Chapter 18

In the study, a faint scent of sandalwood permeated the air.

Ye Zifan was now receiving a middle-aged man, who was Ye Xueshu: "This is the report on the three pine wood yards and the charcoal kilns for this year."

Ye Zifan squinted his eyes, took the document, and slowly read it. In this world, there was little discrimination against business, and many families, in addition to their traditional land and houses, controlled a certain amount of business.

Although the pine wood yards and charcoal kilns were not major sources of wealth, they still accumulated a considerable amount. As he read, he listened to Ye Xueshu's report. After Ye Xueshu finished, he glanced at Ye Zifan with some trepidation, but seeing no particular expression, he felt somewhat relieved.

These businesses were managed by Ye Xueshu, and they had earned 7,400 taels of silver in a year. While not a money tree, they could not be underestimated. After finishing the report, Ye Zifan asked calmly, "Liu Ji and Meng Ping have joined forces?"

"Yes, Liu Ji's charcoal kilns and Meng Ping's mule and horse business have joined forces, affecting the charcoal prices in the county..."

Before he could finish, Ye Zifan interrupted, "What do you plan to do next?"

Ye Xueshu looked at Ye Zifan in surprise. In his impression, Ye Zifan was quite skilled in business management, and such an interruption was rare. With some trepidation, Ye Xueshu replied, "Although the Liu family is not as influential as our Ye family, they still have some clout, making it difficult to remove them by other means. Perhaps we can negotiate and jointly control the charcoal prices."

Ye Zifan waved his hand, "Handle it yourself, and report back to me afterward."

With a look of surprise, Ye Xueshu was dismissed. After he left, Ye Zifan got up and went to the small hall.

It was nearly noon, and Ye Gushi was busy. Seeing her husband come in, she quickly instructed the kitchen to prepare the meal.

In a short while, the dishes were served. Ye Gushi noticed that Ye Zifan seemed somewhat restless. She ladled some soup for him and poured him some wine.

"Dear, how is Sheng'er doing?"

Hearing his wife's question, Ye Zifan's heart sank. He put down his chopsticks and, after a long pause, said, "As soon as Sheng'er returned, I had him rewrite his exam paper for me to review—things don't look good!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Gushi's heart sank, and she looked at her husband with pleading eyes.

"Sheng'er is my son, and I know him well. To be honest, his essays are neither poor nor excellent; they hover around the passing line. With good luck, he might pass; with bad luck, he might fail."

"Moreover, even if he passes, to maintain balance, it's difficult for two people from the same clan to pass in one exam. In reality, four people from our clan have registered, but only one can pass. I have some personal bias in this matter, but whether it will succeed is hard to say."

Hearing this, Ye Gushi looked up, her voice choking with sobs, "Sheng'er is not young anymore. If he doesn't pass this time, what will happen to him in the future?"

"What else can we do? He can only follow Min'er's example and buy some land and manage some business."

Seeing Ye Gushi's tears, Ye Zifan comforted her, "No matter what, Jing has already passed the child examination, so we still have some hope."

Ye Zifan had three sons: the eldest, Jing, had passed the child examination; the second, Min, had given up on his studies long ago; and the third, Sheng'er, was the one to watch this time.

Although comforted by her husband, Ye Gushi could not hold back her tears and said, "Dear, this is Sheng'er's lifelong matter. If he doesn't pass the child examination, his branch of the family will be demoted."

"The clan rules are like this, and there's nothing we can do. How can everything go as we wish?" Ye Zifan sighed, feeling that the situation was precarious, but he couldn't say that to his wife. As he was lost in thought, Ye Gushi sobbed, "I'm not being petty, but Qing, who is only fifteen, you said he is talented and has many opportunities. Why must he take Sheng'er's chance?"

Ye Zifan was speechless, put down his chopsticks, and got up to the front of the hall. Looking at the sky, he saw that it had turned overcast, with large clouds moving and fine rain falling. Ye Zifan stood on the steps, lost in thought.

At this moment, a person came in with a gust of wind. Seeing Ye Zifan lost in thought, he whispered, "Master, Master!"

"Hmm, hmm!" Ye Zifan's body trembled, and he came to his senses, asking, "What is it?"

"Hui is here to discuss something, in the side hall."

"Oh, why didn't you say so earlier? Let's go." Ye Zifan hurried over to the side hall, where he saw Ye Hui. Ye Zifan smiled, "Fifth Brother, why are you here?"

"There's a matter I can't decide on, and I want you to take a look." Although they were of the same generation and Ye Hui was older, they belonged to different branches of the family, so the term "Fifth Brother" was a formality. Ye Hui could not act superior and quickly bowed.

"Why did you come at this time, Fifth Brother?" Ye Zifan asked with a smile.

"It's about Ye Qing."

At this moment, a gust of wind blew, making the window paper bulge and then sink. The autumn rain fell with a rustling sound. In reality, Ye Zifan felt a bit annoyed upon hearing this. He composed himself, swallowed, and smiled helplessly, "The clan has covered up the murder, and he has taken the child examination. Now, he should be waiting for the results. What else could there be?"

Ye Hui, being very experienced, immediately understood that despite Ye Zifan's magnanimity, he could not help but feel resentment towards Ye Qing after these incidents. He sighed inwardly: Although Ye Qing's features vaguely resembled that person, he was no longer the same. While people are alive, relationships exist; when they die, everything is gone.

Well, this time, he would repay the favor to Ye Qing's father.

He then calmly and fairly explained the situation: "Qing is young and impulsive, and his actions were a bit excessive, but those household servants were also too much. They had no food for seven days and were still making things difficult. No wonder Qing said he wanted to sell the land out of frustration!"

Ye Zifan listened in silence. The rain outside grew heavier, pattering on the eaves. His expression was wooden, and after a long while, he exhaled and said, "Qing is too rash... The land is in his name, but it also ties him to the clan. If he sells the land, what does he want to do? Leave the clan?"

As he spoke, his voice carried a hint of anger, "If everyone follows his example and breaks down at the slightest provocation, what will happen to our Ye clan? Will we all disband?"

He became more agitated, took a few steps, and looked at Ye Hui, "Fifth Brother, I have to say, Qing is young and doesn't understand, but why did you get involved?"

At this point, Ye Zifan felt somewhat disheartened.

"It's not that I got involved; the matter needs to be resolved, right?" Ye Hui said with a bitter smile.

Ye Zifan stopped, thought for a moment, took out a piece of paper, and wrote something quickly. He then said, "This is nonsense, and I will scold him. Selling the land is not allowed, but he does have difficulties. Here, he can mortgage ten acres of land for 150 taels of silver. This 150 taels, plus his monthly allowance, should be enough for him to focus on his studies. The remaining 90 acres are not under his control yet. If he really wants to sell, he can do so after his coming-of-age ceremony."

"Also, regardless of whether he passes this time, he should focus on his studies and behave well. This is my final advice as an uncle."

As he spoke, Ye Zifan's voice carried a hint of sternness, showing that he was losing patience.

Ye Hui smiled bitterly, feeling that Ye Qing had gone too far, but did not say much more. He took the note and left.

Ye Hui went to the accounting office, did not sit down, and said, "This is the approval. Enter it into the accounts, and don't refuse. I will take the silver now."

The accountant said, "How can I refuse with Master Hui here? I will do it immediately!"

He then instructed a servant to bring out the silver.

The servant, who had likely heard about Ye Qing's situation, seemed unhappy. Although he obeyed, he placed the silver ingots heavily on the table.

One ingot even rolled around on the table. Ye Hui smiled bitterly and took it.

This was official silver, standard fine silver, with each small ingot weighing five taels. 150 taels was 30 ingots, exactly three bundles.

Ye Hui spoke for a while, took the silver, and sent someone to carry it to Ye Qing's courtyard.

As Ye Hui entered, he turned a corner and heard voices ahead. As he approached, he saw a woman shouting loudly and a maid angrily scolding her.

After listening for a few moments, Ye Hui immediately understood. His facial muscles twitched. The woman was Wu Tiesi's wife, who had come to curse and scold. The maid was from Ye Qing's room, named Qianqian. She was being forced to retreat but refused to open the door.

Ye Hui immediately stepped in, separating the two women. His presence intimidated the woman, but she soon began to wail and roll on the ground, shouting, "Heaven, look! My husband is dead, and they still bully us widows and children! Heaven, strike us all down!"

Ye Hui's face turned ashen, his eyes blazing with anger. He shouted, "Shut up! Your husband died in an accident, and the clan provided compensation. What more do you want? Cursing the clan is a grave offense. Don't bring disaster upon yourself!"

He composed himself and suppressed his anger, "Take her back!"

At this, a few servants who had been watching stepped forward and dragged her away. Hearing her cries fade into the distance, Ye Hui's anger subsided, and he looked helpless.

Despite the master-servant relationship, in real life, they were still people. This involved human emotions and could not be handled simply and brutally. He also felt that Ye Qing had indeed gone too far. Sighing, he entered the courtyard.

Ye Qing came to greet him. Ye Hui looked around and saw that the house was relatively clean, but there were few furnishings. He lifted the rice jar and found it nearly empty, with only a thin layer at the bottom.

Ye Hui had known Ye Qing's father well and admired his talent, thinking the clan would at least produce a scholar. However, fate was cruel, and he died young.

Although Ye Qing's reaction was somewhat extreme, given his dire circumstances, Ye Hui could not blame him. He sighed and said, "I never thought it would come to this. But you are not destined to remain poor. Do not let your difficulties lead you to rash actions!"

He then brought the silver back, returned most of the land deed, and explained the situation. Finally, he said earnestly, "Qing, you must not act like this again. It will cut off your future."

Ye Qing could only smile bitterly. If it weren't for the impending disaster, he would not have been so desperate.

But he could not say that, so he just nodded repeatedly.

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