He had entered the manor at thirteen, and was now twenty-seven.

For over a decade, he had followed Manager Lei, running errands for him. Over these years, he had watched as Manager Lei bought people batch after batch, taught them the rules, and assigned them to various positions according to their temperament and abilities.

The Ye family was a century-old noble house, and naturally, their rules were clear, listed one by one like a series of frames, letting people know what could and couldn’t be done, so they wouldn’t step beyond boundaries.

Ye Yaming first wrote down the rules and had the newly purchased people memorize them, mirroring the Ye family’s method of training people. But the point system she established afterward was truly a stroke of genius.

When servants first entered the Ye household, suddenly transitioning from the predicament of near starvation to a stable environment where they could eat their fill and dress warmly, they were naturally grateful. But as time passed, they lost their original mindset and began to quibble over how much work they did and how much money they received.

Some people were lazy in their daily work, yet relied on their smooth talk and flattery to catch the master’s eye, becoming the master’s most favored attendants. Such things weren’t uncommon, causing resentment among other honest workers. This bred a corrupt atmosphere. Even with the strict household management of the Old Madam and First Madam, all sorts of unseemly matters would occasionally occur.

But if tasks were broken down into detail, scored item by item, it would be clear at a glance who did more or less, who did well or poorly. When converted to points, and these points exchanged for money, food, clothing, and even building houses, taking wives and having children – all could be achieved through hard work and diligence.

In this way, the corrupt practice of taking shortcuts could be stopped. Those who managed people would have an easier time, and those being managed would be more comfortable. It was the best possible system.

“Miss, this system is truly excellent. Thank you, Miss,” he said delightedly.

“Copy this paper and post it, keeping the original. I’m putting you in charge of managing this group. If any problems arise, I won’t look for them, only you. If you do well, you’ll exclusively manage this area, and I’ll send you to train people for all future purchases in Huizhou and other newly acquired tea mountains.”

Hearing Ye Yaming’s words, Sun An felt both excited and apprehensive.

“I’m willing to give it a try,” he said. “If I don’t perform well, Miss can replace me at any time, and I’ll have no complaints.”

Ye Yaming nodded, “Good, begin the briefing.”

She stayed at the estate for half a day, checking on the jasmine flowers, before returning to the manor.

Upon her return, she heard Old Madam Ye say, “There’s trouble at the tea factory.”

“What? What happened?” Ye Yaming set down the teacup she had just raised to her lips.

“I hear you bought new people to make jasmine tea, and they’re saying there are still many old workers and apprentices at the tea factory who have served the Ye family diligently for their entire lives. Why weren’t they chosen instead of buying new people? Because of this, Master Pan and several other tea masters came specifically to find your grandfather, demanding an explanation.”

Ye Yaming laughed in anger, “They became tea masters because the Ye family trained them from scratch. Now they act like great contributors, daring to question the family based on their seniority. If we compromise this time, won’t our tea factory be run according to their wishes in the future?”

“Indeed! Your grandfather is furious too,” said Old Madam Ye. “However, considering the old relationship of several generations. I suspect that even though your grandfather is angry, in the end he’ll still have to compromise somewhat and give them a few positions.”

“No,” Ye Yaming stood up. “For Longjing tea, we have already selected their apprentices, which already giving face to them. Yet they’re still unsatisfied and have the nerve to make trouble. It’s truly a case of a snake trying to swallow an elephant due to human greed. I’ll go see for myself.”

With that, she ordered a carriage and went to the tea factory.

At the tea factory, Ye Chongming had listened to several tea masters speak both softly and harshly, and his expression was very displeased.

Hearing that Ye Yaming had arrived, he picked up his teacup and said, “We’ll discuss this matter later. You may go about your business first.”

The tea masters exchanged glances, gave a bow, and withdrew. Just as they walked out the door, they saw Ye Yaming climbing the steps.

“Third Miss,” they smiled and bowed to Ye Yaming.

Meng Ji was already waiting in the corridor and quickly said, “Miss, the Old Master is waiting for you inside.”

Ye Yaming nodded to Master Pan and the others, then stepped over the threshold.

“Please continue, masters,” Meng Ji gestured to Master Pan.

Seeing that everyone outside had descended the steps, Ye Yaming asked, “Grandfather, how do you plan to handle this matter?”

Ye Chongming smiled bitterly, “This is exactly what angers me. These masters possess our Ye family’s secret tea-making methods. Their sons, grandsons, or apprentices are currently on the mountain making Longjing tea. If we don’t give them face, even if they don’t sell our secrets outside, they’ll certainly create obstacles for us.”

If not for this, how would Master Pan and his group of servants who had signed death contracts dare to threaten the main family? It was only because they knew the Ye family couldn’t sell them off or bear to beat them to death, leaving compromise as the only option.

Ye Chongming was nearly furious enough to suffer internal injury.

“These are the people who have been in contact with outsiders, trying to sell our secrets,” Ye Yaming took out a piece of paper and placing it before Ye Chongming.

“Traitors to the Ye family should be dealt with as before, but with additional punishment. Master Pan and the others, along with their families, every last one of them, should be sent to the tea gardens in Huizhou to clear wasteland and plant tea trees for three years. If they still don’t repent, then sell them off. By then, if we sell the secret methods for making Longjing tea, what they know will be worthless.”

Ye Yaming knew that noble families had ways to deal with traitors. The merciless ones would simply beat them to death; the more compassionate ones would give them a bowl of poison to mute them, then sell them to northwestern mines. For those who could write, they would even cripple their hands to ensure they couldn’t reveal the family’s secrets in any way.

As the saying goes: “The kind cannot command troops, sentiment cannot establish matters, righteousness cannot manage finances, and the benevolent cannot be officials.”

Managing such a large family business, if one didn’t have the heart to severely discipline these servants when they tried to undermine the Ye family’s foundation, sooner or later, major problems would arise.

“Good,” Ye Chongming was very pleased.

Previously, when dealing with Madam Cai’s matter, he had noticed that Ye Yaming was soft-hearted. If he and Madam Mei had been slightly more ruthless in their methods, she might have developed a grudge.

For a teenage girl who hadn’t experienced much, being kind and soft-hearted was normal. But for the head of a vast family business, being soft-hearted toward traitors was not a good thing.

Fortunately, Ye Yaming was kind when kindness was called for and ruthless when ruthlessness was needed. She could distinguish between minor and major matters, good and bad. Ye Chongming was greatly comforted.

“I’ll handle it right away,” Ye Chongming stood up and said to Ye Yaming, “You needn’t go over there. It wouldn’t be good for you to gain a reputation for ruthlessness before you’ve even taken over the family business.”

Besides this, Ye Chongming was also concerned that a reputation for ruthlessness might hinder Ye Yaming’s marriage prospects.

Lu Guanyi had already returned to the capital. He would report the marriage to the Crown Prince, and when the time came, Master Zhineng would personally deliver the betrothal gifts, following the three letters and six etiquette rituals. In this process, Ye Chongming didn’t want any mishaps to occur.