Chapter 40 Chapter 040 Sending cannons from thousands of miles away

The main building of the old eldest son's mansion is Xihe Hall.

According to the tradition of the Ye family's eldest son inheriting the family property, Ye Kaimin should have lived in Xihetang with Ye Qizu.

However, Ye Kaimin and Gu Min had not had a son after more than ten years of marriage, so Ye Qizu arranged for the eldest son's family to live separately in Shengyue Tower.

The second son, Ye Kaisi, and his family of three lived on the second floor of Xihetang.

In a sense, Ye Kais had long been Ye Qizu's chosen successor.

Of course, as long as Ye Qizu doesn't die, there's still a lot of uncertainty about how things will develop.

Ye Kaimin divorced and remarried, and his son has intellectual disabilities. In other people's eyes, he has already been eliminated from the competition.

Unexpectedly, Zheng Junni became pregnant with another boy, changing the course of the game and making the outcome uncertain.

However, no matter how things change, in everyone's eyes, all of this has nothing to do with Miss Ye Baoling.

As a granddaughter, Ye Baoling's greatest value to the eldest son's family was to marry into a good family through marriage.

Therefore, Ye Baoling's life can only be turned around if she can marry well. As long as there is a chance to turn things around, her family's attitude towards her will not be too bad.

This includes her grandfather, her father, her second uncle, and others.

This is a very real problem.

Even if they are blood relatives.

Ye Baoling stood at the entrance of Xihetang. This old building, like Chengheju, has a history of several decades.

There were servants carrying an old television set out of the door, followed by Ye Baoshun.

Ye Baoshun caught a glimpse of his cousin and quickly dodged to the other side of the television. Ever since the "caught in the act" incident where his bare bottom was exposed, he had always avoided Ye Baoling.

Didn't we just happen to run into each other?

Ye Baoling wasn't about to let him have his way. She called out to him loudly, "Baoshun! Where are you going?"

Ye Baoshun sighed helplessly, and with all his might, managed a forced smile. He turned around, his attitude hundreds of times better than when he celebrated his grandfather's birthday: "Big sister! I heard you're moving back in?"

Ye Baoling smiled and nodded: "Yes, are you welcome?"

"This is your home too, how can I decide whether you welcome me or not? There are plenty of rooms, you can pick one with a good view, sister." After saying that, Ye Baoshun turned to leave.

Ye Baoling wouldn't let him leave, chasing after him and asking, "Where are you going?"

"Not going anywhere, just wandering around."

“My friend told me that he thought he saw you at Lumiere Noir bar in Lan Kwai Fong the other day…”

Ye Baoshun was startled and immediately stopped in his tracks, asking somewhat incoherently, "Which day? This...last week?"

"Just last week, it seems you weren't the only one."

Ye Baoshun thought he was doomed and was thinking about how to answer when Ye Baoling quickly changed the subject: "Aren't there quite a few rooms with nice views on the second floor?"

Seeing that Ye Baoling took the initiative to change the subject, Ye Baoshun said without thinking, "Several rooms have nice views."

"Really? Don't go out for a walk, come with me to take a look." Ye Baoling pulled him into the house and they went upstairs together.

Upon entering the house, I met my second aunt, Liang Meiyun, talking to the housekeeper, Sister Yin. Liang Meiyun was in charge of the eldest son's household, and she usually handled a lot of trivial matters, so she would try not to get involved if possible.

Seeing the siblings come in, Liang Meiyun was in a rare good mood and asked them, "Why did you come back together?"

Ye Baoling smiled and said, "I'm moving back next week, right? Baoshun wants to come upstairs with me to see which room is suitable."

Liang Meiyun had already come to regard Xihetang as her own territory, and a sense of vigilance arose within her. "Aren't you staying at Shengyuelou?"

Ye Baoling whispered to Liang Meiyun in a coquettish tone, "I'll go live over there; it'll be in other people's eyes."

Not daring to admit that staying here was an eyesore, Liang Meiyun quickly smiled and said, "Oh, I know. Anyway, there are plenty of rooms on the second and third floors of Xihetang, you can choose whichever you like."

"Okay, thank you, Auntie. Baoshun has some recommendations, let's go up and take a look."

Watching her son accompany Ye Baoling upstairs, Liang Meiyun felt something was off. When did her son become so close to his cousin?

However, if Ye Baoling really marries into the Gong family, then of course she hopes that Ye Baoling will have a better relationship with her family, so as not to let that mistress who took over the family get the better deal.

Ye Baoling and Ye Baoshun walked around the second floor and finally entered the bedroom to the right of the study.

This bedroom has an ensuite bathroom, a walk-in closet, and a small living room near the entrance, making it a complete suite.

She knew this was the room prepared for Ye Baoshun's wedding.

Standing by the window, looking at Silver Snake Mountain in the distance, Ye Baoling said, "The view from this room is truly wonderful..."

Ye Baoshun was about to say that this was the room his grandfather had designated for him to live in in the future.

But Ye Baoling changed the subject and asked, "Hey, who was the person you were drinking with at Lumiere Noir bar that day?"

Ye Baoshun nervously pretended not to hear and said, "This room has the best view, overlooking the garden and mountains. Do you want to choose this one, sister?"

"This room?"

"yes."

Ye Baoling frowned slightly: "It's a bit too big..."

"This is a suite, it's comfortable, trust me." Ye Baoshun was afraid she would bring up the bar again, so he took the initiative to introduce the various functions of the room to her.

Finally, Ye Baoling smiled and said, "You've successfully convinced me. It's really great."

To lower the other party's guard, she emphasized, "Anyway, I'm just staying for a short time; I won't be staying here for very long."

"It's fine if you stay for an extended period."

...

Liang Meiyun was still worried, so she followed her upstairs to the second floor.

After searching the second floor, they finally found them in the room next to the study, following the sound.

"Second Aunt, I'll stay in this room. Baoshun recommended it."

Liang Meiyun immediately frowned. This was a bedroom that the old man had specially renovated last year, intended for Ye Baoshun to use as his wedding room.

She was about to say something when her son pulled her aside.

Ye Baoshun said in a low voice, "Let her stay here. She won't stay for more than a few days. We can just change the bed later."

Liang Meiyun didn't understand: "Why are you suddenly being so nice to her?"

Ye Baoshun: "She's going to marry Gong Jiahua in the future. If we can win her over this time and get her to side with us, wouldn't that be great? We don't have to pay anything."

Liang Meiyun was somewhat gratified that her son could still think of such things.

Thinking that Ye Baoling wouldn't be staying for long, he smiled and turned around: "Baoshun has changed. He finally knows who his real sisters are. This is the wedding room prepared for him, but he's willing to let his sister stay here first. He's grown up."

Ye Baoling feigned surprise and ignorance: "This is the wedding room prepared for Baoshun? I didn't even know. Baoshun, in my heart, you've suddenly become incredibly tall, majestic, and handsome."

After receiving such praise, Ye Baoshun could barely suppress the urge to raise his eyebrows.

Praise is humanity's most formidable weapon.

Having settled the room matter, Ye Baoling was worried that the old man would find out and not let her stay in the room, so she took the key that same day. She planned to have Sister Ping move all her belongings into the room in advance and occupy it first.

I met Uncle Xing in the lobby before I left.

"Miss, your new car should arrive next week. Have you gotten your driver's license yet? Do you need my help?"

Ye Baoling has retrieved her driver's license. She said, "I've got my driver's license back, thank you Uncle Xing. I'll drive the car when I get back next week."

"Okay." Uncle Xing smiled and saw her out.

Not long after, Zheng Junni heard that Ye Baoling planned to move into Xihetang.

She was understandably upset and didn't even eat lunch.

Ye Kaimin asked her why she wasn't eating, and she replied, "My chest feels really heavy."

"What's wrong now?"

“Being a stepmother has always been difficult. I’ve always loved Bao Ling just as much as I love Bao Xin, but why can’t I warm her heart?” Zheng Junni said, wiping her eyes. “It’s been over ten years. She finally agreed to come back to live here. I had someone prepare her room long ago, but she didn’t even glance at it.”

Ye Kaimin couldn't figure out his daughter's thoughts. She used to avoid her grandfather and Xihetang, but now she actually moved there on her own initiative. Things had really changed.

He comforted his wife, "Don't worry about these little things. There's nothing wrong with Bao Ling living in Xihetang. The old man will decide her marriage. It's suitable for her to live there."

Zheng Junni snorted coldly: "I'm afraid that someone like her, who has been indecisive since childhood, will be easily won over by Liang Meiyun."

"No way. I'm her biological father! Liang Meiyun deliberately caused her trouble a while ago. Do you think she's really brainless and doesn't know? Your most important thing right now is to take care of yourself and the son in your belly. Whether we split the family fortune in the future depends on how well your belly performs."

Zheng Junni gently stroked her belly, then wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, which were now dry, and said nothing more.

*

Ye Huaizhang spent the entire weekend working on investments at Dapeng Port. On Saturday, he even managed to steal a moment to go down to the wine cellar and put the crossbeams back up at the entrance to the brickwork.

Because Ye Baoling didn't pay much attention to him, they didn't finish their quota for the weekend.

Ye Huaizhang got up at around 6 a.m. on Monday and set off for Shenzhen.

Before he left, he left her a note with the phone number of the hotel contact person there.

Even if something goes wrong and Dong Jian doesn't pick her up, he won't be completely unable to contact her.

Ye Baoling spent the morning working in the product department, and in the afternoon she organized a meeting for the cleaning department to finalize the department's reward and punishment system.

There are punishments and rewards. Where do the rewards come from? From paper money.

You don't need many things, but as long as the rewards and punishments are clear, you can motivate everyone.

The two new team leaders are also very helpful. Now they have become Ye Baoling's confidants and can basically do whatever she tells them.

Of course, Ye Baoling would not treat them unfairly.

After finishing the meeting, she returned to the product department office to make copies of the materials she had brought to the social gathering that day.

Gao Lizhen has been going to work normally these past two days.

But no one paid any attention to her, and Xu Chengping didn't assign her any new work. With nothing to do, she always wanted to help others with simple tasks.

Seeing that she looked pitiful, Ye Baoling asked her to help with the copying.

Around five o'clock, Lu Baohua came over to greet her and tell her to get ready to go to the social gathering. He smiled and comforted Gao Lizhen: "You don't need to be so nervous. The more nervous you are, the less likely Xu Chengping will dare to assign you work. Be more confident."

Gao Lizhen smiled awkwardly, "Thank you, Manager Lu."

"Arlene, get ready to go. I'm going to get the car."

The social gathering was held at a high-end Western restaurant. Almost all the marketing department colleagues were present, and four people each from the product department and brand department came to help.

To entice these Southeast Asian distributors to buy more and stock up on goods in order to meet their sales targets, the marketing department leaders pulled out all the stops, including drinking, singing, dancing, playing drinking games, and telling lame jokes...

Ye Baoling was new to this industry and didn't know much about it, so she whispered to Lu Baohua, "Aren't these agents begging to sign agency contracts for several more years? Why is the marketing department treating them like royalty right now?"

Lu Baohua explained, "Southeast Asia is hot and humid with long periods of intense heat, making it suitable for drinking herbal tea. Ye Qingtang herbal tea has a very large market there, and many consumers drink our herbal tea. However, most of them prefer the traditional cardboard box packaging. As for our newly developed canned monk fruit herbal tea and jasmine herbal tea, the response has been lukewarm so far, and whether we can open up the market is still unknown. Distributors are hesitant to stock up on large quantities, fearing they won't be able to sell them."

Ye Baoling nodded, "Then we can arrange the goods for them."

What kind of delivery order?

"To give an example, if a distributor of our 10,000 cases of traditional herbal tea is required to purchase 1,000 cases of monk fruit and jasmine herbal tea, that is called order fulfillment."

Lu Baohua exclaimed in delight, "That's a great idea! How did you come up with it?"

Ye Baoling couldn't say for sure, as this was quite common in later generations.

She just smiled and said, "A flash of inspiration."

"I'll share your idea with my colleagues in the marketing department at the next meeting."

Ye Baoling pondered that this was a good opportunity to bring the marketing department leaders together for a talk. After Lu Baohua made his suggestion, if they were to discuss it, they might end up talking about some confidential matters.

She suggested, "Manager Lu, why don't you bring it up now? What if this idea just happens to come in handy today?"

Lu Baohua nodded slightly: "That's right. You wait here for me. I'll go talk to the people in the marketing department now."

Ye Baoling watched as Lu Baohua called General Manager Liu and the two managers from the marketing department to the banana tree on the balcony for a detailed chat.

Ye Baoling pretended to be slightly drunk and went out for some fresh air. She went out onto the balcony through another door and then sat down on a chair behind a banana leaf to rest.

At the same time, he placed the tote bag on the table and turned on the small recording device inside.

After listening to Lu Baohua's suggestion, Marketing Director Liu exclaimed, "This idea is very interesting, absolutely brilliant! Baohua, you're amazing! How did you come up with this?"

Lu Baohua smiled and said, "It was just a sudden inspiration."

Ye Baoling: "..."

This is what is meant by "knowing a person's face but not their heart."

Lu Baohua usually seems like a nice person, but who would have thought that he would be so greedy for credit behind the scenes?

That's normal, though; the workplace is a melting pot, and you'll find all sorts of people there.

Director Liu said with some regret, "It might be too late to make changes now. We'll go back and study it in more detail. We'll reserve this policy for future use."

After chatting for a while, Director Liu and Lu Baohua went inside first, leaving the two managers behind to finish their cigarettes.

Ye Baoling was very disappointed when she saw Director Liu go inside.

Why didn't he stay and discuss her brilliant idea with the two managers?

She still needed to find another way to gather military intelligence.

Just as Ye Baoling was about to get up in disappointment, she heard people talking on the other side of the banana tree.

"That Lu Baohua is an idiot too. Why did he call us out in such a hurry? What's the point of saying all this at a time like this?"

If Ye Baoling heard correctly, the speaker was Manager Dai, who was in charge of the press conference last time.

The other manager who stayed behind to smoke with him was a woman.

The woman replied, "They're not stupid, they just want to take credit."

"That's true. He's given Ah Liu a new way to make money."

How do we solve this?

"He gets 20,000 from each of these Southeast Asian distributors who renewed their contracts for two years; with over a dozen distributors, he'll take over 300,000. Now, with this new allocation system, is the intention to loosen his belt a bit? Will we have to bribe him again?"

"In the end, it's all this old geezer's money. He lets us slip in a tiny bit of cash, and we're supposed to be grateful for it."

"You devil! I don't want to talk anymore, I'm going back inside to continue drinking."

The two stubbed out their cigarettes and went inside.

!!

Excellent! Ye Baoling recorded the content she wanted.

Once everyone had gone inside, she quickly turned off the recording equipment, grabbed her handbag, and followed them in.

As soon as she entered, her colleague Ah Zhen from the marketing department pulled her to toast a Malaysian distributor. "This guy is generous. He said that whoever can make him happy will get a 500,000 yuan order for new products from him."

Distributors typically receive orders worth at least several million, or even tens of millions, annually, but those are all orders for traditional herbal tea.

The beginning is always the hardest, and their current task is to secure orders for the new products.

As many as you can get.

Ah Zhen discussed with Ye Baoling: "If we both beg him to surrender, we'll split the commission in half."

Ye Baoling wasn't very interested in the commission, but she hadn't done much work today and wanted to find an excuse to leave, so she had to achieve something.

This Malaysian agent is Chinese; he speaks Cantonese and Mandarin. After chatting with him for a couple of minutes, you can tell he's a shrewd person.

Even if you make him happy by drinking him, he might not place an order for new products.

Ye Baoling suggested to Azhen, "Whether he's happy or not after drinking is entirely up to him. We need to try a different approach."

"What method?"

Do you know card magic?

"No. What's wrong? Are you going to perform magic for the boss?"

Ye Baoling shared her method with Azhen, who thought it might not work, but she couldn't have no sales tonight, so she might as well give it a try.

At this time, other agents were sitting around the Malaysian agent. Ah Zhen wanted to wait a while before going, but Ye Baoling had to rush to cross the Luohu border and she didn't have time to wait.

"Let's go, it's okay, it's more fun with lots of people."

Ah Zhen had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

She went up and first toasted all the bosses.

These bosses insisted that she toast each of them, but Ah Zhen smiled and refused, saying, "I'll drink it, you can drink as you please."

I drank about half a glass of foreign liquor.

Ah Zhen then said to the Malay boss, "Boss Lin, let's do a magic trick."

"What kind of magic trick are you playing?"

"Guess the playing cards. If I guess right, I don't ask for much. You place an order for 100,000 with me. If I guess wrong, I'll have a drink."

A 100,000 yuan order is nothing; he already had this plan in mind. But the sly Mr. Lin refused, saying, "You have to drink three cups."

"Okay, I'll drink three cups."

Ah Zhen called for a waiter to bring a new deck of cards.

After shuffling the cards, Ah Zhen told Boss Lin to draw a card at random, "You can see it yourself, don't show it to me."

Mr. Lin did as instructed.

Ah Zhen: "Then, no matter where you put the card back in the deck, I can find the card you're holding."

"Is there a mirror behind me?" After looking around and finding no problem, Boss Lin stuffed the cards into the deck.

Ah Zhen shuffled the cards again, then drew one from the middle. "Is this it?"

Mr. Lin took one look and shook his head, saying, "Not this one!"

"Huh? Isn't this it?"

The crowd clamored, "Hurry up and drink!"

Ye Baoling filled three glasses for Ah Zhen, saying, "Your technique is terrible. Drink up."

While drinking, Ah Zhen said defiantly to Ye Baoling, "If you're so good, then you do it!"

Ye Baoling laughed and said, "I won't fall for your tricks."

Boss Lin had been staring at Ye Baoling for a while now. He noticed from the start of the press conference that this young girl was really beautiful.

Mr. Lin offered, "Miss Gu, if you can guess the cards in my hand, I'll place a 200,000 yuan order. If you guess wrong, you'll have to punish yourself with three drinks."

Ye Baoling smiled and waved her hand: "I can't!"

Ah Zhen tugged at her: "No, you just laughed at my bad skills, you have to come and drink it even if you guess wrong."

"No. I don't drink alcohol, I can't drink that much," Ye Baoling refused with a smile.

The other three agents sitting next to Boss Lin chimed in, "If you guess right, I'll also give 200,000."

"I'll do it too!"

"I'll have one too."

Four 200,000s each, and we'll exceed the target.

Ah Zhen hurriedly pulled her aside: "It's an order of 800,000! Gu Baolin, you have to try today no matter what. What if you succeed? If you succeed, you'll be my god."

Ye Baoling's face was stiff from smiling, but she still refused: "No, I really won't. You guys are all ganging up on me to trick me into drinking."

Others nearby, hearing the commotion, had already gathered around.

The marketing staff cheered and applauded, all saying, "Pauline! Give it a try! Pauline, give it a try!"

Qu Zhengming wanted to help her out of the predicament, but also wanted to give the agent face. She said, "Baoling, you go first. If you lose, I'll drink half the wine for you."

Ye Baoling finally stopped smiling. "Since our Director Qu has spoken, I'll give it a try. But 200,000 won't do. Each of you bosses needs at least 500,000!"

The marketing department staff cheered even louder, "Boss Lin! Five hundred thousand! Boss Lin! Five hundred thousand!"

Without hesitation, Mr. Lin said, "I'll take your 500,000!"

Two of the other bosses followed suit, while the remaining, more cautious one smiled and said, "This isn't a trap, is it?"

Marketing Manager Dai said, "It's definitely not a trap. We came over because we heard Ah Zhen laughing."

Ah Zhen exclaimed, "If I had such good acting skills, I would have entered the Miss Hong Kong pageant!"

Boss Lin advised the man, "Even if it's a trap, you're acting so convincingly. It's only 500,000 yuan; it's not like you've really lost money. It's just placing an order to buy goods, which you'll have to do sooner or later anyway."

The people inside the venue joined in the commotion.

Finally, the boss agreed: "Okay, okay, I'll take 500,000!"

That adds up to 2 million!

Ye Baoling gritted her teeth and said with great reluctance, "I'll give it a try."

"One serving consists of three glasses of wine, so for the four of us, that's twelve glasses of wine."

"Huh?" Ye Baoling immediately threw down the cards. "I'm not playing anymore!"

Ah Zhen and several other girls laughed and tugged at her, "No, we have to try."

Ye Baoling reluctantly picked up the playing cards, shuffled them, and then let Boss Lin choose a card.

After Mr. Lin selected his cards, the other three bosses all gathered around to look.

Lu Baohua, whom Ye Qingtang sent to watch the cards, had his mouth and eyes covered after he finished watching, so that he could not speak or look.

Ye Baoling split the cards in half, Boss Lin put the cards back into the deck, Ye Baoling shuffled the cards again, then turned them over and spread them all out on the table.

Ye Baoling asked Boss Lin, "Which one?"

Mr. Lin laughed and said, "That's what I should be asking you, Miss Gu."

"Just take a look!" Ye Baoling said with a smile and a coquettish tone.

The four bosses smiled and shook their heads, saying they wouldn't watch.

Ye Baoling called out, "Someone's looking! Someone's looking! Is this the one...?"

Everyone held their breath and looked over.

She drew the 7 of Clubs!

The four faces opposite him instantly fell apart.

Lu Baohua screamed and jumped up: "It's the Seven of Plum Blossoms!"

The entire restaurant erupted in cheers!

The happiest person was Ah Zhen, who exceeded her target of 2 million yuan by acting in a movie!

She hugged Ye Baoling and kissed her: "You take the lion's share of the commission, and I'll take the smaller share."

The rest of the marketing team were also very happy; at least they had an explanation for tonight.

Mr. Lin smiled and questioned, "Is this a trap?"

Director Liu, who had just come out of the private room, was delighted to hear that the task had been completed ahead of schedule. He said, "Boss Lin, a bet is a bet! This is definitely not a trap. Otherwise, I would have come to join in the fun."

"Quickly, prepare the contract."

Ye Baoling was surrounded by others, all asking her how she had guessed it.

Ye Baoling said with a smile, "Boss Lin has sweaty hands; the cards he's touched have sweat stains on them."

"That's it?"

"that's all!"

"You're amazing!"

Actually, that's not the case; the real principle is very simple.

Ye Baoling divided the cards in two. Boss Lin placed the 7 of clubs she had drawn on top of her left-hand deck, while she glanced at the bottom of her right-hand deck, which was the King of hearts, and then placed the cards from her right hand face down on top of her left-hand deck.

When shuffling the cards, be careful not to mess them up. After turning the cards over, quickly find the King of Hearts. The card above the King of Hearts is the 7 of Clubs that Mr. Lin put in.

She learned card magic tricks in elementary school.

They fooled everyone.

Ye Baoling glanced at her watch; it was already 8:30. She needed to get through customs at the Luohu Port before it closed at 10:00.

She went to Qu Zhengming to say goodbye: "Mr. Qu, I have to go now."

Having just secured a 2 million yuan order for the company, Qu Zhengming would agree to anything Ye Baoling wanted to do. She asked, "Should we have someone send you back?"

"No need, I'm not drunk. My friend is waiting for me outside."

"Okay, be careful on the road. We'll celebrate when we get back to the company tomorrow."

Ye Baoling paused slightly and said, "Could I ask for a day off tomorrow?"

"What's wrong?"

"My...my dad is seriously ill and has been hospitalized."

She almost wanted to add, "I'm dying."

Qu Zhengming said apologetically, "You should have told me sooner if something happened at home. Go back quickly and take good care of your father at the hospital."

"Thank you, Mr. Qu. I'll be going now."

Ye Baoling jogged outside, where the car prepared by the third son's family was already waiting by the roadside.

After getting on the bus, she headed straight for the Luohu Port.

A very vulgar word suddenly popped into my head; I'd seen it in the comments section of a TV series before.

Send guns thousands of miles.

Although it wasn't a thousand miles, it must have been a hundred miles.

Ugh, how could she even think of that word? She's getting more and more vulgar.

*

At this moment, Ye Huaizhang had just finished talking with the municipal party committee members, and he was going to continue talking with the provincial party committee leaders later.

He was resting in the guest room.

Dong Jian came over and said to him, "We've picked up the eldest young mistress."

Ye Huaizhang nodded slightly, relieved. He asked, "Has the poached chicken been prepared for her?"

"We've already invited the chef from that food stall to the hotel to prepare. He'll start cooking right on time. They say that poached chicken is best when it's been soaked in ice water, with a little bit of residual warmth and blood."

Meanwhile, Ye Baoling, who was clearing the level at that moment, seemed to have a telepathic connection with the delicious chicken leg and couldn't help but swallow her saliva.

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

Author's note: Boss Lin: I lost clearly and decisively.

Ye Huaizhang: You're not the first one to be fooled.

Ye Baoling: Earning money through my own abilities, hehe [evil grin]