Glory

As for Zhang Shi, the wife of the fourth son Ye Hongrong who had caused the huge financial gap, she should have borne most of the responsibility for her husband's fault. However, she was utterly unreasonable and valued money more than her own life. The mere mention of borrowing her dowry silver and jewelry would inevitably lead to an earth-shattering uproar from her.

So it was better not to stir up that hornet's nest. At a time like this, it was wiser to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Ye Chongming ignored Old Madam Ye.

Unless driven to utter desperation, he would never touch the private assets of the women in the family.

Moreover, Ye Yaming's words seemed to carry a deeper meaning.

He asked, "You only mentioned filling that part of the gap, but what about the advance Tea Silver for the Estate Holders?"

Three thousand taels was not a large sum under normal circumstances. But at this moment, it was truly difficult to gather.

"Discuss with Uncle Old Master and have him issue a certificate called Tea Coin for the Estate Holders," Ye Yaming said. "This Tea Coin is similar to a silver note, guaranteed by a money house. The Estate Holders can take the Tea Coin to the money house and, by matching the name and amount you leave with the money house, directly exchange it for silver."

"Tea Coin?" Ye Chongming was taken aback. After digesting Ye Yaming's words, he hesitated and said, "Will this work?"

"Those Estate Holders have collaborated with our Ye family for decades and share a deep bond. Moreover, since these Tea Coins can be exchanged for silver and are guaranteed by a money house, they should be willing to pre-purchase Spring Tea this way. You can also tell them that if they keep the Tea Coin until next spring and exchange it directly with you when paying the full amount, for every ten taels of silver, you will give an extra hundred coins."

At this point, she quickly added, "Of course, this number is just a rough estimate. The specific interest rate should be discussed with Uncle Old Master to determine an appropriate amount."

Ye Chongming thought for a moment and said, "There shouldn’t be any issues with the Estate Holders."

Even if they were not given Tea Coins issued by the money house that could be directly exchanged for silver, based on the Ye family’s business integrity and decades of cooperation, the vast majority of Estate Holders would still do him a favor and reserve next year’s Spring Tea for him.

But such favors could only be extended once. Moreover, after granting him this favor, if the Estate Holders made any mistakes in the future, he would have no grounds to criticize them. The Estate Holders might also become lax in the quality of their Crude Tea, leading to endless repercussions.

So, there was a significant difference between giving Tea Coins and giving nothing at all.

But...

He said, "The problem now is still the money house. Your Uncle Old Master would never agree to this. Doing so would be even more harmful than privately lending us money. The Estate Holders are numerous and talkative. Once word spreads that a mere piece of paper can be exchanged for silver at Baofeng Money House, do you think the depositors would panic?"

"Once this panic spreads and everyone rushes to withdraw their silver from Baofeng Money House, it will be finished."

Since Ye Yaming dared to propose this suggestion, she had naturally considered these issues.

She said, "This matter will definitely spread. Grandfather, don’t forget that Meng Chengwei is still watching us. When the time comes, he will surely use this to his advantage, and Baofeng Money House will inevitably face a run on silver."

"Then why are you suggesting this?" Ye Chongming looked at her suspiciously, then his eyes lit up. "Do you have a good countermeasure?"Ye Yaming's eyes curved into a sly, fox-like smile. "What if Baofeng Bank not only waives depositors' security fees but also pays them interest for every silver tael deposited? Wouldn't that attract crowds to store their money there?"

Ye Chongming and Old Mrs. Ye were stunned.

"Where would the interest come from?" Old Mrs. Ye asked.

"From the tea merchants," Ye Yaming replied.

Ye Chongming's eyes lit up, lost in thought.

Ye Yaming turned to him. "Don't many tea merchants face capital shortages every autumn, scrambling to borrow funds to reserve next year's Spring Tea?"

Ye Chongming nodded. "Exactly. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in such a bind. If we could borrow from any in-laws, we'd manage." Because tea trading was highly profitable, every merchant aimed to reserve more Spring Tea in autumn, investing all available capital. Yet, the tea couldn't be fully sold before Mid-Autumn—just half a year later. With the New Year period being another peak season for tea sales, merchants seeking maximum profits had to hold stock until Spring Festival.

Thus, the capital invested during the previous Mid-Autumn couldn't be fully recouped by the next, leaving tea merchants strapped for funds each year during pre-orders.

As the saying goes, "Help in emergencies, not in poverty," let alone lending for business ventures. If you profited, lenders gained nothing; if you lost, their money vanished. Moreover, tea merchants needed vast sums—who would lend tens of thousands of taels for trade?

So, no matter how desperate, tea merchants couldn't borrow from kin or friends. Even asking would humiliate them, gaining nothing but scorn.

They had to carefully plan, scraping together funds to survive the pre-order period. Cautious ones reserved less Spring Tea; aggressive ones fretted each Mid-Autumn.

The Ye family was no exception.

"What if Baofeng Bank lent to tea merchants, asking only for reasonable interest? Would merchants take the offer?" Ye Yaming proposed.

As she led him step by step, Ye Chongming had begun to guess her idea. Now, he slammed the table. "Brilliant!" startling Old Mrs. Ye.

In all their years of marriage, she'd never seen him so impulsive.

Ye Chongming sprang up, darting toward the door. "I'll discuss this with your grand-uncle at once."

At sixty, he moved with the agility and impatience of a youth.

"Grandfather," Ye Yaming called after him, "should we continue making Osmanthus Tea?"

He smacked his forehead, halting. "Yes! Why not? Tomorrow, I'll order the purchase of osmanthus flowers and Loose tea. We'll produce as much as the ingredients allow—the more, the better."

He felt Ye Yaming's idea was exceptional.

Knowing his wife's cousin Mei Zhonglin's temperament, he'd surely agree. And with the Ye family offering such a valuable proposal, Mei Zhonglin would naturally lend them a substantial sum.

Many people distrusted banks nowadays, preferring to stash gold and silver in broken jars buried under their beds—both secure and free from bank fees.Now that the situation has reversed, simply depositing money in a bank allows one to earn interest, making money generate more money without the stigma of usury—why wouldn't anyone embrace this?