Glory

Most importantly, despite investing such a large sum, the tea market in Jiangnan was already saturated—even with silver in hand, they couldn’t purchase more tea leaves. They would inevitably have to use these hundred thousand taels to buy tea from other regions, relying on Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji’s influence and connections to navigate the local authorities and regional powers. This constituted another form of implicit investment, balancing out the Ye family’s hidden resources in controlling Jiangnan’s estate holders. In this regard, Lu Guanyi and the others weren’t taking undue advantage of the Ye family.

Even so, offering the Ye family a sixty percent share demonstrated genuine sincerity in this partnership.

It seemed that what Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji valued most were the Ye family’s tea-making recipes and the reputation of their tea brand.

Yet, upon hearing this, Ye Hongchang frowned immediately. "Should our pre-ordered spring tea be included in the joint business? Why should we let them take a share of this profitable trade we’ve been managing well?"

Ye Chongming quickly interjected, "That’s just the first option. The second option is for us to contribute silver and determine our share based on the capital ratio."

He spread his hands helplessly. "But right now, we can’t come up with that much silver to invest. If our share is too small, it wouldn’t be worthwhile."

Although the tea silver Ye Hongchang brought back hadn’t been stolen, it had been used to cover Ye Hongrong’s deficit, fund the production of Osmanthus Tea, and partially reserved at Baofeng Bank for withdrawals. Very little remained now.

Scraping together ten or twenty thousand taels might still be feasible, but seventy or eighty thousand—or even over a hundred thousand—was absolutely beyond the Ye family’s means.

Ye Chongming sighed. "The problem now is that if we don’t contribute crude tea as shares but use silver instead, there’s no tea left to buy in Jiangnan. The tea here has long been allocated. Haven’t we seen enough troubles over tea disputes in recent years? Where could we buy so much tea with over a hundred thousand taels? So, we might really have to contribute crude tea as shares. Otherwise, this collaboration would be impossible."

Ye Jiaxing grew anxious upon hearing this and asked, "Grandfather, did you agree to their terms?"

Ye Chongming shook his head. "No, I said I needed to discuss it with the family. However, Young Master Lu suggested buying tea from other regions. They would use their official connections to deal with local Tea Monopoly Bureaus or mountain authorities, purchase crude tea, transport it to our tea factory for processing, and then sell it in other cities."

"Of course, since our tea factory isn’t part of the collaboration, they could pay processing fees," Ye Chongming emphasized again.

Hearing this, both Ye Hongchang and Ye Jiaxing frowned simultaneously. "Is that feasible?"

Jiangnan was a prosperous region, and its tea had earned renown since ancient times. People in Jiangnan took pride in their tea, believing that tea from other regions couldn’t compare.

For this reason, the Ye family had remained content in their corner over the years. Even as competition in Jiangnan’s tea market intensified, they had never considered expanding beyond the region.

Ye Chongming turned his gaze to Ye Yaming, who had remained silent until now. "Ming’er, what do you think?"

"I think it’s feasible, and the investment and share ratio are quite reasonable," Ye Yaming replied. "Young Master Lu’s latter proposal is exactly what I wanted to suggest to you and Da Bo. Moreover, I don’t recommend taking sixty percent—fifty percent would be better. After all, we’ll need to rely on them frequently to deal with officials and local powers. Giving up ten percent of the profits would only benefit us, with no downside."Ye Jiaxing grew anxious upon hearing this: "When they said it's negotiable, they meant we could take a larger share. Third Sister, why are you thinking of taking less instead of more? This isn't how we conduct business."

Yet Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang appeared thoughtful.

Ye Yaming smiled reassuringly at Ye Jiaxing without responding, instead turning her gaze to Ye Chongming.

Only then did Ye Jiaxing notice that neither his grandfather nor father had refuted Third Sister's words—they were deep in contemplation.

Did this mean Third Sister's reasoning was sound? Was he the one being obtuse?

Ye Jiaxing also began pondering the matter.

By now, Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang had reached clarity. Ye Yaming's explanation had been so transparent that they immediately recognized Lu Guanyi and his partner weren't taking advantage of the Ye family. On the contrary, out of respect for their Tea-making recipe and the rarity of Jiangnan tea, they had offered an additional ten percent share.

A fifty-fifty split between both parties was quite reasonable, with neither side exploiting the other.

But such advantages seldom come without strings. After all, the Ye family held no power or influence. Whether in Jiangnan or elsewhere, they would long rely on Lu Qi's status and connections. Over time, regardless of how Lu Qi might feel, the Ye family themselves would grow apprehensive, constantly fearing that dissatisfaction might lead Lu Qi to devour them whole, leaving nothing behind.

Human hearts are fickle. Who can predict how they'll shift when faced with interests?

It would be better to yield ground from the start to earn Lu Qi's goodwill.

Recent troubles had made Ye Yaming's earlier warning—"relying on a single leg is too dangerous"—ring profoundly true. Ye Chongming had been deeply stirred upon hearing Lu Guanyi's proposal.

Most crucially, the old man had been terrified by Meng Chengwei's vicious schemes. He urgently desired cooperation with Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji to leverage their influence in eliminating the grave threat posed by Meng Chengwei.

Thus, even if he held little regard for local tea, he would have agreed to collaborate with the two. Moreover, Ye Yaming's words from days prior still echoed in his ears: Even if the crude tea from outside couldn't match Jiangnan's quality, the tea business promised substantial profits. With the Ye family's tea-making skills as guarantee, turning a profit was assured.

What could be better than gaining both financial returns and powerful backing, freeing the Ye family from fearing the sharpened blades of so-called "influential nobles"?

However...

Recalling Ye Yaming's recent words, Ye Chongming hurriedly asked: "You suggested we adopt the second option? Meaning you advise investing silver directly instead of contributing tea shares?"

Ye Hongchang's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

Jiangnan tea was the Ye family's foundation and source of substantial profit. He deeply opposed converting it into jointly held assets. Otherwise, would Ye family tea still belong to the Yes? Wouldn't his father, as guild leader, become another's puppet?

Ye Yaming nodded.

Ye Chongming shared this sentiment. It was precisely why they had struggled all these years, reluctant to partner with others.

Had Meng Chengwei not pushed them to the brink, he wouldn't have considered cooperating with Lu Qi.

He released a long sigh: "I'd prefer that too, but where would we get that much silver?"

"We could contribute half our tea as shares. That way, we'd only need to raise about sixty thousand taels of silver," Ye Yaming proposed.After speaking, she added, "Apart from our tea-making recipe, their cooperation with our family is also because of Jiangnan tea leaves. It would be unreasonable not to offer some. Don’t forget that those estate holders are not Ye Jia’s private property. Qi Gongzi’s father is the Lin’an Prefect—if they truly wanted those estate holders, it would only take a word from Qi Zhifu to the village chief. They are now seriously discussing cooperation with us and have shown such sincerity. It would absolutely not do to withhold any tea leaves."