Chapter 39 (Chapter 039) Take it down!

A door opens inwards from the wall in the northwest corner of the wine cellar.

Ye Baoling originally thought that the other door of the wine cellar would be like the secret room on the third floor, with a floor that could be pulled up and a staircase inside.

Surprisingly, the switch was indeed on the floor tiles, and the wall, which appeared to have no cracks at all, could open a door.

Outside the door was a deep, dark tunnel made of blue bricks.

"I'll go take a look first." Ye Huaizhang took a flashlight and tentatively walked inside.

Ye Baoling waited for a while, and seeing Ye Huaizhang shining his flashlight back and forth, she couldn't help but follow him out.

It turns out that the blue brick tunnel is just like a road, only passing in front of the wine cellar.

The tunnels are on both sides, and it's hard to tell which end is which.

There was a stone beam lying on the ground at the entrance of the wine cellar; it looked like it had just fallen down not long ago.

Ye Baoling recalled the dull thud she heard when she pushed hard against the large iron door of the wine cellar earlier; it was very likely the sound of the stone beam collapsing.

She asked worriedly, "Is it safe? What if it collapses?"

If it collapses, won't they all perish here?

That truly meant sharing the same bed in life and the same coffin in death.

“We shouldn’t be that unlucky.” Ye Huaizhang’s flashlight beam shone on the blue bricks. “This blue brick tunnel has stone beams every so often. If one or two beams fall down, it won’t collapse.”

Ye Baoling examined the blue bricks; there was absolutely no moss. She hadn't expected the ground to be so dry. "This place must have been built several decades ago, right?"

"If even my grandmother didn't know, then it's been at least fifty years."

What is this for?

Ye Huaizhang deduced: "Going to the left, which is to the east, should lead to our Ye family's large garden, and along that path are the second and first sons' houses; going to the right, I don't know where it leads."

Ye Baoling recalled the secret room in the study on the second floor of the eldest son's house and couldn't help but ask, "Does it lead to the ground floor of each of the other houses?"

It's very likely.

"Let's take a walk and see." Ye Huaizhang walked to the left.

The brick tunnel was longer than expected. After walking two or three hundred meters, we found no trace of other entrances or exits.

Moreover, it's not a straight line; there are some very obvious curves.

Ye Baoling: "It seems we've already passed the location of the eldest son's house."

"In terms of distance, we've already moved at least fifty meters away from the old eldest son's mansion," Ye Huaizhang said, holding a compass. "We're heading towards Silver Snake Mountain."

Why did we end up heading towards Silver Snake Mountain?

Weird!

Inside the tunnel, some blue bricks had fallen off and landed on the ground, breaking into small pieces.

There was a section of road where two or three crossbeams had collapsed, half of the blue bricks had crumbled, and the soil had spilled onto the road, where it was carried around by small animals like rats.

Spider webs stretched across the tunnel ceiling, and fallen leaves littered the floor.

Many ideas popped into Ye Baoling's mind: "Could it be an air-raid shelter tunnel left over from the Japanese invasion?"

Ye Huaizhang shook his head: "Japan only took a little over ten days to attack Hong Kong. There was simply no time for private individuals to dig such a long refuge tunnel temporarily."

However, aside from prevention and shelter, Ye Baoling really couldn't figure out what else could be used here.

Moreover, the tunnel was much longer than they had imagined.

Due to the intense mental strain, Ye Baoling was a bit tired. "I've walked more than a kilometer, haven't I? It feels like there's no end in sight."

"It seems like we're walking around a large garden."

Just as Ye Huaizhang finished speaking, they saw a brick door that opened outwards on the brick wall not far away.

The two quickened their pace.

Before they even got close, they realized something was wrong.

Sure enough, that door led out of the wine cellar, the place they had just come from.

They went around in circles and returned to where they started.

Ye Huaizhang took out the paper and pen he had used to draw the Fuxi Bagua diagram and quickly drew a circular oval shape, just like a track and field.

"Look, this is what the tunnel looks like. It starts from here, passes through the second and first houses, then goes north and comes to Silver Snake Mountain. It circles around Silver Snake Mountain, passes through the Fang and Gong family mansions, and then comes back to us."

Ye Baoling nodded: "In theory, the second branch and our eldest branch should also have entrances, but after the entrances are closed, they look like ordinary brick walls, making it difficult to find the entrances."

Ye Huaizhang examined the brick door at the entrance of the wine cellar, wanting to see the effect after the brick wall was closed.

"Go inside and close the door. I want to see what it looks like when it's closed. Then you can open the door for me from the inside."

Ye Baoling smiled slyly, "Aren't you afraid I'll lock you in the tunnel and not open the door for you?"

"..."

"Then lock the iron gate outside the wine cellar. Then you'll be left with no one to turn to for help."

Ye Huaizhang chuckled at her words. "And you?"

“Me? I went back and cried and followed everyone to find you.” Then her tone changed. “In the end, I couldn’t find you anywhere. I had no choice but to apply to the court to have you sentenced to death, and I, as your widow, can only reluctantly inherit your estate.”

Ye Huaizhang rolled his eyes at her: "You're having a beautiful dream, believe it or not..."

Before he could finish speaking, she closed the brick door to the wine cellar.

Ye Huaizhang was left alone in the tunnel.

He didn't think much of it and carefully examined the blue brick door that had just been closed. It fit perfectly with the wall, and the gaps between the blue bricks were filled with grayish-white clay. Each gap looked almost identical.

But he knew there was a door here, so he could still see the subtle differences.

There was a barely perceptible small gap in the grayish-white clay between the door and the brick wall.

After observing, he gently knocked on the brick door. The sound was muffled, and he worried that the people inside might not hear him.

They simply used broken bricks to break the wall.

After waiting for a while, Ye Baoling still hadn't come to open the door. He subconsciously ran through his mind quickly, wondering what Ye Baoling had in his hand.

A knife, a flashlight, a notebook, a pen...

Ye Baoling, inside the wine cellar, waited for about a minute before pressing the corresponding floor tiles in the order they had opened the doors.

But when the floor tile was pressed down, the brick door remained motionless, and the crack did not appear.

She repeated the action, but there was still no response.

She panicked a little.

Could they really be locking Ye Huaizhang up so he can't get out?

Ye Huaizhang knocked on the wall from inside, urging her to open the door. Ye Baoling quickly repeated the process twice more, but to no avail.

Ye Baoling slumped to the ground, forcing herself to calm down.

It's okay, we can just go up and call for help.

With the safety net in place, she calmed down a bit.

I went through my thoughts again.

The conclusion is that the key to opening the brick door was not just pressing down on the three floor tiles corresponding to the hexagrams.

She recalled the series of actions they took after entering the wine cellar.

I remembered her pressing those three bricks from the outside in...

She stood up and, following the previous steps, pressed the three bricks from the outside in, then reversed the process and pressed the bottom of the Xun trigram, the bottom of the Kan trigram, and the top of the Kan trigram.

When you press down hard on the sill, the brick on the sill sinks down a little.

She looked up in surprise and found that the crack in the corner of the wall had reappeared.

really!

That was a mistake, but the correct way to open the door is: press the corresponding floor tile in reverse order, then press it again in the right order.

Ye Baoling quickly walked forward and pushed open the door, thinking that she should explain to him that she did not really want to murder her husband. However, when she opened the door, Ye Huaizhang was not at the door.

Inside the blue brick tunnel, there was a deathly silence; it was completely empty, devoid of any people.

"Huaizhang! Ye Huaizhang!" she called out twice, but no one responded.

She shouted loudly into the tunnel, "Ye Huaizhang!"

Not long after I shouted, I heard a sound coming from the tunnel on the left.

It was Ye Huaizhang's voice, but he was a bit far away, so I couldn't hear what he was saying.

She opened the brick door to the wine cellar, propped it shut with a stone, and then walked quickly toward the second son's house.

It wasn't until we reached the location of the old eldest son's mansion that we found Ye Huaizhang squatting by the wall, studying something.

"You scared me to death."

Ye Huaizhang didn't look up, but smiled slightly and said sarcastically, "Weren't you planning to become a widow?"

"..."

Ye Baoling retorted, "Believe it or not, I'll really close the door and leave right now."

He didn't believe it.

He took such good care of her, how could she bear to leave?

Ye Huaizhang looked up and beckoned to her, "Come and see."

Ye Baoling squatted down. "What are you looking at? Is there a door here?"

She is still smart.

Ye Huaizhang said, "Yes, look at the clay between the bricks. It only holds the bricks on the right side together. The left side should be the door."

The gap was thinner than a hair, but it was definitely a gap.

How do I open it?

Ye Huaizhang shook his head: "I don't know. I'm not sure if there's a switch inside the tunnel."

"If there is definitely a door here, there must be a switch inside that can open it."

Both of them simultaneously thought of the secret room in the study on the second floor of Xihetang.

Ye Baoling said, "I'm moving back to the old eldest house next weekend. I'll go back and think of a solution."

The two had no idea what the purpose of deciphering these mechanisms was.

But human curiosity makes it impossible for them to stop there.

Ye Huaizhang used a knife to carve an inconspicuous mark on the floor tile, so that he wouldn't have to look for the place again next time he came.

On the way back, Ye Baoling told him that the password to open the wine cellar was wrong.

Ye Huaizhang couldn't help but praise her: "Luckily you're smart, otherwise I really would have had to dig the wall out with a knife."

"I don't deserve such praise. You were just making sarcastic remarks about me wanting to be a widow."

"Didn't you say you wanted to be a widow?"

Did I do that?

"..."

He changed the subject, "I'm too tired today. I'll clean and repair these beams this weekend. And I'll try to put all the wine bottles back in their places as well."

It seems that this underground tunnel can only serve as a playground for the young couple for the time being.

But they all believed that the tunnel must hold a secret.

Ye Baoling: "Your grandfather could write the password in his diary, so he must have known about this wine cellar and underground tunnel. What about my grandfather? He was from the same generation as your grandfather, about the same age. There's no way my grandfather wouldn't know, right?"

Ye Huaizhang nodded: "He should know too. Your grandfather is the head of our Ye family, so he must know a lot."

Unfortunately, Ye Baoling was a granddaughter, and even if Ye Qizu knew any family secrets, he would never tell her.

We have to find another way.

After tidying up in the wine cellar for a while, Ye Baoling went back to take a shower. Half an hour later, Ye Huaizhang came up from the cellar, and the two of them didn't go to sleep until almost two o'clock.

*

For the next two days, Ye Huaizhang was still busy with official duties. When Ye Baoling had time, she would go down into the wine cellar and tidy up the wine racks. After he returned, the two of them would put everything back in its place.

The three switches are located under the wine rack, so you can easily access them without having to move the wine rack.

Ye Baoling got along well with her colleagues during her time in the product department.

The product department has two deputy managers.

Lu Baohua is easy to talk to and easy to communicate with.

Xu Chengping is quite demanding, always has a stern face and doesn't like to joke, which makes him a bit annoying, but he doesn't have much interaction with Ye Baoling at the moment, so it's alright.

On Friday, the product launch event was held, and everyone gradually headed to the hotel early in the morning.

The new product launch was held in the banquet hall on the first floor of the Lihua Hotel, the most luxurious hotel in Hong Kong.

The highest-ranking leader from the Ye family attending the press conference today is Lin Zhong; no other members of the Ye family will be present.

Therefore, Ye Baoling could openly and legitimately busy herself with various tasks.

A small incident occurred during rehearsals before the press conference began.

The videotapes that Gao Lizhen was responsible for keeping have gone missing.

This videotape is a newly filmed product advertisement for them, which will be played at the launch event.

Xu Chengping, who was in charge of the press conference, and Dai, the marketing manager, were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

With so many media reporters and agents invited to this press conference, we can't afford to make such a basic mistake.

The most crucial point is that the higher-ups know about this advertisement. If the money is spent but the advertisement is not broadcast, they will all be held responsible.

Xu Chengping put one hand on his hip and said, "Quickly think back, where did you put the videotape? Could it be that you left it in the car?"

Gao Lizhen, her face ashen, shook her head nervously: "I definitely put it in my bag, I don't remember."

"Don't you remember?"

Xu Chengping was so angry that he wanted to smash things, but he held back.

Lu Baohua patted Xu Chengping on the shoulder to reassure everyone, and then asked Gao Lizhen to think again carefully about where the videotape was.

Ye Baoling happened to come in to move some things. When she heard that the videotape was missing, she remembered that she had seen a videotape on Gao Lizhen's table before she left in the morning.

She asked, "Is your videotape blue?"

"It's blue, did you see it?" Gao Lizhen grabbed Ye Baoling's hand hopefully.

Everyone else looked over too.

Ye Baoling: "At the company, there's a pile of documents on your desk."

Xu Chengping looked at the others: "Call the people in the office and tell them to go find it right away, and bring it over when they find it."

"Everyone else is either at the factory or here; at this hour, only Uncle Yang should be in the office..."

Uncle Yang, who is in charge of the warehouse, has always been unreliable.

Sure enough, when I called back, Uncle Yang had indeed found the videotape, but he was unwilling to deliver it, fearing that he would be held responsible if it was delivered to the wrong place or if it was delivered late.

Xu Chengping could only turn to Ye Baoling for help: "Ah Lin, your logistics department has a car, which is more convenient. Could you ask a colleague from the logistics department to give you a ride?"

Ye Baoling quickly went to coordinate, and in the end, Wang Simin brought it over by car.

The card was delivered just 10 minutes before the press conference started.

The press conference is about to begin, and company leaders and several important guests have arrived at the venue.

Ye Baoling and Wang Simin stood in the corner, and she immediately spotted Ye Kaishen, who had come in with Lin Zhong.

She was so frightened that she quickly covered half of her face with a folder.

Weren't there no members of the Ye family? How come Ye Kaishen has come?

When Qi Yuxiu and General Manager Qu heard that the leader had arrived, they all went out to greet him.

Wang Simin, who was watching the commotion from the sidelines, whispered to Ye Baoling, "Look, our Manager Qi is pretending not to know President Ye again."

Just after she finished speaking, Wang Simin added, "Hey, it seems like Manager Qi is looking for you."

Ye Baoling glanced over and saw that Qi Yuxiu was really walking towards them. She didn't even have time to hide.

Qi Yuxiu: "Alin, do you have today's press release here?"

"Yes." Ye Baoling turned to the side, pulled a press release from the file bag, and handed it to Qi Yuxiu.

Qi Yuxiu glanced at it and said, "Regarding the introduction of the head office, President Ye said it needs to be revised. Let's go, you come with me to communicate with President Ye and hear what he thinks. It can only be released after it's revised."

Isn't this the brand department's job?

Ye Baoling knew that Qi Yuxiu wanted to steal the credit, but she couldn't say it directly.

In a moment of panic, she hissed and bent over, clutching her stomach. "Manager Qi, I think I ate something bad. I've been feeling a bit unwell for a while, but I've been trying to tough it out. I need to go to the restroom right away. Simin, could you help me out? Write down what needs to be changed and let me know."

As she spoke, she shoved the notebook and pen into Wang Simin's hands.

She was a good actress, and Qi Yuxiu noticed that she couldn't straighten up and looked quite uncomfortable, so she quickly said, "You should go quickly, do you know where the restroom is?"

"I know." Ye Baoling abandoned them and fled as if she were escaping.

She spent at least fifteen minutes in the restroom, listening to the background music coming from the banquet hall. She knew that the press conference had progressed to the leaders' speeches, so she slipped back into the banquet hall and hid backstage.

The press conference lasted only 40 minutes. As soon as the event ended, the leaders accompanied the guests to leave.

Just then, Ah Zhen, a colleague from the marketing department, asked Ye Baoling to help receive agents from several countries and regions in Southeast Asia. Ye Baoling pretended to be very busy and chatted with the agents about the upcoming itinerary.

The marketing department colleagues ask her for help because she speaks good English, is good-looking, has strong adaptability, and she prepared the product manuals for the Southeast Asian countries. So everyone is willing to ask her for help whenever they need it.

Wang Simin finally found her. "Baolin, I've been looking for you."

"I've been looking for you too. I'm stuck here with a lot of things going on."

Wang Simin handed the notebook to Ye Baoling, "How are you? Are you feeling better?"

"It's alright now."

"Hey, did you deliberately give me the chance?"

ha?

Before Ye Baoling could even ask a question, Wang Simin continued, "My ability to respond this time was pretty good; Manager Qi was quite satisfied."

Ye Baoling laughed and said, "Now that she's satisfied, the position of head of the security department is yours, isn't it?"

Wang Simin raised her eyebrows: "Today was worth it."

Just then, Qi Yuxiu squeezed in and called Ye Baoling aside to talk.

Are you going to help receive the Southeast Asian agents?

"Yes, my colleagues in the marketing department invited us to come together."

Qi Yuxiu lowered her voice: "This is indeed an opportunity. Normally, agency contracts are signed for one year, but this time the marketing department renewed the contract with the Nanyang agency for two years directly. We suspect there's something fishy going on. Next Monday, the marketing department is going to have a social gathering with several Nanyang agencies, and they'll probably invite you. Try to find out if you can get any information."

Ye Baoling understood; Qi Yuxiu suspected that the head of the marketing department had accepted bribes from the distributors.

The marketing director of Ye Qingtang herbal tea is probably one of Lin Zhong's men; Ye Kaishen is trying to break up Lin Zhong's faction.

But she had planned to take leave next Monday to go to Shenzhen with Ye Huaizhang.

What should we do?

But she didn't want to waste the opportunity Qi Yuxiu had mentioned.

Disrupting Ye Qingtang's existing power structure is her short-term goal, and she has to do it for her own sake.

We need to think of a solution.

"Sister Xiu, I understand. I'll try my best to get along with the people in the marketing department later."

Qi Yuxiu had a lot of confidence in Ye Baoling. She instructed her, "Be careful at the social gathering on Monday, drink as little alcohol as possible, and stay sober at all times."

"clear."

After Qi Yuxiu and Wang Simin left, Ye Baoling accompanied the leaders to entertain the agents at the hotel, and did not return to the company until almost 2 o'clock.

When she returned to the product department office, she found that Gao Lizhen's seat was empty. Sister Rong told her that Gao Lizhen had been reassigned to the logistics department, but the logistics department would not accept her, so she simply took leave and went home this afternoon.

"Along her journey, she went from the secretariat to publicity, from publicity to product, and then from our product department to logistics..."

It went down from the 29th floor all the way down.

"I heard that he was quite normal before, but later, I don't know what happened, he became timid and listless, as if he had some serious illness."

Because she doesn't know much about it, Ye Baoling can't offer any comment.

In the afternoon, a summary meeting was held, and Qu Zhengming, the director of the product department, gave a summary.

Qu Zhengming has a very neat short haircut. Although he is only in his thirties, he is very experienced in doing things.

Judging from Ye Baoling's years of experience in judging people, Qu Zhengming is at least better in character than Qi Yuxiu.

"Although this was a complete success, there were many problems, especially the lack of a backup for the advertising videotape, which was a very serious issue. What if Gu Baolin hadn't seen the videotape and left it in the office? What if it couldn't be delivered to the hotel in time? These are all problems..."

Xu Chengping reflected: "It's my responsibility. I originally wanted to assign the easiest task to Gao Lizhen, but I didn't expect that something would still go wrong."

"That is indeed your responsibility."

Qu Zhengming changed the subject, saying, "Fortunately, we found Gu Baolin, a savior from the logistics department, and we are grateful to the logistics department for their generosity. As a new employee, Baolin has many things that everyone can learn from her..."

After Director Qu showered him with praise, Lu Baohua led the applause.

The praise was a bit too much, which would be very provocative. Ye Baoling laughed and said, "I just happened to see that videotape, and the logistics department colleagues were willing to cooperate. Actually, compared to everyone else, I didn't do anything today. I am Gu Baolin, and I am very happy to be in the product department. I am not familiar with many of the procedures, so I will have to trouble everyone to guide me in the future."

The colleagues who were initially a little jealous of Ye Baoling were willing to give her face after hearing what she said, and they applauded and cheered.

Finally, Qu Zhengming said, "There's another get-together with our Southeast Asian distributors next Monday. Besides myself, Lu Baohua, and Xu Chengping, we need one more person. Anyone who can drink, come with me. Raise your hand if you want to go."

Unlike the marketing department, the product department rarely goes out for social events, and nobody in the department is interested in that.

Ye Baoling didn't raise her hand because Ah Zhen from the marketing department had already invited her, so there was no need for her to be too enthusiastic now.

To avoid arousing suspicion, since she was transferred from another department.

Qu Zhengming looked around. "Nobody's here... He Jiayi!"

He Jiayi, the wealthy young woman, quickly waved her hand and said, "President Qu, I have something to do on Monday. Baolin should be able to help; didn't she entertain the distributors for the marketing department today?"

Qu Zhengming looked at Ye Baoling: "Can you drink?"

Ye Baoling said modestly, "I can drink a little, but not too much."

In reality, he can drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

Qu Zhengming: "Then you'll come with us?"

Ye Baoling smiled generously: "It's up to you, President Qu."

Qu Zhengming loved employees like this the most, and she said happily, "Then it's settled. Gu Baolin will come with us to drink these distributors under the table."

Ye Baoling's lips curled up slightly; she was the perfect subordinate in her boss's eyes.

*

Before going to bed, Ye Baoling made sure to change the offerings for Guanyin Bodhisattva in the dressing room on the third floor of Chengheju.

She lay half-reclined on the bed watching a nostalgic movie. Ye Huaizhang dried his hair and came out of the bathroom. He reminded her, "You're coming to Shenzhen with me on Monday. Do you want to bring your neighbor along?"

It's Chen Yulan.

Ye Baoling, who was pondering how to discuss this with Ye Huaizhang, looked up and smiled ingratiatingly, "Husband, I want to discuss something with you."

"What's up?"

"I might not be able to travel with you next Monday, but I can cross the border before the Luohu Port closes."

Ye Huaizhang frowned slightly: "Can't get leave?"

no.

"Yes. I've been transferred to a new department, and my boss said that I just took leave to learn to drive a while ago, and now I'm taking leave again. It's outrageous." Ye Baoling lied about the situation.

What if we miss it?

"No. I guarantee I'll make it."

"You'll arrive in Shenzhen Monday night, so what about Tuesday?"

"I don't know yet on Tuesday. If I can get a day off, I'll play for a day. If not, I'll clear the border early in the morning and come back to work."

Ye Huaizhang was clearly unhappy. He had already arranged their schedule. "Did you not ask for leave at all?"

Feeling guilty, Ye Baoling's smile vanished, and her voice immediately drowned out his, "For your family's so-called 'lucky marriage ceremony,' I went out drinking with clients after get off work and rushed across the border to Shenzhen. Do you think I didn't work hard? If you're not happy, I'm not putting up with you anymore! You think your career is your career, but mine isn't?"

Ye Huaizhang: "That's not what I meant."

"That's what you mean. You think your third branch is so powerful and capable, and you look down on our first branch from the bottom of your heart, right?"

yes.

And that's not all.

Ye Huaizhang denied it, "No. You and those people from the eldest son's family..."

"You just wait."

The only business in which the eldest son's family and the third son's family competed was in the gold and jewelry industry.

"One day, Suman Jewelry will crush your Gezhi Jewelry!!!" Ye Baoling bluffed, changing the subject.

From unreasonable to reasonable.

Ye Baoling was only interested in the idea of ​​taking down Gezhi Jewelry for the sake of talking; the third branch of the family had nothing to do with her current plans, her only target was the eldest branch.

But who knows what the future holds?

Ye Huaizhang didn't believe she could do it either. In his eyes, Ye Baoling had no chance of controlling Suman Jewelry, let alone using Suman Jewelry to defeat Gezhi.

But he was afraid that if she got angry, she wouldn't come to Shenzhen to meet him, and all his efforts over the past forty days would be in vain. So he quickly changed the subject: "I've prepared some poached chicken for you. Come early after you get off work on Monday."

Poached chicken...

"It depends on my mood," she replied, feigning indifference.

He finally conceded a point, saying, "I'll have Dong Jian arrange a car to pick you up and drop you off. Also, don't drink alcohol. If your boss really dares to force you to drink with clients, I'll send someone to cause trouble at your company."

Ye Baoling rolled her eyes at him: "You dare? Go to sleep."

She turned off the TV and turned away from him, ignoring him.

She's going to the old eldest son's house tomorrow. She's moving back there next weekend. Tomorrow she needs to figure out one thing first: where she'll stay when she gets back.

Ye Baoling did not want to live in Shengyue Building with Ye Kaimin's family.

There's no future in living in Shengyue Tower; she wants to live in Xihetang, next to the study on the second floor.

We need to think of a solution.

-----------------------

Author's note: Ye Huaizhang: Humans are inferior to chickens.

Ye Baoling: The poached chicken is delicious! [Let me see]