I Treat You as My Sister, But You Want to be My Wife?!
Chapter 444 Caught Off Guard_1

Chapter 444: Chapter 444 Caught Off Guard_1

As soon as Yu Lao’er left, Kang Yue gave Shen Dong a thumbs-up, "Your ability to judge and use people is really something."

"This sudden praise, what are you getting at?" Shen Dong scribbled on the menu, then looked up and glanced at Kang Yue.

"I have a crush on you," Kang Yue said flirtatiously, poking the menu, "Enoki mushrooms, corn, and we need some spinach too."

She waited a while, but seeing that Shen Dong didn’t pick up on the ’crush’ joke, she pouted and said, "You’re like the typical ’encircling the cities from the rural areas’, no different from penetrating lower-tier markets. In other words, your tactics are grounded and convincing."

"So, I’m just down-to-earth?" Shen Dong finished ordering, passing the menu to the waiter.

He waved his hand at Kang Yue and laughed, "Just say what you want, no need to beat around the bush. It’s not your forte anyway."

It must be said, Shen Dong’s ability to read between the lines was getting stronger. He could tell Kang Yue had an ulterior motive.

Kang Yue pouted, "You’re no fun."

Women and men are indeed different. When Li Kaiyao was exposed, he was harshly mocked, but Kang Yue got away with it by acting cute. She got straight to the point, "I’m interested in that membership-based shopping mall idea you had before."

The membership-based shopping mall is a model where one must become a member to enjoy the low prices of Huaxu products when shopping at a brick-and-mortar store.

Assume that the annual turnover of Huaxu products is one billion, and since the selling price is close to cost price, the profit is ten million.

If the one billion in turnover is generated by ten million members, and their membership fee is assumed to be one hundred yuan per year, then the accumulated total would be ten billion.

This concept was proposed by Shen Dong and Tang Yuchan before they founded Huaxu and shelved because Huaxu’s brand wasn’t well-known enough. Besides, to acquire ten million members, it wasn’t enough to merely offer low prices.

At the very least, it would require the support of a central business district (CBD) mall and a diverse range of products.

How much would a CBD mall cost?

A casual one starts with tens of millions, and for now, Shen Dong could only dream about it.

He was about to immediately reject the idea, but Kang Yue cut him off.

Kang Yue didn’t have any clever plans but pointed to the box of chili peppers on the table, "If you promise me, I’ll eat a whole box of chili peppers."

"Heh." Shen Dong thought Kang Yue was joking and snorted, "Okay, if you eat them, I’ll agree."

"You got it."

Real chili peppers, Kang Yue ate them spoonful by spoonful, her mouth red but showing no signs of being affected by the spice.

Shen Dong was salivating just looking at her and quickly urged, "Alright sis, don’t eat anymore. Doesn’t it burn?"

"Not at all, try some."

As she spoke, she passed a spoonful of chili peppers to Shen Dong.

Shen Dong really thought it wasn’t spicy, realized he had been tricked, and complained irritably, "You’re setting me up. You’ve eaten here before, haven’t you?"

After he spoke, he put the spoon in his mouth...

Pff.

That bite of chili peppers was so spicy it could last from the beginning of time to the end of the world, Shen Dong spit it out immediately, hitting a jacket on the next table.

"Sorry, sorry!"

Shen Dong quickly stood up to apologize, pulling out two tissues to help wipe it off.

The person who was sprayed quickly stood up, a look of panic on his face, "It’s okay, I work for Mr. Kang."

He blocked Shen Dong’s hand and handed Shen Dong a bottle of water.

"Don’t drink water, you need milk." Kang Yue was clearly holding back laughter. She handed over a bottle of milk, playing the victim, "I did eat a whole box of chili peppers, you can’t go back on your word, okay?"

Shen Dong glared at her, gulped down the milk, and, sure enough, the fiery sensation in his stomach eased up quite a bit.

He sat back down and, with unclear enunciation, said, "You definitely did that on purpose, you made me cry from the spice."

"It’s obvious you’re not suffering on the inside." At that moment, the spicy skewers were ready and brought to the table.

Kang Yue asked for another box of chili peppers, enlightening him with a smirk, "Spiciness isn’t a taste, it’s a pain sensation. When you feel the heat, it stimulates the brain to release endorphins, which can numb pain and make one feel happy."

"Nonsense, you’re spouting quackery," Shen Dong certainly didn’t buy that, fanning his tongue with his hand, his eyes filled with a sorrowful look at Kang Yue, "I don’t feel any happiness."

"Because you’re not suffering," Kang Yue said gleefully, chomping on the spicy skewers, all smiles.

Trying to defend himself, he said, "Look at you, I’m also suffering quite a lot."

"I used to have gastritis, periarthritis, and sciatica—no serious diseases, just a constant string of minor ones, but I’d see a doctor in the office, summon a private physician..."

"You’re that driven?" Shen Dong was genuinely stunned. Was this really living?

Kang Yue, as if she were casually gossiping, ate joyously and laughed brightly, "Driven? In CBD, if you aim to be the elite and not be kept by someone, this is just the baseline."

"Take a slight break, and you might be eliminated."

"Is that really true?" Shen Dong had only heard about the ruthlessness of the CBD business district, but Kang Yue’s words sounded shocking.

With a smile, Kang Yue counted on her fingers, "The year we came back, Tian Chao had 8.2 million college graduates, with over a million from 985 and 211 universities. Just imagine the competitiveness in the CBD."

"Seriously, you’ve changed me."

Suddenly hearing this, Shen Dong was caught off guard. He didn’t take the bait and countered, "What are you talking about? If anything, I’ve changed you."

"Tsk, I’m sincerely speaking, not trying to trick you," Kang Yue insisted as she pushed another skewer into Shen Dong’s mouth.

She put down her chopsticks, propped her chin with both hands, and gazed at Shen Dong with squinted eyes, "Back then, I thought, we’ve all got a head and two legs, why should anyone surpass me? I must be the best."

"But being with you, I suddenly realized that unless you’re part of the top elite, there’s no real difference between being in the middle or the bottom tier."

"Exploited for value, and once you’re worthless, kicked to the curb."

Stunned, Shen Dong put down his chopsticks and said, "Listening to you, it doesn’t seem like you’re praising me?"

"Absolutely I am," Kang Yue said ambiguously, her finger tapping on her chin. After pondering for a while, she pointed at Shen Dong’s bowl, "Eat up, and when you’re done, I’ll take you somewhere."

Shen Dong felt that something was odd as he absentmindedly finished the spicy skewers and followed Kang Yue out of the food court.

Not far away was a factory site awaiting demolition.

"What are we doing here?" The factory was deserted, not a soul in sight, and Shen Dong asked perplexedly.

Out of the blue, Kang Yue placed her hands on Shen Dong’s shoulders, her eyes arched, "A little skirmish in the wild."

"I... I didn’t mean that," Shen Dong almost tripped over himself and quickly pushed Kang Yue away, stuttering, unable to speak clearly.

Kang Yue laughed so hard she doubled over, her large hoop earrings sparkling in the sunlight, painfully dazzling.

"Just kidding," she said and grabbed Shen Dong’s hand.

She could feel Shen Dong’s resistance, but she didn’t let go. While walking toward the north side of the factory, she shared, "I was thinking of courtyard houses here, reminiscing about rural life."

"The countryside may be poor, but it’s rich in human relationships."

"I don’t want Hai City to become wealthy only to turn people into slaves to money like me. That wouldn’t be good for the sustained cultural development of Hai City."

"I plan to build Huaxu Homeland here based on the ancient round coin with a square hole, with the round part as the residential area and the square hole as the entertainment zone."