Glory

"Absolutely, absolutely." Whether it was tea made by himself or his daughter, having it liked and praised by others brought Ye Hongsheng great joy.

After exchanging these few words, the father and daughter from the Ye family took their leave and departed.

Once inside the carriage, Ye Hongsheng glanced subtly at his daughter.

The two men they had encountered today were exceptionally outstanding—in his view, far superior to that Song Yifeng. He worried his daughter might have some thoughts about them.

Ye Yaming was frowning in contemplation.

It seemed Qi Ji and Lu Guanyi were on very good terms—they might even be relatives. Since Qi Ji both enjoyed tea and had studied it, why hadn’t he recommended a few varieties to Lu Guanyi, instead letting him make haphazard purchases?

Before coming, she had looked into Lu Guanyi’s purchasing habits at Jixiang Tea House. He bought everything—ten cakes of each type of pressed tea, and ten jin of every other tea variety. It was as if he was distributing his favor equally, without any particular preference.

What kind of person would buy tea this way? And why was he purchasing so much? Surely it wasn’t like modern quality inspectors, testing and studying each of the Ye family’s teas one by one?

Sensing her father’s gaze, she voiced the questions on her mind.

Her mention of it made Ye Hongsheng also find it peculiar.

Although he had been immersed in tea-making in recent years, spending his days at the Tea Factory and avoiding the Tea House and tea shops, he had accompanied Ye Chongming in his youth, spending time in tea houses and shops. He had some understanding of customers’ psychology and preferences.

Those with the means and a taste for fine tea would only buy the highest grade—they looked down on medium or lower grades and wouldn’t even touch them. Even if their family fortunes declined and their pockets were light, they would rather buy less but still insist on good tea, never settling for medium or lower grades.

As for those who weren’t picky about tea and drank merely to quench their thirst, or those with limited means, they would only buy medium or lower grades. Even if they occasionally had money, they wouldn’t purchase the highest grade, knowing that once they developed a taste for fine tea, the inferior varieties would become hard to swallow.

Of course, there were also those devoted to a specific type of tea.

In any case, there were basically no customers like Lu Guanyi, who showed no preference and bought every kind of tea available.

This Young Master Lu’s intentions were truly puzzling.

"Never mind him. It doesn’t affect us anyway. From his attitude earlier, he meant us no harm. He seemed aloof, but was actually quite amiable. As for why he’s buying so much tea and why he’s buying every kind—let’s not dwell on it," he said, brushing it off lightly.

Ye Yaming nodded. Seeing that they were approaching the next stop, she set the matter aside.

After that, Ye Yaming followed Ye Hongsheng to several more households.

Pressed tea was expensive, and those who could afford it were generally well-off. Most of their customers lived in this area, with only a few residing elsewhere, which saved them from traveling back and forth too much.

Although Ye Hongsheng was somewhat taciturn, having grown up in a merchant family and been brought along by Ye Chongming to do business since his teens, he still knew how to make conversation. He just tended to run out of things to say quickly, often leading to awkward silences.

At such times, Ye Yaming would step in with a few words, offering a conversational bridge or smoothing over her father’s remarks, which eased the tension. At the same time, she made their position clear: once the Ye family had offered compensation, they hoped the other party would not pursue the matter further or spread rumors.Meng Chengwei had dug this pit for the Ye family with the intention of playing the savior, not genuinely wanting to destroy them and attract a pack of wolves to fight over the spoils.

These tea customers had been carefully selected by him and Ding Jian—they were not unreasonable people. Moreover, if their purchase of illicit tea from the Ye family were exposed, the Ye family would undoubtedly be sent to the authorities, but they themselves would also face consequences. After all, trading in illicit tea, whether buying or selling, was illegal.

Furthermore, they had bought this illicit tea because they were drawn by the low price and found the flavor appealing. If it weren’t for the mold, they would have regretted not buying more.

Now, the silk fabrics the Ye family offered as compensation were several times more valuable than the moldy pressed tea, and their attitude was extremely sincere. Naturally, the customers did not make things difficult.

They all returned the illicit tea they had purchased to the Ye family, promised not to pursue the matter further, and assured them they would not spread rumors. As a result, even before dinner time, the father and daughter had visited all the households assigned to them and smoothly retrieved the problematic illicit tea.

As they stepped out of the last house, Ye Hongsheng asked Ye Yaming, "Do you want to stop by the Song family?"

"Ah?" Ye Yaming was taken aback.

Noticing Ye Hongsheng’s gaze fixed in a certain direction with a slightly displeased expression, she followed his line of sight and turned to look.

There, a woman in her thirties stood smiling brightly in front of a gate, chatting with an elderly woman in her fifties. With a distance of over ten meters between them and the bustling, noisy street, Ye Yaming couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Searching through the original host’s memories, Ye Yaming realized this woman was none other than Yu Shi, the widowed mother of Song Yifeng.

Behind Yu Shi stood the Song family’s recently purchased two-courtyard residence.

It hadn’t occurred to her that the last household, which had only bought two cakes of pressed tea, was neighbors with the Song family.

Frowning, she was about to suggest to Ye Hongsheng that they get back in the carriage when Yu Shi turned her head and her eyes met Ye Yaming’s.

A wide, delighted smile instantly spread across Yu Shi’s face. She hurried over eagerly, first offering a slight bow to Ye Hongsheng and addressing him as "Father-in-law."

Then, she took Ye Yaming’s hand affectionately and said, "Ming'er, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you. When did you return from the mountains? Why haven’t you come to visit? How are you feeling? Are you better now?"

She cast a subtle glance at Ye Hongsheng and added with a smile, "Did you come to see me? Please, come inside and sit. Xiao Feng will be back from school soon."

"Ah, no," Ye Yaming withdrew her hand from Yu Shi’s grasp and replied with a smile, "Father and I came out to buy some things and need to head back soon. I’ll visit another day."

Ever since the engagement was settled, the original host had held Song Yifeng close to her heart. Using the pretext of his busy studies and Yu Shi having no one to care for her, she would visit every few days, if not daily, bringing various meats, vegetables, and pastries.

The original host received a monthly allowance of one tael of silver, which she almost entirely spent on the Song family. Aside from purchasing some vegetables, all the meat, fruit, and snacks in the Song household were funded by her. During festivals, she would even make new clothes for both Yu Shi and Song Yifeng.Of course, these were all additional benefits. The Ye family supported Song Yifeng's studies by providing him with an annual basic allowance of two hundred taels of silver. Whenever he needed to participate in activities—such as imperial examinations, poetry gatherings, or academic visits—the Ye family would grant him extra funds. The total annual expenditure on him amounted to three to four hundred taels.

In comparison, the Song family's two-courtyard residence—comprising over ten blue-brick tiled rooms in a prime location, complete with a well—had cost only eight hundred taels. This property was purchased with the six hundred taels of congratulatory money the Ye family had gifted Song Yifeng upon his success in becoming a Recommended Man.