I Treat You as My Sister, But You Want to be My Wife?!
Chapter 425 Swooping In_1

Chapter 425: Chapter 425 Swooping In_1

Wang Xiaocong made a significant contribution here.

He scoured the imperial capital for chefs skilled in Sichuan and Hunan cuisine, perfecting the concept of ’spicy’ in every way possible: numbingly spicy, sweetly spicy, fragrantly spicy. The sensation of Sichuan pepper numbing the taste buds brought a rush of pleasure from the tongue to the heart, and many people loved it.

Even more thrilling were the performances by Yu Lao’er’s group and Wang Shengli’s group, who staged a competitive showdown.

In the village, it was common to see people twisting and turning in the yangge dance and singing. Whenever there was nothing to do, they’d gather in a square to beat the drums and gongs and stir up excitement.

And now, these two groups had begun their ’pk’ on the small square of the gourmet street.

In reality, there wasn’t a question of winning or losing. It was just Yu Lao’er’s people performing a show, followed by Wang Shengli’s people with another. Yet, to the tourists, this was all a display of cultural charm and lively festivity.

Right now, Wang Xiaocong was following Shen Dong, acting like a tour guide.

Shen Dong obviously wasn’t here to enjoy the scenery. As he walked through the bustling streets, he asked in a tone heavy with implication, "Do you think we are favored by the authorities now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I’m thinking of selling land."

Wang Xiaocong was shocked to his core, even if they were favored, even if they could sell land, this gamble was massive.

His voice trembled as he said, "A one billion bet, Mr. Shen, are you joking? That piece of land..."

"Insane, right?" Shen Dong revealed a mischievous smile.

He pointed toward the teeming streets and said confidently, "Have you ever thought Hai City would see such a human flow? Listen to the people’s words, people from other counties don’t even go to Jing City for leisure anymore; they come to Hai City instead."

This gourmet street was built by Wang Xiaocong, piece by piece. He understood it better than anyone, but that piece of land in Binhai... barren, leased to the local farmers, even they looked down on it.

Wang Xiaocong had a hundred thousand doubts, but deep down, an uncontrollable impulse surged -- the belief that this boy could create a legend.

Take a risk. If it worked out, he would have one billion in liquid assets in his hands.

Wang Xiaocong glanced at the crowds on the gourmet street and swallowed hard, saying with hope, "I’ll... I’ll give it a try."

Giving it the old college try was all they needed.

Shen Dong heaved a sigh of relief and chuckled, patting Wang Xiaocong’s arm twice. He pointed to the liveliest part of the small square on the gourmet street and said with a laugh, "How about it, do you feel a sense of accomplishment?"

"Much more than that." Seeing the topic shift, Wang Xiaocong suppressed the unease in his heart and revealed a relaxed smile.

He spread his arms wide, embracing the gourmet street and lifted his head in rapture, "I never imagined the gourmet street could become so popular, that it could turn into a driving force for Hai City’s attraction!"

As he spoke, Wang Xiaocong opened his eyes and looked at Shen Dong with an admiring gaze, "Honestly, I never thought anyone could double a city’s housing prices without spending a penny on advertising!"

"Double?" Shen Dong laughed as he responded, "Do you think it stops at double?"

He didn’t mind revealing certain bits of information, singling out, "What kind of economic benefits can a city with a traffic flow of ten million imagine?"

"The gourmet street, including Huaxu, what are they?" Shen Dong suddenly burst with grand ambition, pointing ahead not too far away, "You have to remember, we’re not running a business, we’re running a city, or rather, an empire."

Wang Xiaocong was stunned, watching Shen Dong’s departing figure becoming smaller in the distance, unable to utter a single word.

An empire.

Did I underestimate him after all?

Nobody knew how wild the ambitions roiling inside Shen Dong’s heart were. Having lived a second life, why wouldn’t he rise to be a king?

He rode a geared bicycle, blending in like any ordinary person.

Shen Dong was preoccupied with the troubles of Xia Dongqing from Xiayun Group and anxious as to whether he could exchange the prosperity of Hai City for the right to purchase the barren land in Binhai with the leadership.

As he pondered how to broach the subject with the leaders, he suddenly received a text message.

The ringtone for the text message was customized, very unique.

Shen Dong hastily stopped the car, took out the message, and his expression changed immediately.

The message, from Jing City, was a chess piece Shen Dong had put into play, "Be careful, they are working on something called an ’app,’ which allows one person to perform while many watch online."

Live streaming.

On the night he parted ways with Chen Yuyan, 3G technology had quietly emerged, and smartphones had swept in.

At this moment, the smart industry chain was starting to sprout.

Shen Dong slammed on the pedal and rushed back to Silver Moonlight. The internet era had begun early, for better or worse?

Back at Silver Moonlight, Shen Dong locked his room door and headed straight for the computer.

On the webpage, advertisements for the ’live streaming app’ densely covered the screen, and the name of the app was Dream Chaser’s Heart.

From the slogans, the main focus of the app appeared to be cultivating ’star’ culture, offering everyone a chance to realize their stage dreams, and when combined with the stage performances he’d seen in Shenchuan, it all integrated into a self-media traffic celebrity.

Shen Dong remembered that the first time he watched a live stream seemed to be after 2010, when live streaming was not too audacious, primarily featuring people showing off verbally, attracting traffic with foolish pranks like malicious phone harassment and making a fool of customer service reps. Afterward, the MC trend sprouted up like bamboo after rain.

A sense of crisis permeated every cell in Shen Dong’s body.

Once the self-media industry took off, it would greatly impact the entire marketing industry and might even shake Huaxu’s future position.

But that was all he had considered.

Bang.

The door suddenly made a noise, followed by Kang Yue’s anxious voice, "Shen Dong, it’s me."

Shen Dong turned around to open the door.

As soon as Kang Yue entered, she threw her bag on the sofa, turned back to lock the door anxiously, and said, "I went to ask at the mobile company, and the 3G communication technology is a joint development, and right now the only 3G phone is from Pear!"

"If Li Ling gets involved, our internet development will be constrained!"

Shen Dong’s eyes became steely, something he hadn’t thought about. As early as when discussing C2C at Jing City University, Shen Dong had given up the pursuit of platforms and smart technology.

Facing many difficult issues such as cost and technology, Shen Dong had chosen cooperation.

He had never imagined that the initiative of the internet era would be in Li Ling’s hands. Pear? Pear exploiting its technological edge to charge businesses exorbitant patent fees and engage in various despicable market domination tactics was beyond counting.

An unexplained irritability arose in Shen Dong’s heart; he glanced sideways with a sharp look, focusing on Kang Yue, "Why would the technology go to Pear?"

Kang Yue let out a cold laugh, "In the future, a trillion-dollar valuation enterprise, I believe, many people will gravitate towards Pear."

"What do we do now? If Huaxu launches an APP, we’ll have to cooperate with them."

Shen Dong impassively stared at the computer screen, his eyes showing complexity and caution.

Unbeknownst to him, at this very moment, some were popping champagne in celebration.

Near the Gang City Stock Exchange, in a rather high-end business restaurant, a group of people raised their glasses with laughter. Among them, one who seemed trustworthy stood in a prominent position, boldly proclaiming.

"To control the internet is to control the era. I solemnly celebrate our strategic cooperation with a certain cat and Pear Company. I wish us success in our roadshow!"

Roadshows are a part of the valuation process for listing.

These sharp-dressed individuals might become billionaires on the day of the IPO.

Shen Dong couldn’t see it, but he could guess all of it.

"Ah?" Shen Dong pondered deeply for a long time, then suddenly had an epiphany, "Even if they intend to target us, would they dare to target Hai City?"