Chapter 414 413: Someone You Can't Afford to Provoke

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. The rapping was crisp and loud.

The sound interrupted President Liang's grandstanding. He frowned and muttered,

"Who could that be? How annoying."

But the door opened on its own. Mu Lin stood in front, with Xiao Hongling behind him.

President Liang looked them up and down, his eyes lighting up for a moment at the sight of Xiao Hongling.

"Who are you? This is a private banquet. You weren't invited. Get out!"

He Chen turned his head to look at Mu Lin. Mu Lin spoke politely, "You must be Uncle He Chen?"

He Chen was quite bewildered. "Who are you? And why do you say that?"

"Oh, my name is Mu Lin!"

'What could a complete stranger like this possibly want with me?' He Chen was even more lost in the fog.

"You may not know me, but I know you. You need a factory, don't you? I have an idle factory building I can offer you. It should be more than enough for you to complete a batch of orders."

These words left both He Chen and President Liang utterly astonished.

President Liang was very displeased. He had clearly pushed He Chen to a critical point. With just a little more pressure, He Chen would have been on his knees, obediently handing everything over.

But with Mu Lin's intervention, the situation had changed.

He sized up Mu Lin, furious.

"Kid, don't you stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Do you know whose business this is? This is Chairman Gong's business! If you ruin his plans, I don't think you'll be leaving here alive!"

But Mu Lin wasn't scared. He had already offended everyone from top to bottom at the Baiju Group.

There was nothing for Mu Lin to fear.

"You go back and tell Gong Jintang to think long and hard about how he's going to get me to spare him."

President Liang slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.

"What audacity! To dare say Chairman Gong's full name like that! I think you've got a death wish!"

But Mu Lin just flicked his finger lightly, and a stream of invisible force shot from his palm, striking President Liang.

President Liang was sent flying into the air. He flipped over several times before crashing down under a table.

It was a truly pathetic sight. The other guests at the dinner table were furious but didn't dare speak up. They could only secretly send messages.

He Chen looked at Mu Lin and said, "Young man, were you telling the truth just now? Do you really have a backup factory?"

He had searched to the point of desperation. It was as if all the processing plants had been warned off, giving him no opportunity at all.

For Mu Lin to find him like this was an unbelievable stroke of luck.

Mu Lin said, "That's right. However, I must make it clear that the factory is in Di Yang. You'll have to handle the transition and communication yourself."

He Chen smiled. "Our main market in Nanjiang Province is in Di Yang. The orders are from a Di Yang company. If the factory is over there, it will actually save us a great deal in logistics costs."

Mu Lin said, "That's even better!"

He Chen smiled. "So, what's the fee for the factory? Twenty million? Or thirty million?"

After haggling with President Liang, he had become numb to the prices, as if twenty or thirty million were just numbers.

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "No charge. You just need to provide your own materials."

He Chen was stunned. 'Where did such a good deal come from? What's going on?'

He was puzzled about Mu Lin's background. 'Is this Mu Lin just playing a prank on me?'

Xiao Hongling said, "Hello. My father is Xiao Longjiang."

"Ah?" He Chen stumbled back two steps in shock. "Your father is Xiao Longjiang? Then doesn't that make you..."

'Is that really the point?' Xiao Hongling thought. 'Shouldn't we be focused on the factory right now?'

It was quite rare to see someone so calm after their factory burned down.

He Chen, however, grew uneasy. Xiao Longjiang was famous in Nanjiang for acquiring companies. The moment He Chen saw Xiao Hongling, he felt as if he had been targeted.

'Doesn't that mean I just got out of the frying pan and into the fire? This is not good at all!'

Xiao Hongling hadn't thought that far ahead. "President He, if you don't have any issues, I've already brought the contract. Once you sign it, the factory can begin operations immediately."

Xiao Hongling took the documents from her bag and placed them on a nearby coffee table.

With trembling hands, He Chen took the contract. He scanned it absently, but not a single word registered.

Agitated, he asked, "May I ask why you're helping me? There are so many furniture companies, and our He Family business is actually quite small. Why not focus on them first?"

Xiao Hongling felt there was something wrong with his question. It seemed He Chen had gotten the wrong idea.

"I think you've misunderstood. I'm not helping you with any ulterior motives. It's just that Mu Lin wants to help you. I'm actually helping him."

He Chen looked back at Mu Lin, still completely bewildered. 'Who on earth is this Mu Lin?'

He Chen asked, "Then why are you helping me? This all happened so suddenly; you shouldn't have any reason to help me!"

Mu Lin said, "I'm very close with Uncle Qiao. When I heard you were in trouble, I couldn't just stand by and let you suffer a loss. Besides, I have a bit of a friendly relationship with Miss He Zheng, so naturally, I wouldn't want to see her suffer either."

Hearing Mu Lin's words, He Chen let out a long sigh of relief. What Mu Lin said was reasonable and well-supported, making it trustworthy.

As long as it wasn't a hostile takeover, everything was negotiable.

Otherwise, he definitely wouldn't be able to handle it.

He Chen quickly signed and returned one of the two copies of the contract to Xiao Hongling.

"I must thank you properly, and especially Chairman Qiao! I'll be treating tonight. What do you say to having it right here in this hotel?"

Mu Lin thought for a moment. He had nothing else planned. "You decide," he said.

He Chen immediately went to make the arrangements. Afterward, he invited Mu Lin and Xiao Hongling to a premium private room and said with a smile,

"Mr. Mu, you don't mind if I call my family over, do you?"

Mu Lin smiled. "Having Miss He here will liven things up. That's great."

A while later, Liu Ye Zhen and He Zheng arrived.

As soon as she walked into the private room, Liu Ye Zhen's eyes widened in astonishment.

"What are you doing here?"

Mu Lin smiled but didn't say anything.

He Chen asked, "Honey, you know him?"

Liu Ye Zhen said with a stern face, "Didn't my sister introduce Zhengzheng to a hooligan? Well, that's him!"

'What's going on?' He Chen wondered, a wave of uncertainty washing over him.

When his wife had told him last night that their daughter had been swept up by some young punk, He Chen had been furious.

But looking at it now, wasn't this a wonderful thing?

This Mu Lin fellow was so capable. If the two of them really hit it off, it wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

'It seems my wife's self-proclaimed good judgment of character was off the mark again.'

Liu Ye Zhen turned to pull He Zheng away, wanting to prevent her from being influenced by Mu Lin any further.

He Chen rushed forward and half-forced his wife back into her seat. "You're being too rude! If it weren't for Mu Lin's help, our He Family would probably be finished! Who would even care about your daughter then!"

Liu Ye Zhen was flabbergasted. "What are you talking about? The He Family is doing just fine. Since when were we about to be finished?!"

She didn't usually involve herself much in business matters, so her understanding of the company was even less than that of He Zheng, who spent her days out having fun.

He Zheng said to her mother, "Mom, our furniture factory caught fire today. We had a gap in our orders and were about to fail to complete them! It looks like Mu Lin was the one who found us a new replacement factory! You said he wasn't capable—well, look at this. Is this capable enough for you?"

Liu Ye Zhen opened her mouth, but not a single word came out.

Then, from what He Chen said, she also learned of Xiao Hongling's identity and was even more terrified to speak.

He Chen looked at Mu Lin. "Mu Lin, if your auntie said anything unbecoming, please forgive her! That's just how she is; she's been like this for decades. It gives me a headache too, but she's the wife I've had since we were poor, so what can I do?"

Mu Lin smiled. "Auntie was just looking out for Miss He Zheng's best interests. I can understand her good intentions."

Liu Ye Zhen's heart hammered in her chest. She had completely and utterly misjudged him.

If Mu Lin hadn't been so magnanimous, this situation would have likely been impossible to resolve.

But even with Mu Lin's magnanimity, she knew deep down that some things were now completely irreparable.

For example, the presence of Xiao Hongling sitting right next to Mu Lin.