The Young Lady is a Bit Unruly [Fragrant Harbor] - Chapter 50: No Talk, Only Action

Chapter 50: No Talk, Only Action

In the bedroom at Abundant Moon Tower, Zheng Junni was eating her postpartum meal.

After hearing about Ye Kaimin’s company going public, Zheng Junni raised her eyebrows.

The old man must think our Xianbao brings good luck.

Ye Kaimin: Definitely. We were talking just fine, but when Ye Baoshun was mentioned later, he got angry again. Actually, he still cares most about that eldest grandson in his heart.

Zheng Junni certainly knew this. As the saying goes, the eldest grandson and the youngest son are both the apples of one’s eye.

The Ye Kais family had both of these covered.

The eldest grandson from the youngest son’s family – wouldn’t he be doted on to the bone?

Ye Kaimin watched the nanny feeding milk to the baby and muttered: Who does our Xianbao look like? Not like me, and not like you either.

Zheng Junni’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately said: He looks like me when I was little. I was this chubby when I was young too.

Really? Chubby is good, chubby means blessed. Ye Kaimin just said it casually; he had never doubted that this son wasn’t his.

Zheng Junni steered the conversation back to the previous topic: Is Baoshun not performing well at the company?

Ye Kaimin snorted coldly: A young master like him gets pampered by everyone at the company every day. He doesn’t understand anything, and no one dares to assign him work. How could he possibly perform well? When I first went to the company, it was the same – no one dared to discipline you, and no one genuinely taught you how to work.

I heard from Baoxin that he’s never home, fooling around outside, and we don’t even know what kind of friends he’s making.

Why do you care? He’s not your son. Oh dear…

The baby spit up milk, and the old couple both stood up nervously, no longer in the mood to gossip about others.

After the nanny took the baby out to change clothes, Ye Kaimin also went downstairs and left. He had been busy with the IPO recently and had many drinking engagements.

Ye Baoxin, who had just had dinner with Ye Baolong, came in to see her mother and younger brother.

After finishing a bowl of chicken soup, Zheng Junni asked her daughter quietly: How are things going with Fang Shanxing?

Same as before. We went to see a movie together yesterday. We’ve made plans for him to teach me golf next weekend. Ye Baoxin said without any particular emotion.

It seemed things were progressing smoothly. Zheng Junni smiled: Isn’t that good? If your marriage can be settled while all the suitors Old Master carefully selected for Ye Baoling fall through, I estimate he’ll be so angry he’ll have a myocardial infarction.

Ye Qizu’s favoritism and willful blindness had been a thorn in Ye Baoxin’s heart since childhood.

The old man valued males over females, while also favoring his own family and looking down on others. Ye Baoxin had always been at the bottom of the food chain.

Before, she worked hard in school; now she worked hard at her job. She just wanted to prove that she was better than Ye Baoling.

If she could successfully marry into the Fang family, who had higher social status, and make Ye Qizu look at her with respect, only then would she feel truly vindicated.

She was holding back these feelings and didn’t want to say much to her mother.

But no one knows a child better than their mother. Zheng Junni certainly understood her thoughts.

You need to seize the opportunity yourself.

Ye Baoxin didn’t feel like confiding in her mother and just said lazily, He’s the one who likes me, not me who likes him.

Zheng Junni smiled – this was the best scenario.

Around eleven o’clock, Ye Huaizhang arrived as scheduled.

He brought the dried pork slices she wanted to eat, and he also brought a set of pajamas with him.

This was him entering the hall and wanting to become the master here.

Ye Baoling pointed at his pajamas: There’s no place to put them. Sister Ping will find out.

This sleep robe is unisex. With such a large walk-in closet, how did you even notice it?

Ye Baoling replied somewhat proudly, So you admit my closet is bigger than yours?

Ye Huaizhang retorted sarcastically, This was meant for Ye Baoshun, not for you.

Well, it’s mine now.

And it would remain so.

Ye Huaizhang sat down on the barstool in the sitting area. From his position, he could see the night view outside the window, which made Ye Baoling quickly draw the curtains.

The sitting area had a small bar counter. The wine rack was completely empty, but when he opened the mini-fridge underneath, he found only the jasmine herbal tea that Ye Baoling had brought home from work earlier.

Since it was stored in an unlabeled plastic bottle, he couldn’t tell what it was at first glance. Curious, he thought she might be hiding alcohol in plastic containers to avoid detection by family members.

He unscrewed the cap and sniffed, What is this?

It’s the jasmine herbal tea I’ve been leading the effort to improve.

Ye Baoling took out a glass and poured some for him: Try it.

As a minor shareholder in Ye Qingtang, Ye Huaizhang was aware of the company’s developments, and he wasn’t keen on trying it.

Your jasmine herbal tea doesn’t taste good.

It’s been improved. It’s not poisoned, just drink it.

Ye Huaizhang took a small sip and found it surprisingly pleasant. The new improved version?

Good, right?

Not bad. He said, taking a larger gulp.

Ye Baoling laughed, That just proves you’re still young. Our target demographic for this tea is exactly young people like you.

I never thought stodgy old Ye Qingtang could develop such a product, he remarked, genuinely surprised.

Ye Baoling emphasized again, I led this.

Impressive! He praised sincerely and poured himself another glass.

Meanwhile, Ye Baoling sat across from him eating pork jerky. She tore off a small piece and held it to his lips: The Shanghai style really is the best.

Ye Huaizhang shook his head: Too sweet.

He refused to eat it.

It’s just slightly sweet. Paired with the jasmine tea, the flavor might be perfectly balanced.

Reluctantly, he opened his mouth and accepted it.

Disgusting.

This was the only aspect where their tastes differed.

Isn’t it delicious?

Ye Huaizhang lied through his teeth with an Mhm, then cautioned her: You’re just a junior employee. Even though you led the improvement, if it becomes successful, your direct supervisor—or even your supervisor’s boss—will likely take credit…

Clearly, he was all too familiar with workplace veterans and their professional deception.

He advised, You should keep some evidence handy, so you can report it to your grandfather later. Don’t end up crying with no proof to back up your claims.

What nonsense was he spouting? Ye Baoling shot him a glare: None of your business.

But he continued to worry on her behalf, adding, Even the best wine needs promotion. Since you’ve developed such a great product, you should invest in marketing it. Besides, Ye Qingtang is about to go public. If sales improve and you can show some solid results, it’ll boost the stock price.

Ye Baoling: I’ve already thought of that, but it’s not up to me now. We’ll see what they decide later.

After finishing their snacks, they stood side by side brushing their teeth in front of the mirror. Once done, she suddenly remembered what she’d asked him to do over the phone.

Did you shave your leg hair?

Ye Baoling lifted his sleep robe to check—he hadn’t!

He firmly refused to shave; it was a matter of principle.

I’m not a eunuch.

Today, Sister Ping had just changed the white bedsheet for her. Wrap yourself up properly, don’t let anything show. If you shed foot hair again and Sister Ping finds out, causing trouble for me, I’ll settle the score with you later.

His wife, who feared nothing in heaven or earth, was afraid of an old servant—what a joke.

Ye Huaizhang picked her up in his arms. If the bed wasn’t suitable, then they’d change locations. He placed her on the solid wood cabinet in the walk-in closet.

After over a week of drought, both were in high spirits. The sound of juicy impacts instantly echoed through the walk-in closet.

This kind of interaction was fine—no talking, just doing.

Even if they separated in the future, it would only leave beautiful memories, not endless arguments.

After the new issue of Tumbleweed hit the streets, it was Bai Zhu’s most leisurely time.

They reserved a table at a restaurant near the newspaper office, and Ye Baoling, Chen Yulan, Liu Haonan, and Bai Zhu had dinner together.

Today they had gone to the law firm to sign the contract, and Ye Baoling had also paid the remaining amount to the other party.

Discussing the future of Tumbleweed, Bai Zhu wanted to turn the newspaper into a magazine, but at the same time, the costs would be higher and less controllable.

I still want to accumulate more readers first. The beginning is always the hardest. Once we’ve established our reputation, we can transform the newspaper into a magazine, have more layout space, and take on some advertisements to increase revenue.

Ye Baoling put down her soup spoon and encouraged, Take it step by step. I have high hopes for you all.

No, high hopes for us.

They laughed and gently clinked glasses.

As the gathering was about to end, Bai Zhu noticed several former colleagues eating at the same restaurant not far away. She went over to greet them, chatted for a while, and then returned.

When she came back, she explained with a smile, Former colleagues from Citizen Newspaper. Some stayed at Citizen, but most left and went to other media outlets.

Ye Baoling asked, Are they all financial reporters like you?

Bai Zhu: Some are in finance, others cover entertainment, sports, and current affairs. If you ever need to publish news in the future, just come to me. I can help you find people to publish articles in any newspaper, any type.

Ye Baoling smiled, Great.

This was exactly the resource she needed.

In Qu Zhengming’s office, after Ye Baoling finished reporting on her current work, she closed her notebook.

Later, there would be a promotion meeting for Jasmine Herbal Tea. Qu Zhengming stood up, Let’s take half an hour to go to the marketing department. Come on, you’re coming with me.

Ye Baoling was quick-witted and sharp, so Qu Zhengming liked to take her wherever he went.

Meetings in the marketing department were the most lively and intense. Everyone was a gold or silver-level salesperson—high EQ when needed, fiery temper when called for.

Manager Dai said, The performance for traditional herbal tea in the third quarter has been basically completed. Any further achievements would be considered exceeding expectations. According to past practice, we can hold back some orders to sign in the next quarter to reduce the pressure then.Qu Zhengming: This month, we’re pushing for the final sprint towards the listing. You handle it as you see fit, but try to sign what you can this month. It’s fine to leave some for the next quarter appropriately.

Manager Dai and Manager Huang exchanged glances, feeling somewhat reluctant internally. But with a new leader in charge, they couldn’t say much and had to agree.

Qu Zhengming could tell they weren’t pleased, but he had no intention of indulging them, so he changed the subject. I’ve noticed the sales figures for the new herbal tea seem to be improving. What’s the situation?

Manager Huang smiled. After Bao Ling proposed the bundling system, it boosted sales of the new herbal tea. However, most distributors and channel partners still choose to bundle the monk fruit herbal tea. Currently, the sales of jasmine herbal tea remain quite low.

Manager Dai asked, Isn’t the product department working on improving the jasmine herbal tea? When will it be ready?

Qu Zhengming looked at Ye Baoling, who replied, To align with the company’s listing plans, we’re accelerating the process. The earliest it can hit the market is next week.

Bao Ling, I heard the improved version tastes quite good.

Ye Baoling smiled. The factory rushed out a batch of trial products. I’ll have security bring some up for you later. You can communicate with the distributors and channel partners in advance to secure orders as soon as the product launches, so you can earn more commissions.

That final remark about earning more commissions was clever—exactly what the sales team loved to hear.

After the meeting, some sales staff, unwilling to wait for delivery, followed Ye Baoling back to the sixth-floor product department to grab samples of the new jasmine herbal tea to try.

After tasting it, everyone praised it. This could really pass as a beverage. Bao Ling, your skills are impressive!

Ye Baoling laughed. It’s not my skill—it’s the R&D team’s work. It tastes even better chilled.

I heard the improvements were based on your market research. You deserve the most credit.

As they chatted, Rao Qiutong happened to pass by and couldn’t resist embellishing the story when reporting to Wan Xiwena.

Wan Xiwena, a soft-eared and inexperienced wealthy heiress, flared up instantly after Rao Qiutong stirred the pot.

At the start of the promotion meeting, she began with a warning.

The current achievements of our jasmine herbal tea project team are the result of collective effort, especially the R&D colleagues who worked overtime to develop such an excellent formula. I heard the developer of Formula No. 4 was even rewarded by the company and sent to the U.S. for training. Your hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed—let’s give them a round of applause.

Everyone clapped. Ye Baoling didn’t take it as a personal jab and clapped even more enthusiastically than others.

Wan Xiwena, finding her punch landing on cotton, added pointedly, I urge certain colleagues not to boast about their contributions before any results are delivered. It’s unfair to others who have worked just as hard.

Exactly!

Ye Baoling clapped even harder.

If she hadn’t realized Wan Xiwena was targeting her by now, she wouldn’t be Ye Baoling.

She was doing it on purpose.

Purposely playing dumb.

It infuriated Wan Xiwena so much she nearly called her out by name, but she held back and quickly moved to the main agenda.

This promotion plan for jasmine herbal tea is crucial. We’ll start with an internal pitch. Who wants to go first?

Li Donghao from the branding department’s planning team said, Let me start to break the ice.

In those days, no one used PowerPoint for presentations. Plans were printed, copied, and circulated for review.

I’m approaching this from a brand perspective, telling consumers about Ye Qingtang’s profound century-old history, while Jasmine Herbal Tea represents a major flavor revolution within our hundred-year legacy. Therefore, our promotional focus should be on its distinctive taste. Jasmine Herbal Tea offers a refreshing and thirst-quenching flavor, completely different from traditional herbal teas. By integrating radio, television, newspaper and magazine ads, along with outdoor billboards, we aim for comprehensive coverage to launch an effective brand campaign in preparation for the company’s IPO…

That’s quite good!

Ye Baoling joined the others in applauding.

The branding department certainly has capable people.

Next was the promotional proposal from Rao Qiutong of the product department.

After distributing her proposal to colleagues, she stood humbly at the front and said with a smile, The branding team has set a great example for us. I’ve always worked on product planning proposals, so this is my first time developing a promotional plan. Please bear with me if there are any shortcomings.

After these polite remarks, Rao Qiutong got down to business.

My approach differs somewhat from Li Donghao’s. My theme centers on the emotional connection to jasmine flowers. Our jasmine ingredients are sourced from Madurai, India—many may not know this, but it’s the origin place of jasmine. We need to convey to consumers that we are authentic. Our ingredients are genuine, our herbal tea is genuine, and our sentiment is equally genuine. For the commercial, we could incorporate the song ‘Jasmine Flower’ as background music…

Emotional connection…

As Rao Qiutong spoke, Ye Baoling imagined a commercial featuring lively Indian song and dance.

While a short video could work for viral marketing, unfortunately, the technology and platforms for such campaigns didn’t exist in this era.

As a core promotional theme, this approach clearly limited its potential.

No one offered feedback, and everyone applauded out of routine.

Finally, it was Ye Baoling’s turn. She began with a few pleasantries: After hearing both colleagues’ proposals, I’ve had some realizations. My proposal might skew a bit younger, since we’re targeting young consumers. The branding team’s proposal mentioned an important point: we need to communicate that our new product is not a traditional herbal tea.

First, I suggest renaming it. Change ‘Jasmine Herbal Tea’ to ‘Jasmine Iced Tea.’ Though it’s just a one-word difference, the imaginative space is entirely different. No matter how you modify the former, it can’t escape the stereotypical impression of herbal tea in consumers’ minds. What is herbal tea? Slightly bitter, cooling, traditional. But iced tea is different—just hearing the name evokes feelings of refreshment, heat relief, thirst-quenching, and youthfulness. It can break through the existing image of jasmine tea in consumers’ minds and aligns with the fact that our jasmine tea tastes better when chilled.

Second, aside from emphasizing its cooling and thirst-quenching qualities, we should highlight jasmine’s heat-clearing and detoxifying properties. Even though we’re not following the traditional route, we shouldn’t discard the core advantages of traditional herbal tea.

Finally, for print and TV advertisements, we could incorporate sports elements to emphasize dynamism…

As soon as Ye Baoling finished, several people from the branding department applauded first.

Her proposal was eye-opening and highly practical.

Wan Xiwena raised a question: It’s already August, soon to be September. Isn’t promoting heat relief and thirst-quenching a bit out of season?

Ye Baoling: Port City’s temperature remains above 20°C even in December, and our main customers are in Southeast Asia where it’s even hotter. Besides, young people don’t consider climate when drinking cold beverages – otherwise Pepsi wouldn’t need to advertise in winter.

Wan Xiwen, who had been rebutted, momentarily stiffened before responding: Mentioning Pepsi actually reminds me – you made the herbal tea advertisement so similar to soda commercials. This essentially tells consumers: why should I drink your herbal tea to beat the heat when I can just keep drinking carbonated beverages?

Ye Baoling: The youth beverage market is enormous. Only by engaging with young people in ways they appreciate can we tap into more consumers…

Wan Xiwen interrupted: Moreover, changing proper herbal tea into iced tea will definitely cost us existing customers. I believe focusing on nostalgia themes, combined with highlighting our jasmine raw material origin, and emphasizing our authenticity would be most appropriate.

Rao Qiutong immediately aligned with the branding department: My proposal can actually integrate the branding department’s theme about Ye Qingtang’s century-old history…

Li Donghao from branding department awkwardly smiled while expressing his view: Actually, Miss Gu’s proposal suits young consumers quite well.

Wan Xiwen maintained her position: While we need to explore new consumer markets, we can’t completely abandon our existing customers.

Others remained silent.

Ye Baoling didn’t press further, merely smiling without additional comment.

Finally, Wan Xiwen overruled all objections and decided to adopt Rao Qiutong’s promotion plan.

The upcoming promotion campaign will be jointly executed by Rao Qiutong and the branding department.

As the decision was finalized, Qu Zhengming entered after handling other matters: Formula No.4 has been sent to the factory. What’s your progress here?

Wan Xiwen reported: We’ve selected the promotion plan.

After reviewing all three proposals briefly, Qu Zhengming questioned: Why wasn’t Gu Baolin’s proposal chosen?

Wan Xiwen smiled: It’s too similar to soda ads. It would make us lose existing customers.

Qu Zhengming: We still have numerous traditional herbal teas – how could we possibly lose existing customers? This product is being improved precisely because it’s not selling well.

Wan Xiwen suggested: Perhaps, Director Qu, you could present the proposals to upper management for their selection.

Qu Zhengming glanced at Wan Xiwen, Alright, understood.

Qu Zhengming went upstairs to consult with the branding director, who also favored Gu Baolin’s proposal. If the goal was attracting young consumers, advertising should naturally appeal to them in ways they prefer.

Eventually the proposals reached Shen Wanjie, whose perspective differed again.

Herbal tea is herbal tea – it’s Ye Qingtang’s foundation. It can’t be called iced tea! For this reason alone, this promotion plan is unacceptable. Shen Wanjie ultimately approved the proposal bearing Wan Xiwen’s signature.

Qu Zhengming and the branding director exchanged glances, wanting to argue their case but ultimately meeting polite refusal as Shen Wanjie dismissed their concerns.

Perhaps concerned about Wan Xiwen’s inexperience, Shen Wanjie assigned the branding department to oversee and control the promotion campaign for the improved jasmine herbal tea launch, though Wan Xiwen remained as project manager.

Five days later, the first batch of the improved Jasmine Herbal Tea was launched, accompanied by an overwhelming promotional campaign through outdoor advertisements, newspaper ads, and radio commercials.

Those who tried the improved Jasmine Herbal Tea spoke highly of it.

Yet, actual buyers remained scarce.

After placing initial orders, agents and distributors showed no signs of increasing their purchases.

Soon, newspapers published reports suggesting that Ye Qingtang’s new Jasmine Herbal Tea had received a lukewarm response, potentially jeopardizing the company’s upcoming stock listing.

After reading the news in Hong Kong Tomorrow Daily, Ye Qizu went straight to the office that same day and summoned Lin Zhong and Shen Wanjie for a stern reprimand.

How did you manage this? Everyone’s praising the taste of the new Jasmine Herbal Tea, so how could the sales be this poor?! It’s even been targeted by critics in the Hong Kong Tomorrow Daily!!!

Shen Wanjie explained: Chairman, for a new product, Jasmine Herbal Tea isn’t selling poorly—it just needs time to gain traction. New products have always required time to develop momentum.

Ye Qizu wouldn’t listen: Ye Qingtang’s IPO can’t wait! I saw your advertisement in the paper the other day—something about some state in India—it was completely incomprehensible. I thought this was the current trend, so I held my tongue then. But look at these sales figures now—clearly consumers aren’t buying it either. Change the advertisement for tomorrow, and do it quickly!

Having never seen the chairman this angry before, Shen Wanjie didn’t dare utter another word.

Normally, Ye Qizu wouldn’t interfere with these operational matters, but now it concerned the company’s public listing.

Lin Zhong asked Shen Wanjie: I heard from Qu Zhengming the other day that there was another proposal everyone liked. Go call Qu Zhengming and Liu Xiang here. Let’s finalize the promotion strategy in front of the chairman.

This way, no one would have to take sole responsibility.

Left with no choice, Shen Wanjie summoned both Qu Zhengming and the brand department director.

Qu Zhengming brought Ye Baoling’s promotional proposal directly. Ye Qizu put on his reading glasses to examine it carefully.

Seeing Gu Baolin credited on the cover, Ye Qizu recalled, Is this the female employee who came up with the Goods Allocation Plan?

That’s her. This time she suggested renaming Jasmine Herbal Tea to Jasmine Iced Tea, since the drink tastes better chilled. The promotional focus would be on cooling down, quenching thirst, and post-workout refreshment…

Ye Qizu, accustomed to the term herbal tea, disliked the iced tea concept.

But his personal preference didn’t matter—what mattered most was whether young people would like it.

He asked: What do the younger employees think?

Liu Xiang reported truthfully: The young staff in our brand department all prefer the iced tea concept.

Jasmine Iced Tea. Ye Qizu repeated the name with a slight frown. Is there still time to change the name now?

Qu Zhengming was fully prepared: Changing the plastic bottle packaging is simple. If we place the order now, production can start tonight, and we can replace entire batches tomorrow.

Shen Wanjie opposed changing the plan and worried: If we rename it now, media reporters will definitely seize the opportunity to make a big story out of it.

Qu Zhengming argued firmly: Media attention isn’t necessarily bad—as long as our product is solid, it could even help with publicity. I saw today’s news—the reporter admitted our new product tastes excellent, but the promotional approach was inadequate. The main issue now is whether our ads can quickly capture consumers’ attention.

Liu Xiang, more diplomatic, said: President Shen’s concern is valid, but as long as our direction is correct and our product’s taste holds up, we shouldn’t fear media scrutiny.

Shen Wanjie had no choice but to concede with a smile: True enough. That makes sense.

After careful consideration, Ye Qizu made the final decision: Then it’s settled—we’ll proceed with Gu Baolin’s proposal for promotion. This time, we must see results.

After leaving the chairman’s office and returning to the 10th-floor office, Shen Wanjie, who was seething with suppressed anger, instructed his subordinate: Go inform them that the person in charge of this Jasmine Herbal Tea promotion campaign will be changed to Gu Baolin. Whether it succeeds or fails, she bears full responsibility, with Qu Zhengming sharing joint liability.

Gu Baolin might barely manage planning work, but as the overall promotion lead, she likely lacks sufficient experience.

Shen Wanjie dismissed the concern. Chairman’s direct appointment.

To achieve noticeable results within a short timeframe would inevitably require substantial budgets. Since Finance was controlled by Ye Kaisen’s people, many budget requests had been stuck pending approval. He was curious to see if Qu Zhengming could overturn this situation!

Most likely not.

Meanwhile, in Wang Simin’s office, Ye Baoling was on the phone with Bai Zhu.

Thank you for having your former colleagues at Hong Kong Tomorrow Daily help amplify the coverage. Today’s news story achieved excellent impact.

Bai Zhu chuckled. They merely published the article you wrote. Just a small favor.

Ye Baoling never shortchanged collaborators: I’ve already had Yulan deliver the payment to you. Please forward it accordingly. There may be other matters requiring your assistance later—I’ll contact you again soon.

After hanging up, Ye Baoling rolled up her sleeves and stood by the window. Outside, fierce winds raged as if heralding a heavy storm.

What she set out to accomplish, she would undoubtedly achieve.

Author’s Note:
Ye Qizu: Was I set up?
Ye Huaizhang: Set up by my wife.
Readers: When will the female lead’s secret identity be revealed?
Author: Soon, very soon [Let me see]