Outside the Ye clan manor, the people who gathered started to comment on the situation.
“How long have we been waiting for? Why isn’t the Ye clan opening the doors?”
“Yeah. It seems like instead of having the noble air of a great clan, they have the bad temperament of a great clan. From I can see, we should go find the Wang clan and the Liu clan.
“Hold on. Look. The door is opening……”
When everyone saw the door open, they hurriedly went inside. They had been waiting for the entire morning. It’s about time that they’re let in.
However, the person who came out of the doors was not Ye CHongtian, who they had expected. More than that, it wasn’t the housekeeper or a servant either. It was an elegant looking young man.
He was wearing a dark golden and purple robe with a white jade sash. He had the air of a great noble that caused everyone to be startled.
“Ye Zifeng? Why are you here?” Someone recognized them and called out.
“So someone from the Ye clan is finally here. We’ve been waiting for the entire morning. What’s going on? Give us an explanation!”
“That’s right Ye Zifeng. Don’t think that because your Ye clan won the Heavenly Clan Gathering, that you can look down on smaller families like our’s. Without our support, we’ll see how you can match up to the Wang clan and the Liu clan!”
Ye Zifeng smiled. Before he could even speak, he was showered with comments. From this he can see that these people were all getting angry from waiting for so long. No matter how Ye Zifeng tried to explain the situation, he’ll definitely still be yelled at.
If he can’t explain the situation, then he shouldn’t explain to them at all!
“My father have sent his words. The first ten clan who supports our Ye clan will get priority when discussing about the business channels in Leizhou City. Not opening the doors in the morning was a test. We want to see if any clan would have our Ye clan’s back in this kind of chaotic situation.
Everyone became speechless. They all started to calm down after hearing this.
No matter what world they were in, having a good impression was the most important thing. Ye Zifeng didn’t arrogantly reply to them nor flatteringly apologized to them. Instead, he went straight to the point and talked about thing thing that everyone here cared about: the business channel distribution! This captured all the elder’s attention very quickly.
After that, he talked about how the situation was a test which explained the reason why the Ye clan didn’t open the door. With such a reason, the anger in these people’s heart disappeared.
Right now, the entire area was silent. Ye Zifeng glanced at everyone that was present. He knew that this was a good chance for him to go on the offensive.
To get their attention and soothe their anger was the first step. Next, he had to put out the bargaining chips.
“I, Ye Zifeng, will represent the Ye clan and make a declaration. The first ten clans who supports the Ye clan will reap more benefits than other clans. They will be awarded one percent of the business channels in Tiandao City.
“One whole percent?”
When Ye Zifeng said that, everyone was shocked and gasped.
This one percent doesn’t sound like much but to the vast amount of business that goes on, this one percent can represent a small clan’s entire fortune. This kind of special treatment cannot be overlooked by a small clan. To a small clan, this was a great chance for them to rise in power.
“Nonsense. This is simply preposterous.”
In the group of people, a middle age man started to yell, “My Liu clan and Ye clan have always been very friendly. Why would you give this one percent to someone else? I don’t agree. Call you father out!”
(TL: This is a different Liu clan.)
Ye Zifeng coldly smiled, “If your Liu clan have always been intimate with our Ye clan, then why didn’t you come out and say anything for us when the other people were badmouthing us before? You were standing there badmouthing us too…..”
“This….” The middle aged man’s face sank. He didn’t think Ye Zifeng would have noticed all this movements.
Actually, before Ye Zifeng opened the door, he was hiding in the shadows and watching everyone’s expression carefully. He took note of who was on the Ye clan’s side and who wasn’t. In his heart, he knew who was two faced even before they begin to speak.
The middle aged man paused for a bit and then yelled out again, “I don’t care. I don’t want to deal with a hairless brat like you. Tell your father to get out here!”
He paused for a bit again and then started to incite the others, “Come on everyone. Aren’t I right? We should talk with his father instead.”
Ye Zifeng laughed at his, “I will make a blood oath that I am representing the entire Ye clan and prove that I’m not just making empty promises. If I say that I will give you one percent of the business channels, I promise that I will give it to you.”
The middle age man wanted to get everyone else to call Ye Chongtian out but no one else did anything. They all looked solemnly at Ye Zifeng and couldn’t do anything at all.
“Hey. What happened to you guys? Didn’t we agree to rile up the Ye clan together? Now because of this one percent, all of you changed your mind? You should know that this one percent might not even end up in your hands!”
“Asides from you, they all hope to get the bigger share.”
Ye Zifeng coldly snorted at the man. A smile appeared on his face as he slowly walked towards the middle age man.
The middle age man was startled, ‘What do you want?”
Ye Zifeng shook his head and smiled, “I’m not trying to talk with you. I’m here to talk with him!” Ye Zifeng’s gaze stopped on the person next to the middle age man who was being quiet.
“Senior, may I ask which clan you are from?”
“Dong clan’s Dong Wencai has seen young master Ye before.” Dong Wencai was startled and promptly answered. His Dong clan was a small clan and had never had any relationships with other clans. They always had to rely on others to live a normal life. Now that the Ye clan was giving other clans a chance to become relevant, he came here to see what he can get.
“Good. So it’s the Dong clan. Then do you agree to make a blood oath and form an alliance while becoming business partners with the Ye clan for the next five years?”
The Heavenly Clan Gathering happens once every five years. After five years, everyone will be at the same starting point again. This was the reason Ye Zifeng didn’t try to make an absurd deal and only made Dong Wencai make a blood oath for five years. If it’s only for five years, then everyone will definitely want to join the Ye clan. They can take advantage of the situation while the Ye clan had power. Even after five years, with Ye Zifeng’s skills and talent, he was confident that the Ye clan will rise up above any other clan and retain these alliances.
Dong Wencai’s expression lit up and quickly answered, “I agree. Of course I agree! Don’t say five years, I’ll agree even if it’s for life!”
Ye Zifeng gave him a deep smile, “Not bad. Uncle Dong, it seems like fate has brought our clans together. Congratulations. This one percent is already your Dong clan’s.
While Dong Wencai was looking startled, everyone else had the same expression.
“No way! The Dong clan got that one percent so easily!”
“Yeah. I don’t remember the Dong clan having any connections with the Ye clan. Why would Ye Zifeng give it to the Dong clan?”
Ye Zifeng smiled and explained, “In the field of business, benefits and profits are the most important things. I’m not here to talk about old relationships or anything special like that. Nevertheless, the relationships that the Ye clan had in the past are all worthless now. So, as of today, everyone will start at the same starting line. No one will have any special advantages. Even though his Dong chan has no relationship with our Ye clan, he is willing to make a blood oath to make an alliance for five years and thus obtaining the one percent of business channels in Leizhou City. If he can get it, why can’t you guys get it?”
He paused for a bit and then surveyed the surroundings, “Right now, I, Ye Zifeng, am representing the entire Ye clan. I will become the clan master sooner or later. If anyone wants my father to come out right now, then you can say it now. You can leave right after, I won’t be seeing you out.”
Ye Zifeng was unyielding and very imposing. Right now, no one wants to go against him unless they really don’t want the benefits given. Ye Zifeng was right. He was the winner of the Heavenly Clan Gathering and the master’s eldest son. If he didn’t become the clan master in the future, who will?
Maybe Ye Chongtian wanted to use this opportunity and test his son out. He wants Ye Zifeng to see how the world works so he sent him out to talk about the business deals.
Everyone started to understand what was happening and nodded.
“Young master Ye, you are very straightforward. A hero amongst the people. I’ll listen to you. We’ll trust you. It seems like the clan master have passed on some of his duties to you already!”
“That’s right. My Gao clan supports young master Ye. We support the Ye clan. We hope to be able to obtain this one percent.”
“My Lu clan also supports the Ye clan! I will listen to the Young master’s orders!”
Hearing how the people who were badmouthing the Ye clan before compliment him so suddenly, Ye Zifeng began to laugh in his heart.
He had tossed the first bait out already. As long as he still has cards to play, he doesn’t care if they take the bait or not. As long as he can earnestly rope the other clans into their alliance, the Ye clan will be able to easily rise again.
Ye Zifeng laughed loudly, “Many thanks for the compliments. How about this, we’ve been standing outside for a while now. Let’s go into the hall and slowly discuss everything.”
While everyone was complimenting Ye Zifeng, the middle age man from the Liu clan coldly snorted.
“Guys. Don’t listen to this Ye Zifeng’s bullshit. The clan master Ye Chongtian is clearly lying on his bed and is unable to get up so he had to get Ye Zifeng out to stall. He’s only stalling for time right now. Don’t believe anything that he was saying.”
With these words, everyone stopped and looked at him.
Someone suspiciously asked, “Liu Xingjian. That’s strange. How do you know that Ye Chongtian is lying on his bed?”
Liu Xingjian coldly snorted, “It’s like this. I’m not afraid to tell you guys. Ye Chongtian went out with a few of us old friends last night and we poisoned him. Who told him to go against the Wang clan. You guys should listen well too. If you want to oppose the Wang clan in Leizhou City, you will end up like him too!”