan Taxation Department Established Factory Rectification Tea Affairs Letter" is also referred to as "Yujiang Hanguan Taxation Department" by the world. This institution was established by Zhang Zhidong in the late Qing Dynasty.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there were "farming associations" or "agricultural societies" to promote agriculture, but the tea industry did not plan to establish such national or inter-provincial academic groups.The only government-run organization that can be seen in records is the rectification tea factory established by the "Jianghan Customs Taxation Department".

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese tea industry turned from prosperity to decline, and the tea industry in India, Japan and other places rose. Some Western scholars even believed that the origin of tea was in India.In order to reverse the situation, Zhang Zhidong, who is a member of the Westernization Movement, rectified the tea business and restored the tea profit, so he set up a tea business factory in the place where the tea was produced.There is no record in history of how many such tea factories were established and what happened afterwards. We can only find a trace of records from the notes of the "Yujiang Hanguan Taxation Department" that have been handed down.

Since Wuyishan is a tea town, Zhang Zhidong must have set up a factory in the mountains, and the function of the factory is not only to cultivate tea, but also to collect tea books.Regarding this matter, I have also heard that there was an official organization that wanted to compile a book, which was called "General Outline of Tea Books".This "General Outline of Tea Books" included the achievements of every family in the world. Some tea masters were unwilling to give it, so they were persecuted and many people disappeared because of it.It's a pity that this is all a rumor. No one has seen the "General Outline of Tea Books", but many ancient books have been lost, but it happened in reality.

Liao Laoer’s tongue was tied and he couldn’t speak for a long time. I read it and said: “You should know that the Ming Dynasty was the heyday of tea science, and many tea books were handed out. , a lot of tea books were lost, and no one thought about whether there was any problem with this matter. In addition, the wars continued and the people were in dire straits, so no one was interested in paying attention. Now it seems that Zhang Zhidong took the books away, copied them down, and hid them here?" The second Liao swallowed his saliva, and finally said: "It turns out that they set up a tea factory here, and the Lin family found out, and made it bigger. No wonder they guard here every day! This makes sense, Anyway, it is a government-run organization, even if it is not as high as Qianlong's, they can still bully others."

"From the perspective of time, it should be like this. Only the manuscripts left in the late Qing Dynasty can be preserved in such a harsh environment. Before the Ming Dynasty, these books would have turned into mud long ago." I said Distressed Road. Liao Er'er's face immediately turned pale, and he hurriedly asked: "Then... who is that old ghost? Could it be Zhang Zhidong's ghost? Or is he not dead?" "Don't keep scaring people with superstitious ideas, okay?" I pondered for a while, then said, "How could Zhang Zhidong live to this day? He died long ago. The old ghost must be related to the Lin family!"

"Could it be that the old man Lin Ming didn't die from anger, but faked his death?" Second Liao asked suspiciously. I shook my head and said in denial: "This is absolutely impossible. If it is a fake death, the Lin family doesn't need to bother to find a teapot. Besides, the old ghost must be older than Lin Ming, definitely close to or over a hundred years old." Liao Laoer let go of the hand that was supporting me, scratched his head, and said embarrassedly: "You are right, if the old ghost is Lin Ming, the Lin family should not cut off his tongue, as if he already lived in the It’s been here for a long time, even longer than Taoist Wangqiao.”

I jumped a few steps forward with one foot and bumped into the stone desk. Seeing this, Lao Er Liao ran over nervously to help me.With a big wave of my hand, I signaled that no one needed help, and then slowly turned to the back of the stone desk.The booklets on the desk were in a mess, and there was a writing brush lying aside, as if people at that time were writing something.I looked at the desk, then looked up at the dozens of rows of bookshelves, feeling a very ominous premonition in my heart.Since the tea books here are so precious, why didn't the people from the tea factory take them away? Were they forced to evacuate due to the war, or did they fail to come back because of an accident on the road?

However, the old people in Xiamei Village are very proud to tell us that, except for a few wars between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party during the Agrarian Revolution period, Xiamei has never encountered any serious foreign wars.When Japanese warplanes bombed the villages of Chishi, Gongguan, Chengguan, Xingcun, and Wufu, they did not dare to rush into the sky above Xiamei. I said to myself that it seems to have nothing to do with the flames of war. This place is so hidden that it is difficult for the enemy to find it. It is better to stay here to escape.I glanced at the writing brushes littered on Shitai, as well as a few unfinished booklets and some materials, and a chill came over my body.In the seemingly peaceful stone room, could it be that the people of the tea factory also encountered danger here and were forced to flee?Just like the ancient city of Yuequan, the ancient city was attacked by the insects of death, and almost no one could escape.

Liao Lao Er said that this is impossible, because the tea factory has been hidden here for a period of time. If there is danger, they will not choose this cave as their base.In fact, I have also considered this point, but the ancient city of Yuequan was not dangerous at first, and it was only later that the city was destroyed.I just hope that after so many years, there will be no more dangers and ambushes in the cave, but depending on the situation, that may not always be the case. I searched on the desk, and there was a booklet recording the establishment process of this tea factory.According to the records above, the cave had already been carved by people when the site was selected, and it may be that a certain predecessor lived here.It took more than 20 years from the establishment of the tea factory to the almost completion of the "General Outline of the Tea Book".The plan in the brochure was to spend 30 years, but they disappeared mysteriously, and there were still 10 years of tasks to be completed, and it is not known where the other tea books that were seized are kept.

I was so happy that I just sat on the cold stone chair, opened the booklet on the desk, and Liao Laoer stood opposite me.There is not much information on the table, and there is no record of how many tea factories have been established in the world. The only thing that can be seen in historical records is the "one-shot" in the "Taxation Department of Yujiang Hanguan".Looking at the scale of Wuyishan tea factory, even if it is not the leader of all tea factories, its status will not be low. The second brother Liao asked worriedly: "Xiaolu, do other factories have so many tea books? If so, someone may have already discovered other factories." "It's unlikely. I think there's only one place. If they all do the same work, there's no need to set up so many tea factories." I said. Second Liao asked again: "That's not right. It seems that the Lin family has discovered this place long ago. Why didn't they tidy up these things? Are you not afraid of being discovered by others if you leave them here like this?" "That's why they sent people to guard this place. If you tell them where to move so many books, it will definitely attract people's attention. The Lin family is too scheming. They don't share good things, and they hide them so well." I sighed. . Liao Laoer said disdainfully: "Share everything, my wife, do you want to share? Successful businessmen are not human, they always have a narrow mind. If we had shared all the tea books back then, would the Lin family have such a bright future?" I was at a loss for words. To be a businessman, you have to be a human being. This kind of concept is too discordant.The Lin family is definitely not stupid, and they don't take everything away.Since the tea factory has collected the world's tea books, it is likely to also collect the world's famous teas.The Lin family did not take away the books, but took away the precious tea leaves. Immediately, before we came to Wuyi Mountain, we found out the ins and outs of the Lin family. In 1941, Wuyishan, a Chinese tea company, established a tea research institute, and the Lin family came out of the research institute.Before the Cultural Revolution, Lin Ming voluntarily left the Tea Research Institute, but insisted on leaving without explaining the specific reasons.It is no accident that these things are intertwined. The first person to discover this place must be Lin Ming, known as the "tea addict". Seeing that I was deep in thought and silent, Liao Er Er suddenly said that it was wrong, this place is like a scripture room, where did the old ghost and the two rotting corpses come from.I immediately came back to my senses after hearing this, thinking why I didn’t notice this just now, maybe there are other passages in the scripture room.I gritted my teeth and stood up. My left foot hurt more and more, as if someone had been cutting my ankle with a knife.As soon as I yelled a few times, Liao Er said that I was putting on airs and that I was not manly at all. After I got up, I jumped to the back of the stone screen. There are stalagmites, which have been formed for thousands of years, so it is difficult to set up a dark pavilion in such a place.The second Liao walked around the desk and the stone screen, saw stalagmites behind it, and said there would be no organ behind it.I thought to myself that this is impossible, if there is no way to get here, could it be that the two dead people have already died here, one of them must be Lin Hongyan, right? Looking at the stalagmites surrounding the cave, I suddenly remembered something. It seemed that there was a neglected place in the Tibetan scripture stone.But at this time, there were hurried footsteps behind us, and when we turned our heads, the old ghost broke free and came back again.My ankle was injured, and I couldn't fight the old ghost, and Liao's second son was not very courageous, so we both froze in panic.Seeing the old ghost rushing towards him, I wanted to find a weapon to defend myself, but I remembered that the dagger I brought was thrown on the side of the stone corridor. The second Liao also yelled loudly that his dagger was lost somewhere. As soon as we said a word, the old ghost rushed towards me and crushed me to the ground in an instant.Liao's second child had been petrified for a long time, and stood aside in a daze, not coming to help me for a long time.I panicked and thought, why does the old ghost like to overwhelm people so much, what a pervert!But after the old ghost threw me down, he didn't move. When I pushed him away, I felt a handful of hot mucus in my hand. Grabbing the flashlight that fell from the ground, I shone a light on the old ghost. At some point, the old ghost was stabbed in the abdomen, and the dagger was brought in by us.