Chapter 7

That evening, Lin Langyi suddenly received a transfer of 40,000 yuan from Cheng Yanjin. There was only a single transfer record on WeChat, without any other words.

She retreated, looking completely bewildered.

Less than ten minutes later, he turned it back.

Lin Langyi: ? Did you drink too much?

The other side still didn't offer a single explanation.

She was too lazy to go through the whole process of receiving red envelopes from relatives during Chinese New Year, so after going back, she sent a message saying "You've had too much to drink," and then temporarily blocked the person.

Lin Lang's schedule was too full today. He realized that Yuan Chuyu would have to come again tomorrow to inspect the outdoor site along the pond, so he went to bed early to rest.

The next day, at the agreed time, Lin Langyi waited early by the clam pond, planning to take the young master of Yingyuan Group on a boat to catch river clams and open pearls for a personal experience. However, ten minutes passed and no one showed up.

She didn't contact him directly on WeChat, thinking that Yuan Chuyu was probably delayed by something or stuck in traffic, so there was no need to rush to ask.

But after waiting for almost fifteen more minutes, all the messages on her phone had been replied to, and she couldn't wait any longer, so she asked a question on WeChat.

No reply.

Three or four minutes later, Lin Liaoyuan sent her a voice message, saying that he was too busy to tell her that Yuan Chuyu had other plans for today and would come again next time.

Lin Langyi: "Huh? When I took him home last night, he mentioned that he hadn't had a chance to see the clam pond yet, and asked if I was free today. We later arranged to meet at nine o'clock. When did he change his mind?"

Lin Liaoyuan: "Last night, around 11 o'clock... Dad drank a bit too much yesterday, and forgot to tell you when he woke up."

Lin Langyi let out an "Oh," but felt a little strange. How could Lin Liaoyuan remember this so coincidentally right after she sent a message to Yuan Chuyu, since he had forgotten about it?

She thought this and asked it.

"Yuan Chuyu just called me again, saying he was worried I'd forgotten to change the time, and he apologized... Sigh, you know, he's so polite and reliable..."

Lin Langyi paused for a moment, exited her chat with her father, and clicked on Yuan Chuyu's profile picture. The chat box was still empty.

Did he see the message but not reply to her directly, instead going to the trouble of contacting Lin Liaoyuan?

Lin Langyi figured it out after thinking about it for two seconds.

It's probably just that informing Lin Liaoyuan is informing her; in business, changing the date of a meeting is commonplace, it's quite normal.

She immediately put the matter out of her mind, put away her phone, and planned to ride her bike to patrol the river.

The aquaculture ponds in Yingshan Lake cover a total of 740 mu, of which 612 mu belong to the Lin family. Although they are currently undergoing painful reforms due to water management, the price of pearls has also surged for a while due to a sharp reduction in production and a supply shortage. As long as they can attract investment and fully implement automated clean water aquaculture, Lin's pearls will surely reach new heights.

Lin Langyi rode his beloved Kawasaki H2, straddling the superbike and speeding along, his mind going blank. Especially when he was tracing the Yingshan Lake along the riverbank, listening to the wind whistling past his ears like the rushing river, he could chase the wind and the moon without stopping.

She thought that, just as the grain of sand inside an oyster shell eventually becomes a round and dazzling pearl, the ending would be beautiful.

*

The problem suddenly erupted ten days later.

Pearl mussels in Yingshan Lake aquaculture ponds have developed symptoms of gill erosion, their bodies are damaged and turn pale purple, and their shells are unable to close properly after opening.

Lin Langyi recognized it as gill rot at a glance. The cross-infection rate is extremely fast. If it is not treated in time, pearl mussels in the basically connected waters will suffer. If the breeding grounds of surgical mussels or the pearl farming in the connected waters have experienced a large-scale disease, the quality of the mussels will be reduced. First, the color of the pearls will be greatly reduced, and second, there is a fear that the pathogens will spread again.

This is really strange. The disease control work has been proceeding in an orderly manner, so there is no reason for a sudden outbreak in a short period of time, unless pearl oysters that were already suffering from gill rot were deliberately released into clean waters.

Lin Langyi's first thought was the remaining hundred or so acres of aquaculture ponds in Yingshan Lake. The Lin family had wanted to acquire them together, but the other party insisted on a high price and refused to budge. However, given the current tight financial situation, the Lin family could not offer such an exorbitant price. Thus, the hundred or so acres of ponds and the Lin family remain completely separate.

Lin Xiangshuo had been there for several days. When he returned, he was furious and said, "I knew it was them. They kept making excuses and wouldn't let me go in to see. They put up warning tape... How could they hold them back? That pond was stinking. Every clam you picked up was sticky. They even threatened to call the police. I was the one who called the police for poisoning!"

"They just want to get rid of this hot potato before it gets shut down and rectified. They're forcing us to buy it from them, implying that if this happens once, it will happen again and again. Pshaw, dream on!"

He cursed and swore for half an hour, then turned around, wiped his sweat, and asked Lin Langyi, "Where's Dad?"

Lin Langyi checked the tetracycline hydrochloride injection status on the electronic monitoring system and replied, "In the village mediation room, didn't we promise to close the first batch of big orders in May? Now this batch of goods can't be shipped, which will damage our reputation. Dad went to explain the situation, but the villagers refused. Some demanded an explanation, some wanted a refund, and some were crying and making a scene."

“We can’t ship the goods, otherwise we won’t be able to do business anymore. We’ll have to shoulder this responsibility ourselves.” Lin Xiangshuo sighed deeply, glanced at her, and muttered, “If only we could complete a round of financing at this time.”

"Easier said than done."

After saying that, the brother and sister fell silent.

The Lin family will likely have to bear the losses themselves, along with the penalties for failing to deliver orders on time. Furthermore, the newly established company had intended to try to go public after three rounds of financing, but now it seems that half of the plan will fall through... It's truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly.

"Zhuzhu, come here, Mom has something to tell you." Meng Hui suddenly pushed the door open and came in from the outside, speaking in a very low voice, as if trying to avoid being heard.

"What's wrong?" Lin Langyi stood up.

Meng Hui led her to another empty office, locked the door, closed the window, and then pulled her to a seat near the back. Without saying a word, he carefully looked her up and down several times.

Lin Langyi got goosebumps from her mother's gaze, thinking something had happened to Pearl again. Then she heard her mother ask, "Did you and Cheng Yanjin keep in touch afterward?"

She was taken aback, then decisively shook her head: "No, what's wrong? Is he worried that the marriage alliance will drag down the businesses of both families?"

Meng Hui shook her head, her brows slightly furrowed: "Their family thinks highly of you and wants things to work out."

Lin Langyi was stunned for a moment, then immediately retorted, "Cheng Yanjin will not agree."

"He agreed."

Lin Langyi was stunned, as if struck by lightning. She was speechless for a few seconds, unable to even speak coherently: "He... how could he agree? Is he mistaken?"

"From what Cheng Yangkang said, it's because his son likes him that he brought it up." Meng Hui's brows remained furrowed. "But I see you're always at the company or with clients, you don't have time to date anyone. Mom wants to ask you, what are you thinking?"

Lin Langyi was about to blurt out, "I don't like him," but she forced herself to stop and said only tactfully, "What thoughts could I possibly have? We've only met once."

Meng Hui nodded, hesitated for two seconds, and then said, "Cheng Yangkang said that the old man cares about this precious grandson and wants him to settle down and start a family as soon as possible. Otherwise, he wouldn't feel comfortable giving such a large fortune to him like this..."

"They say that after the two families become related by marriage, they can discuss how to create better resources and conditions for the younger generation, including business, scale, and funding."

Lin Langyi leaned back in her chair, her right hand unconsciously gripping a pen and scribbling aimlessly on a piece of white paper.

She was lost in thought, and the only sound in the room was the soft scratching of the pen tip on the paper.

"Mom, is this what the Cheng family just told you?"

Meng Hui shook her head, looking troubled: "I told you a week ago that I discussed it with your father and we felt it was unnecessary, so I didn't tell you."

Lin Langyi instinctively wanted to ask, "Then why are you telling me now? Is it because of the accident at Yingshan Lake?"

The pen tip paused on the paper, creating a dented ink dot.

She spoke again, but asked another question: "Mom, we agreed before that if this company can also go public successfully, then my brother and I will each have two of the four companies... You haven't changed your mind, have you?"

Meng Hui nodded immediately: "Of course."

"Your brother agrees too?"

“He also knows about the Cheng family’s affairs, and he agrees.”

Lin Langyi felt a sudden surge of absurd humor. No wonder Lin Xiangshuo had looked at her and said earlier that it would be great if they could get funding right now... It turned out that she was the last to know about her marriage.

Meng Hui said in a low voice, "However, the family is thinking: 'The previous three companies were in G City and Y City. Your future sister-in-law's family is closer to G City, so those two will be given to him, and the ones in Y City and Yingshan Lake will be yours.'"

That means that in the end, this half-dead mess will be hers to deal with, whether it's good or bad, so whatever she does for Ying Shan Lake is entirely up to her.

“Zhuzhu, your parents don’t mean to be biased. You see, Yingshan Lake has taken the whole family’s effort. All four of us have stayed here for this land. We’ve been going to G City and Y City less often. We’ve all worked together.”

“I know.” Lin Langyi put down her pen, shifted her posture, and tried to make her tone more relaxed. “Compared to other families, the hen that lays the eggs—the company and stocks—goes to the son, while the eggs—fixed assets and cash—go to the daughter… I am very content.”

Although she knew perfectly well that the two companies in G City were twice the size of those in Y City, not to mention their established customer base and superior geographical location and other resources.

But who says that just because she says nice things, she really doesn't compete or fight and just lets things take their course?

Now that things have come to this point, she has also shaken off the meager remorse she felt for her previous underhanded actions and for taking control of the two companies early on.

What's rightfully hers will be hers, and even if they don't intend to give it to her, she'll take it anyway.

Meng Hui breathed a sigh of relief, and the worry on her face dissipated considerably. She leaned forward and asked, "Then... when can our two families have a meal together again? Mom will listen to whatever you say."

"No rush, I need to think about this some more." Lin Langyi's face was expressionless as she said, "I'll arrange to meet with Cheng Yanjin first."

In the business world, everyone is shrewd, and she always felt that there was some hidden reason why Old Master Cheng was suddenly urging Cheng Yanjin to get married at this juncture.

So what was Cheng Yanjin thinking?

She looked down and fiddled with her phone, searching through the list for a long time before realizing that Cheng Yanjin was still blocked by her.

Lin Langyi released the person and sent a message: "[Would it be convenient for us to meet?]"