Chapter 21: Knocking

She glanced at Ye Hongsheng: “You can send my father or someone else. But in this situation, it’s hard to say who can be trusted and who can’t.”

“Moreover,” she said seriously, looking at Ye Chongming, “Once these chrysanthemums sell well, others will definitely buy them too. The supply is already limited. If everyone competes, we won’t be able to get them, and even if we do, it won’t be at the original price.”

“So I think the source of these chrysanthemums needs to be kept secret. My father has a keen tongue and can select the best chrysanthemums. He’s also family, so there’s no trust issue. It’s best if he goes.”

Ye Chongming’s gaze towards Ye Yaming grew brighter, and his regret deepened.

Understanding how to make choices, knowing priorities, thinking thoroughly, deeply, and comprehensively. Most importantly, she is only fifteen years old. If she trains by his side for a few years, and if she were a boy, the Ye family would prosper for several generations without any issues.

“Alright, let’s do as you say,” he said.

He originally planned to have Ye Hongsheng stay at home and work on osmanthus tea with Ye Yaming. Instead of relying on the uncertain existence of chrysanthemums, he thought osmanthus tea was more reliable. Moreover, Ye Hongsheng had always been the one making tea for the Ye family.

But after hearing Ye Yaming’s words, he decided to let Ye Hongsheng go to Tongxiang. After all, it’s not far, and if he can’t find it, he can return in two or three days.

Ye Hongchang was not at home, and Ye Jiaxing was injured. The only one left was Ye Hongrong, who was more likely to cause trouble than help the family.

He had to stay in Lin’an. Moreover, he was too conspicuous, and if he left Lin’an City, it would definitely attract Meng Chengwei’s attention.

Ye Hongsheng was different. He used to stay in the tea factory for several days. Not showing up for a few days wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention.

As for Ye Yaming, a girl who had already caught Meng Chengwei’s eye, it was impossible to send her out. If she were kidnapped and humiliated by Meng Chengwei, the Ye family would be at his mercy.

So the only one who could be sent to Tongxiang was Ye Hongsheng.

“How do you plan to make the osmanthus tea?” he asked Ye Yaming again. “You need to collect a lot of osmanthus flowers, right? Whatever you need, just tell me, and I’ll arrange it.”

Ye Yaming shook her head. “We have two osmanthus trees in our second house. Tomorrow morning, I’ll have the maids shake down the flowers. You can send a few pounds of loose tea, and I’ll experiment at home first. Once I succeed, you can taste it, and if you like it, we can collect osmanthus flowers in the city and produce it in large quantities.”

Her approach won Ye Chongming’s approval.

A good idea can be very valuable. The idea of adding flowers to tea was a golden idea. If Ye Yaming went to the tea factory to make tea and the news leaked, others might produce it first, causing a significant loss to the Ye family.

It’s better to do it quietly at home.

Ye Chongming was now like a startled bird, unable to trust his subordinates.

“I’ll give the orders later. Everyone in the family will follow your instructions. I’ll also have your grandmother manage the household staff to ensure they don’t disturb you in your courtyard,” he said.

Ye Yaming shook her head. “No need to make such a big fuss. I’ll first make some with the maids in my courtyard for you to taste. If it succeeds, we can talk about large-scale production.”

“Alright.”

The next morning, Ye Hongsheng quietly left for Tongxiang with two trusted attendants.

Although the Ye family was not a noble or official family, they had their rules. Every morning, everyone had to go to the main courtyard to pay their respects. Men could skip if they had matters to attend to, but women and children had to go.

According to Ye Chongming, the family was busy, the house was large, and the courtyards were separated by some distance. If they didn’t come to the main courtyard to pay their respects, some people wouldn’t see each other for a month. How was that different from being strangers?

Coming to the main courtyard in the morning to pay respects, have breakfast together, chat, and talk about family and business matters helped strengthen relationships. If he and the old lady had any instructions, they could communicate directly without sending servants to convey messages.

After breakfast, the adults would go about their work, the children would study, and the women would return to their courtyards or chat with the old lady.

The elderly were not strict with the children. Although they got up early, the time for paying respects and having breakfast was equivalent to around seven in the morning in modern times. In this ancient era of early to bed and early to rise, it wasn’t considered early. Additionally, in rainy or snowy weather, there was no need to pay respects.

Ye Yaming, being a disciplined person in modern times and the head of a company, agreed with Ye Chongming’s approach.

In a family with strong values and shared economic interests, team cohesion was crucial and could determine the family’s survival in critical moments.

Ye Hongsheng left early in the morning and didn’t have breakfast with everyone, but no one suspected anything. The men had their own matters to attend to.

Ye Yaming went to pay her respects and had breakfast with everyone.

Although they had breakfast together, men and women were separated by a screen.

The Ye family didn’t have many male members. Initially, with the three Ye brothers and Ye Jiaxing, it didn’t seem like much; but now, with the eldest and second Ye brothers absent, Ye Jiaxing injured, and Ye Hongrong beaten and bedridden, the men’s table only had Ye Chongming and two little boys from the fourth house—seven-year-old Ye Jiarui and half-year-old Ye Jianing.

Looking at the cold and empty table, the crying Ye Jianing in the nurse’s arms, and listening to the lively chatter on the other side of the screen, Ye Chongming sighed.

After the meal, Old Madam Ye asked Ye Yaming, “Ming’er, I heard from your grandfather that you want to make osmanthus honey?”

Ye Yaming nodded. “Yes, grandmother.”

Old Madam Ye looked around and said to the daughters-in-law of each house, “If Ming’er needs osmanthus flowers, have the maids pick them for her. She’ll instruct them on how to pick.”

She then smiled at Ye Yaming. “Ming’er helped the family a lot yesterday, following her father to various tea customers, apologizing and making amends. It was very hard. Your grandfather has instructed that if you want to make osmanthus honey, feel free to use the family’s resources. Not just today, but tomorrow and the day after, you can use them as you wish.”

She winked at Ye Yaming and then looked around, finally fixing her gaze on the fourth wife, Madam Zhang. “If anyone has any complaints, come to me, and I’ll support Ming’er.”

Madam Zhang, seeing the old lady staring at her, couldn’t help but look displeased. She indeed didn’t think much of the second house. But now, with Ye Hongrong in trouble, the fourth house was out of favor. She was already keeping a low profile, so how could she mock Ye Yaming? She wasn’t foolish!