"Why so much just for a tasting?" Li Xiang was a little confused.

He Zhixiang smiled. "A larger sample will give you a comprehensive understanding so you can be confident in the quality." He had only come looking for Li Xiang after witnessing his powerful salesmanship during the last stream.

"That makes sense." Li Xiang nodded and welcomed him inside.

Then, the two started grinding coffee at his home.

"I’ve actually brought three types of beans this time. These bags are Typica, the main product of my coffee plantation, also known as an old variety of small-bean coffee. These beans have a very rich aroma and a very smooth mouthfeel, with a hint of sweet, fruity acidity."

"This one over here is called Caturra. It’s a bean that grows on a small coffee tree with dense branches and thick leaves. Besides a rich aroma and mouthfeel, it sometimes has notes of nuts and chocolate."

"And this one is called Catimor..."

He Zhixiang was very familiar with his products, describing them as if listing family treasures. The beans were all pre-roasted, and each variety was further divided into dark, medium, and light roasts.

Light roasts had a lighter body and higher acidity, while dark roasts were heavier, with relatively lower acidity and a full-bodied mouthfeel. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Medium roasts fell somewhere in between.

Each type of bean was suitable for making different styles of coffee, allowing customers to choose based on their personal preferences.

’Damn,’ Li Xiang used to drink instant coffee back in his wage-slave days. He didn’t know the first thing about any of this and was left completely dazed by He Zhixiang’s explanation.

However, he didn’t let it show. He just secretly took note of everything. Then, as he tasted each coffee, he would discreetly verify the descriptions and carefully savor the flavors. Sure enough, he could easily distinguish the different mouthfeels and notes of each coffee.

Since they were evaluating the beans, the two drank pure, black coffee without any additives.

Li Xiang used to think that the mixed coffee drinks sold in cafes—like lattes, mochas, and cappuccinos—were the pinnacle of flavor. But after tasting these pure coffees, he suddenly felt that this was the proper way to drink coffee.

As a Tier One Transcendent, his senses were sharp—and that included his taste buds and sense of smell. So it wasn’t surprising that he could quickly master the art of coffee tasting.

However, from He Zhixiang’s perspective, it was astonishing.

At first, Li Xiang had barely said a word, his eyes betraying a look of "clear-eyed ignorance." It was obvious he didn’t know anything about coffee, so He Zhixiang had explained everything in great detail.

But later, He Zhixiang noticed that Li Xiang started talking more, even taking the initiative. He could even identify some flavor notes that He Zhixiang himself hadn’t picked up on before.

’This guy is a natural-born coffee connoisseur and a live-streaming sales prodigy!’ He Zhixiang felt he had absolutely made the right decision in coming here!

As the two drank coffee in the house, the rich aroma drifted far and wide on the breeze. A few villagers passing by the intersection were drawn over. In truth, it wasn’t just the smell that attracted them, but the luxury car parked at the entrance.

Some sharp-eyed villagers had already seen the fancy car heading towards Li Xiang’s house and told others, "Most likely, another big boss has come looking to work with Xiang Ya."

The others replied, "Why don’t we go check out the excitement?"

"Let’s go, let’s go! We’ll go together."

It was the slack season for farming, and everyone was idle. With some fresh gossip to be had in the village, quite a few people rushed over. One auntie was even carrying a washbasin; she had been on her way to the creek to do laundry, but hearing the news halfway there, she curiously joined the crowd, forgetting all about her clothes.

Li Xiang brought out some pastries to share with everyone and also invited them to have some coffee.

However, the villagers generally couldn’t handle the stuff. Many spat it out after a single sip. "This is so bitter. What’s so good about it?"

"Tastes awful."

"Shouldn’t you add a little sugar and milk to make this coffee taste good? I’ve seen them drink it like that on TV. Some beautiful actress even sticks her pinky out while stirring like this..." An auntie began to imitate the female lead from a TV drama, making everyone keel over with laughter.

Li Xiang laughed. "Generally, it does taste better with a bit of sugar and milk. But adding them increases the calories, which can make you gain weight. It also affects the coffee’s original flavor."

Whether to add anything is a matter of personal preference. Everyone has their own tastes; as long as you think it’s delicious, that’s all that matters.

Li Xiang also had whole milk and white sugar at home, so he brought them out for everyone to help themselves. Regardless of whether their creations tasted good or not, the atmosphere was cheerful and harmonious for a while.

It had to be said, after adding sugar and milk, many people’s eyes lit up.

"Holy mother, so this is what coffee tastes like! It’s actually pretty damn good!"

"Third Brother, didn’t you add too much milk? You should be like me, add a little less, then you can even make some latte art."

He Zhixiang watched with a hint of envy. He felt that things were very down-to-earth here at Li Xiang’s place.

Although he ran several coffee plantations, he was actually from a wealthy family. Even when he inspected the plantations in the past, he had never interacted with the farmers at such a close distance.

The driver who had brought him stood to the side, his mouth twitching. ’If my colleagues found out our chairman was tasting coffee with a bunch of farmers,’ he thought, ’their jaws would hit the floor.’

This driver actually had his reservations. He felt his boss shouldn’t be working with Li Xiang. Although Li Xiang had some influence, he only had a hundred thousand or so followers. At the end of the day, he was just a minor influencer. Plus, Li Xiang was a pastoral-style vlogger—to put it bluntly, a country bumpkin. Could someone like that really generate good sales?

’Shouldn’t he be looking for those trendy, bourgeois-style vloggers, especially the beautiful women? Wouldn’t they be better for sales?’

Watching everyone enthusiastically drinking coffee, Li Xiang thought, ’If only Cai’Er were here. She would definitely love this.’

In the end, Li Xiang and He Zhixiang settled on the terms of their cooperation. Li Xiang was quite satisfied with the quality of the coffee and was willing to take the job. He had just built a new kitchen, spending a "huge sum of money," and his pockets were empty. How could he possibly refuse when He Zhixiang showed up offering cash for a product that was also excellent?

The appearance fee was 10,000, plus a 25% commission based on sales revenue. The more he sold, the more he would earn.

When the villagers heard that Li Xiang was going to make big money again and would be picked up by the big boss in a private car with all expenses paid, they were naturally green with envy.

"When are you free, my friend?" He Zhixiang asked.

Considering the approaching super-snowstorm, Li Xiang wanted to get it done as quickly as possible. Since the job required him to go out of province—broadcasting directly from the coffee plantation in Yunnan Province—Li Xiang said, "I’m flexible. The sooner, the better."

He was afraid that if he waited a few more days, he might go there to stream and not be able to get back.

This snowstorm was predicted to have an extremely wide reach and last for a very long time, causing widespread traffic paralysis. Since the southern regions lacked experience in dealing with such events, highway closures and airport shutdowns were bound to happen.

Besides, he also wanted to leave himself some time to prepare supplies for hunkering down for the winter.