The Art of Teasing - Chapter 170

Chapter 170

The meeting was divided into two sessions, morning and afternoon, with a lunch break in between.

After the morning session ended, Ye Ling handed her laptop, documents, and other materials to the secretary beside her. She then picked up the enormous bouquet of roses, walked over to Wen Zhengyu, hooked her arm through Wen Zhengyu's, and pulled her up. Her face was split wide with a grin, her eyes nearly disappearing into crescents. "Zhengyu, I really love the flowers you sent."

Wen Zhengyu watched as Ye Ling was practically buried by the roses and saw everyone in the room turning to look at her. She wanted nothing more than to bury herself in the flowers and disappear. She stiffened her face and said with the utmost seriousness, "Chairman Ye, behave yourself." Feigning as if the flowers had nothing to do with her.

Ye Ling's smile was like a spring breeze, her brows and eyes radiating pure smugness. "Having already received the flowers, what's there to behave about?" She held the bouquet in her right hand and openly linked her arm through Wen Zhengyu's as they walked out, clearly flaunting to everyone that she had received flowers.

Wen Zhengyu pressed her hand to her forehead, mortified beyond words.

She accompanied Ye Ling for lunch, then found the chief secretary to write a leave slip. After that, she took Zhuo Yao and headed to the tea mountains in the outskirts to look at tea.

Pre-Qingming tea yields are small, and there is a saying that Pre-Qingming tea is as precious as gold. The local area was known for Longjing tea, and since she loved drinking tea and always needed to give tea as gifts every year, she had connections with several familiar tea gardens.

With the new tea about to be harvested, she wanted to inspect it personally and pre-order extra. She needed to prepare a batch for Ye Ling, a batch for her maternal grandmother's family and Lian Xin, and another batch for some newly acquainted relatives through the old lady, as well as families with generations of ties to her own.

While looking at tea, she also called her second aunt to ask when she would be back and how much tea to order for her.

Wen Shishu told her that she was currently busy every day negotiating the sale of industries with different people and would not have time for a while.

Wen Zhengyu was still somewhat worried about the Kang family giving her second aunt trouble.

Wen Shishu: "They don't have the time to trouble me. They're busy arguing among themselves."

Wen Zhengyu indulged in some gossip.

Wen Shishu said, "It's nothing major. Just that Lao Kang's nephew opened a company, and some inspections weren't up to standard and need rectification. His nephew invoked Lao Kang's name, and the inspection department reported it. There seem to be some other issues internally. Lao Kang wants his nephew to close or sell the company, and now his nephew and his elder sister are kicking up a fuss."

Wen Zhengyu didn't understand. "What's there to fuss about? If it isn't up to standard, just rectify it." She highly suspected that Lao Kang's push to close the company was related to Ye Ling having leverage over him.

Wen Shishu sighed with a touch of melancholy and said, "You're like someone with a full belly who doesn't understand the hunger of the starving. Some businesses have very low profit margins. They reduce costs through tax evasion, exploiting employee labor, and various other methods. Taxation, fire safety, pollution discharge—these all cost money. Once rectified, costs rise. But with other businesses competing at lower prices, they can't raise their own prices, so the only option is to shut down."

Wen Zhengyu asked, "They didn't come to make a scene with you, did they?"

Wen Shishu said, "Relax. They can't bully me."

Wen Zhengyu knew immediately that they had gone to her second aunt's place to make a scene. She urgently pressed for details.

Unable to withstand Wen Zhengyu's persistence, Wen Shishu had to tell her. Lao Kang's two elder sisters had come to her to make a scene, claiming she had taken Lao Kang's money, that half her company belonged to Lao Kang, that Lao Kang held shares, and that she was selling the company now to monopolize the assets and take the Kang family's money. She had been in the middle of negotiating a deal with a client, and the matter was aired publicly. Afterward, Lao Kang was placed under investigation. Kang Bai thought she was behind it and had also come to quarrel with her twice.

Wen Shishu said, "Once I finish selling the industries, I'll come back."

Listening to this, Wen Zhengyu felt genuinely distressed for her second aunt. She said, "Then come back soon."

After finishing the call with Wen Shishu, she called Qi Wei to inquire.

Qi Wei said to Wen Zhengyu, "That cousin of yours is simply brain-damaged. Abandoning his own birth mother, refusing to cling to such a solid support, and instead siding with his father, his aunts, and his cousins to screw over his own mother. If those cousins of his were competent, it would be one thing. But they're just businessmen who should be running a proper business. Instead, they're always trying to exploit connections and go through back doors, using his and his father's names to swagger around and cause trouble outside."

"Don't worry about your second aunt. Selling industries isn't something that can be done in a day or two. The buyer still needs to conduct assessments, and there are transaction procedures in between. At the fastest, it'll take several months."

Qi Wei then asked about Wen Zhengyu's recovery. Since she had already arrived at her destination for a business meeting, she hung up after a brief chat.

Wen Zhengyu placed orders for a batch of both Pre-Qingming and Pre-Grain Rain tea. Coincidentally, she ran into some tea merchants who had also come to inspect the tea, and placed orders with them for new tea from other regions.

After getting into the car, her thoughts returned to her second aunt's situation, and she felt a slight tightness in her chest, but she knew it wasn't her place to say anything.

She had expected Ye Ling to return home late that evening. To her surprise, Ye Ling walked in just past nine o'clock. This caught Wen Zhengyu somewhat off guard and delighted her, though the delight lasted less than a second before being defeated by the bouquet of roses Ye Ling was holding in her arms.

Wen Zhengyu truly hadn't expected that Ye Ling, after showing off shamelessly at the company, wasn't done yet—she had actually brought the flowers home.

Ye Ling went to find a large vase and struggled for quite a while before managing to fit such an enormous bouquet of roses into it.

She said to Wen Zhengyu, "You really are sincere. The weight of these flowers is truly substantial. And to say something as mushy as 'Love me until death'—I didn't know you had it in you."

Wen Zhengyu: "..." She hadn't said it.

Ye Ling looked at Wen Zhengyu with a beaming smile. "Didn't peg you for the repressed romantic type. I'd still prefer to hear you say it yourself. Letting someone else say it—how insincere is that?"

Wen Zhengyu was seriously considering: could she knock Ye Ling out?

Before she could fully weigh the thought, Ye Ling had already drawn the curtains and, right in front of her, stripped herself bare.

Wen Zhengyu's eyes instantly widened in shock. She stared at Ye Ling, thinking, What is she doing?

Ye Ling stepped forward, wrapped her arms around Wen Zhengyu's waist, and kissed her lips.

Wen Zhengyu blinked, then blinked again. Her mind instantly turned to mush. Her face burned hot at the prospect of what Ye Ling might do next, her heart hammering as if trying to leap out of her chest. She suppressed her nervousness and managed to say, "Be careful not to catch a cold." She was about to ask if Ye Ling wanted to go to bed, but Ye Ling had already released her and headed to the bathroom.

Wen Zhengyu immediately realized she had completely misunderstood. Ye Ling had stripped to take a shower, and just casually stopped by to give her a couple of kisses. There was no other meaning. She instantly swallowed all her words and thoughts and turned away to the study.

When Ye Ling emerged from her shower, she found Wen Zhengyu gone. She called her: "Where did you go?" This was the downside of a large house with many rooms—finding someone was difficult.

Wen Zhengyu replied, "The study."

Ye Ling said, "A blind-as-a-bat like you can't read or paint, so what are you doing in the study?"

Wen Zhengyu couldn't be bothered to get angry with Ye Ling. She silently hung up and continued checking the books in her bookcase for dampness, mold, or insects. She had once had 20/15 vision, while Ye Ling was nearsighted at -1.5 diopters, yet Ye Ling had the nerve to mock her for being blind as a bat.

Ye Ling, draped in a fluffy bathrobe, wearing fleece pants and fuzzy slippers, sauntered leisurely to the study. Seeing Wen Zhengyu standing there fussing with the books in the bookcase, she showed no intention of helping. She settled into a single-seat sofa, watched Wen Zhengyu bustling about, and took the opportunity to tell Wen Zhengyu about the energy project Ma Lu had connected them with.

She said, "Yesterday, when the discussion turned to going for an inspection, Lian Xin casually mentioned his fifth aunt. From the implication in his words, it seems your youngest aunt-in-law is over there."

Wen Zhengyu knew Ye Ling wouldn't bring this up without reason. She glanced back at Ye Ling and said, "Speak plainly if you have something to say."

Ye Ling said, "Your family could raise a security team like Ma Lu's over in the Middle East. That alone shows your family's business there is substantial. They'd have to send one of their own over to manage it to feel at ease. I think it must be your youngest aunt-in-law over there."

She was quite curious about Lian Huaixin's wife and children. When Old Master Lian passed away, none of the three had returned, and the Lian family members never mentioned them, as if these three people didn't exist. If Ma Lu and his people hadn't been transferred back from the Middle East, she would never have imagined the Lian family had business there.

Ye Ling voiced her confusion to Wen Zhengyu.

Wen Zhengyu said, "Little Uncle said my two male cousins are studying abroad, and our aunt is abroad looking after the children."

Seeing that Wen Zhengyu was also unaware, Ye Ling dropped the subject of the youngest aunt-in-law and asked Wen Zhengyu for her thoughts on the energy project. Ma Lu had secured thirty percent of the benefits for Wen Zhengyu.

Wen Zhengyu said, "No thoughts." She hadn't been exposed to any of this before. She asked, "What kind of energy is this energy project?"

Ye Ling pressed her palm to her forehead. She countered, "What does the Middle East produce?"

Wen Zhengyu paused. "Oil?" She instinctively thought of the two industry giants, PetroChina and Sinopec. She said, "PetroChina and Sinopec? Isn't that a state-owned enterprise market?"

Ye Ling replied, exasperated, "Even gas stations have private companies. Besides, crude oil refining isn't just for opening gas stations." Even if she had money to throw away, she wouldn't go looking for trouble against PetroChina and Sinopec.

Wen Zhengyu: "Oh." Nothing further.

Ye Ling was thoroughly defeated by Wen Zhengyu. She suddenly understood why Ma Lu had presented the materials to Lian Xin first instead of Wen Zhengyu.

Talking about energy and industry with a painter—this was probably what it felt like playing music to a cow.

Wen Zhengyu, having confirmed that her books were free of dampness, mold, and insects, felt reassured. She said to Ye Ling, "Give me a copy of the materials. I'll find someone to look them over later."

Ye Ling looked at Wen Zhengyu in astonishment: She can actually find someone to evaluate a multinational project like this?

On second thought, Wen Zhengyu knew many people. It was possible one of them was involved in this field.

She gave Wen Zhengyu the materials she had brought back.

However, Ye Ling could never have dreamed who Wen Zhengyu would find to review the project.

The next day, Wen Zhengyu took her to Old Madam Zhang's place for breakfast. After breakfast, she mentioned she had a project that neither she nor Ye Ling understood and asked Old Madam Zhang to look it over for her.

Then, Ye Ling watched as Wen Zhengyu pulled the materials she had given her last night directly from her bag and handed them to Old Madam Zhang, exactly as they were.

Lian Xin, who had finished breakfast and was sitting on the sofa drinking coffee to perk up, immediately recognized the documents the worrisome girl had pulled out. He instantly spurted his coffee with a "pfft."

Old Madam Zhang swept a glance at him. "Drink properly."

Lian Xin's eyes bulged like a bull's as he turned to Ye Ling: How could this matter be brought before the old lady!

Ye Ling: How was I supposed to know she'd find someone by going to an eighty-eight-year-old woman?

The two of them desperately wanted to snatch the materials back, but neither had the guts to take anything from Old Madam Zhang's hands. They could only watch helplessly as Wen Zhengyu very attentively handed Old Madam Zhang her reading glasses. The worrisome girl even asked, "Grandmother, is Little Aunt-in-Law in America or the Middle East? Little Uncle says she's in America, but Ye Ling says that Brother Xin said she's in the Middle East."

Lian Xin turned his head to look at Ye Ling, his eyes practically shooting daggers: When did he ever say that!

Ye Ling pressed her palm to her forehead and mouthed silently to Lian Xin: Married a silly wife. Forgive me.

Old Madam Zhang took one look at Lian Xin and Ye Ling and immediately wanted to see what these two were up to. She accepted the reading glasses, put them on, and said to them, "If you two have nothing else to do, sit a while."

Both Lian Xin and Ye Ling had things to do, but since the old lady had spoken, they could only treat their urgent matters as nothing.

Old Madam Zhang couldn't read foreign languages either; she read the translated documents. At her age, she read slowly, carefully scrutinizing the pages for a long time. She also checked the address of the oil field and said, "Oh, it's on Little Zhang's side over there."

Little Zhang? Who?

Lian Xin and Ye Ling exchanged glances.

Ye Ling shrugged: He's from your Lian family. You're looking at me? I know even less.

Lian Xin looked at Wen Zhengyu, signaling with his eyes: Quick, ask who Little Zhang is.

Seeing that Wen Zhengyu wasn't paying him any attention at all, he discreetly nudged her foot under the table.

Wen Zhengyu looked utterly baffled: What?

Old Madam Zhang swept a glance at the restless feet beneath the sofa and said, "Little Zhang, Zhang Guiquan. He must be over seventy by now. His son has been running things for a long time."

Wen Zhengyu said, "He shares your surname."

Old Madam Zhang said, "A distant relative. He went out to seek his fortune in his early twenties, traveled everywhere, and only later settled down over there. His children run factories in that area. I hear he's in a wheelchair now too, in worse shape than me. When your maternal grandfather passed, he called. He wanted to come back, but he's too frail to travel." She said to Lian Xin, "Zhang Mao's father—the kid who came back years ago and pinned you to the ground and spanked you until you cried."

Lian Xin, with Wen Zhengyu and Ye Ling present, felt somewhat embarrassed. "I have no recollection of that."

Old Madam Zhang thought for a moment. "True, you still had a runny nose back then."

Lian Xin instantly thought this grandmother was truly a biological grandmother! She might as well have just said he'd been beaten until he cried.

Old Madam Zhang paused, then said to Wen Zhengyu, "Your youngest aunt-in-law is in America. You each have your own businesses, and your two male cousins have theirs too. They're young, and Huaixin is stationed in the military year-round, unable to manage the children. So your two cousins and their business interests were handed over to your youngest aunt-in-law. Her operations over there are quite extensive too. She has some projects and investments in the Middle East, so she occasionally goes over there as well."

Wen Zhengyu tilted her head toward the materials in Old Madam Zhang's hand. "So, can this project be done?"

Old Madam Zhang said, "How should I know? If you want to inquire, go ask your youngest aunt-in-law, or ask Zhang Mao." She stood up. "Zhang Mao called a few days ago. I have his number."

Wen Zhengyu helped Old Madam Zhang up and followed the old lady to the study, where Old Madam Zhang found the phone numbers for her youngest aunt-in-law and Zhang Mao.

There were also other phone numbers, mailing addresses, and contact information that the old lady thought might be useful, and she had Wen Zhengyu copy those down too.

Reading characters was strenuous for Wen Zhengyu; staring too long made her dizzy. Copying these contacts nearly made her vomit.

She didn't feel she would need them herself, but thinking Ye Ling might, she endured the dizziness and copied them down for Ye Ling.

After giving Wen Zhengyu the contact information, Old Madam Zhang returned to the living room downstairs. She suddenly recalled something and asked, "Why did Ma Lu approach Lian Xin first before coming to you?"

Wen Zhengyu said, "I'm recuperating. If Ma Lu has anything, he goes to Brother Xin and Ye Ling."

Old Madam Zhang patted Wen Zhengyu's hand. "Even among close siblings, accounts must be settled clearly when necessary. What Ma Lu did was incorrect. If he were up to any tricks, you'd be easily fooled. Even if you're recuperating and not managing much, he should have prepared the materials in three copies and delivered one to each of you. If he doesn't intend to serve you faithfully, talk to your little uncle and have someone else sent over."

Wen Zhengyu said, "You know what my condition was like before. He couldn't exactly bother me, a sick and injured patient, with unconfirmed matters. So he discussed it with Brother Xin and Ye Ling first, and only told me when they felt it was viable. He's quite protective of me. In front of Brother Xin and Ye Ling, he didn't allow them even a fraction more in benefits. He fought for every bit that should come to me without conceding an inch."

Old Madam Zhang said, "You need to keep your wits about you. If you had even half of Ye Ling and Lian Xin's cleverness, I wouldn't worry. Go on now, go to work. It's so late already, don't linger around me."

The three of them left together.

Once they were out of the main hall, Lian Xin asked Wen Zhengyu, furtively, "Did you really need to stay up there that long just to copy a number?"

Wen Zhengyu produced a contact list spanning three full pages. "The old lady made me copy it. Said I might need it." She looked at Lian Xin. "Grandmother said that if there's anyone I don't know or recognize, I should ask you."

Lian Xin said, "Let me see the list." He took out his phone and photographed Wen Zhengyu's list. "Over all these years, the old lady has accumulated quite a network. But most of the older generation have passed on. Among the younger generation below, some families still maintain contact. Our family is large; not everyone knows everyone. Many of these people, Grandma still knows personally." After photographing the list, he said, "Alright then. We'll contact Zhang Mao and Little Aunt to inquire and verify this matter first, then decide on the next steps based on the situation." He then vigorously ruffled Wen Zhengyu's hair and said, "You worrisome girl." Ma Lu, holding a rice bowl from Wen Zhengyu's table, had approached him first before Wen Zhengyu. It was somewhat taboo, yet this worrisome girl hadn't given it a second thought. He was naturally pleased that Wen Zhengyu trusted him, but her complete lack of vigilance was truly worrisome.

Wen Zhengyu straightened her hair, got into the car, and handed the contact list to Ye Ling. "I don't intend to take thirty percent of the benefits for free."

Ye Ling vigorously ruffled Wen Zhengyu's hair as well. She was also worried for Wen Zhengyu.

However, after this visit, she felt much more confident. The biggest fear in business is being in an unfamiliar place with no connections. If she invested a large sum of money there and the locals, seeing she had no foundation, swallowed the oil field along with the operational equipment and assets she had invested, her money would simply be gone. Even with Ma Lu facilitating the connection, if their sole protection relied on Ma Lu's security team without any other safeguards, she wouldn't dare invest. Business deals are never built on the efforts of a single person.

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