On the road, Su Lin, while driving, asked, âUncle Lin, is it appropriate for someone of your status to dine at the Four Seasons Hotel?â
âThereâs nothing inappropriate about it, kid. Donât overthink it. Dining anywhere with someone like your dad is always fine,â Lin Guoqiang responded casually.
Su Lin nodded upon hearing this. Su Zhenguo was indeed a hot commodity domestically, and dining at the Four Seasons was not considered over the top anymore.
A few minutes later, Su Lin arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel. âItâs a pity that Xiaowanâs mother couldnât come,â Lin Guoqiang sighed, then he opened the car door and got out.
Su Lin and Lin Xiaowan followed him. The three went up to the reserved private room where Su Zhenguo was already sitting.
Upon seeing Su Zhenguo, Lin Guoqiang burst into laughter, âSu Zhenguo, bet you didnât expect this. Iâve become the mayor of Donghai!â
Su Zhenguo, seeing Lin Guoqiang laughing so heartily, was not amused, âSo, you like dealing with this hot potato?â
Lin Guoqiang shook his head, âWhatâs a hot potato to others is not to me. And old Su, didnât you say I couldnât manage you anymore? Well, now Iâm here in Donghai.â
Su Zhenguo retorted with a sneer, âWhat are you so happy about? Youâre here in Donghai just to assist me with my work. Do you think you can still arrange things any way you want like before, withholding lands whenever you like?â
âLetâs not talk about me. Iâm setting up a car manufacturing plant, a power center, and two electronics factories. Youâll have to allocate substantial land for these, and not just a little. With all the major families coming in, Donghai isnât that big; Iâd like to see how you manage.â
Su Zhenguoâs words were like a cold shower on Lin Guoqiang. The factories alone were enough to develop a new industrial zone, not to mention the influx of so many major families, truly a headache for him.
âAlright, sit down, letâs not make the kids laugh at us.â
Lin Guoqiang grunted and sat down with Lin Xiaowan opposite of Su Lin, quite a distance away. Su Lin was speechless; the two elders could just duel it out without taking out their frustrations on the kids.
But he kept quiet, seeing how troubled Lin Guoqiang was at the moment; it wasnât wise to provoke him further.
Once seated, the arguing ceased. Su Zhenguo personally poured Lin Guoqiang a glass of wine, and the atmosphere finally eased. Lin Guoqiang took a sip and then looked at Su Zhenguo, âI heard youâve been refusing visitors recently?â
Su Zhenguo nodded, âYes, too many people have been coming, and I plan to wait until they all show their hands before selecting a few for partnerships.â
Lin Guoqiang nodded understandingly, âIâm just afraid others wonât give you time to wait.â
âYes, today the Liu family from the capital came to see me, but I had them wait outside,â Su Zhenguo said flatly.
Lin Guoqiang gave a thumbs up, âThe Liu family has always been assertive. I wouldnât have expected them to be turned away at your door.â
âAh, you think I donât want to meet them? Normally, Iâd be thrilled to collaborate with such a family, but not now. I need to be very careful, otherwise, I wouldnât even know how I might die. I feel like Iâm about to be sucked into a big vortex that will reshuffle the nationâs elite families,â Su Zhenguo admitted, feeling somewhat troubled.
Lin Guoqiang nodded, âWith what youâve brought out, itâs enough to reshuffle our country several times. Such impulsiveness isnât like you.â
Su Zhenguo glared at Su Lin, âItâs all because this precious son of mine has posed a difficult problem.â
Then he turned to Su Lin, âSu Lin, come back to the group and be a vice president.â
Su Lin, who was eating, was startled by Su Zhenguoâs words, âDad! Me, a vice president? Isnât that a bit much? I havenât had enough fun yet.â
âFun? What fun? If it wasnât for you, could I be like this now? You just hand everything over to me and go have your fun. This time, not only the middle-aged generation is coming to Donghai, but the younger generation too. Iâll block the older ones for you, but youâll have to deal with those your age.â
Su Lin felt a headache coming on, âDad, do they really have to come?â
âNonsense, you canât expect me to deal with a bunch of twenty-year-olds in business. If the negotiations go well, fine, but if not, what then?â
âYouâll meet with them so you can gain some experience,â Lin Guoqiang agreed, âI think itâs a good choice, old Su. This boy spends his days causing trouble with girls; itâs time he did something serious.â
âUh⦠alright, but letâs make it clear, how I do it is my business, you canât interfere, and I want to take Xiaowan and Xiao Yu with me.â
Su Zhenguo and Lin Guoqiang looked at Lin Xiaowan at once. Lin Xiaowanâs face was flushed as she looked down and fiddled with her rice.
Su Zhenguo was quite pleased with his daughter-in-law, Lin Xiaowan, and smilingly asked, âXiaowan, what do you say?â
Lin Xiaowan looked up at Su Lin and then said, âIâm afraid I might not do well.â
Su Lin responded, âHow can you not do well? The Rainforest is doing great, expanding quickly to Yangcheng and Modu, and has always been fine.â
âBut itâs different⦠before I was just dealing with suppliers, but now I would be negotiating with descendants of those major families.â
Lin Guoqiang frowned, âWhat are you afraid of? You have Su Lin, Zhenguo, and me, donât you?â
Seeing Lin Xiaowan acting timidly, Lin Guoqiang was quite upset. His daughter could be wrong, but she should never be cowardly.
Lin Xiaowan nodded, âI can try.â
Su Zhenguo was relieved, âThatâs good. The Su Corporation building isnât far from your villa, just a short drive away.â
âSu Lin, youâve agreed to the conditions, but you need to show some initiative. Even though we started this halfway, we donât have to fear anyone, understand?â
Su Lin nodded, âDonât worry, dad. I donât care who these family scions are; I treat everyone the same.â
Su Zhenguo cautioned, âJust donât use the same tactics you used against Xiao Chen and the Song family on these noble descendants. The 751 Office is sending new people; try not to resort to violence in Donghai, and if you must, do it secretly, without getting caught.â
Su Lin was surprised, âThe 751 Office has changed personnel? That Liu Changyuan was quite the philanthropist; he used to send me quite a few nice things.â
âTry to do less of extorting people in the future. If you really need something, just ask your Uncle Lin.â
Su Lin smiled, âNo need for that now, since Song Zhigang has been providing us with cultivation resources, Xiaowan and the others are progressing rapidly in their training.â
Lin Guoqiang was surprised, âIndeed, theyâve become masters so quickly, Su Lin, youâre not teaching them some evil techniques, are you?â
Su Lin looked annoyed, âHow could that be possible?â
âThatâs strange then, Iâve never seen anyone achieve master status so quickly from scratch before. Got any special tricks?â
Su Lin nodded, âOf course, but Uncle, youâll have to trade something for that information.â
âYou cheeky boy, now youâre bargaining with me?â
âNothing comes without cost, right?â Su Lin said with a grin.
Lin Guoqiang couldnât help but laugh; Su Lin had indeed inherited Su Zhenguoâs genes, always looking for profit.
âLet it be, I came to Donghai to oversee the big picture. Old Su, can you share your thoughts now?â
Su Zhenguo laughed, âWhat thoughts? Letâs start with a banquet. We definitely need to announce our strategic partnership with the Qin and Li families, and as for choosing which families to collaborate with, weâll see how they bid.â
âWhen?â
âNext week, here at the Four Seasons Hotel. By then, everything should be well arranged in Donghai, right?â
Lin Guoqiang nodded, âNow all parties are positioning themselves in Donghai, not just the major families. The 751 Office and I are also coordinating. A week is plenty.â
âWe shouldnât have to worry about any mishaps then.â
âRight, keep me updated on any ideas you have so I can arrange to support you, just like you said, Iâm here in Donghai entirely to support you,â Lin Guoqiang said with a smile.
Hearing this, Su Zhenguo also smiled.
With Lin Guoqiangâs step in Donghai completed, his next move would surely be back to the capital, and by that time, Su Lin would also go to the capital.
Whether he liked it or not, from the moment Su Lin and Lin Xiaowan were together, the two families began to have close ties.
Su Zhenguo was bound to be labeled with the Lin familyâs mark. But he didnât care about these things; as long as he could make money, fulfill his revenge, and strengthen the Su family, who he partnered with didnât matter.
Su Lin thought about the implications of Su Zhenguo and Lin Guoqiangâs conversation, and the changes his upcoming promotion would bring to his status.
Once the Su family banquet begins, he would definitely attend as the vice president. Then, the real battle with these noble scions would begin.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!