Chapter 73: Meeting

After the discussion, the next day, Ye Chongming wrote a letter and sent a servant to deliver it to Lu Guanyi’s residence. The letter stated that he was willing to cooperate with Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji, but specific details needed further discussion. Additionally, he hoped to invite Master Zhineng as a mediator.

He sent the letter in the morning, and the servant returned shortly after with a reply from Lu Guanyi, saying that he would visit Jixiang Lou in the afternoon to meet Ye Chongming and discuss the details of the cooperation.

Ye Chongming immediately sent someone to inform Ye Yaming.

“Bring the rattan box with the tea utensils,” Ye Yaming instructed Bai Xin.

After Bai Xin brought it, Ye Yaming checked the tea utensils and added some items she needed. In her previous life, she had a similar rattan box that held her commonly used tea utensils, making it convenient to carry.

After returning from the mountain in this life, she drew some designs and had Nanny Xia find a porcelain kiln to make some tea utensils. She explained to the kiln owner through Nanny Xia that her young lady had a sudden whim to make some porcelain for fun.

The kiln owner had likely received many such orders from wealthy young ladies making small items for fun. He didn’t ask many questions and took the order.

However, because the order was small, the kiln owner needed to gather enough porcelain to fill a kiln, which took some time.

Before her last visit to Chongshan Temple, Ye Yaming had sent Nanny Xia to urge the kiln owner and added some money, finally getting the tea utensils she wanted.

Since money was not an issue, she chose the best kiln, and the tea utensils met her standards. However, she hadn’t used these tea utensils to make tea yet, so they hadn’t been shown to others.

Since Ye Yaming was involved in the negotiations, Ye Chongming brought Ye Jiaxing home for lunch. In the afternoon, the three of them went to Jixiang Lou together.

“Old Master Ye.”

“Brother Ye…”

In the short time it took to get from the carriage to the upstairs, they encountered two groups of people, all warmly greeting Ye Chongming.

Because of the osmanthus tea, Jixiang Lou was now packed with people. This new tea had suddenly appeared in the Ye family’s tea house, and tea lovers in Lin’an City were eager to taste it. With the limited quantity of osmanthus tea, it might sell out in a few days, attracting even those who were hesitant to come.

The Ye family had paid for next year’s spring tea as scheduled, and the launch of osmanthus tea caused a sensation, bringing in a lot of money. The rumors circulating in the city over the past two days naturally dissipated.

At this moment, Ye Chongming was once again the respected Old Master Ye. As for the young girl following him, the tea drinkers were also polite.

After waiting on the third floor for a while, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji arrived.

Seeing Ye Yaming present, both of them showed a hint of surprise.

After exchanging greetings and sitting down, Qi Ji asked, “Regarding the cooperation, what have you decided, Old Master Ye?”

Ye Chongming nodded, “I want to use half of the tea produced by the Ye family’s tea gardens, the existing tea recipes, and sixty thousand taels of silver to cooperate with you, taking a fifty percent share.”

Qi Ji felt a bit disappointed to hear that only half of the tea would be included. He knew Lu Guanyi’s situation. Although he was the eldest son of the Marquis’s family, he was in a difficult position at home because he blocked the path of his stepmother’s biological son. Fortunately, he had been close friends with the Crown Prince since childhood, and their similar situations made them sympathize with each other. If he died unexpectedly, the Crown Prince would investigate the cause. Therefore, his stepmother didn’t dare to harm him.

Feeling stifled at home, Lu Guanyi wanted to achieve something and help the Crown Prince ascend to power, which would give him a way out. So he came to Jiangnan under the guise of doing business. He chose tea because it was highly profitable and related to border trade and security.

Jiangnan tea had been famous since ancient times and was highly sought after by the nobility in the capital. With the Ye family’s reputation and tea-making methods, cooperating with the Ye family was their first choice. But now, the Ye family was only willing to provide half of the tea, significantly reducing the potential profits. Buying tea from other regions was uncertain. Lu Guanyi wanted to achieve something quickly, but it seemed difficult.

Feeling unwilling, Qi Ji asked, “If you include all the Jiangnan tea, taking a sixty-five percent share…”

“Ah-hem…” Lu Guanyi suddenly coughed, successfully interrupting Qi Ji.

Qi Ji looked at him.

Lu Guanyi said to Ye Chongming, “Alright. Let’s do as you suggested.”

He then asked, “When you say ‘existing,’ do you mean future tea recipes are not included?”

Qi Ji hadn’t noticed this wording before. Hearing it now, he frowned again.

Merchants had low status. Otherwise, Song Yifeng, a mere recommended candidate, wouldn’t have despised the Ye family so much. So facing Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji, Ye Chongming was always nervous, fearing they might react like Meng Chengwei and destroy the Ye family. Fortunately, he was old and steady, able to maintain his composure.

He nodded, “Yes. Creating new tea is very difficult, as you both know. As you are aware, a new tea can bring significant profits to tea merchants. The newly created osmanthus tea is my granddaughter’s contribution to the Ye family and a gesture of goodwill towards our partners. But we can’t keep taking advantage of a young girl.”

“So, any new tea recipes Yaming creates in the future should be purchased from her. The price will depend on the value of the tea recipe and whether it is exclusively licensed.”

This idea came to Ye Chongming after Yaming mentioned being blessed by divine spirits or ancestors. The term “exclusive license” was something Yaming mentioned earlier in the carriage.

Why would divine spirits or Ye family ancestors enlighten Yaming instead of her father or brothers? Besides her intelligence, it must be her deep blessings. Such a child should naturally stay in the family. And to keep her, they must offer her benefits. Expecting her to work hard without rewards while the main household takes most of the benefits was unacceptable.

Since Yaming had expressed dissatisfaction with the distribution of family property, if the Ye family couldn’t satisfy her, she could easily marry a man without family ties and take control. She could earn money for herself without involving the entire Ye family. So they had to offer enough benefits to keep Yaming in the family, working for the family’s interests.

In Ye Chongming’s eyes, the main and second households were the same, both his descendants. Initially, his eldest son and grandson were capable, while the other households couldn’t compare, so he favored the main household. The laws and customs also dictated that the main household inherited seventy percent of the family property, so he hadn’t considered favoring the second household.