The Young Lady is a Bit Unruly [Fragrant Harbor] - Chapter 57 The Greatest Contributor Is My Granddaughter...

Chapter 57 The Greatest Contributor Is My Granddaughter…

That night, the Leaf Family Ancestral Hall on the north side of the Oldest Branch was brilliantly illuminated.

Today was the fourteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the traditional Ghost Festival. The women of the Ye family gathered in the ancestral hall to burn paper money for their ancestors.

Afterward, the three branches returned to their respective homes for dinner.

The members of the Oldest Branch also gathered at the Hall of Flourishing Harmony for their evening meal.

After dinner, the men chatted in the study upstairs, while the women sat together drinking tea, waiting to play mahjong.

Liang Meiyun pulled Ye Baoling aside and said, This morning I saw a gossip magazine with two full pages dedicated to you.

Ye Baoling smiled and asked, What did it say about me?

It made your invitation to Xian Bi as endorser sound absolutely miraculous, and even claimed you had Xian Bi’s agent running in circles.

As she spoke, Liang Meiyun asked A Hong beside her to fetch the magazine. She flipped it open and read a few selected lines aloud.

Ye Baoling, as the only granddaughter of Ye Qizu, head of the Ye Qingtang lineage, took matters into her own hands and secured the soccer star with the cheapest endorsement fee…

She deliberately emphasized the words only granddaughter.

Zheng Junni immediately understood that Liang Meiyun’s lengthy preamble was meant to lead up to this statement, intending to publicly humiliate her and her daughter.

Ye Baoling was Ye Qizu’s only granddaughter, while Ye Baoxin was merely a tag-along, not a true member of the Ye family.

Mother and daughter exchanged glances. With so many people present, they had to swallow their anger and refrain from causing a scene.

When the topic shifted, someone happened to ask Zheng Junni, I heard Baoxin is dating Fang Shanxing. When will it be settled so we can celebrate at the wedding?

Zheng Junni seized the opportunity to make a pointed remark: It’s still too early. The other day, Kaimin mentioned that since Baoxin is a few months younger, it wouldn’t be proper for her to marry before Baoling. Baoling should definitely go first.

Her tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Everyone turned to look at Ye Baoling and asked, Baoling, how are things going with you and Gong Jiahua?

Another added, You two sisters could always have a joint wedding. That would be quite the celebration.

Ye Baoling closed the magazine and placed it on the table. Two points. First, Gong Jiahua and I have always been just ordinary friends. Second, I don’t mind if Baoxin marries before me. Whoever is in a hurry should go ahead—I only care that Baoshun doesn’t jump the queue.

The implication was that Baoshun was her blood sibling, while Baoxin didn’t count, so she couldn’t care less.

But since she didn’t spell it out, Zheng Junni had no grounds to explode, and Ye Baoxin could only offer a polite smile. Taking advantage of Ye Leqiong’s invitation for everyone to play bridge, she quickly stood up and left.

They were short one player, as Ye Baoshun had gone out right after dinner and couldn’t be found.

Ye Leqiong called out to Ye Baoling, Baoling, do you know how to play bridge? Join us.

Ye Baoling hadn’t intended to play with them, but since Ye Baoxin had publicly teased her for not knowing how to play at Ye Qizu’s birthday, she asked, What are the stakes?

Ten yuan per point.

Ye Baoxin smiled and suggested, Baoling doesn’t know how—let’s play for lower stakes.

No problem, I have money. Ye Baoling received a monthly allowance from the Family Foundation and had just gotten a bonus at work, so she was indeed wealthier than Ye Baoxin.

Ye Baoxin’s salary was only five or six thousand, with the rest subsidized by Ye Kaimin and Zheng Junni.

Previously, Ye Kaimin had been withholding the original host’s bank card while subsidizing his stepdaughter—one of the reasons for the original host’s resentment and extreme sense of injustice.

They arrived at the Orchid Pavilion Card Room. Since bridge was a 2v2 game, having a good partner was crucial.

Even on the way there, Ye Baoxin had grabbed Ye Leqiong’s hand: Shall we partner up?

Ye Leqiong was an expert at all forms of entertainment and skilled in everything. She didn’t care who she teamed up with. As long as they agree.

Her younger sister Ye Leyan immediately objected: No way. I’m not good at bridge, and Baoling just started learning too. Pairing two strong players against two weak ones—are you trying to scam us out of our money?

Ye Baoling put an arm around her shoulder and laughed: It’s fine. We’ll partner up. No problem.

Ye Leyan looked up at Ye Baoling: Are you sure? I’m really bad. I don’t want to drag you down.

Why wouldn’t it work? I’ll carry you.

Ye Leqiong burst out laughing upon hearing this: Alright, Ye Baoling, feeling cocky, are you? Let’s see how we teach you a lesson.

The outcome was predictable.

When it came to physical activities, Ye Baoling might lose—like in sports or folding gold ingots.

But when it came to mental challenges, she had never been defeated.

Back in university, she had been the president of the bridge club and had participated in numerous competitions. Unless she had extremely bad luck, there was no way she would lose to these amateur players.

After an hour and a half, Ye Baoling had won two small slams and one grand slam, which alone amounted to 1800 points—equivalent to 18,000 yuan.

Adding in the other contracts they won, Ye Baoling’s team had earned over 24,000 yuan.

Ye Leqiong and Ye Baoxin each lost 12,000 yuan.

The Ye Qingtang Family Foundation was divided into major and minor branches. Ye Baoling received over 20,000 yuan in monthly allowance, while the Leqiong sisters, belonging to the minor branch, only received around 10,000 yuan per month.

In just an hour and a half, they had lost a month’s allowance.

Although Ye Leqiong wasn’t short of ten or twenty thousand, she couldn’t help but laugh and scold: Baoling, I see now—you were playing dumb to catch us off guard. Your card-playing style is definitely not that of a beginner.

Ye Baoling raised an eyebrow slightly arrogantly: Natural talent. You wouldn’t understand.

Ye Baoxin was also frustrated by the loss—two months’ salary gone—but she had to act indifferent, occasionally checking her watch and yawning.

Only Ye Leyan was thrilled; she had won without lifting a finger.

Seeing Ye Baoxin check her watch again, Ye Leqiong asked: What’s up?

I have work tomorrow.

Feeling a bit guilty about their heavy losses, Ye Leyan thoughtfully suggested: Maybe we should call it a night.

Only then did Ye Baoxin breathe a sigh of relief.

But Ye Baoling deliberately made things difficult: I have work tomorrow too. It’s only past 9 p.m.—still early. Don’t you want to win your money back?

Hearing this, Ye Leqiong eagerly urged Ye Baoxin: Let’s play a few more rounds until 10 p.m. We’ll win it back.

Ye Baoxin had no choice but to go along with it. In the last half-hour, they lost another 3,000 yuan.

It was utterly frustrating.

Over the years, Ye Baoxin had saved quite a bit of allowance, but losing to Ye Baoling was the last thing she wanted.

She could only vow silently never to play cards with Ye Baoling again.

When Ye Baoling returned to her bedroom, she realized she had been so busy lately that she hadn’t contacted Ye Huaizhang.

She called him to ask what he was up to.

When Ye Huaizhang’s mobile phone connected, it was Dong Jian who answered.

Where’s Huaizhang? she asked, thinking he was at another social event.

But Dong Jian sounded surprised: The young master went to Taiwan early this morning to discuss a project. Didn’t he tell you?

Ye Baoling was taken aback. He had indeed called her yesterday, but she had been busy and didn’t answer.

After a moment, she asked, When is he coming back?

He’ll be home by Saturday morning.

After hanging up, Ye Baoling sat on the sofa in a daze. Ye Huaizhang had been contacting her less frequently lately.

Perhaps he was busy.

After all, when she got busy with work, she would also forget to reach out to him.

*

The advertising effect for the Jasmine Iced Tea campaign shot by Xian Bi turned out to be unexpectedly good.

Jasmine Iced Tea sold extremely well, completing the annual sales plan for new products ahead of schedule. Ye Baoling seized the opportunity to purchase numerous news articles, widely promoting the success.

This led to a record number of people filling out forms to apply for Ye Qingtang’s new shares.

On the day of the listing, the stock price soared straight up, reaching a high of 13.9 yuan before closing at 12.8 yuan—a closing increase of over 61%!

It was the highest increase among new listings in recent years.

Overjoyed, Ye Qizu proactively upgraded Ye Baoling’s V7 Vehicle to the top configuration.

The following Saturday evening, Ye Qingtang held a celebration banquet at a hotel, complete with champagne toasts.

The people on stage opening the champagne were Ye Qingtang’s board members, including representatives from the Oldest Branch, the Second Branch, and the Third Branch—Ye Jinfeng—as well as independent directors.

Whereas Ye Qizu’s birthday had only invited close relatives and friends, this event had a much broader scope.

Essentially, all the prominent socialites and gentry of Port City had arrived.

While Ye Baoshun usually accompanied Ye Qizu, today it was Ye Baoling by his side. He made a point of introducing her to people in their circle, especially in front of the Second and Third Branch members.

This is my granddaughter Bao Ling. She studied abroad and has now returned to help with the company. She was the one who brought in Xian Bi for this campaign. The successful listing of Ye Qingtang owes a great deal to her efforts.

My granddaughter Bao Ling… no, no, she’s my only granddaughter. Xian Bi and my granddaughter have known each other since their time in the U.S. He agreed to be the spokesperson for Ye Qingtang at a very favorable rate, entirely out of respect for her. As I said before, the biggest contributor to Ye Qingtang’s listing is my granddaughter.

Ye Baoling found it hard not to laugh but restrained herself, gracefully and politely greeting the many seniors present.

My granddaughter, yes… the new generation surpasses the old; one must accept aging… She excelled in her studies, and without her, we wouldn’t have achieved such results in this listing.

The old fox lied effortlessly, without a hint of blush or moral burden.

In truth, the focus of his praise wasn’t Ye Baoling herself.

Rather, he wanted to tell everyone that the outstanding success of Ye Qingtang’s listing was the achievement of the Oldest Branch.

Thus, Ye Baoling became the center of attention for the day.

The only upside was that she met many political and business elites she wouldn’t normally have had the chance to encounter in other settings.

Because Gong Jiahua was indecisive and still hadn’t committed to a relationship with Ye Baoling, Ye Qizu didn’t want to put all his eggs in one basket. His granddaughter was outstanding enough not to worry about finding a suitable man.

His standards were now higher than before.

The Li Family was quite suitable, with assets comparable to those of the Ye Family’s Third Branch, and they had two sons of marriageable age.

An alliance with the Li Family could be more beneficial than one with the Gong Family, especially since the Li Family’s business interests were broad and complementary to those of the Ye Family’s Oldest Branch.

Today presented an excellent opportunity to choose a son-in-law.

Meanwhile, Ye Baoshun stood bored in a corner, drinking with Ye Baoxin.

After lightly clinking glasses, Ye Baoxin teased in a low voice: You’ve fallen out of favor today.

Though framed as teasing, it was actually provocation.

Jealousy is only human nature.

Was Ye Baoshun jealous? Absolutely.

But Ye Baoshun knew the real threat was the newly born Ye Baoxian, not the highly capable Ye Baoling. So despite the jealousy in his heart, he just shrugged, acting completely indifferent: She’ll get married sooner or later anyway. Who cares?

Ye Baoxin mocked him: Faker.

Just then, Ye Huaizhang arrived. As soon as he entered, he followed Ye Jinfeng to greet Ye Qizu.

Second Uncle, congratulations on Ye Qingtang’s listing. The stock surged on its first day—I saw the news as soon as I landed. I’m truly happy for you and for our Ye family.

Huaizhang! You came straight from the airport to join us. You’ve worked hard. Ye Qizu was enthusiastic with everyone today, especially toward Ye Huaizhang. By the way, do you know our Baoling?

Only then did Ye Huaizhang and Ye Baoling make eye contact, their expressions clearly saying strangers.

Ye Huaizhang smiled and said, At Second Uncle’s birthday last time, I played pool with Baoling and later drove her to the intersection to catch a taxi. You even called to check on us, Second Uncle—have you forgotten?

Ye Qizu suddenly remembered and quickly laughed, My memory is failing me. Baoling wasn’t often home before, so I thought you hadn’t met. This successful listing of Ye Qingtang is largely thanks to Baoling. She handled the promotion of Jasmine Iced Tea and brought in Xian Bi as the spokesperson…

Ye Baoling was tired of hearing this, but Ye Qizu continued to boast tirelessly.

A woman surpassing men! Baoling is impressive—our Ye family has produced talent. Though Ye Huaizhang’s words sounded sincere, Ye Baoling detected a hint of sarcasm.

She shot him a sidelong glare, but he only smiled back, his face still wearing a we’re strangers expression.

Ye Jinfeng had always looked down on Ye Baoling. Arrogant by nature, even now that she had achieved results, he still thought little of her.

Besides, what did it matter how capable she was? She was just Ye Huaizhang’s wife, married to ward off bad luck.

A woman from their Third Branch.

But in front of Ye Qizu, Ye Jinfeng had no choice but to offer a few compliments: Among the girls of her generation, Baoling is quite outstanding.

Ye Qizu was dissatisfied with this evaluation. He had always been direct with the Ye family and immediately retorted, How many girls are there in her generation? How many does your Third Branch have? Still wet behind the ears, aren’t they?

Ye Jinfeng: …

Ye Huaizhang held back a laugh and flattered, Baoling is the most capable among our generation, regardless of gender.

This pleased Ye Qizu somewhat, but he didn’t fully agree: How can girls compare to boys? There’s still a big gap. Let’s be realistic.

This time, it was Ye Baoling’s turn to want to roll her eyes at her grandfather.

If it weren’t for the inappropriate setting, she would have loved to retort.

Just then, the Li father and son arrived late, and Ye Qizu immediately took his granddaughter to greet them.

Leaving Ye Jinfeng and Ye Huaizhang standing there in surprise.

Ye Jinfeng grumbled, The Oldest Branch has no one else—only one granddaughter worth showing off, and the old man seized the chance to belittle us. If he finds out that his most prized granddaughter has already married into our family, I bet he’ll be furious.

Ye Huaizhang remained silent, preoccupied with his own thoughts.

This, Ye Baoling saw very clearly.

But they never had a chance for a private conversation. Whenever she had a free moment to look for him, he was always surrounded by a crowd.

Finally seizing an opportunity when she found him alone in a corner, she quickly approached and asked, Do you have something to say to me?

He averted his eyes and lowered his voice, Shall we go? Now.

Huh?

That was definitely not possible now. The venue was full of watching eyes, and outside were swarms of reporters.

Before she could object, he said first, I’ll get the car from the underground garage and wait for you on Hyde Old Street.

It was close to the Gu Family residence on Hyde Old Street, so it would be convenient for her to take the family car there.

After saying that, he left first.

Ye Baoling knew he must have something important to tell her. After half an hour, she found an excuse to leave early as well.

Returning to the Gu Family home, she changed clothes before calling him.

Ye Huaizhang drove the car over and parked right at her grandmother’s gate.

Get in.

Ye Baoling took the passenger seat.

He drove forward about a hundred meters, stopping in a secluded spot.

Ye Baoling tilted her head to look at him, Go on, what’s bothering you?

He looked at her calmly, pausing for a moment before saying, I’m not hiding anything. You’re the one who’s been busy with no time. What I want to know is, what are you hiding?

Psycho!

Ye Baoling felt her anger rising, but she struggled to control it, trying to keep her tone even as she retorted, If you have something to say, say it directly. I hate it when you’re like this.

Ye Huaizhang lightly tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, remaining silent for a long while before asking, You took the Ugly King Jade Pendants from the second and third branches of our family. What are you planning to do?

Ugly King Jade Pendants?

Ye Baoling was taken aback, Why are you suddenly bringing this up?

He stared intently at her, as if trying to analyze something from the changes in her expression, You’re deliberately trying to collect all the Ugly King Jade Pendants, aren’t you?

Ye Baoling’s heart skipped a beat. Had he discovered something?

She did want to collect all the Ugly King Jade Pendants.

But she couldn’t admit it.

How could she explain that it was a task the system required her to complete?

Would he understand about systems and transmigrating into scripts?

Definitely not.

He would only see it as an excuse and become even more suspicious.

Suppressing her guilt, Ye Baoling’s gaze turned resolute. She immediately put on a bold front and turned the tables, Are you crazy! Did I need to scheme to get those two Ugly King Jade Pendants? Weren’t they practically begged upon me! Did I actively seek you out? No, I didn’t. You’re not going to say that your kidnapping in South Africa was my doing too, are you? This is just one thing leading to another.

Not content with just words, she reached out and pinched his arm, In the middle of the night, if you keep startling me like this, don’t blame me for not honoring our contract!

Not honoring the contract meant divorce.

She had quite some strength in her hands.

Ye Huaizhang winced from the pain.

Stop! Stop, stop, stop!

She finally let go.

His arm was red where she had pinched him. He couldn’t help but say, Don’t lay hands on me from now on.

After a pause, he added, Even if you do, you can’t use so much force.

Ye Baoling didn’t like using physical force either, but to maintain her bold front, she had no choice—she needed to take action.

The more righteous she appeared, the more passive he became.

She stubbornly insisted, I won’t use force on one condition: don’t provoke me. If you provoke me, don’t blame me for getting physical.

Ye Huaizhang’s train of thought wasn’t interrupted by her. His mind remained perfectly clear as he rubbed his sore arm and asked, Be honest with me—why do you want two Ugly King Jade Pendants?

For no particular reason. It’s precisely because I’m not greedy for money that I asked for your Ugly King Jade Pendants. If I truly coveted them, why would I sign an agreement to sell them back to you after a year?

That seemed somewhat reasonable.

But his intuition told him this reasoning had considerable flexibility.

For instance, why did she insist on having his Ugly King Jade Pendant back then?

And why did she insist on waiting a full year before selling the Ugly King Jade Pendants back to him?

Seeing his silence, Ye Baoling quickly shifted from passive to active: You still haven’t told me why you suddenly brought this up.

Ye Huaizhang retrieved the yellowish bronze tablet from the armrest compartment and handed it to her.

What was this?

Ye Baoling turned on the overhead light and examined the broken bronze tablet repeatedly, quite surprised: Isn’t this the junk we picked up at Silver Snake Summit that day?

What did it have to do with his sudden mention of the Ugly King Jade Pendants?