Glory

She looked up, meeting Lu Guanyi's gaze earnestly: "I know our funds are limited. The mountain land we bought today wasn't expensive, but the area is vast, and it still cost ten to twenty thousand taels of silver. We'll need to hire workers for clearing, purchase Manor serfs to build the estate, and we still have to construct a teahouse in Xin'an—everywhere requires money."

Originally, when the two parties collaborated, opening a teahouse wasn't included in the scope of cooperation. However, Ye Yaming intended to use the teahouse as a central hub for managing the Tea Garden and trading tea locally, while also relying on Lu Qi to maintain relations with the local officials. This naturally wasn't solely Ye Jia's affair but a joint endeavor of both partners.

Previously, due to tight schedules and everyone being busy purchasing tea mountains, Lu Qi hadn't broached the subject proactively, so the matter remained unaddressed.

Now that Ye Yaming clarified the teahouse plan, Qi Ji felt a sense of relief.

Still, he confirmed, "Miss Ye, are you saying the teahouse will be a joint venture between us?"

Ye Yaming smiled. "Of course. Without your connections with the officials, Ye Jia alone couldn't establish this teahouse, and even if we did, it would quickly fail. Official Lü was willing to accept those twenty percent dry shares only because of your influence."

Lü Xuanlin couldn't possibly partner with merchants to open various shops. Once that precedent was set, it would spiral out of control. Shops in Xin'an City would rush to offer him dry shares, making him wealthy overnight, but troubles would follow, and his official hat would soon be lost.

His willingness to cooperate with them was solely due to Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji's status.

Hearing this, Qi Ji felt thoroughly pleased.

Honestly, as a scion of an official family, he had never been so humble in his life. This time, mustering the courage to seek cooperation, if the profits didn't involve him, he would never do it again, no matter what.

Now, thinking that the teahouse's earnings would include his share, and he could build a substantial fortune through his own efforts, he was filled with motivation, feeling that even groveling and flattering was acceptable.

This made him appreciate Lu Guanyi's foresight even more.

Ye Yaming had grand visions and long-term insight—she was capable of great deeds, surpassing many men. No wonder his friend had fallen for such a woman.

He glanced at Lu Guanyi and indeed saw a flicker of admiration in his eyes.

Qi Ji coughed lightly and nodded. "Then we won't stand on ceremony."

Lu Guanyi added, "Miss Ye, don't worry about the funds. The silver we pooled hasn't been spent much, but the profits from selling tea sets during the New Year period were substantial. As long as you think the land in Qimen is good, spending another ten to twenty thousand taels on tea mountains is no issue. Spring Tea is about to be harvested, and you mentioned developing new teas, which will bring in more revenue. Our accounts aren't short of money—building the teahouse is no problem."

"That's good," Ye Yaming replied with a smile.

She had a rough idea of the account balance. But after spending so much on tea mountains, she needed to explain it to avoid any misunderstandings.

Having taken on the miscellaneous tasks, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji naturally couldn't rest the next day and began purchasing and hiring workers. Ye Hongrong was also sent by Ye Yaming to help manage the arrangements.

On the third day, they set off for Qimen.

After staying in Qimen for three days and acquiring a stretch of mountain land, the mission of this trip was considered complete.Although Huizhou had many areas suitable for tea production, including famous teas like Taiping Houkui, Liu'an Guapian, and Huoshan Huangya, their financial resources and energy were limited. They couldn't achieve everything at once.

Profit stirs desire. If she introduced too many teas, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji, with their current influence, wouldn't be able to protect them. This would bring disaster rather than benefit—one shouldn't be too greedy.

Therefore, Ye Yaming planned to introduce pan-fired green tea and dark tea this year. If circumstances permitted in three years, she would bring out Keemun black tea. As for other tea varieties, they would have to depend on the situation.

"Miss, Fang Xing has returned," Bai Rui reported.

"So soon? Have him come in at once," Ye Yaming said with surprise.

When they departed from Fuxi, Fang Xing hadn't accompanied them to Qimen but had gone to Xiuning instead.

Ye Yaming had assumed Fang Xing would catch up with them on their return journey in a few days, but he had returned before they even set out.

"Miss," Fang Xing entered and bowed.

Seeing his travel-worn appearance, Ye Yaming said, "You've worked hard."

Then she asked, "How did it go?"

Fang Xing shook his head. "Nothing. I inquired in Xiuning—there is a mountain called Songluo Mountain with several temples. I checked each one, but none had the monk named Dafang that you mentioned."

Ye Yaming asked again, "Do they produce tea there?"

Fang Xing shook his head once more. "No. The monks and nuns on the mountain all buy tea from the foothills."

Ye Yaming fell silent.

Before coming to Huizhou, she had sent people to search Tiger Hill Temple in Suzhou but found no trace of Monk Dafang there either.

Of course, the dynasty had changed. In this timeline, familiar historical dynasties, emperors, and notable figures were absent—how could there be a Monk Dafang?

She let out a soft sigh and said to Fang Xing, "Go and rest. We depart tomorrow; you can rest properly in the carriage for a couple of days."

After Fang Xing left, Guan Ting asked curiously, "Miss Ye, why were you looking for this monk?"

Bai Rui and Lve E also turned to listen.

"Oh, I read in a miscellaneous book that this monk named Dafang was highly skilled at tea making. I wanted to see if he truly existed or if the author fabricated him," Ye Yaming explained.

"That must have been nonsense," Guan Ting said dismissively.

Ye Yaming smiled but didn't respond.

Osmanthus Tea was a reprocessed tea with no clear origin, only said to have been consumed by palace maids during the Tang and Song dynasties to enhance their body fragrance. However, Monk Dafang, the creator of pan-fired green tea, was a named figure closest to her current era.

If she didn't send someone to search for him, she wouldn't feel at ease claiming the title of creator for pan-fired green tea.

As a time traveler, bringing future knowledge and skills to advance certain developments was inevitable.

She could attribute The Classic of Tea to Lu Yu, but for pan-fired green tea, she couldn't claim it was created by Monk Dafang of Songluo Mountain.

If there really were a Monk Dafang on Songluo Mountain, it would be one thing. But since there wasn't, if she said pan-fired green tea was his creation, wouldn't several Monk Dafangs suddenly appear on Songluo Mountain by tomorrow?

Not all monks were free from worldly desires, and this could easily entangle various factions.

To avoid unnecessary disputes and troubles, she had to brazenly claim that pan-fired green tea was her own creation, just like Osmanthus Tea.By the time they returned, it was already the second month, and the weather had warmed considerably. On sunny days, Ye Yaming would even emerge from the carriage to ride horseback for half a day, making the journey much faster than their outbound trip.

"Hey now, Ming'er, slow down! Be careful not to fall!" Ye Hongrong watched Ye Yaming racing with Guan Ting on horseback, his heart trembling with anxiety as he kept calling out warnings from behind.

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