Chapter 147 — The Long-Awaited...

Watching President Chen emerge from President Niu's office beaming with spring sunshine, these people were consumed with envy, all cursing themselves for not being the first to arrive.

After making a rough survey of the jewelry company's situation, Yang Ce left with Bao Lin and the others at ease, while Lin Yanhe and Zhao Sisi went into the company to begin another busy day.

Valentine's Day had passed, and the jewelry company's sales figures had clearly slid. Though they had counters in every major shopping mall, it was quite ordinary for some counters not to sell a single piece all day.

Sitting in the office, Lin Yanhe frowned deeply. The earlier idea of using Shu Ya for promotion had been Yang Ce's suggestion, and it had indeed made the jewelry company's sales heat up for a time—and had successfully beaten their competitors.

But now, especially in the off-season, trying to raise the sales figures even a little was easier said than done. Lin Yanhe and Zhao Sisi had held several meetings to discuss it, but no good solution had come of them.

"Zhiyun, last night while I was browsing online, I suddenly had a new idea—it might just boost our performance." Zhao Sisi came to Lin Yanhe in a state of some excitement.

"Oh? What idea?" Lin Yanhe asked at once. The company's performance these past few days had been giving her headaches too.

"These days, isn't DIY all the rage? DIY food, DIY computers—even home furnishings can be DIY. We could launch a DIY line of our own," Zhao Sisi said excitedly.

"What would our DIY mean?" Lin Yanhe asked, rather puzzled.

"Our DIY would be DIY wedding rings," Zhao Sisi said with a smile. "It's just a sudden inspiration of mine. Most people getting married these days are young people born in the eighties. They may not be as unconventional as us nineties kids, but they're not the type to stick to the beaten path either. Which of us young people likes to be the same as everyone else? Especially for something as big as marriage—identical wedding rings always feel lacking in originality. If our wedding rings could be DIY, we'd draw in a whole crowd of young people. They could choose the diamond size they like, the ring design they like, and then, according to the size of their fingers, we'd custom-make a one-of-a-kind wedding ring for them on the spot. Tell me, wouldn't that attract a lot of people?"

"Ah!" Lin Yanhe could not help exclaiming at Zhao Sisi's idea. "Sisi, this idea is really good. How did you come up with it? It's true—marriage is a major event in life. Many people only ever marry once in their lives, so they're willing to spend on it. We're on the high-end track, so even if DIY costs a little more, it will still draw in plenty of young men and women about to be married."

"Exactly, that's what I thought too. No matter how you choose a wedding ring, it's always something someone else has already made," Zhao Sisi said with a smile. "This way, it's as if the ring were DIY'd according to their own wishes. And we could engrave their names or the date on the inside of the ring, just as they like, to keep as a permanent memento."

Lin Yanhe nodded excitedly. "Sisi, you're amazing. I think this will definitely work. Let's hold a meeting to discuss it in a little while."

"You agree? That's wonderful. I was afraid it was just my own fantasy." It was plain that Zhao Sisi was very happy too.

With that, Zhao Sisi went off to prepare. After her excitement faded, Lin Yanhe instead felt somewhat dejected. She and Zhao Sisi had joined the company together, held the same position—vice general manager—and were of the same status too, both university students.

And yet, for a problem that had long troubled everyone, Zhao Sisi had actually come up with a brilliant solution, while she herself was at a complete loss. There was truly so much she had to learn. Lin Yanhe felt that the gap between herself and the others was not a little thing but a very great one. She did not want to be merely an ornament, a vase—pretty to look at in the home and nothing more. She wanted to help Yang Ce, to do something for him, to share some of his burden.

But no matter how hard she tried, she always felt there was still a distance between herself and the others.

Still, this had a great deal to do with one's upbringing. It was not that Lin Yanhe's natural gifts were inferior to others'. Zhao Sisi's father worked in advertising creativity, and her mother was currently in investment analysis; steeped in such an environment, Zhao Sisi's inspirations naturally came a little quicker.

As for Lin Yanhe, before university she had never come into contact with any of this. Apart from studying at school, she had done household chores within her power—nothing that had anything to do with business. She had been in the company only a short while; how could she possibly catch up with Zhao Sisi all at once, let alone with those employees who had years of social experience?

But Lin Yanhe overlooked all this. She thought only of her own shortcomings and threw herself desperately into self-improvement, studying every day, wanting to catch up with everyone. She did not want to be a burden to Yang Ce. Though she knew well enough that Yang Ce's money could support her for several lifetimes, she simply did not want it that way. Yet this stubbornness of hers, like Sister Lin's, led her into a dead end—and these were things Yang Ce could not possibly understand. Zhao Sisi's proposal quickly won unanimous praise from everyone. You could say a DIY ring was an utterly unique idea—ordinarily the preserve of only the very wealthiest, and now Zhao Sisi had brought it to the masses. She believed that even at a higher price, many young couples would come to buy.

Once the company's next business strategy was settled, the next step was to order the equipment for making rings on-site and to hire some designers. But limited by operational constraints, not every store could offer this service—at the outset, only one shop could provide it.

Still, good wine needs no bush. She believed many young men and women about to marry would not give up the chance at a DIY wedding ring just to walk a few extra steps.

The company had made quite a lot of money recently and had ample funds, so they could contact the equipment suppliers directly and prepare to launch this business. The whole company was suddenly bustling with activity.

To be continued

985. Troublesome Relatives

Zhou Yanning's mother had come to visit her today. Yang Ce's relationship with CEO Hua was not a good one, and although things had eased somewhat since, the memory of Hua's domineering manner—summoning him into her car and offering him a sum of money to leave Zhou Yanning—was still vivid before his eyes, and it left a bad taste in his mouth. So if he could avoid seeing her, he would.

Chen Shutang and Zhou Yanning were left alone at the villa waiting for CEO Hua to arrive, while Yang Ce went back to his own home. His mother had returned to work at the community property office downstairs, though no longer as a temp—she was now the deputy manager. She had no real authority over anything, but it was at least a stable job.

His mother understood perfectly well that if Yang Cheyan had not become chairman of Mingyang Heavy Industries, no one in this community would have gone out of their way to please her. Still, the family had money to spend now, and she had an easy day's work—all in all, she was living a comfortable, carefree life.

When Yang Ce got home, his mother had just been heading to work, and the two ran into each other in the stairwell: "Daming, what are you doing home at this hour?"

"Yeah. I want to take a friend out to dinner tonight, and I'm going to pick out a gift for her from the things I brought back from Macau," Yang Yanzhou said.