The Young Lady is a Bit Unruly [Fragrant Harbor] - Chapter 74: Ghost

Chapter 74: Ghost

Upon entering the office, the rich aroma of coffee filled the air.

Ye Baoling turned to Lin Zhizhi and said, I don’t feel like coffee today. Please get me a cup of black tea instead.

Lin Zhizhi immediately acknowledged the request.

After she brought the black tea, Ye Baoling asked, What’s on the schedule for this morning?

There are two options. First, the product development team is holding a new product tasting session around 10 AM. Second, the first batch of Jasmine Iced Tea shipped to the US is departing from the port this afternoon. The branding department has arranged for reporters to take photos and cover the event at the port this morning. Would you like to attend, Miss?

Ye Baoling hesitated and asked Zhizhi, Which one do you think I should go to?

Lin Zhizhi smiled and suggested, Perhaps the new product blind tasting is more important. The branding department can handle the reporter photos.

Ye Baoling nodded. Alright, I’ll follow your advice.

At exactly 10 AM, the product development team conducted an internal tasting of their new Ice Black Tea.

Learning from previous experience, they conducted the tasting under both room temperature and chilled conditions.

After tasting it, Ye Baoling wasn’t very satisfied. It wasn’t as impressive as the previous Jasmine Iced Tea, nor as good as the ice black tea she had tasted in her previous life.

The team leader of the development group asked for everyone’s opinions, What do you think of the taste?

It’s okay, better than the Monk fruit herbal tea.

Better than other tea beverages on the market, but not as good as our Jasmine Iced Tea.

The reason Jasmine Iced Tea tastes so good is because the tea flavor is well-balanced. These formulas are either too strong or too weak.

Everyone shared their views.

Finally, Ye Baoling said, Among these formulas, number 7 is relatively good, but the tea flavor is too strong and slightly astringent, and it’s also too sweet. Try adding some citric acid or malic acid to enrich the flavor. The strengths and weaknesses of these formulas are quite obvious. Conducting a blind selection now might be a waste of resources. Please make adjustments first.

The development team quickly noted down the key points. Someone raised a concern, Won’t adding citric acid make the taste a bit strange?

Ye Baoling remembered that the ice black tea she had tasted before had a sweet and slightly sour flavor, which was quite rich. Just try it first. I’ve had black tea with citric acid before, and it tasted excellent.

Alright, we’ll give it a try.

After the meeting, it was already noon. Ye Baoling went out for lunch with Gu Man’er and Wang Simin.

Ye Baoling drove to a relatively distant Cantonese restaurant for lunch.

Recently, Ye Baoling had been busy with numerous tasks, and the trio hadn’t had lunch together in a long time.

After sitting down, Gu Man’er generously said, Order whatever you like. It’s on me today.

Wang Simin glanced at her sideways. What’s up? Did you strike it rich? Planning to get married? Or do you need a favor from us?

Facing Wang Simin’s rapid-fire questions, Gu Man’er smiled faintly. None of the above. I’m planning to switch jobs and work at a law firm. Opportunities like this to have lunch together might become fewer in the future.

Gu Man’er had already discussed this with Ye Baoling beforehand, and Ye Baoling supported her decision to leave Ye Qingtang and showcase her talents at a law firm.

Since she had the chance to work as a junior lawyer at a major law firm, why not give it a try?

But it’s okay. We can still meet in the evenings and on weekends.

Wang Simin chuckled. You, always prioritizing romance over friendship! It’ll be hard to make plans with you from now on. Today, I’m definitely going to make you treat us to a lavish meal.

She picked up the pencil and order slip from the table. I’ll have Jellyfish Smoked Pork Knuckle, Crab Roe Mini Buns, Jinhua Ham Siu Mai… she ordered five items in one breath.

Ye Baoling didn’t hold back either, adding three expensive dishes to the order.

Since any more would be too much to finish, Gu Man’er – whose wallet was already taking a hit – added a bowl of Dried Vegetable Porridge.

The three women chatted as they ate. Though they came from different backgrounds with varying abilities and distinct personalities, the journey they had shared destined them to become close confidantes.

On the car ride back to the company, Wang Simin reported to Ye Baoling about the recent activities of Ye Kaisen, Cai Yongming, and others.

Gu Man’er listened from the side, unable to contribute, before finally concluding: Wang Simin now resembles the Director of the Eastern Depot.

What Director of the Eastern Depot?

My cousin is the emperor. You’re the Grand Eunuch Director of the Eastern Depot, responsible for secretly monitoring all officials’ every move – utterly sinister and terrifying.

This analogy made both Ye Baoling and Wang Simin burst into laughter.

After they’d laughed enough, Wang Simin retorted: You’re the sinister one! I’m Ye Qingtang’s ICAC informant, a righteous good person, understand?

If Ye Baoling wanted to monitor those she wished to watch, she had cleaners and security guards within the company, while outside, Chen Weiqiang led his men and private detectives in simultaneous operations.

She had money and was willing to spend it maintaining these people who were useful to her.

She enjoyed this feeling of controlling everything from the shadows.

In the afternoon, the first batch of Jasmine Iced Tea bound for America left the port and officially set sail.

Several days later, Ye Baoling instructed the product department to prepare for production of the next batch at any time.

But the factory’s production capacity was severely insufficient, prompting Qu Zhengming to convene an executive coordination meeting.

Director Zeng of the factory reported truthfully: Recently, to rush the L&D order, all three production lines were dedicated to the American version of Jasmine Iced Tea. Now we’re working nonstop to fulfill orders for other regions. Even so, we’re worried about delivering to Southeast Asian clients on time. And this is during the off-season – if it were peak season, we simply couldn’t handle the operation.

Cai Yongming, who had previously opposed adding production lines, surprisingly took the initiative to relent today: Then let’s add one production line.

Qu Zhengming expressed concern: The American market hasn’t started sales yet. I think we should be more conservative and not rush to produce the second batch of American Jasmine Iced Tea. However, we can work overtime here to fulfill other orders first, then see if we can free up production slots later. If we work overtime, we’ll need to hire more temporary workers to ensure shift rotations don’t become problematic.

Ye Baoling believed Jasmine Iced Tea should sell well in America, but such things could never be guaranteed with 100% certainty.

If it succeeded and proved popular, production would take time here, shipping would take time – America could easily face stockouts, rendering all the preliminary hype and advertising investments wasted.

Qu Zhengming’s approach would work short-term but wasn’t a permanent solution.

She asked: What’s the approximate cost of adding one production line?

Director Zeng: 1.7 million. That requires group approval, and including procurement and installation time, it would take at least two months.

Cai Yongming clearly had prepared an alternative: There’s another route we could choose.

What route?

Jiaqi Beverage Factory wants to transfer ownership. They have two production lines. If we can acquire Jiaqi, all these problems could be quickly resolved.

The name Jiaqi Beverage Factory sounded somewhat familiar, but Ye Baoling couldn’t recall any beverage on the market named Jiaqi.

Someone nearby explained: Jiaqi Beverage Factory is a small plant that opened a few years ago. They mainly produce orange soda as an OEM for other brands. They don’t have their own brand.

Qu Zhengming said: Acquiring a beverage factory is a major decision that should be determined by the group, right?

Matters involving group decisions would always take time.

Cai Yongming looked at Ye Baoling: If the young mistress discusses it with the chairman, it might speed up the process.

Ye Baoling had never considered acquiring a beverage factory in Port City. Labor and material costs here were much higher than in mainland China. Her idea was to acquire land in Shenzhen to build a factory.

But that would also require preparation time—without at least six months, production capacity would be impossible.

Though Cai Yongming was actively recommending the purchase of Jiaqi Beverage Factory, Ye Baoling showed no signs of suspicion on her face. Instead, she asked: Do you have any information about Jiaqi Beverage Factory?

Cai Yongming was prepared.

His secretary distributed a set of documents to everyone.

After reviewing the details, Ye Baoling remembered—this Jiaqi Beverage Factory was the employer that Gu Man’er had worked for in 1988 in the original storyline.

In the original plot, due to rising labor and material costs in Port City in recent years, Jiaqi Beverage Factory could no longer sustain its low-profit OEM business in the city. They decided to relocate to mainland China to open a new factory, while selling off the existing facility here.

Before the transfer procedures were completed, the government announced plans to build a landfill in the valley near Jiaqi Beverage Factory two years later. Upon hearing this news, the buyer breached the contract, refusing to proceed with the purchase. The two parties ended up in a legal dispute.

Ye Baoling remained calm and simply said: I need to discuss this with my grandfather first.

After the meeting, Cai Yongming returned to his office. Shortly after sitting down, he received a phone call from Ye Kaisen.

Any issues? Ye Kaisen asked about the bag of white powder.

Cai Yongming replied: It was placed last night and smoothly departed the port today. Everything is proceeding according to plan.

Ye Kaisen laughed: Then we’ll wait for news.

Cai Yongming added: During the meeting just now, Ye Baoling expressed interest in expanding production. I informed her about Jiaqi Beverage Factory’s planned transfer. She seemed quite interested and said she would discuss it with the chairman.

Ye Kaisen was delighted: Excellent. She thinks the U.S. market is stable—still too young and naive. Once the U.S. market collapses, the acquired Jiaqi factory will become a money-losing burden. I’d like to see how she handles that.

Cai Yongming expressed concern: Could the chairman catch wind of the landfill project near Jiaqi Factory in advance?

Ye Kaisen was confident: Unlikely. It’s currently in a confidential phase—the announcement won’t be made until next spring. The person in charge of site selection is my closest friend; otherwise, I wouldn’t know about it either.

I’ve done all I can. The rest is up to you, General Shen. Cai Yongming hinted that he had done everything possible and pleaded to be left alone.

Ye Kaisen understood: Don’t worry. After this, you won’t just be the acting general manager of Leaf Pure Tea—you’ll be the general manager.

Thank you, General Shen, for the opportunity.

After hanging up, Cai Yongming wiped the smile off his face. At this point, he could only hope that Ye Kaisen would win.

After the meeting, Ye Baoling left work early and went to the Qiyuan office to discuss recent investment matters with Liu Haonan.

The Hong Kong stock market had been sluggish recently. After Ye Qingtang’s stock rose for a few days, it fell back again. Liu Haonan was buying up as much as possible.

With the remaining funds, she instructed Liu Haonan to buy Hongtong Industry at low prices.

The U.S. stock market, however, was slowly recovering. They began gradually going long, not daring to use too high leverage, but if prices rose, going long would be more profitable than short selling.

As for which specific stocks to invest in, Ye Baoling left it entirely to Liu Haonan to decide.

Without any plot hints, she chose to trust the judgment of a professional.

When she returned home in the evening, she discussed with her grandfather the idea of adding production lines.

Ye Qizu was very conservative. While feeding the fish, he said, Although we signed an 80 million order with L&D, if our products don’t sell well in the U.S., that 80 million order will just be a number. Be patient and wait until the first batch of goods arrives in the U.S. See how they sell. If they sell well, everyone will be happy, and we’ll get follow-up orders. It won’t be too late to figure out how to expedite production then.

Ye Baoling also took some fish food and sprinkled it into the fish tank. If they sell moderately well, we’ll have time. But what if they become a huge hit? By the time they place orders, and we schedule production and ship the goods, it’ll already be March or April next year.

That’s an extremely optimistic scenario. Even if that happens, a short gap won’t hurt much.

It would cause significant harm. Once such fast-moving consumer goods disappear from supermarket shelves, all the earlier promotion and groundwork will go to waste.

Adding production lines also takes time. Wouldn’t it still be too late? The idea Qu Zhengming mentioned earlier was quite good.

Cai Yongming recommended a beverage factory that’s up for sale. If we acquire it, we can perfectly solve these problems. As she spoke, Ye Baoling turned around, took the documents from her handbag on the chair, and handed them to Ye Qizu.

Ye Qizu walked back to his desk, put on his reading glasses, and began flipping through the documents.

As soon as he saw the details, the old man’s eyes lit up. The factory had two production lines, a fairly large site area, and was located in the Northern District—a relatively remote area, so the price likely wouldn’t be too high.

Even if they didn’t need so many production lines in the future and had to shut down the factory, with some connections and a bit of money, the land could be rezoned from industrial to residential use.

As long as the price was right, no matter how they calculated it, it wouldn’t be a loss.

Ye Qizu’s calculations were faster than anyone’s. He immediately instructed Xing Shu, Call Huang Ying and have her come over right away.

Huang Ying was the daughter of Ye Qizu’s sister and the deputy general manager of the investment department.

Ye Baoling had met her a few times and had a good impression of her.

She was a single woman in her thirties, decisive, efficient, and rational.

Previously, Ye Qizu had wanted Huang Ying to mentor Ye Baoshun, but she cleverly found an excuse to decline.

Huang Ying arrived just in time for dinner and joined them at the table.

As they ate, Ye Baoling explained the situation to her in detail.

Ye Qizu said, Huang Ying, you go negotiate with them first. Find out what price they’re asking. If it’s suitable, we’ll take it. If not, figure out a way to negotiate until it is suitable.

It was clear the old man really wanted this factory.

Huang Ying nodded in agreement. Alright, I’ll get a clear understanding first, then proceed with the negotiations.

After finishing her statement, she added, Actually, they can’t sustain the pressure themselves and are planning to open factories in the mainland. Uncle, should we consider investing there too? I’ve visited Shenzhen twice recently and found the development there incredibly rapid. Setting up a factory in Shenzhen offers great cost-effectiveness.

Ye Qizu remained as conservative as ever: I’ve heard the situation is somewhat unstable lately. Let’s wait until things settle down. Isn’t the Third Branch building a port in Shenzhen? Let’s see how their project progresses.

Ye Baoling smiled and said, They dare to invest billions, while our factory investment in the mainland would only be in the tens of millions at most. Even so, Grandfather, you’re still hesitant. No wonder the gap between us and the Third Branch keeps widening. We’re almost unable to see their taillights anymore.

Ye Qizu: …

Huang Ying was stunned. No one in this family had ever dared speak to the old master like this—even Ye Baoshun only knew how to wheedle and act spoiled, never daring to mock him so directly. Ye Baoling was truly the first.

The remarkable thing was that the old master actually tolerated it.

Simply unbelievable.

After the meal, Ye Baoling spoke privately with Huang Ying for half an hour, and their ideas aligned perfectly.

What if your grandfather holds us accountable?

I’ll take responsibility, Aunt. Don’t worry.

Huang Ying was aware of Ye Baoling’s recent accomplishments regarding Ye Qingtang and found herself inexplicably confident in this niece. Alright, I’ll follow your lead.

Over the next month, Huang Ying held several rounds of negotiations with Jiaqi Beverage Factory, and both sides found the discussions quite pleasant.

The R&D team finally developed an Ice Black Tea formula with exceptionally impressive flavor—delicious both at room temperature and chilled.

After tasting it, Ye Baoling believed it was vastly superior to the ice black tea from her original world.

She had the factory quickly produce a batch of samples. She planned to visit the United States before Christmas and could bring them for the people at L&D Company to sample.

This trip to the U.S. involved two main objectives:

First, to submit her thesis to Dunhill University.

Second, to oversee the launch of the first batch of Jasmine Iced Tea in the American market.

The first attempt at anything is crucial. If this key battle succeeded, she wouldn’t need to monitor it so closely afterward.

Two days before her departure for the U.S., Ye Huaizhang fell ill with a fever. After receiving an IV at the hospital, he rested at home.

Ye Baoling, busy preparing for her trip, had no time to accompany him to the doctor during the day. She worked overtime until after 8 p.m. before returning home.

When she arrived at the Third Branch mansion, Yang Pinxian was in the kitchen on the first floor, supervising the preparation of congee. Seeing Ye Baoling return, she hurriedly said, He’s asleep. I’m making some congee for him. Have you eaten?

I had a working dinner at the company.

Then have some congee too. You look thinner. Both of you are workaholics—what am I to do? Yang Pinxian fretted over them.

Ye Baoling only intended to push herself hard for these few years; later, she planned to relax and enjoy life. She smiled and said, It’ll get better. When we both have more free time, we’ll take you traveling around the world.

Seeing her daughter-in-law so exhausted from work yet still willing to comfort her moved Yang Pinxian deeply.

You should travel the world by yourselves! Why would you bring your mother along as a third wheel? Go take a shower now. When the congee is ready, I’ll bring it up for you both.

Thank you, Mom.

Ye Baoling went upstairs to the second floor, quietly opened the door, and unexpectedly heard Ye Jinfeng speaking.

Ye Jinfeng was heard saying, You, having a wife is no different from not having one at all. You barely spend two days a month living here—the rest of the time, you’re always accommodating her. I don’t know what you’re thinking. Sign here.

Ye Huaizhang replied with slight impatience, It’s done.

As Ye Jinfeng took the signed document and turned around, he spotted Ye Baoling standing at the door.

Unfazed, he remarked sarcastically, Back so early.

This pretentious jerk Ye Jinfeng was in charge of managing Gezhi Jewellery—sooner or later, she would teach him a lesson and make him behave.

Feigning ignorance of the sarcasm, Ye Baoling responded, Yes, not as early as you, Fourth Uncle.

Ye Jinfeng: …

After Ye Jinfeng left, Ye Baoling closed the door and went to check on her husband.

His face was flushed, and he looked unwell, clearly exhausted. She couldn’t help but complain, Your fourth uncle really has no consideration—knowing you’re sick, he still woke you up to sign papers.

Ye Huaizhang explained, It was urgent.

She washed her hands, came over, and pressed her hand to his forehead. It still felt a bit warm. Not exactly skilled at caregiving, she asked, Should we try to bring the fever down physically?

It’s just a low-grade fever now, no need.

Yang Pinxian knocked and entered, followed by a servant carrying two bowls of green vegetable and lean pork congee.

The ever-worried mother asked her son, Shall I feed you?

No need, I can manage myself. He disliked being treated like an invalid.

Thinking she would soon leave for the States and wouldn’t be around to care for him, Ye Baoling felt compelled to play the part of the devoted wife. Let me do it, she offered.

Ye Huaizhang, who had been about to reach for the bowl himself, immediately withdrew his hand.

Seeing this, Yang Pinxian nearly burst out laughing.

Taking the hint, she said tactfully, Finish your congee and get some rest early. I’ll leave you two alone.

Ye Baoling sweetly replied, Goodnight, Mom.

Goodnight. Both of you, rest well tonight.

Once Yang Pinxian had left, Ye Baoling picked up the bowl of congee, scooped a spoonful from the edge, and brought it to his lips.

Will just congee be enough? Aren’t you hungry?

Not hungry. Ye Huaizhang had no appetite; he didn’t even feel like having congee. If it weren’t for his wife feeding him, he’d probably have forced down a couple of bites at most.

But with her insistently feeding him spoonful by spoonful, he had no choice but to eat it all.

After he finished the entire large bowl, she teased him, I thought you weren’t hungry?

You forced me to eat—did I dare refuse?

Hmph.

Ye Baoling took a couple of sips herself and grumbled, Who invented green vegetable and lean pork congee? It’s kind of gross.

Ye Huaizhang said, I’ve had this congee since I was a child whenever I got sick. It’s light.

After her shower, Ye Baoling found him still awake, so she peeled an apple for him.

Where did this apple come from?

He was feigning ignorance.

Ye Baoling smiled, It’s an offering to Guanyin Bodhisattva. Eating it will bless you with a speedy recovery by tomorrow.

She peeled and sliced the apple, speared a piece with a fork, and brought it to his mouth. Say ‘ah’…

Ye Huaizhang didn’t really want to eat it, but he opened his mouth anyway.

She took a piece herself. So sweet.

They shared the apple, divided into eight small pieces—Ye Baoling in charge of feeding, the couple taking turns, one piece after another, until it was all gone in no time.

Somehow, both of them were happy today—the one feeding and the one being fed.

The next day, Ye Huaizhang’s fever gradually subsided, and after another day of rest, he was mostly stable.

On the day Ye Baoling was preparing to leave for the U.S., they shared some intimate moments. When he tried to take things further, she stopped him: You’re not fully recovered yet. I’m afraid you might suffer Death by Overexertion.

Death by Overexertion…

Was he really that fragile?

If you keep holding me back, I really will go crazy right now.

She kissed him. Let me use my hands for you. Don’t exert yourself.

She was being exceptionally compassionate today, taking care of her recently recovered patient.

He had never seen his wife so gentle before. When she held him, he instantly melted.

When Ye Baoling, He Jiayi, and Li Donghao arrived in Los Angeles, Yang Baozhu came to pick them up.

The weather here was quite cold but rather pleasant.

Ye Qingtang’s cargo ship had arrived at the port several days earlier and was currently waiting in line for customs clearance.

Yang Baozhu told her: It’s already been handed over to L&D for processing. They’ll unload at 3 PM this afternoon and start shipping to major cities the day after tomorrow. They’re very professional with distribution, no need for us to worry. Next Thursday, all major advertisements will launch. We should see results by next week at the latest.

Ye Baoling’s group first visited Leaf Pure Tea’s American branch, then went to observe the unloading, before heading to L&D for a meeting and delivering the new products to them.

Three days later, Ye Baoling went to Dunhugh University, staying on campus for a week before continuing to follow up on the American branch’s work.

Ye Kaisen stayed up late waiting for a call from America in his study.

The news didn’t come until nearly dawn.

His friend who was helping with matters in America called to say the police had come but found nothing.

Leaf Pure Tea’s Jasmine Iced Tea was still being unloaded and would all be shipped away the day after tomorrow.

Impossible!

Ye Kaisen had someone call the police again.

The result remained the same – nothing was found.

He called Cai Yongming to question what had happened.

Cai Yongming was completely baffled: I definitely arranged it properly, I personally watched it being placed inside. That Acheng by your side saw it too.

But there’s nothing in that container. The police checked other containers and found nothing either.

Cai Yongming sighed helplessly: I’ve heard American police aren’t very reliable. I suspect the quantity was too small, they didn’t check properly, so they didn’t find it.

Damn it! Ye Kaisen was furious.

What a perfectly laid plan, all prepared for nothing.

And he’d wasted a bag of powder on top of it.

What surprised him even more was that before Christmas even arrived, the company received a fax from America.

Leaf Pure Tea’s Jasmine Iced Tea was selling like crazy in the American market!

The Panda Dolls were being snatched up by American children.

This…

How was it possible?

That ugly panda doll?

Ye Kaisen asked the person who brought him this news twice in disbelief. After getting confirmation, he had to admit that Ye Baoling’s luck was just too damn good!

Wait, something’s fishy.

Meanwhile, when Ye Qizu saw the fax about the explosive sales in America, he was so excited he couldn’t sleep all night.

Early the next morning, as dawn was just breaking, he went up to the fourth floor to pay respects to their ancestors.

Ancestral spirits, our Leaf Pure Tea has made it to America!

With the American market opened, other developed countries’ markets would surely be conquerable too. For Leaf Pure Tea, this marked a completely new chapter.

Author’s note: Ye Huaizhang: Being sick is wonderful.

Ye Baoling: Making money is marvelous!

Two sections from the previous chapter got locked, I’m not going to fix them. Every time I try to fix things they just get worse, so please bear with it.

So, better read updates promptly. [kiss]