Looking at the pale faces of the Ye family men, Chen Zhen was quite satisfied. Then his gaze met Ye Yaming’s thoughtful eyes, dark as black pearls.

Chen Zhen’s eyes steadied, and he smiled: “Does Miss Ye have something to say?”

Ye Yaming returned his smile: “I just think Lord Chen is formidable. If you had said these words before signing the contract, my grandfather might not have done business with you. Operating at a loss is one thing, but having to bear such risks is another. My grandfather has never made such a deal in his entire life, but today he’s fallen into your hands.”

These words might have sounded offensive to others, but to Chen Zhen, they were compliments. For someone like him, the greatest pleasure came from watching others retreat step by step during his negotiations, finally signing contracts at the lowest price with reluctant faces.

He laughed heartily and said: “You can’t put it that way. With greater ability comes greater responsibility. Being able to serve the court is the Ye family’s honor, even if it means taking on some risk. As for operating at a loss, that’s where Miss Ye needs to contribute. If you can improve the tea-making formula to reduce costs, the Ye family won’t just avoid losses—they’ll profit.”

Ye Yaming’s face immediately fell: “Lord Chen makes it sound easy. Haven’t you seen that compressed tea and loose tea haven’t changed for so many years?”

“This might be difficult for others, but not for you. I believe Miss Ye can certainly do it.”

After this battle of wits between the young and old foxes, Chen Zhen happily escorted the Ye family out of the post station.

Ye Chongming, unsettled by Chen Zhen’s words, insisted that Ye Yaming ride in his carriage when they boarded.

Once the carriage was on its way, with only trusted servants and the coachman present, Ye Chongming finally asked: “That black tea, are you confident you can guarantee its quality?”

“Quality” was a term Ye Yaming often used, and Ye Chongming had learned and begun to use it as well.

Ye Yaming nodded: “Rest assured. I can not only guarantee the quality but also ensure we won’t operate at a loss.”

The pile fermentation did indeed take that long, but it wasn’t done one catty at a time—it was done in piles, processing dozens of catties at once. In these times, labor wasn’t expensive, so the actual cost wasn’t high.

Additionally, when the tea plants on the tea mountains in Huizhou and Minzhou started growing, producing not just 250,000 catties but even 350,000 catties wouldn’t be a problem. Each local tea factory could employ more tea masters who would supervise each other, implement an accountability system, and strictly control quality. Delivering 200,000 catties of tea annually with guaranteed quality and quantity would not be a problem.

The excess could be stored, firstly as a precaution to reduce risk, and secondly to age and increase in value.

It was worth noting that the price difference between two-year-old black tea and twenty-year-old black tea was more than twentyfold. Moreover, when people’s initial low acceptance of black tea increased, and many came to appreciate and enjoy it twenty years later, selling these aged black teas would yield substantial profits. Even if by then everyone knew the black tea formula, they couldn’t produce black tea from twenty years ago.

She hadn’t told Ye Chongming the whole truth earlier because she knew he was no match for Chen Zhen. If he had known the real situation, his defenses would surely have been broken by Chen Zhen, and he would have signed a contract at what he “considered” a very reasonable price.

Once a contract was signed at the absolute lowest price, the Ye family would be in a very passive position. This passivity wouldn’t last just a year or two, but ten or even several decades.

Concerned that if Ye Chongming knew the truth, he might not take it seriously, and that Ye Hongchang, Ye Hongrong, and Ye Jiaxing would become lax in their management, Ye Yaming still didn’t tell him the truth.

She said: “However, the tea factories in each location must follow my rules. The rules I establish must be strictly enforced and absolutely cannot be changed. Grandfather, please make this clear to your sons and nephews and my cousins. I will also speak with Zi Mo and Young Master Qi, asking them to caution their managers.”

“Alright,” Ye Chongming agreed without hesitation.

“As long as management follows the rules I’ve established, you don’t need to worry about the black tea. I guarantee there won’t be any problems in this area,” Ye Yaming added.

Though she couldn’t reveal the whole truth, she didn’t want to see Ye Chongming under too much pressure, affecting his health.

Medical conditions in this era were poor, making “reaching seventy years was rare in ancient times” a reality. Ye Chongming was sixty-two years old now, and Ye Yaming hoped he would maintain his current health and live a long life.

Hearing her assurance, Ye Chongming indeed felt relieved.

“Sigh, if only you were marrying and staying in Lin’an, you could oversee all the family affairs. After your marriage, when you go to the Capital City, I worry the family will fall into disorder.”

Thinking about Ye Yaming’s imminent marriage and all the family responsibilities that would fall on him, Ye Chongming’s recently calmed heart became troubled again.

“I’ll only stay in the Capital City for two months. Winter is the off-season for tea, and the tea factories are all closed. What problems could arise?” Ye Yaming comforted him.

“What about later?” Ye Chongming wasn’t reassured. “I’m old and can’t help you for many more years. In the future, you’ll have to bear and raise children. Zi Mo can’t stay at the border forever either. By then, how will all these family matters be handled?”

“Grandfather,” Ye Yaming looked seriously at Ye Chongming, “I want to be the family head because I need to control the entire Ye family’s direction of development. Do you think that with my eldest uncle’s political acumen and vision, he could manage the Ye family’s affairs well?”

Ye Chongming resolutely shook his head: “No.”

Ye Chongming knew that Ye Hongchang’s abilities were similar to his own. They could only preserve what they had, maintaining the Ye family’s original small plot of land, but nothing more. Once someone coveted and schemed against the Ye family, Ye Hongchang, like himself, wouldn’t be able to withstand it, and the Ye family would be swallowed up.

Reaching the Ye family’s current position was beyond their wildest dreams.

Worried that Ye Yaming misunderstood his words, he explained: “Ming’er, I’m not saying your eldest uncle should be the family head again…”

“I know,” Ye Yaming said. “I’m not explaining that to you either. I just want to tell you that I want to be the family head not because I’m greedy for power or six or seven tenths of the family property, but because I want to protect the Ye family and make it prosperous and flourishing, just like the names you gave to my eldest uncle and father.”

“Eldest Uncle doesn’t have political acumen or pioneering ability, but he is a very good executor. I don’t mind if he has more authority.”

“Grandfather,” she leaned slightly forward, looking at Ye Chongming, her eyes full of seriousness, “when you feel your body can no longer handle such toil, hand over your responsibilities to Eldest Uncle. As long as Eldest Uncle doesn’t act arbitrarily, doesn’t think I’m unfit to lead the family, and doesn’t insist on having his ideas about everything, the more he and Fourth Uncle can handle, the better.”

Ye Chongming gazed at his granddaughter and slowly nodded.

He not only understood the meaning of Ye Yaming’s words but also grasped what she left unsaid.

If Ye Hongchang didn’t obey and insisted on seizing power, then Ye Yaming would mercilessly divide the family, separating the first branch and excluding them from family affairs.

“Alright, I understand,” he said.