Glory

But that was a matter for later; there was still something to discuss with Ye Yaming at the moment.

He walked out and instructed the maid in the corridor, "Go and invite Third Miss over."

Before the maid could respond, Li Fu, who had been waiting nearby with something to report, hurriedly spoke up, "Old Master Ye, the First Mistress knows that First Master has returned and sent a maid to inquire outside the door."

Ye Chongming frowned. "I have matters to discuss with First Master. Tell her to go back and wait."

For the first time, he felt dissatisfied with his eldest daughter-in-law.

Ye Hongchang had returned home but hadn’t gone straight to the inner quarters of the main branch. Instead, he had come directly to the outer study. It was obvious he had urgent matters to discuss. For his wife to send a maid chasing after him here was utterly inappropriate.

"Yes," Li Fu was about to turn away when the page guarding the door came in to report, "Old Master Ye, the First Mistress’s maid has already been called away by Old Madam Ye’s maid."

Only then did Ye Chongming’s expression soften. "I understand." Turning to see the maid still standing there, he scowled again. "What are you still dawdling for? Hurry up and go!"

"Yes, yes." The maid quickly left and headed to the second branch’s quarters.

Ye Yaming was still busy making tea in the courtyard. Upon hearing that Ye Hongchang had returned, she changed her clothes and went to the outer study.

When Ye Chongming saw Ye Yaming, his face lit up with paternal warmth. He told her the news that the Tea Silver had been secured and asked, "In that case, should we still issue the Tea Certificates?"

Issuing Tea Certificates had been a last resort. Now that the Ye family had the funds, it would be unreasonable—and contrary to their long-standing principle of operating with integrity—to deceive the Estate Holders by paying them with Tea Certificates instead of silver.

But if they didn’t issue them, he had already made an agreement with Mei Zhonglin. Mei Zhonglin was counting on the Ye family to help him establish a foothold and make his money house thrive.

It was a true dilemma.

Ye Yaming said, "We can explain the situation clearly to the Estate Holders. Those who choose Tea Certificates will receive interest by next spring. Those who don’t trust it can be paid in silver directly. As for the option of exchanging Tea Certificates at the money house, it’s possible, but there’s no need to complicate things unnecessarily."

Ye Chongming slapped the armrest of his chair. "Yes, yes! That’s exactly what we’ll do."

This approach would neither deceive the Estate Holders nor break the agreement with Mei Zhonglin—a perfect solution.

"However, we can’t delay this any longer. We must act quickly," Ye Yaming added. "Previously, Meng Chengwei was waiting for us to fall into dire straits so he could take advantage. That’s why he held back. Now that we’ve resolved the Illicit Tea issue, and the bandits neither seriously injured Da Bo nor seized the Tea Silver, Meng Chengwei might become desperate and cause trouble among the Estate Holders."

Ye Chongming was taken aback. "But Magistrate Qi said…" He didn’t finish the sentence, but he trusted Ye Yaming would understand his implication.

Ye Yaming shook her head. "Magistrate Qi must follow procedures to arrest someone. He has to interrogate the suspects, send people to investigate, and only then can he summon the person. Without evidence, he can’t imprison someone immediately."

Moreover, Magistrate Qi would likely need to consult his superiors to determine how to handle Meng Chengwei.

If the higher-ups used this leverage to negotiate with Min Fei and reached an agreement, Meng Chengwei would walk away unscathed. But if they wanted to make an example of him, Meng Chengwei would be the first to face the consequences.In essence, this was not a matter of law or commercial competition, but a power struggle between political factions. Qi Zhifu’s willingness to accept Ye Jia’s petition and take action against Meng Chengwei was purely driven by self-interest. Ye Jia had no reason to complain.

In this era without mobile phones or telephones, Qi Zhifu had to dispatch a messenger on horseback to the capital to seek instructions from his superiors. Calculating the time required, Meng Chengwei would likely remain active for at least a few more days.

These few days were the period when Ye Jia needed to be most vigilant. No one could predict what Meng Chengwei might do next.

Having spent years in the business world, Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang quickly grasped the unspoken implications of Ye Yaming’s words. Their expressions immediately grew tense.

Worried that Ye Chongming might underestimate the severity of the situation, Ye Yaming added, "If he’s driven to desperation and offers three or four times the original price to pre-order tea, Grandfather, consider the consequences..."

Ye Chongming’s heart sank. He sprang to his feet and said urgently, "I’ll head to the mountains immediately."

Although the Estate Holders had collaborated with Ye Jia for over a decade or even decades, who could say how they would react when faced with substantial profits? If Meng Chengwei spared no expense and offered large sums to pre-order tea from Ye Jia’s partners, at least half of the Estate Holders would likely sell to him.

Those who resisted the temptation would inevitably face complaints from their families. In such a scenario, would Ye Jia feel justified in refusing to raise their prices?

Once prices were increased, they would never drop again. When tea was in high demand, prices only ever went up, never down.

Moreover, with this precedent, all Estate Holders in the mountains might demand price hikes from tea merchants. They had long wanted to raise prices, but the Lin’an Tea Guild had restrained merchants from doing so. If Ye Jia set the example, other Estate Holders would surely follow suit.

In that case, Ye Jia would become the Tea Guild’s enemy, alienating all tea merchants.

If Meng Chengwei executed this plan, Ye Jia would not only suffer significant financial losses and lose long-term partners but Ye Chongming’s position as head of the Tea Guild would also be untenable.

The thought sent a cold sweat down Ye Chongming’s back. He was eager to rush to the mountains, pay the silver, and finalize contracts with the Estate Holders as quickly as possible.

Ye Hongchang was equally shaken. Though he was astonished by his niece’s sharp insight, the dire consequences of Meng Chengwei’s aggressive tactics left him too unsettled to dwell on her brilliance.

He had not expected Meng Chengwei to resort to such a destructive, lose-lose strategy after his previous schemes failed. Fortunately, his niece had pinpointed the danger. Otherwise, his father would have lost his position, the Estate Holders would have been lost, and Ye Jia would have become a target of public criticism, forcing them to leave Lin’an and abandon their livelihood.

The mere thought sent a chill down his spine.

"Grandfather, wait," Ye Yaming called out to Ye Chongming. "Bring me a copy of the contract template you use with the Estate Holders. I’d like to review it."

Ye Chongming was puzzled but did not question her. He immediately took out his keys, opened a wooden box, and handed her one of the pre-copied contracts.

In preparation for signing agreements with the Estate Holders, he had long instructed the accountants to draft seventy-eight identical copies of the contract.Many estate holders were illiterate. At that time, they would read the contract aloud, and after the other party confirmed its accuracy, they would fill in the name of the other party's household head and the approximate quantity of tea ordered. The other party would then sign or mark the contract, making it valid.