Glory

Ye Yaming asked again, "How are the jasmine flowers doing?"

"A few scattered buds have already appeared. It looks like there will be a small patch in a few more days," Zan'er replied.

Ye Yaming nodded: "Good. Tomorrow, I'll inspect the servants and take a look at the jasmine flowers as well."

Sun An acknowledged her words. Seeing that Ye Yaming had no further instructions, he took his leave and went to the manor.

Jasmine flowers thrive in high temperatures. In modern times, Heng County in Guangxi produces seventy percent of the nation's jasmine flowers.

But in this era of extremely inconvenient transportation, Ye Yaming couldn't possibly travel south just to make jasmine tea. After all, in her previous life, Jinhua in Zhejiang was also famous for its jasmine tea. Although Lin'an is north of Jinhua, the straight-line distance is only about a hundred kilometers, with little difference in climate and environment.

Therefore, she hired three gardeners from the south to guide the manor serfs in planting large fields of jasmine flowers on the Ye family's manor.

The manor had a residence for the owners to rest. This villa had three courtyards, plus servants' quarters. Ye Yaming stayed in the innermost courtyard with her maids and older female servants, while the outer two courtyards were used for tea processing. As for the newly purchased servants, they all lived in the servants' quarters.

That evening, Old Mrs. Ye sent someone to summon Ye Yaming to the main house for dinner.

After the meal, Old Mrs. Ye wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and said, "I've already sent Cai Shi away. In a few days, we'll hold a funeral for her 'death from illness.'"

She looked at Ye Yaming: "To make the act convincing, you'll need to pay your respects to your third aunt when the time comes."

Ye Yaming nodded: "That's only proper."

"I let her take all the cash she had. As for the remaining manor from her dowry, it will become your fifth sister's private property. When she marries in the future, this land will be part of her deceased mother's dowry to her."

Ye Yaming moved closer, affectionately linking arms with her grandmother and resting her head on her shoulder. She smiled and said, "I'm so grateful to have reincarnated into the Ye family, where both grandfather and grandmother are so kind-hearted. I believe this is precisely why the deities sent me dreams, to ensure our Ye family prospers day by day."

This flattery directly touched the hearts of Ye Chongming and Old Mrs. Ye, making both elders beam with joy.

"Isn't that just the truth?" Old Mrs. Ye patted Ye Yaming's hand. "It shows that virtue brings its own rewards—this saying is indeed true."

After discussing this matter, Ye Yaming informed Ye Chongming that the Qi residence's housekeeper had already purchased thirty-two servants.

"I plan to go check on them tomorrow and explain my requirements," she said. "I'll need to borrow the housekeeper who trains servants in our residence."

"Of course, no problem," Ye Chongming agreed without hesitation.

After the meal, Ye Yaming returned to the second branch residence and went to Ye Yayin's courtyard.

Upon entering the courtyard, she heard Ye Yayin's cheerful laughter.

Following the sound, she saw Ye Yayin playing with a cat, while Ye Yayu stood nearby with her wet nurse and maid.

Though Ye Yayu's eyes were still somewhat red and swollen, her condition had improved compared to before. Although she clung to her wet nurse's clothes, appearing timid, her eyes were fixed intently on Ye Yayin and the cat. The corners of her mouth seemed to curl upward slightly, and her eyes sparkled brightly.

Just then, one of Ye Yayin's senior maids noticed Ye Yaming and was about to speak up to alert the others. Ye Yaming quickly gestured for her to stop, pointed toward Ye Yayu's direction, beckoned the maid over, then turned and quietly left the courtyard.

The maid glanced at Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu, seeing that neither had noticed anything, and hurried out of the courtyard gate unnoticed."Third Young Miss." She called out softly.

"Has the kitchen sent over the pastries?" Ye Yaming inquired.

Earlier that afternoon, the kitchen had prepared both pastries from her recipes and delivered them immediately to Ye Yaming. After tasting them, Ye Yaming offered some guidance to the cooks. The second batch turned out quite satisfactory.

She then instructed the kitchen to send some here.

"They have." The maid's face lit up with a smile. "Fourth Young Miss said she'd never tasted such delicious pastries."

"Did Fifth Young Miss try them?"

"She did." The maid nodded. "Her wet nurse and maid were worried earlier - she hadn't touched a single grain of rice at noon, not even drinking water. But when the kitchen sent the pastries and Fourth Young Miss shared them with her, she watched for a while before slowly starting to eat. She particularly liked the fried fresh milk and ate quite a bit."

"That's good. Since she enjoys them, tell the kitchen to make more tomorrow. I'll write two more recipes for them later. Note down which pastries Fourth and Fifth Young Miss prefer, and have the kitchen prepare more of those."

"Understood."

...

The next day, Ye Yaming brought Steward Lu and Mama Lin, who were responsible for training servants in the residence, to the estate.

Sun An had already assembled everyone in the courtyard awaiting her arrival.

Ye Yaming entered and surveyed the group.

These people had clearly been cleaned up - dressed in Ye family servant uniforms, with freshly washed faces and hands. The adult men had shaved their beards, revealing bluish stubble; both men and women had their hair neatly combed and tied up, none left disheveled.

Yet their gaunt faces and sallow complexions betrayed their previous tragic circumstances.

The refugees from other regions had first endured hardships; after being purchased, agents worried about escape attempts would provide minimal food - just enough to keep them from starving.

Upon reaching Lin'an, during the training of rules, those who learned well received extra meals while those who didn't went without. Even with extra meals, the food was never substantial. Thus most appeared malnourished like this.

Observing everyone with bowed heads, appearing docile and law-abiding, she turned and quietly asked Sun An: "How have these people been behaving?"

"Very well," Sun An replied. "They were specially selected by the Qi residence's housekeeper to begin with. After coming to us, they've had good food and accommodation, plus new clothes. When we told them they'd learn tea-making and eventually become tea-making masters at the tea factory, they were moved to tears, saying heaven had eyes to let them meet such good masters."

Ye Yaming smiled faintly.

After their previous terrible experiences, this stable environment with adequate food and clothing felt like paradise to them. But after a year or so of such conditions, they'd likely become discontent again. Just like those servants at the tea factory.

Human nature always wants more after gaining something - the grass is always greener on the other side.

Ye Yaming turned and signaled to Bai Rui, who took a paper from her robe and handed it to Sun An.

Ye Yaming said: "These are the rules I've written. You must not only read them aloud but have everyone memorize them, with occasional spot checks. From now on, meals aren't free - they must earn Points according to these requirements. Those who work hard and follow rules can eat well based on their Points; those who idle away their days get only half-rations. For repeat offenders among the latter, report them to me."Sun An lowered his head for a glance and saw that everyone had a base score. Below were densely listed numerous items such as dormitory hygiene, personal hygiene, recitation of rules, and exam scores. Good performance earned bonus points, while poor performance resulted in deductions.

With just that one look, Sun An knew this was something valuable.

"Brother Shen!"

"Hmm!"

As Shen Changqing walked along the road, he would occasionally greet acquaintances he encountered, either with words or a nod.

But regardless of who it was.

No one had any superfluous expressions on their faces, as if they were completely indifferent to everything.

Regarding this.

Shen Changqing had already grown accustomed.

Because this was the Demon Suppression Division, an institution responsible for maintaining the stability of Great Qin. Its primary duty was to slay demons, monsters, and supernatural beings, though it also handled some secondary tasks.

It could be said.

That every person in the Demon Suppression Division had plenty of blood on their hands.

When someone becomes accustomed to life and death, they tend to grow indifferent toward many things.

When Shen Changqing first arrived in this world, he found it somewhat uncomfortable, but over time he grew used to it.

The Demon Suppression Division was vast.

Those who could remain in the Demon Suppression Division were either powerful experts or individuals with the potential to become experts.

Shen Changqing belonged to the latter category.

Within the Demon Suppression Division, there were two main roles: the Garrison Envoy and the Demon Subduing Envoy.

Anyone joining the Demon Suppression Division started from the lowest rank of Demon Subduing Envoy,

then gradually advanced through promotions, with the ultimate goal of potentially becoming a Garrison Envoy.

Shen Changqing's previous incarnation was a probationary Demon Subduing Envoy within the Demon Suppression Division, the lowest rank among the Demon Subduing Envoys.

Possessing the memories of his former self.

He was very familiar with the environment of the Demon Suppression Division.

Without taking much time, Shen Changqing stopped before a pavilion.

Unlike other solemn and murderous places in the Demon Suppression Division, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, presenting a unique tranquility within the blood-soaked Demon Suppression Division.

At this moment, the pavilion's main door was wide open, with people occasionally entering and exiting.

After only a moment's hesitation, Shen Changqing stepped inside.

Upon entering the pavilion.

The environment suddenly transformed.

The scent of ink mixed with a faint bloody odor assailed his senses, causing him to instinctively frown, though his expression quickly relaxed.

The bloody scent that clung to every person in the Demon Suppression Division was almost impossible to wash away completely.