Chapter 12: Lu Guanyi

The actions of the chubby servant were extremely rude. No household would treat guests like this.

Ye Hongsheng couldn’t help but think, “This matter might not end well.”

However, Ye Yaming didn’t think the servant’s attitude was due to the tea.

She observed carefully. When Li Fu mentioned the tea, the servant was still smiling. When Li Fu mentioned “miss,” and the servant saw her, his expression changed, showing a hint of impatience. Could someone who looked like her have done something annoying, and the servant mistook her for that person?

Ye Yaming searched her memory but couldn’t think of any sisters or relatives who looked like her. This body was a combination of the best features of Ye Hongsheng and Madam Yin. Not only did she not resemble her cousins or the Yin family’s cousins, but she also didn’t look much like her younger sister, Ye Yayin. The two only shared a pair of beautiful eyes. Their face shapes and features were different. Ye Yaming had inherited Ye Hongsheng’s oval face, while Ye Yayin had inherited Madam Yin’s round face.

Unable to find an answer, Ye Yaming decided not to dwell on it and waited to see what would happen next.

The servant didn’t say, “My master is not at home,” but took the visiting card and asked them to wait, indicating that the master was at home. However, the servant’s expression showed disgust, so the master might not see them.

After waiting for a while, the chubby servant came out and asked Ye Hongsheng, “Are you sure you’re just here to exchange the tea?”

Ye Hongsheng was stunned for a moment before replying, “Yes, besides exchanging the tea, we also came to apologize to your master.”

The servant glanced at Ye Yaming with the corner of his eye. Seeing her beautiful almond-shaped eyes looking at him without any expression, he immediately stepped aside and said, “Please come in.”

As they walked in, they saw the entire residence was lush with greenery. The pavilions, towers, ponds, and trees were all exquisitely designed.

Although the Ye family’s ancestral home was nice, it couldn’t compare to this culturally rich and meticulously designed garden. It seemed that this Lu Guanyi was not only wealthy but also had good taste. However, the large garden seemed sparsely populated. They only encountered a nanny and a servant along the way. The garden was so big and deserted that Ye Yaming thought it would be eerie and frightening after dark.

Before long, the chubby servant led them into the main hall, where a handsome young man stood up as they entered.

Ye Hongsheng, who didn’t like socializing, had to force himself to make small talk. He cupped his hands and smiled at Lu Guanyi, “You must be Mr. Lu. I am Ye Hongsheng.”

He introduced, “This is my daughter, Ye Yaming. We came today to apologize to you, Mr. Lu. A few days ago, the tea cakes sold to you by Jixiangfang had some issues, and we would like to exchange them.”

Li Fu and the accompanying servant quickly placed the silk and pastries on the table.

Lu Guanyi returned the greeting to Ye Hongsheng and said, “Please have a seat, Mr. Ye.”

He then invited Ye Yaming, “Please have a seat, Miss Ye.”

Although he said this, his gaze never lingered on Ye Yaming, as if deliberately ignoring her.

After Ye Hongsheng and Ye Yaming sat down, Lu Guanyi instructed the chubby servant, “An Tai, bring those tea cakes over for Mr. Ye.”

“Yes.” An Tai left and soon returned with the tea cakes.

The tea cakes sold by the Ye family’s tea shop and tea house were packed in a rectangular rattan box with a lid if more than ten cakes were purchased, perfectly fitting the tea cakes inside.

Ye Hongsheng stood up to receive the rattan box and personally inspected the tea cakes inside, finding one cake broken and some moldy tea mixed in. He looked up at Lu Guanyi.

Lu Guanyi didn’t avoid his gaze and smiled, “I was curious about why the tea needed to be returned, so I had the servant open it and take a look.”

Ye Hongsheng nodded without speaking, closed the rattan box, and seemed ready to stand up and leave.

Ye Yaming quickly spoke up, “I heard from the shopkeeper that Mr. Lu bought a lot of tea from Jixiangfang. Do you enjoy drinking tea? If we have new tea at Jixiangfang, would you like us to send some for you to taste? Just samples, not much. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to buy it.”

Perhaps because tea was sold officially, the amount of tea that could be bought from the tax office was not large, so tea merchants of this era only sold tea in tea shops and tea houses, not delivering it to customers’ homes.

Ye Yaming, having experienced modern tea sales, knew that due to fierce competition and the rise of e-commerce, selling tea in stores and waiting for customers to come was no longer feasible. For quality customers, they would send sample teas to their homes for tasting.

They could analyze data for online customers and send them samples they might like and could afford. If customers liked the samples, they would place an order, and when the tea was delivered, two more new samples would be included. Although competition in ancient times wasn’t as fierce as in modern times, it still existed, not only between tea merchants but also between tea merchants and official sellers. Why would quality customers buy from you and not from others? It was all about marketing strategies.

This Mr. Lu had recently bought various teas from Jixiangfang, ten cakes of each type of tea cake, and ten pounds each of loose tea, coarse tea, and tea dust. Although the money he spent wasn’t as much as long-time customers, the amount he spent in one go was impressive, making him a significant customer.

Regardless of why he bought the tea, it showed he had a desire to purchase tea. Therefore, keeping him as a customer at Jixiangfang was worth the effort.

Lu Guanyi cupped his hands to Ye Yaming, “Thank you for your generous offer, Miss Ye. However, I am often not at home, so please leave the tea with the gatekeeper.”

He then cupped his hands to Ye Hongsheng, “Thank you for your trouble today, Mr. Ye. Your tea tastes good. I heard it was made by you. You’re very talented.”

Hearing his tea praised, Ye Hongsheng smiled and modestly responded.

The chubby servant named An Tai glanced at Ye Yaming while Lu Guanyi was speaking to her, seemingly wanting to see her reaction.

Ye Yaming noticed him secretly observing her and suddenly realized why An Tai was somewhat hostile to their visit.

She discreetly observed Lu Guanyi.

This Mr. Lu had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, was quite handsome, and stood tall at about 1.8 meters. Although he looked young, his imposing presence and calm demeanor made it hard to guess his age, but he seemed to be under twenty.