THD Chapter 15

Miao Shuangshuang remained silent for a long while before finally finding her voice.

"Why did you report the Lu family...?" she asked mechanically.

Ye Xiqing tilted her head. "Isn't that normal? Two tigers can't share one mountain. Even if he hadn't done anything, I wouldn't have let him off. Let alone the fact that he took the initiative to hit me."

She shrugged lightly.

"Since that's the case, I'm prepared to be beaten. I just don't know whether he can bear the consequences of my retaliation."

Miao Shuangshuang: ...

What she had thought was a bond formed through rebirth turned out to be a dirty business war.

After realizing it had all been a misunderstanding, Miao Shuangshuang gradually regained her composure. Only then did she notice that although the Lu family's downfall closely resembled what had happened in her previous life, some details were different.

In her previous life, the Lu family hadn't collapsed because of a report to the Consumer Association. Instead, their downfall came after multiple deaths caused by their liquor. The incident became known as the "largest counterfeit liquor case since the founding of the People's Republic of China" and was even featured on legal news programs. It was that scandal that completely destroyed the Lu family and left them with no chance of recovery.

Now that she knew the Lu family's fall had truly begun with Ye Xiqing's report, Miao Shuangshuang suddenly didn't know what to say.

The success of the report might have been in line with the world's natural course, but the fact that Ye Xiqing had actually filed it was still shocking.

This was her spineless cousin—the same cousin who had allowed herself to be bullied and scolded when they were children. This was the virtuous wife and loving mother who, in her previous life, had become the richest man's wife yet remained little more than a silent decorative vase.

Miao Shuangshuang had always believed that even if the world ended, Ye Xiqing would be the type of saint who gave her last chance of survival to someone else.

Only now did she realize she had been completely wrong.

She wasn't a sheep at all.

She was a jackal.

As though seeing Ye Xiqing for the first time, Miao Shuangshuang stared at her for a long while before asking, "How can you be so sure your report would succeed? The Lu family is powerful. Most people wouldn't think a simple report could bring them down."

Ye Xiqing smiled.

"That's why I didn't report them locally. No matter how influential they are, can their reach really extend everywhere?"

She paused before pointing toward the television, which was broadcasting the local news.

Miao Shuangshuang had never liked local news. She thought it was remarkable that someone could spend thirty minutes repeating the same thing over and over without saying anything useful. After listening once, she never felt she'd learned anything important.

She often wondered what kind of genius actually watched these programs.

Apparently, Ye Xiqing did.

How could she not?

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

To outsiders, those people on the screen were merely a group of boring officials. But to local business owners, they were the people who controlled everything—the bosses behind the scenes.

And that entire group was about to be replaced.

When such a major scandal erupted at Lu Family Winery, the first people to suffer were the county officials. Not only were they directly responsible, but the fact that the Lu family's problems had gone uninvestigated for so many years made it difficult to believe they were completely innocent.

Now that the Lu family was doomed, their own futures were not far behind.

Before long, the county welcomed a new leader.

Her name was Meng Changli.

She had not been sent there because she was especially valued, nor because her superiors had complete faith in her abilities. The county's problems had become severe, and someone needed to bear the pressure.

Furthermore, the county was primarily agricultural, with its economy almost entirely dependent on the Lu family's winery. If the Lu family collapsed, the county itself would suffer a devastating blow.

The people who were truly favored would never be assigned to such a place.

Meng Changli wasn't foolish. She understood perfectly well why she had been sent there.

But challenges and opportunities often came together.

As long as there was a chance, there was still the possibility of turning things around.

She intended to clean up the mess.

Just then, someone knocked on her office door.

Having only recently taken office, Meng Changli looked up and casually asked, "Who are you?"

The visitor was a very young woman, radiating youthful energy. Carrying a folder beneath her arm, she smiled and said, "Hello. I'm Ye Xiqing, the person in charge of Qingqing Winery. You may not know Qingqing Winery, but if you've seen the CCTV program about 'fake real wine' and 'real fake wine,' then you should have some impression of me."

"Given everything that's happened with Lu Family Winery recently, I know you're very busy. So I'll only take a little of your time to talk about Qingqing Winery."

Meng Changli listened quietly.

As she heard Ye Xiqing's story, she gradually sat up straighter.

A sudden realization dawned on her.

The turning point she had been searching for might be standing right in front of her.

---

After the food safety scandal at Lu Family Winery was exposed, all of their advertisements were naturally pulled.

At that very moment, a new commercial suddenly appeared.

Its star was the popular actress Miao Shuangshuang.

In the advertisement, she portrayed a modern woman wearing a long coat and wandering aimlessly through a snowy landscape.

Through brief flashbacks, viewers learned that she seemed to have made a serious mistake—one so overwhelming that it had left her completely defeated.

As she stepped into a phone booth and reached for the receiver, her eyes suddenly landed on a bottle of liquor glowing with warm light.

The woman picked up the bottle and poured herself a glass.

After she finished drinking, the oppressive atmosphere and cold color palette gradually faded away.

It was as if she had finally found the courage to begin again.

She gently set down the phone, turned around, and ran back the way she had come, determined to start over.

As the screen faded to black, a final line appeared:

"More important than admitting mistakes is the courage to start over."

The words were met with thunderous applause.

After days of endless meetings, they had finally found a solution.

Replacing the disgraced Lu Family Winery with the newly emerging Qingqing Winery—whether it would ultimately succeed or not, at least there was hope.

With the higher-ups clearly showing their support, the Lu family's distributors began to waver.

Who had suffered the most after the Lu family's scandal erupted?

Without question, it was the distributors.

Caught in the middle, they couldn't sell the products and couldn't return them either. The Lu family was a massive enterprise, and everyone involved was desperate for money.

Just as they were at their wit's end, Qingqing Winery suddenly appeared.

The fact that they could hire a popular celebrity as their spokesperson demonstrated considerable strength. Combined with the apparent backing of the authorities, it was obvious that someone intended to support them.

In business, the most frightening thing isn't losing money.

It's seeing no future at all.

A hopeless situation.

A slow wait for death.

Qingqing Winery's powerful entrance was like a shot of adrenaline. Even distributors who had initially dismissed the company after merely hearing Aunt Cai mention it suddenly changed their attitudes and rushed to the winery to negotiate contracts.

But was Qingqing Winery really that powerful?

Serena, whose wages had yet to be paid, had something to say about that.

Despite her English name, Serena wasn't a foreigner. She was a perfectly law-abiding Chinese citizen.

The name was simply a habit she'd picked up after returning from overseas studies. She felt it sounded more sophisticated and international.

When Ye Xiqing began searching for someone to design her wine labels, she chose Serena almost immediately.

The reason was simple.

Serena's studio was new.

And therefore cheaper.

Ye Xiqing valued good design, but she didn't believe large companies were automatically better. Sometimes smaller companies worked harder because they had more to prove.

More importantly—

She genuinely didn't have any money.

As expected, Serena, eager to establish her newly opened business, couldn't bear to lose the opportunity.

Although her studio didn't have specialists in wine bottle or logo design, they learned while working and poured their full effort into the project.

The collaboration went surprisingly smoothly.

Afterward, Ye Xiqing naturally began discussing advertising with her.

"No problem," Serena said. "Advertising is actually our specialty."

Then came the inevitable question.

"How much is your budget?"

The moment money entered the conversation, Ye Xiqing's professionalism activated.

She spoke about the opportunities created by the Lu family's collapse.

Then she discussed Qingqing Winery's bright future.

Then Miao Shuangshuang's influence.

Then Serena's company's future prospects.

After circling around for half an hour, her core message remained astonishingly simple:

There's no money now.

But there will be money in the future.

Opportunities are more valuable than money!

Serena: ...

She genuinely wanted to punch her.

Yet this was exactly where the advantage of a small company became apparent.

They desperately needed an opportunity to make a name for themselves.

Regardless of whether Ye Xiqing's vision was realistic or pure fantasy, one fact remained:

She could actually get Miao Shuangshuang to appear in the advertisement.

With Serena's company's resources, they would never normally have access to a celebrity of Miao Shuangshuang's stature.

Even if the commercial never aired, simply keeping it as a portfolio piece would be enough to attract future investors.

And so, through a combination of persuasion, optimism, and shamelessness, Ye Xiqing managed to obtain an advertisement practically for free.

The commercial itself wasn't broadcast during prime time or on any major television network.

It simply appeared quietly on an ordinary channel.

Yet its effect was astonishing.

Miao Shuangshuang's fans recognized her immediately from her television dramas. Even casual viewers who regularly watched entertainment channels knew who she was.

That generated the first wave of attention.

Once people became curious about Qingqing Winery, they naturally began searching for more information.

Combined with the recent interview, that curiosity generated a second wave of attention.

With those two seemingly legitimate foundations in place, Ye Xiqing could present the company to the newly appointed county leader.

And with the leader's support, the distributors abandoned by the collapsing Lu family would inevitably seek alternatives.

Thus, the cycle completed itself.

A perfect loop.

Ye Xiqing loved reading.

In the past, most of her reading had been focused on preparing for the college entrance examinations. Since arriving in this world, however, she finally had time to enjoy books that many people considered useless.

One line in particular had always stayed with her.

A functioning enterprise is like a rolling wheel. Once it begins turning, the details become unimportant.

So long as the wheel was moving, nobody cared how rough the first push had been.

No matter how imperfect the cycle appeared, once it started spinning, it would carry itself forward.

Miao Shuangshuang looked at Ye Xiqing with complicated emotions.

"You're quite impressive."

Ye Xiqing immediately waved her hands modestly.

"Not at all, not at all. Shuangshuang, you're the most important part of the whole plan. Without your popularity, none of these steps would have worked."

Miao Shuangshuang let out a soft snort.

Just as she thought the matter was finally over, Ye Xiqing suddenly spoke again.

"But there's something I'm curious about."

Miao Shuangshuang's eyelid twitched.

"I did hide some details about the Lu family from you. You're smart, so it isn't surprising that you figured it out."

Ye Xiqing leaned forward slightly.

"But why were you so upset after discovering I reported the Lu family?"

"You were terrifying back then. I almost thought I'd done something to offend you."

"Now that everything's settled, can you tell me why?"

Miao Shuangshuang: ...

A mouth that wasn't being used could be put to better purposes.

Like eating.

Why?

Why?

Why were there so many questions?

Ye Xiqing looked at her expectantly.

Miao Shuangshuang stared back expressionlessly.

Then, after a long pause, she pointed toward the door.

"Take your 'why' and get out."

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