Glory

He turned to look at Ye Chongming, awaiting his instructions.

Ye Chongming narrowed his eyes slightly as he glanced toward the Gong family residence, his expression unreadable as he said, "Let's go."

The group followed Ye Chongming out of Gongjia Village. Only then did Ye Chongming instruct Wu Qingping, "We'll wait here. Go back to the village and find out what's going on."

Gongjia Village was nestled in a mountain valley. Gong Daniú owned the most tea gardens in the village, making him the wealthiest household. Other families in the village also had small tea gardens, and in previous years, they had all followed Gong Daniú's lead in selling their tea to the Ye family. Due to the limited size of their tea fields, the villagers also relied on hunting, farming, or herb gathering for their livelihoods.

The village included families of various surnames, and wealth was unevenly distributed, so the village wasn't entirely unified. As long as money was offered, there was no fear of failing to gather information.

Wu Qingping had come here to purchase tea in previous years and was familiar with the villagers, so he naturally understood the village's situation.

He acknowledged the order and headed back. After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he returned panting and reported to Ye Chongming, "O-Old Master Ye, an out-of-town tea merchant arrived before us to buy tea, offering quite high prices. Normally, the people of Gongjia Village wouldn't sell to him under such circumstances, but he spread rumors saying..."

He glanced at Ye Chongming, not daring to continue.

Wu Qingping had previously visited these villages with Ye Hongchang, so he knew the routes well and was familiar with each village's situation. That was why Ye Chongming had brought him along.

He knew nothing of Meng Chengwei or his schemes, assuming only that some out-of-town tea merchant was causing trouble.

"Speak!" Ye Chongming said sternly.

"That man spread rumors that our Ye family's tea house has encountered major problems and lost a great deal of silver. He claimed we currently have no money to buy tea and that even if we manage to collect all the spring tea next year, it won't be enough to cover the losses. He said their tea would end up wasted because of this."

Wu Qingping paused here before continuing, "Because of this, Gong Daniú sent his son specifically out of the mountains to investigate at our tea purchasing locations. They discovered that we indeed weren't paying with ready silver but with tea tokens, and we were requiring everyone to sign red contracts at the government office. Gong Daniú then persuaded the entire village to agree to presell their tea to that out-of-town tea merchant."

Ye Chongming's face darkened.

Although he had anticipated that Meng Chengwei was behind this, having it confirmed still filled him with fury.

Moreover, it was clear that Gong Daniú had accepted benefits from Liu Qilin, which was why his son would distort the facts like this and spread such misinformation about the Ye family's situation among the villagers.

The accompanying staff were also angered, muttering curses under their breath.

"Let's go, back to the villa," Ye Chongming said.

Wu Qingping was taken aback, "Aren't we going to Wangjia Valley?"

Ye Chongming shook his head, "Gong Daniú fears we might hold a grudge and seek revenge, so he'll certainly unite with Wangjia Valley."

Wu Qingping nodded, fully agreeing with Ye Chongming's assessment.

Wangjia Valley wasn't far from Gongjia Village, and the two villages even had intermarriages between them. Gong Daniú's mother was from Wangjia Valley. Having received this information and firmly believing it, he would undoubtedly notify the people of Wangjia Valley.

"I should still make a trip there, just in case. Besides, we've bought their tea every year. If we don't even inquire this year, they might turn around and accuse us of breaching the contract, which would harm our reputation," he said.

This was exactly what Ye Chongming had in mind.However, he had his own methods of managing subordinates. As a newcomer, he would offer guidance. But if Wu Qingping, having served as Housekeeper for so many years, couldn't think of this or was unwilling to put in the effort and pretended not to have considered it, Ye Chongming would send someone else to Wangjia'ao. However, Wu Qingping would find it difficult to advance in the future.

"Alright, I'll have Meng Ji and a Manor Guard accompany you," Ye Chongming said.

Immediately, he assigned a Manor Guard to go with Wu Qingping to Wangjia'ao, while Ye Chongming himself returned to the villa. On the way, he dispatched Zhou Xiang and two Manor Guards to a nearby village that had already signed a contract to investigate the situation.

He wanted to know whether the rumors had spread there and how the Estate Holders in those villages were reacting.

By nightfall, both Zhou Xiang and Wu Qingping's groups returned at the same time.

"How did it go?" Ye Chongming, having rested for half a day, still looked exhausted. Age made recovery slower.

Wu Qingping, being the Housekeeper and of higher status, spoke first: "Wangjia'ao, as expected, pre-sold their tea along with Gongjia Village to that out-of-town tea merchant. Just as you suspected, it was Gong Daniu who persuaded them."

The subordinate who had accompanied Wu Qingping, likely having suffered some indignities, said angrily, "Hmph, that Gong Daniu is truly ungrateful. Back when his father fell ill, it was Old Master Ye who sent a Herbalist to treat him, allowing him to live several more years. Now, not only has he betrayed our family, but he also persuaded the people of Wangjia'ao to join him. What an ungrateful wretch!"

Ye Chongming ignored him. Such words were useless now.

He turned his gaze to Zhou Xiang: "What about your side?"

Zhou Xiang replied, "Those people probably only started pre-ordering tea today. They began from the foot of Dongcheng Mountain, first going to Gongjia Village, then to Wangjia'ao, and then heading south. When we reached Banshan Village, they had just entered the village."

Their route happened to be the reverse of ours.

If we hadn't acted quickly, starting from the larger villages with more Estate Holders, they might have snatched some away from us.

Ye Chongming grew serious: "You saw them? What are their names?"

Zhou Xiang hadn't mentioned the names earlier because Wu Qingping and another Housekeeper were present, and he wasn't sure if Old Master Ye wanted them to know about Meng Chengwei's group.

Now that Ye Chongming asked, he said, "We caught a distant glimpse. The leader was dressed in fine silks, around thirty years old, named Liu Qilin. He was accompanied by several attendants and people dressed as Manor Guards."

"Liu Qilin!" Ye Chongming narrowed his eyes.

As expected, it was Meng Chengwei's man.

"What did the people of Banshan Village say?" Ye Chongming asked Zhou Xiang again.

"They were half-convinced and half-doubtful, arguing incessantly. Some said you had shown kindness to Banshan Village, that the tea tokens could be exchanged, and there was even interest. If they didn't want tea tokens, they could have silver, proving that Ye Jia wasn't short of money. After all, the contract was signed, and it was a red contract (official deed). The village chief not only vouched for it but was willing to register it with the authorities, showing that what that Meng fellow said was all rumors."

"How did Liu Qilin react when he learned we had already pre-ordered the tea?" Ye Chongming asked.

"Hmph," Zhou Xiang sneered, "When they heard from the villagers that we had beaten them to it, they were dumbfounded.""Since the contracts were signed, and red-sealed ones at that, they knew that even with the most persuasive talk or offering more money, the villagers wouldn't sell them the tea anymore. They had no choice but to leave in disgrace."

"I gave a few copper coins to the village children to eavesdrop on their conversation. Those two men decided not to rush back. Instead, they planned to find some place to stay and return to report to Meng Chengwei the day after tomorrow that they had visited seven or eight villages, but all the tea in these villages had been pre-ordered by Ye Jia using tea coins. They tried their best to persuade them, but no one would change their minds."