Chapter 15: The Fragrant Torreya of Qiaoshan

Around eleven o’clock at night, most of the village’s lights had long gone out. The countryside at night was unlike the outskirts of the city—so quiet that only the chorus of insects remained.

Jiang Yuan had finished her bath and lay under the covers playing games. Because of Song Jian’s harassment, she was in a foul mood and vented her frustration by recklessly slaughtering opponents in the game.

By the time Cheng Yu Bai logged on, Jiang Yuan had already released some of her anger in the game, turned off her phone, and gone to sleep. She hadn’t had time to play for two days in a row, spending each day helping her mother manage messages on Douyin. Watching her mother’s follower count grow by over ten thousand daily, she was buzzing with excitement, almost as if injected with adrenaline. She even started studying other rural influencers' accounts, analyzing how they managed their content and gained popularity, eager to help her mother improve and full of energy.

Suddenly, one day, a small car arrived in Yucun and began asking villagers where the popular influencer “Sister Fang Fang” lived. Following their directions, the car pulled up to Jiang Yuan’s doorstep.

“Sister Fang Fang” was the nickname Jiang Lanfang used on Douyin—a simple yet catchy name, easy to remember and very down-to-earth.

A middle-aged man in his forties stood outside the yard, clutching a black briefcase under one arm and carrying a heavy sack of rice in the other hand. It was unclear what was inside. He peeked cautiously around and called out loudly, “Is Sister Fang Fang home?”

Jiang Yuan, busy in her bedroom with her laptop, heard the voice and put it down. She put on her shoes and walked out to the gate, asking from behind it, “Hello, uncle, who are you looking for?”

Under the bright sun, the man wiped sweat from his brow and said, “Young lady, I’m looking for Sister Fang Fang. Is she home?”

Jiang Yuan hesitated before opening the door. “What do you want with my mom? Is she up the mountain working in the fields? If it’s urgent, you can tell me first.”

The man replied, “Young lady, your mother’s Douyin account is very popular. I want to talk to her about a collaboration. I’m from Qiaoshan Village in Huangshan District. My name is Xu Baishan. May I come in and talk?”

“Sure.”

Jiang Yuan opened the door and invited him inside, pouring a cup of tea for Xu Baishan. He explained his visit, placing the sack on the Eight Immortals table and opening it to show her. Inside were fragrant torreya nuts.

“Young lady, these are torreya nuts grown by my family. You can try them—they taste good. I’m here today hoping your mother can feature a bamboo tray filled with our nuts in her autumn sun-drying videos to help promote them. Don’t worry, she won’t be giving away free advertising. My cousin in Yucun introduced your mother to me. His name is Cheng Youji. Do you know him?”

Jiang Yuan shook her head.

Xu Baishan pressed on, “He lives in Xiabqiao near Yucun Primary School. Young people might not know him, but your mom probably does.”

Jiang Yuan called her mother, “Mom, do you know Cheng Youji? He lives in Xiabqiao.”

Jiang Lanfang replied, “Cheng Youji? The neighbor of Aunt Lanlan? Yes, I know him. Why?”

Jiang Yuan explained, “His family member from Qiaoshan Village came looking for you. They want to place their homegrown torreya nuts in our yard for your videos, hoping you can promote them more. This year’s harvest is abundant, which should be great, but the buyers are deliberately lowballing prices. They won’t accept selling cheap, so they want to cooperate with us.”

Jiang Lanfang said, “Tell him to wait a bit. I’ll be back in about an hour when I finish what I’m doing. I know Qiaoshan Village; they plant a lot of torreya trees there.”

Jiang Yuan hung up. From Xu Baishan’s explanation, Qiaoshan Village cultivated 12,000 mu of torreya nut forest, making it the second-largest natural torreya forest in the country. In 2023, the dry nut yield was over 50,000 kilograms, valued at about five million yuan. This year, the dry nut yield was expected to exceed 100,000 jin. Torreya nuts had become a cash crop and a source of wealth for villagers.

Qiaoshan was an extension of the Huangshan mountain range, with an average elevation of over 700 meters. The mountains were high and steep, shrouded in mist year-round, cool and humid—ideal conditions for torreya trees. During the autumn harvest, the hills were covered with nuts. Along the roads, village entrances, and in the mountain forests, busy figures could be seen picking nuts everywhere. The shells of Qiaoshan’s torreya nuts were especially thin, with fragrant, crisp kernels, making them popular in the market. However, buyers lowered prices because of this year’s bumper crop, which was unbearable.

Jiang Yuan understood Xu Baishan’s frustration. The market was always like this: when the harvest was large, prices dropped. Merchants had no shortage of goods to buy, but farmers feared their produce would go unsold, desperate for sales.

Xu Baishan even showed Jiang Yuan photos of the torreya trees on his family’s mountain, his eyes red with urgency. “Young lady, I heard from my cousin that your mother has become famous on Douyin. I’ve seen her videos. Yesterday she posted one about picking chestnuts on the mountain, processing them, and laying them out on bamboo trays in the yard. Many viewers commented that they wanted to buy your family’s chestnuts. This is a huge business opportunity—it shows her fans are real and eager to buy. I want to invite your mother to our village to film picking and processing torreya nuts. Our nuts are processed using traditional methods involving over a dozen steps: picking, soaking, peeling, drying, steaming, roasting, conditioning, and re-roasting to produce the distinctive original or salted flavor. I believe videos of making torreya nuts will attract many viewers. When your mother returns, please help me convince her. I am sincere and will ensure she is treated fairly.”

Jiang Yuan tasted two nuts—they were indeed delicious.

“Uncle Xu, don’t rush. Wait until my mom comes back. I’ll discuss it with her. May I see the videos of your nut processing? Do you have them on your phone?”

Xu Baishan eagerly nodded. “Yes, yes, I prepared them especially. But they’re not as good as your mom’s videos. Here, take a look.”

Jiang Yuan watched and thought a video series made by her mother on picking and making torreya nuts would indeed be captivating. They needed fresh short-video material, and Xu Baishan’s invitation was a perfect fit—a mutually beneficial opportunity.

When Jiang Lanfang returned, Jiang Yuan had already talked with Xu Baishan for over half an hour, learning everything she wanted about the nuts.

“You finally made it, little sister. It’s so good to see you. Cheng Youji is my cousin,” Xu Baishan said, grasping Jiang Lanfang’s hands.

In rural areas, the fastest way to make friends was to mention a mutual acquaintance in the same village. Within a few sentences, Jiang Lanfang was calling him “Brother Xu.”

“Brother Xu, don’t rush. Since you trust me so much, I’ll help. But I’ve never handled goods before, so I’m not sure I can boost sales of your nuts. Those dishonest merchants are awful. I’ll help as much as I can.”

Jiang Lanfang had a strong sense of loyalty. Xu Baishan was moved to tears. “Little sister, your words comfort me. With your help, I’m sure it will work. When you have time, come visit my home and see our trees. I’ll have someone teach you how to process the nuts.”

“Are you in a hurry, Brother Xu? If so, I can come to your village in the next day or two.”

Xu Baishan’s eyes welled up. “Little sister, my cousin was right—you’re straightforward. It’s settled then.”

The next morning at 8:30, Jiang Yuan and her mother set off. Jiang Yuan wondered how they’d get to Qiaoshan Village without a car or if she should call her uncle to drive them. Just then, at 8:25, Cheng Qingyan arrived outside their yard in a car.

“Mom, why is Uncle Cheng here?”

Jiang Lanfang raised her eyebrows. “I talked to Old Cheng last night; someone asked me for help, and Old Cheng said he could be our driver. What are you waiting for? Get in the car. Neither of us has been to Qiaoshan Village; it’s unfamiliar territory. Of course, we need a guide.”

Jiang Yuan teased, “Mom, you know about knights too?”

Jiang Lanfang snorted. “Look down on your mother? You’re playing with toys left over from my generation. We ’80s kids were the first internet players.”

Jiang Yuan had no retort. She opened the back door, slid in, and greeted the driver, “Uncle Cheng.”

Jiang Lanfang slid open the front passenger seat and said with gratitude, “Old Cheng, thanks for driving us. Having you along puts my mind at ease.”

Cheng Qingyan was happy to help. “No need for thanks. I’ve been sitting around all day fishing, and my bones are stiff. Xiaofang, Yuan Yuan, are you ready? Once you’re seated, we’ll head out.”

Jiang Yuan checked the map. “It’ll take two hours on the highway—120 kilometers. We should get to Qiaoshan by 10:30, but we also need time to film picking and processing videos. We probably won’t have time for both today. Mom, can you learn the processing in half a day?”

Jiang Lanfang said, “No way. I’ll have to stay a few days or ask Brother Xu to send someone to Yucun to teach me hands-on. Today, we mainly want to film footage of picking the nuts.”

Jiang Yuan agreed.

At 10:30, as Cheng Qingyan’s car reached the entrance of Qiaoshan Village, Jiang Lanfang saw Xu Baishan waiting anxiously. She rolled down the window to greet him. Xu Baishan quickly approached, saying he would lead them on his electric bike with the car following behind. Soon, they arrived at Xu’s home, where he warmly grabbed Jiang Lanfang’s arm and shook her hand.

His wife came out, like seeing a savior, saying lunch was ready and suggesting they eat before touring the orchard.

Jiang Yuan wasn’t hungry and worried about time, so she suggested filming in the orchard first.

Cheng Qingyan had already taken a drone out of the trunk that he borrowed from his nephew.

Xu Baishan said, “Little sister, if we tour the orchard now, we’ll miss lunch. How about I take you to the village to see machine-roasted and hand-roasted torreya nuts first? Then we’ll have lunch, and in the afternoon, I’ll take you to the orchard to film footage. How does that sound?”

Jiang Lanfang asked, “Machine-roasted and hand-roasted? What’s the difference?”

Xu Baishan explained, “Machine roasting is faster. Our villager Chen Guanglong bought two torreya nut dryers and is skilled at using them. Many villagers bring their nuts to him for processing. In four or five days, he can roast 400 jin of dry nuts. But I prefer hand roasting. Our ancestors have always used charcoal fire. Charcoal-roasted nuts taste better and are crispier. I want to keep this tradition alive.”

Jiang Lanfang agreed, “Everything is machine-made nowadays, but nothing beats handmade. I make kimchi by hand. Brother Xu, you seem responsible. If we don’t persist, no one will carry on these traditions.”

Xu Baishan seemed to find a kindred spirit. “That’s exactly how I feel. If we don’t stick to it, the younger generation won’t know how to hand-roast with charcoal. Even if the villagers laugh and say I’m stubborn for doing hard work that doesn’t pay more than machine roasting, I won’t give up my principles!”

Jiang Lanfang smiled, “Brother Xu, I admire you. Lead the way.”

They walked through the village. Along the way, Jiang Yuan said, “Uncle Xu, our time is limited. We can’t stay long in Qiaoshan. Today, we’ll just see how nuts are processed and film picking footage. Could you send someone to Yucun to teach my mom how to process the nuts? Her videos are filmed in our yard, which has high viewership, and viewers love watching there.”

Xu Baishan nodded. “I already thought of that. Besides filming picking on the mountain, everything else should be shot in your yard. I’ve arranged with my cousin to stay at your place for a few days and personally teach your mom how to process the nuts.”

Jiang Yuan said, “That’s perfect.”

Jiang Lanfang laughed heartily. “Brother Xu, I enjoy working with you.”

Xu Baishan said, “I’m the lucky one to have you. If you were a man, I’d want to become sworn brothers with you on the spot.”

They passed several neighbors’ yards, each strewn with freshly picked torreya nuts laid out in the sun like harvested rice.

Jiang Yuan found it novel and took photos along the way.

Xu Baishan explained as they walked, “The process of making torreya nuts is both simple and complex. It takes about ten days and involves over a dozen steps—fermentation, cleaning, drying, steaming, roasting, conditioning, re-roasting—each step must be done carefully, or the nuts won’t taste good. I’ve made torreya nuts for over ten years. At first, we didn’t have so many trees. The government’s poverty alleviation program gave us 500 saplings for free, which helped my family thrive. Otherwise, I would have had to work away from home.”