"Do you think Ye Tiancheng can handle this now?" Seeing Ye Tiancheng's state, the latter quickly asked.
"Of course I can handle it. What do you take me for? Am I a good-for-nothing?" Ye Tiancheng said dismissively.
Only she would understand what he was thinking and how to deal with the Feng family.
"Aren't they just a bunch of ignorant brats? How can they scare me? If I want to get rid of the Feng family, I can. It's just that it's too early to get rid of them, and it wouldn't be interesting. I want to play with that old immortal Feng Huaiyuan slowly." Ye Tiancheng's lips curved into a faint, nonchalant smile.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng's demeanor, the chubby guy said huffily, "Alright, you're amazing. So what should we do next?" The chubby guy looked truly adorable, displaying a very endearing expression. Ye Tiancheng laughed heartily, "What can we do? We can do what we can. Let's take advantage of the time and go to the south of the city for the bidding."
"Still doing these unrelated things!" Wang Xiaomiao felt that while urgent matters needed immediate attention, fundamental issues should also be addressed. How could they be so negligent about the hotel's affairs?
The business world was like a battlefield. A moment's delay could ruin the entire plan. Therefore, Wang Xiaomiao was very worried that Ye Tiancheng might deviate from the main objective, which would be troublesome.
Ye Tiancheng looked at all this with great composure. For him, all of this was something he could easily and happily handle.
"Won't this delay the hotel's matters?" Seeing Ye Tiancheng act this way, both of them became very worried.
Ye Tiancheng felt there was nothing to be afraid of. As long as he could do this well, he could face the rest with ease. Because his abilities, resources, and time were limited, the decision was not to centralize efforts and attend to everything, but to do what needed to be done and handle things selectively. This was called eating one bite at a time, and tackling things one by one.
What cannot be eaten remains in the pot, and what cannot be finished remains on the slope.
Never force yourself...
This was what Ye Tiancheng thought. His thoughts were simple, without any complex factors.
Simple methods were the most effective, and this was Ye Tiancheng's style of doing things.
Unfortunately, Wang Xiaomiao and the chubby guy did not understand Ye Tiancheng's thoughts, and naturally, Ye Tiancheng would not tell them his thoughts. He maintained a very detached approach to the entire matter.
Therefore, when Ye Tiancheng arrived at the south of the city, Hou Mingzhu was arguing with the chief engineer of the construction party. The chief engineer's nickname was "Big Monkey."
"Big Monkey" was a nickname; his real name was Yang Da'er.
Yang Xiao'er was Yang Da'er's younger brother, so Ye Tiancheng easily got this project.
If he hadn't had a vested interest with Yang Xiao'er and hadn't known Yang Xiao'er, he wouldn't have been able to say so confidently to Su Muxian: "I can secure the interests in the south of the city."
Such confidence could only be spoken with absolute certainty beforehand.
When Hou Mingzhu saw Ye Tiancheng arrive, her expression immediately changed.
Having experienced Ye Tiancheng's abilities before, seeing him now made her feel uncomfortable, like a cat's claws scratching her. He was the person she disliked seeing the most.
Now, Ye Tiancheng felt the same way about Hou Mingzhu; he also didn't want to see her. Ye Tiancheng chuckled upon seeing her disdainful expression, "Miss Hou family, how could you personally come to a place like this? You are a golden branch and jade leaf; coming to a construction site to discuss business personally is a bit beneath you."
"Ye Tiancheng... you detestable fellow, why are you competing with our Hou family for business?"
"I want to get back what you owe me. I don't think I need to say this, do you? What goes around comes around. If you don't even know this, how could you have treated me so despicably back then? You were worse than your family's dogs. I am also a human, and you didn't treat me as a human. I naturally remember it, and I haven't forgotten it for a moment!" A hint of killing intent flashed across Ye Tiancheng's face, and that cold emotion instantly spread, as if the air had frozen over with frost.
Hou Mingzhu did not expect that Ye Tiancheng's aura would become so powerful in such a short time, and that it would become several times stronger!
What was going on?
At this moment, she was completely bewildered. Her expression was such that she was unrecognizable from the once overbearing Miss Hou family.
"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Ye Tiancheng chuckled.
"No, no, this project is very important to our Hou family. Can you give it to us?" Hou Mingzhu's tone was like that of an inferior begging a superior. Ye Tiancheng laughed heartily, "How is that possible? You were so resolute before, kicking me out to that godforsaken place, the Hou family ancestral hall. Did you not think of today back then? You probably thought I would be like this forever, never able to turn my life around, right?"
"..." Hou Mingzhu's face turned ashen, extremely embarrassed.
Indeed, as Ye Tiancheng said, they had never looked down on him before and had not treated him as a human. Who knew how this kid had lived during those three years? They thought he would starve to death at the Hou family ancestral hall, or retreat in defeat, choose to hide his identity, and disappear from the world forever. These were all things Hou Mingzhu wished to see, but she never expected Ye Tiancheng to make such a comeback. She didn't know what stroke of luck he had encountered to gain the support of two of the four great families, and he seemed to be quite close to the eldest daughter of the Su family, even exchanging glances.
Ye Tiancheng didn't care about any of this; his heart was as hard as steel.
He smiled at her nonchalantly and said contemptuously, "Go away, stop dreaming. My heart is set."
"Is... is this your final answer?" Hou Mingzhu asked persistently, unwilling to give up.
Ye Tiancheng nodded and flicked his sleeve, implying, "Get lost. I don't want to ask you to leave, considering our marital status."
Hou Mingzhu understood this implication, so even without Ye Tiancheng saying anything, she would act accordingly and leave dejectedly. All the blame for this was her own; of course, she couldn't blame others. She had to bear her own faults. Others could not bear the sins that belonged to her.
She regretted it deeply now. If she had known Ye Tiancheng was so capable back then, she wouldn't have said those sorrowful words to him. Regretting it now was too late, perhaps too late. Trying to repent for something so late was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
Now, Hou Mingzhu was almost in tears.
"Is this how you treat your wife?" Wang Xiaomiao had also heard that Ye Tiancheng had a wife named Hou Mingzhu. Although they were only married in name, even with just the title, he shouldn't be so cold-blooded and heartless.
"The world only knows that others have wronged me, but they don't know that they have wronged others long ago. If some things could be easily restored, then it wouldn't be called regret. Regret itself requires paying a heavy price!" A cold smile flickered in Ye Tiancheng's eyes, a smile that was like that of an evil god.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng's expression, these people dared not say anything more. They understood that dragons have scales, and touching them is worse than death.
"Now that the entire area's greening is ours, shall we deal with the hotel matters?" The chubby guy was most worried about the hotel's operations.
"No rush. Let the bullets fly for a while when encountering things." Ye Tiancheng looked up and laughed, a look of composure on his face. This composure told everyone present that Ye Tiancheng would surely hold his head high from now on.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng like this, those who wanted to say something dared not. They knew his temper; if he was truly unhappy, then whatever anyone said would bring them trouble. He would angrily let others know the consequences of provoking him. Those who possessed the Divine Stone were naturally in a different league.
He could do whatever he wanted; it seemed as if nothing in this world could restrain him. Thinking this way would be a great mistake. After all, if one has great ability, one will encounter opponents who can match them. Otherwise, this world would lose its balance.
Where there are great immortals, there are great demons; where there are great demons, there are great gods.
This was why the world maintained its balance.
Ye Tiancheng had naturally realized this, but he would not encounter his absolute enemy in a short period. He knew that with his existence, this world would surely encounter opposing rivals, and these rivals would not be easily defeated.
To enter a future where he would become a strong contender, Ye Tiancheng felt a vague sense of urgency. He knew very well that if he were not truly powerful, his existence would not be very impressive, and others' pressure and abilities would easily defeat him, rendering his strength useless.
At that time, he didn't even know if he could survive.
Since the future was uncertain and dim, it was better to focus on the present.
This was the approach: "We'll deal with future matters in the future; we must grasp what needs to be done now."
Speaking of which, while Ye Tiancheng was spacing out for a moment, someone nudged him.
"Stop spacing out. What are you thinking about?" The person nudging him was Wang Xiaomiao.
Ye Tiancheng laughed heartily, "Thinking about future matters."
Wang Xiaomiao's face immediately turned red. She thought Ye Tiancheng was thinking about something shameful. She had heard that men think of women when they are bored, and women think of men when they are bored.
It was time for her to think of men. This little girl was already feeling amorous.
"Well, you guys, don't look for trouble. Let's go to the hotel and deal with the hotel matters," the chubby guy urged, seeing Ye Tiancheng looking somewhat troubled.
Wang Xiaomiao rolled her eyes at Ye Tiancheng and said, "Are you perhaps thinking about those inappropriate things?"
"How could that be possible?" Ye Tiancheng found Wang Xiaomiao's gaze very strange.
The chubby guy was completely dumbfounded. He hadn't expected these two to be so shameless in such a situation, thinking about inappropriate things and not taking the important matters seriously.
If this continued, how could anything get done? Everything would be ruined by their licentious and shameless behavior.
In the chubby guy's mind, he believed that such improper thoughts should not be entertained at this age, as thinking about them would cause great trouble.
Thinking this way would be a great mistake, as love between men and women was a necessary part of this age. As the saying goes, "solitary yang does not give birth, solitary yin does not grow"; only through the combination of yin and yang can new life be produced.
Ye Tiancheng felt as if he had gone off track again. This had absolutely nothing to do with what he was doing now.
"You're thinking too much about it." As a girl, her skin was thinner, and she couldn't say anything like men could. Wang Xiaomiao was extremely angry and ran away, covering her face.
Seeing her retreating figure, the chubby guy chuckled and said, "I say, boss, are you thinking of starting a harem?"
"Get your head straight. Behave yourself. We'll talk about the hotel later. Don't be in a hurry. With me here, nothing will go wrong. I said it's fine, and it will be fine."
Ye Tiancheng said firmly.
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, the chubby guy immediately stopped talking, as Ye Tiancheng was already angry. If he continued talking, Ye Tiancheng would be very displeased and would scold him.
Seeing that Ye Tiancheng was angry, the chubby guy stopped talking and immediately fell silent, then stood aside.
Because of the matters in the south of the city, the Hou family was now as anxious as ants on a hot pan. They needed funds, and without this sum of money, they would be in dire straits. Upon returning, the matter was reported to the head of the Hou family.
"Mingzhu, can't you beg that kid for once? Considering you once had the title of husband and wife, I think that kid will show mercy and not compete with us for this business. I heard that the Su family has invested a lot of money in doing business with him, so he wouldn't care about this project in the south of the city." The Hou family head said.
Hou Mingzhu was almost in tears because Ye Tiancheng had clearly told her when he left that he wanted revenge on the Hou family and would not show any mercy to them, as this was what the Hou family owed him, and he had to get it back no matter what. Therefore, she reported this matter to the family head.
Upon hearing Hou Mingzhu's words, the Hou family head's old face immediately turned pale with anxiety.
"If this is true, our family will fall into an abyss of eternal damnation. Next month, we won't even have rice to cook. Now, every business is losing money." The family head was very anxious. The glory of the past was gone, and they were now on the verge of begging for food.
"Then what should we do? I can't do anything. This is what we owe that kid. He said he would still cause trouble for us, and I think this is just the beginning." Hou Mingzhu was helpless. She regretted it immensely now. There was no regret medicine in this world, or she would buy a bottle to solve the problem. After all, regret itself requires paying a heavy price, and this was the result Ye Tiancheng wished to see. If he were here at this moment, she didn't know how happy he would be.
"What else can we do? Keep begging him. I believe that people have hearts of flesh. As long as you beg sincerely, you will be able to resolve this matter."
The Hou family head felt that this was the only way to resolve the problem for now.
Otherwise, what else could they do? Their family was already at the point of having no rice to cook. Their former friends and acquaintances, seeing their misfortune, avoided them like the plague and never offered any help again. The only chance they had was the project in the south of the city.
If they couldn't even secure this project, then the Hou family would truly be finished.
"Therefore, this relates to our family's survival. No matter what, we must let that kid give us a way to live. You make the decision on this matter; no matter what means you take, you must complete this task." The family head actually wanted to let a woman complete this task, but as of now, the person Ye Tiancheng primarily wanted to punish was Hou Mingzhu, because her attitude back then was the most resolute.
Therefore, as of now, the key to all problems lay in how Mingzhu would resolve this matter. If she resolved it well, then this matter could be easily resolved; if she resolved it poorly, then they would be finished.
"There is no way to solve a problem without trying to solve it. If you don't try to solve it, it cannot be solved. Therefore, this matter really depends on you. I believe you can bear this heavy responsibility." The family head said to Hou Mingzhu with great earnestness. She understood that all the current problems originated from her.
It was Hou Mingzhu who had driven Ye Tiancheng out of the Hou family and sent him to guard the Hou family ancestral hall in Xiaohe Village. Therefore, all the anger should be borne by her. Now, Ye Tiancheng held the fate of the entire Hou family in his hands.
Ye Tiancheng knew that Hou Mingzhu would come to beg him, so he was already prepared.
When this person came to beg him, Ye Tiancheng was waiting for Hou Mingzhu.
"Why are you so late? I've been waiting for you for almost half a day." When Hou Mingzhu arrived at his residence, Ye Tiancheng did not invite her to sit down but instead opened his mouth with such a cold remark. This remark pierced Hou Mingzhu's heart like a cold knife. She had thought of many warm words earlier, but at this moment, no one used them, and they were all choked back by those cold words.
Perhaps after experiencing too many things, everything would return to its essence.
These essential things were understood by everyone, and for the sake of profit, everyone was selfish and never considered others' thoughts. As long as it benefited themselves, they would do anything. This was the main reason why the Hou family had driven Ye Tiancheng out of the family back then.
Ye Tiancheng knew what the Hou family was thinking, so he felt it was not worth negotiating with her.
"Ye Tiancheng, it was my fault before. Please, can you do it? This business is very important to our family. If we don't have this business, we won't even have rice to cook. Although we don't have the reality of being husband and wife, we have the name. Considering this title, you shouldn't make things difficult for us. If I have wronged you, you can punish me however you want, but the rest of our Hou family are innocent."
Hou Mingzhu gritted her teeth and finally uttered the most unwilling and despicable words.
These words did not move Ye Tiancheng at all; instead, they made him feel very disgusted. He had no good feelings for this woman, and stemming from his fundamental anger and the resentment of those three years, how could he be easily appeased by these words?
"If spit could be licked back, I would withdraw all my strategies against your Hou family." Ye Tiancheng said, then spat on the ground. He then looked at her, waiting to see how Hou Mingzhu would lick up his spit.