Glory

Ye Yaming carefully reviewed the contract.

Her primary concern was to check for any breach of contract clauses.

However, such provisions were absent in Great Jin's contracts. Unlike modern agreements, these contracts included guarantors. In the guarantor section, the title "Village Chief" was consistently written.

The guarantor essentially transferred liability. For instance, if Party A borrowed one hundred taels of silver from Party B with Party C as guarantor, and Party A failed to repay on time, Party B could pursue Party C for the debt.

In Great Jin's administrative structure, one hundred households formed a village unit, five villages constituted a township, with each village unit appointing one Village Chief. This position was equivalent to a modern village head.

Jiangnan's tea production wasn't confined to a single mountain but spanned across a range of hills. These hills varied in height, covering approximately over ten li in circumference. The villages collaborating with Ye Jia were adjacent, falling under the jurisdiction of two Village Chiefs.

Since Village Chiefs held authority over tax collection and labor conscription, having them as guarantors provided some security. After all, no estate holder would dare offend the Village Chief.

Yet this security wasn't absolute. Even if individual estate holders breached the contract, Ye Jia couldn't realistically hold the Village Chiefs accountable. Antagonizing them would make it difficult for Ye Jia to secure future tea reservations in that area, and the delivered tea might be of inconsistent quality or even tampered with.

Essentially, this contract was fine when things went smoothly. But if problems arose, Ye Jia would inevitably suffer the losses.

Ye Yaming shared her concerns with Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang.

Their expressions turned grave upon hearing this.

"This contract format has been used since my great-grandfather's time," Ye Chongming rubbed his face, uncertain whether to feel fortunate or ashamed.

"What should we do then?" Ye Hongchang asked.

Ye Yaming inquired, "This is a White Contract, correct?"

Contracts were categorized as White or Red Contracts. White Contracts involved both parties finding an agent as witness, with all three parties signing and fingerprinting to validate the agreement. Such contracts didn't require official tax payments nor enjoyed legal protection, relying instead on community moral constraints.

Red Contracts were registered with the government, involving tax payments and receiving legal protection. If either party failed to honor the contract, authorities would intervene and hold them accountable.

Ye Chongming nodded, "Yes."

He was beginning to understand Ye Yaming's implication but shook his head, "But converting it to a Red Contract would be extremely difficult."

As the saying went: "The yamen gates stand wide open, but don't enter without money if you seek justice." Ancient commoners inherently feared government offices. Moreover, the mountainous areas were distant from county offices with poor transportation, making estate holders unwilling to travel there for Red Contract signing.

Thinking Ye Yaming might not understand these complications, he explained each issue in detail.

Ye Yaming recognized the difficulties. Adding penalty clauses to the contract would be even less feasible.

If penalties were too low, they couldn't prevent Meng Chengwei from causing trouble. But if penalties were too high, estate holders would simply refuse to sign.

After all, tea production depended heavily on weather conditions. No one could guarantee delivering the exact quantity promised to Ye Jia. Putting it in black and white that failure to deliver would require compensating Ye Jia with potentially bankrupting amounts - why would they ever agree?

Their tea could always be sold regardless. Even without advance payments, they could directly sell to the Tea Monopoly Bureau, though with reduced income. Faced with bankruptcy risks, they'd rather earn less than sign such high-risk contracts.Moreover, even if the penalty clause is written into the contract, pursuing accountability in case of a breach would be a major issue. Not only is this a society built on personal connections with imperfect laws, but even in modern times with well-established legal systems, litigation is difficult for ordinary people.

In disputes between Ye Jia and the Estate Holders, the village chief would undoubtedly prioritize the interests of the Estate Holders, as they are fellow villagers.

Therefore, the focus must be on leveraging the official contract. Ordinary people fear the authorities, so if this contract is registered with the yamen and the Estate Holders are told that breaching it would result in arrest and imprisonment by the bailiffs, they would not break the contract no matter how much money others offer.

Ye Yaming said, "We don’t need to deal directly with the Estate Holders. We can give the village chief a sum of money and have him go to the yamen on behalf of the Estate Holders to sign the official contract. Nothing has gone wrong all these years, and he’d be getting money for nothing, so I imagine he’d be quite willing. Furthermore, converting the private contract into an official one also provides an extra layer of protection for the village chief as the guarantor."

Ye Chongming frowned and asked, "Are you suggesting that we keep the Estate Holders in the dark, have them sign the contract, and then you and I go to the yamen to convert it into an official contract?"

Doing so would be unethical. If the Estate Holders found out, Ye Jia’s hard-earned reputation built over many years would be ruined.

Ye Yaming shook her head. "Of course, we must explain it to them clearly. First, coordinate with the village chief and say it’s an initiative from the yamen. Then, for those Estate Holders who sign the official contract, you can give them a gift or some silver. Since they don’t have to pay taxes or go to the yamen themselves, they’ll likely agree to convert the private contract into an official one for the sake of the gift."

Ye Chongming’s eyes gradually lit up.

He slapped the armrest. "This plan is feasible."

The village chief would certainly be willing to convert the private contracts into official ones. With more and more out-of-town tea merchants arriving in recent years and temptations growing, the village chief has been worried that some households might act foolishly and breach their contracts, causing trouble to fall on him. Once the contracts are made official, his risk would immediately decrease.

Add to that a reward of silver, and why wouldn’t he be willing?

As long as the village chief is willing to help Ye Jia with this explanation and persuade the Estate Holders, and the Estate Holders receive a gift, they would naturally agree.

"Would you like to come up the mountain with me to handle this?" he asked Ye Yaming.

After a lifetime of managing affairs, in his old age, Ye Chongming now felt that only with Ye Yaming by his side would he feel at ease.

Ye Yaming shook her head and said seriously to the two of them, "Grandfather, Meng Chengwei won’t just meddle with the tea orders; he’s very likely to target our personal safety. If either my cousin or I fall into his hands, are humiliated, and our reputations ruined, Ye Jia would be coerced and ultimately fall into his control."

"So, during this time, not only should I not go out, but the girls in the family should also stay home and not go anywhere. When you go out, Grandfather, you must bring more Manor Guards and attendants to ensure your safety."

Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang felt another chill, their spines turning cold.

Ye Chongming let out a long sigh. "Heaven bless us, Ye Jia is fortunate to have Ming'er."

Otherwise, they would inevitably fall into Meng Chengwei’s trap.

If Ye Hongchang had initially been somewhat skeptical when his father spoke of Ye Yaming’s various insights, thinking his father might be exaggerating, he now truly felt the extent of Ye Yaming’s brilliance.

He thought his father’s earlier worries had been unnecessary.Would such a person dare to oppose her and contend with her? If Ye Yaming truly wanted the Ye family's estate, she only needed to use her sharp wits to make the eldest branch vanish into thin air, with all the family assets falling into the hands of the second branch. The eldest branch should be burning incense in gratitude that Ye Yaming was willing to coexist peacefully with them.

He needed to go back and carefully ask his wife and son whether they had offended Ye Yaming during this period. If they had, they must sincerely apologize to her.