Chapter 17

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, people still cherished the festive atmosphere. However, Ye Yu was busy transporting the hundreds of bolts of dyed cloth to the neighboring counties.

When the patriarch of the Pan family, Pan Yue, understood Ye Yu's true intentions, it was already too late. However, the Pan family did not seem to be overly concerned and allowed Ye Yu's new cloth to flow into various fabric shops.

In the main hall of the Pan family's mansion, the lights were bright. An elderly man sat in the main seat; this was the patriarch of the Pan family, Pan Yue.

Pan Yue, who was over sixty years old, had white hair and sunken eyes. He held a pear wood cane in his hands and remained silent, quietly observing the two middle-aged men in the hall.

"Father, why do you take that young man to heart? Can a small workshop like his really compete with our family's fabric business?" The man speaking was the eldest son, Pan Chengjun, who was slightly overweight and stood on the left side.

The middle-aged man on the right side, with slightly darker skin, was lean but energetic. He was the second son, Pan Chengfeng, who also chimed in, "Father, with the eldest brother managing our family's fabric business, who in the four counties of Chuzhou can shake our position?"

Pan Yue remained silent for a long time, his white beard trembling slightly. Finally, he lightly tapped the ground with his pear wood cane, making a crisp sound: "I never thought he would cause any trouble. With you two managing the fabric and grain businesses, how could I not be at ease?"

After saying this, Pan Yue coughed lightly: "In the four counties of Chuzhou and the eighteen shops, more than half of the fabric supply comes from our family's dyeing workshop!

Our family's fabric is a symbol of trust and quality! Even if Ye Yu uses a strategy to secretly sell his fabric, he forgets one thing: even if he has a market, it's up to the people whether they buy it or not!"

"Father is right. Our family's fabric and silk have been trusted for over a decade, and this trust and quality are unmatched by small dyeing workshops. Ye Yu's fate will be the same as those who tried to compete with our family in the past!"

Pan Yue, seeing his eldest son Pan Chengjun's arrogance, pointed to the two pieces of fabric on the table and sighed, "Although that's true, Chengjun, you can see that our family's fabric, which we have managed for over a decade, is not as good as that of a young, inexperienced boy! Chengjun, shouldn't you reflect on this?"

"Ah... Father, you are right..."

Pan Chengjun, who had been confident just a moment ago, suddenly looked much more somber. He glanced at the two pieces of fabric on the table, feeling a sense of helplessness.

He had been in the dyeing industry for over a decade, and as his father said, if you looked closely, the fabric he dyed was indeed not as good as Ye Yu's.

Moreover, the most important point was that the fabric dyed by the Pan family would start to fade after ten washes, but Ye Yu's fabric would not fade even after twenty washes.

This made the Pan family's pride in their non-fading technology seem inferior, which was hard for him to accept.

"Chengjun, if we lose a business, we can start again. If we lose a family business, we can earn it back. I don't take Ye Yu seriously, but if he has the formula for dyeing, and if he gets an opportunity in the future, one formula could be worth a fortune! At that time, our family's business of over a decade might be ruined!"

Pan Chengjun deeply agreed with his father. The reason their family's fabric business was the leader in Chuzhou was because of their non-fading technology.

This technology could make someone start from nothing and become wealthy. Now, the people trusted their family's fabric because of the trust built over a decade, but what about the future?

Pan Chengfeng, standing beside him, showed a look of disdain and then sneered, "Since Father is worried, why don't I take the formula and make it our family's property? Then Father can rest easy!"

"Put away your thoughts of force and theft. Our family is a merchant, not a thief!"

Pan Yue glared at Pan Chengfeng and then said to his eldest son Pan Chengjun, "Let's wait and see. When that young man is in a difficult situation, you go and talk to him! Whatever price he asks, as long as it's not too excessive, agree to it!"

"Yes! I will remember that!"

...

At this moment, Ye Yu, after learning about the sales situation in various places, was frowning deeply. As Pan Yue had said, the fabric was delivered on time, but it was very difficult to sell in the various fabric shops.

Whether it was the gentry, officials, or common people, their first choice was still the Pan family's fabric. Ye Yu's fabric could only be displayed on the shelves, cold and lonely...

At this moment, Ye Yu realized that doing business was not as simple as it seemed. Initially, he thought that as long as the fabric was of good quality and the price was low, it would sell well. But now, he realized that he needed to learn more about the business.

In a month, many shops and fabric stores had requested returns, and Ye Yu had to take the fabric back. Faced with these setbacks, Ye Yu felt he needed to come up with an emergency plan.

Therefore, he chose a quiet room in the Tianxiang Wine House. Today, he was going to meet someone.

Ye Yu sat quietly in the room. As the sound of footsteps on the stairs approached, he knew his guest had arrived. The door was gently opened, and a black-clad old man walked in.

Ye Yu smiled and greeted the man with a bow, "Mr. Liu, how have you been recently?" The man was the county magistrate of Qingliu County, Liu Yuanshan, but today he was dressed in black casual clothes.

"Thanks to you, I'm still in good health..." Liu Yuanshan responded coldly.

"Please, come in!"

Liu Yuanshan sat down and glanced at the food and wine on the table, frowning slightly, "Ye Yu, is this how you entertain an official?"

A plate of fennel beans, two pots of yellow wine, and that was all on the table!

"Mr. Liu, don't joke with me. Who in the county doesn't know that you are a clean and upright official who hates taking bribes and drinking? If I served you luxurious dishes, wouldn't that be self-defeating?"

Liu Yuanshan nodded, thinking that the young man was indeed sensible. However, he didn't want to let Ye Yu off easily today, so he said, "I know your style, but this is too meager. Is this how you treat guests?"

Ye Yu laughed heartily and then said seriously, "These fennel beans and yellow wine are a specialty of Shaoxing, and it's hard to find them in this county. As the saying goes, 'Ten beans with yellow wine, the aftertaste is endless!' Mr. Liu, don't test me anymore!"

"Then let's get straight to the point. What do you want to talk about today?" Liu Yuanshan, seeing that he couldn't stump Ye Yu with words, lost his patience. He was always straightforward and didn't like beating around the bush.

"Today, I specially invited Mr. Liu because I have a request..." Ye Yu, seeing Liu Yuanshan's straightforwardness, didn't want to beat around the bush either and was about to state his request.

But before he could finish, Liu Yuanshan interrupted, "I came here because of your help last time. As for your request, I'm afraid I can't help you!"

Ye Yu, blocked by Liu Yuanshan, felt that the old man was too unfeeling. He hadn't even finished his sentence, and Liu Yuanshan had already closed the door, truly a stubborn old man.

"You have a prejudice against me, and I won't argue about it. But before I even state my request, you reject it. Isn't that too unfeeling?"

Even a clay statue has a bit of temper. Not long ago, Liu Yuanshan had mocked him in the market, but he hadn't taken it to heart. Now, not even giving him a chance to speak, Ye Yu's face turned dark.

"Hmph! I've always been like this. Coming here today is already giving you face. Since I'm here, I won't break my promise. Goodbye!"

Liu Yuanshan didn't back down and stood up to leave.

Seeing this, Ye Yu poured himself a cup of yellow wine, his demeanor changing from humble to slightly displeased, and said teasingly, "I once heard Mr. Liu say, 'If I could manage the livelihood of a region, I would ensure that the people have enough food and clothing.' Now, as the county magistrate, you have achieved the first part of your wish, but have you achieved the second part?"

Although his words were calm and weak, they had a profound effect on Liu Yuanshan, stopping him in his tracks. Liu Yuanshan slowly turned around, his face full of anger, and growled, "What do you know, a young boy? Is it easy to achieve that?"

"Not necessarily. If Mr. Liu agrees to my request, I can guarantee that by the end of your term, every person in Qingliu County will have clothes to wear."

"Really?"

Ye Yu didn't directly answer Liu Yuanshan's question but said to himself, "According to my knowledge, the official price for a bolt of cloth is twenty-five coins. But the local price, set by private merchants, is thirty-five coins. At such a high price, how can everyone afford it?"

Hearing Ye Yu's logical argument, Liu Yuanshan took a step back and sat down again, saying helplessly, "There are many checkpoints and taxes, and merchants intentionally raise prices, which keeps the price of cloth high. I have thought of some ways, but my position is too low, and I can't get my voice heard..."

"I have a method. In as little as three years, or as long as five, I can control the price of cloth to fifteen coins. Then, everyone in the country will have warm clothing, but..."

"What's the catch?"

Ye Yu's words immediately piqued Liu Yuanshan's interest. A price ten coins lower than the official price was indeed hard to believe.

Despite his surprise, he still had doubts, as in his eyes, Ye Yu was just a young, inexperienced boy. The truth of his words was questionable.

Seeing Liu Yuanshan's doubt, Ye Yu took out a stack of papers from his sleeve and handed them to Liu Yuanshan, "Mr. Liu, everything is here. I trust you, so I am sharing this with you without reservation!"

Liu Yuanshan took the papers with doubt, glanced at them casually, but then couldn't look away. As he flipped through the pages faster, his expression became a mix of surprise and joy.