Chapter 77 That bottle of wine was never opened, because…

The bottle of wine was never opened; its origin was unknown, and it was put away.

As soon as the fireworks display ended, Ye Baoling and Ye Huaizhang went back to the old third house together.

Back home, the couple began to analyze their new discoveries from the day.

Ye Baoling lay on the sofa, kneading a cushion in her hand: "Someone is impersonating you and delivering wine from Gong Jiahua's wine cellar. This person can enter the wine cellar downstairs, so they are obviously someone from the third branch of the family."

Ye Huaizhang poured two glasses of water: "Why did you choose to give it to Gong Jiahua?"

"It was sent before you went to South Africa. When you returned from South Africa, you were attacked by someone hired by Aunt Mei. If Aunt Mei is Mrs. Gong, and you were impersonated and given Gong Jiahua wine, which led to Mrs. Gong wanting to kill you, is there any connection between these things that cannot be solved for the time being?" Ye Baoling regretted not reading more detective novels.

She's perfectly capable of running a business and engaging in office politics, but when it comes to deciphering secrets, she's a bit lost.

Ye Huaizhang sipped his iced water: "We know too little. Putting aside Aunt Mei's connection for now, among our third branch of the family, who has access to the wine cellar?"

"Since the wine cellar can only be accessed from your dressing room, and you didn't even know it existed, how would this person know? Could it be your third aunt?"

Only Ye Jinliu had an emotional entanglement with the Gong family. Why would she send wine to Gong Jiahua under Ye Huaizhang's name?

Ye Baoling placed the cushion under her head and turned to look at him: "Shall I borrow your knife to kill Gong Jiahua?"

He shook his head slightly: "There was no poison in the wine. Gong Jiahua drank that bottle of wine."

Ye Baoling had a funny thought: "What if the amount wasn't enough, and the kill wasn't achieved?"

Ye Huaizhang: "If it were my aunt, she wouldn't need to use my name to send wine to Gong Jiahua. Why would she want to harm me?"

“Gong Jiahua was unsuspecting when the wine was sent in your name, and he drank it without warning.” Ye Baoling suggested, “We didn’t drink this bottle of red wine today, right? Let’s have it tested tomorrow.”

Ye Huaizhang had already arranged: "Give it to Dong Jian to take for testing."

Two days later, the test results came back, and there was no poison in the wine.

Ye Baoling concluded: "Therefore, the person who delivered the wine was not targeting Gong Jiahua, but you. They were not using you to kill Gong Jiahua, but using this incident to use Aunt Mei to kill you."

Ye Huaizhang agreed with this conjecture.

"Who in my family would want to kill me?"

"A large enough profit can drive someone to commit such a heinous act. Your second uncle, third aunt, and fourth uncle all have motives. You were originally your grandfather's designated heir, but if you die, who will inherit? They could all be potential heirs."

This isn't a matter of hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars; it's a matter of tens of billions of dollars.

What does family ties matter?

Moreover, this is the world of short dramas, which is even crazier and more unreasonable.

Ye Baoling gently poked him and joked, "Seeing that your third branch of the family has scumbags just like our eldest branch, I feel relieved."

This shows that everyone's moral standards are on the same level.

Ye Huaizhang: "..."

Ye Baoling: "The only thing I can be sure of about your family is that your mother and sister are good people."

As for the others, it's hard to say whether they're human or ghosts.

They analyzed who was most likely.

She then analyzed, "If we're talking about benefits, the second uncle and the fourth uncle's family would definitely benefit more. Moreover, the second uncle was in charge of the renovation at the time, so he may have discovered the wine cellar but kept quiet. The second uncle seems honest, but as the TV series shows, the seemingly honest person may be the final boss."

Ye Huaizhang frowned slightly: "My second uncle is truly honest, I can't be wrong about him. In this family, my second uncle is the only man who genuinely loves and treats my wife well."

“Being good to my wife doesn’t contradict my conclusion from earlier.” Ye Baoling knew that deep down he couldn’t accept that his family wanted him dead, but that was how it was now.

Ye Huaizhang knew he couldn't make judgments based on feelings; he had only been stubbornly insisting earlier.

Anyone who learns that their family is going to kill them will instinctively want to avoid thinking about human nature.

Knowing he was unhappy, she still wanted to state her opinion: "As for Fourth Uncle, he's the most cunning one. At the company, he's outwardly compliant but inwardly at odds with you. As for Third Aunt, I think she has the least motive. She has no children and isn't short of money, so the possibility of her inheriting the family business is extremely slim. But I can't rule out the possibility that someone caught her having an affair and then used her, etc."

Although Ye Baoling doesn't read many detective novels, she watches a lot of melodramatic dramas. She's probably seen every kind of melodramatic plot she can think of in novels or TV series.

The final conclusion of the discussion was that the second and fourth uncles were the most likely accomplices, while even if the aunt was involved, she could only be an accomplice.

Next, because Ye Huaizhang was going to Europe on a business trip for a month, they decided to wait until he returned from his trip before trying to eliminate the suspects one by one.

During this period, Ye Huaizhang will send people to investigate whether there are any unknown conflicts of interest behind all the suspected family members of the third branch of the family.

*

Ye Baoling moved to the 29th floor to work, just as she had hoped.

It's just one floor away from the best 30th floor.

Her team of assistants and secretaries has also become stronger, with Chen Yulan joining the team and becoming both her assistant and her bodyguard.

That morning, just as I sat down in my office, Ye Baoshun barged in.

Looking at Ye Baoshun's greasy face and smug, flirtatious manner, Ye Baoling smiled and reminded him, "Watch it, or you'll be in big trouble if Grandpa finds out."

Ye Baoshun tossed his hair, seemingly unconcerned: "I'm behaving myself at home."

“You’ve redefined what honesty means.” Ye Baoling asked him, sipping her coffee, “What do you want?”

"Didn't my Tianyou come out? We..."

"Stop! How disgusting! Here's your Tianyou again! If you want to show off your love, don't try to disgust me." Ye Baoling said with no politeness.

Ye Baoshun couldn't help but laugh. He had nowhere else to show off his affection, so he could only do so with his sister.

He honestly changed his tune, saying, "With the help of a large legal team, Lü Tianyou was acquitted. If it weren't for your and brother-in-law's help, he wouldn't have gotten away so easily. He wants to treat you to a meal to properly thank you!"

Ye Baoling refused: "There's no need for his thanks. We're not familiar with him, so let's skip the meal. Besides, I'm not doing this to help him. If you hadn't shamelessly begged me, I wouldn't have bothered with these things."

"You really don't appreciate my courtesy?"

"No reward." Why should she wrong herself?

While they were chatting, Ye Baoshun mysteriously took out a document and said, "Sister, I'm giving you this evidence of Ye Kaishen's embezzlement. Why don't you and your brother-in-law come and have a seat?"

Ye Baoling glanced at him coldly: "Ye Baoshun, you are a man of your word. I will not help you anymore. Get out of here."

Ye Baoshun quickly handed over the documents, "Alright, alright, if you don't want to go, then you don't have to go. I just told you that your brother-in-law was going abroad and didn't have time. I kept my promise and risked my life to find Ye Kaishen's documents. Take a look."

The documents were handed over, and Ye Baoling opened them to examine them closely.

Ye Baoshun chimed in, "We used to cut and polish all the jewelry and jade ourselves, but in recent years we've outsourced it all, letting others make the money. This jewelry company called Yongxing has taken on a large number of orders from Suman Jewelry. The outsourcing price is far higher than the market price. This is a classic case of profit transfer!"

She continued flipping through the documents without saying a word.

Ye Baoshun: "I checked the shareholders of Yongxing Jewelry. The major shareholder is Ye Kaishen's brother-in-law, and the minor shareholder is my uncle. This must be Ye Kaishen and my father embezzling money from the company together."

Ye Baoshun is truly his father's good son.

Ye Baoling's lips curled up slightly. To put it nicely, her younger brother was putting righteousness before family; to put it bluntly, he was brainless.

"Sis, I even sold my dad to keep my promise. Isn't that enough?"

Closing the document, Ye Baoling smiled and nodded: "Thank you for your hard work."

"Of course! When do you plan to make a move against Ye Kaishen?"

When do you want me to make my move against him?

Of course, the faster the better.

Ye Baoshun no longer wanted to be controlled by Ye Kaishen.

But he didn't dare tell the truth, and just smiled and said, "Sister, you're in charge."

Ye Baoling did not answer him.

Half an hour later, Ye Baoling, along with Lin Zhong, her assistant, and secretary, arrived at Su Man Jewelry's office on the 15th floor.

Ah Cheng knocked on the door of the general manager's office and whispered, "President Shen, just as you predicted, after the young master took the documents to the 29th floor to complain, the young lady came with her people. They were very aggressive, it felt like they were ransacking the house."

Ye Kaishen laughed. This fool Ye Baoshun has made Ye Baoling a fool too.

"Great. Watch how I teach them a lesson."

Ye Kaishen got up and went out to greet her, just in time to see Ye Baoling already at the door.

"Baoling, why did you bring so many people today?"

Ye Baoling smiled and said, "Just Mr. Lin and me. Please inform the senior management that we need to have a meeting first."

Ye Kaishen thought Ye Baoling would come in to seal off the office and search for evidence, but it turned out that she wanted to hold a meeting first.

She was gentler than he had imagined, and he had no idea what she was up to. He simply gave his secretary a look and said, "Notify the senior management to hold a meeting."

Suman Jewelry's conference room is more luxurious than Ye Qingtang's, and its executives are more fashionable and energetic.

Everyone was very nervous at the first meeting Su Man held after the young lady took office.

After all, the young lady has a well-known reputation in Ye Qingtang; wherever she goes, she gets a good tidying up.

"The topic of today's meeting is to finalize our annual plan for 1988." Ye Baoling said, opening the plan document that the management team had already prepared. "Who among you will present?"

Ye Kaishen was a little confused by Ye Baoling's serious expression during the meeting.

He looked at the several vice presidents and instructed, "President Zhou, you can come now."

Zhou Wenxuan was recruited from a foreign jewelry company and is responsible for the overall operation of Suman Jewelry.

He quickly went through this year's work plan. In general, he wanted to start with design and change the original rigid design style of Suman Jewelry, so as to win back some of the market from young people.

Zhou Wenxuan does have some real skills, and his plan has many merits.

But it's still too conservative.

Ye Baoling asked, "Why did we lose to Gezhi?"

“Diamond-themed designs are not fashionable or youthful enough.”

Ye Baoling: "I checked and found that last year, gold and platinum accounted for 75% of our total profits, while diamonds and jade accounted for less than 25%. Market research shows that although other jewelry companies have slightly higher diamond profits than us, gold still accounts for a larger share overall. Why is it that diamonds affect our overall market share?"

Zhou Wenxuan replied, "Nowadays, when young people get married, the first thing they buy is a diamond ring, and at the same time they choose gold jewelry. Other brands will use diamond rings as an entry point to carry out heavy advertising. As long as they attract customers into the store, the sales staff will naturally have a way to provide a one-stop service and coax consumers to buy gold jewelry in their store as well."

That makes sense.

Ye Baoling then asked, "What are our strengths?"

Another vice president, Lin Meijuan, said, "We are an established brand, and the 999 gold standard was customized by us. For discerning people who want to buy gold, Suman Jewelry will definitely be their first choice."

"But many people outside don't know that Suman Jewelry uses the 999 gold standard, right? Why don't we promote it ourselves?"

Everyone started chatting away.

Ye Baoling: "I think there's nothing wrong with making diamond designs more youthful; this is the right path. But our focus shouldn't be on diamonds. We should be focusing on gold. After all, gold has a high market share, and it's where our strength lies."

An old-school manager immediately chimed in: "That's right, our old name was Suman Gold. Since we changed our name to Suman Jewelry, our market share has actually been getting lower and lower."

Ye Baoling smiled and nodded: "Our current style of play doesn't show our advantages at all."

Everyone echoed this sentiment.

"We should leverage our strengths."

"Yes, we can't let our competitors lead us by the nose."

“We are not only being led by the nose, but also being beaten on the ground.”

Ye Baoling fully tapped into everyone's desire to express themselves.

Ye Kaishen was filled with doubt. Wasn't Ye Baoling here to interrogate him? Now it seemed that they really were having a meeting.

Why is she holding back her evidence? He can't figure out what she's thinking.

Ye Baoling closed the annual plan: "In that case, we should fully leverage the advantages of gold as our main strategy, while using the rejuvenation of diamonds as a supplement. How should we leverage the advantages of gold? Besides the brand, I think the most important thing is price. Whether you are rich or poor, you will need to buy all kinds of gold jewelry for your wedding. The elders and relatives will give the bride gold bracelets, which is a considerable expense. The price of gold itself is very transparent. What we can offer at a lower price or as a gift is the processing fee and the brand premium. Since we are a mass-market brand, we should take a people-friendly approach."

"Yes, whether you buy 999 gold from us or someone else, the price is the same when it's recycled. No one is more valuable than the other."

Taking advantage of the situation, Lin Meijuan feigned ignorance and said, "If we are determined to pursue a gold-centric strategy, should we bring up the matter of acquiring a stake in the Little Bieber gold mine in Australia again?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Kaishen's expression changed slightly. He glanced at his trusted confidants but remained silent.

This Lin Meijuan is the sister of the old man's friend. She's usually a troublemaker and a loner.

Finally, someone mentioned the Australian gold mine. Ye Baoling looked at Ye Kaishen and asked, "Mr. Shen, why has the plan to acquire the Australian gold mine been shelved?"

Ye Kaishen laughed and said, "The total price is too high. If we buy this Australian Little Bieber gold mine, our cash flow will be stretched thin. The chairman is conservative and wants to think about it some more."

Ye Baoling: "If we acquire the Little Bieber gold mine in Australia, the future advantage will be entirely in our hands. Gold is not just jewelry; it is also a hard currency with great potential for value preservation and appreciation."

Lin Zhong: "Yes, Gezhi Jewelry has diamond mines, so their diamonds are cheaper than ours, giving them a significant advantage. We should differentiate ourselves; they have diamond mines, but we can have gold mines!"

Lin Meijuan echoed, "Actually, the Little Bieber gold mine isn't very large, and the mine owner is short of money. We can try to continue negotiations."

The discussion eventually came down to how to persuade the chairman to agree to buy the gold mine.

Ye Baoling looked at Ye Kaishen again: "President Shen, let's go and persuade the chairman together."

With so many people in front of him, Ye Kaishen couldn't very well refuse. He smiled and said, "Sure, we'll find some time to talk to the chairman."

"Let's do it now. The chairman is in the company today, so we can report to him."

Faced with a woman of action like Ye Baoling, Ye Kaishen had no choice but to obediently cooperate.

After the meeting, they went to the 30th floor together. There were guests in the chairman's office, so they waited for a while before going in.

Ye Qizu watched them come in together and couldn't help but ask, "What's the matter?"

"Grandpa, we've come to discuss investing in the Little Bieber gold mine in Australia."

Ye Qizu looked at Ye Kaishen: "Didn't you say there were some communication problems over there?"

Therefore, Ye Qizu agreed to buy the gold mine.

Ye Kaishen was the one who interfered.

Ye Kaishen hurriedly explained, "There was indeed a problem at the time. The seller wanted to negotiate a higher price, so I thought I'd give them some space."

"So what's the situation now?"

Ye Kaishen: "In the meeting just now, everyone agreed that we should be more proactive and take over the Little Bieber gold mine."

Ye Baoling did not expose Ye Kaishen's lie, and continued the conversation: "Securing the Australian gold mine will make it easier for us to compete with Gezhi Jewelry."

Upon hearing that he was going to compete with Gezhi Jewelry, Ye Qizu immediately became interested.

We must take over this gold mine no matter what.

The only thing that worries Yeh Chi-tsu is: "Can our cash flow hold up after taking over the Little Bieber gold mine?"

Ye Kaishen: "It's a bit risky, which is also the main reason why we didn't continue to promote the social cause before."

Ye Qizu clasped his hands on the desk: "We can't just give up because of difficulties; we have to find ways to overcome them."

Ye Kaishen suggested: "We can issue more shares and raise funds on the stock market."

Yeh Chi-tsu: "With the stock price so low right now, issuing new shares isn't worthwhile for us. Moreover, the dilution of our equity would be detrimental to us as well. Bao-ling, what are your thoughts?"

The largest shareholder of Suman Jewelry is Ye Qingtang Herbal Tea. Ye Baoling only needs to hold shares to control Ye Qingtang to indirectly control Suman Jewelry. Therefore, she does not agree to dilute Suman Jewelry's equity at such a low price.

She said, "We can get loans from banks. As long as we have strong connections, we can get low-interest loans."

When it comes to bank loans, Ye Qizu's first thought is Minhua Bank, owned by the third branch of the family. "Through Huai Zhang, we should be able to get a low-interest loan from Minhua Bank, but we are now competing with Gezhi Jewelry, so it's not appropriate to borrow money from them."

Ye Kaishen disagreed: "What's inappropriate about it? That money isn't their own; it belongs to the depositors. Lending money doesn't mean they don't pay interest."

Ye Baoling didn't want to borrow money from the old third-hand bank: "But taking their low-interest loan is like using their money to fight them. Even if we win, people will still talk about it. I'll talk to Uncle Zhong later to see which bank is more suitable."

Ye Qizu trusted his granddaughter more in this matter, and he entrusted Ye Baoling with full responsibility.

Ye Baoling returned to the 29th floor and talked to Lin Zhong about the loan.

Previously, the company's loans were either from Minhua Bank or Parkway Bank, with few other banks being partnered with.

Yeh Pao-ling said, “There must be banks that want to win us over as a big client. We’ll try talking to some smaller banks, talk to several of them, and compare prices. We’ll tell them that if they can’t offer Min Hwa Bank the low interest rate, then we’ll choose Min Hwa.”

Lin Zhong said he would immediately send the finance department to communicate with them.

*

Ye Huaizhang is leaving for Europe the day after tomorrow. His entourage has already packed part of his luggage, and he has also added a few more pieces of personal clothing.

Wear both ties she gave me.

Ye Baoling answered the cell phone and went into the bathroom to make the call, acting all mysterious.

When she came out, he asked, "What kind of mysterious phone call was that?"

Ye Baoling smiled and said, "It's a trade secret."

"What kind of trade secrets?"

Ye Baoling replied truthfully, "It's Su Man Jewelry. You and I are competitors now. What did I say before..."

Ye Huaizhang remembered his wife's bold statement: "One day we'll take down Gezhi Jewelry, I remember."

He used to think this had nothing to do with Ye Baoling, but now it's different. With her business acumen, she might actually be able to compete with Gezhi Jewelry.

He actually felt a little bit of anticipation.

Gezhi Jewelry is managed by Ye Jinfeng. He laughed and said, "I look forward to you showing my fourth uncle a thing or two."

"Don't feel bad if you're badly hurt."

"Hong Kong's market is only so big, how much pain can it really feel if it suffers another major blow?"

Ye Baoling reached out and put her arm around his neck. "You must remember what you're saying now. Don't cry if it hurts."

Ye Huaizhang was successfully amused by her. He had never cried over money in his life, nor could he.

He put his tie on the table and pinched her waist. "Xiao Dahai has been having people investigate those people in the family these past two days. It will probably take a week or two to get the results."

"Call me when you have the results."

"Want to come to Europe with me for a month?"

She slipped her hand inside his collar and gently rubbed against his chest muscles. "Can't you see I'm sharpening my knives for the cattle and sheep? I don't have time for that. You're busy, and so am I."

So I'm definitely going to have some fun tonight.

He picked her up and left her for a month, four weeks, twice a week, and he had to do it eight times to break even.

*

Because negotiations for the Australian gold mine had been largely completed, both sides became much more positive after a six-month hiatus.

The loan hasn't been approved yet, but the contract with the Little Bieber gold mine in Australia has been basically finalized.

Ye Baoling liked to get things done quickly, so she immediately persuaded Ye Qizu to agree to pay the first installment with her own funds.

Ye Kaishen had been waiting for Ye Baoling to make a move, but she made no move for a long time.

He could roughly guess that Ye Baoling definitely wanted to gather more evidence against him, so Ye Kaishen was even more cautious in his daily life.

That day, he saw Ye Baoshun peeking in from the doorway again and couldn't help but ask, "Baoshun, is something wrong?"

Ye Baoshun then came in: "Uncle Shen, if there's nothing else, I'll go home now?"

Ye Kaishen pointed upstairs: "Your grandfather is here today."

"He has already gone back." Ye Baoshun had inquired before coming.

Ye Kaishen then smiled and waved, "Go on. Go home early."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ye Baoshun had already slipped away.

He went downstairs, avoided the family driver, and took a taxi to Lü Tianyou's newly rented apartment.

It took about half a minute of ringing the doorbell for Lü Tianyou to open the door.

"Are you deaf? You haven't opened the door in ages."

"In the toilet."

After searching for a job for half a month, Lü Tianyou finally got a job at a new company with the help of a friend.

He had changed his usual disheveled appearance and dressed smartly, and was currently applying hairspray in the bathroom.

Ye Baoshun glanced at his watch. "There's only enough time to watch one movie. I need to go home for dinner tonight, so hurry up."

"Sit down and wait for me a moment, I need to shave."

Ye Baoshun sat down on the sofa. As soon as he sat down, he noticed a hair on the cushion. He pulled it out and saw that it was a thin, long hair dyed yellow.

A woman's hair?

He immediately went over and demanded, "What is this?"

Lu Tianyou paused for a moment, then smiled without changing his expression and said, "My mom and my aunt are here. Who knows whose child it is?"

Ye Baoshun was skeptical. "Your mother and your aunt dyed their hair?"

"That belongs to my aunt. My aunt dyed her hair."

Ye Baoshun gently poked Lü Tianyou's chest: "If you dare to steal food, I'll make you pay."

Lu Tianyou put down the comb. "With your slutty ways, I can barely feed you enough, how could I have the energy to sneak around? You're crazy!"

Ye Baoshun rolled her eyes at him and threw her hair in the trash can.

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

Author's note: I finished writing this last night and revised it on the high-speed train today. Please bear with it.

Almost forgot today is Singles' Day! There are small red envelopes (cash gifts) for comments on this chapter, until the next chapter update [kissing emoji].