Chapter 72: Divine Inspiration

New types of tea are not like cabbages that can be created easily. Haven’t people been drinking tea for so long and only developed a few methods of making tea?

Therefore, he only considered the existing tea recipes and did not take future innovations into account.

“How about we bring this up when you create a new type of tea?” he suggested tactfully.

If we bring it up and then can’t create new tea, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?

Ye Chongming was also worried about his granddaughter.

Ye Yaming turned to Nanny Yu and Bai Xin and said, “You both go out.”

Since Ye Chongming and Ye Yaming were discussing important matters, Old Madam Ye had already set a rule for the servants in the main courtyard: when the old master, the eldest master, or the third young lady were present, only Nanny Yu could stay, and everyone else had to leave.

So, the other servants had already left early and stayed away from the hall. Now that Ye Yaming even asked Nanny Yu and Bai Xin to leave, Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye became serious and looked at Ye Yaming intently.

Ye Yaming couldn’t help but laugh, “Are you two thinking that I’ve created a new type of tea?”

“Isn’t that the case?” Ye Chongming felt a bit disappointed when he heard her question.

“Although I haven’t yet, it’s not far off,” Ye Yaming said.

She put on a serious expression and said, “Grandfather, Grandmother, do you believe in the existence of divine spirits?”

The two were stunned again.

Old Madam Ye said, “Of course we do.” She often went to the temple to burn incense and donate money, praying for the gods and Buddha to bless the Ye family with peace and safety.

Ye Chongming also nodded.

Ye Yaming said, “Didn’t I fall ill some time ago? When I was feverish and delirious, I vaguely heard someone whispering in my ear, talking about their understanding of tea. When I woke up, these words were still firmly in my mind, not like a dream at all.”

Both Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye widened their eyes.

“And recently, I’ve had related dreams,” Ye Yaming continued. “The creation of osmanthus tea was taught to me by that person.”

“So that’s how it is,” Ye Chongming suddenly realized.

When he was young, he had tried to create new tea, but all his attempts failed. Ye Hongchang and Ye Hongsheng were the same. Except for Ye Hongsheng, who was obsessed with it and still young enough to try, the others gradually realized the reality and stopped dreaming of such impractical things.

So, Ye Chongming knew how difficult it was to create new tea.

But Ye Yaming had never made tea before and suddenly claimed to have inspiration. Turning inspiration into reality required countless attempts. Yet she seemed to know the correct method and succeeded in one go. Moreover, she made hundreds of catties of tea without a single failure, which was quite unusual.

Naturally, Ye Chongming didn’t want to doubt his granddaughter.

Parents always have a thick filter for their children. When their children perform exceptionally well, they accept it gladly, thinking, ‘My child has always been this excellent.’ Even if they have doubts, they ignore them, believing it to be divine blessing or good fortune.

But occasionally, they still have doubts.

Now, with Ye Yaming’s explanation, both Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye suddenly understood. It was indeed a divine blessing or good fortune.

Ye Chongming even asked, “Was the voice male or female?”

“Male,” Ye Yaming replied.

Ye Chongming slapped the armrest, “That must be it. It must be your great-grandfather or great-great-grandfather’s spirit guiding you.”

Old Madam Ye had a deeper understanding, “It must be because Yaming has the highest comprehension and spirituality, so the Ye family ancestors came to enlighten her.”

Ye Chongming nodded in agreement, “Definitely.”

Ye Yaming: “…”

She knew that the two elders would gladly accept it as long as she said this. After all, there was no compulsory education or core socialist values at this time, and people were generally superstitious. They would undoubtedly believe her explanation. She told this lie not only to cover up previous matters but also to pave the way for future ones.

Previously, the Ye family had no power or backing, so she had to consider whether to reveal various types of tea. Now, with the cooperation with Lu Guanyi and the support of Master Zhineng, she believed it would be entirely feasible to introduce stir-fried green tea and some tea utensils next spring.

As for other types of tea, it would depend on Lu Guanyi’s character and the strength of his backing. If he was indeed backed by the Crown Prince, who had good character, strong ability, and a stable position, she could fully establish a career in the Great Jin.

Yes, the ambitious President Ye was already planning her career in the Great Jin. Even if there was a risk of getting involved in the fight for the throne, she was eager to try.

After coming to his senses, Ye Chongming was overjoyed, “So, you might be able to create other types of tea?”

Ye Yaming nodded, “I already have some ideas. But without fresh tea leaves, I can’t experiment. When spring comes and we have fresh tea leaves, I believe I can successfully create this tea.”

Ye Yaming’s confident demeanor filled Ye Chongming with confidence in her, and he repeatedly said, “Good, good, good.”

“But in the meantime, we can start making tea utensils,” Ye Yaming said.

She playfully winked at Ye Chongming, “It can serve as an explanation for our cooperation and a demonstration of our abilities.”

“That’s great,” Ye Chongming clapped his hands.

If they didn’t use all their existing tea gardens and raw tea leaves for investment and only relied on their original tea-making skills, the Ye family might be fine at the beginning of the cooperation, but they would become weaker over time. After all, in the future, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji will be more involved in dealing with officials and tea merchants, and the Ye family will lack follow-up strength and have no voice. But if they continuously introduced new tea utensils and created new teas, it would be completely different. They might even become the leading force.

“Then you will come with me to discuss the partnership with Mr. Lu,” he said.

He revealed a sly smile, “I want to ask Master Zhineng to be the mediator. I wonder if that will work.”

He had a little plan, worried that Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji’s status might not be enough to suppress Meng Chengwei. He wanted to borrow the power of Master Zhineng and suggested to Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji to have Master Zhineng as the mediator.

Moreover, in future cooperation with Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji, Ye Yaming would definitely be involved. He hoped that Master Zhineng and Lu Guanyi would first see Ye Yaming’s abilities. This way, they would respect her and not see her as a shallow girl trying to get close to them for marriage.

So he wanted Ye Yaming to not only have the reputation of creating osmanthus tea but also to showcase her tea-making skills in front of Master Zhineng.

In this regard, his thoughts aligned with Ye Yaming’s.