Chapter 44: The Crisis Is Not Over

The location of the South City No. 6 plot was truly excellent. Countless companies hoped to develop the land into commercial real estate.

Whether as a multi-use complex or a residential community.

Either would rake in a huge profit.

But it was stuck on the environmental assessment.

There was a hospital nearby, and the dust generated during the construction of a residential complex would have a significant negative impact on the patients' health.

That was why it could never pass the environmental assessment, getting stuck on the most difficult hurdle.

And now it had inexplicably fallen into Lu Baichuan's hands. What was going on?!

Li Xue immediately gave the order, telling her secretary to investigate.

Special Projects Team Office.

When Chen Xi and Mu Lin returned to the office, their colleagues all rushed over.

Sun Lele bounced on her feet and said, "Brother Xi, what happened? You got the Annual Contribution Award... My god, the second quarter isn't even over, and the Annual Contribution Award is already yours!"

Zhou Yu paced back and forth excitedly. "And a hundred-thousand-yuan bonus! Oh my god!"

Chen Xi scratched his head. "Actually, this award should have been Brother Lin's. It doesn't have much to do with me."

"But he hit someone, and Sister Xiaoxue was afraid of the negative publicity, so she gave the award to me instead."

The team members' eyes sparkled. To be honest, they hadn't even stepped out of the office, never expecting such a huge incident to have occurred outside while they were slacking off in secret.

Seeing their dazed expressions, Chen Xi said, "Did you guys know that our company's building material suppliers all cut us off for a while?"

Ah!

The team members were all stunned. As much as they were just coasting and waiting for their paychecks, they knew the Li Group was a construction company.

For a construction company, building materials were its lifeblood—something even more important than life itself.

They understood what it meant to have that supply cut off.

"Then what do we do? Is the company going to go under?!"

Chen Xi waved his hand dismissively. "Hey, didn't I just say? We were *briefly* cut off. The supply has long since been restored! This was all thanks to Brother Lin!"

After saying this, he led the charge, clapping enthusiastically. The team members quickly followed suit, and the office was instantly filled with adoration for Mu Lin.

Just as their applause reached a crescendo, the menopausal secretary from the chairman's office unexpectedly pushed the door open and came in.

The applause stopped abruptly. The air grew so awkward it felt like it had frozen solid.

"What are you doing?" She slapped a file on the table and said, "Has your project team met its twenty-million performance target? If you don't, you'll be disbanded!"

Her words fell, and the weight of the twenty million suddenly settled on everyone's hearts.

"Oh, crap. I completely forgot about that," Chen Xi said, slapping his forehead. His earlier excitement vanished in an instant.

Indeed, how could this tiny achievement possibly compare to that enormous bet?

"Man, Brother Lin, you've really gotten us into deep trouble," Chen Xi, being the bolder one, managed to say the words out loud.

The other team members agreed but didn't dare say it directly, only nodding fearfully.

Zhou Yu blinked. "Well, I was just thinking... we just got seven million back. Can that count toward our performance goal?"

Chen Xi's face was grim. "That would be great if it did. I secretly asked Sister Xiaoxue. She said if it were up to her, she'd definitely go easy on us and let it pass. Unfortunately, the one who made the bet with us is Lu Yi. He's got a whole belly full of schemes to make our team disappear for good. How could he possibly let up on this?"

Sigh... The team members groaned and sighed.

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "Why are you all so scared? To be honest, twenty million really isn't a large sum. Nowadays, any random engineering project starts at a hundred million. You're worried we can't get that?"

Chen Xi's expression soured even more. "Brother Lin, you're a great fighter, but when it comes to these details, you're definitely a bit behind us second-generation rich kids... Let me put it this way: a hundred million is the budget the main contractor gets. They skim at least half of that before passing it down to the subcontractors. And the competition among subcontractors is just as fierce. Most of the projects the Li Group gets have already been passed through three or four hands. Getting one worth five or six million is already considered pretty good."

Mu Lin's scalp tingled as he listened. 'The city's a damn maze of schemes; I want to go back to the countryside.' The thought that the buildings in this city were all constructed this way made him genuinely hesitant to keep living here.

'Who knows what could happen next? If this building was subcontracted seven or eight times, wouldn't the construction budget be less than a million?'

"So, how much did this building cost to build?" Mu Lin asked, swallowing hard.

Chen Xi chuckled. "Are you worried this building was also subcontracted out? You don't have to worry about that at all. The old chairman personally supervised the construction team and built this place brick by brick. He spared no expense. It's perfectly safe!"

"Besides, even with other buildings, even if they've been subcontracted seven or eight times, the quality is still guaranteed. At least they won't collapse."

Mu Lin thought to himself, 'You rich kids sure are easily satisfied.'

"Anyway, back to the topic, Brother Lin. For a twenty-million project volume, we'll need to find at least three or four clients... That number is astronomically high."

"Let me put it this way: is Project Team One good? You bet they are. But in a month, they can secure three projects at the absolute most, and that's with their established clients helping them out. For a useless team like ours, with no foundation and no connections, trying to pull twenty million in deals out of thin air is a complete fantasy."

Mu Lin thought for a moment. He wasn't actually that worried. 'After all, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.' Why rush?

The group stared blankly for a while with long faces, and then it was time to clock out.

Everyone shook off their gloom, whooped, and rushed out of the office, leaving Mu Lin and Zhou Yu behind to turn off the lights and utilities.

Zhou Yu said worriedly, "Brother Lin, is our project team really going to be disbanded?"

Mu Lin said, "Don't worry too much. Even if we are disbanded, it's not like you'll starve. Your elders are all on the board of directors. Why would you be afraid of something like this? Right?"

"Of course it's not about that! If our team is gone, Lu Yi can use this as an opportunity to make a big move. He could force my grandfather to withdraw from the board and become just an ordinary shareholder. If he's ruthless, he could even reclaim his shares directly. Then we'd have nothing left."

"Then the board of directors would only have two shareholder factions left: the Li Family and Lu Baichuan... Heaven knows what would happen!"

It dawned on Mu Lin. 'So that's why Li Xue pointed at me and cursed me out, calling me more of a hindrance than a help. There was a much deeper reason behind it.'

"Don't panic," Mu Lin said with a smile. "In that case, I'll just have to work a little harder and help us find the contracts we need."

"Everyone's been so good to me. I can't just let everyone's future be left up in the air."

Tears welled up in Zhou Yu's large, watery eyes. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to throw herself at Mu Lin and have a good cry.

But after a moment of brewing emotion, she picked up her bag and trotted away.

Mu Lin walked out slowly. Just then, he received a phone call. Surprisingly, it was from Zhao Yang.

"Divine Doctor Zhao, hello! It's rare for you to call me!"

When Zhao Yang heard Mu Lin call him "Divine Doctor," he still felt a wave of discomfort. "I don't deserve such a title! Are you free tonight?"

Zhao Yang spoke very slowly, terrified that Mu Lin would refuse.

Mu Lin thought, 'This must be something important.' "Do you have another patient you can't figure out?"

Zhao Yang's face flushed. 'How can this kid talk like that? Is my decades-long reputation in Anhua City just for show?'

But after stewing for a moment, Zhao Yang let out a heavy sigh. "It's not that I can't figure it out. It's just that this patient is extremely important. I'm not confident handling it on my own, so I was hoping you could come take a look with me."

Mu Lin checked the time and said, "Then you'll have to keep this a secret for me. Li Xue really doesn't want me practicing medicine recklessly. She's afraid I'll get into trouble..."

Zhao Yang said, "I'll coordinate with Old Li on this. We'll come up with a plausible excuse for you. Just come over with your mind at ease!"