Glory

This was not their fault. Currently, the main tea-producing regions in the Great Jin Dynasty were concentrated in the Yangtze River Basin and the Huainan area, with Sichuan producing the most, followed by Jiangnan Circuit, Huainan Circuit, Jinghu Circuit, and Liangzhe Circuit. Fujian Circuit had the smallest output.

After studying these tea-producing regions, Ye Yaming felt secretly pleased. At this time, only Shezhou in Huizhou Province was known for its tea, and only Jianzhou in Fuzhou Province was famous for its tea.

Thinking of the renowned teas from later eras—such as Huangshan Maofeng, Liu'an Guapian, Tunxi Green Tea, Taiping Houkui, and Qimen Black Tea from Huizhou Province, and Dahongpao, Anxi Tieguanyin, Wuyi Rock Tea, Fuding White Tea, and Zhengshan Xiaozhong from Fuzhou—Ye Yaming nearly drooled, her heart itching with anticipation.

The original production areas of these teas were still unknown now, and the tea mountains were incredibly cheap, just waiting for her to discover and purchase them.

Before Lu Guanyi and the others set out, Ye Yaming had considered giving them a few pointers. But after some thought, she decided against it, planning to let them inquire around and travel extensively first.

Perhaps without her saying anything, they might stumble upon the right direction?

But now, they had not brought her any pleasant surprises.

She said, "Grandfather, I have actually heard of two places in my dreams where the tea quality is exceptional. One is Huizhou, and the other is Fuzhou."

"Huizhou? Fuzhou?" Ye Chongming was taken aback, frowning as he pondered these two locations. "They're quite far away."

Ye Yaming nodded. "Indeed, they are far. But precisely because they are remote and not well-known, the mountains and tea fields there are extremely cheap. The local officials would likely welcome us to purchase tea mountains and cultivate tea there."

After all, the tea business was a major source of tax revenue. In a region with abundant mountains and scarce farmland, having someone come to grow, process, and sell tea would significantly boost the local tax collection each year.

Although the tea trade was a state monopoly and the taxes did not go directly to the local officials, selling the mountains would still generate income, wouldn't it? And wouldn't growing, processing, and selling tea require manpower? A single move could affect the entire situation—a leading industry could stimulate the local economy.

"Everything you say is correct," Ye Chongming agreed with Ye Yaming's perspective, but his brow remained tightly furrowed. "But it's truly too far. If anything were to happen, we wouldn't be able to reach them in time."

In this era, transportation was inconvenient, and the Ye family had limited manpower. Managing the businesses in Lin'an and the capital alone kept them busy enough. How could they handle expanding into Huizhou and Fuzhou?

"Look, originally, we should have sent one person each to handle the purchase of mountains and the production of tea utensils. But your father and your Da Bo need to go to the capital, and I must stay in Lin'an, so none of us can go. We could only send your cousin to accompany Young Master Lu to buy tea mountains, and for the tea utensils, only Qi Gongzi is handling it alone."

Speaking of this, Ye Chongming sighed.

Tao Shi of the eldest branch had one son and two daughters; Yin Shi of the second branch had only two daughters; Cai Shi of the third branch had only one posthumous daughter; and Zhang Shi of the fourth branch had two sons and one daughter.

He had four sons but only three grandsons. Currently, only the eldest grandson was capable, while the two grandsons from the fourth branch were still young sprouts, completely useless. Originally, the fourth son, Ye Hongrong, was capable, but after causing a disaster for the family, Ye Chongming no longer dared to use him.

"Never mind now; in the future, your Da Bo and I will have to stay in Lin'an and the capital respectively, unable to move. When spring comes and tea production is needed, your father will have to stay at the Tea Factory and won't be able to leave either. Our family only has your eldest cousin who can work with Young Master Lu and the others. If your eldest cousin were capable, it would be fine, but..."

At this point, Ye Chongming sighed, shook his head, and fell silent.Although it was reasonable for the Ye family to contribute only one person by investing their tea-making recipe and the Lin'an estate holders, the inherent disparity in status and position between the parties remained. Once the tea trade in other regions developed and its value surpassed that of Lin'an's tea over time, no matter how unconcerned Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji might be, the Ye family would feel embarrassed.

Upon hearing this, Ye Yaming was displeased: "Grandfather, have you forgotten about me? Am I not capable enough?"

"You?" Ye Chongming glanced at his granddaughter. "Of course, you are capable—far more so than your cousin. But you are a young lady. You can't go running around with Young Master Lu and Qi Gongzi."

At this point, he felt like beating his chest in frustration again: "If only you were a boy." Ye Yaming:

"What's wrong with being a girl? I'm going to have a matrilocal marriage anyway, so you should treat me like a grandson." Ye Yaming pouted and glared at him playfully.

Although Ye Yaming had recently been offering advice and strategies for the family, Ye Chongming had always felt she was too rational, almost detached from the Ye family. Now that his granddaughter was acting coquettishly with him, he was especially pleased and stroked his beard, laughing heartily.

"Alright, alright, I'll treat you like a grandson," he said dismissively at first, then continued earnestly, "I could use you. But think about it—how would you participate in this business? Can you go with Young Master Lu to purchase mountains? Or accompany Qi Gongzi to make tea utensils?"

Ye Yaming fell silent at Ye Chongming's questions.

She herself was capable. Whether it was buying mountains with Lu Guanyi or making tea utensils with Qi Ji, she could handle it. As for her reputation, she didn't care as long as the Ye family didn't mind.

The problem was that Lu and Qi couldn't accept it.

She recalled when she went with Ye Hongsheng to reclaim the pressed tea—Lu Guanyi's page had eyed her as if she were a thief, afraid she would cling to Lu Guanyi and try to marry him. Just thinking about Lu and Qi sharing the same mindset as that page made her want to avoid them at all costs. How could she possibly approach them? Even if such future womanizers were interested in her, she would have no interest in them.

So, it was better to keep her distance.

With this thought, she grew frustrated.

"Then how about this: I'll write a few books on tea. In one of them, I'll document the places mentioned in my dreams and claim the book was passed down from our ancestors. Have Eldest Brother memorize it thoroughly and guide them in making purchases. As long as Eldest Brother puts in significant effort, and the tea utensils they make and the tea they produce are all sold through our tea estate and teahouse, coupled with my continuous development of new secret tea-making recipes, we won't be contributing too little," she said.

"Would that work?" Ye Chongming's eyes lit up. "Can you write such books?"

"Yes," Ye Yaming affirmed.

She had the original host's memories. As the granddaughter of a Licentiate and the fiancée of a Recommended man, the original host possessed a sharp mind and was quite skilled in writing poetry and essays. Her only shortcoming was her limited perspective, which made her writings seem narrow-minded. When she showed them to Song Yifeng, he scoffed, deeply discouraging her.

Ye Yaming herself had been an avid reader in her previous life and had a good writing style. With the original host's foundation in classical Chinese and the fact that travelogues and miscellaneous records of this era leaned toward vernacular language—requiring neither exceptional literary talent nor excessive use of obscure allusions—she was more than capable of writing about tea knowledge.