But now, while Ye Yaqing could still maintain high standards, Ye Yaming was a woman whose engagement had been broken off and a daughter of the second branch. Her status was not as high as Ye Yaqing’s, so those tea merchants thought they had a chance and sent matchmakers one after another to propose marriage.
Old Lady Ye politely declined each one, saying she wanted to find a son-in-law through uxorilocal marriage for Ye Yaming. These men were displeased, thinking that the Ye family looked down on their children. But once the formal process of selecting a son-in-law by uxorilocal marriage was established and they realized the Ye family was serious, there was nothing more they could say.
Seeing that Ye Yaming was always thinking of the family’s interests, even using her marriage for the family’s benefit, both Ye Chongming and Old Lady Ye felt both moved and concerned for her.
“This matter indeed shouldn’t be rushed. Haste leads to mistakes,” Ye Chongming said. “Let’s take it slowly.”
Old Lady Ye nodded.
They had already made one mistake; they couldn’t make another. It was indeed better to take their time in choosing.
“Will Big Uncle and my father return for the New Year?” Ye Yaming asked about another matter.
“Young Master Lu and Young Master Qi have taken the tea sets to the Capital and are preparing to start selling,” Ye Chongming said. “The New Year is when most gatherings happen, and it’s the best season to introduce the concept of tea ceremonies and tea sets. Your big uncle hasn’t sent any news back yet. But I imagine he’s still undecided.”
Ye Yaming nodded without speaking.
People at this time placed the highest importance on festivals, and no matter how far away they were, they would rush back to reunite with their families for the New Year. Even though she didn’t see the necessity of braving the snow to come back for a New Year’s Eve dinner, only to brave the snow again to leave a few days later, as a modern soul, she thought it best not to comment on such matters.
“How are the chrysanthemum tea sales?” she asked instead.
At the mention of this, Ye Chongming’s expression brightened.
“Very good. Although it wasn’t as sensational as when osmanthus tea first appeared, it’s still selling extremely well. Now people in Lin’an City have started the custom of giving chrysanthemum tea as New Year gifts.”
Speaking of this, Ye Chongming couldn’t help but praise Ye Yaming: “I don’t know how your little brain comes up with these ideas, but you’re truly remarkable.”
The concept of giving chrysanthemum tea as a New Year gift was proposed by Ye Yaming. She had even composed a four-line rhyme and had people take candy to teach children on the streets. Whenever a child learned it, they would get a piece of candy.
As a result, throughout Lin’an City, children were singing that rhyme everywhere. If a new son-in-law didn’t bring a pound of chrysanthemum tea when visiting his father-in-law for New Year’s greetings, he would truly lose face, and his in-laws would be displeased.
Regarding the Capital, Ye Chongming had written to Ye Hongchang and Ye Hongsheng to follow the same approach. It was expected that fathers-in-law in the Capital would also take pride in receiving chrysanthemum tea purchased by their sons-in-law during the New Year.
“The only issue is that there’s too little chrysanthemum tea. It sells out quickly. Many people have been asking me to buy more,” Ye Chongming said, and then wanted to praise his granddaughter again. “Fortunately, you had me write ‘Hangbai Chrysanthemum’ on the packaging. You don’t know, but since our chrysanthemum tea became popular, people in the city and suburbs have been running around everywhere, asking where white chrysanthemums are grown.”
Ye Yaming smiled without saying anything.
Ye Chongming’s praise was actually for Wang Zixin of the Wang Yutai Tea House from the 1920s, not for her. She dared not be modest about it.
“By the way, you said you wanted to write a book. How’s that coming along?” Ye Chongming asked without much expectation.
“I’ve finished one. After I revise it a bit more and make a clean copy, I’ll give it to you to read. If you think it’s acceptable, we can send it to Master Zhineng for review, and hopefully ask the venerable master to write a preface or afterword.”
To prevent impostors from claiming to be Lu Yu, the author of “The Classic of Tea,” she could only resort to this strategy, putting her name as the author first.
“You’ve written it?” Ye Chongming was surprised.
Ye Yaming nodded. “Yes.”
Ye Chongming smacked his lips. “Let me see it first.”
He was worried that his granddaughter’s writing might be subpar and would embarrass them if presented to Master Zhineng.
It would be bad enough to lose face, but if it ruined the good impression she had previously made on Master Zhineng, that would be terrible.
“Alright,” Ye Yaming smiled.
Joking aside, if the great master Lu Yu’s “Classic of Tea” wasn’t presentable, what tea book would dare to show itself to the world?
At this moment, Lu’E appeared at the doorway: “Old Master, Old Madam, Young Miss, Fang Xing, and the others have returned.”
Ye Chongming was delighted and called out: “Have them come in quickly.”
Soon after, Fang Xing, Zhang Zhongkun, and Wen Tao all entered and paid their respects.
“Did you purchase the country estate?” Ye Chongming asked.
Among the three, Zhang Zhongkun, the manager of the tea factory, was the oldest and highest in status. He replied: “Yes, we did.”
Fang Xing quickly took out a land deed from his chest and presented it to Ye Chongming.
Ye Chongming took it, looked at it, and read to Old Lady Ye and Ye Yaming: “Two hundred and sixty mu of prime land, one hundred and twenty mu of middle-grade land, seven hundred and thirty-two mu of low-grade land. Ninety-three households.”
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Ye frowned: “Why did you get so much low-grade land? This estate looks large in area, but the yield won’t be good.”
Fang Xing hurriedly explained: “I first asked the old farmer who sells chrysanthemums to the Second Master what kind of land is best for growing chrysanthemums. He said chrysanthemums like fertile soil, preferably sandy soil with good drainage, not clay-heavy soil.”
“The prime and middle-grade lands are all paddy fields, with heavy clay content, good water retention, and no leakage, suitable for growing rice. I asked that old farmer to help inspect, and though the low-grade land of this estate isn’t very fertile, it has excellent drainage with sandy soil. As long as we add more fertilizer and nurture it well for two or three years, it will become an excellent place for growing chrysanthemums.”
Zhang Zhongkun, now in his fifties and having been Ye Chongming’s subordinate for half his life, didn’t share Fang Xing’s nervousness and tension.
He smiled at Ye Yaming first and said, “When we left, Young Miss specifically instructed us to give Fang Xing more opportunities for practical experience. At that time, the middleman helped us contact several estates, large and small, some better than this one. Knowing that Young Miss wanted to grow chrysanthemums, Fang Xing specifically sought advice from that old farmer and even invited him to personally inspect before deciding on this estate.”
He praised Fang Xing to Ye Chongming: “This child Fang Xing is meticulous and hardworking. During this period, he wore through two pairs of shoes to find such a suitable estate. Worried that the two of us old fellows would get too tired, when it wasn’t crucial, he would go out alone to handle matters.”
Fang Xing quickly said: “No, no, Uncle Zhang guided me greatly. I only dared to purchase this estate because Uncle Zhang made the final decision. And Mr. Wen, if he hadn’t helped with the negotiations, I might have paid too much.”
Wen Tao, who had been silent until now, smiled and nodded, accepting the compliment: “Isn’t that what an accountant is for?”
Everyone laughed at this.
“How much did it cost?” Old Lady Ye asked.
When the three left, besides Ye Yaming’s four thousand taels in bank notes, Old Lady Ye had given another six thousand, making a total of ten thousand taels for them to take along.