Chapter 79: A New Story Every Day

On her way home that day, Ye Baoling listened to the radio and learned that actress Liang Ailing was about to hold her wedding of the century that weekend.

The groom is the nephew of the richest man in Hong Kong, Lai. The wedding was a grand affair that attracted the attention of the entire Hong Kong media.

Is Liang Ailing's husband a nephew or niece of the Li family?

Ye Baoling hadn't noticed this information before, but this could be an opportunity for cooperation.

Before the New Year, Ye Baoling heard Ye Leqiong mention that she was going to be Liang Ailing's bridesmaid. After getting home from get off work, Ye Baoling found Ye Leqiong and told her about her idea of ​​sponsoring Liang Ailing's wedding gold jewelry.

Ye Leqiong and Liang Ailing are best friends, but she doesn't have much confidence.

"Her husband is a nephew of the Li family, a wealthy and influential family. They probably wouldn't want to make the wedding so commercial."

Ye Baoling was so confident precisely because Liang Ailing's marriage partner was a nephew or niece of the Li family.

She knew that the company behind Airport Connect was the Li family.

“Go and talk to her, tell her to discuss it with her husband. What if they're interested? And we don't require any Suman Jewelry brand advertisements to be displayed at the event. We just need to include a Suman Jewelry gold card in the wedding favors for our guests. And most importantly, when she's interviewed by the media, she needs to wear a traditional Chinese wedding gown and the gold jewelry we've gifted her, and proactively mention that Suman Jewelry sponsored her wedding gold jewelry. That's enough.”

"Alright, I'll go ask her." Ye Leqiong then asked, "What kinds of gold jewelry can Suman Jewelry sponsor?"

Ye Baoling had considered this issue on the way: "We'll give her two sets of gold rings, a gold headdress, dragon and phoenix bracelets, and a gold pig pendant. If she wants to add the dragon and phoenix bracelets, we'll waive the craftsmanship fee and then give her a 20% discount. In total, the gifts will be worth no less than HKD 100,000."

Ye Leqiong frowned, finding the amount insufficient. "100,000 Hong Kong dollars isn't much. A million would be more like it. They definitely won't agree. I'm too embarrassed to even ask."

That's enough.

Ye Baoling said, "They have money and don't care, but this sponsorship is probably what they want. You must remember to remind her to discuss it with her husband."

Ye Leqiong agreed to communicate with them.

At first, Leung Ai Ling hesitated and seemed not very interested, after all, she had already prepared her gold jewelry, and the sponsorship of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars for gold jewelry was not much.

Ye Leqiong told her to discuss it with her husband.

The next day, Liang Ailing called and readily agreed to cooperate.

Ye Baoling personally went to communicate with her about the details of the cooperation. Liang Ailing is a very shrewd and well-connected person. She is often the subject of gossip in the media. This time, she was very cooperative.

The area surrounding the Lihua Hotel was packed with media reporters at the weekend wedding.

Wearing a traditional Chinese wedding gown, Liang Ailing and her husband arrived at the hotel entrance to distribute red envelopes to reporters and give interviews.

The next day, the headlines of major media outlets were: "Liang Ailing's Wedding of the Century: Covered in Gold, She Claims Wearing Diamonds to Her Wedding Is Bad Luck," and "Liang Ailing Marries into a Wealthy Family, Becoming a Golden Phoenix, She Loves Gold More Than Stones"...

On that day, various radio broadcasts and news reports coincided with a rapid decline in the stock prices of diamond-related companies, with Hong Kong-listed companies that own diamond mines suffering the most severe losses.

Originally, as a related stock, Suman Jewelry's share price also fell. However, at noon that day, Ye Baoling held a press conference to announce that Suman Jewelry had fully acquired the Little Bieber Gold Mine in Australia and would provide consumers with more affordable and higher-quality gold jewelry.

The stock price of Suman Jewelry, which had been falling, suddenly surged.

Seeing the stock price soar, Chen Yulan was overjoyed. She asked Ye Baoling with some confusion, "Cousin, how did you convince Liang Ailing to say so many things that are beneficial to us to the reporters?"

Ye Baoling laughed and said, "I didn't persuade her. She was just doing Airport Connect Industry for her husband's sake."

"Huh?" Chen Yulan was confused.

"Guess why so many media outlets have joined in to smear diamonds and spread dirt on Hong Kong Tong Industrial? These media outlets are all henchmen of the Li family."

Chen Yulan nodded absently: "Cousin, how did you know?"

Ye Baoling smiled slightly: "It's a secret."

The three major real estate companies were the targets of this attack.

While holding press conferences to clarify the negative reports about their performance, they also threatened to sue the media outlets that had been making a fuss.

Ye Jinfeng said at the meeting that the gem at the very top of the Queen's scepter is a large diamond, and that the diamond's rarity, beauty, and high price make it unique.

Just as the third wife finished refuting the claim, an expert hired by Ye Baoling explained that while the diamond in the Queen's scepter was indeed unique, the smaller diamonds set in the ring were not of much value.

Gold, on the other hand, is completely different. No matter how big or small it is, its value is calculated by the gram. Among commonly used jewelry materials, only gold can truly achieve "equality for all".

Whether it's the gold worn by the richest man or the gold worn by an ordinary person, apart from the different craftsmanship, their value is the same.

In other words, the buyback price is consistent, and there is no deception of the young or old.

Upon seeing this latest expert science popularization news, Ye Jinfeng was so angry that he threw the newspaper aside.

Recently, Gezhi Jewelry's sales have plummeted. The relevant person in charge came to report on the situation and suggested removing some diamond advertisements and adding posters of gold jewelry in various stores to attract customers.

For the sake of performance, Ye Jinfeng had no choice but to go with the flow and give in, saying, "Change it. Change it."

*

Yeh Chi-tsu, who saw the same news in his study, was overjoyed.

He said to Ye Kaisi, who was sitting opposite him, "Baoling's marketing this time was absolutely brilliant. Seeing the third wife's family running around trying to deal with us, I haven't felt this comfortable in many years."

Ye Kaisi watched his niece become increasingly successful and felt somewhat apprehensive: "If Bao Ling really manages to completely crush Gezhi Jewelry, then who will be able to control her at the company and at home?"

Ye Qizu glared at his son: "Are you jealous?"

“I… what am I jealous of? Of course I want her to succeed. The more successful she is, the better it is for our eldest son’s branch of the family. But the more successful she is, the harder it will be for Bao Shun to take power in the future. Let alone Bao Shun, even I can’t control her. Dad, you’ve never put me in a suitable position in the company, so even if I wanted to manage Bao Ling in the future, I wouldn’t be able to.” Ye Kaisi had always held a sinecure position in the company. “Dad, I don’t know what you were thinking. In the past, to balance things out between my brother and me, you made us both hold sinecure positions…”

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Qizu interrupted him: "Haven't I ever given you important responsibilities? I gave you opportunities, and what was the result? It was because of your negligence and inaction that the third branch of the family had the opportunity to create the Gezhi Jewelry brand to compete with us. Do you think that after all these years, I've become senile and forgotten?"

"That happened so many years ago."

"Once bitten by a snake, twice shy of a well rope!"

Ye Kaisheng fell silent for a moment.

Ye Qizu is very clear about his son's abilities. The reason he still has some hope for Baoshun is because Baoshun, a child who did not graduate from university, still has the opportunity to be molded into a talent.

However, he knew that the chances were slim.

Yeh Chi-tsu: "To be honest, the best way is to let professional managers run the company. Pao-ling is a very qualified professional manager. I would be very reassured if she were to assist you in the future."

Ye Kaisi chuckled: "Dad, are you sure you can rest assured? My older brother doesn't think that way."

Ye Qizu refuted him: "I never said the family fortune would be yours. It might go to your elder brother. But no matter who it goes to, it won't end up in Bao Ling's hands. She shouldn't be a threat to you. Bao Ling is still young; she doesn't even realize that her achievements are overshadowing the emperor. Prince Gong was like that for a time, unaware that his achievements overshadowed the emperor, and as a result, Empress Dowager Cixi caught him and dealt with him severely. Only after that did Prince Gong become obedient. Bao Ling is just like Prince Gong in his early days..."

Ye Kaisi: "Dad, do you want to find a chance to teach her a lesson?"

Ye Qizu folded the newspaper and put it aside. "If you want her to become a qualified manager for the family, you have to train and hone her. It's like raising a dog; you have to discipline and discipline it before it will listen to you."

Hearing the old man say that, Ye Kaisi finally felt relieved.

He quickly tried to appease her, saying, "No matter what, Bao Ling is still a child of our eldest son's family. Giving her a proper lesson will help her grow. Besides, I believe her heart is definitely with us."

"You understand."

As they were talking, Ye Kaimin knocked on the door and came in.

He has been completely repaired during this period, and now his daughter is a great contributor to the eldest son's family. He looks much better now.

"Dad, you wanted to see me?"

"Where have you been? I've been looking for you for ages."

Ye Kaimin pulled out a chair and sat down. "Su Man Jewelry's main store is having an event today, so I'm going to help out."

Do I need your help?

Ye Qizu didn't express his disdain, but instead said, "The Fang family is coming to propose marriage tomorrow. I want to ask you, what are your plans?"

Ye Kaimin didn't want to get involved in this matter at all, but Ye Baoxin was married to Fang Shanxing, so he couldn't just ignore it.

"I have no objection, it depends on what you think, Dad."

Ye Qizu didn't want to waste time beating around the bush: "At first, when Baoxin went on a blind date with Fang Shanxing, I thought it wouldn't work out. I didn't expect her to get pregnant first... It wouldn't sound good if word got out. A wedding is no small matter; preparation takes time. Good hotels need to be booked at least three months in advance, and if preparations go on too long, the pregnancy might become noticeable. So it's better to keep it low-key, publish a news article, and hold a simple ceremony. If the Fang family wants to have a big celebration, they can wait until the baby is born and have a full-month celebration. At that time, they can be as extravagant as they want; it's their own business. As for the dowry, you parents can decide for yourselves."

The implication is that this is not his granddaughter, and he will not prepare a dowry for Ye Baoxin.

Ye Kaimin: "Zheng Junni had saved up some gold jewelry for her wedding before, so just give her that gold jewelry."

Ye Qizu couldn't remain completely silent, so he said, "I'll have Uncle Xing prepare a pair of dragon and phoenix bracelets for her. Other elders in the Ye family will definitely give her gold jewelry as well. Everyone's good intentions are appreciated, and that's enough for her."

Ye Kaisi also said, "Just have Su Man prepare the gold bracelets, and we'll pay for them."

The next day, the two families quickly reached an agreement: instead of holding a large banquet at a hotel, they would simply hold a wedding ceremony at Fangjia Garden before the Lunar New Year.

Although Ye Baoxin felt uncomfortable when she found out, she quickly accepted the result.

She's pregnant now and really doesn't have time to prepare for the wedding; she can't wait.

As long as I can marry Fang Shanxing, everything else is secondary.

No matter what, she will be the only mistress of the Fang family from now on.

*

Recently, advertisements for Suman Jewelry have been everywhere.

It's available in wedding photography studios, subway stations, magazines, and you can hear it on the radio: "Su Man Gold, the creator of the 999 gold standard."

This phrase is repeated so often that the listener's ears become numb from hearing it so many times.

At the same time, everyone knows that if you want to buy gold, you should go to Suman Jewelry.

Turn on the TV, and you'll see that the hottest sitcom right here was filmed at Suman Jewelry.

The protagonist demonstrates how to collect all twelve golden dragon balls at Suman Jewelry with the least amount of money.

This sparked a craze for buying gold dragon pearls at Suman Jewelry.

Once you arrive, a persuasive salesperson won't let you leave empty-handed; your wallet will definitely bleed.

Consumers won't feel like they're losing a lot of money, since what they're giving away is Hong Kong dollars, but what they're bringing home is gold.

There are a lot of people getting married at the end of the year.

Suman Jewelry's aggressive marketing campaign attracted a large number of customers to the store to buy gold.

The store's basic styles are cheap and affordable, but if you want something fashionable and something you can show off, you'll need various craftsmanship and jewelry/diamond settings, which will make the price more expensive.

On the surface, Suman Jewelry offers the cheapest gold prices, but in the end, consumers think it's worth it and end up spending more money.

Looking back, I will still be grateful to Suman Jewelry for letting them keep such a good amount of gold.

In contrast to the bustling business of Suman Jewelry, the business of Gezhi Jewelry plummeted in just half a month.

They also sell gold, but their prices aren't as competitive as Suman Jewelry's. They used to be able to wage a price war, but this recent short-selling attack on Hong Kong Tong Industrial has drained a lot of their energy and capital.

No matter how strong they are, they can't fight on two fronts. They can only take care of one thing at a time, and protecting Hong Kong Connect is the most important thing right now.

After the market closed that day, Old Madam Guan personally went to the company to hear the senior management report on the results.

"We've been doing everything we can to buy up shares and prop up the price, but after we drive the price up, the other side dumps some of their profits on us at the high. Then there's another wave of negative news and fake news, causing the price to plummet and severely damaging market confidence, allowing the other side to continue buying at the bottom. We then prop up the price again, and after that, they dump their shares on us again. This cycle repeats itself, leaving us helpless. It's like they're buying low and selling high, sucking our money. Mr. Feng has asked us to suspend further purchases these past two days."

Grandma Guan frowned and asked, "What's a better strategy now? We can't just ignore the stock price going up and down like this."

Ye Jinfeng advised caution when buying in: "We will manage the price drop, but as soon as it rises a bit, we will suspend buybacks and share purchases. Don't buy in at high prices and let these financial giants get away with it."

Ye Jinsong: "Actually, the so-called high position now is not a real high position. Huai Zhang's idea is that we should take as much as possible. Jin Feng, your operation saves a little money, but if there is a loss, it will be a big loss."

"Brother, that's like handing money over to financial giants."

"They're not necessarily some financial tycoons."

Ye Jinfeng said confidently, "I've found out that Wall Street's financial giants have their eyes on us and are trying to plunder our money in the Hong Kong stock market."

Ye Jinsong: "Huai Zhang called me a while ago and told me to keep an eye on the Li family's movements. I discovered that this so-called Wall Street financial tycoon has intricate connections with the Li family. At this time, we absolutely cannot let our guard down."

Upon hearing that it was related to the Li family, Old Madam Guan immediately became vigilant. "Huai Zhang is right, we absolutely cannot let our guard down. Taking advantage of the overall low stock price, it would be good to repurchase and increase our shareholding."

Ye Jinfeng did not believe that the Li family had the ability to acquire shares in Airport Connect Industry in the secondary market; it would be too difficult.

He said, "Recently, there are so many investment projects under the Hong Kong Stock Connect that are burning through cash, and this period happens to be the time when our liquidity is most strained. Everything is tied up in these projects, and if something unexpected happens, we won't be able to raise funds. We can't just access the money from Min Hwa Bank whenever we want. Borrowing money from Min Hwa requires paying interest..."

Grandma Guan said with a hint of impatience, "Alright, you've given me a headache. We'll listen to your eldest brother and Huaizhang on this matter. The company will continue to repurchase shares, and we'll continue to increase our holdings. I still have some spare cash, which I can also use to increase our shareholdings. As for those media outlets spreading rumors, send them lawyer's letters immediately. We absolutely cannot let them get away with this. We must not encourage this kind of evil trend of spreading rumors."

After the plan was finalized, Old Madam Guan left.

*

The Yulong Building has been busier than ever before lately.

Ye Qingtang was busy rushing to deliver goods, while Su Man Jewelry was busy capturing the market.

Ye Kaishen had been waiting for Ye Baoling to make a move against him, but she remained completely still, focusing on her career.

What was initially full of confidence that things could turn around has gradually become a source of anxiety and unease.

Seeing that Ye Baoling's work was progressing exceptionally smoothly, Su Man Jewelry was dominating Ge Zhi, leaving the latter powerless to retaliate.

Ye Kaishen had never worked so diligently before. He dared not interfere rashly, but instead followed Ye Baoling's instructions and negotiated the most favorable gold purchase price with Phyllis.

At the same time, they cooperated with their arch-rival Lin Zhong to negotiate with the bank and obtain a loan with the lowest interest rate currently available on the market.

Ye Baoling also publicly praised Ye Kaishen at the meeting for his high efficiency.

This made Ye Kaishen somewhat doubtful whether Ye Baoshun had actually given that information to Ye Baoling.

If she still acts this way even after I gave it to her, what does that mean?

This means she's trying to gather more evidence to get back at him.

Therefore, Ye Kaishen became more cautious, worked harder, and cooperated more diligently.

She was practically Ye Baoling's perfect assistant at Su Man Jewelry.

He could only endure it.

Fortunately, I heard from Ye Kaisi a few days ago that the old man was waiting for an opportunity to deal with Ye Baoling.

Then we can only wait until after the Chinese New Year, when the opportunity to build a landfill next to the Jiaqi Beverage Factory will come.

Ye Baoling knew that Ye Kaishen would be filled with anxiety every day. She knew that the period before the sword of Damocles fell was the most agonizing for both body and mind.

That kind of torment is even more agonizing than being stabbed directly in the neck.

That's exactly the effect she wanted.

First, make him obediently do things for her, and then settle accounts with him once she has squeezed out all his usefulness.

That day, Ye Baoling visited several stores of Su Man Jewelry, and wherever she went, the stores were packed with customers.

Lin Meijuan, who accompanied her on the store tour, was full of satisfaction and praise: "I have worked at Suman Gold for twenty years, and this is the first time I have seen so many customers in the store. Miss, your strategy is a great success."

Ye Baoling laughed and said, "It's also thanks to someone else's help."

Lin Meijuan didn't understand: "Whose favorable wind did they borrow?"

The Li family.

Ye Baoling couldn't say it directly, but said, "It's thanks to the Best Actress award."

“That’s true. A lot of wealthy people come to buy gold, wanting to customize gold jewelry just like Liang Ailing’s.” Lin Meijuan said, then changed the subject, “Yesterday I even secretly went to check out the largest stores of Gezhi Jewelry…”

Ye Baoling turned to look at her: "How is it?"

Lin Meijuan laughed and said, "They're far behind us. They're also having a gold sale, but their promotions aren't as interesting as ours, so they have fewer customers."

Ye Baoling quite admires Gezhi Jewelry's quick-wittedness in bowing to financial constraints; overall, it's a rational company.

"They stopped promoting diamonds and turned things around quite quickly."

"Their business acumen has always been impeccable. And their designs are indeed fashionable."

"Our design must keep up; as long as it's no worse than theirs, we'll win."

Lin Meijuan nodded: "Yes. Design is very important. Zhou Wenxuan is in charge of this. He is a newly recruited member of the management team. He used to work for international fashion brands and has experience, so there shouldn't be any problems."

The implication is that Zhou Wenxuan is not yet Ye Kaishen's confidant or right-hand man; he is a man who can be used.

*

Ye Huaizhang returned from Europe ahead of schedule.

Upon landing, he went straight to the company to deal with the short-selling attack by a financial giant.

His fourth uncle inevitably went to his office to complain.

"Your wife not only 'points out but not in,' she also set us up. Fang Haiming from the 'Treasure Appraisal' program is her cousin's boyfriend, and he's the one who started shorting diamonds. Diamond mines are just small assets for us at Hong Kong Tong Industrial, but the short sellers used this opportunity to drive our stock price down to its lowest point. This time, we spent over a billion on buybacks and share increases! Suman Jewelry can't earn that much in 10 years..."

Ye Jinfeng was so angry that he blurted out half a carload of things.

Ye Huaizhang looked up impatiently: "Fourth Uncle, we spent over a billion on buybacks and share increases, not a billion in losses. Once Hong Kong Connect Industrial's share price recovers, we'll definitely make a profit on paper."

"That's not how you make money..."

Ye Huaizhang quickly glanced at the documents in his hand and interrupted Ye Jinfeng, "How come you've only increased your holdings by this much?"

Ye Jinfeng explained, "We were caught in a buying frenzy by the other party, so we didn't increase our holdings for a few days, although the company's share buyback program has been ongoing. However, your grandmother and father insisted that we couldn't stop, so we haven't stopped during this period."

Ye Huaizhang was speechless. He immediately called the CFO and the board secretary. The meeting lasted for two hours, and the final conclusion was that the Li family could not possibly acquire more shares from the secondary market than the third branch of the family.

"However, if they join forces with the second-largest shareholder, things might not be so sure."

The second largest shareholder of Hong Kong Tong Industrial is the U.S. R Foundation.

The Li family has close ties with Wall Street financial tycoons. The real concern is that the Li family might get in touch with the R Foundation through Wall Street, which could lead to serious trouble.

Last year, the R Foundation's goals for a project in South Korea differed from those of Hong Kong Tong Industrial Co., Ltd., so the person in charge of the other party specifically contacted Ye Huaizhang.

Ye Huaizhang did not meet their demands at the time, which strained relations between the two families.

Ye Huaizhang even suspected that the R Foundation was acting as a facilitator in this move by Wall Street financial giants to target Gangtong Industrial.

Tricky.

It's definitely too late to communicate with the R Foundation now.

When he got home that evening, Ye Huaizhang chatted with his grandmother for quite a while before going to the eldest son's house to find Ye Baoling.

Ye Baoling was looking at the investment materials that Qu Zhengming had brought back from Shenzhen when she heard a knock on the door, so she quickly went to open it.

Seeing Ye Huaizhang standing at the door with no smile on his face, she knew he had come to interrogate her.

She smiled and started by saying, "Honey, you've lost weight."

After Ye Huaizhang came in, he washed his hands first, and then sat down opposite her.

After pausing for a moment, he said, "It's normal for Su Man and Gezhi to have business competition. One is a company owned by the Ye family, and your eldest branch is the majority shareholder; the other is a company owned by our third branch. Wouldn't it be better if we could achieve a win-win situation through marketing?"

Ye Baoling disagreed: "From the moment you started your own jewelry company and started competing with us for business, it could never have been a win-win situation."

Gezhi Jewelry is a newly established company under Ye Huaizhang's grandfather. In this matter, the third branch of the family is indeed in the wrong. All he can say is, "Shorting diamonds will not benefit Su Man in the long run. Our diamond mines supply you with low prices, which should be an advantage shared by Su Man and Gezhi. But your current actions have ruined our shared livelihood. It's not worth it."

Ye Baoling closed the folder: "If we share the same rice bowl that you've given us, we won't be able to eat. Besides, I'm taking your rice bowl, not mine. Our eldest son's family has a golden rice bowl, which we're holding onto tightly."

Ye Huaizhang: "Yes, you said before that you would crush Gezhi Jewelry, and you did it. It's just that the chain reaction this time is too great. We spent over a billion yuan to buy back and increase our shareholding, and you've strained the relationship between the two companies. How are we supposed to have dinner together during the New Year? Are you still going to steal that ugly jade pendant from your grandfather?"

Ye Baoling dared to do this because she was mentally prepared for the two families to fall out.

She doesn't care.

"First of all, I want to clarify that it wasn't me who wanted to steal my grandfather's ugly jade pendant. Opening that bronze door was a decision we made together."

"Yes, let's go steal it together."

“If the two families can’t eat together, I can still find another way to lure my grandparents away from home during the Spring Festival. It’s not difficult.”

He now has complete faith in what she says; if she says she can do it, she definitely can.

What he was really worried about wasn't failing to steal the Ugly King's Jade, but rather that the relationship between the two families would sour, making future interactions awkward.

He was caught in the middle, and dealing with these relationships was really annoying.

Ye Baoling knew what was bothering him, so she changed the subject: "How's the investigation of those people in your family that you asked Xiao Dahai to do?"

Ye Huaizhang paused slightly before saying, "The others didn't uncover anything major, they only found one thing... My second aunt was my father's first love."

Ye Baoling: "!"

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

Author's note: Ye Baoling: You third branch of the family really have a new story every day.

Ye Huaizhang: ...