I really suspect that Brother Ye must have an intelligence network that spans every corner of the globe!

Amid Zhang Jingshan's urgent inquiries, Li Changfeng, still staring at the English news page on his computer screen, stammered.

"What is it?"

Zhang Jingshan gulped, his whole body becoming increasingly restless.

If Li Changfeng reacted like this, it had to be good news – favorable news!

Just now, news broke that the joint venture between Matsushita and Stella had achieved profitability for the first time. What did this mean? It was a shot in the arm for Stella's sluggish performance in the stock market recently. If nothing unexpected happened, the dark clouds hovering over Stella's stock prices would soon lift. In our terms, it's like seeing the blue sky after the clouds clear!

Li Changfeng explained excitedly.

He continued, "Without Brother Ye directing us to buy at the bottom, I wouldn't dare predict the next step. But with Brother Ye leading the way, I can guarantee that Wall Street's giants will make moves. They'll definitely push Stella's stock up, attracting retail investors – no doubt about it!"

"Damn, how much will it rise by?" Zhang Jingshan asked excitedly.

"I can't say for sure. I'm not skilled enough to analyze that, and Wall Street's calculations are beyond people like us. But based on Brother Ye's advice to buy in, it won't be small. The U.S. stock market opens in just over an hour – we'll just have to wait and see!" Li Changfeng said quickly.

"Where are you now?" Zhang Jingshan asked.

"Huaxing Trading. I'm not going home tonight," Li Changfeng replied.

"Alright, wait for me – I'm coming over!"

In the Countryside

Unlike Zhang Jingshan and Li Changfeng, Ye Chen wasn't paying attention to the financial news at all.

He wasn't even interested in checking Stella's stock performance moving forward.

It was like a fisherman casting his net – he'd reel it in when the time was right.

"Honey, guess how many bottles of Perfect Cream we sold today?"

After dinner, on the sofa, Chen Yinuo asked with a bitter smile.

"Judging by your expression, definitely not more than a hundred!" Ye Chen laughed.

"Since the online hype died down, barely anyone's buying it. Except for some troublemakers pestering our customer service, there have been no orders. Across TB, JD, and our official site, we only sold seventy-eight bottles today," Chen Yinuo said with a wry smile.

Seventy-eight bottles.

Barely over 30,000 yuan in total sales.

Forget profit – it wasn't even enough to cover salaries for the company and factory.

"This is normal, and I prefer it this way. A few slower days mean we can stock up more, so there's no need to stress over short-term sales," Ye Chen reassured her.

"I'm not worried – just a little emotional. If Perfect Cream didn't have its amazing effects, the 180 million we spent acquiring Lezi would've gone down the drain, and the public backlash would have overwhelmed us," Chen Yinuo sighed.

"That's not even a possibility. If we weren't confident, would we have spent that much to acquire a company just to launch Perfect Cream? You're overthinking it," Ye Chen laughed.

"True, huh. We have 130,000 bottles in storage now. By the time Yunshan Network starts our second round of promotions the day after tomorrow, we should have around 170,000. If there's a buying frenzy, we might sell out too quickly. Should we limit the supply?" Chen Yinuo asked.

"We definitely should. Let's allocate 50,000 bottles for the livestream sale. On TB, JD, and our website, we'll release 7,000 bottles daily – 21,000 total across the three platforms," Ye Chen said.

"We're on the same page! Scarcity marketing might annoy people, but it's our best move right now. You're still refusing to outsource production to contractors, aren't you?" Chen Yinuo smiled.

"No outsourcing. Perfect Cream is too sensitive. It doesn't just attract envy – it cuts into too many people's profits. If we rely on contractors, shady people might tamper with the formula. If quality issues arise, the consequences could be disastrous."

Ye Chen's concern wasn't unfounded – in his previous life, Yiren Ruxue faced a similar crisis.

Not long after Perfect Cream's reputation grew, outsourcing to contractors led to severe quality issues with tens of thousands of bottles. The resulting crisis nearly toppled the company, and it took a tremendous effort to resolve it.

After that, Ye Chen cut off all third-party production, opting to wait until their own manufacturing facility was ready.

"True!"

Hearing this, Chen Yinuo nodded in realization.

Even major brands outsource production, but Perfect Cream was different. Its dominance could eliminate entire product categories, threatening countless businesses.

In this context, outsourcing was far too risky.

"By the way, Pang Jun is still looking for manufacturing facilities to acquire. If we can buy one, our production will increase significantly," Chen Yinuo added.

"Go ahead with that. Once the local government approves our industrial land, I'll have Jingshan's father – the head of Yong'an Construction – begin work immediately. I spoke to him today; it'll take six to eight months to complete the project," Ye Chen said.

"Six to eight months for a 200-acre production park? That's fast!" Chen Yinuo was surprised.

"Anyone else might struggle, but Jingshan's father – the former Party Secretary's son – will manage just fine," Ye Chen grinned.

"By the way, what's Yihao up to these days?"

"He's still working as a designer at his old company, but he's thinking of quitting. After that Carlton Hotel wedding fiasco, people at work treat him like a big deal, and he's uncomfortable with it," Chen Yinuo said.

"Perfect timing!" Ye Chen smiled.

"What's your plan?" Chen Yinuo asked, curious.

"I'm about to invest in a hot pot brand. If the deal goes through, I want him to help manage it."

Though Ye Chen trusted Liu Xi to oversee the brand, he needed someone close to keep tabs.

His brother-in-law, Chen Yihao, was the perfect candidate.

"You're getting into hot pot now?"

Chen Yinuo raised an eyebrow but shifted focus.

"Is Yihao the right fit for management?"

"There's no 'right fit' or not. The brand's still grassroots. Yihao's sharp enough – he just needs to refine his temper. It'll be good for him," Ye Chen said.

"Alright. If you think he can handle it, let him try – as long as he has room to make mistakes. I don't want him ruining things," Chen Yinuo agreed.

"Don't worry. I'm just giving him space to grow. If he's cut out for it, I'll make sure he shines. If not, he'll still live comfortably."