"Master Fuli... are you scared?"
Seated in the boss chair, Lin Ying suddenly looked at Master Fuli and asked.
Master Fuli, who was looking at the smooth tabletop and had a slight urge to jump up and test its slickness, turned to glance at Lin Ying, who was speaking to him.
Master Fuli thought for a moment and said, "I, Ansheng, don't speak in grand terms, but I always firmly believe that I am a classical and simple fox."
"Who is good to me, who is not, I, Ansheng, have my judgment."
"The rites of Confucius and Mencius are protocols, and the physics of Galileo and Newton are also principles."
Master Fuli, with a face full of certainty, patted Lin Ying's hand on the chair's armrest.
Ansheng does not understand the past contributions and bloodshed the elders of the Lin Clan have done for the clan.
But since colluding with the Longevity Club, they violated the Xia Country's laws, becoming traitors. Similarly, they defied the iron laws issued by Grandmaster Lin, rendering their contributions null.
Having eaten the Lin Family's meals and overturned their pot, past grudges are written off only due to blood relations.
Not to mention the financial turmoil they've caused, damaging the interests of all Lin Group members, and now the matter of coming to pressure Lin Ying.
"Pff... hahaha."
Lin Zhe, sitting on the side, burst into a fit of joyful laughter upon hearing this, as if recalling something amusing that left him in stitches.
Lin Ying glanced at him, noticing the bluish-green veins on his neck, knowing that Grandmaster Lin was now controlling the body.
"Phew..." Lin Ying pondered for a moment, uttering no further words, only letting out a light sigh.
Perhaps...
Everything Grandmaster Lin said was right.
She is no longer solely responsible for finance; she is to become the head of the Lin Clan in Xia Country. As the head of the family, the leader needs to do more than speculate on the clan's thoughts, exhausting her spirit and energy, making herself increasingly depressed.
People are only human, not gods, and cannot handle everything comprehensively.
To weigh and balance.
A scale.
She should grasp that scale, not sway with the tilts of its ends.
Lin Ying closed her eyes to rest, offering no further words.
...
As time passed, the hall on the first basement floor gradually became lively and filled with noise.
Ansheng sat on Lin Ying's lap, showing a bored face while leaning on the table in front of him, nostalgically missing the times he could relive the freedom of being a little fox, able to relieve himself anywhere and enjoy massages from various older sisters.
"What's this?"
Lin Wu, with a scarred cheek, was wheeled into the hall by a private butler and seated next to Lin Ying. Lin Wu, with a face full of curiosity, looked at the Ansheng in Lin Ying's lap and asked, "Who's your mom?"
"My mom? My mom ran off long ago..." Ansheng looked at the fierce-looking old man next to him and replied casually.
Lin Wu: "......"
Your mom ran off, but she should still have a name, right?
How did someone without a name come to our Lin family?
"Pff..." Someone in the hall couldn't suppress a laugh, letting it leak out, instantly plunging the entire hall into silence. The members of the Lin Clan's management team immediately lowered their eyes, but the corners of their eyes secretly observed.
Wearing a hat indoors, especially as a boy, is considered very disrespectful behavior.
And being prematurely gray, sitting on Lin Ying's lap, made him all the more conspicuous.
However, since he was sitting on Lin Ying's lap, everyone tacitly ignored him and refrained from discussing it.
"Tsk..."
Although Master Fuli spoke the truth, these words landing in Lin Wu's ears made him feel as if he'd touched a porcupine, getting a hand full of quills.
"What kind of prickly little porcupine did you pick up that's so prickly?" Lin Wu, full of curiosity, asked Lin Ying with an amazed expression.
"He's... my lifesaver." Lin Ying raised her hand to hug Ansheng's waist, smiled at Lin Wu, and said, "After tonight's banquet, he will be the Lin Clan mascot..."
"...Mascot? Can't understand that. Why not just say you've adopted a son?" Lin Wu shook his head, finding it hard to comprehend what Lin Ying was saying.
Ansheng looked at Lin Ying.
Lin Ying's gaze shifted as she conversed with Lin Wu, as if not noticing Master Fuli's gaze.
With the entrance of the Lin Clan's senior members, the butlers gathered in one place, setting up a 170-inch large TV in a suitable position, connecting it to the internet and a projection device.
Once everything was ready, Lin Bingyun returned to Lin Ying's side, whispered something, and handed over an old mobile phone.
Lin Ying picked up the phone and made a long-distance video call.
At this moment, the hall was silent, with only the "beep beep" sound from the speakers breaking the silence.
"Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone..."
On the TV screen, an elderly figure appeared, leaning on a cane. With a beaming face, he looked around the hall and began with a greeting.
"Grandmaster, happy mid-autumn." The crowd in the hall rose, including Lin Wu, who was assisted in standing despite being in a wheelchair, and responded.
"Alright, alright..." With a beaming face, Grandmaster Lin waved his hand, signaling everyone to dismiss the formalities.
However, his polite words weren't believed by the senior members of the Lin Clan present in the hall.
Grandmaster Lin was never known to be an easy person to talk to.
"As always, let's eat and chat casually. Keep the atmosphere light!"
Across the ocean, Grandmaster Lin in the video picked up a savory-sweet ceremonial cake from the table, took a bite, chewed twice, swallowed, and sipped some tea before saying:
"Before discussing next year's budget and allocations, I have an announcement to make here."
Grandmaster Lin said sternly:
"The current Lin Clan leader of Xia Country, Lin Yi, and the next successor, Lin Mo'an, have both unexpectedly passed away. I now emphasize again that under no circumstances should the Lin Clan management travel together on the same vehicle, even for family trips."
"Criticism must be directed at the management led by Lin Ying and the elders of the Lin Clan."
"Yes..." Lin Ying and the clan elders responded, without refuting what the grandmaster said.
The Lin Group has regulations that middle and senior management must not travel in the same vehicle, and the core senior management is prohibited from using private planes, with helicopters being strictly forbidden.
The battleground for business warfare is not necessarily the stock market or capital clashes; physical evaporation can be cheaper than the confrontation in the stock market and capital exchange...
With a knife, a screw, an accident, a few million US dollars in cost can completely eradicate a millionaire worth billions, dozens of billions, or even hundreds of billions.
"The criticism has been said, now, according to the contribution system and the recommendation system."
"The successor to the Xia Country Lin Clan leader is Lin Yi's grandson, Lin Ying." Grandmaster Lin stated indifferently: "Lin Ying has made significant contributions in market expansion."
"She has accumulated official connections in Xia Dong and neighboring provinces for the Lin Clan of Xia Country. The revenue of a single department can account for eighty percent of the group's income, a remarkable achievement."
The investment department Lin Ying controls connects to the overseas Lin treasury, and in terms of funds, it's almost a torrent.
It is clear to all that Lin Ying's rise has always been in preparation, with Grandmaster Lin's favoritism, the previous clan leader granting power, Lin Ying's own investment strategies, and her skilled manipulation of financial risks ensuring annual revenue always exceeded losses.
There may be losses of hundreds of thousands or millions on one side, but the other side, with the company's IPO selling stocks, could make billions in gains.
If risks cannot be hedged, Lin Ying may utilize her connections to forge supply chains and cooperate with university research institutes to nip risks in the bud.
Prevent the research project processes from incurring losses.
Lin Ying's investments are thorough and forward-thinking; she maintains a good reputation, focusing on making money instead of manipulating human sentiment or posturing.
"Do you all acknowledge Lin Ying's achievements?" Grandmaster Lin, after announcing the successor, quietly awaited the management's discussion, leisurely eating some food.
No one denies Lin Ying's achievements, even if there are slight grievances, the sight of money quells them.
After all… eighty percent!
Even the underpants are essentially funded by Lin Ying; without the shareholder meeting dividends, life would not be so satisfactory.
"...Grandmaster, I have objections."
In the silence, the eldest of the clan stood up, glanced at Lin Huasi, and with his eyes on the big television, began speaking what he had prepared earlier:
"Lin Ying's succession as clan leader is beyond reproach in terms of her qualifications and contributions. I agree that Minister Lin Ying should succeed as chairman and clan leader."
"But I have concerns…" Lin Zhi Yuan's gaze turned to Lin Ying as he said, "As far as I know, Minister Lin Ying currently struggles with severe psychological issues, alongside isolation."
"Severe psychological issues, isolation, and all her relatives have very recently passed away…"
"How is this any different from an outlaw?" Lin Zhi Yuan continued, "Thus, I agree with Minister Lin Ying becoming chairman and clan leader, but beforehand, for the sake of the Lin Clan and the Group's reputation."
"I earnestly request the grandmaster to form a medical team to monitor Minister Lin's health, and to establish a deputy clan leader elected by the entire Lin management, so that in any emergency with Minister Lin…."
Lin Zhi Yuan voiced the reason behind the challenge.
"........"
Lin Ying's high heels clicked on the ground, slowly turning from facing the screen to facing the long table.
She glanced at Lin Zhi Yuan, set down the fox lord from her arms, drew the Glock from her leg, stood up from the chair, opened the safety, loaded the gun, and aimed at Lin Zhi Yuan before all Lin management personnel.
Lin Zhi Yuan froze.
"Bang——"
Lin Ying pulled the trigger directly, firing a shot at Lin Zhi Yuan's chest, causing everyone present to blink in disbelief and look at Lin Ying with astonishment.
Lin Zhi Yuan's pupils contracted rapidly, his body stumbled, collapsing to the ground, with red blood flowing out, staining his white shirt red.
"He said he has no objections."
Lin Ying glanced at the television screen, addressing Grandmaster Lin instead of Lin Zhi Yuan, stating his opinion.
"Oh? Really? It doesn't seem like it..."
On the television screen, Grandmaster Lin, upon seeing the situation, gradually revealed a smile, casually saying:
"Look, he's alive again!"
"Since you chose the Longevity Club, I hereby welcome you all to the feudal landlord era governed by the Longevity Club..."
"You all likely prefer the election system rather than me controlling everything here…" Grandmaster Lin's lips curled into a strange smile.
The members of the Lin Clan present, knowledgeable or unaware, instinctively reacted.
They could no longer be unaware; the announcement of the clan leader's successor is a sham.
Grandmaster Lin and Lin Ying orchestrated this setup, deceiving all members of the Lin Clan into Lin Manor for cleansing.
"Hohoho…"
When everyone's hearts were pounding, uncertain of what would happen next, the body of Lin Zhi Yuan, initially shot and lying on the ground, began twitching.
White short fur started spreading from the gunshot wound on his chest, his sixty-year-old visage rapidly reversed to youthful, to forty, thirty, twenty... until he became a white coyote.
"Howl——"
Lin Zhi Yuan, on all fours, glanced at the screen and then at Lin Ying with the gun in hand, his expression gradually becoming ferocious, and his claws gripped tightly on the marble floor before rushing forward to bite.
"Wow! You dare to fight back!"
Seeing the coyote's murderous counterattack, the fox lord grabbed the boss chair Lin Ying just sat on, raised it high, and smashed it down on the white coyote's head.
"Boom——"
The metal frame of the boss chair twisted and deformed as it struck the coyote's head, shattering into pieces flying all over the place.
The fox lord slapped his palm down on the solid-wood long table, causing the nearly four-ton twenty-meter-long table to stand upright in the hall, crashing into the ceiling with explosive booms, wood chips, and dust flying everywhere.
"Today!"
"Master, I'm here to collect you all!"