Glory

"Right, right." Ye Chongming patted the armrest as he spoke.

After saying this, his expression turned troubled.

The family coffers truly had no money left to spare.

He thought for a moment and said to Ye Yaming, "Don’t you have money on hand? Why not use it to buy some farmland in Tongxiang? Whether you marry in the future or remain at home, that land can serve as your dowry or private property. It’s better to invest money in assets—they yield some returns every year."

Shortly after Lu Qi and the Ye family signed the contract, the Ye family handed over the silver and also signed an agreement for half of the spring tea trade.

Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji were principled in their dealings and promptly provided the silver they had promised. They arranged for the Ye family to assign an accountant, and with both sides’ accountants working together, the funds were recorded, and all accounts were jointly managed from then on.

During this period, the silver given to Ye Yaming and the expenses for making tea sets were all drawn from the family account.

Thus, Ye Yaming did have silver on hand. Even after giving some to Yin Shi and helping the second branch with some expenses, though she didn’t have a large amount left, it was enough to purchase some farmland.

Ye Yaming had no objections to Ye Chongming’s suggestion.

As a woman and a member of the Ye family, it was difficult for her to invest her money independently—she lacked both connections and manpower, and doing so might give the impression of being too "self-centered," disappointing her family.

Her goal was not to make money for herself. In her previous life, she had earned a great deal of wealth, but after her death, she had no idea who ended up benefiting from it.

Therefore, if she were to engage in business, she would do so together with the Ye family, not hoard the profits for herself. Moreover, her business ventures would rely on the family’s protection. This was ancient times, not the modern era with its sound legal systems.

Still, it was essential to have some silver as a basic safeguard for life. If she didn’t use the silver she had to acquire assets, it would eventually lead to trouble.

She wasn’t worried about the Ye family—they were all well-off. But in the original host’s memories, one of the aunts from the Yin family was fond of taking advantage. If she found out that Ye Yaming had several thousand taels of silver, she would surely come to borrow it. Refusing to lend money when one had it would lead to gossip about being stingy. So, it was better to convert the silver into farmland.

Moreover, buying land to grow chrysanthemums would provide a steady annual income. While it wouldn’t yield profits as quickly as business, it was more stable.

She nodded and said, "Thank you, Grandfather, for thinking of me. I had the same idea. If Grandmother, Da Bo’s wife, Third Aunt, and Fourth Aunt are interested in purchasing farmland there, they can come with me to invest in land as well."

Ye Chongming sighed with emotion, "You are a sensible child."

Ye Yaming’s words were simply out of concern that the second branch might receive special treatment, causing other branches to have reservations and making things difficult for the elders.

It was a gesture of filial piety from the child. However, the elders had their own considerations about how to proceed.

Seeing that Ye Chongming had nothing else to discuss, Ye Yaming stood up and took her leave.

After she left, Ye Chongming returned to the inner courtyard and relayed the matter to Old Mrs. Ye.

He asked, "What do you think?"

Old Mrs. Ye glanced at her husband and countered, "What do you think?"

Having spent most of their lives together, she knew exactly what was on the old man’s mind.

Unfazed by his wife’s insight, Ye Chongming sighed and said, "Ming’er means well, and the plan is feasible. But the problem is, if the chrysanthemum fields end up in the hands of the daughters-in-law, will we have to seek their approval to buy and sell chrysanthemum tea in the future? If some incident occurs and a daughter-in-law threatens to divorce..."He shook his head, "It just doesn't feel right."

In the past, the Ye family had always used collective funds for property and land acquisitions. The reason they didn't allow daughters-in-law to invest their dowry money was twofold: first, it could easily create a bad reputation of exploiting daughters-in-law's dowries, which would harm the family's image; second, the men of the Ye family worked tirelessly, only for the earnings to become the private savings of their wives.

If the wife remained content in the Ye family and passed these assets to her children after her death, it might be acceptable. But what if she decided to divorce? Wouldn't the Ye family men have toiled in vain, only to see her take the money and support another man elsewhere?

That's why, last time, they avoided investing in the daughters-in-law's names.

But this time, since Ye Yaming intended to use her private assets to purchase land, it would be unreasonable to stop other female family members from doing the same.

Although Old Mrs. Ye was also a woman, all the Ye sons were her own, so she naturally prioritized the overall interests of the Ye family over siding with the women.

After some thought, she said, "Let's forget it. There are too many complications. If I allow them to buy land and the chrysanthemums don't grow well, what then? Would you be willing to purchase them?"

Ye Chongming immediately shook his head, "We can't accept them. It would ruin the Ye family's reputation."

"Exactly," the old madam replied. "So it's better to drop the matter. As for Ming'er, I can lend her five thousand to ten thousand taels to buy a manor and hire an experienced farmer to teach the tenants how to grow chrysanthemums. She can repay me after she receives dividends from the tea set business."

"That's a good idea, a very good idea." Ye Chongming reached over and patted his wife's arm. "Don't worry, she'll be able to repay part of the loan by New Year. The tea set business is bound to do well."

Ye Yaming was delighted to hear that Old Madam Ye was willing to lend her money.

In truth, her four thousand taels could have bought a small manor. But it wasn't as simple as just wanting to buy—she had to see if anyone was selling. If only large manors were available and no small ones, should she buy or not?

Thus, Old Madam Ye's offer was crucial.

"Thank you, Grandmother. I'll send someone to inquire. If there's a good manor and I don't have enough money, I'll definitely borrow from you."

"Good, good, good." Old Madam Ye said happily, "Last time I offered to lend you money, it didn't work out. This time, you must borrow it—don't make me offer a third time."

With the crops already harvested from the fields, it was the perfect season for land transactions. Not wanting to delay, Ye Yaming immediately sent Fang Xing to Tongxiang with a page.

She would have liked to go herself, but in this era, without rubber tires or shock-absorbing carriages, the journey was unbearable. Just the trip to Chongshan Temple had left her feeling as if her bones had come apart, let alone traveling to Tongxiang.

Moreover, Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye would surely not feel at ease with her traveling and would insist on sending Ye Jiaxing along with a group of manor guards for protection, which would be too much of a production.

Ye Yaming decided not to mention it and left the task to Fang Xing. Although Fang Xing still lacked some experience, buying a manor shouldn't go too wrong.

Unexpectedly, when Ye Chongming learned that Ye Yaming had only sent Fang Xing, he grew uneasy. Not only did he send Zhang Zhongkun, the manager of the tea factory who had little to do at this time of year, but he also dispatched the accountant Wen Tao to accompany them.