Chapter 324 323: Well-Deserved

Zhu Qiyu said, "Before making the transfer, I looked at our company's investment plan. The Li Group was already a top priority, and the investment was scheduled to go through in just a few days. Your sum is probably too large. For a business, more money isn't always better. If you're really concerned, you should just take your money back!"

Mu Lin realized it had to be Zhou Qianfan's doing. 'If I don't take this money back, Zhu Qiyu might very well lose his job.'

'I just helped him keep his job; I can't be the reason he loses it again, can I?'

Mu Lin said, "But there is one sum that I must invest. It's the compensation from the Di Yang Li Family to the Anhua Li Family. I have no right to hold on to it."

Zhu Qiyu thought for a moment, then understood. "Alright, I'll handle it that way."

Mu Lin breathed a sigh of relief. A weight was finally off his mind.

But then another matter came to mind. He called Zhou Qianfan. "Uncle Zhou, there's something else I need your help with. I want to start a company. Could you help me with that?"

Zhou Qianfan was delighted. 'This is the first time Mu Lin has ever asked me for help!'

"That's easy. What kind of company do you want to start?"

Mu Lin's reply was crisp and clear. "I want to set up a pharmaceutical company and do some good in the world. I have several general-purpose formulas that are safe for anyone. I'd like to open a few production lines for them."

Zhou Qianfan said, "That's simple. I'll handle the paperwork for you. It'll be very fast; just be patient and wait."

"Great! Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Zhou!" Mu Lin said excitedly.

"It's no trouble at all! As long as it's for you, Mu Lin, it's never any trouble!"

"Exactly! If we're this formal, it makes us seem like strangers. That's not right at all!"

It was as if they were looking at each other through the phone, and both men burst out laughing.

Feeling satisfied, Mu Lin instructed Zhu Qiyu to be sure to take good care of the Li Group.

Zhu Qiyu nodded repeatedly, but Mu Lin was still worried, so he added in detail,

"You need to keep an eye on things. If anyone gets any bright ideas and tries to bully the Li Group, you must tell me!"

Zhu Qiyu quickly agreed. "Of course, of course. How could I dare not tell you?"

Mu Lin pouted. "Who knows with you? If anything happens because of a delay on your part, you'll have me to answer to!"

Zhu Qiyu wiped the sweat from his brow. "No, no, that won't happen. I guarantee nothing will go wrong."

Zhu Qiyu remained standing where he was long after Mu Lin had walked away. Only when Mu Lin's figure was completely out of sight did he dare let out a long sigh of relief.

It was said that Mu Lin was already a powerful expert in the Divine Realm, omniscient wherever his divine sense reached.

He didn't dare entertain any stray thoughts, lest Mu Lin somehow perceive them.

'Ah, I can finally relax! I don't even know what I'm running around for all day…'

Zhu Qiyu let out a long breath, only to be faced with an even stranger problem.

The combined shares of Mi Xintian, Xu Haofeng, and a few minor shareholders amounted to a forty percent stake, and it was currently all sitting in his personal account.

'What should I do?'

'If it were in a corporate account, he truly wouldn't have had the slightest thought of keeping it. But now, it was in his private account, and he suddenly felt a pang of reluctance.'

'I might as well ask Patriarch Zhou and test the waters. If Patriarch Zhou wants it back, then that's that. I'll hand it over obediently, and that will put an end to any temptation.'

He quickly made the call. The moment he brought up the forty percent stake, Zhou Qianfan said casually,

"It's yours now. Just hold on to it and keep doing good work for the company."

Zhu Qiyu was completely stunned. He thought he must be dreaming.

'How could Zhou Qianfan be so generous? Was this really him?'

"Chairman Zhou, are you serious?"

"Didn't Mu Lin say so? He had them transfer it to you. Isn't that great? For all these years, even if you don't have distinguished achievements, you've certainly worked hard. It's reasonable for you to take forty percent."

Zhu Qiyu trembled. With such a large stake, his position in the company would be completely different from now on.

Zhou Qianfan said, "You should thank Mu Lin. He's treated you very well. From now on, you are to respect him just as you respect me. Understand?"

With that, Zhou Qianfan hung up.

Zhu Qiyu's eyes welled up. He turned back toward the direction Mu Lin had gone and gave a deep, solemn bow.

He was so grateful.

Mu Lin was oblivious to this, as he was currently engrossed in a conversation with Wu Henghai, learning about Niu Daoist.

This Niu Daoist was human scum. Despite his high level of cultivation, he didn't use his power for anything good.

He dared to commit any evil deed and had many deaths on his conscience.

He was one of the top names on the Military Suppression Bureau's internal wanted list.

The man was as slippery as an eel; devil knows where he'd go. Every attempt to capture him had ended in failure.

Mu Lin asked, "In that case… do you have any biological samples from this Niu Daoist? A piece of clothing, a strand of hair, even saliva would be fine."

Wu Henghai grew inexplicably excited. 'Isn't it obvious?' Mu Lin was asking for these things so he could use the Tracing Technique to find Niu Daoist.

And they, in turn, could piggyback on his success for some credit. They'd hand everything over to Mu Lin to handle; he'd get the reward, and the squad would get the credit.

Wu Henghai quickly replied, "Yes, we have! We've found plenty of traces left by Niu Daoist, but none of them had any identifiable features that could help in a manhunt."

"Giving them to you is the perfect solution! Where are you? I'll have a team member bring them over!"

Mu Lin gave him an address. "Come over right away. Sorry for the trouble."

"You're being too polite! I'm the one counting on you to earn us this merit!"

Mu Lin sat on a park bench to wait, cultivating as he did so. It was quite pleasant.

Meanwhile, at the Li Group headquarters, Li Xue was on the verge of a breakdown.

Money, money, money. The company's funding gap was like a gold-devouring behemoth, threatening to swallow her and the entire company whole at any moment.

"President Li, about the second phase of the Classic Mansion project… are you looking to sell? I'd be happy to help you out!"

"President Li, how about that plot of land in Linjiang? Are you selling? I'd like to take it off your hands."

Calls like this came in one after another, each one an attempt to grate on Li Xue's nerves with insultingly low offers.

And yet, it was precisely at times like these that she had to personally answer every call, using her resolute tone to fend off the vultures and quell any rumors.

Li Xue wished she could just smash the phone to pieces. Only then would she get some peace.

But just as she was about to, a new call would come in, forcing her to maintain her strong, decisive facade and face the next challenge.

After several of these calls in a row, she was at her breaking point.

'These people… they're all taking advantage of the Li Group's cash flow problem to lowball us into the ground. It's disgusting.'

Honestly, if any of the offers had been even remotely fair, Li Xue would have sold in a heartbeat to get some liquidity.

But unfortunately, they weren't. They all seemed to delight in offering pennies on the dollar. So, Li Xue had no choice but to tough it out, watching helplessly as the funding gap grew wider and wider.

Her young secretary suddenly ran in. "President Li, a fund transfer just came into the company's account… for 21.2 billion…"

Li Xue was stunned. She shot to her feet so fast that her chair flew back, hit the wall, and rebounded into her ankle. She hissed in pain.

"Where did that money come from? Do you know the source? If it's from one of those vultures trying to buy our projects for a pittance, send it right back."

The secretary replied, "It's from Liangyu Investment. The memo says it's an additional investment."

Li Xue's mouth fell open. This was getting to be an overwhelming situation.

'A favor this big… I probably couldn't repay it even if I offered myself in marriage…'

She quickly called Zhu Qiyu. "President Zhu, I just received a transfer of over twenty billion. What is the meaning of this?"

Zhu Qiyu's voice was gentle. "I'm very optimistic about the Li Group, so I wanted to stand with you during this difficult time. I don't want to see it collapse."

Li Xue's mind immediately jumped to a more important issue. A capital increase meant share dilution.

'The Li Family's control over the Li Group could be completely overturned! From now on, the Li Group would be at the mercy of Zhu Qiyu. This is incredibly dangerous.'

Zhu Qiyu quickly added, "President Li, I should also clarify something. I don't want a seat on the board of directors. Furthermore, your existing share percentages will remain unchanged."

Li Xue's expression was grave. For a moment, she wondered if Zhu Qiyu was pursuing her romantically.