Our entrance excited quite a
commotion among the damsels, as we were probably the first barbarians
they had seen, and we had the reputation of living entirely on fat
babies. A word from Akong, who had joined us, reassured them, and in a
few minutes Charley was airing his little stock of Chinese, more, I
thought, to their amusement than their edification. Leaving this room
we went into another where the curing was in progress. On one side
extended a long furnace built of bricks, with large iron pans placed at
equal distances, and heated by charcoal fires below. Into these pans
leaves by the basketful were poured, stirred rapidly for a few minutes,
and then removed to large bamboo frames, where they were rolled and
kneaded until all the green juice was freed. They were then scattered
loosely in large, flat baskets, and placed in the sun to dry.
Subsequently, the leaves were again carried to the furnaces and exposed
to a gentle heat, until they curled and twisted themselves into the
shapes so familiar to you all. Some of the finer kinds often prepared
for exportation are rolled over by hand before being fired.
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