Glory

"Then let's split up. My fourth uncle and I will visit the teahouses in the city to gather information," Ye Yaming said. "I brought Osmanthus Tea and Chrysanthemum Tea with me. They might help us break into the Xin'an market."

Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji's eyes lit up.

If there were tea mountains here, the tea merchants of Xin'an Prefecture could produce their own tea. Since they needed to sell their own products, promoting Pressed Tea or Loose Tea to them would be futile.

However, Osmanthus Tea and Chrysanthemum Tea were unique offerings. If sold in teahouses, tea drinkers would flock to taste them. Teahouses could purchase these in bulk at lower prices and sell them at premium rates to customers—a guaranteed profitable venture no one would refuse.

Once cooperation was established, it would be much easier for Ye Yaming to inquire about the tea mountains in Xin'an.

The two men looked at Ye Yaming with renewed admiration.

Though they considered themselves capable and clever, they still had much to learn in the world of commerce.

Lu Guanyi nodded. "Alright, we'll handle interactions with officials and establish connections with the Xin'an Tea Monopoly Office."

To purchase tea mountains in Huizhou—regardless of the specific location—they would need to go through the Tea Monopoly Office or its subordinates: selling tea to them first before buying it back at higher prices.

Building good relations with Tea Monopoly officials would benefit both present and future endeavors.

Ye Yaming had informed them earlier about coming to Huizhou. While she was dealing with the remnants of the Meng family, they had investigated the local officials and confirmed that key administrators and Tea Monopoly officers here didn't belong to the Fourth Prince's faction. Otherwise, no matter how suitable the land was for tea cultivation, they wouldn't have come.

"Thank you for your efforts," Ye Yaming said.

Life in ancient times moved at a slower pace. Without Ye Yaming pressing them to complete tasks within a day, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji would have sent visiting cards tomorrow and begun official visits the day after. With sequential visits followed by meals and tea gatherings, four or five days could easily pass.

Spurred by Ye Yaming's urgency, they sprang into action immediately.

It was currently afternoon—still enough time to deliver visiting cards and arrange dinner meetings. After dividing responsibilities, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji returned to their rooms to prepare their cards.

As the son of Qi Zhibei—Prefect of Lin'an who held equal rank with the Prefect of Xin'an—Qi Ji's visiting card would guarantee a personal reception from the Xin'an Prefect. Meanwhile, Liao Zhi, the Assistant Prefect of Xin'an City, came from an aristocratic family and was distantly related to Lu Guanyi by marriage. As the legitimate eldest son of a marquis household, Lu Guanyi's card would also secure a personal meeting with Assistant Prefect Liao.

By dinnertime, both men had been invited out separately.

Ye Yaming didn't rest either. After freshening up at the inn, she went with Ye Hongrong to the largest local tea house.

Named Pinya Pavilion, this two-story establishment was somewhat smaller than the Ye family's Gathering Fragrance Pavilion.

Assuming the dignified manner of the Ye family's Fourth Master, Ye Hongrong immediately asked a server to fetch the manager upon entering: "We have significant business to discuss."

The manager approached, glanced at the well-dressed uncle-niece pair, and smiled obsequiously. "My surname is Zheng. May I ask who you are...?"

"I'm Ye Hongrong, son of the Lin'an Tea Guild leader. This is my niece Ye Yaming," Ye Hongrong introduced himself.

Upon hearing they were industry peers, the manager's smile remained fixed, but a trace of suspicion flickered in his eyes."So it's Master Ye and Miss Ye." He cupped his hands in greeting. "What brings you here?" "We have two new types of tea that Shopkeeper Zheng might be interested in," said Ye Hongrong. "Might we borrow some tea brewing utensils?"

Realizing it was indeed as he had guessed—they were here to sell him tea—Shopkeeper Zheng felt somewhat displeased.

Tea drinkers frequented tea houses not merely for the tea, but to listen to storytelling, chat, and pass the time.

Moreover, at this time, tea was categorized into only four types: Pressed tea, Loose tea, powdered tea, and coarse tea. Coupled with inconvenient transportation in this ancient era of small-scale farming economy, aside from regions that didn't produce tea, most large tea houses typically sold tea from their own tea plantations.

However, since they were only asking to borrow tea brewing utensils, and being from the family of the Tea Guild leader in Lin'an City,

Shopkeeper Zheng couldn't afford to offend them. He immediately instructed the waiter to bring out the tea brewing set. After the waiter withdrew, Zan'er, the page from Ye Yaming's courtyard, stepped forward to brew tea for everyone. Even if Ye Yaming possessed exquisite tea brewing skills, as a young lady of the Ye family, she couldn't lower her status to brew tea for others casually. Hence, she had been training Zan'er during this period.

As a top-tier tea master, one naturally needed sharp senses. But ordinary people could also brew good tea—it was nothing more than understanding the nature of tea and having practiced hands.

As the aroma of Osmanthus Tea emerged, Shopkeeper Zheng's indifferent expression immediately turned serious, his eyes fixed intently on the teapot in Bai Rui's hands: "What tea is this?"

"Osmanthus Tea," replied Ye Hongrong.

By then, Zan'er had finished brewing the tea and placed it on the tea tray. Chongyang, Ye Hongrong's page, picked up the tray and served tea to the three of them.

Forgetting etiquette, Shopkeeper Zheng picked up the cup, sniffed it, blew on it a few times, and then eagerly took a sip.

He abruptly looked up, widening his eyes at Ye Hongrong: "What tea is this?"

Ye Hongrong said, "Osmanthus Tea."

Suppressing his urgency, Shopkeeper Zheng asked, "How much does it cost?"

Ye Hongrong glanced at him with a faint smile. "For a transaction of this scale, doesn't Shopkeeper Zheng need to report to your proprietor?"

Shopkeeper Zheng replied, "You've come at an unfortunate time. Our proprietor has gone to visit relatives and isn't in Xin'an. You can explain the situation to me first, and I'll contact you after the proprietor returns."

Ye Hongrong looked at Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming stood up and said with a smile, "What a coincidence indeed. Our stay here is limited, and we must leave the day after tomorrow. I'm afraid we can't wait for your proprietor to return to discuss this matter. In that case, we won't disturb you further."

She turned to Ye Hongrong and said, "Let's go, Fourth Uncle. We'll head to Wangjiang Tower to take a look."

Ye Hongrong cupped his hands toward Shopkeeper Zheng. "Farewell."

"Wait, please hold on," Shopkeeper Zheng quickly said. "Our proprietor has gone to the countryside, less than half an hour's journey away. How about I send someone to notify him immediately, and we can start discussing matters here in the meantime?" Ye Hongrong looked at Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming pondered for a moment and said,

"That could work."

Shopkeeper Zheng was surprised.

Why did this Master Ye keep checking the young lady's expression? Could it be that the young lady was the one in charge between the two?

What followed indeed confirmed his suspicion. It was Ye Yaming who engaged in the bargaining with him.After two rounds of verbal sparring with Manager Zheng, Ye Yaming stood up and smiled, "Anyway, that's the price. If Manager Zheng finds it too expensive, that's fine. We'll look elsewhere. Farewell." "Ah—" Manager Zheng still wanted to say more.

Ye Yaming interrupted him, "Besides, you're just the manager after all. For matters like this, you should still need to consult the owner, right? Let's discuss this after you've reported to your owner."

As she spoke, she glanced at Ye Hongrong.

Just as Ye Hongrong was about to bid farewell, they heard Manager Zheng say urgently, "Please wait, you two. I agree to the price you mentioned. However, I demand that in Xincheng, you only sell to our Pinya Pavilion and not to anyone else."

"I can't agree to that, sorry." Ye Yaming signaled to Ye Hongrong. Ye Hongrong cupped his hands, "Farewell." The two turned and went downstairs.

After leaving the teahouse, instead of taking the carriage, they walked directly to Wangjiang Tower.

When Manager Zheng heard his employee's report, his expression turned grim. He threw out a sentence, "I'm going to see the owner," and left.

When Ye Hongrong and Ye Yaming came out from Wangjiang Tower, they saw that it was already late, so they returned to the inn. Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji hadn't returned yet, presumably out socializing.

Ye Hongrong asked Ye Yaming, "What do you think of those two places?"

"Both the owner and manager of Wangjiang Tower are quite good, but the manager of Pinya Pavilion isn't very honest. I suspect his owner hasn't actually left the city. He probably wanted to gather some information before reporting, to claim credit, which is why he lied about the owner being away."

Ye Yaming continued, "But regardless of their character, the price remains the same. If they want to buy, I'll supply them. You saw their reactions—our tea isn't hard to sell, so there's no need to compromise."

Ye Hongrong nodded.

"Master Ye, Miss Ye, Mr. Wu from Pinya Pavilion is here and wishes to see you," an inn employee came in to report.

Uncle and niece exchanged glances.

Ye Yaming said, "Please show him in."

To avoid suspicion, they had rented separate small courtyards with Lu Qi's party. Their courtyard included a main hall, convenient for discussions.

Soon, the employee brought in a tall, thin old man, followed by Manager Zheng.