It turned out that just yesterday, Old Lin received news from the four major grain merchants.
At that time, Mr. Lin was busy in his study.
Although he has retired, he still maintains the habit of reading books and newspapers, studying documents, and reviewing internal materials every day to stay informed about major events at home and abroad.
At this moment, Secretary Wang, carrying a cup of tea, walked up to Old Master Lin.
After gently setting down his teacup, he reminded him, "Mr. Lin, it's time for you to rest!"
"Oh, okay, right away!" Old Lin replied, his eyes still fixed on the document.
He continued to watch, making marks and writing down his opinions with colored pencils.
Secretary Wang was already used to Mr. Lin's practice of only promising but not doing.
He also had a clever way of dealing with this.
He walked up to Old Lin, picked up a book, and gently covered the document with it.
Old Lin was taken aback. "You little rascal, you're pulling this trick on me again!"
Secretary Wang smiled and said, "I have no choice, you forced me to do this. If I don't take good care of you, I'll be punished. Please consider it an act of understanding, okay?"
"All right."
As he spoke, from a distance, Old Lin casually tossed a pencil into the pencil holder on the table, like a javelin. The pencil landed at an angle in the holder, landing steadily.
Secretary Wang had seen Lin Lao's trick many times and was very envious.
He had wanted to learn it for a long time and had even practiced in private, but unfortunately, he could never get it right.
As Old Lin walked out of the room, he did chest-expanding exercises while turning his neck.
Suddenly, he thought of Chen Dong and asked Secretary Wang, "How is things going with Xiao Chen?"
Secretary Wang: "I spoke to him on the phone a few days ago, and he said he was with his girlfriend."
Old Lin asked in surprise, "Oh?"
Secretary Wang: "His girlfriend hasn't been feeling particularly well lately because of the kidnapping incident."
Old Lin's expression was grave. "No wonder he's been holed up in Hong Kong all this time. How is the young lady doing now? Is she feeling any better?"
"He said he's much better, at least much better than when he first came back. After all, the medical standards in Hong Kong are quite high."
"Well, that's good. If that doesn't work, we can suggest he bring the girl back. Our traditional Chinese medicine is quite good; it can help with many ailments that Western medicine can't handle!" Old Lin said after thinking for a moment.
Secretary Wang adjusted his glasses. "Okay, I've got it. I'll ask him about it later."
Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was the government worker who often came to deliver documents to them.
Secretary Wang stepped forward and took the documents from the other party.
"Thank you, Comrade Jiang. Would you like to come in and have some water?"
"No need, thank you! I'm leaving now, goodbye!"
With that, the other person turned and left.
Secretary Wang came to Old Master Lin's side with a stack of documents.
"Mr. Lin, how about I read the document to you, so your eyes can rest a bit!"
Old Lin nodded in agreement with Secretary Wang's suggestion.
So, Secretary Wang began to read it aloud.
"This is news from the Ministry of Commerce. Recently, the four major grain traders have acted in unison and collectively raised prices. Currently, in the international market, all foreign grain distributors that my country has contacted have raised the prices of wheat exported to China. Moreover, the international wheat futures market has also been turbulent these past few days, rising from $458 per ton to $776 per ton, an increase of nearly 100%. In particular, yesterday's price surge continued."
As he read on, Secretary Wang's voice rose slightly, "We suspect that behind this grain price surge, they are colluding to manipulate grain market prices."
Old Lin frowned. "That young Chen talked about food security before, and it's come true. I wonder what their purpose is..."
After thinking for a moment, he held out his hand to Secretary Wang, "Let me take a look."
Secretary Wang knew the matter was of great importance, so he stopped talking about health theories and handed over the documents.
Old Lin returned to his room, put on his glasses, and began to read attentively.
The report wasn't very detailed at the beginning, but it was still quite illustrative.
"Is there a document that says the Freemasons are behind the four major grain merchants?" Old Lin suddenly asked.
"Yes, it's a document from four days ago. Should I find it?" Secretary Wang asked after thinking for a moment.
"No need, just knowing that such a thing exists is enough."
After a moment of contemplation, Old Lin said, "It seems there's no doubt about the relationship between the four major grain merchants and the Freemasons! Clearly, this is a counterattack by the Freemasons. First, they used the four major grain merchants to complete their plan, and then they're using that power to put pressure on us."
Sure enough, when Mr. Lin turned to the next page of the document, he saw a line that read, "According to information we obtained through special channels, the Freemasons have requested that we cease protecting Chen Dong. Otherwise, it will be detrimental to our cooperation with relevant grain companies."
Just then, footsteps sounded outside.
Secretary Wang went out to see what was happening, and several elderly men who had once held similarly high positions of power arrived together.
Behind them followed the current senior leaders.
"Old Lin, we've come to see you again!" said the elderly man at the head of the group.
"Old Lü, you're here too. Little Wang, pour some tea for everyone!" Old Lin instructed.
"No need, I'm not thirsty. Let's get down to business first," said the old man, referred to as Lao Lü.
Secretary Wang simply nodded to Lao Lü and the others before going off to do his work.
Upon seeing them arrive, Old Lin knew their purpose. "Don't rush, catch your breath, and we'll have a good chat in the conference room later."
"Of course, the situation is urgent,"
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