This woman's thoughts were indeed whimsical, but Ye Tiancheng would not agree easily. If he agreed to Hou Mingzhu's request, he would surely want something in return. Since Ye Tiancheng didn't desire Hou Mingzhu herself, he could only aim for her money.
"I can fully agree to your demands. I can even walk away and not manage anything. My price is two hundred million."
Ye Tiancheng's fund already had some money, but it was far from enough. This liquid capital was actually fleeting; if it was lost, nothing would remain. However, directly asking Hou Mingzhu for two hundred million was different; that would be Ye Tiancheng's solid assets.
"Are you crazy? Asking me for so much, such a lion's mouth! Ye Tiancheng, have you not considered my suggestion at all? Do you want to go down this path to the end and team up with Su Muxian to oppose me?"
"I'm not in the mood for that. What good is it to oppose you, Miss Hou? Please believe in my innocence. I have no ill intentions, I just want to make some money. Only money is truly substantial."
After that great dream, Ye Tiancheng had already figured everything out. Other intangible things were useless, not to mention relationships that could break at any moment. Those businesses that he thought were great could lose everything down to their underwear with just a little setback.
But with money, it was different. With money, Ye Tiancheng could start buying assets. He knew best which assets could appreciate. Some fixed assets, combined with the active assets from the gardening center that were constantly clearing the way for him, were the guarantee for Ye Tiancheng's future dominance.
"Alright, it seems you truly are a heartless person, but two hundred million is too much."
"This two hundred million is not much for your Hou family. If I had full shares in that building instead of just a portion, this price wouldn't be so low. Think it over carefully."
Hou Mingzhu understood perfectly. Although Ye Tiancheng was not favored at the beginning, the farmhouse cuisine had gained fame. If his business strategy continued, it would definitely be a stable profit.
Conversely, her high-end dishes had encountered difficulties all along, and now even reached a bottleneck. Although they weren't losing money, it was impossible to expand them. This was quite different from what Hou Mingzhu had initially envisioned.
"But I want all the shares. Can you speak to the Su family for me? Among these four major families, the Hou family is the weakest and has always been looked down upon by the Su family. I wanted to seize this opportunity to turn things around, but I still misjudged the direction."
Regarding Hou Mingzhu's request, it was indeed a bit excessive. After all, everyone knew that such a good deal, once obtained by the Su family, would not be easily given to others.
"You really have to negotiate this yourself. Anyway, I can give up my shares. I believe no businessman can refuse money. As long as you, Miss Su, pay enough, Su Muxian will definitely give you the shares."
Hou Mingzhu was so angry her face was contorting. If it weren't for Ye Tiancheng stirring up trouble and insisting on involving the Su family, why would she be in such a difficult dilemma?
"Ye Tiancheng, if you help me resolve this matter, I can marry you."
Seeing that the negotiation was stalled, Hou Mingzhu could only self-righteously pull out her trump card, but she didn't know that these were just insignificant jokes in Ye Tiancheng's eyes.
"Miss Hou, marriage is something I would be at a disadvantage in. If you want to marry me, given my net worth, I would ask for ten billion."
Ye Tiancheng's arrogance almost made Hou Mingzhu spit blood. "Ye Tiancheng, you're really hilarious. Isn't marrying me a bargain for you? You still dare to ask me for money, and you start with ten billion! I think you're just saying these absurdities to amuse me."
"If you're not willing, then so be it. But Hou Mingzhu, I'm telling you, this is the current price. My net worth is constantly rising, and this price might not hold in the future."
Hou Mingzhu couldn't stay a moment longer. She clenched her fists tightly, glaring at Ye Tiancheng, but couldn't say a word.
"Alright, don't be angry. You came to discuss business, let's focus on mutual benefit. Consider the acquisition. After this trial operation period, the farmhouse cuisine is on the right track. My capable assistant, Xiao Pang, has even trained a group of chefs. I can give all of them to you. I can even be a cheap manager for you, occasionally operating it. You'll only need to pay me a small monthly salary, consider it as a friendly favor."
The more Ye Tiancheng spoke, the angrier Hou Mingzhu became. A man unwilling to be subservient to her, who was not conquered by Hou Mingzhu, was a great humiliation for this pampered woman. Therefore, everything Ye Tiancheng said now sounded unpleasant to her, unless Ye Tiancheng came to her as a sycophant, then Hou Mingzhu would be a little happier.
"Alright, I understand what you've said. After I've dealt with this tough bone from the Su family, I'll come back to you. Ye Tiancheng, remember, all these troubles today were caused by you."
After Hou Mingzhu finished speaking, she left in a huff. Ye Tiancheng felt incredibly satisfied. His previous methods of revenge were too childish. Now, seeing Hou Mingzhu displeased with him but unable to do anything about it was the highest form of revenge.
In fact, Ye Tiancheng had an even more sophisticated method of revenge: marrying Hou Mingzhu, making her fall in love with him, and then kicking away the woman who had hurt him before.
But Ye Tiancheng wasn't that insane. Unless Hou Mingzhu did something outrageous again, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't lack such great virtue. Deceiving a woman's feelings would lead to hell after death. Being a scumbag had its risks. Even if Ye Tiancheng occasionally had such a fleeting thought, he would immediately tell himself to stop.
What Ye Tiancheng didn't expect was that Hou Mingzhu's execution ability was truly strong, and somewhat ungrateful. She actually contacted Su Muxian. The two women were polite at first during the phone call, but then a dispute arose, making each of them extremely angry.
After being harassed by Hou Mingzhu, Su Muxian, after a few minutes of calm, directly came to find Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng was in the farmhouse restaurant reconciling accounts when he saw Su Muxian storming into the office, wearing high heels that were over ten inches tall – the kind that could cripple him with a single kick.
"Brother Ye, I really can't stand it anymore. How can there be such a shameless woman like Hou Mingzhu in the world? Hou Mingzhu actually said you like her. If you had feelings for her, you wouldn't have come to cooperate with me."
"Let's not talk about feelings for now. I'm already overwhelmed with calculations. Don't make me think about more complicated things. I just want to finish these accounts."
Ye Tiancheng wished he could transfer all the shares of the farmhouse cuisine to Hou Mingzhu immediately. These operational issues were too troublesome, having to calculate profits and dividends. Even hiring an accountant could only provide auxiliary support, and Ye Tiancheng still had to sign off. Compared to these headaches, Ye Tiancheng would rather simply farm. At least he wouldn't have to think about anything, and after a day of sweating, he would be exhausted and fall asleep as soon as he got home.
Perhaps because he had been using his brain too much lately, Ye Tiancheng surprisingly found himself suffering from insomnia. Sometimes he would lie there for hours unable to sleep, and one night he even stayed awake until dawn, catching a glimpse of the sunrise. This wouldn't do. Ye Tiancheng just wanted to eat well and live a good life. He wasn't lacking money now; what he lacked was a carefree attitude.
"Are you reconciling accounts?"
"Yes. Aren't you, the Su family, also a major shareholder? You can't trouble me with everything. Why don't you help me calculate it? I'm getting a headache looking at these numbers."
Ye Tiancheng wasn't stupid. These small accounts were relatively easy for him. Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division didn't require solving complex math problems. However, Ye Tiancheng simply didn't want to do this tedious work. Sitting here and concentrating for several hours was practically killing him. He'd rather swing a hoe and work in the fields for a day.
"Alright, I'll help you. You rest for a while first."
Ye Tiancheng didn't have much hope at first, as he hadn't seen Su Muxian's work ethic.
Soon, Ye Tiancheng discovered that Su Muxian was truly a strong woman. With a slightly childish fairy-like face, she was incredibly efficient and decisive when working. She quickly reconciled all the account books and, after doing so much work, she was still refreshed and didn't seem tired at all. This greatly surprised Ye Tiancheng. How could this woman be so impressive when she was being tough?
"Su Muxian, from now on, this job will be yours. I'm never doing it again. I feel like my hair has fallen out from worrying these past few days. Although people become more refreshed after eating our farmhouse cuisine, I'm the only one who's not doing well, feeling a bit withered."
Ye Tiancheng was just casually complaining, but unexpectedly, his aunt was particularly understanding and started massaging his shoulders, patting his back, and softly asking in his ear if the pressure was right. This made Ye Tiancheng feel quite comfortable.
"Su Muxian, I haven't answered the question I asked you earlier. Do you want to help me manage the accounts?"
"Of course, no problem, Brother Ye. If you want me to be your housekeeper, I'd be honored. However, I don't want to be your housekeeper temporarily. It would be even better if it were for a lifetime."
Su Muxian was practically saying it directly. Ye Tiancheng suddenly felt a sense of danger. Did helping her with some accounts mean he had to give himself away?
"If you don't want to help me, then I guess I'll have to suffer myself. I get insomnia after finishing my accounts. I don't know why, even sleeping pills don't work. Is there something wrong with my brain?"
"Alright, how could I bear to make you do something you dislike? Anyway, I'm very grateful that you actively sought out the Su family for investment. I've made quite a bit of money these past few days. I'm definitely willing to help you with this small favor you're asking."
Ye Tiancheng immediately felt a bit of regret. Why hadn't he approached Su Muxian earlier, causing himself to suffer for several days for no reason? The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had lost out.
"Brother Ye, this Hou Mingzhu is simply going too far. Now that she sees we're cooperating well, she's afraid of further development between us and wants to directly snatch the shares. Tell me, would our Su family be interested in the price she's offering? The Su family isn't short of money. Just for the sake of pride, we can't let Hou Mingzhu interfere. That's unrealistic!"
"Whatever. I can't manage your Su family's affairs. If you want to sell to her, sell. If you don't want to sell, ignore her."
Ye Tiancheng couldn't be bothered with these things, especially the conflicts between women. They were too complicated, and he couldn't figure them out.
"If Hou Mingzhu dares to mess with me again, I'll definitely make her taste my power."
When Su Muxian said this through gritted teeth, Ye Tiancheng didn't take it seriously, thinking she was just saying it casually. It was only after everything that happened later that Ye Tiancheng realized he had inadvertently stirred up a great storm.