He said: “Sun An is quite diligent in his work and treats these people well. He arranges their food and lodging very appropriately and handles any issues the newly purchased servants have with care. There’s just one problem—he lacks authority, so he doesn’t command much respect. Those who have been here longer dare to make trouble for him over any issue.”

“What about Chen Xin?”

“Chen Xin is quite good. He manages people with both firmness and flexibility, and is meticulous in his work.”

Initially, besides Sun An, Ye Yaming had transferred household managers and matrons from the Ye mansion to help train these people. But those staff were accustomed to serving Old Lady Ye and Madam Tao, and their continued absence would make managing the inner household difficult.

Therefore, once things had stabilized here, Ye Yaming had sent them back.

Seeing that Sun An couldn’t manage everything alone, she had selected Chen Xin, the most outstanding from the trained group, to be Sun An’s assistant.

Chen Xin had originally been a servant in a wealthy household, but was sold off when his master committed an offense. He was literate and knowledgeable. The only uncertainty was whether his character was trustworthy.

When Ye Yaming had promoted him, it was to observe him.

“So what kind of person is he?” Ye Yaming asked.

Zan’er shook his head: “Everyone says he’s good, and he gets along well with Sun An. But how he truly is—without facing a real challenge, no one can say for certain.”

“Tomorrow, come over and have a private talk with Sun An. Give him some advice. Tell him that if he can’t establish authority, I’ll hand this operation over to someone else to manage.”

“Yes, Miss,” Zan’er promptly agreed.

Ye Yaming’s words also reassured those present.

Sun An was originally a household-born servant who later followed Ye Yaming, considered one of their small group. If she dismissed him without a second thought just because of some shortcomings, everyone would feel a sense of shared fate with him, thinking Ye Yaming was unsentimental about old relationships.

Now that Ye Yaming was still willing to give Sun An a chance, advising him to improve, it was a good sign. At least she had given Sun An an opportunity. If Sun An truly lacked the capability and couldn’t handle the responsibilities, then it would be his problem.

Ye Yaming turned to Bai Rui: “What kind of person is Lu Daya?”

The evaluation forms submitted by Sun An were currently in Bai Rui’s hands.

These evaluation forms were made in duplicate, with one copy going to Bai Rui. Bai Rui would compare the original forms with the assessments provided by Sun An and his team, screening out those who excelled in all aspects, and sending them to Ye Yaming’s side to be trained as managers.

However, with Ye Yaming gone to Minzhou for half a year, this process had stalled. Now that she had returned, she needed reports on the subsequent performance of those excellent talents who had already been assigned to various positions, to see if they could be utilized. If they could, they would be immediately promoted to small leadership roles. Those with outstanding performance would be promoted further.

Ye Yaming’s operation had grown large, and what she lacked most was talent.

Fortunately, Bai Rui, Lu’E, Zan’er, and others were now capable. Bai Rui handled secretarial work, while Lu’E had been learning accounting from the old accountant in Minzhou. Under the guidance of the old accountant and Ye Yaming, she had become quite skilled at auditing accounts.

“Lu Daya’s performance is quite excellent in all areas,” Bai Rui said. “Her hometown suffered a disaster, and she suggested that her parents sell her. Otherwise, the whole family would have starved to death.”

“She’s from a farming family?” Ye Yaming asked.

“Yes. But she’s very intelligent and learns quickly. Her literacy is rated as excellent. The only area where she’s rated as ‘good’ rather than ‘excellent’ is her somewhat rash temperament.”

“What about Ma Chunxiang?”

Bai Rui turned a page and said: “Ma Chunxiang is also good, with excellent ratings in all areas. Her temperament is also rated as excellent.”

Zan’er interjected: “Ma Chunxiang shouldn’t be considered. She’s a white lotus with ulterior motives. Today’s commotion was instigated by her, not because she wanted women to become tea masters, but because she wanted to make an impression on Miss. As for Lu Daya, she genuinely couldn’t understand why women couldn’t be tea masters; she had no intention of showing off.”

After being by Ye Yaming’s side for two years, both Zan’er and Bai Rui had grown considerably. Especially Zan’er—through collecting intelligence, he had gained a profound understanding of human nature and could see at a glance whether someone was genuine.

The term “white lotus with ulterior motives” was something he had heard from Ye Yaming, and finding it particularly vivid, he had adopted it.

Ye Yaming said to Bai Rui: “Make a note of it.”

Bai Rui quickly marked Ma Chunxiang’s evaluation form with a charcoal pen.

Once she had finished, Ye Yaming said: “For the next half month, Bai Rui, you take Zi Yuan and follow up on the outstanding talents, then compile materials to submit to me. Lu’E, you take Qing Zhi and review all the accounts during this period. Zan’er, organize the intelligence from the capital and Lin’an from the first half of the year and submit it to me.”

The three responded in unison: “Yes.”

Ye Yaming rested at home for two more days before going to the tea garden in Baifeng County to begin training tea masters and black tea production masters.

But after less than ten days, Ye Chongming sent someone to summon her from the mountain: “Miss, people have come from the capital. The Old Master asks you to return home immediately.”

Seeing his troubled expression, Ye Yaming asked: “Is there something wrong with these visitors?”

The servant said: “They seem to have come to discuss cooperation with us. The Old Master doesn’t seem to be in a good mood, so I suspect these people have come with ill intentions.”

Ye Yaming frowned and instructed Bai Rui: “Pack our things. We’re going down the mountain.”

Ye Chongming must have been waiting for Ye Yaming. As soon as her carriage stopped at the entrance of the Ye residence, Meng Ji came out to meet her and said: “The Old Master is waiting for you in the study.”

Ye Yaming nodded and went directly to Ye Chongming’s study.

Ye Hongchang and others were also in the study.

“Grandfather, what has happened?”

Ye Chongming ran his fingers through his white hair and sighed: “Do you remember Wang Kuan?”

Ye Yaming nodded: “I remember. I met him when I went to the tea shop with you. He tried various means to steal our tea-making secret, and we refused to sell the method to him.”

“Yes, that’s him,” Ye Chongming said. “Over these past few months, he has been working against us, hiring people to spread rumors about us, paying thugs to claim there are problems with our tea. I’ve been fending off all these attacks.”

With the Ye family’s Longjing becoming a tribute tea and with Qi Zhipei as their backer, the yamen runners naturally sided with the Ye family. The troubles caused by those thugs were merely minor irritations to the Ye family, and Ye Chongming hadn’t taken them seriously.

“Unexpectedly, Wang Kuan came today, bringing several people with him. The leader was a eunuch—he claimed to be a eunuch from the Third Prince’s side, coming to discuss cooperation with us.”

As he said this, Ye Chongming’s face turned pale: “I told him I needed to return home to discuss it with my family. They said they would come to the teahouse tomorrow to find me.”

He looked at Ye Yaming: “Ming’er, what should we do?”

*It’s the end of the month, requesting monthly votes*