Chapter 170
"It's already all under Pingping's name."
"How old is Pingping? Yet you put so many things under his name. Are you trying to work him to death? He is your own biological son." Ye Yunniang thought of Li Ping's recent illness and pounded Jiang Mingzhe hard.
"He is the son you bore for me. How could my heart not ache for him?" Jiang Mingzhe grasped Ye Yunniang's hand and gave it a light bite.
Hearing Jiang Mingzhe's words, Ye Yunniang felt that something was off.
She thought for a moment.
"Did you give everything to Pingping?"
Do Pan'er and An'an know?
Will they be unhappy about Jiang Mingzhe's differential treatment?
Will the brothers turn against each other?
The more Ye Yunniang thought about it, the more afraid she became, and she wanted to go talk to her sons.
Jiang Mingzhe pulled her back into his arms.
"What you are imagining won't happen." Before Jiang Mingzhe handed his businesses over to Li Ping, he had already communicated with Li Pan and Li An.
Li Pan decided to study and take the imperial examinations. If he failed, he would found an academy to teach and educate others. He had no interest in doing business.
As for Li An, because of the situation with his biological parents, he couldn't take the imperial examinations.
Before Li Ping came along, he felt he should learn to do business for the sake of the family.
Since Li Ping was willing to shoulder all of this, Li An naturally felt relieved.
Having taken a trip toward the frontier—even though he didn't quite make it all the way—Li An had still broadened his horizons considerably. He wanted to travel the world and taste all its culinary delights. He also had some other ideas, but it was better not to tell Ye Yunniang about them, lest she worry.
Given that what the two brothers wanted to do would burn through a lot of money, Jiang Mingzhe had the three brothers sign an agreement.
Li Pan and Li An were not to interfere with the family businesses.
Li Ping would have full authority, but he had to give his two older brothers dividends.
The amount of the dividends was negotiated among the three brothers themselves.
Before Li Pan and Li An made any contributions to the family, they would each get a ten percent dividend.
If the two achieved success in the future and brought power or benefits to the family, their share could be increased, but it could not exceed thirty percent.
"How much is ten percent?"
"This year, ten percent is 100,000." Jiang Mingzhe stated the number.
"You've already given it to them this year?"
"Yes, I gave it to them."
"How old are they? Why did you give them so much money?" Ye Yunniang worried that the children would spend it recklessly.
"I believe they won't spend it recklessly." Jiang Mingzhe felt that Ye Yunniang underestimated her own sons.
"They are my sons, how can I not worry?" Even if her children grew to be a hundred years old, as a mother, she would still worry about them.
"You should worry about me first."
"Worry about you for what?" Ye Yunniang didn't understand. Jiang Mingzhe was perfectly fine; what was there to worry about?
Jiang Mingzhe rested his chin on Ye Yunniang's shoulder. "I'm out of money. After Li Ping took power, he kicked me out. He said that men turn bad when they have money."
Pfft, Ye Yunniang burst into laughter.
"You're still laughing." Jiang Mingzhe lightly bit Ye Yunniang's neck.
"Ouch," Ye Yunniang cried out softly.
Jiang Mingzhe licked the spot. "I only have you now."
Hearing Jiang Mingzhe's pitiful words, Ye Yunniang waved her slender hand. "I'll support you."
She was going to open the Baise Embroidery Shop after the New Year and was still short a manager.
"Alright, from now on, I'll rely on my wife to support me." Jiang Mingzhe's eyes were filled with endless affection.
Ye Yunniang: ...Why did she feel like she had been tricked?
Hadn't she been tricked, indeed?
Using the excuse that Li Ping had seized power and he had no money, Jiang Mingzhe moved right in.
He would come during the day, leave in the evening, and come back again late at night.
Ye Yunniang was truly terrified of Jiang Mingzhe's persistence. Disregarding the fact that there were only six days left until the New Year, she opened the Baise Embroidery Shop.
She had originally thought of letting Jiang Mingzhe be the manager, but decided to forget it.
Zhou Lingling was very capable. She quickly got the hang of cleaning, moving goods, taking inventory, and entertaining customers in the embroidery shop.
Ye Yunniang only needed to be responsible for receiving embroidery pieces, collecting money, and keeping the books.
"Aunt," Zhou Lingling nudged Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang opened her eyes. "Hmm, what's wrong?"
"Aunt, why don't you go sleep in the backyard for a while?" There was a resting room behind the embroidery shop for temporary lodging.
"No need." Ye Yunniang shook her head and sat up straight.
After sitting for a while, she felt sleepy again.
"Aunt, I can handle it alone."
Ye Yunniang was genuinely tired. She yawned, "Alright, I'll go sleep for a bit."
Ye Yunniang went to the resting room in the backyard.
When she woke up, the sky was growing dark.
Ye Yunniang got up and went to the front shop.
Jiang Mingzhe was keeping the books.
"When did you get here? Where is Lingling?"
"It was time to get off work, so I let her go home first." Jiang Mingzhe poured a cup of tea and handed it to Ye Yunniang.
Ye Yunniang took it and took a sip, her mind clearing up.
"The work in the shop is tiring, let's close it for a while longer."
"Am I tired because of the shop's work?" Ye Yunniang glared at Jiang Mingzhe.
"It's my fault," Jiang Mingzhe admitted his mistake.
"Since you know you're wrong, go back and stay in your own courtyard tonight."
"No," Jiang Mingzhe refused to agree. "Wife, I promise to behave."
"You have absolutely no credibility with me." Ye Yunniang had heard Jiang Mingzhe's promises too many times; they were all nonsense.
"This time it's real." Jiang Mingzhe knew he had made Ye Yunniang work too hard recently.
"First, let Pingping come home."
At Ye Yunniang's request, Jiang Mingzhe went to see his youngest son, who was too busy to come home, to remind him to come home for the New Year.
Li Ping was listening to Wen Yuan's report on the quantity of goods brought back by the caravan returning from the frontier and the subsequent sales arrangements.
"There's no rush to sell the live sheep." Hearing about the live sheep, Li Ping thought of the roasted whole lamb that Wen Nuan made.
The taste was absolutely incredible.
Thinking that the Jinyu Mantang restaurant had already been taken back, Li Ping had an idea.
"Uncle Yuan, go find Aunt Wen Nuan, I have something to discuss with her."
"Yes." Wen Yuan replied and went to do it.
Previously, when Jiang Mingzhe said he was going to hand the businesses over to his youngest son to manage, Wen Yuan and a group of subordinates thought Jiang Mingzhe was crazy.
A six-year-old child who couldn't even recognize all the characters. How could he manage such huge businesses?
In less than three months, Li Ping demonstrated calculating abilities stronger than Jiang Mingzhe's, as well as a keen observational sense for business.
Wen Yuan was completely convinced and couldn't help but marvel that having such a master was his good fortune.
At the same time, he admired Jiang Mingzhe for being an accurate judge of character and being willing to let go.
Jiang Mingzhe knew about the changes in his subordinates' attitudes.
He was satisfied in his heart.
Jiang Mingzhe walked into the room.
"Come home tomorrow for the New Year."
Li Ping rolled his little eyes. Whose fault was it that he couldn't go back?
Li Ping never would have imagined that Jiang Mingzhe would be so cunning as to use checking the accounts as an excuse to hand the Yunhua Trading Firm over to him.
The Yunhua Trading Firm was a firm established by Jiang Mingzhe by integrating his private assets after the Jiang family was raided and their property confiscated.
The firm operated businesses in clothing, food, housing, and transportation.
As Li Ping's control over the Yunhua Trading Firm grew, he increasingly admired his biological father's ability to make money in his heart. At the same time, he hated Jiang Mingzhe for handing all the work over to him just so he could enjoy himself.
The more Li Ping thought about it, the angrier he got, and he decided to go home and complain to Ye Yunniang.
"As the owner of the trading firm, you cannot let people see your true joy or anger," Jiang Mingzhe reminded Li Ping to control his expressions well.
"I don't need to with you." Li Ping snorted. "The Yunhua Trading Firm is the Jiang family's property, handle it yourself."
Li Ping didn't want to take over; he wanted to stay by his mother's side.
"Your grandmother has already agreed to let me marry into the Li family. These properties all belong to the Li family." Once Jiang Mingzhe threw it out, he had no intention of ever taking it back.
"Have you no shame, exploiting child labor?"