Glory

In earlier years, Father valued Eldest Brother and Jiaxing highly, thinking they could do no wrong, while regarding him as a pile of dog dung, utterly disdainful. He felt deeply aggrieved inside.

If not for wanting to achieve something to make Father see him in a new light, he wouldn’t have been so foolish as to commit a grave mistake. Being caned by Father in front of the servants was utterly humiliating.

Over the past two years in Huizhou, he had worked tirelessly and spared no effort, all to show Father that he, Ye Hongrong, was not entirely useless.

Now that he had a chance to surpass Eldest Brother, what did a little hardship matter?

Seeing him silent, Zhang Shi quickly added, “If you don’t agree, Ming’er will ask Jiaxing to do it. Jiaxing would surely be happy to take on the task.”

Ye Hongrong immediately said, “Then I’ll go reply to Ming’er?”

“Go!” Zhang Shi’s words were firm and resolute.

Ye Hongrong then turned around and returned to the main hall.

Inside, Old Madam Ye was asking Ye Yaming what she had meant by her words. She doted most on Ye Hongrong and naturally hoped her youngest son would stay by her side instead of going to a far-off place like Huizhou.

To put it bluntly, she was already of such an age—who knew when her time would come? If her youngest son were so far away, what if something happened to her and they couldn’t even see each other one last time?

Ye Yaming understood Old Madam Ye’s concerns.

Moreover, although Ye Chongming remained silent, he had grown increasingly appreciative of Ye Hongrong over the past two years, seeing his efforts to improve. Besides, in his old age, he too wished for his sons to stay close by or at least nearby.

Ye Yaming patiently explained to Old Madam Ye, “We can’t simply hand over the Huizhou and Minzhou properties to the Housekeepers and leave them unattended. If no one from our family goes there, problems are bound to arise over time. So, we must send someone regularly, even if it’s just for routine matters—at least once or twice a year—to remind them who owns these assets and to maintain relations with the local officials and gentry.”

Ye Chongming interjected, “Though it may seem like just running errands, Ming’er’s methods in business and handling affairs are far superior even to mine. If Hongrong can learn by her side, it will greatly benefit him.”

“However, don’t interfere in this matter. Let Hongrong decide for himself. If he can’t grasp this point and we force him to stay, it will only breed resentment.”

Just as Old Madam Ye was about to speak, they heard the maids outside greeting someone: “Fourth Master, Fourth Mistress.” She promptly fell silent.

Ye Hongrong and Zhang Shi appeared at the doorway.

Without beating around the bush, Ye Hongrong got straight to the point: “Father, Mother, Ming’er, I’ve thought it over. Ming’er wanting me to stay and work here shows she values me. I am very willing to stay.”

The three in the room were delighted.

“Thank you, Fourth Uncle,” Ye Yaming said with a smile.

Ye Chongming nodded. “Then do your best, and don’t put on airs as her uncle in front of Ming’er.”

“Understood, understood,” Ye Hongrong replied cheerfully.

By the time Ye Hongchang and Tao Shi learned of this news, it was during the family dinner that evening.

Tao Shi nearly lost her composure on the spot.

As soon as they finished the meal and returned to the main branch’s courtyard, she angrily said to Ye Hongchang, “What does Ming’er mean by this? You’re already back in Lin’an, and Jiaxing is here too. Why does she insist on keeping Fourth Brother at home?”

When she heard that the fourth branch’s family was going to Huizhou, she had been overjoyed. She and Zhang Shi were at odds, and she strongly disliked Ye Hongrong as well. The farther away this family went, the better.The fourth branch went to Huizhou, the second branch went to the capital, while their eldest branch remained in Lin'an, living in utmost comfort.

But in the blink of an eye, those who had originally said they would leave immediately suddenly stayed—naturally, this was Ye Yaming's doing.

Ye Hongchang glanced at her and said, "Didn't you hear what Father said? Ming'er wants Fourth Brother to stay here to run errands."

"Run errands? Can't Jiaxing do that?" Tao Shi retorted irritably.

"If Ming'er asked Jiaxing to run errands, you'd definitely be unhappy—either complaining it's too cold or too hot, or worrying he might fall ill on the road. If Ming'er really asked him to run errands, would you be willing?"

This left Tao Shi speechless.

She had only this one son. Guan Shi gave birth to a daughter last year, and their branch still lacked a grandson to carry on the family line. If anything were to happen to Ye Jiaxing on the road, how could she go on living? "I've been to Minzhou and traveled between the capital and Lin'an over the years. I know how hard it is to endure wind and dew, exposed to the elements. The hardship is one thing, but you also have to live in constant fear of encountering bandits."

Recalling the time he nearly lost his life to bandits, Ye Hongchang still felt a lingering fear: "Even if you were willing, I wouldn't let Jiaxing go. But Father also has a point—there are matters to attend to in Huizhou and Minzhou. Surely we can't send Ming'er, can we?"

"If Ming'er doesn't go, Second Brother should. Didn't the second branch take sixty percent of the family assets? It's only right that Second Brother works harder. Pushing all the laborious and dangerous tasks onto others while they enjoy life in the capital and still end up with sixty percent of the assets—they certainly know how to scheme."

Hearing this, Ye Hongchang flared up, raising his voice: "What about tea production then? Whether it's Dragon Well, Dark Tea, or Tieguanyin, it all falls to him and his daughter to process. If we follow your logic, why don't Fourth Brother and I do nothing at all and just take our ten percent share to laze around at home?"

Ever since Ye Yaming was confirmed as the next family head, she had introduced a profit distribution scheme.

She and Ye Chongming oversaw everything, each taking a ten percent share of the total industry profits, meaning five percent per person. For major Housekeepers like Ye Hongrong, who managed affairs in Huizhou, they received ten percent of the Huizhou industry profits. Minor Housekeepers, responsible for a specific Tea Garden or teahouse, took ten percent of that establishment's earnings.

In other words, the greater the responsibility and scope of management, the higher the earnings. If one lacked capability or was unwilling to take on much responsibility, managing fewer affairs naturally resulted in lower profits. This profit distribution model applied to all Housekeepers under the Ye, Lu, Qi, and Ye families.

If anyone was found to be mismanaging their area, leading to poor profits, they would be replaced without hesitation.

All industry managers were evaluated solely on performance, regardless of status. Whether it was Ye Hongchang or Ye Hongsheng, if they proved incompetent, they would be removed without favoritism.

This prevented incompetents from holding positions without contributing, thereby safeguarding everyone's interests.

Both cooperative ventures and the Ye family's own enterprises adopted this management model.

After dinner that evening, Ye Yaming announced that Ye Hongrong would serve as her deputy Housekeeper, receiving two percent of the total output value. This share would be deducted directly from her five percent, leaving her with only three percent, without increasing personnel costs.Originally, in the capital, only the tea houses and tea shops fell under Ye Hongchang's management, but their profits were not particularly high. When the teahouse opened, Ye Yaming had asked him if he wanted to take charge of it as well. Knowing he couldn't handle dealing with the nobility, Ye Hongchang didn't dare to agree.

Now, returning to Lin'an, being able to manage these businesses that originally belonged to Ye Jia was quite good. The profits were higher than before in the capital, and Ye Hongchang was relatively satisfied.

Most importantly, Ye Hongchang had realized that he wasn't as capable as he had imagined, and his two younger brothers weren't as incompetent as he had thought.