“Of course, I’m referring to the shop manager and assistants. For making pastries, you’ll still need your cook. Remember, in a partnership business like this, you must keep the pastry recipes and the cook under your control. This way, no matter who you collaborate with, you can ensure your irreplaceable position, and others will value and respect you.”

Madam Yin nodded thoughtfully.

How Madam Yin conducted business, and how she should speak and act when socializing with noble ladies in the Capital—all of this was taught to her step by step by Ye Yaming. The mother-daughter pair, one bold enough to teach and the other brave enough to learn, felt no dissonance whatsoever.

Mainly because Ye Yaming’s competence was admired by both Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang. Madam Yin also recognized her limitations—wasn’t it appropriate for someone without skills to seek guidance from someone capable? There was nothing improper about it.

“Also, if you want to open branch stores, don’t rush to open two at once. Take it one at a time, otherwise you’ll be overwhelmed.”

Madam Yin nodded repeatedly.

While discussing these matters, they made no effort to exclude Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu. Both girls listened with great interest, feeling they gained valuable insights.

After finishing the business discussion, Madam Yin began to shoo the younger girls away: “You two go check the kitchen and see what good dishes there are. Ask the cook to prepare two more dishes that your sister enjoys. I have some things to discuss with her.”

Ye Yayin and Ye Yayu exchanged glances, shrugged, then agreed and left hand in hand.

After confirming they had gone, Madam Yin finally brought up the matter of the Li family inquiring about Ye Yayin, hoping to form a marriage alliance with the Ye family.

“I’ve had someone look into it. The Li family has only one son, one grandson, and one granddaughter. The granddaughter is already married, and the grandson is sixteen this year, currently studying at the Imperial Academy.”

“The old master Li originally held a fourth-rank official position but retired due to illness a few years ago. Master Li is a Provincial Examination graduate but didn’t pass the Imperial Examination. They want their grandson to focus on his studies for a few years, so they’ve been holding him back from participating in the civil examinations. Since he’s able to study at the Imperial Academy, passing the County and Provincial Examinations shouldn’t be difficult for him.”

In the Great Jin Dynasty, the Imperial Academy not only recruited outstanding talents from various regions but also admitted children from official families in the Capital. However, there were still entrance requirements—students needed to pass an entrance examination and obtain a recommendation letter from an Academy instructor.

Instructors wouldn’t provide recommendation letters to students lacking in scholarship or character, to avoid damaging their reputation. Moreover, each instructor could only recommend one student per year, making the quota extremely precious. To obtain a recommendation, one needed not only connections but also to be more exceptional than others.

Since the young master of the Li family had been admitted to the Imperial Academy, he was talented and of good character.

Even before coming to the Capital, Ye Yaming had investigated the households near the Ye residence. She knew that old master Li had been an official in the Ministry of Revenue, a department known for its lucrative opportunities, suggesting the Li family was quite wealthy.

She wasn’t insisting that Ye Yayin marry a rich man. But at minimum, the husband’s family should have enough assets to support themselves. Otherwise, marrying into a family like the Wang family in Lin’an City, where the entire household relied on the wife’s dowry to survive—wouldn’t that be irritating?

“The Li family upholds proper moral standards. Despite having few descendants, none of the men have taken concubines. I’ve met both the old Madam Li and Madam Li; they’re kind people. The whole family lives in harmony.”

Ye Yaming glanced at Madam Yin. “You think this family is suitable?”

Madam Yin shook her head. “I just think they’re worth considering. As for how good they are, you and your father can decide.”

Ye Yaming: “…”

She said helplessly, “Have you asked Yayin what kind of family she wants to marry into? It’s her life; you should ask her opinion.”

“She’s just a child, what would she know—” Madam Yin stopped mid-sentence, glanced at Ye Yaming, and quickly corrected herself, “Alright, I’ll ask her.”

Ye Yaming nodded.

Madam Yin tried to hold back but couldn’t resist saying, “There is one drawback with the Li family—both Master Li and his son are only children, making them three generations of single sons. The pressure on their daughter-in-law to produce a son would certainly be immense. What if she can’t bear a son?”

In this regard, she had suffered silently for half her life. Fortunately, she was blessed—her husband didn’t mind, her in-laws never criticized her, and she had a capable daughter who allowed her to hold her head high.

But this was all contingent on the fact that Ye Hongsheng had three brothers, and both Ye Hongchang and Ye Hongrong had sons, so the Ye family didn’t lack male heirs. Otherwise, no matter how open-minded her in-laws were, they might have urged Ye Hongsheng to take a concubine to produce a son.

Ye Yaming’s marriage was beyond her influence, and at least Nobleman Lu had a brother. But for Ye Yayin, she didn’t want her daughter to taste the same bitterness she had experienced.

Ye Yaming nodded. “That is indeed an issue. However, everything has two sides. In families with many brothers, sister-in-law relationships are difficult to manage, conflicts are numerous, and there are many cases where families become enemies over disputes about inheritance and resources.”

A perfect example was right before them: Lu Guanyi and Lu Guanyu. Madam Shi treated Lu Guanyi as a thorn in her side precisely because he was the eldest legitimate son and the natural heir, blocking her son’s path.

If one argued that the Lu family was a special case, then what about the Ye family? Wasn’t their family tradition proper? They didn’t have many brothers, all born from the same mother, with excellent fraternal relationships. Yet even they had many conflicts between branches, let alone families with legitimate and illegitimate brothers.

Thinking about her years of interaction with Madam Tao and Madam Zhang, and their constant calculations regarding family assets, Madam Yin fell silent.

Ye Yaming continued, “So my suggestion is to see what the other party is like. If his character, ability, and temperament are all acceptable, then let’s have an open and honest discussion. If Yayin can’t bear a son and they insist on taking a concubine, they must agree to a divorce and allow her to take her daughters with her. If they can agree to this condition, the marriage can proceed; otherwise, forget it.”

“Divorce?” Madam Yin was shocked.

In this era, unless a woman found it unbearable to remain in her husband’s family, who would willingly seek a divorce? Not only would she be pointed at and gossiped about, but her natal family would also be disgraced, making it difficult for other unmarried girls in the family to find good matches.

Yet Ye Yaming spoke of it as casually as eating or drinking, which Madam Yin couldn’t comprehend.

“Don’t tell me that if your future husband does something inappropriate, you’re also considering divorce?” she asked incredulously.

Ye Yaming shook her head. As Madam Yin breathed a sigh of relief, she added, “That was my original plan, but then the Emperor bestowed the marriage. But even without divorce, there are ways to live separately. If Lu Guanyi truly wrongs me, I’ll take the children back to Lin’an and never live with him again. That’s essentially no different from a divorce.”

Madam Yin nearly choked.

“You… you…” She felt she had a bellyful of words to scold her daughter, but didn’t know where to begin.

Ye Yaming waved her hand dismissively. “Anyway, I won’t suffer losses in anything or tolerate any grievances. It’s impossible to expect me to live a life of frustration. Whoever makes me unhappy, I’ll make them unhappy in return.”

Madam Yin: “…”