Chapter 11
Visiting

Spending such a large sum of money all at once is quite a burden for the Ye family, who urgently need silver to reserve spring tea.

However, Ye Chongming can’t worry about that now. If they can’t get through this step, the Ye family will have no future. He can’t even think about reserving next year’s spring tea.

Ye Chongming glanced at Ye Yaming and said, “Be polite and say nice things. If others say something unpleasant, we have to endure it; if they make any requests that aren’t too excessive, just agree to them.”

He said seriously, “Remember, only by calming the situation can our family have a future. Otherwise, if we get into a lawsuit, our family will be finished.”

“Yes, I understand,” Ye Hongsheng responded.

Ye Chongming ignored him and looked at Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming smiled at him, “Grandfather, don’t worry, I know what to do. But the families you’re visiting might be difficult to deal with. For those who are easier to talk to and kind-hearted, please assign more of them to us. That way, we can resolve everything in one day.”

Ye Chongming took the three new customers and a few difficult old customers.

Ye Chongming stroked his beard and said, “Alright.” He then assigned a few more to Ye Yaming and her father. One of them was a new customer that even Ding Jian didn’t know.

At first, Ye Chongming was extremely worried about his second son, as there was no suitable candidate, so he called him over. After all, he is the second master of the Ye family and can represent the family. Any shortcomings would be supplemented by Song Dequan. But now, with Ye Yaming around, he felt much more at ease with the father-daughter duo. If they couldn’t handle the new customer, he could visit them himself later. These people were to be dealt with first, while the old customers were left for later.

With Ye Yaming around, Song Dequan could stay at the tea shop, keeping an eye on Ding Jian and the two assistants. This way, they wouldn’t run off while everyone else was busy, causing trouble at the tea shop and further complications. Moreover, he was starting to feel uneasy about Song Dequan.

He stood up and said, “Let’s get moving.”

Ye Yaming put away the list and stopped him, “Grandfather, there’s one more thing. I feel that Meng Chengwei is trying to attack us from all sides while also showing goodwill, weakening our strength while gaining our favor. So I think he might have other plans.”

“Eldest Uncle is bringing back the tea funds from the capital and is probably on the way now. If Meng Chengwei’s plan fails, I’m worried that he might send people to pose as bandits and rob them. If the tea funds are lost, we won’t be able to reserve next year’s spring tea. Do you think we should hire bodyguards to escort Eldest Uncle and prevent any accidents?”

The original owner didn’t manage the family’s business but remembered that one year, Eldest Uncle was seriously injured and almost died, causing a taut atmosphere at home. Grandfather and Father would come home very late during that time. When she asked Father, he just told her not to worry about it.

Because the original owner’s memory of Uncle Ye Hongchang’s injury was vague, Ye Yaming didn’t think of it at first. But now, after what happened with Ye Hongrong, she felt that Ye Hongchang’s injury might have been from this trip to the capital to get the tea funds.

If the tea funds were robbed and Ye Hongchang was seriously injured, it would be a disaster for the Ye family. So, whether it’s this time or not, it’s always better to take precautions in advance.

Ye Chongming’s heart tightened. He hadn’t thought of this before.

No matter what, since Meng Chengwei was targeting the Ye family, they had to be prepared. The tea funds must not be lost; otherwise, even if they solved the current problem, the Ye family would still be in trouble.

“Alright, after I visit the two new tea customers, I’ll personally go to the security bureau and hire bodyguards to escort your eldest uncle,” he said.

At this point, he didn’t trust anyone except the Ye family. Ding Jian had been greatly favored by the Ye family but was still bribed by Meng Chengwei; he couldn’t entrust such an important task to Song Dequan. He had to go to the security bureau himself to feel at ease.

“Okay,” Ye Yaming felt a bit relieved.

…

The first place she and Ye Hongsheng went to was the residence of the new customer.

In Lin’an City, there was a large lake, and the wealthy families all lived on the north and south banks of the eastern side of the lake, facing the water.

Although the Ye family wasn’t particularly wealthy and couldn’t be considered noble, their ancestors had lived there for generations. Ye Chongming’s father had spent a large sum of money to buy their current house so they could be neighbors with the wealthy.

The new customer, Lu Guanyi, lived in a house not far east of the Ye residence.

The tea shop was located on Qinghe Street, not far from there. Ye Yaming and Ye Hongsheng took a carriage and arrived in just a short time.

Seeing the tightly closed red door of the house, Ye Hongsheng was both disappointed and anxious, “Why aren’t they home?”

In this era, households with servants didn’t usually close their doors but had servants guarding the gate. Servants entering and leaving would be questioned to prevent them from escaping; the master could come and go conveniently, and visitors would be announced, so they wouldn’t have to knock for a long time without a response.

So, seeing the Lu family’s door closed, Ye Hongsheng thought they might have gone on a long trip and weren’t in Lin’an City.

As a modern person, Ye Yaming didn’t think closing the door meant anything. She raised her chin and signaled to Li Fu, who was standing there in a daze, “Go knock on the door.”

Li Fu had the same thoughts as Ye Hongsheng. But since Ye Yaming ordered it, he didn’t dare disobey and quickly went to knock on the door.

After knocking a few times with no response, Li Fu was about to turn around and report to Ye Yaming when suddenly the door creaked open, and a round head popped out, “Who is it?”

Li Fu saw that the person was a chubby young servant, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a round head and big eyes. When he smiled, two dimples on his cheeks made him look very cheerful.

Li Fu quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and smiled, “Our master and miss are the owners of Jixiangfang. The other day, your master bought a few tea cakes from Jixiangfang. There was a problem with the tea. Our master and miss have come to apologize and retrieve the tea. Please inform your master.”

As he spoke, he handed over the visiting card.

In households that observed proper etiquette, they would first send a servant to deliver the visiting card. After the master received the card, the guest would visit at the agreed time. But the Ye family couldn’t afford to observe these formalities and had to be uninvited guests.

The chubby servant listened to Li Fu, glanced at the carriage, and saw a man in his thirties wearing a blue silk robe standing beside it, with a beautiful young lady next to him.

Seeing Ye Yaming, the smile on his face disappeared, his brows furrowed, and a trace of impatience flashed in his eyes. He looked down at the visiting card in his hand and then said to Li Fu, “Wait here.”

With that, he stepped back inside, slammed the door shut, and bolted it.

Not only Li Fu but everyone standing by the carriage was stunned.