The Young Lady is a Bit Unruly [Fragrant Harbor] - Chapter 38: Clearly He Was the One Exerting Effort, Yet She Was the One Exhausted...

Chapter 38: Clearly He Was the One Exerting Effort, Yet She Was the One Exhausted…

Early in the morning, Wang Simin helped Ye Baoling move her belongings to the sixth-floor office of the Herbal Tea Product Department.

The Product Department had more staff and ample space. Lu Baohua had arranged a quite favorable spot for Ye Baoling—by the window, offering a view of the street outside.

Wang Simin was somewhat envious: Your workstation is really comfortable! Such a large window—it’s much better than our area.

The Logistics Department office was on a lower floor and indeed felt quite cramped.

The window seats were all occupied by managers, supervisors, and the finance office.

Wang Simin aspired to become a supervisor, but her lack of experience and connections made it unlikely. She sighed, I wonder when I’ll get to sit by a window.

Ye Baoling offered a suggestion: There’s a position that’s quite good. You could work toward it.

Which one?

While organizing her desk, Ye Baoling whispered, The head of the Security Section has a dedicated small office on the second floor. The benefits are good, it’s relaxed and doesn’t require much management. If you want to stay busy, you could continue handling your current duties alongside it. That would definitely bump your salary up a level.

This was a promising idea, but Wang Simin worried, Would Manager Qi entrust the Security Section to a woman?

She herself said the Security Section is suitable for women to manage—no need for forceful confrontations. She’s still considering candidates. If you find an opportunity to show your loyalty, you might just secure that private office.

Buttering people up was Wang Simin’s forte. She stroked her chin, Let me think about how to approach this.

Ye Baoling nudged her with an elbow and laughed, If you rise high, don’t forget me!

Wang Simin raised a brow slightly, Of course.

They both chuckled, but being in someone else’s territory, they didn’t dare laugh too loudly.

Wang Simin had other tasks to attend to. She said, I’m heading out. Let’s grab lunch with Man’er at noon.

Ye Baoling gave her an OK sign.

At Ye Baoling’s workstation, the colleague in front was a woman around thirty-five named Rong Jie, who was very warm and friendly. To her right was a pretty girl named He Jiayi, dressed fashionably and carrying a basic luxury handbag—likely from a well-off family. She was quite amiable. The occupant of the desk behind hers was absent, and the workspace was rather messy. Ye Baoling wondered who sat there.

Just as she was pondering, a woman walked in carrying a large stack of documents. Ye Baoling took a closer look—it was Gao Lizhen, who had applied on the same day as her and competed for the clerk position in the Secretary’s Office.

The woman rumored to have connections with HR Manager Li.

Gao Lizhen sat at the desk behind hers. She seemed to sense Ye Baoling’s gaze and looked up.

Ye Baoling smiled and greeted, Hi!

Gao Lizhen’s entire demeanor seemed off—listless, as if her soul had been drained.

She nodded with a numb smile and sat down.

Uncertain of the situation, Ye Baoling thought it best not to say more and quickly focused on organizing her things.

With a new product launch scheduled for Friday, most colleagues were busy with preparations.

Ye Baoling’s main task was to assist Rong Jie in verifying product descriptions in various Southeast Asian languages.

Aside from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, the largest consumer market for herbal tea was Southeast Asia. Thus, translated materials in multiple languages were essential.

She needed to first proofread the translations with relevant personnel and, after the launch, fax them to Southeast Asian media outlets.

The work wasn’t difficult, just tedious, requiring interaction with people from various magazine publishers.

However, one could sense that Leaf Pure Tea was performing exceptionally well in the Southeast Asian market. This was the main reason why, despite having all sorts of issues, the company could still thrive comfortably by relying on its century-old brand.

If the domestic market could be tapped in the future, the prospects would be even broader.

In her original world, the seemingly unremarkable bottled water business had helped its owner secure the title of China’s richest person for several consecutive years.

If Leaf Pure Tea succeeded, it had the potential to achieve something similar.

*

The product department offered flexible hours. In the afternoon, after leaving the magazine office near Lihua Building, Ye Baoling made a detour to Qiyuan Investment.

At the elevator entrance, she ran into Liu Haonan returning from Lihua Securities. They walked back to the company together while discussing work.

Liu Haonan said, There’s been a large influx of capital into Haihua Construction’s stock over the past couple of days. It’s likely some positive news has leaked, and people are positioning themselves early.

It seemed others had gotten wind of the third branch’s investment in Dapeng Port ahead of time.

Having more funds to drive up the price was actually a good thing.

Ye Baoling smiled, The more activity, the better. How has Haihua Construction’s stock performance been these past couple of days?

With big money coming in, the stock price shot up quickly and has been rising quite well. Even if Hongtong Industry doesn’t end up investing in Dapeng Port, we can still make a small profit and exit quickly for a gain.

No matter what, we wouldn’t lose money.

This feeling of earning money effortlessly was quite nice.

Ye Baoling asked, Is the entire market heating up lately?

What market?

The whole stock market.

Oh, yes. Recently, both Wall Street and the London stock market have been performing well, and our market has been bullish for three consecutive months. I asked my friend at Lihua Securities, and they’ve seen a significant increase in new citizen accounts over the past two months. Based on international experience, these are all signs of a major bull market approaching. Liu Haonan rubbed his hands together, ready to make big moves. I’ve set aside part of the commission I earned this time for living expenses over the next six months and invested the rest in the stock market.

Ye Baoling asked curiously, What did you invest in?

Haihua Construction and some index stocks. Liu Haonan wasn’t an aggressive investor, so he preferred to diversify.

This was wise, especially since he hadn’t seen the script that Ye Baoling had.

Ye Baoling hoped he would remain conservative. She could afford to lose, but he might not be in the same position.

Chen Yulan was attending a finance course that afternoon and wasn’t in the office. Ye Baoling poured herself a cup of plain water and had just sat down when her pager received a message from Ye Kaimin.

She picked up the phone and called him back.

Ye Kaimin complained as usual, Every time I call you, you’re never around. What have you been busy with?

Using excuses repeatedly wasn’t a long-term solution. Ye Baoling said, I was working part-time at McDonald’s before, and these past few days, I’ve been interviewing for clerical positions to see if I can land a job.

Ye Kaimin didn’t suggest she return to work at Ye Qingtang, mainly because he believed Ye Baoling had low education and no experience. Ultimately, he was afraid his daughter would embarrass him at the company.

Working as a clerk in those small companies is hard and exhausting. How much money can you even make? Instead of wasting time like that, you should learn baking, flower arranging, how to be a good wife…

Ye Baoling didn’t want to hear any more. What did you need me for?

Ye Kaimin: Grandpa asked you to move back before. Have you discussed it with your grandmother?

My grandmother can’t bear to part with me.

Can’t bear to part with you? Then what will she do when you get married later? If she can’t bear to part with you, does that mean you won’t get married? Does that make sense?

She’ll adapt gradually. I just want to live in both places for now, letting grandmother get used to it slowly.

Ye Kaimin had no choice, since Ye Baoling had been assigned to Gu Min’s custody initially. He said: Move back as soon as possible. Gong Jiahua knows you’re moving back, and he said he’ll come visit you often to keep you company.

Ye Baoling was speechless. You specifically told Gong Jiahua I’m moving back?

Not specifically. Let’s leave it at that. We’ll talk more after you move back.

After hanging up, she looked at Liu Haonan, shrugged, and simply said My dad without further explanation.

Liu Haonan smiled awkwardly, guessing her family situation was complicated and it wasn’t appropriate to ask more.

*

When Ye Baoling returned to the company, it was almost time to get off work. Because of an important event on Friday, everyone was working overtime and no one had left.

As the department newcomer, Ye Baoling should have been working overtime too, but she was shared between two departments and had already completed more than her assigned tasks. She didn’t want to work overtime.

But leaving directly wouldn’t be good either, so she had Wang Simin come up to call her.

Wang Simin played her part perfectly, standing at the door and calling out loudly: Bao Ling, Manager Qi wants to know when you can leave?

Oh, coming right now. Ye Baoling picked up her handbag, said a few words to her colleagues, and left first.

After leaving the office, they took the stairs down, where Gu Man’er was already waiting for them on the fourth floor.

That evening during dinner at the Gu Family, Ye Baoling told her uncle and cousins that she would be moving back to the Oldest Branch to live, and wouldn’t be coming back for dinner every day anymore.

Her uncle and cousins were fine with it, since it wasn’t like she wouldn’t be coming back at all. But Shen Yue’e was the most reluctant to see her go – not only would they lose Baoling’s two thousand dollar food expenses, but Sister Ping would also be returning to the Ye Family with her. The household situation that had finally started running smoothly would become tight again.

Fortunately, Gu Dayong had good news.

The boss talked to me and wants me to go to Shenzhen for management work. They provide food and accommodation there, plus an extra 1,000 Hong Kong dollars subsidy each month.

This was great news. Shen Yue’e immediately beamed with smiles. I told you to go for it! Your factory experience is much better than those young kids.

Gu Dayong: It just happened that the boss’s relative got sick, otherwise this opportunity wouldn’t have come to me.

Gu Man’er asked: When are you going to Shenzhen, Dad?

I need to go in August to supervise the production line installation, and will be stationed there permanently starting September.

Ye Baoling joked: Prices are cheap in Shenzhen now, and property is inexpensive too. Uncle, if you have money, you should buy property and land there. You could make a fortune in the future.

Gu Dayong didn’t dare think that way: Where would I get that kind of money?

Shen Yue’e pursed her lips: Even if we had money, we wouldn’t buy property over there. Baoling, you’ve never even crossed the Luohu border, you don’t know what it’s like there. It’s messy, just a rural area. No matter how cheap it is, we shouldn’t buy. It would take a hundred years for it to develop into somewhere as prosperous as Port City.

Actually, it wouldn’t take a hundred years.

Ye Baoling smiled faintly and said nothing more.

After dinner, Ye Baoling went upstairs to chat with her grandmother.

After watching her granddaughter finish offering incense, Grandma Gu asked: You’re going back to live in the Ye Family’s Oldest Branch. Will Ye Huaizhang agree to that?

He’ll have to agree whether he wants to or not. At most, I’ll live in both places. Ye Baoling explained her thoughts to her grandmother.

Grandma Gu nodded: That might be better. I’ll explain clearly to your aunt and the others, so that when you move back to the Third Branch someday, your father won’t call here looking for you.

Ye Baoling yawned: I’ve already told Auntie.

Grandma Gu took a piece of paper from the drawer and handed it to her. This recipe was given to me recently. I heard eating this can improve your constitution and help you bear sons.

Ye Baoling: …

Grandma Gu tried to shove it into her hand, but Ye Baoling refused: Sons and daughters are the same – it’s all natural selection.

Besides, having children was completely impossible for her right now.

How could they possibly be the same? Even if you think this way, and even if Ye Huaizhang thinks this way, what use is it? The elders certainly won’t see it that way. Think about why your mother got divorced? Don’t you understand? Grandma Gu spoke with earnest persuasion.

My mother is my mother, and I am me. Also, how old am I? I’m not planning to have children now.

You should have children early! When you’re older, the children’s constitutions will be poorer. Grandma Gu tried to force it into her bag like she did last time with the Pillow Book.

This time Ye Baoling was prepared and pressed her handbag shut with her hand. The old lady didn’t succeed, but she wasn’t frustrated either.

I’ll give it to Sister Ping and have her occasionally prepare food for you according to this recipe.

Ye Baoling: …

She didn’t argue anymore. The mouth was on her own body – if she didn’t want to eat, nobody could force her.

*

When Ye Huaizhang returned home, he went upstairs to his grandmother’s room first.

Guan Lao Taijun was pruning the potted plants she cared for.

Why didn’t you tell me in advance that Baoling is moving back to the Oldest Branch?

Ye Huaizhang could see his grandmother was somewhat displeased: Didn’t we agree initially? The first forty-nine days together, and after that, it’s up to her?

Guan Lao Taijun was still unhappy: You didn’t even show me that agreement of yours. You just told me you were truly married, and now things have turned out like this – hiding and sneaking around, can’t even be seen in public. It’s shameful if word gets out.

Grandmother, your attitude has changed quite quickly. Ye Huaizhang teased with a somewhat joking tone: Is it because the forty-nine days are almost up, and you want to take advantage to control her?

Am I that kind of person? You don’t tell me anything, and you won’t even allow an old woman to be unhappy? After speaking, Guan Lao Taijun muttered quietly: Actually, the best way for you to make your relationship public is to have a child. If there’s a child, what can your Second Great-uncle do then? Besides, you have a marriage certificate, you’re proper husband and wife. Getting pregnant and having children is perfectly natural. Even if the Oldest Branch has objections, they’ll have to swallow them.

So, after all that lengthy speech, his grandmother was here to urge them to have children.

Ye Huaizhang didn’t take the bait. He picked up his suit jacket and headed out.

I haven’t finished speaking.

What else is there?

Next Monday you’re going to Shenzhen to sign the contract, aren’t you going for two days? But the final cup of Nuptial wine must be drunk. Since you can’t return, have Baoling go with you. You can drink the Nuptial wine at the hotel there. Guan Lao Taijun patted her grandson’s arm. After drinking, work hard so your grandmother can hold a great-grandson soon. With a child, your marriage will be more secure too.

Ye Huaizhang stood behind the sofa and said softly: A marriage that needs to be bound by children isn’t worth having. I don’t want my relationship with Baoling to be like that between my father and my mother.

Guan Lao Taijun instantly fell silent.

After leaving Grandma’s room and reaching the stairwell, she encountered Ye Baoling returning from her grandmother’s house.

Seeing him, Ye Baoling asked first: How did it go? You didn’t forget what I asked you to do, did you?

How could Ye Huaizhang possibly forget: There are two companies for you to choose from, both are Hongtong suppliers. You only need to lend your name, no need to actually work there.

Which two companies?

Dong Jian will discuss the details with you later.

It seemed he was too busy with important matters—he hadn’t forgotten the task, but couldn’t recall the company names.

Ye Baoling didn’t press him, quickly agreeing.

Ye Huaizhang mentioned needing her to accompany him to Shenzhen next week, Two days. Can you take time off?

Since Ye Baoling was currently working across two departments, it was actually easier for her to request leave.

But she smiled slightly, deliberately making it difficult: It won’t be easy to get time off.

Ye Huaizhang glanced at her—if she wanted to do something, he believed she’d find a way.

He said: I’ll take you to eat some delicious food.

What good food?

Isn’t Shenzhen a culinary desert?

Ye Huaizhang: There’s a place I visited before that serves excellent roasted squab and ginger-scallion duck. Another restaurant has exceptional white-cut chicken—the marrow still pink, sweet and juicy. One taste will have you craving more.

Ye Baoling controlled her eager expression.

Ye Huaizhang continued tempting her, There’s also mountain-stream tofu pudding, and blood tofu stew you absolutely can’t find here… We have similar tastes—what I like, you’ll probably enjoy too.

Ye Baoling smiled politely: I’ll think about it.

That meant yes.

She walked ahead quickly, swallowing hard when he wasn’t looking.

She really wanted to try that amazing white-cut chicken!

Back in her room, she soon received a call from Dong Jian.

Of the two companies Dong Jian proposed, one import-export trading company was conveniently located right next to Lihua Building, so she chose that trading company.

*

Having finished her previous TV series, the recently aired rural drama failed to engage Ye Baoling due to its artificial sets.

She wasn’t particularly nostalgic.

While many people view old TV series through rose-tinted glasses, claiming they were better, she didn’t share that sentiment.

Yawning twice in succession, she turned to ask Ye Huaizhang, who was reading: Shall we sleep?

To Ye Huaizhang, these words carried an invitation.

After all, she had waited for him in vain last night.

Closing his magazine, he asked: Or shall we do it with the TV on?

This was her quirk—as if the TV noise provided cover, allowing slightly more abandon.

Her suggestion to sleep hadn’t carried any hidden meaning, but since he was enthusiastic, she saw no reason to be coy and was happy to enjoy herself.

As he spoke, he leaned over, untied her robe, and gently kissed her full softness.

She gasped softly, her back arching involuntarily.

The TV volume was too low to provide any real cover.

Ye Baoling reached for the remote, fumbling on the bedside table before finally grasping it and turning up the volume.

His hand moved downward, quickly finding the right spot.

He’d gradually learned what movements would bring her more pleasure.

Her expressions and sounds didn’t lie.

Soon, a warm flow emerged, and just as she began to lose herself, he thrust in deeply.

The overwhelming sensation of being completely enveloped and squeezed made him pause momentarily to recover.

The TV volume suddenly blared—a bone-strengthening commercial during the drama’s intermission, sounding rather awkward.

But by then, she was beyond caring about adjusting the volume.

Because he had precisely targeted a certain spot above, persisting relentlessly, sawing back and forth with accurate thrusts.

The originally clear and transparent stream water was gradually ground into a milky white slurry.

At the critical moment, Ye Baoling’s fingers gripped the TV remote, almost tearing the buttons off.

Only when the ceiling erupted with fireworks, burning into a sky full of sparks, did she finally rest.

She didn’t know why—even though he was the one exerting all the effort—she felt utterly exhausted, as if half-dead.

Perhaps this was the reaction force of physics.

However much force he used to thrust, equally, she needed to expend the same amount of energy to endure it.

So every time it was over, she wanted nothing to do with anything, letting him clean up and arrange her as he pleased.

Then she would sink into a deep sleep.

When she woke from her sleep and opened her eyes, she found Ye Huaizhang already dressed and putting on his watch.

Outside the window, the sky wasn’t fully light yet.

Where are you going so early?

There’s a foundation-laying ceremony in Macau today. I need to head over early.

Ye Baoling buried her head back into the pillow. Her lower back ached terribly, and she couldn’t help complaining, Next time, don’t use so much force. My back is killing me.

That just means you’ve been lacking exercise lately.

Ye Baoling refused to admit that—it was simply him being too rough.

Ye Huaizhang glanced at her freshly awakened, flushed face and neck, then calmly averted his eyes.

I think I have an idea about the Fuxi Bagua Diagram in my grandfather’s diary. Come back early tonight, and we’ll go down to explore.

Ye Baoling sat up. You deciphered it?

Not necessarily. We’ll only know after trying. He glanced at her again. It’s still early. Go back to sleep.

But Ye Baoling couldn’t sleep anymore.

She went to the company early to work and finished all her tasks by a little after four in the afternoon.

While everyone else was still working overtime, she slung her bag over her shoulder and slipped away.

She had dinner at the old house. After eating, she excused herself, claiming she had a slight cold, and went back to her room to rest.

Now that Chen Yulan worked at Qiyuan during the day, she usually went straight home if there was nothing urgent and didn’t follow Ye Baoling back here.

So, with no one urging Ye Baoling to practice martial arts, no one would disturb her once she returned to her room.

Fortunately, Ye Huaizhang wasn’t tied up with other official duties today and returned on time.

The two changed clothes simultaneously in the walk-in closet.

Let’s go. Ye Baoling put on her sneakers and prepared to grab other tools.

Ye Huaizhang had already prepared the tools and placed them in front of the mirror. Picking them up, the two quickly made their way to the wine cellar.

Last time, he had brought down a folding ladder. He climbed up, turned on the battery-powered lamp, and the wine cellar instantly brightened.

How do we proceed? She waited for his instructions.

Ye Huaizhang took out his hand-drawn Fuxi Bagua Diagram and stood at the entrance.

In my grandfather’s diary, two very important Trigrams appeared at the very bottom of the page where he recorded the password. These two.

Ye Baoling leaned in to look and saw ☴ and ☵.

She didn’t understand.

These are the Xun Trigram and Kan Trigram from the Eight Trigrams…

And then?

Ye Huaizhang pointed to the empty space ahead. The wine racks were originally arranged in three columns and four rows, totaling twelve positions. If you consider six positions as one Trigram, then this area just forms two Trigrams.

You mean the two rows on the left form Xun, and the two rows on the right form Kan?

Ye Huaizhang took out a prepared compass and checked the direction from the entrance. No, it’s the opposite. The left is Kan, the right is Xun. If we go inside and look outward, then indeed, left is Xun and right is Kan.

After dividing the twelve positions into two groups, she naturally perceived them as hexagrams.

Ye Baoling’s mind worked rapidly: Let’s try locating the gaps. The midpoint gap on the bottom line of the Xun trigram on the left is crucial, and the central gap between the upper and lower lines of the Kan trigram on the right is equally critical.

That made some sense.

Let’s test it.

They quickly located the three floor tiles corresponding to the three gaps. On the surface, these three tiles appeared no different from the surrounding ones.

The three tiles were spaced quite far apart, making simultaneous pressing impossible.

There had to be a specific sequence.

Ye Baoling pressed them in order from the entrance inward, but nothing happened.

Ye Huaizhang said, According to the Trigrams calculation, Xun is sixth and Kan is seventh. Xun comes before Kan.

But the Kan trigram has two gaps—upper and lower—meaning two tiles. Which one should be pressed first?

Look at this Eight Trigrams diagram. Moving from ‘Xun’ to ‘Kan,’ the trigrams themselves are tilted at an angle. The lower Kan appears first, followed by the upper Kan.

They quickly reached an agreement and pressed the floor tiles corresponding to lower Xun, lower Kan, and upper Kan in sequence.

Ye Huaizhang was responsible for pressing the tiles. When he pressed the final upper Kan tile, it visibly sank down slightly.

Bingo!

They exchanged delighted glances before scanning the surrounding floor. Aside from the upper Kan tile sinking, no other changes occurred anywhere else.

Since the upper Kan tile had moved, it confirmed their analytical approach was correct.

But why was there no other reaction around them?

Undaunted, Ye Baoling suggested, What if we change the sequence?

Ye Huaizhang lowered his head, studying the Eight Trigrams diagram on the paper thoughtfully.

Ye Baoling stood up and scanned the walls around them. She noticed something additional on the wall in the left front corner.

Look.

A faint black curved line had appeared on the northwest corner wall.

She walked closer and examined it carefully with her flashlight. It wasn’t just a black line—it was a textured crack in the wall.

The crack resembled the curved seam between wall bricks.

So their earlier method was correct!

A wine rack still blocked the corner. Working together, they lifted the rack aside and pushed the wall inward. A brick wall door swung open, and as light shone through—

They saw a Blue Brick Tunnel inside!

Author’s Note: Blue Brick Tunnel: Welcome to explore, my master.

Time flies so fast—the holiday is already 3/8 over [cracking up].