Glory

In just three years, she would possess tea gardens yielding twice as much as these old ones, with superior quality tea leaves that would produce dried tea of even better flavor.

So forget about the Wu family offering tea mountains in exchange for the secret tea-making recipe—even if they gave her the tea mountains outright, she wouldn't want them.

Though both uncle and niece of the Ye family were merchants, they spoke with more conviction than anyone. Their attitude made Old Master Wu hesitate.

The Ye family could travel with Young Masters Lu and Qi, who treated them with great respect. Moreover, he had heard that the magistrate's daughter had come by but was scared off by Miss Ye. Could it be that besides Lu and Qi, the Ye family had an even more powerful backer?

After turning these thoughts over in his mind, Old Master Wu's expression shifted several times before he finally forced a stiff smile. "Miss Ye, everything can be negotiated. Since you don't want the tea mountains, name your price. How much silver do you want?"

"Not for sale," Ye Yaming replied with crisp finality. "If Old Master Wu and Shopkeeper Zheng wish to purchase tea from us, then contact Housekeeper Fang to sign a contract. However, the price is fixed. We sell to the capital at this same price under contract with the teahouse under the Eldest Princess's name. It's impossible for us to sell it cheaper here just for you."

She looked at Old Master Wu, her gaze calm yet carrying an imposing pressure. "Forgive my bluntness, but you, Old Master Wu, aren't prestigious enough to negotiate prices with me."

Having said that, she picked up her tea bowl. "Housekeeper Fang, see our guests out."

"Old Master Wu, Shopkeeper Zheng, this way please." Fang Xing gestured.

Old Master Wu was stunned by Ye Yaming's commanding presence and words.

He glanced at Ye Yaming, stood up without a word, and walked out.

Watching the two slink away, Ye Hongrong smiled and was about to say something to Ye Yaming, but she stopped him with a gesture.

Understanding her meaning, he rose and went out to stand under the corridor eaves.

He intended to wait until Old Master Wu and Shopkeeper Zheng had left before speaking with Ye Yaming, but he noticed them exchanging a few words with Fang Xing before heading to the gatekeeper's lodge.

It seemed they had ultimately chosen to sign a presale contract for Osmanthus Tea with the Ye family.

Returning inside, he reported this to Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming nodded, unsurprised by Old Master Wu's decision.

She had encountered too many people like him in her previous life.

The broader one's knowledge and greater one's abilities, the more humble they tend to be, because they understand all too well that there's always someone better. This "someone" might not appear remarkable at first glance—ordinary, even somewhat incompetent. But at a critical moment, it could be that very person who causes your efforts to collapse.

Conversely, those with limited knowledge, intelligence, or power, having spent their entire lives in small places, often think they're the greatest under heaven, acting arrogantly and looking down on everyone.

This is a classic case of "a full bucket doesn't slosh; a half-full bucket sloshes wildly."

Old Master Wu belonged to the latter category.

However, since he had managed to build such a large business, he was no fool. Even with his limited perspective, he knew there were far more powerful figures in the world than Assistant Prefect Liao.

His earlier behavior was likely because he saw her as just a girl, and her relationship with Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji wasn't clearly defined. He probably thought he could bluff and intimidate her, hoping for an unexpected gain.

Now that he knew it wouldn't work, he immediately tucked his tail between his legs and behaved.

Soon after, Fang Xing also came in and reported, "Old Master Wu has placed a preorder for two hundred jin."At this point, he smiled and said, "Originally, he only wanted to reserve a hundred catties, but when he heard that Wangjiang Tower had reserved a hundred and fifty catties, he immediately added another hundred catties."

Ye Yaming asked, "What about the other tea houses?"

"So far, out of the eleven tea houses in Xin'an City, seven have reserved Osmanthus Tea. The remaining four are relatively small, and their owners are more cautious. They probably want to see how things go with the other tea houses next year before making a decision."

Ye Hongrong, who was listening nearby, interjected, "Ming'er, these tea houses that reserved tea didn't pay a deposit, did they? Why didn't you ask them to?"

In Lin'an City, most tea houses did not own their own tea gardens or have tea-processing techniques. Therefore, they would not purchase crude tea from the Tea Monopoly Office for processing. Instead, they would buy tea in bulk from tea houses under the Ye and Yang families to sell.

When they placed tea reservations, they were required to pay a deposit—at least thirty to fifty percent. Otherwise, after going through the effort of transporting the tea, if the buyer suddenly refused to accept it, wouldn't that be a waste of time?

Now, Ye Yaming wasn't collecting any deposits, and Ye Hongrong couldn't understand why.

Ye Yaming explained, "We're outsiders here. If we want them to pay a deposit, we'd need a guarantor. But we're unfamiliar with this place—who would act as our guarantor?"

A guarantor wasn't just a witness. If either party breached the contract, the guarantor would be responsible for compensating the full amount. Even acquaintances would hesitate to take on such a responsibility, let alone strangers.

"Besides," she continued, "even without collecting a deposit, we're not at a loss. We're not processing the tea in Lin'an and then shipping it to Xin'an for delivery—we're making it directly here. Moreover, it's not as if they say they want two hundred catties, and I sell them exactly that. The contract states that the quantity will depend on our production output."

Ye Hongrong didn't fully grasp the intricacies of this arrangement.

But since Ye Yaming had already considered it, he had nothing more to say.

The uncle and niece rested at the inn for half a day. After dinner, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji returned.

"It's settled," Qi Ji said, having had some wine and visibly exhilarated. "Magistrate Lu is willing to take a dry share and partner with us."

"Really?" Ye Hongrong was overjoyed.

Upon learning that Lu Yan had taken an interest in Lu Qi and the other, and that they were unwilling to marry into the family, he had assumed the business deal would fall through.

Lu Guanyi said to Ye Yaming, "Tomorrow, Magistrate Lu will send a Housekeeper to accompany us to Yishan. With his people there, it will be easier for us to purchase the tea garden."

"Good, thank you for your hard work," Ye Yaming replied with a smile.

She didn't ask for details or whether they needed to sign a contract with Magistrate Lu.

There was no need for a contract—signing one would be disadvantageous for Magistrate Lu, and not signing it wouldn't affect their side's fulfillment of the agreement. Unless they decided not to do business here, they would have to pay Lu Yan his twenty percent of the profits on time every year.

Both men had drunk quite a bit. Lu Guanyi seemed unaffected, but Qi Ji's face was flushed, and he was more talkative than usual. After explaining the situation, the two took their leave.

Ye Hongrong volunteered to see them out.After returning, he told Ye Yaming: "From what Qi Gongzi implied, the Lü family hadn't yet expressed any intention to form a marriage alliance when Young Master Lu directly explained his family's difficulties to Magistrate Lü and his wife. He further mentioned that Qi Furen had already chosen a suitable match for Qi Gongzi - a young lady from an aristocratic family in the capital, with the betrothal to be formalized once the girl completes the mourning period for her grandmother. Upon hearing this, the Lü family and Miss Lü abandoned their thoughts of pursuing the marriage."