Chapter 62

The interlude at the lantern festival on the Lantern Festival left Ye Yu feeling quite helpless when he returned. He never thought that a hairpin could have so many implications.

At the time, when he saw Ye Mingzhi competing in the lantern contest on stage, he had the urge to strike back. He was a man who clearly distinguished between kindness and enmity, and he had not forgotten the grudges from the past. He still vividly remembered the provocation on the day the dyeing workshop opened.

Therefore, for this long-standing enmity, he wanted to make Ye Mengxin and his son slowly pay for it, and the lantern contest was a good start.

Ye Yu had intended to participate in the contest, and when he saw Su Yueyun's fondness for the butterfly silver hairpin on the stage, it further fueled his desire to join the lantern festival.

When he saw Ye Mingzhi leave in anger, Ye Yu felt a long-lost sense of relief. Although he had not personally experienced the grudges of the past, since he had merged with this body, he should bear the past grievances.

Sitting in the carriage heading to Qingliu County, Ye Yu lifted the curtain and gazed at the passing scenery, ignoring the icy cold wind, and muttered to himself, "I will come back..."

After returning to Qingliu County, Ye Yu resumed his busy life. After two years of expansion, no one in Chuzhou's textile industry could threaten his progress.

Even the once powerful Pan family's textile business was gradually assimilated by Ye Yu! In the end, Old Master Pan Yue simply merged the Pan family's dyeing workshops into Ye Yu's business.

Ye Yu naturally accepted this with pleasure, as it was a trend, and it was also the reason why he had not hesitated to share the dyeing formula that day.

Because after his power grew, even if the Pan family had the dyeing formula, it could not reverse their decline.

Old Master Pan Yue had already seen this, and his silent sigh at the banquet that night was a prediction of today's outcome.

In the subsequent cooperation, he did not distance himself from Ye Yu but instead proactively proposed a partnership, as he saw Ye Yu's grand ambitions.

Pan Yue had been in business for many years, and he not only managed goods but also had a keen eye for people. He knew that if the two families continued to compete, it would be a heavy price for the Pan family in the future.

Because a frog at the bottom of a well can never stop a swan from flying to the sky. From the sincerity Ye Yu showed at the banquet that night, he believed that Ye Yu would not treat the Pan family unfairly.

And Ye Yu did not disappoint him. He showed great sincerity towards Pan Yue's generous offer, giving the Pan family a 30% share on the basis of his controlling stake.

Mutual benefit was what both parties wanted. After the incident of the grain price surge, Pan Yue stripped his eldest son, Pan Chengjun, of the authority to manage the grain business and handed it over to his second son, Pan Chengfeng.

Pan Chengfeng, who had been stripped of his authority, became a leisurely person in the Pan family and could no longer pose any threat to Ye Yu.

The production and sales of soap and shampoo also gained widespread recognition as they expanded. With multiple improvements and research, the single scent gradually diversified.

As the production increased, the originally expensive daily necessities gradually entered ordinary households. However, items still had different grades, and the most expensive soap and shampoo could cost several dozen taels of silver.

This price seemed high, but it was still in high demand, as these items gradually became a symbol of status and brand for officials and the wealthy.

Since these items were not like textiles, which had been around for a long time, the principle of rarity made them even more valuable. Therefore, shortly after the New Year, many forward-thinking merchants gathered in Qingliu County to seek opportunities to cooperate with Ye Yu.

The weaker merchants knew they could not win in the competition but sought agency rights in various counties and prefectures.

This effect was something Ye Yu had not anticipated, but since soap and shampoo could bring profits, he would not miss this great opportunity.

To rapidly expand the textile industry and achieve the five-year goal he had promised, promoting the development of soap and shampoo was also a very feasible method.

Therefore, Ye Yu did not resist the requests for cooperation. After all, he could not achieve comprehensive success alone, especially in a short time.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner, and Ye Yu was very pleased with the promising prospects. He knew that it might not be long before he became the richest man in Chuzhou, or even the entire Jianghuai region.

...

Stealing a half-day of leisure, Ye Yu lay quietly in a rocking chair, savoring the tea in his teapot.

The tea leaves in the teapot were the Dongting Biluochun that Guo Xiaotian had sent a few days ago. Although such tribute tea was no longer rare for Ye Yu, he still valued the sentiment of his friend.

When he learned that Li Ping'er was pregnant, Ye Yu couldn't help but admire Guo Xiaotian's prowess, as he had hit the mark so soon after their marriage.

When Guo Xiaotian returned to Yushan, he promised to visit Yushan to congratulate them when the child was born.

After more than half a year, Guo Xiaotian had gradually accepted the Li siblings, despite his initial aversion. Now that he was about to become a father, his face was filled with joy.

Ye Yu could see that Guo Xiaotian was gradually integrating into the family. With a stable family, Guo Xiaotian also indirectly became a bridge between him and Yushan, which was exactly what Ye Yu wanted to achieve.

Because dealing with bandits required caution, although he and Li Dayin seemed to have a mutual admiration, they had taken two completely different paths.

Therefore, before mutual trust was established, Ye Yu needed Guo Xiaotian as a buffer.

While Ye Yu was resting with his eyes closed, he suddenly heard a commotion outside the gate. He frowned and called the steward, Old Sun, to ask what was happening.

Old Sun, seeing his young master ask, was at a loss: "Young Master, there's a beggar who fainted outside the gate..."

"Old Sun, aren't my rules clear enough?"

Old Sun, seeing that Ye Yu was somewhat displeased, hurriedly explained: "Young Master, I've already had someone prepare food for him and given him some money, as you instructed. But this person refuses to leave!"

"Oh? Is he another lazy scoundrel?"

Since Ye Yu had started from nothing, whenever a beggar came to his door, he never let them leave empty-handed. Therefore, there were not a few lazy people who came to take advantage of his kindness.

"It's not that. After eating, this beggar started to boast..." Old Sun hesitated and did not continue.

Ye Yu sensed that there was more to the story and asked, "What did he say?"

"He said that you are a great philanthropist, but a philanthropist should taste the best tea. He said that the Dongting Biluochun you are drinking now is only of medium quality!"

"What!?" Ye Yu, hearing this, suddenly sat up from the rocking chair, his expression surprised. "Did he really say that?"

"Exactly! That's why there's a commotion outside, disturbing your peace! I'll drive him away..."

"Wait!" Ye Yu stopped Old Sun, who was about to leave, and then said with some excitement, "Bring him in!"

"Bring him in?" Old Sun was taken aback by Ye Yu's words, but seeing that his young master was not joking, he nodded and went out.

A moment later, Old Sun led in a young beggar, who was not very tall, with a sallow complexion and dirty, tattered clothes.

The young beggar was very polite and, without Old Sun's introduction, bowed and said respectfully, "Lu Fan thanks you for saving my life!"

Ye Yu sized up the beggar and nodded inwardly. He thought that this person was very polite and not at all拘束, indicating that he was not an ordinary beggar.

So he asked softly, "Doing good deeds is not the same as saving a life. You haven't entered the courtyard or tasted the tea. How can you say that this pot of tea is only of medium quality?"

"Lu Fan has a very sensitive sense of smell, especially for tea. When I smelled the tea from outside the courtyard, I knew it was Dongting Biluochun!"

"Even if your sense of smell is sensitive, how can you judge the quality of the Biluochun? After all, it has been a tribute tea since the previous dynasty!" Ye Yu picked up the teapot on the table and asked with interest.

Lu Fan replied solemnly, "Even tribute tea has different grades. If the production process is not precise, the taste of the tea will be very different!"

"Oh? According to you, why do you think the Biluochun in this pot is only of medium quality?"

"In the production process of tea cakes, there is a step of roasting over a fierce fire, followed by plunging into boiling water three times, and finally roasting over a gentle fire once. From my observation, the Biluochun in this pot has only been plunged into boiling water twice, and the subsequent roasting over a gentle fire was not done properly! Although your tea-making skills are excellent, the quality of the tea cake itself is not good, which is futile..."

Lu Fan spoke about the tea-making process with confidence, and his demeanor was at odds with his beggar's appearance.

After listening to Lu Fan's explanation, Ye Yu was stunned. He had not expected that this unremarkable beggar could analyze the details of tea-making based on just a whiff of tea.

This made Ye Yu think that the beggar was either a liar or a genius with deep knowledge of tea.

Clearly, Lu Fan was the latter, as Ye Yu also felt that the taste of the Biluochun was not top-notch when he tasted it.

Although Ye Yu was not an expert in tea, it did not mean he could not appreciate it. After Lu Fan's explanation, Ye Yu felt that he had met a master today.

After a long while, Ye Yu calmed down from his surprise and excitement and then asked solemnly, "It seems you are not a beggar!"