Glory

Watching the pale faces of the Ye family men, Chen Zhen felt immensely satisfied. Then his gaze met Ye Yaming's thoughtful dark eyes.

Chen Zhen's eyes focused as he smiled and said, "Does Miss Ye have something to say?"

Ye Yaming returned his smile: "I was just thinking how formidable you are, Lord Chen. Had you said these words before signing the contract, my grandfather might not have taken your business. Not only would we suffer losses, but we'd also bear risks. My grandfather has never made such a deal in his entire life, yet today he fell into your hands."

While others might find these words offensive, Chen Zhen took them as praise. Men like him most enjoyed watching others retreat step by step during negotiations, ultimately signing contracts at the lowest prices with reluctant expressions.

He laughed heartily: "You shouldn't put it that way. With great ability comes great responsibility. Being able to serve the court is an honor for the Ye family, even if it means taking some risks. As for losses, that's where you come in, Miss Ye. If you can improve the tea-making recipe to reduce costs, the Ye family won't just avoid losses—you might even profit."

Ye Yaming's face immediately fell: "Lord Chen makes it sound so easy. Haven't you seen how pressed tea and loose tea haven't changed for years?"

"What's difficult for others isn't difficult for you. I believe you can certainly do it, Miss Ye."

After this exchange between two cunning foxes, Chen Zhen cheerfully saw the Ye family elders out of the post station.

Ye Chongming, unsettled by Chen Zhen's words, specifically called Ye Yaming into his carriage before departure.

Only when the carriage had moved away, leaving only trusted servants and the coachman, did Ye Chongming ask: "Are you confident you can guarantee the quality of that Dark Tea?"

The term "quality" was something Ye Yaming often used, and Ye Chongming had learned and adopted it.

Ye Yaming nodded: "Don't worry. I can not only guarantee the quality but also ensure we won't suffer losses."

The pile fermentation indeed required that much time, but it wasn't done pound by pound—it was processed in piles, producing dozens of pounds at once. Labor was cheap these days, so costs were actually not high.

Moreover, when the tea mountains in Huizhou and Minzhou truly flourished, they could produce not just 250,000 jin, but even 350,000 jin without issue. By placing more tea masters in each local Tea Factory, implementing mutual supervision and accountability systems, and strictly controlling quality, they could absolutely deliver 200,000 jin of tea annually with guaranteed quality and quantity.

The excess could be stored: first, as preparation for unexpected needs to reduce risks; second, to age for appreciation.

After all, the price difference between two-year-old Dark Tea and twenty-year-old Dark Tea was more than twentyfold. Initially, when people's acceptance of Dark Tea wasn't high, releasing these aged teas after twenty years—when many had come to accept and enjoy Dark Tea—would bring substantial profits. Even if others knew the tea formula for Dark Tea by then, they couldn't produce what was made twenty years earlier.

She hadn't revealed all this to Ye Chongming earlier because she knew he was no match for Chen Zhen. If he had known the true situation, Chen Zhen would have broken through his defenses, ultimately making him sign the contract at what he "believed" was a reasonable price.

And once they signed a contract at an extremely low price, the Ye family would be in a passive position—not just for one or two years, but for decades.Worried that Ye Chongming might not take the matter seriously if he knew the truth, Ye Hongchang, Ye Hongrong, Ye Jiaxing, and others had become somewhat lax in management. At this point, Ye Yaming still hadn’t told him the truth.

She said, “However, all tea factories must follow my rules. The regulations I’ve established must be strictly enforced and absolutely cannot be altered. Please make this clear to my uncles and cousins, Grandfather. I will also speak with Zi Mo and Qi Gongzi, asking them to discipline the housekeepers under their supervision.”

“Alright,” Ye Chongming agreed without hesitation.

“As long as the management adheres to the rules I’ve set, you needn’t worry about the dark tea. I guarantee there will be no issues in this regard,” Ye Yaming added.

Though she couldn’t reveal the truth, she didn’t want to see Ye Chongming under too much pressure, which could affect his health.

In this era, medical conditions were poor, making “seventy years a rare lifespan.” Ye Chongming was now sixty-two, and Ye Yaming hoped he could maintain his current health and live a long life.

Hearing her words, Ye Chongming felt reassured.

“Ah, if only you could marry in Lin’an and manage the family affairs here. Once you marry and go to the capital, I worry the family will fall into chaos.”

Remembering that Ye Yaming’s marriage was imminent and the entire burden of family affairs would fall on him, Ye Chongming’s recently eased heart grew troubled again.

“I’ll only be in the capital for two months. Winter is the off-season for tea, and the tea factories will be shut down. What chaos could there be?” Ye Yaming comforted him.

“And after that?” Ye Chongming remained uneasy. “I’m old and won’t be able to help you for many more years. In the future, you’ll have children to bear and raise, and Zi Mo can’t stay at the border forever. What will happen to all these family affairs then?”

“Grandfather,” Ye Yaming looked at Ye Chongming earnestly, “the reason I want to be the family head is to control the overall direction of Ye Jia’s development. Do you think Da Bo, with his political acumen and vision, could manage Ye Jia’s affairs well?”

Ye Chongming shook his head decisively. “No.”

He knew very well that Ye Hongchang’s abilities were similar to his own. They could only maintain what they had, safeguarding Ye Jia’s original interests, but nothing beyond that. If anyone coveted or schemed against Ye Jia, Ye Hongchang, like himself, would be unable to withstand it, and Ye Jia would be devoured.

To think of bringing Ye Jia to its current state was something they wouldn’t even dare to dream of.

Worried that Ye Yaming might misunderstand, he explained, “Ming’er, I’m not saying I want your Da Bo to be the family head again…”

“I know,” Ye Yaming said. “I’m not explaining that to you. I just want to tell you that my desire to be the family head isn’t out of greed for power or for the sixty to seventy percent of the family assets. It’s to protect Ye Jia and ensure its prosperity and flourishing, just as you hoped when you named Da Bo and my father.”

“Da Bo may lack political acumen and the ability to expand, but he is an excellent executor. I don’t mind him having more authority.”

“Grandfather,” she leaned forward slightly, her eyes filled with sincerity as she looked at Ye Chongming, “when you feel your health no longer allows you to work so hard, hand over these affairs to Da Bo. As long as he doesn’t act on his own, thinking I’m unfit to lead Ye Jia and insisting on his own ideas everywhere, the more responsibilities he and Fourth Uncle take on, the better.”

Ye Chongming gazed at his granddaughter and slowly nodded.He not only understood the explicit meaning in Ye Yaming's words, but also grasped the unspoken implications.

If Ye Hongchang refused to comply and insisted on seizing power, then Ye Yaming would not hesitate to divide the family estate, separating the eldest branch and excluding them from future affairs.

"Alright, I understand," he said.

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