Glory

Ye Chongming was once again unsettled by her words: "Then... should we offer everything?"

Ye Yaming shook her head: "Offering everything is also unwise. If our family wishes to avoid becoming mere appendages or puppets of Lu and Qi, we must retain some bargaining chips. Beyond half of the Jiangnan tea leaves, we must continuously innovate in tea-making and consistently produce new tea-making recipes. Only then can we keep pace with them and avoid being completely marginalized."

Ye Chongming pondered Ye Yaming's words and slowly nodded: "Ming'er, your foresight is truly profound."

Ye Jiaxing sat nearby, watching Ye Yaming with a somewhat dazed expression.

His father had always spoken of his third cousin's exceptional abilities, advising him not to harbor any jealousy. Though his temperament was decent enough to avoid resentment, and he acknowledged her talents from his father's accounts, he had still held a trace of skepticism without witnessing it firsthand.

But now, he was genuinely convinced.

In the same situation, if he could perceive the surface level, his father could see the second layer, and his grandfather the third, then his third cousin undoubtedly operated on the fourth level.

This level of insight was something he could never hope to match.

"Yet even sixty thousand taels of silver is beyond our family's current means," Ye Chongming said with a bitter smile.

"The women in each household must have some savings, right? Pooling them together shouldn't be too difficult," Ye Yaming replied with a light laugh.

Ye Hongchang hadn't given it much thought initially. While the family would only resort to borrowing from the women's private funds in dire circumstances, it was a necessary measure in such times. Given the family's situation, it would merely be a loan. Once profits were made the following year, they could repay the women—perhaps even with generous interest, which might leave them not just uncomplaining but even pleased.

But seeing Ye Yaming's smile, Ye Hongchang felt a sudden intuition that her words carried a deeper meaning.

His throat moved as he considered asking her what she meant, but he swallowed the words back.

He turned to look at his father.

Ye Chongming was also staring intently at Ye Yaming, his mind racing with thoughts.

This business originally belonged to the Ye family. Any investments and profits would go into the communal coffers. Eventually, matters would only be settled when the family divided its assets.

But if the women were to participate, it would no longer be the Ye family's business but the women's own. Any dividends earned would be theirs to keep as private savings or send to their natal families, entirely separate from the Ye family.

What exactly did Ye Yaming mean by this? Did she hope for her mother, Yin Shi, to profit from this venture rather than the Ye family?

And then there was her repeated emphasis on continuously developing new teas.

So far, Osmanthus Tea and Chrysanthemum Tea had been created or discovered by the second branch father and daughter during this period; according to Ye Yaming, Jasmine Tea would follow.

If tea-making recipes held weight in equity shares when collaborating with Lu and Qi, then given Ye Hongsheng and Ye Yaming's contributions in tea-making, did they have their own aspirations in this regard? If the collaboration with Lu and Qi was funded from the communal treasury, the majority of the profits would ultimately go to the main branch. Was Ye Yaming dissatisfied with this?

Ye Yaming's gaze remained steady and unflinching as she met Ye Chongming's eyes.

She had inherited this body from its original owner and promised to change the fate of the Ye family, but she had no intention of selflessly dedicating herself solely to enriching the Ye family.According to the customs of the Great Jin Dynasty, the Ye family would inevitably divide their assets after the elders passed away. As the eldest branch, the first household would receive seventy percent of the family property by convention, while the second, third, and fourth households would split the remaining thirty percent.

In other words, despite her and Ye Hongsheng’s immense contributions to the Ye family, the second household would end up with only ten percent of the property. Why should that be?

Ye Hongsheng excelled at tea processing—in modern terms, he was a genuine technical expert, the core talent of an enterprise, deserving of respect and courteous treatment from everyone. He should even hold technical shares in the company.

But in the Ye family? Because tea-making skills were passed down from their ancestors, they didn’t regard Ye Hongsheng’s abilities as anything special. They believed that eloquence and business acumen were the true measures of capability. Even the incompetent and wasteful fourth son, Ye Hongrong, looked down on his second brother, Ye Hongsheng.

Yet it was precisely Ye Hongsheng’s tea-making skills and the Osmanthus Tea created by her, the eldest daughter of the second household, that helped the Ye family secure a powerful ally and partnership opportunities.

Should the second household still work tirelessly to earn money for the first household, only to be treated with condescension afterward?

Since family unity was emphasized now, wouldn’t it be reasonable for the second household to claim one-fifth of the shares instead of being shortchanged?

She met their gaze without flinching, appearing completely forthright, and it was Ye Chongming who first averted his eyes.

He said, “This is also a solution. However, since it involves all four households of the Ye family, the heads of each branch must discuss it together.”

Ye Yaming knew that in this patriarchal era, her proposal was a huge shock to Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang. She didn’t expect them to agree immediately.

She smiled and nodded, saying, “Grandfather, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave now.” This also gave the three generations of Ye family heirs an opportunity to discuss the matter.

“Very well, go back and rest. I’ll send for you if anything comes up,” Ye Chongming replied.

As soon as Ye Yaming left, Ye Hongchang frowned and asked Ye Chongming, “Father, what does Ming'er mean by this?”

Although Ye Chongming suspected Ye Yaming had ulterior motives, given her outstanding performance these past few days, he didn’t want his eldest son and grandson to view her with suspicion, nor did he want discord among the households.

He smoothed things over, saying, “What does she mean? Isn’t Ming'er helping us find a solution? The family has no money—we even had to borrow from the Mei family to reserve next year’s Spring Tea. Where would we find sixty thousand taels of silver?”

Ye Hongchang opened his mouth, wanting to say that Ye Yaming’s move was aimed at guarding against the first household, but the thought seemed too selfish and calculating, and he couldn’t bring himself to speak ill of his niece.

He simply closed his mouth and remained silent.

He didn’t believe his shrewd father would fail to see Ye Yaming’s intentions.

“Father, if there’s nothing else, Jiaxing and I will head back,” he said.

Ye Chongming didn’t press him to stay, saying, “Alright, go back and rest well. If your wound bothers you, send for a Herbalist right away.”

Ye Hongchang agreed and, supported by a servant, went out to his sedan chair, returning home with his son.

Once his son and grandson had left, Ye Chongming went to the inner courtyard and recounted Ye Yaming’s proposal to his wife.

Finally, he asked, “What do you think Ming'er meant by this?”

Old Mrs. Ye was eating Osmanthus Lotus Seed Soup.

After hearing her husband’s words, she slowly savored a spoonful of the soup for a long while before replying, “Exactly what you think she meant.”

Ye Chongming shot her a glare. “That’s as good as saying nothing at all.”Old Mrs. Ye snorted coldly, set down her bowl, and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief: "Didn't you always say that women should never meddle in business matters?"