Glory

So the idea of borrowing money from a bank to cover the shortfall was just a passing thought. In ancient times, if you needed to borrow money, you had to turn to usurers. The character Granny Cai in The Injustice to Dou E made her living from this trade, and Wang Xifeng also lent money at high interest.

Usury was essentially loan sharking—not only was it unprofitable, but news of the Ye family's financial difficulties would also spread. This would inevitably attract a swarm of competitors eager to "kick you when you're down."

"If, and I mean if..." she began, "if we don’t count the silver Da Bo brought back, how much are we still short?"

Ye Chongming replied, "If we exclude the investment in purchasing loose tea and osmanthus for making Osmanthus Tea, we’re still short by over three thousand taels—that’s the amount owed to the estate holders for reserving the tea leaves."

Apart from selling tea in Lin'an City and the surrounding counties, the Ye family’s tea was also distributed to the capital.

The capital, with its many nobles and elites, was the primary market for the Ye family’s premium teas. For instance, their pressed tea was shipped directly to the capital upon production. Thus, even though Lin'an was the Ye family’s home base, the majority of their tea profits came from the capital, managed by Ye Hongchang.

Although the overall public security in the Great Jin Dynasty was relatively stable, highway robbery was not unheard of. In those times, some who struggled to make ends meet and were inclined toward dishonest means would band together. They might farm in the countryside or loiter in the city normally, but when an opportunity arose, they would strike.

Since they weren’t professional bandits, they blended in with ordinary folk before and after their robberies, making their attacks random and difficult for the authorities to track. Catching one group only left another—it was an endless cycle.

Ye Hongchang’s business was extensive, and he frequently traveled between the capital and Lin'an, making him a likely target for robbery. At that time, banks didn’t offer cross-region deposit and withdrawal services, so for safety, he usually didn’t carry silver back home.

Instead, twice a year—during the Qingming Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival—he would withdraw the silver from the bank and hire guards from a security company to escort it back.

In the past, Ye Chongming would never have discussed such matters with Ye Yaming. But her recent performance had led him to regard her as a more capable family member than even Ye Jiaxing. So, he carefully detailed these financial matters to her.

He added, "Originally, if it weren’t for the mess your fourth uncle caused, our family would have had enough to cover this sum. But now, all our savings have been depleted."

Old Mrs. Ye sat nearby, looking somewhat embarrassed.

In the past, although Ye Hongrong hadn’t been particularly capable, he hadn’t caused any major trouble. So, she had indulged him.

But now that Ye Hongrong had landed the family in such a predicament, Old Mrs. Ye clearly realized she could no longer afford to be so lenient.

Thus, when Ye Chongming disciplined Ye Hongrong according to family rules, Old Mrs. Ye pretended not to know and did not intervene to protect her youngest son.

Initially, Ye Chongming hadn’t been worried about his eldest son or the silver. After all, the capital wasn’t far from Lin'an, and Ye Hongchang had made the trip seven or eight times a year without incident.

But now, Ye Yaming’s questions had left him feeling uneasy.

Previously, no one had been targeting the Ye family, but now Meng Chengwei was scheming against them. Since he had struck at Ye Hongrong, it was possible he might also cause trouble for Ye Hongchang. Even with guards from the security company, if someone was plotting against them, there was no guarantee that Ye Hongchang’s transport would remain safe.Realizing that the Mid-Autumn Festival was only days away and that there was no way to gather such a large sum of money in such a short time, he grew anxious: "What if that silver is lost?"

Ye Yaming thought for a moment: "How much money can we get from selling the tea in the Tea House and tea shops?"

Ye Chongming shook his head: "The tea in the Tea House and tea shops now is all summer and autumn tea. Even if we sell it all within a few days, it won’t bring in much money—at most, it’ll cover the three thousand taels. The silver your Da Bo is carrying on the road won’t make up for the rest."

Moreover, they could sell that batch of tea at a loss to other tea merchants. But right now was the time for Spring Tea pre-orders, and every tea merchant was short on cash. They wouldn’t skip pre-ordering next year’s Spring Tea to buy Ye Family’s summer and autumn tea, which not only had low profits but was also hard to sell. After all, tea was something only the wealthy were willing to drink. The poor could barely afford food—why would they spend money on something that "scrapes the oil from their stomachs"?

"Grandfather," Ye Yaming looked at Ye Chongming, "if you use the family’s shops and farmland as collateral and ask your maternal uncle to guarantee for you, do you think he would agree to let you withdraw a sum from the bank?"

Ye Chongming thought it over and shook his head: "No."

If this news leaked, depositors would panic, lose confidence in keeping their money in the bank, and a run on the bank would occur. Once a run happened, the bank’s reputation would be ruined.

The Mei Family’s banking business had been operating for decades; they would never take such a risk just because the Ye Family was temporarily in trouble.

"Then how about this: you go talk to your maternal uncle. On one hand, we’ll use the shops and farmland as collateral and ask the Mei Family to lend us some money privately—not too much, just enough to cover the gap in the Tea Monopoly Bureau’s tea pre-order. If that’s not possible, borrow whatever we can. For the remaining shortfall, we women can pawn our jewelry to make up the difference."

Old Mrs. Ye immediately nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes. I still have ten thousand taels from my dowry, and with mine and Tao Shi’s jewelry, we can pawn them for a few thousand taels. If my cousin is willing to lend us a bit more, that should be enough. If he really refuses, we can pool Tao Shi’s dowry silver and the jewelry of the other daughters-in-law—that should cover it. Don’t worry too much, Old Master."

It was only now that she realized if her eldest son’s silver really couldn’t be recovered, the family business would face serious trouble. She was truly worried that the Old Master might fall ill from the stress.

But she also knew that it was best not to touch the daughters-in-law’s dowries and jewelry unless absolutely necessary—those were the women’s foundation and the family’s last resort. Even if she suggested it, the daughters-in-law would likely refuse and cause more trouble.

The Old Master was in a difficult position, and Ye Yaming had advised him to borrow from the bank without mentioning this option for that very reason.

But even if the other daughters-in-law weren’t asked, since the Ye Family’s business was in serious trouble, she and Tao Shi had a duty to use their own silver and jewelry to help the family through this crisis.

At her age, with her sons all grown and established, and her eldest son soon to be a grandfather, she wasn’t afraid of the Old Master divorcing her and leaving her with no means of support in her remaining years.As the eldest daughter-in-law of the main branch, Tao Shi stood to inherit the majority of the Ye family's estate for her son. The downfall of the Ye family would bring her no benefit whatsoever, so she was both bound and willing to shoulder certain responsibilities.