Glory

The shops were readily available; not only did Ye Yaming own several storefronts, but Princess Yu'an also had quite a few.

In the end, it was agreed that Princess Yu'an would provide the shop premises, while Yin Shi would supply the cooks and ingredients. One would manage the accounts, the other the personnel, and the profits would be split fifty-fifty. If Yin Shi returned to Lin'an, the shop would be managed by Princess Yu'an, with profits divided seventy-thirty, Princess Yu'an taking the larger share.

The shop Princess Yu'an provided was nothing like the one in Lin'an. The Lin'an shop was a small store of about a hundred square meters, with the sales counter directly blocking the entrance. Customers had to point at the signboard outside and tell the clerk which pastries they wanted and how many pounds to weigh—they couldn’t even step inside.

Before her marriage, even if Princess Yu'an was not particularly favored, she was still a princess, and her dowry was substantial by regulation. The imperial consort she married came from a noble family and was also wealthy. In recent years, although the consort kept a mistress, he dared not divert the family’s wealth to her.

Princess Yu'an had no sons. In ordinary families, when a husband passed away without male heirs, the property of that branch would revert to the main family. But who would dare claim Princess Yu'an’s assets? Thus, everything remained firmly in her hands.

Now that she finally had a venture of her own, she was not going to be stingy. She cleared out a large shop for the purpose.

The shop was exceptionally grand—a two-story building with each floor spanning a full three hundred square meters. A space like this could even accommodate a restaurant.

"With such a large shop, and only a limited variety of pastries, even the first floor would feel empty. What should we do with the second floor?" Yin Shi fretted.

Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu rested their chins in their hands, deep in thought.

Since this venture was a partnership with Princess Yu'an, it wasn’t suitable to involve the two younger girls. Wanting to give them experience, Ye Yaming had them open a shop in the west of the city while Princess Yu'an and Yin Shi’s shop was in the east. She let them appoint their own housekeepers and manage the shop themselves, with no adults interfering.

Their shop followed the style of the Lin'an store. The mother and daughters had even brought along the head and assistant managers, cooks, and clerks from the Lin'an pastry shop, leaving the Lin'an branch to be run by their trained apprentices.

These employees were experienced and required no supervision from their masters. Once the shop was secured, they could open for business immediately. Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu’s shop had already begun operations.

With nothing else to occupy them at the moment, they naturally turned their attention to worrying about their mother (or aunt).

"How about turning it into a restaurant?" Ye Yayin suggested.

But she immediately dismissed the idea herself: "No, no. We’ve already agreed with the princess to run a pastry shop. Changing our minds now would make us seem unreliable, as if we can’t stick to a plan."

Ye Yayu added quietly, "Besides, running a restaurant involves a lot more work and complications. We’ll be returning to Lin'an soon—if we open a restaurant, wouldn’t Third Sister have to take on the extra burden?"

Having lost her father early and faced her mother’s scandalous affairs, Ye Yayu had been repeatedly reassured by her grandmother that, as the sole heir of the third branch, the family’s wealth was more than enough to support dozens like her. She was encouraged to buy whatever she wanted and do as she pleased, without feeling burdened or like an outsider. Her aunt from the second branch and her cousins treated her with great kindness, and Third Sister often counseled and cared for her.But she was inherently timid, sensitive, and prone to overthinking, often dwelling excessively on matters. Inspired by Ye Yaming's exemplary influence, she also wanted to emulate her third sister—to possess the ability to earn money herself, so that after marriage, she wouldn’t be bullied or mistreated by others. Only then would she feel secure.

Thus, after opening a pastry shop in Lin'an with Yin Shi and Ye Yayin, she even considered starting a restaurant.

However, after investigating the operational model of restaurants, she abandoned the idea.

The pastry shop's bakers stayed at home to make pastries, which were then handed over to the shopkeeper and assistants to sell. They had no contact with the outside world, remained simple-minded, and wouldn’t be poached by others.

Moreover, once a pastry was made, it was sold to countless customers. A customer couldn’t eat one piece and then falsely accuse the pastry shop of poisoning or uncleanliness. After all, if others were fine and only you had a problem, it could only be seen as you causing trouble—even taking it to the authorities wouldn’t be a concern.

In contrast, restaurant dishes were prepared one by one, offering numerous opportunities for tampering. Once consumed, any issues would be hard to clarify.

After this analysis, not only did she dismiss the idea of opening a restaurant, but even the notion of selling meals on the second floor was outright rejected.

Ye Yayin said dejectedly, "Let’s just ask sister."

Yin Shi then had Ye Yayin write a letter and sent a servant to deliver it to the Xuanwu Marquis Household.

Ye Yaming received the letter but didn’t arrive until the following afternoon.

She took a teacup and gulped down the tea in one go before saying, "Open a milk tea shop on the second floor."

In this era, there was no plastic or sealing machines, so milk tea couldn’t be taken away—it could only be consumed on-site. By setting up some tables and chairs on the second floor and partitioning a few private rooms, customers could enjoy pastries with their milk tea. This would undoubtedly become a favorite spot for the young ladies of the capital to chat.

"Milk tea? Is it goat milk with tea?" Ye Yayin asked curiously.

A couple of years ago, her third sister had arranged for goats to be raised on the estate, with goat milk delivered to the household daily. Not only were Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu forced to drink two cups each day, but even their grandfather and grandmother were pressured by their third sister to consume it.

However, the goat milk boiled with almonds had little gaminess and tasted quite pleasant. Even those who didn’t particularly like it could tolerate it.

Since they weren’t in Lin'an, after receiving the letter, Ye Yaming had people search everywhere for cow or goat milk. Once found, she went to the kitchen to teach Jia Chun and Jia Qiu how to make milk tea. Only after it was perfected did she come to the Ye residence.

"Let’s go to the corridor. I’ll have the cook demonstrate for you," she said.

Everyone followed her out curiously and saw that the cook Ye Yaming brought had already set up the equipment.

The Ye family loved tea, so boiling water stoves were readily available. Jia Chun and Jia Qiu had specifically brought small pots.

Jia Chun melted brown sugar in the pot, added tea leaves and stir-fried until fragrant, then poured in processed cow milk. A very eco-friendly cup of caramel milk tea was thus prepared.

Milk tea was a killer for women, captivating all regardless of age. Yin Shi and Ye Yayin, being young girls, were no exception—they fell in love with the taste after the first sip.

"So sweet, fragrant, and smooth! I never knew goat milk could be drunk like this. It’s amazing—our business is sure to thrive," Ye Yayin exclaimed excitedly.

"There’s more."

Ye Yaming gestured to Jia Qiu, who then brought forward a tray.

On it were yogurt, ginger milk curd, double-layer milk pudding, and a faux version of grass jelly.Yesterday, after receiving the letter, Ye Yaming had someone gather the ingredients. She spent the entire afternoon yesterday and this morning holed up in the Xuanwu Marquis Household's small kitchen, finally managing to produce these three items. These four items were all directly brought over from the Xuanwu Marquis Household.

The reason it's called "pseudo grass jelly" is that Ye Yaming couldn't obtain grass jelly powder. She remembered this was a traditional beverage from southwestern Fujian, but having forgotten about it during her previous trip to Minzhou, she naturally had no raw materials now.

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