Ye Tiancheng had no intention of talking further with Hou Mingzhu. The titles of fiancé and fiancée were merely nominal. In Ye Tiancheng's mind, Hou Mingzhu was nothing more than a business partner. To put it bluntly, Ye Tiancheng viewed her as a cash machine. Anyone who harbored genuine feelings was a fool.
"Ye Tiancheng, you are my fiancé after all. You should pay attention to your reputation."
"There's nothing to pay attention to. I also ask you not to try to track my whereabouts. After all, you've always neglected me. There's no need to suddenly become so affectionate now; it's very strange."
Seeing that Ye Tiancheng was impervious and as calm as if he hadn't been caught, Feng Mingzhu could only shift her attack to a third party who was outside the immediate situation, Hou Qing'er.
"Qing'er, you say I'm better off here. Shouldn't the smell in the restaurant be fishy? Why do I suddenly smell the scent of a vixen? Is my nose malfunctioning?"
Knowing full well that Hou Mingzhu was insulting her, Hou Qing'er's face immediately lost its color. Angrily, she left in tears.
Ye Tiancheng could only try to comfort her, but he didn't quite understand this woman's thoughts. Hou Qing'er seemed to be afraid of what people would say. Ye Tiancheng told her to calm down for a moment, and then she returned home to hide.
A woman's heart is as unpredictable as the sea, but if you push her too hard, you will lose her forever. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng could only choose to observe for the time being. At the same time, he silently made a note of Hou Mingzhu in his heart. This woman's methods were indeed quite shrewd. Once he fulfilled his promise, he would definitely take a huge bite out of Hou Mingzhu in business to get revenge for this incident.
Aside from the minor emotional setback, everything else proceeded relatively smoothly. The road was soon completed, and many people gathered for a celebratory banquet.
At the banquet, Su Muxian, his first important business partner, also arrived. Ye Tiancheng had been curious before, and having anticipated this, he had already been waiting for a long time because he knew a horticultural center was about to be built.
"You are most welcome, Elder Su."
Ye Tiancheng shook the hand of Su Muxian's father, the renowned Su Dezheng. Ye Tiancheng was very adept at discussing business, which pleased Su Dezheng greatly. He had originally planned to invest ten million yuan for Ye Tiancheng to build the horticultural center, but in his excitement, he temporarily increased it to thirty million yuan.
"Elder Su, rest assured, I will definitely complete the task."
When discussing profit sharing, Ye Tiancheng was much more experienced this time. He had been fooled before, with the ridiculous four-six split where he, who worked hard, had the investor take the lion's share. Now, Ye Tiancheng stood firm and cited many examples, acting like a seasoned businessman, and successfully negotiated a fifty-fifty split.
Su Dezheng's thirty million yuan arrived quickly. With his previous experience, Ye Tiancheng began to act swiftly, and a horticultural center gradually began to take shape.
Ye Tiancheng was very happy. Everything was going smoothly, but he didn't know that as soon as Su Dezheng left, he called his daughter.
"Daughter, your father has done everything you asked. This time, for your lifelong happiness, your father has invested quite a bit."
"Oh, Dad, don't be modest. Who doesn't know your assets are worth hundreds of billions? You usually only say you have tens of billions, aren't you afraid of attracting too much attention? This thirty million is just a flick of your wrist."
Su Muxian was very intelligent. Although she was a girl, she had the demeanor of her father in her prime – the decisiveness in seizing business opportunities and the strong execution ability that made Su Dezheng dote on his daughter.
"You little girl, I feel like you're scamming your dad. Be careful and know when to stop. What if that kid thinks it's not worth it and gives up? Our Su family daughters can't be the ones chasing after others."
Su Dezheng was worried that all his remaining assets and his most beloved daughter would be taken by Ye Tiancheng, and he couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
"Oh, Dad, what are you talking about? How could I do something so embarrassing? The reason I discussed this plan with you this time is mainly to test Ye Tiancheng's feelings for me!"
Since Su Muxian had connected with Ye Tiancheng, she had made a lot of money from him. These two batches of pears almost entirely benefited Su Muxian, which gradually made Su Muxian take a liking to Ye Tiancheng's simple and honest demeanor. She felt that being with such a man would make her feel secure and not at a disadvantage.
"Daughter, you go ahead boldly and don't worry about Hou Mingzhu. For a potential stock like Ye Tiancheng, if Hou Mingzhu doesn't want him, Dad will help you snatch him away!"
Su Dezheng understood his beloved daughter's thoughts very well and had always obliged her every wish. While it might be difficult to pluck the moon from the sky, obtaining a man was more than enough.
"Dad, I am also very charming. Perhaps I won't need to snatch that man. Just wait and see the show."
Hou Mingzhu's family had always been at odds with the Su family. Ye Tiancheng's sudden collaboration with the Su family to build a horticultural center infuriated Hou Mingzhu.
After hearing the news, Hou Mingzhu was so angry that she barely ate anything. A few days later, after receiving the final payment from Ye Tiancheng, she clearly told Ye Tiancheng.
"Now you're capable and don't want to listen to me anymore. But remember this, I won't bother with you for now, and all our business dealings are terminated. If one day your business fails and you come begging at my door, I won't even give you a bowl of stale rice."
Hou Mingzhu was a ruthless person. Once she made a decision, she wouldn't turn back. This was because she felt that no matter how much potential Ye Tiancheng had now, or how many billions he could earn, if he made her lose face, as a pampered young lady, losing her dignity was a catastrophe. Therefore, she decided to temporarily distance herself, at least to cut off any connection with a scumbag like Ye Tiancheng in the eyes of others. Otherwise, people would say behind her back that Hou Mingzhu was some country bumpkin young lady who, after being cuckolded, could still smile and do business with him. This would make Hou Mingzhu seem like she had never seen money in her life, was short-sighted, and was so desperate for a man that she would even accept a tainted one.
"It's fine. When you've thought it through, we can continue our business relationship. I don't like to force others."
Ye Tiancheng now had many paths forward. The saplings he planted were growing better and better, having multiplied several hundredfold. As soon as Ye Tiancheng made a move, his net worth could exceed hundreds of millions. Would he still care about Hou Mingzhu's petty money and lose his dignity as a man?
The two parted ways after a heated discussion. They had ordered a table full of dishes but hadn't eaten anything before standing up and leaving. However, Ye Tiancheng turned back a few minutes after leaving. After all, it was his money, and there was no need to be wasteful with food. Wasting food was shameful, and there were still many people who couldn't get enough to eat. Ye Tiancheng ultimately chose to pack up the entire banquet feast and take it back for the workers building the horticultural center to eat.
He thought everything was going smoothly, but less than seven days after the horticultural center began construction, a group of people suddenly appeared due to qualification issues. After inspection, the law enforcement agencies found problems, and Ye Tiancheng had to cooperate with the suspension of work. Ye Tiancheng could easily deal with petty thugs, but for law enforcement personnel like these, he could only find ways to appease them. Purely using force would be completely ineffective.
Su Dezheng had provided thirty million yuan, and Ye Tiancheng had already spent more than half of it, wanting to use the best for everything. Ye Tiancheng comforted himself, thinking that even if things really didn't work out, it was okay; at most, he would lose over ten million yuan. Unexpectedly, Su Dezheng suddenly appeared and accused Ye Tiancheng of operational problems, stating that the major error occurred because his action plan had flaws. Now that losses had occurred, Su Dezheng intended to terminate the contract with Ye Tiancheng and have Ye Tiancheng compensate him for his personal losses according to the contract.
"Ten times the compensation?"
Ye Tiancheng had been a bit careless at the time. Because they had discussed favorable terms, he thought the old fox Su Dezheng was quite sincere and hadn't checked thoroughly. Now he realized it was a huge pitfall. After jumping in, he had to face financial losses.
"Yes, I've calculated it, and there are some other fees. The total comes to over four hundred million."
Ye Tiancheng's head exploded, and he immediately felt that he had suffered a great loss. It seemed that everything had been too smooth, which had slightly lowered his guard, leading to this incident. He would definitely learn from this lesson in the future.
"Elder Su, don't worry. I have many industries now. The land where I'm planting saplings can be sold for a lot of money, so don't worry that I won't be able to fill this hole."
At the very least, Ye Tiancheng could still grow pears. This time, he had expanded the planting area. He had originally planned to plant more pears and even develop other varieties after the horticultural center was fully completed, at which point money would pour in effortlessly while he stayed at home. He never expected such a flaw to occur, causing Ye Tiancheng to fall from the heavens to the ground, landing face-first.
"Then you should hurry up and sell. Anyway, the mistake was yours, and according to the contract, you should compensate me. As long as I get the money, I will definitely let you go."
The reason Su Dezheng would scheme against a farmer like Ye Tiancheng was that he had pre-arranged the plan with Su Muxian. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the time or inclination, as he wasn't short of money and wouldn't do such a wicked deed. Su Dezheng even felt a little sorry for Ye Tiancheng, but he also saw it as an excellent opportunity for a young person to be tested. Furthermore, Su Dezheng wanted to help his daughter test whether Ye Tiancheng had sufficient psychological fortitude in the face of such a disaster.
"Ye Tiancheng, when I came today, I was a little apprehensive because I suspected you might turn against me, this old man. I truly didn't expect you to be so calm."
Su Dezheng couldn't suppress his curiosity. There were indeed entrepreneurs of Ye Tiancheng's age, but they were usually young and impetuous, relying on their parents' wealth. When something went wrong, they would freeze up, revealing their true character. Some would curse and hit others, and some would resort to underhanded tactics. But Ye Tiancheng appeared very calm at the moment and didn't show much dejection. If it were someone else, they might try to find a way to jump off a building, or find a sturdy tree with a crooked neck and hang themselves with a thick rope to end it all.
"To become a successful businessman, one must have strong psychological fortitude. And this time, it was indeed because I was too busy and spread too thin, which led to negligence. Everyone should take responsibility for their mistakes. Elder Su, you were helping me when we planned this together. This horticultural center is my problem that caused you losses, so I believe this compensation is reasonable."
In reality, Ye Tiancheng was cursing this old fox in his heart, but as a businessman, he had to have strong skills, and these polite words were necessary. Since Ye Tiancheng had no intention of jumping off a building and would achieve greater things in the future, the current difficulties were merely temporary setbacks that would soon pass.