Hou Mingzhu, a young lady who only knew how to indulge in food, drink, and shopping, and frequented luxury stores and lavish parties with her girlfriends, actually managed to utter such words. Ye Tiancheng found himself re-evaluating his impression of her.
"Hou Mingzhu, so you want to be the woman behind me?"
"It's not impossible, but it depends on your performance. First, you must sever all ties with other women. I don't care about past events, they are not important. If you dare to contact that village girl, your mistress in the village, again, I will throw both of you into the sea to feed the fish. And that young lady from the Su family, I heard she even wants you to be a live-in son-in-law. You must cut off all contact with all of them."
Seeing Hou Mingzhu acting as if she knew everything, like a fool, and having investigated so thoroughly, Ye Tiancheng wondered if she was the legendary "white on the outside, black on the inside." Looking at the woman before him, who suddenly seemed so powerful, Ye Tiancheng felt his worldview was about to be overturned.
"I hate being threatened, Hou Mingzhu. Your so-called cooperation can be called off. No, it hasn't even started yet. I don't like a life planned out for me. As for the financial assistance you want to give me, I don't think it's necessary. I'd rather starve than be dictated by a woman for the rest of my life."
Ye Tiancheng couldn't understand why both Hou Mingzhu and the Su family's young lady were trying so hard to get him to live off their wealth.
Ye Tiancheng knew he could live very well on his own divine power, let alone become a "farmer entrepreneur" or the richest man in the world. At the very least, he could live a carefree life. Why would he need to rely on these women, only to end up with a bad reputation? What if, one day, they kicked him out, and all the assets he had worked hard to accumulate were swindled away by these tigresses?
Seeing that Ye Tiancheng was no longer interested in continuing the conversation, Hou Mingzhu, being quite resourceful, took his hand.
"Don't you think I'm too harsh, Ye Tiancheng. You never avoided your romantic entanglements, and this also affects my reputation. You must consider me."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, and she seemed quite sincere. While dealing with Ye Tiancheng forcefully might not work, appealing to his softer side was very effective. He always felt a bit awkward seeing a woman cry.
"Alright, don't cry because of me. Try to be more mindful. Shall we discuss the details of our cooperation?"
Women were truly troublesome. Ye Tiancheng could only change the subject. Unexpectedly, this tactic worked quite well. Hou Mingzhu quickly composed herself, and they began to discuss business matters.
After Hou Mingzhu left, she began to fully implement the plan she had been devising for three years. Hou Mingzhu wanted to build a catering empire. As for the things she said to Ye Tiancheng, they were a mix of sincerity and deception. After all, Ye Tiancheng possessed some special abilities, and Hou Mingzhu wouldn't be able to obtain such magically potent raw materials from anyone else.
Ye Tiancheng didn't expect Hou Mingzhu to be so true to her word. She quickly paid off the breach of contract fees with the Su family on his behalf and also invested thirty million yuan separately. Furthermore, she used her connections to get Ye Tiancheng's horticultural center back up and running.
News of this spread quickly. Ye Tiancheng's reputation as a man living off women became widely known. Even Xiao Pang, who was usually incredibly busy, made a special trip to gossip with Ye Tiancheng.
"Brother Ye, with your skill in charming women, this younger brother will never catch up to you in this lifetime. I can't even learn a fraction of it. Facing a great player like you, I am truly far behind."
Looking at Xiao Pang's envious expression, Ye Tiancheng felt like crying without tears.
"I don't want to be involved with so many women, but for some reason, these women seem to like me even more than before."
"More than before?"
Ye Tiancheng found it difficult to explain to others that he had experienced a great dream. So, he decided to keep quiet. However, Ye Tiancheng increasingly felt that the biggest difference from his dream was that his charm had increased. Although the plot had become more difficult, his popularity with women seemed to be exceptionally good.
"Oh, Brother Ye, don't overthink it. Do you think everyone has the chance to live off women like you? This is just your personal strength and charm. It's useless for others to be envious to the point of grinding their teeth. Even Miss Hou doesn't fancy them."
Hearing Xiao Pang say this, Ye Tiancheng suddenly felt a bit scared, even getting goosebumps.
"Don't scare me. How could that tigress Hou Mingzhu possibly fancy me?"
Xiao Pang said with a playful grin, "Brother Ye, don't be modest. Now that Hou Mingzhu has done so much, it's as if she's spending a fortune for beauty. Everyone knows it, and you can't hide it."
Ye Tiancheng smacked his forehead. It seemed that being handsome was also a kind of trouble.
"Alright, let's not talk anymore. The horticultural center is back in operation and will be completed soon. Let's go buy some seeds."
The place Ye Tiancheng was going to buy seeds from was no ordinary place. It was indicated by the Nuwa Stone. These seeds had a very special characteristic: they could be harvested in half a month.
"Okay, Brother Ye. After I finish my current work, we'll set off together."
Xiao Pang briefly handled his work, then drove the second-hand pickup truck with Ye Tiancheng.
Along the way, with the guidance of the Nuwa Stone, the journey was quite smooth, and they soon bought a large batch of seeds.
A few days later, the horticultural center officially commenced operations. Ye Tiancheng didn't want to do anything superficial. Unexpectedly, Hou Mingzhu called early in the morning.
"Ye Tiancheng, I've arranged an opening ceremony for you. Many business elites will be attending. You should wake up early and go to receive them."
Ye Tiancheng was completely unprepared. Hearing Hou Mingzhu say this, his head buzzed, and he almost exploded. Why did this woman act without any prior notice? This fait accompli left Ye Tiancheng completely bewildered.
"If people are coming, it will delay my vegetable planting. I've also specifically hired a teacher, and these teachers have trained the farmers for three days before starting. I've invested a lot of money."
"Just listen to me, Ye Tiancheng. Don't be so short-sighted. Marketing must start now. If no one knows about something, it's useless no matter how good it is. The catering empire I want to build must be known to everyone, starting from the raw materials. Especially since I'm focusing on the raw materials, it's impossible not to promote them. Just cooperate, and don't delay the progress."
Hou Mingzhu's intention was very clear. Ye Tiancheng realized that saying anything more would be futile. This woman had always been domineering, and it seemed he had no choice but to cooperate this time.
However, he didn't expect the Hou family's network to be so complex. Many wealthy individuals came, and these wealthy people traveled from all over the world to Dahe Village. Their luxury cars were all covered in the dust of Dahe Village. If Ye Tiancheng hadn't repaired the road, these celebrities would probably have had to walk, all of them ending up looking disheveled and becoming like Ye Tiancheng, a farmer.
On the surface, these people were very polite, but in reality, they looked down on Ye Tiancheng. He used to farm, and now he grows vegetables. Although he had some money, in everyone's eyes, he was just a live-in son-in-law, not someone who could amount to anything.
While their expressions were fine, the whispers behind his back began.
"He looks good. Times have really changed. Men can now make a living on their looks." "Isn't that right? But even if a rich woman fancies him, it's useless. Look at Ye Tiancheng's demeanor, it's not right, and he's dressed quite shabbily. No matter what, he's just a vegetable farmer. I just saw Ye Tiancheng directing some farmers to plant vegetables. My heavens, I wouldn't do this job for any amount of money. Living off a woman also comes at a price. Perhaps Miss Hou just wants a free laborer, and he's too foolish to realize that by becoming the son-in-law of the Hou family, he's going to soar to new heights!"
These words were quite harsh. Ye Tiancheng didn't come forward but secretly used his true energy to make the two wealthy individuals who were gossiping fall to the ground, breaking their teeth.
The incident here caused quite a commotion, and everyone came to watch the spectacle. Ye Tiancheng, however, secretly hid himself. But as he turned around, he bumped into Hou Mingzhu.
Unlike her usual ostentatious display of wealth, Hou Mingzhu today was almost simple, wearing a tracksuit from a well-known brand and a baseball cap. She looked a bit more pure, perhaps due to her ponytail.
After all, every man has a first love in his heart, and many people's first loves were pure schoolgirls with ponytails. Today, Ye Tiancheng somehow found Hou Mingzhu to be quite fresh and lovely.
"Ye Tiancheng, I saw everything just now. Have you cultivated some kind of magic? This move of 'qi striking from a distance' is truly powerful, making those two fools fall from afar."
Hou Mingzhu had seen everything. Ye Tiancheng felt a bit flustered. Although he acted with integrity, he worried that exposing himself too early might attract people with ulterior motives, which could lead to a lot of trouble.
"You saw wrong. They just lost their footing and fell. It has nothing to do with me."
"I know what you're hiding. It's okay. You still misunderstand me. When our misunderstandings are resolved, you'll naturally be willing to believe me."
Regardless of how annoying Hou Mingzhu's words were in the past, she had indeed done practical things. This time, Hou Mingzhu spent a lot of money and truly resolved the predicament Ye Tiancheng was facing, putting everything back on track.
"Then let's take it slow."
Hou Mingzhu only spoke a few words to Ye Tiancheng before immediately going to entertain guests. After all, most of the people here came out of respect for Hou Mingzhu, so she had to entertain them, otherwise, it would seem very impolite.
Even if Ye Tiancheng shamelessly went to mingle, people would only give him superficial attention. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng decided not to socialize. Instead, he hired many people to plant the seeds. It seemed simple, but it was actually very difficult, as these were not ordinary seeds.
Imbued with divine power, these vegetables still needed some guidance. So, Ye Tiancheng looked around and directed the work. He wanted to produce a batch of fresh vegetables in half a month, which could serve as qualified support for Hou Mingzhu's catering business.
"Ye Tiancheng, I've been looking for you all this time, and I didn't expect you to be planting here."
The speaker was Su Muxian. Today, she was dressed as beautifully as ever, wearing a black princess dress that highlighted her noble temperament.
However, Su Muxian had previously threatened him to become the Su family's live-in son-in-law, but it didn't work out. Now that they met again, a subtle awkwardness flowed between them.
"You're here too?"
The Hou family and the Su family had always had a strained relationship. Furthermore, the matter of vying for a live-in son-in-law had become a hot topic of gossip. Everyone assumed that Hou Mingzhu would definitely not invite Su Muxian, so it was unexpected to see her here.
"What, Brother Ye, you don't welcome me? You're not still holding a grudge, are you?"