Glory

After resolving the issue with Yin Shi and finishing breakfast, Ye Hongsheng instructed a servant to inquire, "Find out what Old Master Ye and Third Young Lady are doing."

The servant replied, "Third Young Lady and Old Master Ye just came by. From their conversation, it seems they are waiting for First Master, Fourth Master, and Eldest Young Master to go to the teahouse together to discuss matters with Qi Gongzi."

Ye Hongsheng quickly stood up, patted Yin Shi's hand, and said, "I'll go listen to their discussion. You should return to the inner courtyard."

Yin Shi, having been appeased by her husband, nodded obediently and returned to the inner courtyard with a pleased expression.

Ye Hongsheng then went to Ye Chongming's study.

As soon as he entered, Ye Chongming smiled and said to Ye Yaming, "What did I tell you? Wasn't I right?"

Ye Yaming smiled at Ye Hongsheng and said, "Grandfather guessed you would definitely come."

With Ye Yaqing's marriage, the family had been busy these past few days. After returning from Minzhou, Ye Yaming rested for two nights before starting to accompany Ye Yaqing and help her pack. Even if Ye Hongsheng wanted to ask about the production of Tieguanyin tea, he hadn't had the opportunity.

Now that he had some free time, he couldn't resist.

Ye Chongming had guessed correctly.

Ye Chongming said, "Even if you hadn't come, I would have sent someone to call you. It was Ming'er's suggestion last night that made us decide to take advantage of everyone being in Lin'an to meet and share updates on our respective situations."

Just then, Ye Hongchang and Ye Jiaxing also entered, greeting everyone in the room.

"Let's go to the teahouse together," Ye Chongming said, standing up. "I've invited Qi Gongzi and the Lu family's Housekeeper."

The group went to the teahouse.

After settling in at the teahouse, Ye Hongsheng couldn't help but exclaim, "Ming'er, brew some Tieguanyin for us."

Although Ye Yaming had presented the Tieguanyin she made to Ye Hongsheng immediately after returning from Minzhou and had instructed Laonu on how to brew it properly, Ye Hongsheng always felt that Laonu's brewing wasn't authentic. Seizing this opportunity, he asked Ye Yaming to brew the tea.

Ye Hongrong also chimed in, "Yes, yes. When you sent the tea to me, I didn't know how to brew it properly."

Since they were waiting for Qi Ji anyway, Ye Yaming cheerfully agreed, "Alright, alright."

Everyone present was her close family—except for Ye Jiaxing, they were all elders. It was only right for her to brew tea for them.

"Bai Rui, set out the tea set," she instructed, turning her head.

For today's meeting, one of her agenda items was to introduce the brewing method for Oolong tea. She had come prepared.

As Bai Rui arranged the tea set, Ye Jiaxing personally brought in boiling water.

Ye Yaming warmed the teapot and cups, then began brewing the tea.

While she was in the middle of brewing, Qi Ji and the Lu family's Housekeeper, Zheng Gang, arrived.

Lu Guanyi had invested in the partnership but had suddenly gone to the border and couldn't manage the business personally, so he had sent some capable housekeepers to handle affairs on his behalf.

Zheng Gang was one of them. He had accompanied Ye Yaming and Qi Ji to Minzhou. Today, he represented the Lu family at the meeting. Besides him, another Lu family housekeeper named Wang Jinzhi also attended.

Qi Ji had withdrawn from the tea set business, and Wang Jinzhi had been partnering with Ye Jiaxing to manage that operation.

A few days earlier, when Ye Yaming had just returned, she met with Qi Ji at the teahouse to inquire about court changes. Only the two of them and Ye Chongming were present at that time.Today's meeting was different—it was akin to a shareholders' assembly, where everyone needed to report on the projects they managed and set the direction for future development.

In modern times, Ye Yaming was accustomed to meetings. Shareholder meetings were held regularly, as were sessions with subordinates.

But in this ancient era, after so long, she had never seen Ye Chongming convene any meetings. When issues arose, he would summon her for discussion, sometimes also calling in family members or housekeepers responsible for the matter.

Initially, she had no voice. Later, even after being designated as the successor family head by Ye Chongming, she refrained from forcefully taking the lead to avoid making him feel his authority was challenged.

She had always adapted to Ye Chongming's management style. Now that Ye Yaqing was getting married and everyone had gathered in Lin'an, she could hardly bear not holding a meeting, hence her proposal last night.

However, since everyone was not yet accustomed to it, there was no need to be overly formal. So when Qi Ji entered with the housekeepers, Ye Yaming continued brewing tea without pause, merely nodding with a smile as a greeting.

The men of Ye Jia were also familiar with Qi Ji, so they exchanged casual greetings without much ceremony before Qi Ji and the housekeepers took their seats.

The attention of Ye Hongchang and Ye Hongsheng, however, was entirely on Ye Yaming.

After Ye Hongsheng returned to Lin'an from the capital, all matters in the capital were handled by Ye Hongchang.

Previously, he only focused on selling tea. But after seeing how Ye Hongsheng befriended nobles through his expertise in tea processing and brewing, he had an epiphany and began studying tea processing and tea arrangements as well.

Watching Ye Yaming pour the tea into a tall, narrow cup, he found it strange and couldn't help asking, "That cup is so tall and narrow—how can one drink from it comfortably?"

Ye Yaming didn't reply, only smiled at him. She picked up a matching teacup, placed it over the tall, narrow one, then elegantly flipped her hand in a semicircular arc, reversing the positions of the two cups. The drinking cup was now on the bottom, with the tall, narrow one inverted on top of it.

Most remarkably, not a single drop of tea spilled during this flipping motion.

After flipping all four cups of tea and placing them on coasters, Bai Rui used a tray to serve them to everyone one by one.

Seeing the narrow cup still inverted on the wider one, Ye Chongming asked, "How do we drink this?"

Ye Yaming gently lifted the narrow cup, allowing the tea at the rim to drip clean, and brought it to her nose, saying, "This cup is called an aroma cup, specifically designed for smelling the tea's fragrance."

Everyone followed her example, lifting the aroma cups and taking a deep sniff. Indeed, a rich orchid fragrance filled their senses.

"So fragrant," Ye Hongchang praised.

Ye Hongsheng probed further, "Ming'er, is this tea also scented with orchid fragrance, like Osmanthus Tea and Jasmine Tea?"

"No, this is the tea's natural aroma."

"Natural aroma?" Ye Hongsheng was astonished. "How can tea leaves have such a scent naturally?"

Ye Yaming explained in terms everyone could understand: "This tea is unique to Minzhou. Its aromatic compounds are more abundant than in other tea plants. Additionally, during processing, there's a step called 'rocking the green,' which activates these aromatic substances, hence the tea's intense fragrance."The aromatic compounds in tea primarily consist of polyphenols, aromatic substances, pectin compounds, and amino acids. Tieguanyin's aroma encompasses both regional characteristics and processing-induced notes.

"Are the tea trees different from what we have here? Did you bring back any seeds? Can they survive if planted in our soil?"

Off-topic note:

I fell short of writing 6,000 characters yesterday, which disrupted the rhythm. There will be another chapter today - come check at noon.

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