Glory

Old Mrs. Ye swallowed hard.

She had been busy arranging Ye Yaqing's marriage recently and hadn't had time to taste the teas Ye Yaming mentioned. But she had clearly understood Ye Yaming's calculations.

She didn't think it was boasting. Her third granddaughter was the most reliable person. If she said they could earn three to five tea formulas' worth of income, then it must be true.

That was precisely why she was so shocked.

Although the Ye family was wealthy and their business was quite large, their annual income was only over a hundred thousand taels, not including personnel expenses.

Some time ago, selling the Dragon Well Tea formula had brought in several hundred thousand taels at once, which had left Old Mrs. Ye trembling with fear for a while, worried that this windfall would bring disaster. If it happened a few more times...

"Maybe... we should just forget it. Too much money will bring trouble," she said fearfully.

Ye Yaming understood her concerns.

Ancient times were different from the present; the legal system was imperfect. Such a large amount of silver would indeed attract attention, and even Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji might not be able to protect the Ye family.

Ye Yaming had already considered this. She said, "I won't sell them here. I'll sell them in Huizhou and Minzhou, and I won't make a big fuss about it. It won't attract too much attention."

The tea merchants who bought the tea formulas would prefer that not too many people know, so they could be the only ones purchasing them.

"Besides, I won't sell them all at once in one place. I'll sell one per year, or one every couple of years, depending on the situation. Don't worry."

The tea merchants were shrewd. Once they knew the Ye family intended to sell tea formulas, as soon as the Ye family produced a new tea, they would inevitably try every means to find out and persuade the Ye family to sell the formula to them. By holding out a little, they could sell at a higher price, and at the same time, the Ye family wouldn't need to promote it—they could quietly sell the formula.

By the time others noticed other families producing the same tea, the Ye family's formula would have been sold for a year or two.

Moreover, the Ye family wouldn't remain without support forever. Once the Dark Tea was introduced, if the court wanted to do such large-scale business with the Ye family, they would have to grant them the title of Imperial merchant, right? With the status of Imperial merchant, the Ye family would have an additional layer of protection.

In short, everything would depend on the situation. If things looked unfavorable, they would stop. They couldn't scare themselves into not taking a step forward.

After hearing this, Old Mrs. Ye felt relieved.

Calming down, she accepted the fact that Ye Yaming was giving Ye Yaqing a shop worth ten thousand taels as a dowry. Not only did she accept it, but she also became happy about it.

Ye Yaming's willingness to give such a valuable shop to Ye Yaqing showed that she valued family ties. Since she valued family ties, she and the old man no longer had to worry about her becoming distant from the Ye family after marriage.

Although Ye Yaming had been designated as the next head of the Ye family and would still manage the Ye family's affairs even after marriage, given her ability to make money, even without the Ye family's sixty percent of the assets, she could earn more in just a year or two.

If she were to abandon her responsibilities, it wouldn't be Ye Yaming who suffered, but the Ye family.

Therefore, the fact that Ye Yaming valued family ties over wealth made her and the old man feel more at ease.

Ye Yaming first escorted Old Madam Ye back to the main house. Without entering herself, she went to Yin Shi's courtyard.

The matter of her giving two shops worth ten thousand taels as additional dowry was unknown to Ye Hongsheng and Yin Shi. If they knew, Ye Hongsheng wouldn't say anything, but Yin Shi would certainly refuse.But since Ye Yaming had become the Successor family head of Ye Jia, she naturally also became the head of the second branch. If Yin Shi was unwilling to give away the shops, and Ye Yaming insisted on doing so regardless of her biological mother's feelings, the elders of Ye Jia and Ye Hongsheng would have their opinions. Even if the first branch benefited, they would still gossip behind her back, calling her cold-hearted.

In any case, no one would speak well of her.

But if she listened to Yin Shi and didn't give the shops, what was the point of her being the family head? If similar situations arose in the future and Yin Shi tried to stop her, should she listen or not? If she listened, wouldn't that mean Yin Shi was effectively running the household?

Ye Yaming had always been one to think ten steps ahead; she wouldn't allow herself to be caught in such a dilemma. Thus, she decided to act first and explain later,

making her stance clear to both the Ye family and Yin Shi... As the Successor family head, she could discuss matters with everyone and listen to their opinions. But no one should try to pressure her using their seniority or bind her with filial piety to make her obey them.

Now that the shops had been given, she intended to properly explain the matter to Yin Shi.

"Mother, I just went to the first branch and, on behalf of our second branch, added to Second Sister's dowry," she said. "I gave two shops and two sets of headpiece jewelry."

Before Yin Shi could ask, she continued, "Originally, Da Bo was the Successor family head, and Eldest Cousin was the heir. Now, I've become the Successor family head, and the first branch will shift from the main line to a collateral branch. Although I didn't intentionally seize power, and this change is more beneficial for Ye Jia's development, Da Bo's wife still holds a grudge against us. Da Bo and Eldest Cousin may not say it, but they're undoubtedly unhappy inside."

Yin Shi had initially wanted to ask about the two shops, but Ye Yaming's explanation diverted her train of thought, and she nodded repeatedly. "Indeed, Da Bo's wife has been making sarcastic remarks in front of me quite often lately."

At this, she couldn't help but smile.

In the past, it was Zhang Shi who made sarcastic comments in front of Tao Shi. Yin Shi herself didn't dare to say anything sharp, so she kept her words to herself and would go back to cry alone, while Tao Shi could display her generosity and magnanimity in front of her two sisters-in-law.

Now, it was Tao Shi's turn to be sarcastic.

And when Tao Shi made sharp remarks, she didn't even have to face them directly—Zhang Shi would step in and confront her, leaving Tao Shi embarrassed and unable to respond.

Lately, both Yin Shi and Zhang Shi had been in particularly good spirits.

But while it felt satisfying, family harmony still needed to be maintained. Moreover, since the family assets had shifted from the first branch holding seventy percent to the second branch holding sixty percent, it was only right for the second branch to give two shops to the first branch's daughter as a dowry addition. Yin Shi knew how to handle such situations gracefully.

She nodded and said, "But it's understandable that the first branch is unhappy. You're giving two shops to Qing to make them feel better, right? That's appropriate, go ahead and give them. Anyway, we're not short on money now."

The statement was so extravagantly casual that Ye Yaming couldn't help but find it amusing.

She said, "Mother is truly generous. Since we're giving the shops, we shouldn't be too stingy. So, I bought one shop in the capital and added the one in Lin'an, together worth ten thousand taels of silver. Previously, Da Bo's wife gave me two sets of headpieces, and I didn't want her to keep bringing it up in the future, so I gave two sets to Second Sister as well, effectively repaying that favor."

"What? Ten thousand taels?" Yin Shi nearly knocked over the teacup in front of her.The pastry business she ran in partnership with Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu had only cost three thousand taels of silver to purchase the shop. Though the area was not large, the location was quite good.

She had assumed that the two shops gifted by Ye Yaming, to appear generous, would not be small in size but likely in less desirable locations. Even if they totaled no more than five thousand taels, though it pained her, it was still manageable.

But ten thousand taels, plus two sets of headpiece jewelry—that was truly excessive.

She didn’t even have ten thousand taels in her own private savings.

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