Ye Chongming took his position at the head of the table, then smiled at Jin Baoshan: “Brother Jin, please, be seated.”

Jin Baoshan breathed a sigh of relief and sat down below Ye Chongming.

Meng Ji directly took a chair from an unoccupied spot for Ye Yaming, allowing her to sit behind and to the right of Ye Chongming.

Seeing this, the others sat down with various thoughts on their minds.

To break the awkward atmosphere in the room, Jin Baoshan made small talk: “Chongming, is this your granddaughter?”

Ye Chongming said: “Ming’er, greet Elder Jin and all the uncles.” Then he introduced everyone one by one.

Only then did Ye Yaming rise and curtsy to everyone: “Yaming pays her respects to Elder Jin and all the uncles.”

“Haha, no need for formalities.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Your niece is truly dignified and graceful. Old Brother Ye, everyone in your family is good-looking.”

The people in the room exchanged pleasantries.

To ease their guilt for speaking ill of the Ye family earlier, and also to maintain good relations with them, everyone began taking out small items like jade pendants they had brought with them, preparing to give Ye Yaming welcome gifts.

“That won’t be necessary,” Ye Chongming interrupted their movements of reaching into their pockets. “My granddaughter Yaming is the next head of the Ye family. You needn’t treat her as a junior; there’s no need for welcome gifts.”

Except for Jin Baoshan, who already knew this information, the others were so shocked that they dropped their jade pendants.

“What? Brother Ye, are you mistaken? Isn’t your eldest son, Ye Hongchang, the next family head?” Yan Zhengtao, the only old man in the room who was of the same age group as Ye Chongming and Jin Baoshan, asked in astonishment.

Those who were quick-witted immediately recalled that mysterious marriage arrangement that had been the talk of Lin’an.

“The position of Ye family head goes to the most capable. Hongchang voluntarily yielded, giving the position to my third granddaughter.”

Hearing the words “third granddaughter,” everyone was certain that the young lady before them was indeed the person involved in that marriage arrangement—the eldest daughter of the Ye family’s second branch, the third Miss Ye.

What kind of marriage had this third Miss Ye arranged? As a mere young lady, she had managed to push aside the head of the family from his position and take control of the entire Ye family’s assets. She was truly formidable.

Jin Baoshan laughed heartily: “Third Miss Ye has accomplished much at a young age. At such a tender age, she wrote ‘The Tea Ceremony,’ which earned considerable praise from scholars and literati in the Capital. Moreover, I’ve heard that Third Miss Ye’s tea-making skills are no less than her father’s. Compared to Third Miss Ye, my sons and grandsons are quite unaccomplished. ‘Let the most capable lead the family’—the Ye family truly deserves its reputation as a tea merchant family that has prospered for a hundred years.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the room immediately filled with excessive flattery. Each person spoke so sincerely, as if those who had indignantly condemned the Ye family earlier were not them.

Ye Chongming waved his hand: “I came today for several matters. Besides telling everyone that my third granddaughter is the next head of the Ye family, I also want to inform you all that our tea leaf reservations for next spring’s tea will remain the same as in previous years. You need not worry about me taking more than my share and cursing me behind my back.”

These words made everyone’s faces look awkward, but inwardly they all breathed sighs of relief.

“Additionally, has everyone here tasted my family’s Longjing tea?”

At the mention of Longjing tea, the atmosphere in the room became subtle.

Jin Baoshan said: “Of course. When your pre-Qingming tea first came out, I went to taste it, and later bought some to drink slowly.”

He sighed: “It truly deserves to be tribute tea; the flavor is beyond words. Even the autumn tea that’s now widely available tastes better than our pre-Qingming loose tea.”

Someone behind him secretly curled his lip.

This old fellow Jin Baoshan, if nothing else, was exceptional at flattery. Today, he seemed determined to praise the Ye family and sing their praises.

But Ye Chongming’s next words froze the half-curved lips in shock: “If any of you want the tea-making formula, for thirty thousand to fifty thousand taels of silver, I’ll sell it to you. My second brother will teach personally—thirty thousand taels for three apprentices, fifty thousand taels for six apprentices. We’ll teach twelve people per batch, first come, first served.”

Hearing his words, no one could believe their ears.

“Th-thirty to fifty thousand?” someone stammered.

“Yes,” Ye Chongming nodded.

Jin Baoshan’s eyes immediately gleamed with excitement as he exclaimed: “I’ll buy the fifty-thousand-tael option!”

With his exclamation, the others awakened as if from a dream, almost simultaneously crying out: “I also want to buy the fifty-thousand-tael option!”

“I want to buy it too!”

No wonder they were shocked. Since the Ye family had spread the news about selling their tea-making formula, everyone had been speculating on the price. The figures mentioned were no less than one hundred thousand taels, with the highest guess reaching over two hundred thousand.

It’s important to understand that this was a tea-making formula—something that could be passed down as a family heirloom. They were tea merchants precisely because they possessed tea-making formulas.

Many people knew the methods for making compressed tea and loose tea in this way, not to mention the unique Longjing tea formula that had just been designated as tribute tea.

Thirty to fifty thousand taels, and it wasn’t just giving you the formula to figure out on your own—whether you understood it or could produce the right flavor would depend entirely on your abilities. Instead, Ye Hongsheng would teach personally. This was practically a bargain price! Could it be that the Ye family was engaging in charity?

Someone who hadn’t spoken earlier, thinking himself sober while everyone else was drunk, questioned skeptically: “Fifty thousand taels of silver? With the second master of the Ye family teaching personally? Do you have any other conditions? Might as well state them all at once. It would spare us all from thinking we’ve gotten a great deal.”

These words made everyone apprehensive again.

“There are no other conditions, just fifty thousand taels to teach six people,” said Ye Chongming.

“How many days of teaching?”

“Ten days. We guarantee you’ll learn it completely. As for the final quality of the tea you produce, that’s not something my second brother can guarantee. You’re all in this business; you should know some people have good talent, some poor. With the same tea-making method, even apprentices trained by the same master will produce tea with different flavors.”

Everyone nodded.

It was indeed true. One master teaching two apprentices could sometimes result in differences as vast as heaven and earth.

As for ten days, this timeframe was acceptable to everyone. The process for making compressed tea was complex, yet ten days was enough to produce a batch of tea. Moreover, Ye Chongming had promised they would learn it completely.

“I know everyone’s concerns. Let me be clear upfront: I’m not selling this tea-making formula to just one or two of you. As long as someone pays, I’ll sell it. This Longjing tea will become a common commodity in the future.”

At this point, his expression darkened as he scanned the room: “Is it easy to develop a tea-making formula? My second brother and my third granddaughter went without proper food or sleep, researching for several years before finally producing this Longjing tea. And what happened? You tried to take it without effort. In recent times, you’ve used so many underhanded methods to steal and rob. I’ve been forced into this position with no alternative but to cut my losses and sell the formula at a low price. Take it or leave it!”