Old Lin took a sip of tea and continued, "Actually, no matter who you are dealing with, you must first appear harmless so that they can easily accept you. Your peaceful personality has both advantages and disadvantages."
Lin Zichang understood a little and said, "That's why you wanted me to enter the business world instead of joining the military or politics."
"That's right. Of all the younger generation, you are the one I trust the most. Why? Because in my view, our country will be in a state of peace for a long period of time, and there will be no major conflicts with neighboring countries. As such, our country needs a relatively peaceful and kind person to lead it and avoid unnecessary conflicts."
"Of course, as the head of the family, you will also face attacks from all sides," Elder Lin said with a hint of helplessness.
“I understand. Since I was born into the Lin family, I must shoulder the responsibilities I should bear.”
"That's good!" Old Lin looked at Lin Zichang, his eyes filled with both relief and tenderness.
It turns out that in Elder Lin's eyes, Lin Zichang would be the candidate for the head of the family.
"As for the many darker aspects, you can learn about them, but don't get involved personally. At least, don't get involved in them in recent years."
"Why, Grandpa?" Lin Zichang asked.
He thought his grandfather was just talking to him about Chen Dong, but he didn't expect the conversation to go so deep.
"The key lies in cultivating one's character. The ancients said that in youth, one should be wary of fighting, and that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen. If you are exposed to too much darkness, it will be detrimental to your character. You may even need to control the ruthless behavior of your subordinates."
"This will put you in the business world, and doing business requires harmony to make money."
"The business world is like a battlefield, but it's not a battlefield after all. Too much hostility could lead to a bloodbath in the business world and a serious crisis in the national economy, especially affecting ordinary people. That's not what I want to see," Old Master Lin said solemnly to Lin Zichang.
It was only then that Lin Zichang truly understood what his grandfather meant.
His actions were both to protect his family and to protect his country.
In this respect, he was truly farsighted.
After finishing speaking, Old Lin let out a long sigh and remained silent for a long time.
He gave Lin Zicheng time to think quietly.
For a moment, the room fell silent, with only faint breathing sounds.
Lin Zichang then understood his grandfather's intention in having him get close to Chen Dong.
He tentatively asked, "Do you mean I should get to know Chen Dong better, learn from his strengths, and at the same time try my best to win him over so that he can contribute more to the country?"
Seeing that his grandson understood his meaning, Old Lin nodded in satisfaction.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want you to do. The most important thing is to guide his talents in a direction that benefits the country. You have to understand that our country needs talents in all fields, and Chen Dong is undoubtedly one of the greatest talents. Although he may seem to be doing things haphazardly and spreading his ideas everywhere, in reality, he has maximized the use of effective resources."
“I understand. Just like letting Chen Dong get involved in the subway project, Grandpa, what you mean is that we let him gain a lot of benefits, but he will bring more things, and all of these are beneficial to the country’s development.”
"That's right, but there's also a problem you must remember: things are developing, the world is changing, and people can't stay the same. For example, your thoughts and actions can't stay the same, my thoughts and actions can't stay the same, and Chen Dong will certainly change as well."
"You yourself also need to constantly reflect on yourself, and see what stage the country's development has reached and what kind of support it needs. At the same time, you also need to see whether Chen Dong is sticking to his original aspirations or whether his mentality has changed. If he has changed his original intentions and no longer puts the interests of the country first, then you need to separate from him and even strike at him in some ways."
Lin Zichang nodded and said, "I understand."
"Alright, you can go now. Let me rest for a while..." Old Lin leaned back in his chair, looking tired, and closed his eyes.
Lin Zichang quietly walked out and closed the door.
Old Lin let out a long sigh of relief inside the room.
In fact, most of what he said to Lin Zichang was true, but there was one thing he didn't tell the truth about. That was that, compared to his grandson, Old Master Lin believed more in Chen Dong's love for the country.
For no other reason than that Chen Dong, despite owning such a large industry, is still investing so much in the country, solely to improve the country's technological level and management capabilities.
While her grandson is intelligent and, through her continuous education, genuinely loves the country, his true abilities remain to be seen. Furthermore, his thinking is still developing, and if negatively influenced by external factors, he might become disillusioned with the nation, potentially leading to harm.
In this country, and throughout most of his life, Lin Lao had seen too many talented young people go astray, their vision narrow, and they lost faith in the country. Some even colluded with outsiders to harm the nation.
What Mr. Lin saw most often was that many people set up offshore companies in foreign countries and Hong Kong, and then invested in China under the name of foreign investors, completely disregarding the people living on this land, ignoring their suffering, and only caring about filling their own pockets.
Therefore, many people are disappointed with Mr. Lin, but there is not much he can do, since he has now retired to the second line, and his original position was not in charge of this aspect.
Old Lin knew, of course, that his worries might seem unnecessary to many. It was perfectly normal for many things from abroad to come in; rather than letting foreigners earn money from his country, it was better to let his own children earn it.
Old Lin, of course, scoffed at this idea. If these people could bring benefits to the country, he would naturally say nothing, but many of them were simply seeking financial gain.
Many people think that they have worked hard all their lives, being honest and upright, but their descendants have not benefited much. So they want to leave something for their descendants.
Their thinking is certainly problematic. However, Elder Lin has no way to directly refute it yet. Because it involves matters of interest, a simple rebuttal is no longer effective.
After all, cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents.
If I cut off their source of income, I risk putting myself and the Lin family, this large clan, in a precarious situation.
Although there are still many old friends who, like me, hold fast to their original ideals, times have changed.
Most people nowadays are focused on money, valuing it more than many other things.
......
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