Glory

Seeing her husband remain silent, she finally softened and said, "Ming'er's intention is half and half. Since the family can't come up with the silver, this is the best solution—after all, it's better to keep the benefits within the family. Young Master Lu and Qi Gongzi want to partner with us in business, claiming they'll buy tea from other regions, but who knows what the actual situation is? What if they can't secure the tea? Our tea business in Lin'an will continue as usual, so the impact won't be significant. Offering half as our sincerity should leave Young Master Lu and Qi Gongzi with nothing to complain about."

"And as for Ming'er having personal motives, that's only natural. Without her ideas these past few days and the Osmanthus Tea she made, who knows what state our family would be in now? She's contributed so much effort; should all the profits go solely to the eldest branch? Even if we adopt her current proposal, the second branch would only get twenty percent—she isn't being greedy."

Ye Chongming said, "I can understand Ming'er's personal motives. Even if she didn't mention it, I wouldn't shortchange her or the second branch. But now that the family business is turning into a venture for the daughters-in-law, it just doesn't feel right to me."

"Since you've said you won't shortchange her, then let's do this: the family funds will contribute twenty thousand taels, the eldest branch fifteen thousand taels, and the second branch ten thousand taels. The father and daughter of the second branch have worked hard to produce the Osmanthus Tea and Chrysanthemum Tea, so let that count as a five-thousand-tael share, making a total of fifty thousand taels. As for the third and fourth branches, they can each take five thousand taels. And let's not call these shares for the daughters-in-law; just consider them as investments from each branch. This way, the benefits stay within the family."

Logically, the fourth branch had caused such a big mess and shouldn't be included this time no matter what.

But Zhang Shi, the wife of the fourth branch, was truly troublesome. Old Madam Ye felt a headache coming on just thinking about her antics. Privately, she also favored her youngest son. If the other branches could earn private money but he couldn't, wouldn't he come to her to make a scene when he ran out of funds?

So she decided to be biased once more and include the fourth branch.

With this private income, Ye Hongrong would have no reason to ask his mother for money in the future. He also couldn't recklessly draw from the family funds anymore. Perhaps the eldest and second branches would even prefer it this way.

Hearing this, Ye Chongming smiled wryly again, "If the eldest and second branches could come up with ten or twenty thousand taels, I wouldn't have been so worried a few days ago. The eldest branch, with Tao Shi scraping together funds, might manage over ten thousand taels; borrowing from the Tao family could get them to fifteen thousand without issue. But the second branch definitely doesn't have that much—ten thousand taels is a stretch."

"Then don't worry about it. Just relay this to them and see what Ming'er says. Since she dared to suggest involving the women of each branch, Yin Shi probably has some silver saved up—at least ten thousand taels should be feasible."

A total of sixty thousand taels needed to be raised, and the family could provide twenty thousand. According to Ye Yaming's plan, the remaining forty thousand would come from the four branches, ten thousand each. So she should be confident about producing ten thousand taels.

Ye Chongming found it strange, "The second son is honest and has never embezzled family funds, plus he doesn't handle business matters. Yin Shi's maiden family isn't wealthy either. Where do you think Ming'er would get ten thousand taels from?"

Old Madam Ye shook her head, "I can't figure it out."

She was finding her third granddaughter increasingly hard to understand.

After a moment's thought, she said, "The second son and Yin Shi are frugal; they must have saved three or four thousand taels over the years. If Yin Shi pawns her jewelry, she could get a few hundred taels. Ming'er and Yin'er's jewelry could also contribute a few hundred taels. As for the rest..."She frowned and thought for a long time before shaking her head. "I truly don’t know."

Ye Chongming then asked, "Do you have silver on hand?"

Old Mrs. Ye laughed at this and chided, "I knew you were eyeing my private savings."

She nodded. "Ming’er has indeed rendered great service. And compared to the main branch, the second branch is truly too poor. I’ll help cover the shortfall for the second branch—consider it a loan to them."

She paused. "It’s a loan, not a gift, so the other branches can’t complain."

Ye Chongming felt relieved and promised, "If the shortfall isn’t too large, I’ll repay you once the Osmanthus Tea is sold. If it’s a significant amount, it’ll have to wait until next year’s Spring Tea is sold."

Although the sale of Osmanthus Tea would bring in silver, the Tea Factory, Tea House, and teahouses had managers and staff to support. The Ye household, with over a hundred people, had daily expenses, and by the end of the month, monthly wages had to be paid—everywhere required silver.

Thus, Ye Chongming could only repay his wife’s silver gradually.

"This matter can’t be delayed. We need to give Young Master Lu and the others an answer soon," Ye Chongming said, glancing at the time. It seemed too late to summon Ye Yaming, so he hesitated.

"Send Granny Yu to deliver the message," Old Mrs. Ye suggested.

Ye Chongming had no objections.

Granny Yu went to Ye Yaming’s courtyard and said, "The young lady’s proposal was highly regarded by the Old Master. However, after discussing it with the Old Madam, it was decided that the family funds will contribute twenty thousand taels, the main branch fifteen thousand taels, and the second branch ten thousand taels. In addition, the contributions from the Osmanthus Tea and Chrysanthemum ventures will count as a fifteen-thousand-tael share. The third and fourth branches will each contribute five thousand taels."

She added, "The Old Madam said that if the young lady is short on funds, she can help cover the amount."

Ye Yaming silently praised Ye Chongming’s idea.

In truth, his approach was that of a proper businessperson.

The fourth branch’s Ye Hongrong had caused such a disaster, resulting in significant losses for the family. The other three branches had already refrained from holding him accountable for the silver. Now, with a profitable venture, why should he be included to share in the profits?

As for the third branch, Old Mrs. Ye pitied the third wife, who had been widowed at a young age, and often gave her gifts and subsidies. Ye Yaming also sympathized deeply with the third wife and her cousin. She had no objections to the Old Madam giving them more, nor would she mind if they received an extra share during the family division.

But business was business. Rewarding contributions was the correct approach. Otherwise, who would be willing to work hard while others reaped the benefits?

Still, they were all family. It would be unreasonable to exclude them from an opportunity to earn private silver. The fourth branch couple was prone to causing trouble, and the third branch was pitiable. If excluded, the fourth branch might stir up trouble, and the third branch might accuse the Ye family of bullying widows and orphans.

Thus, allowing them to invest but with smaller shares took all aspects into consideration.

She had previously mentioned a ten-thousand-tael share, but the second branch truly lacked the ready silver. However, she remembered that Ye Hongsheng had once acquired an inkstone that appeared plain and unremarkable in quality. In her previous life, since the original owner frequently used that inkstone, Yin Shi had included it in her dowry when she married into the Song family.

Later, Song Yifeng discovered that the inkstone was actually an antique. A colleague who admired it bought it for eight thousand taels of silver. Yet, he lied to the original owner, claiming he had accidentally broken it.