He earnestly cautioned, “Just the position of guild leader brought great disaster. If Meng Chengwei learns about this osmanthus tea and the brewing technique, who knows what methods he might employ? And there are many covetous people like Meng Chengwei. So Yaming, remember, these two skills must never be revealed to others.”

He turned to the Old Madam Ye and said, “For the maids and elderly servants who were just in the room, issue a strict gag order. They are forbidden from spreading word about Yaming’s osmanthus tea and brewing method. Anyone who violates this order—their entire family will be sold to work in the mines.”

As he said this, he deeply regretted not taking Ye Yaming’s tea-making and brewing skills more seriously, which had resulted in so many servants knowing about them besides himself and his wife.

The Old Madam Ye also understood the importance of the matter and repeatedly assured him, “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it properly.”

Those who had been in the room, apart from Madam Yu and Bai Rui, included the steward Li Fu standing outside the door and one of her senior maids. These people were all loyal and reliable.

Later, she would call them in and warn each one individually.

Ye Yaming frowned. “Grandfather, are you saying that we won’t sell the osmanthus tea?”

She had created the osmanthus tea to solve the Ye family’s business crisis. If they didn’t sell it for fear of provoking more aggressive tactics from Meng Chengwei and attracting more predators, it would lose its purpose.

Moreover, after learning about Ye Chongming’s business approach, she disagreed with some of his business philosophies.

Ye Chongming sighed. “You’ve seen our family’s situation. We have no support. Meng Chengwei nearly destroyed our family with just a few schemes. If we release this osmanthus tea, how could we possibly survive?”

Ye Yaming shook her head. “We can’t just passively take beatings like this. Since you believe this osmanthus tea is valuable enough to attract covetous attention, we can use it to form partnerships. We should find someone with strong backing who can keep the Meng family and others in check. This way, we can both gather silver for next year’s tea harvest, secure more tea permits through our partner’s connections, and ward off those who covet our business. Multiple benefits in one move—wouldn’t that be good?”

Hearing this, the Old Madam Ye’s eyes brightened. She said to Ye Chongming, “My lord, Yaming’s idea is excellent.”

Ye Chongming shook his head and smiled bitterly. “Your method isn’t bad; everyone knows this approach. The problem is, once we partner with someone, the tea gardens, tea factory, tea house, and our tea-making skills will no longer belong solely to the Ye family. We would completely become others’ servants. To protect our family business and prevent others from interfering, your great-grandfather, grand-uncle, and I have expended untold effort.”

On this point, Ye Yaming had a different opinion. “If you’re unwilling to partner with others, others will target us instead. Aren’t we being pressured by the Meng family now precisely because we lack background support? In my view, rather than being forced to become someone’s servant, it’s better to choose someone kind-hearted and benevolent as a partner.”

Ye Chongming’s pupils dilated greatly, and then his expression showed indescribable sadness. “Does it have to be this way?”

Ye Yaming furrowed her brow, seemingly unable to understand Ye Chongming’s sadness. “Why are you sad? Partnering with others isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

Seeing both Ye Chongming and the Old Madam Ye looking at her with incomprehension, she said, “I don’t know how much silver our family earns annually, so let me give an example. Suppose on our own, we can only earn five thousand taels of silver a year. But with a partnership, we could earn twenty thousand taels. Even if we split it evenly, we’d still get ten thousand taels, plus we’d have backing and connections, not fearing others’ covetousness. Isn’t that better than earning five thousand taels while constantly living in fear?”

“Working alone is like being on a small boat, struggling to survive in the gaps between powerful nobles, always in danger of being capsized by waves. Partnering with others is like being on a large ship that can withstand storms, and possibly even merging with others when they’re about to sink. And when your ship is big enough, others have to make way for you. Wherever the ship sails, it’s your decision. Given the choice, which would you prefer?

“In modern business, to grow strong, one must continuously raise capital to make the cake bigger. When the cake is large and you occupy a significant market share in the industry, you gain a voice and become the rule maker. Isn’t that better than small-scale operations, constantly being squeezed and facing bankruptcy at any moment?”

Ye Chongming’s thinking was still confined within the framework of the small-scale peasant economy. No wonder the Ye family had only accumulated this much wealth after several generations. Although they were significant in Linan City’s tea industry, beyond this place and industry, the nobility wouldn’t even give them a second glance.

Ye Yaming’s words greatly shocked Ye Chongming.

He stared blankly at Ye Yaming, his mind churning with turbulent thoughts.

He and his father and grandfather had struggled to protect the Ye family’s assets. When others coveted their property, they would navigate around to preserve it or cut their losses to survive, each time exhausting themselves mentally and physically to protect the family’s wealth.

But now someone was telling him their approach was wrong, that they were conventional and stagnant. By partnering with others, not only would they have an easier time, but they could also earn more money and expand the family business.

They had always worried that partnering with others would risk being annexed. But without partnerships, weren’t there risks as well? Now, just one imperial merchant like the Meng family could pressure them to this extent, let alone true nobles.

He tried hard to remain calm, suppressing his chaotic thoughts to avoid being swayed by Ye Yaming. He felt that Ye Yaming’s reasoning was somewhat off.

He defended his position: “It’s not that we haven’t considered partnerships. That’s why we arranged your engagement to Song Yifeng and supported his imperial examinations. When Yifeng passes the exams and becomes an official, he’ll be our family’s backing. And as our son-in-law, his status would be equal to ours—at least better than servility to nobles in a partnership.”

“First, distant waters can’t quench a present thirst. In this current crisis, he couldn’t help, could he? The imperial examination path isn’t easily traversed. How many promising young men have failed at the metropolitan examination? Even if he passes in the next few years, climbing from a seventh-rank official to a higher position would take many years before he could grow into a towering tree to support us.”

Ye Yaming snorted derisively and continued, “Second, what makes you think that becoming a Ye family son-in-law, using Ye family money to study for the exams, means he’ll help the Ye family? Once he becomes an official or reaches a high position, he might even be ashamed of his connection to our family. What do you think he would do then?”

Ye Chongming and the Old Madam Ye’s faces suddenly changed.

“This… how could you think this way?” the Old Madam Ye asked, her face full of disbelief.

“Because I understand him. I understand him better than anyone. You and my maternal grandfather only see his surface. This person is both extremely insecure and extremely arrogant. He’s ashamed of being engaged to our family and using our money. That’s why he works harder than anyone, striving diligently, vowing to make our family and those who look down on him lose face.”