Glory

But now Ye Yaqing could still afford to be picky, while Ye Yaming, as a woman whose engagement had been broken off and a daughter of the second branch, held a lower status than Ye Yaqing. Those tea merchants thought they were qualified and sent matchmakers one after another to propose marriage.

Old Mrs. Ye politely declined each one, saying she intended to arrange a matrilocal marriage for Ye Yaming. This displeased the suitors, who assumed the Ye family looked down on their sons. Once the Ye family made it clear they were serious about selecting a groom who lives with the bride's family, everyone had nothing more to say.

Seeing that Ye Yaming was so dedicated to the family that she even used her own marriage for its benefit, Ye Chongming and Old Mrs. Ye were both deeply moved and pained by her sacrifice.

"This matter shouldn’t be rushed—haste leads to mistakes," Ye Chongming said. "Let’s take it slowly." Old Mrs. Ye nodded in agreement.

They had already made one mistake; they couldn’t afford another. It was indeed better to proceed carefully. "Will Da Bo and my father return for the New Year?" Ye Yaming brought up another matter.

"Young Master Lu and Qi Gongzi have already taken the tea sets to the capital to prepare for sales," Ye Chongming replied. "The New Year period is when gatherings are most frequent, making it the best season to introduce the concept of Tea arrangement and the tea sets. Your Da Bo hasn’t sent word back yet, but I suspect he’s still undecided."

Ye Yaming nodded without speaking.

People in this era valued festivals above all else; no matter how far they were, they would rush back to reunite with family for the New Year. Even though she saw no point in braving wind and snow to return for a single New Year’s Eve dinner, only to trek back through the same conditions a few days later, as a modern soul, she knew better than to comment on such traditions.

"How is the Chrysanthemum Tea selling?" she asked instead.

At this, Ye Chongming’s face lit up with joy.

"Very well. Although it didn’t cause as much of a sensation as the Osmanthus Tea did initially, it’s selling excellently. People in Lin’an have started the custom of buying Chrysanthemum Tea as New Year gifts."

Ye Chongming couldn’t help but praise Ye Yaming: "I don’t know how your little head comes up with these ideas, but they’re truly impressive."

The concept of giving Chrysanthemum Tea as a New Year gift was Ye Yaming’s idea. She even composed a catchy rhyme and had people teach it to children on the streets in exchange for candy. Once the children learned it, they received a piece of candy.

As a result, the streets of Lin’an were filled with children singing that rhyme. If a prospective son-in-law didn’t bring a pound of Chrysanthemum Tea when visiting his future in-laws for the New Year, he would be deeply embarrassed, and the bride’s family would be displeased.

Ye Chongming had written to Ye Hongchang and Ye Hongsheng in the capital, instructing them to replicate this strategy. He expected that fathers-in-law in the capital would also take pride in receiving Chrysanthemum Tea from their sons-in-law during the New Year.

"The only issue is that there’s too little Chrysanthemum Tea—it sells out almost instantly. Many people are chasing me to buy more," Ye Chongming said, once again feeling the urge to praise his granddaughter. "Fortunately, you advised me to print 'Hangzhou White Chrysanthemum' on the packaging. You wouldn’t believe it—since our Chrysanthemum Tea became popular, people in the city and suburbs have been scrambling everywhere, trying to find out where white chrysanthemums are grown."

Ye Yaming smiled faintly but said nothing.

Ye Chongming’s praise actually belonged to Wang Zixin of the Wang Yutai Tea House from the 1920s, not her. She didn’t dare take credit for it.

"By the way, how is your book coming along?" Ye Chongming asked, though he held little expectation.

"I’ve finished one volume. After I revise and make a clean copy, I’ll show it to you. If you think it’s suitable, I’d like to send it to Master Zhineng for review—hopefully, he’ll be willing to write a preface or afterword for it."

To prevent others from falsely claiming authorship of The Classic of Tea and attributing it to Lu Yu, she had no choice but to take this precaution and put her own name on it first."Did you really write it out?" Ye Chongming was astonished.

Ye Yaming nodded: "Mm-hmm."

Ye Chongming smacked his lips: "Let me take a look first."

He was worried that what his granddaughter had written would be of such poor quality that it would embarrass them before Master Zhineng.

Forget about losing face—if it ruined the good impression she had previously left with Master Zhineng, that would be truly terrible.

"Alright," Ye Yaming smiled.

Just kidding—if even the great Lu Yu's "Classic of Tea" couldn't measure up, what other tea book would dare to see the light of day?

At that moment, Lve E appeared at the doorway: "Old Master, Old Madam, Miss—Fang Xing and the others have returned."

Overjoyed, Ye Chongming called out: "Quick, have them come in."

Shortly after, Fang Xing, Zhang Zhongkun, and Wen Tao entered and paid their respects.

"Did you manage to buy the manor?" Ye Chongming asked.

Of the three, Zhang Zhongkun, the manager of the tea factory, was the eldest and held the highest position. He replied: "We did."

Fang Xing hurriedly took a land deed from his pocket and handed it to Ye Chongming.

Ye Chongming took it, glanced over it, and read aloud to Old Mrs. Ye and Ye Yaming: "Two hundred sixty mu of high-grade fields, one hundred twenty mu of medium-grade fields, seven hundred thirty-two mu of low-grade fields. Ninety-three households."

Old Mrs. Ye frowned upon hearing this: "Why are they all low-grade fields? This manor seems large in area, but the output must be poor."

Fang Xing quickly explained: "This humble one first went to ask the old farmer who sold chrysanthemums to Second Master what kind of land is best for growing chrysanthemums. He said chrysanthemums thrive in fertile soil, preferably sandy soil with good drainage, and not heavy, clay-like soil."

"The high-grade and medium-grade fields there are all paddy fields—heavy clay soil, good water retention, and low permeability, suitable for growing rice. This humble one invited that old farmer to inspect the low-grade fields of this manor. Though not very fertile, they are sandy soil with excellent drainage. With ample fertilization and proper care over two or three years, they will surely become an excellent place for growing chrysanthemums."

Zhang Zhongkun, now in his fifties, had been Ye Chongming's subordinate for half his life. He lacked Fang Xing's restraint and nervousness.

He first smiled at Ye Yaming and said: "When we set out, the young lady specifically instructed us to give Fang Xing more opportunities to gain experience. At the time, the agent connected us with several manors, large and small, some better than this one. Knowing the young lady wanted to grow chrysanthemums, Fang Xing deliberately sought advice from that old farmer and even invited him to inspect the land in person before settling on this manor."

He praised Fang Xing to Ye Chongming: "This young man is meticulous and hardworking. He wore out two pairs of shoes during this time before finding such a suitable manor. Whenever he was concerned that we two old fellows might tire, he went alone to handle matters that weren't urgent."

Fang Xing hurriedly said: "No, no, Uncle Zhang guided me a great deal. It was only after Uncle Zhang gave the nod that this humble one dared to choose this manor. And Mr. Wen—if not for his help in bargaining, I might have overpaid."

Wen Tao, who had remained silent until then, smiled and nodded, accepting the praise: "Isn't that what an accountant is for?"

Everyone laughed at this.

"How much did it cost?" Old Mrs. Ye asked.

When the three had set out, besides the four thousand taels of silver notes from Ye Yaming, Old Mrs. Ye had added another six thousand taels, making a total of ten thousand taels for them to take along.