Chapter 14: The Song Family

“Absolutely, absolutely.” Whether it was his own tea or his daughter’s, Ye Hongsheng was pleased to see it liked and praised by others.

After chatting briefly, the Ye father and daughter took their leave.

On the carriage, Ye Hongsheng glanced at his daughter. The two men they met today were outstanding, much better than Song Yifeng in his opinion. He was worried his daughter might have some thoughts.

Ye Yaming was deep in thought. Qi Ji and Lu Guanyi seemed to have a close relationship, possibly even relatives. Qi Ji liked tea and was knowledgeable about it, so why didn’t he recommend some teas to Lu Guanyi instead of letting him buy them randomly?

Before coming, she had looked into Lu Guanyi’s purchases at Jixiangfang. He bought all kinds of tea, ten cakes of each type, and ten pounds of each other type of tea. It was a balanced purchase with no preference.

What kind of person buys tea like this? Why did he buy so much tea? He couldn’t possibly be like modern inspectors, testing each type of tea from the Ye family, could he?

Feeling her father’s gaze, she voiced her doubts.

Ye Hongsheng also found it strange. Although he had been immersed in tea-making in recent years, staying at the tea factory and not going to the tea shop or tea house, he had spent time in those places when he was younger, learning about customers’ preferences and psychology.

People with financial means who liked good tea would only buy the best tea. They wouldn’t even touch middle or lower-grade tea. Even if they fell on hard times, they would buy less but still buy good tea, never settling for lower grades. Those who weren’t picky about tea, just drinking it to quench their thirst, or those with limited finances would only buy middle or lower-grade tea. Even if they occasionally had money, they wouldn’t buy the best tea because they knew that once they tasted good tea, the lower-grade tea would be hard to drink. Of course, some people were passionate about a particular type of tea.

In any case, there was no one like Lu Guanyi who bought all kinds of tea without preference. This Mr. Lu’s intentions were truly puzzling.

“Don’t worry about him. It doesn’t affect us. From his attitude, he doesn’t mean us any harm. He seems distant but is actually kind. As for why he buys so much tea and all kinds of tea, let’s not worry about it,” he said casually.

Ye Yaming nodded and put the matter aside as they approached the next house.

They visited several more houses.

Tea cakes were expensive, and those who could afford them were financially well-off, so most customers lived in this area, with only a few living elsewhere, saving them from running back and forth.

Although Ye Hongsheng was somewhat taciturn, he grew up in a merchant family and had been doing business with Ye Chongming since he was a teenager. He could still hold a conversation, but after a few sentences, he would run out of things to say, leading to awkward silences.

At such times, Ye Yaming would step in, smoothing things over and helping Ye Hongsheng fill in the gaps, making the situation less awkward. She would also make things clear: after accepting the Ye family’s compensation, they hoped the other party wouldn’t pursue the matter further or spread rumors.

Meng Chengwei dug this pit for the Ye family, intending to be their savior, not to truly destroy them and attract a pack of wolves. These tea customers were carefully selected by him and Ding Jian and were not unreasonable people. Moreover, buying private tea from the Ye family would get them into trouble with the authorities, not just the Ye family. After all, trading private tea was illegal. Furthermore, they bought private tea because it was cheap and tasted good. If it weren’t for the mold, they would have regretted not buying more.

Now, the silk the Ye family compensated them with was worth several times more than the moldy tea cakes, and their attitude was very sincere. Naturally, the customers wouldn’t make things difficult and returned the private tea to the Ye family, promising not to pursue the matter further or spread rumors. Thus, before dinner time, the father and daughter had visited all the assigned households and successfully retrieved the problematic private tea.

As they left the last house, Ye Hongsheng asked Ye Yaming, “Do you want to visit the Song family?”

“Huh?” Ye Yaming was stunned.

Seeing Ye Hongsheng’s gaze in a certain direction, with a hint of displeasure on his face, she followed his gaze and looked over.

There, a woman in her thirties was standing in front of a door, smiling and talking to an older woman in her fifties. Due to the distance of about ten meters and the bustling street, Ye Yaming couldn’t hear what they were saying.

Searching through the original owner’s memories, she realized that the woman was Song Yifeng’s widowed mother, Madam Yu.

Behind Madam Yu was the Song family’s newly purchased two-entry house.

She hadn’t expected that the last household, which had only bought two tea cakes, was a neighbor of the Song family. She frowned and was about to call Ye Hongsheng to get on the carriage when Madam Yu turned her face and made eye contact with Ye Yaming.

Madam Yu’s face suddenly lit up with a big smile, and she quickly walked over, first bowing to Ye Hongsheng and calling out, “In-law.”

Then she warmly took Ye Yaming’s hand and said, “Ming’er, it’s been a long time since I saw you. When did you come back from the mountain? Why haven’t you come to visit? How’s your health? Feeling better?”

She glanced at Ye Hongsheng and smiled, “Are you here to visit me? Come in and sit. Xiao Feng will be back from school soon.”

“Ah, no,” Ye Yaming withdrew her hand from Madam Yu’s and smiled, “My father and I came out to buy some things and are heading back soon. I’ll visit you another day.”

Since the original engagement, the original owner had kept Song Yifeng in her heart. Using his busy studies and Madam Yu’s lack of care as an excuse, she would visit Madam Yu every three to five days, bringing various meats, vegetables, and snacks.

The original owner received one or two taels of silver as monthly allowance, which she spent almost entirely on the Song family. Apart from buying some vegetables, the Song family received all their meat, fruit, and snacks from the original owner. During holidays, the original owner would also make clothes for Madam Yu and Song Yifeng.

Of course, these were additional expenses. The Ye family funded Song Yifeng’s education, providing him with two hundred taels of silver annually for basic living expenses. If he participated in activities like the imperial examination, poetry gatherings, or study trips, the Ye family would give extra money. Annually, they spent three to four hundred taels on him.

The Song family’s two-entry courtyard house with over ten rooms and a well in a good location cost only eight hundred taels of silver. This house was bought after Song Yifeng passed the imperial examination, and the Ye family gave him a red envelope of six hundred taels to congratulate him.