When a woman is sick, they say she is at her most fragile. There is indeed some truth to this. When they finished seeing the doctor, Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu sat in a restaurant. To Ye Tiancheng’s surprise, Hou Mingzhu, the notoriously spoiled young lady, actually smiled at him.
“Thank you for today.”
Hearing a “thank you” from the mouth of this headstrong young lady was truly a rare occurrence. Ye Tiancheng was astonished but didn’t show it.
“Why thank me? As your fiancé, I haven’t done anything for you. This is just a small compensation.”
Ye Tiancheng’s words were genuinely heartwarming, earning him a bit more favor from Hou Mingzhu. Her impression of him improved significantly, and she became more willing to speak to him properly. Previously, just seeing Ye Tiancheng would make her want to curse him, and the thought of this bumpkin being her fiancé made her wish she could send an assassin to kill him.
“It’s enough that you have this intention. I don’t know what you’ve been up to lately, but I don’t care about your petty money. Just don’t embarrass me.”
Ye Tiancheng understood that Hou Mingzhu was worried he would drag her down. He was determined to do something to make her see him in a new light.
“I have a way to cure your persistent illness.”
Ye Tiancheng’s words immediately caught Hou Mingzhu’s attention. She had visited numerous hospitals, consulted both Chinese and Western medicine practitioners, and tried countless foreign medicines and folk remedies.
However, she always felt a chill emanating from her body, with no specific cause found, yet it made her uncomfortable. Her quality of life was poor, and she was quite vexed.
“You? Ye Tiancheng, don’t think that just because my impression of you has improved slightly, you can brag to me. I don’t like men who make empty promises!”
“Just give me ten seconds. If you’re willing to trust me, close your eyes.”
There was a strange, calming power in Ye Tiancheng’s gaze. Hou Mingzhu, who was usually so arrogant and despised poor men like Ye Tiancheng, found him surprisingly agreeable today.
At least he wasn’t like before, where just hearing his name would infuriate her without even looking at him.
“Fine. My time is precious, and I don’t usually give anyone the chance to play games with me, so you’d better be careful, Ye Tiancheng. If you dare to lie to me, I’ll find someone to break your legs.”
Seeing the spoiled young lady’s demeanor radiating from Hou Mingzhu, Ye Tiancheng felt a slight annoyance, but making money was more important.
After Hou Mingzhu closed her eyes, Ye Tiancheng began to channel his true qi to her. Hou Mingzhu’s illness was rooted in her internal organs, which no amount of scanning or imaging could detect. However, Ye Tiancheng’s true qi could expel a lot of the cold energy. Still, Ye Tiancheng didn’t cure her completely.
Hou Mingzhu was the type to turn her back on people once she got what she wanted. If she received what she desired, she would no longer offer Ye Tiancheng any benefits.
When she opened her eyes, Hou Mingzhu first saw Ye Tiancheng’s handsome face, then felt a lightness in her body. Even her good impression of Ye Tiancheng deepened.
Hou Mingzhu took a deep breath, feeling as if she had been reborn. It was indescribable.
“Ye Tiancheng, what did you just do?”
“This is a type of qigong, a folk remedy for treating illness. I can’t elaborate further, but if you feel better, my efforts weren’t in vain.”
Ye Tiancheng couldn’t reveal his cultivation of immortality, so he resorted to making up a story about qigong.
“Are you spouting nonsense? You didn’t even check my pulse, how did you do it? I didn’t feel you using any qigong either. What trick are you playing? Ye Tiancheng, you’d better tell me the truth. I don’t have much patience.”
As Ye Tiancheng had anticipated, Hou Mingzhu, feeling better, wanted to dismiss him. Fortunately, Ye Tiancheng had been cautious. This treatment had only provided partial relief. Given her spoiled nature, she would accumulate more negative energy, leading to a relapse.
“Don’t you feel much better? However, this isn’t a complete cure. Although I know qigong, I’m not a deity. Healing requires a course of treatment, and you need to be patient.”
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, Hou Mingzhu immediately lost her temper. After all, she still needed him to cure her illness. If she offended him now, and Ye Tiancheng decided to retaliate by not helping her, Hou Mingzhu would miss a great opportunity to get rid of her persistent ailment.
“Alright, regardless, you are my fiancé, and I trust you. How much longer will it take? It won’t take my entire life, will it? I’m young and don’t want to be plagued by this annoying illness. I want to live a comfortable life too.”
Hou Mingzhu was truly a natural actress. If she didn’t win an Oscar, it would be a waste of talent. Just moments ago, she was bossy and demanding, but now she displayed feminine fragility, trying to evoke pity from Ye Tiancheng.
“Treating your illness is part of my duty. You can have your driver pick me up every week, and I’ll provide house calls. However, I have a request. I’m planning to start a business. Can you invest?”
As soon as she heard Ye Tiancheng wanted money, Hou Mingzhu’s expression soured. However, she didn’t dare to react, as she still relied on Ye Tiancheng to cure her. Wealth was external, while life was paramount.
“How much investment do you want?”
“I guarantee you’ll make money. Don’t worry, I’m not trying to swindle you by talking about investments.”
Sensing Hou Mingzhu’s thoughts, Ye Tiancheng felt it was necessary to explain. It was a sure-win deal. It was just too difficult for Ye Tiancheng to seek investment from others, so it was better to get a sum from Hou Mingzhu first.
“Alright, it seems you really want to go into business. Tell me, what good projects do you have?”
“I plan to farm, but this time I intend to acquire some unwanted, withered saplings and then develop some less popular wasteland.”
Upon hearing that Ye Tiancheng wanted to farm, Hou Mingzhu let out a disdainful laugh.
“Don’t kid me. I thought you had grand ambitions, but it’s just farming again. You’re dressed more stylishly now, but you’re still so incredibly rustic. Farming only yields results after a year. When will the capital be returned? Are you kidding me?”
“This time I plan to plant trees. Don’t worry, I have a way. I’ll ensure you get returns as quickly as possible.”
The two agreed to meet at a pizza place. Hou Mingzhu had just taken a sip of orange juice and almost sprayed it all out.
“Farming at least yields results annually. How many years will it take for trees to grow and be sold for money? You’re truly crazy. Ye Tiancheng, I can invest, but it’s purely because I’m relying on you for treatment. As for making money, I wouldn’t dare to think about it.”
Seeing that Hou Mingzhu didn’t believe him, Ye Tiancheng felt a surge of challenge.
“Alright, I can understand why you don’t believe me. How about this: I can promise to double your returns. Whatever you invest, I’ll give you that much interest. If I succeed, can we cooperate long-term?”
Making money was one aspect; Ye Tiancheng also needed Hou Mingzhu’s connections. Therefore, winning her over at this time was necessary for his long-term development.
For Hou Mingzhu, the promise Ye Tiancheng made now was a gamble in business. Anyone who could make such a proposition was clearly insane.
“Fine, I don’t care how you mess around. If you can make my returns equal to my principal, that’s your ability. If you can do that, Ye Tiancheng, I will re-evaluate you. Perhaps you could live by my side, as you truly don’t deserve to be my husband right now.”
Hou Mingzhu was truly direct in her speech, not beating around the bush. However, Ye Tiancheng liked this personality of hers. At least communication was less tiring. Women who said what they thought were sometimes quite likable.
“Okay, then it’s settled for now.”
“For the initial startup, I’ll give you one million. If you need more later, ask me. But let me be clear, you have to cure my illness, and you can’t deliberately delay because you want to cooperate with me. You know I’m not short of money; I just want to be healthy. Once I’m completely recovered, I’ll give you a lump sum thank-you fee.”
They say the more beautiful a person is, the more deceitful they can be. Ye Tiancheng had been tricked by Hou Mingzhu before and didn’t dare to trust her easily now. No matter what this beautiful woman said, Ye Tiancheng would just listen. After all, it wouldn’t cost him anything.
“Okay, I’ll work hard to show you that I’m not the useless person you imagine, Hou Mingzhu. Just you wait and see.”
After receiving the million, Ye Tiancheng began to take action. He and Xiao Pang went to town to buy some withered saplings. These saplings were incredibly cheap because they were almost dead. Anyone with normal intelligence wouldn’t buy them, fearing they would be stuck with them.
But Ye Tiancheng knew he had the ability to turn this dead situation around. Then he started renting land, using the same tactic to acquire alkaline land that people wouldn’t want even if it were given away.
So, this land was quite cheap. The sellers wanted to trick him into buying the permanent rights to the land, but that would make the price more expensive. The sellers said it was like this this year, but it might improve significantly next year with rain.
However, Ye Tiancheng knew these were lies. A dead piece of land would take decades to recover. But he had a way to turn this saline-alkali land into a treasure.
“Brother Ye, you mustn’t be cheated out of hundreds of thousands. Who buys this kind of broken land? If this vicious cycle continues, it will likely get worse.”
“It’s okay, I have it under control.”
If this were normal land, buying it permanently would cost hundreds of millions. Now, for just hundreds of thousands, it was practically a steal. Ye Tiancheng bought a lot and was very happy.
Ye Tiancheng then hired a large number of workers to forcefully plant the withered saplings in the ground. This action made the villagers laugh heartily. They all said Ye Tiancheng had gone mad and should be sent to a mental hospital for treatment instead of acting crazy on the fields.
Everything else proceeded smoothly. Just when everyone thought Ye Tiancheng’s saplings would quickly rot in such dry weather, everything turned around after a night of heavy rain.
Having experienced this in his dreams, Ye Tiancheng operated with practiced ease. Following this heavy rain, coupled with the true qi Ye Tiancheng channeled, all the saplings in the fields came back to life.
Next, Ye Tiancheng began to build roads. After reporting it to the team leader, the leader’s eyes almost popped out.
But Ye Tiancheng had money. How could anyone stop such a beneficial deed for the people? He quickly called in the construction team and began excavating the road.
The saplings were growing rapidly, but they couldn’t be sold yet; they had to wait until the trees grew bigger. Ye Tiancheng’s money was dwindling.
He started thinking about how to make money again. Fortunately, the pear trees were quite resilient. With the blessing of the divine rain, they bore fruit earlier than expected.
Ye Tiancheng immediately called Su Muxian. After Su Muxian sent people to collect the ripe pears, two million yuan arrived in Ye Tiancheng’s account.
Now, there should be no problem with road construction, and he even had a surplus. Ye Tiancheng first took out one million to return to Hou Mingzhu.
They met at a coffee shop. Seeing the money in the card and recalling recent rumors, Hou Mingzhu indeed gained a new understanding of Ye Tiancheng.
“I really didn’t expect you to cause such a stir. I heard you’ve already started building roads!”