Chapter 72 Is it her?

After initially determining that Ye Qizu was the culprit who framed the original owner's mother, Ye Baoling silently prayed for a response from the system.

Unfortunately, the system remained completely unresponsive.

They completely ignored the answer she was looking for.

So, it would only be considered a success if she confronted her grandfather and he personally admitted it.

But it's impossible for her to fall out with the old man now.

Ye Baoling cursed under her breath. She knew it wouldn't be easy to get the system's extra rewards.

*

In the brand department conference room on the 8th floor, Ye Baoling and her colleagues from the Jasmine Iced Tea team and the third group of the marketing department were having a meeting.

Everyone brainstormed and brainstormed ideas to come up with good suggestions for promoting jasmine iced tea to the US branch.

A colleague from the brand department said, "We still need to work with professional advertising agencies in the US; we definitely can't do it on our own."

Sitting at the head of the table, Ye Baoling nodded slightly: "We're working on both sides simultaneously. Yang Baozhu and her team just arrived in the United States. Renting offices, recruiting staff, and negotiating business all take time. We can't just sit here and wait for them to be ready before we start. Today, our main focus is to come up with an idea or a theme..."

Someone suggested, "Christmas is just two months away. Could we organize some promotional activities to coincide with Christmas?"

Li Donghao asked, "Will our first batch of goods be ready for Christmas? Is there enough time?"

Ah Zhen: "It takes about 25 days for the goods to arrive at the West Coast of the United States by sea. Including customs clearance and queuing, it takes another 2-3 days to reach the warehouse. After that, the goods are shipped to major cities for distribution and shelving. The total estimated time is at least 35 days."

That means they have more than half a month to prepare.

"How about designing our bottle in Christmas red?"

Xu Chengping from the product department said, "I'm afraid it's too late. The bottle design features a Chinese panda drinking jasmine iced tea and practicing kung fu. It's already been printed. If we want to change it now, it will involve a lot of costs and time."

Ye Baoling thought for a moment, "Could we try a different approach? We don't change the bottle, but we change the cardboard box packaging. The consumption habits in the United States are quite different from ours. We like to buy one bottle at a time, while they prefer to go to large supermarkets and buy by the case."

“That’s a great idea!” He Jiayi, quick-witted, immediately came up with a new idea: “Design the cardboard boxes as Santa Claus. It’s festive and fits their holiday atmosphere.”

Ye Baoling smiled and said, "This is a good idea. We can buy it to drink at home ourselves, or give it as a gift!"

Someone else suggested, "Our bottle design features a panda, so why not design a panda wearing a Santa hat on the outer packaging box, like Santa Claus Panda?"

This idea was even better and immediately won everyone's approval.

"All our future promotional elements can revolve around pandas, so we don't need to hire any big-name celebrities, which will save us a lot of money on promotions."

"This promotion is also applicable in Hong Kong, Taiwan and other regions."

The next problem was that a batch of the original-designed cardboard boxes had already been produced. Should they be sent back to the factory to be remade, or should the original design be used in some parts and the Christmas design in others?

After careful consideration, Ye Baoling said, "Let's make it half and half."

After all, the first batch of goods probably won't sell out between Christmas and New Year.

Selling Christmas-packaged iced tea after Christmas is no longer a good idea.

But Ye Baoling felt it wasn't enough and told everyone to go back and come up with more ideas.

As I walked out of the meeting room after the meeting, I happened to see a colleague carrying a shoulder bag, about to go out on a field trip.

A colleague had a cute little doll hanging from her handbag, and Ye Baoling had a sudden inspiration. She turned around and chatted with He Jiayi: "How much would it cost to make panda dolls in bulk?"

He Jiayi: "Factory prices in Shenzhen shouldn't be too high. What's wrong?"

Would it be appealing to include a panda plush toy with every case of jasmine iced tea?

He Jiayi nodded in delight: "There's a panda craze in America right now, this should be very attractive! But how should we give it as a gift? Should we hang the panda plush toy on the outer packaging?"

It falls off easily and looks cheap.

Back in her office, Ye Baoling took out paper and pen and drew a design herself.

"The panda plush toy can't be too small, it has to be big, and it should be embedded in the middle of the packaging cardboard box, with a transparent plastic box on the outside, so that the whole packaging is integrated."

It looks very high-end. It would be a presentable gift.

He Jiayi praised, "That's fantastic! If we want to give every child a panda, wouldn't each family need to buy many boxes?"

Ye Baoling immediately started brainstorming: "We can design six panda designs. If you collect all six panda designs, you can get an extra box of original-packaged jasmine iced tea as a gift. Of course, the distributors will have to bear the cost. If they agree, we can market it this way."

He Jiayi was a little excited: "This method is great! First, attract them to buy it. Once they buy it, try it, and find that the jasmine iced tea is delicious, then they will keep buying it again."

"We need to design these six panda designs carefully and ensure high quality so that Americans will be eager to buy them!"

Ye Baoling immediately recalled the relevant personnel for another meeting, and then encountered another problem.

"Costs have increased, how do we solve this? I'm worried the finance department will hold us accountable."

Cost is a very real issue.

Someone suggested, "The simplest way is to shift the cost to L&D. If they agree to add a budget for a plush toy, we'll add it."

This back-and-forth communication is very slow, and it's not appropriate to have to increase the price for the other party in the first transaction.

Ye Baoling thought for a moment: "Let the purchasing department inquire about prices. A panda plush toy shouldn't be too expensive. A case of drinks contains 24 bottles. If we spread the cost across each bottle, it probably won't be much more expensive."

Wang Bingchang: "Finding Hong Kong businessmen will definitely be more expensive. If we go directly to Shenzhen to find manufacturers, it will be much cheaper."

He volunteered to find manufacturers, some of whom might also offer design services, which would save him a lot of time.

The next morning, Wang Bingchang called back, saying he had found two manufacturers in Shenzhen that could make panda plush toys, and the price would be very affordable if they produced them in bulk.

Whether Ye Qingtang Jasmine Iced Tea can become a hit in the United States is crucial for the company's future development.

Ye Baoling was unsure if Wang Bingchang's aesthetic sense was up to par, so she decided to personally take the design drafts to Shenzhen to finalize the factory selection.

Wang Bingchang selected factories all located outside the Great Wall. Ye Baoling spent half a day traveling around and finally decided on Hongsheng Factory, which was an OEM manufacturer for a well-known American plush toy manufacturer.

Hong Sheng Factory's prices were higher than another company's, but the quality of their plush toys was higher. More importantly, after adjusting the design drafts brought by Ye Baoling, they quickly produced six sample panda plush toys.

These panda plush toys are all eye-catching and interesting, and very lovable.

Finally, Ye Baoling decided to embroider the year 1987 on the back of the plush toy.

This is to prepare for releasing different figurines every year in the future.

*

Ye Baoshun was sentenced to 40 hours of community service, to be completed within 12 months.

In the reception room on the first floor of Xihetang, the lawyer said, "Young Master Ye, don't worry. They will arrange some gardening work for you. You won't have much contact with outsiders. Under normal circumstances, you just need to sign in."

Ye Qizu was dissatisfied: "40 hours, finish it before the Lunar New Year. Don't drag this year's work out to next year. Also, you are not allowed to just sign in and leave. You must complete the community service order properly."

Ye Baoshun gave a quiet reply.

Yeh Chi-tsu: "This is your punishment. You should take this as a warning."

"knew."

After the lawyer left, Ye Qizu sighed. Actually, what he was most dissatisfied with about Ye Baoshun hitting Zheng Junni was that Ye Baoshun was too emotionally out of control.

It's terrible when an adult can't control their emotions.

But there was something that made him happy: his grandson was, after all, a real man with flesh and blood.

If corrected properly, it's not impossible to turn things around.

He specially hired a professional to be Ye Baoshun's personal consultant and help Ye Baoshun arrange his daily tasks.

Not daring to hire a male consultant, they instead hired Ms. Lan, who was in her forties and still quite attractive.

Miss Lan has filled Ye Baoshun's schedule very full.

"In the morning, I would ride horses, play tennis, or practice swordsmanship. In the afternoon, I would study 'The Art of War', 'Zizhi Tongjian', and management with a teacher specializing in traditional Chinese culture. If I wasn't in class, I would go out and participate in some socially meaningful activities. In the evening, I would study business strategies or rest."

Ye Baoshun was overwhelmed by what he heard, but he didn't dare to object and just sat there without saying a word.

Ye Qizu was quite satisfied with the arrangement: "Let's implement it for a month first. If you have time, you can still go to the company for an internship. Your Uncle Shen said he will personally mentor you, so study hard. Grandpa doesn't have high expectations for you. As long as you can have basic judgment on business knowledge and transactions and pass the internship, Grandpa can arrange for you to join the board of directors."

The board of directors has already taken the spot.

Upon hearing this, Ye Kaisi hurriedly said, "Baoshun, you have to live up to expectations. You're the only boy in the family, so don't let your grandfather down. You know how many people want to get into the board of directors but can't. You have to cherish this opportunity."

Ye Qizu: "Your sister wants to join the board of directors, but I have never agreed. Why? She has achieved so much, and I wanted to leave the position to her. But she is ultimately a granddaughter. She cannot inherit our eldest son's family business. What you can easily obtain is something your sister has worked hard for but could not achieve. If you do not know how to cherish it and repeatedly disappoint my expectations, then I would rather give it to my granddaughter than give it to you. Do you understand?"

Ye Baoshun was very impatient, but he could only yield to authority and said, "Understood."

Just then, Ye Kaimin walked to the door and happened to hear his father's words.

Ye Qizu glanced at Ye Kaimin, stood up, completely ignoring his presence, and walked straight out.

As Ye Qizu stepped out of the teahouse, he thought of Ye Baoling and couldn't help but ask Uncle Xing, "Why haven't I seen Baoling these past two days? Where did she go?"

"The young lady went to Shenzhen yesterday and should be back today."

What is she going to Shenzhen for?

"It seems to be to set some kind of sample for the first batch of products for the American distributor. I'm not too sure about the specifics. The young lady likes to do things herself and she has a lot of guts."

It's clear that Uncle Xing greatly admires and respects the young lady.

Ye Qizu understood his mindset; who wouldn't want to work for a reliable boss?

He didn't say anything more immediately.

*

After Ye Qizu left, Ye Kaisi and Ye Baoshun also left.

Ye Kaimin was furious at being ignored by his family.

The closer the blood ties, the more ruthless they can be.

He slumped alone on the sofa in the tea room, legs spread apart, head tilted back, staring at the ceiling.

Is this all there is to his life?

He was unwilling to accept it.

Ye Kaimin is the eldest son and grandson, why is he treated like this?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he grabbed a cushion and threw it hard at the display shelf opposite him.

Ye Baoling returned from Shenzhen, and because it was getting late, she didn't go to the company but went straight home.

She heard that Ye Kaimin was sulking in the teahouse. She didn't want to get involved, but she couldn't suppress her curiosity and came over anyway.

As soon as she arrived, she saw her father throw a cushion hard, almost knocking down the ornaments on the display shelf.

Picking up the cushion from the ground, Ye Baoling asked, "What triggered this now?"

Upon hearing his daughter's voice, Ye Kaimin sat up abruptly. He stared at Ye Baoling for a long while before saying, "Do you know what the old man just said?"

"What did he say?"

"Your grandfather, in an effort to coax Ye Baoshun onto the right path, said that as long as Ye Baoshun passes his probationary period, he'll let him join the board of directors. He won't let you in, he'll let him in!"

Ye Baoling's eyes dimmed slightly. She had expected Ye Qizu's favoritism, but she never imagined that the board position he valued so much, a position she had worked so hard to earn, would be so easily given away by Ye Qizu just to appease his grandson.

It's as if Ye Baoshun could easily obtain something that you might have to get a doctorate to achieve, simply by learning to speak.

Ha. Ironic.

She sneered, mocking him in Ye Kaimin's style: "So what? It's your fault for not giving birth to my son."

Ye Kaimin pounded his fist: "I'm not reconciled! In every generation of our Ye family, the eldest son inherits the family business. Why is it different in my generation? Don't I have sons? I do. Isn't Baolong a son? Baolong may have some intellectual disabilities, but does that affect his ability to carry on the family line? When he grows up, he can get married and have children. Why should I just hand over my position to Ye Kaisi and Ye Baoshun?"

Ye Baoling scoffed, "You just said that your son is intellectually disabled. Grandpa has better options, so why doesn't he choose them?"

Are you still my daughter?

Why are you shouting so loudly? Do you think I can change anything?

"Of course you can. You're already the vice president of Ye Qingtang Herbal Tea, and you can still rise higher. Your abilities are definitely superior to Ye Baoshun's. If I inherit the family business in the future, you'll be in charge of managing the company, and Baolong will be in charge of carrying on the family line. The three of us—no, and Ye Huaizhang too, he can help—the four of us, taking care of this family, isn't that good? Your brother's child will inherit the eldest branch, and your child will inherit the third branch. I, Ye Kaimin, should be the winner! Do you understand?" Ye Kaimin was somewhat delusional.

Ye Baoling almost laughed at her father's words. "Then who have I worked so hard all my life, toiling away like a beast of burden? For the stupid son you had with your mistress? Do you think I'm out of my mind? I'd rather let Baoshun protect the country than let Baolong have it. What are you thinking?"

Ye Baoling knew that someone was listening outside the door.

Anyone who dares to eavesdrop on their conversation is either one of the old man's men or one of the second uncle and aunt's men.

The first half of her statement was sincere, but the second half was deliberately said for those outside the door to hear.

Ye Kaimin was angered by his daughter's words, "Do you know who's closest to you in this world? It's me! Your dad!"

Ye Baoling walked out, and the people outside heard her footsteps and quickly left.

She walked to the door, glanced outside, and then closed the door.

"Someone's eavesdropping?" Ye Kaimin finally realized.

Ye Baoling: "What do you think? The door was wide open, and you were speaking so loudly. Who couldn't eavesdrop? You've been drinking, haven't you?"

Ye Kaimin had drunk a little, but he considered himself sober.

He assumed that Ye Baoling's words were meant for those outside the door to hear.

He knew that no matter how distant his daughter was from him, she should still be closer to him than his uncles and cousins.

My anger, which was just moments ago, subsided considerably in an instant.

He whispered, "I've been researching this for a long time. If we want to bring down Ye Baoshun, we have to deal with Ye Kaishen first."

"How do we deal with this?" Ye Baoling wasn't particularly looking forward to her father's brilliant ideas, but that didn't mean she couldn't listen.

What if there's an unexpected surprise?

Ye Kaimin: "Do you know why Ye Kaishen and Lin Zhong fought to the death?"

She casually replied, "I don't know."

But Ye Kaimin was thrilled by this "I don't know," and with an expression that said, "I'm the one who knows more," he said, "Besides wanting to continue as the group's general manager, Ye Kaishen is mainly afraid that Lin Zhong will interfere with Suman Jewelry. So he's always looking for trouble for Lin Zhong and Ye Qingtang, preventing Lin Zhong from having too much energy to meddle in the management of Suman Jewelry. He's made a fortune from Suman Jewelry over the years; he's much richer than your old man!"

Ye Baoling: "Where's the evidence? Do you have any evidence?"

"If I had evidence, I would have killed him already. Why would I be here nagging you?"

“But you can’t rely on me entirely.” Ye Baoling stood in front of her father, her attitude slightly arrogant. “We’ll talk about cooperation again once you find the evidence.”

Ye Kaimin didn't understand: "How did we become partners? This is a family working together. I'm your father!"

"If you can loudly proclaim to me, 'I am your father, all my money belongs to you,' when it comes to dividing the family property, then I, Ye Baoling, will respect you as my father."

His daughter's words always managed to anger him.

But things are different now. His daughter is now his only hope, and Ye Kaimin has no choice but to give in.

Instead of arguing with her, he said, "I'm definitely going to find evidence and bring this Ye Kaishen down."

"Keep it up." Ye Baoling smiled slightly, then opened the door and went out.

Ye Kaimin: "..."

*

The marriage between Ye Huaizhang and Ye Baoling was basically an open secret among Ye's close relatives and friends.

However, they are rarely seen together in public.

They often attend private gatherings together.

It was Aunt Ye Jinliu's birthday dinner. Ye Jinliu had booked a luxury hotel with a beach at the seaside and played there from noon until night.

Ye Baoling came here today in Ye Huaizhang's car.

I ran into Gong Jiahua and his parents as soon as I arrived at the door.

Gong Jinghui, the father of the Gong family, is a very busy man. Ye Baoling has only seen him once in the past six months. Gong's wife has been recuperating from an illness and rarely goes out for social events. Today, they are taking the opportunity to come to the beach together to enjoy the sun.

Mrs. Gong was in poor health, but she was quite humorous. She teased Ye Huaizhang, "Huaizhang, you look so radiant. It's obvious you're very happy after getting married."

Gong Jinghui, somewhat oblivious to the situation, said, "He just landed a big deal in Europe; he's made a fortune, that's why he's beaming. You women only see love and romance in everything; your standards are so low."

Ye Huaizhang simply smiled and didn't respond.

Gong Jiahua walked over and asked them, "Do you want to play beach volleyball later?"

Ye Baoling didn't want to change her clothes and shoes. "I won't fight."

Gong Jiahua looked at Ye Huaizhang, "And you?"

Ye Huaizhang glanced at him sideways: "My wife said no, didn't you hear me?"

Gong Jiahua was so angry that he couldn't help but taunt them: "Now that you don't need me to cover for you, you're just abandoning us after we've served our purpose, huh?"

Indeed, they removed the plank after crossing the bridge.

Ye Huaizhang smiled and didn't explain, only glancing at his watch: "After lunch, rest for a while, take a nap, and we'll talk in the afternoon."

Gong Jiahua muttered softly, "I just want to sleep."

As a result, Ye Huaizhang glared at him, and he immediately shut up.

They entered the hotel lobby and took the elevator to the 15th floor.

This time, Ye Jinliu booked the entire 15th floor.

As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I saw Ye Jinliu dressed up and chatting with the newly arrived guests.

"Happy birthday, Ah Liu. Wow, you look even more beautiful." Mrs. Gong complimented her as soon as they met.

Ye Jinliu took Mrs. Gong's hand and said, "Mrs. Gong, it's been so long. How have you been feeling lately?"

"I feel much better, otherwise I wouldn't have dared to come out."

“You should get out and about more often. Jinghui is not good at cherishing women and doesn’t understand romance. I told you two middle-aged couples that you should take a vacation together at the beach, but he kept making excuses and didn’t want to come.” Ye Jinliu glared at Gong Jinghui.

She and Gong Jinghui were childhood friends, and they both spoke very directly.

Mrs. Gong laughed and said, "He doesn't like us women around wherever he goes."

"Don't pay attention to him. You should come out for tea more often when you have time."

Gong Jinghui laughed and said, "Yes, yes, you women are all right."

As they were talking, Ye Jinliu looked at Ye Huaizhang and his wife and said, "The room has been booked. It seems you've already moved your luggage in. Just go to the left."

A welcoming attendant was about to lead them inside.

Just then, Ye Huaili came out to greet them: "Brother and sister-in-law, you live next door to me."

Ye Baoling asked Huaili, "Have your parents arrived?"

“My dad has something to do and won’t be here until tonight. My mom isn’t feeling well, so she’ll be here later too.”

That's just my aunt's personality; she won't show up for these kinds of events unless it's right at the last minute.

If she weren't afraid of offending Ye Jinliu, she definitely wouldn't have come at all.

Gong Jiahua has already obtained the room keys for himself and his parents, and they all live in the Left Wing.

"Let's go to our room and rest for a bit. We'll have lunch at Maria Restaurant at 12 o'clock. That way, we can think about what to do this afternoon."

Gong Jiahua turned back and called to his parents, "Daddy, Mommy, let's go."

Mrs. Gong was still having a lively conversation with Ye Jinliu.

"Amei! Let's go." Gong Jinghui called out impatiently.

Ye Huaizhang, who had already headed to the left wing, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Ah Mei?

He glanced back at Mrs. Gong; she had a slightly square face, her hair was styled in a bun, and she was of medium height…

This perfectly matches the description of Aunt Mei that Water Dog mentioned.

He had known Gong Jiahua's mother since he was a child, but he never knew her name, only that she was called Mrs. Gong.

How could it be her?

He had no financial ties with Mrs. Gong, so she had no motive to hire someone to kill him.

Moreover, someone of her status wouldn't personally negotiate with a hitman if she really wanted to hire someone to commit murder, right?

No. That shouldn't be it.

Although Ye Huaizhang denied his own conjecture in his heart, after entering the room, he immediately called Dong Jian and asked Dong Jian to arrange for someone to take Mrs. Gong's photo to Shui Gou for identification.

He didn't deliberately avoid Ye Baoling when he made the call.

In fact, Ye Baoling already knew about the Water Dog incident through Chen Weiqiang, but she pretended not to know and asked him what was wrong.

Ye Huaizhang explained the whole story to her.

Ye Baoling: "After you returned from South Africa, someone imitating the Lai father and son arranged a car accident with the help of Water Dog to kill you. And this person is called Aunt Mei?"

"The person we've identified so far is Aunt Mei."

Ye Baoling frowned slightly: "I don't think Mrs. Gong is such a complicated person. She is not as shrewd as her husband."

Ye Huaizhang: "Of course Gong Jinghui is shrewd; otherwise, how could he control such a large family business?"

Ye Baoling recalled the way Ye Jinliu looked at Gong Jinghui and said, "And I think Gong Jinghui's relationship with your aunt is a bit..."

Ye Huaizhang wasn't as perceptive as she was in this regard. "My aunt and Gong Jinghui?"

"Intuition. No evidence. I'll secretly observe him again during dinner." Ye Baoling was trimming her nails next to him; she had scratched him several times, so she trimmed them shorter.

Ye Huaizhang rubbed his brows and fell into deep thought.

She asked again, "Why did Aunt Mei want to kill you?"

"I'd like to know too."

"And she only bought a murder weapon once, and gave up after it failed."

Ye Huaizhang sat down next to her, gently stroking her knees. "Yes, I've been wondering the same thing. Why did this person give up?"

"Why did we give up on killing you? It seems like we both really want the other to continue." She couldn't help but laugh first.

The two men's conversation was somewhat amusingly detached, and Ye Huaizhang laughed as well.

After laughing enough, Ye Baoling continued to speculate: "It's probably because the first attempt failed, and the man surnamed Lai was caught by you, so Aunt Mei's plan failed. Since she had already alerted the enemy, and her own abilities are limited, she dared not act rashly again."

"Perhaps. Or maybe not." Ye Huaizhang thought, there must be some secret he didn't know.

She cautioned, "You should still be careful when you go out."

"I've been very careful since I came back from South Africa."

They sat on the sofa and talked about various possibilities.

It was almost noon, and I was getting ready to go out for lunch when Dong Jian knocked on the door and came in.

“When Shui Gou saw Mrs. Gong’s photo, he said she looked somewhat like her, but not quite, and he wasn’t sure. Shui Gou had only met Aunt Mei once, and he couldn’t quite remember her.”

It's very troublesome if we can't confirm it.

Ye Huaizhang and Ye Baoling exchanged a glance and decided to take the opportunity to observe more closely today.

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

The author says: I'm still not quite satisfied with this title. The author, who's a bit slow on the uptake, is asking for a title again.

The more imaginative and exaggerated the idea, the better. The title should ideally have a slight twist.

All participants will receive a small thank-you red envelope. If the book title is used, I will also receive 1000 Jinjiang coins as a thank you! [heart emojis]