“Money tempts people’s hearts. It’s normal,” Ye Yaming wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

The Ye family’s servants had been purchased when the family first established itself.

The Ye family treated their servants quite well; at the very least, they could eat their fill and dress warmly. Life was comfortable, and in these times, people believed in “more children, more fortune.” Besides those who died from illness due to poor medical conditions, a couple would have at least two or three children.

Over these years, though ten people might not increase to sixty, growing to forty was certainly possible.

The number of servants had increased, but the Ye family’s business had also expanded. They needed people everywhere, so they could accommodate them all without having to sell any servants.

Life was comfortable and plentiful, without having experienced society’s harsh realities. At the same time, no one constantly instilled ideas of loyalty and gratitude in them, and the Ye family was quite lenient with servants who made mistakes. Of course, these people would reveal the Ye family’s secrets when offered some benefits by others.

Everyone operated on the principle that “if I don’t tell, someone else will” and “if I don’t make this money, someone else will take it.” How could they not rush to sell the tea-making secrets?

She had deliberately kept quiet and continued using the tea factory workers to make tea, just to see how many people would make mistakes, so she could screen the Ye family’s servants.

“Don’t spread news of this matter yet. Wait a while longer. I want to see how many more people harbor such thoughts,” Ye Yaming said. “Sort out this group and punish them severely! If we don’t clean house, our family business will never be stable. Otherwise, no matter how many tea-making secrets I produce, they won’t be enough for these servants to sell.”

“Yes, that’s how we’ll handle it.” Ye Chongming had been furious earlier, but now that he had calmed down, his thoughts aligned with Ye Yaming’s.

Grandfather and granddaughter discussed how to set their trap for quite some time.

Finally, Ye Chongming said, “I’ll speak with your grandmother later. The household should also be vigilant.”

“You must tell Grandmother to be outwardly relaxed but inwardly alert, to avoid alerting the suspects. Within the family, apart from the necessary trusted servants, don’t let too many people know about this matter,” Ye Yaming said.

Ye Chongming nodded. “That’s just what we should do.”

Long before Fang Xing was promoted to steward, Ye Yaming had already instructed him to buy off servants in the mansion, turning many of them into her informants.

It couldn’t be helped—the Ye family had enemies like the Meng family and the Yang family, as well as many others who envied them. These people were constantly looking for weaknesses in the Ye family, or plotting regarding the marriages of her, Ye Yaqing, or even Ye Yayin.

The Ye mansion was the place where she and her family established themselves and made their living. She simply couldn’t entrust her life and safety to Old Lady Ye and Madam Tao.

These two women, who had enjoyed privilege all their lives, didn’t understand the cut-throat competition the Ye family faced in the business world, nor the open and hidden dangers they needed to guard against.

Call it overreaching or controlling if you will, but she had to take the Ye family into her own hands, so she could know about everything happening in the Ye household promptly and clearly.

After discussing matters with Ye Chongming, she returned to her courtyard.

The Qi family steward had said that people would be sent over in a couple of days.

Once they arrived, Ye Yaming planned to train them and indoctrinate them. There wasn’t enough time to cultivate loyalty in the short term, but at least she could make them understand the price and consequences of wrongdoing.

After finishing the jasmine tea production, she would send this batch of people to Huizhou, to be managed by Sun An, another steward she had trained after Fang Xing. From them, she would select useful individuals to be sent back for her focused training.

It couldn’t be helped—though the Ye family had many house-born children and servants, their relationships were complex and intertwined.

It wasn’t just about these people’s abilities and loyalty; if they achieved success, would all their relatives rise to prominence? And if these relatives committed offenses, would they shield them or plead for them? As the authority, should she consider her subordinates’ feelings and face when handling problems?

In her modern company, she didn’t even allow office romances. Once people in the same office fell in love, one of them would be transferred, out of concern for various problems that might arise.

In ancient times, how could she allow herself to fall into such a situation?

Previously, when cultivating Fang Xing and Sun An, firstly, she had no one else to use, and it wouldn’t have been appropriate to say she didn’t trust house-born children or disliked nepotism, as that would have directly offended all the servants in the mansion. Secondly, Fang Xing and Sun An had simple family relationships, and they were capable.

Thirdly, both Huizhou and Minzhou needed people to develop markets. If these two couldn’t maintain clarity about family relationships, at worst, she could throw them to remote areas without much impact.

Fortunately, neither Fang Xing nor Sun An had disappointed her.

“Bai Rui, have you finished the essay I asked you to write yesterday? Bring it for me to see,” Ye Yaming said.

“And Lu’E, where’s the homework I assigned you? Bring it as well.”

Bai Rui’s hands paused as she was tidying up, exchanging a glance with Lu’E. They each went to fetch their homework and handed it to Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming first looked at Bai Rui’s handwriting practice, then her essay and arithmetic problems. She beckoned to her: “This character, this character, and this one—all written incorrectly. Apart from these mistakes, your essay is not bad. The logic is clear, the structure is orderly, and the writing flows smoothly. It’s much better than before.”

Bai Rui, who had been anxious, immediately brightened upon hearing this, her voice becoming noticeably more cheerful: “Thank you, Miss.”

“Good, keep it up,” Ye Yaming encouraged her, then tossed over Bai Rui’s arithmetic problems. “I’ve circled all the wrong answers. Later, have Lu’E explain them to you. If there’s anything neither of you understands, come ask me.”

Bai Rui’s smiling face instantly turned into a bitter one.

Seeing this, Lu’E didn’t dare show any schadenfreude, because her turn was next.

“Come, Lu’E. Your arithmetic homework has improved since last time; you only got three problems wrong. Let me explain them to you.”

After explaining the math problems to Lu’E, Ye Yaming rubbed her temples and took out Lu’E’s essay: “I don’t require you to write elaborate prose, but at least it should be comprehensible. In this regard, let Bai Rui teach you. Also, practice writing five more pages of characters tomorrow.”

Lu’E’s face also turned bitter.

“Alright, call Zi Yuan and Qingzhi in.”

She wasn’t just cultivating external stewards, but internal ones as well. She wanted secretaries, accountants, and other assistants who belonged solely to her. Bai Rui and Lu’E, who had been loyal and clever in the original owner’s previous life, were excellent candidates for cultivation.

Additionally, Zi Yuan and Qingzhi—Ye Yaming had observed them coldly during this period and found that although each had personality flaws, they didn’t have major issues and could also be trained.

That’s why Ye Yaming had been teaching them to read recently.

Bai Rui and Lu’E, as the original owners’ maids with artistic inclinations, recognized a few characters. But they only knew a few characters—writing was out of the question, let alone anything else.

Ye Yaming was busy with various matters during the day and still had to teach these maids at night. It was indeed exhausting.