Chapter 49: A Fruitless Search

Mu Lin's heart pounded. He'd searched high and low for a solution, and now it had fallen right into his lap.

Lu Baichuan had gotten so full of himself after landing this project that he'd started ignoring the Li Group's board of directors entirely.

'And now, it's fallen into my hands.'

"But I've heard South Side Lot 6 is a notorious money pit for developers. Several top firms have been completely wiped out by this project. How did you resolve the environmental assessment issues?"

Qiao Canhua said, "I didn't solve that problem. I just built a new city and moved all the nearby residents there. The problem took care of itself."

Mu Lin's jaw dropped in disbelief. "That… is an incredibly bold move!"

Seeing Mu Lin's stunned expression, Divine Doctor Zhao chuckled. "Mr. Qiao holds a very high position in the real estate world. Mu Lin, since you work for a real estate company yourself, you should know that!"

Mu Lin gave Divine Doctor Zhao a sidelong glance. "I haven't been 'down from the mountain' for very long, so my knowledge is limited."

Qiao Canhua said, "If you came to work for my company, it would be a shortcut straight to the top. Less hassle and more money than those small firms out there. Why not think about it?"

Mu Lin smiled. "Actually, you could say I'm already working for you indirectly, Boss Qiao. I believe my company is the one taking over the South Side Lot 6 project."

"The Li Group?" Qiao Canhua asked.

Madam Qiao smiled warmly. "Well, that's quite a coincidence! Old Qiao!"

But Mu Lin immediately followed up, "However, if you sign that contract as is, then forgive me for being blunt, but I will no longer treat Madam Qiao."

Madam Qiao's face went pale with shock. She had already witnessed Mu Lin's abilities and had come to see him as her last and only hope.

'If Mu Lin refused to treat her, wasn't that just leaving her to die?'

Qiao Canhua was panicking as well. Normally, he would have been furious at such a threat, but his wife's life was on the line. He could only grit his teeth and ask,

"Mu Xiaoyou, can you please give me an explanation? Let's be professional about this. If you have some grievance at your company, you should take it up with your own people. Why must you make things difficult for my wife and me?"

"The person signing the construction agreement with you is Lu Baichuan, right?" Mu Lin asked.

"We haven't signed anything yet," Qiao Canhua said. "But if things go smoothly, Lu Baichuan will be the one representing the Li Group to sign the contract with me."

Mu Lin tilted his head. "Then are you aware that Lu Baichuan is a backstabber who plans to take over the entire Li Group and force all the Li Family members off the board of directors?"

"And I, for one, am on the Li Family's side. I don't want the Lu Family to get the credit for this contract."

Qiao Canhua laughed, relieved. "Is that all it is? You should have just said so from the start! I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to thank you, my young friend!"

Just then, Chef Huang led in a man dressed in a sharp business suit.

The man pulled three copies of a contract from his briefcase and handed them to Qiao Canhua.

Qiao Canhua glanced at them, stacked the three copies, and ripped them to shreds.

The man in the suit was dumbfounded. He had spent ages preparing that contract, only to watch his boss tear it to pieces.

"P-P-P… President Qiao, why?!" the man in the suit stammered anxiously. "If there's a problem, I can fix it immediately."

"Change the name of the second party to…" Qiao Canhua glanced at Mu Lin. "Mu Lin, Li Group. Leave everything else as is. Bring it back to me when it's ready."

"Wait!" Mu Lin interjected. "I'm only the deputy head of the project team; I don't have signing authority. You should put down Chen Xi's name instead."

"Chen Xi…" Qiao Canhua's eyes narrowed. "Isn't that Chen Quan's grandson, the Li Group director? I heard he was in that do-nothing department for the well-connected kids. In that case… Mu Xiaoyou, for the Li Group to have a man of your talent… what an incredible waste! Come join my company. I'll start you at an annual salary of ten million, bare minimum!"

Zhao Yang pursed his lips but said anyway, "Old Qiao, give it up. It's not that he doesn't want to leave, he *can't*…"

He then leaned in and whispered something in Qiao Canhua's ear.

'So he's the Li Family's future son-in-law.' No wonder he couldn't leave. Being put out to pasture in a dead-end department was understandable, then. Qiao Canhua just smiled and dropped the subject.

"But if we put Chen Xi's name on it, that means the rest of the project will be handled by a bunch of rich, spoiled kids…"

Qiao Canhua's brow furrowed. "Frankly, that doesn't inspire confidence."

Mu Lin said earnestly, "As long as you're willing to give the project to the Li Group and not the Lu Family, I'll agree to whatever conditions you set."

Qiao Canhua suggested, "Then why not put President Li's name on it? A contract of this magnitude would be more than enough to secure the Li Family's control over the Li Group."

"That works," Mu Lin said. "I suppose that means we'll have to postpone the signing ceremony, then."

Qiao Canhua waved it off, not seeming to mind. "Of course. It's not proper to sign something this important remotely anyway. And now that my wife's condition has stabilized, I can get back to work with a clear head."

The man in the suit studied Mu Lin, thinking, 'This unassuming man is negotiating such a massive project with President Qiao. He must have an astonishingly powerful background.'

Seeing that the man in the suit was still lingering, Qiao Canhua waved him away. "Hurry up and go! Don't bother bringing the new contract back here. I'll go and sign it in person later."

For the rest of the meal, they all focused on the food and drinks, and a pleasant time was had by all.

After getting off work, Li Xue went to meet her best friend, Ye Chunshui.

Ye Chunshui was already waiting in the custom-creation area of a boba shop, having already selected two heaping bowls of toppings and handed them over to the staff.

She had very large eyes, so while her other features were somewhat plain, she possessed a captivating charm that attracted numerous admirers.

As Li Xue took a seat, Ye Chunshui said, "I took the liberty of ordering for you."

"Thanks." Their tastes were similar, so Li Xue generally liked whatever Ye Chunshui picked out.

Sigh.

Li Xue let out an unprompted sigh.

Ye Qiushui glanced at Li Xue. "What's wrong? Your career is taking off, Eldest Miss Li. Why the long face? All that sighing will give you wrinkles!"

"Don't mind me," Li Xue said. "I'm just stressed out."

'More than half of this stress is because of Mu Lin,' she thought. 'If it weren't for him, there wouldn't be all these complications.'

"What is it?"

"I nearly went bankrupt today. My whole family could have ended up with nothing," Li Xue said.

This made Ye Qiushui turn pale. While the Li Group wasn't the absolute biggest, it was still one of the top construction companies.

'What kind of trouble could be big enough to bankrupt the Li Group?'

Ye Chunshui's inner gossip columnist suddenly flared to life.

"What happened? You have to tell me!"

Li Xue gave her a quick, abridged version of the morning's events. "…Actually, never mind. No one would believe it even if you told them."

'The Lu Family's dirty tricks to seize power, Xiaowang's sudden decision to cut off their material supply… These are the kinds of schemes you wouldn't come up with unless you'd been taking stupid pills for ten years.'

And the eventual turnaround had been just as swift and dramatic.

Ye Chunshui was practically yawning by the end. "All this fuss over something so boring? I'm surprised you care, Eldest Miss Li. I thought you were the type who wouldn't be scared even if the sky were falling."

Their two boba teas were ready. Li Xue and Ye Chunshui scanned the QR code to pay, and even sent the barista a small digital tip, which earned them a brilliant smile.

"The sky really did almost fall today, and I guess I was scared after all…" Li Xue said, and her thoughts drifted inexplicably to Mu Lin. 'In the entire company, besides Grandpa and Dad, who else actually cares about how I feel?'

'Even if Grandpa and Dad found out what happened, they'd probably just tell me to suck it up and put the company first, wouldn't they?'

'Only Mu Lin would have charged into that pig farm and beaten Yang Jian to a pulp for my sake.'

"Still, I really envy you. You've got a fake husband who's willing to go to bat for you… I'm not sure my actual boyfriend would even do that for me!"

"Don't even talk about it," Li Xue said. "He got into some other woman's car the second work was over. What he did was just for show. That, or he's just a violent maniac who would've rushed in regardless of whether it involved me or not."

"Ah!" Ye Chunshui gasped. "Then you need to be more careful! What if he's colluding with someone to steal your Li Family's fortune?"

Li Xue let out a dry laugh. "If he wanted to swindle us, he'd have done it by now. Everyone in my family, except for my grandfather, is just playing a part. We're planning to kick him to the curb as soon as Grandpa gets better."

"Let's just say this: I haven't even slept in the same room as him for the past several days."