Jiang Hong's business relied on what little power he held and his knack for socializing.
You wouldn't believe it, but he and Lin Tian had only met at other dinner parties. Calling them even nodding acquaintances would be a stretch.
But the moment he sat down at the table today, he was able to chat and laugh freely with Lin Tian. Even the discerning Lin Jin couldn't find a single thing to criticize.
This was all thanks to his skin, which was thicker than a fortress wall.
From the way Lin Tian introduced Mu Lin, he keenly sensed how highly the man thought of him. And it wasn't just because Mu Lin had saved his life.
It was genuine admiration.
'So if I can just get on Mu Lin's good side, it'll be the same as having a connection to Lin Tian!'
Even if that didn't work out, just spreading the word about having dinner with Lin Tian in private room 2020 at Huangshang Huang would be enough. In the future, no petty crook in the city would dare to look down on him.
'When Mu Lin arrives, I must suck up to him for all I'm worth!' Jiang Hong secretly swore.
Lin Tian was growing impatient. "Go out and see what's taking him," he said to Lin Jin. "If he isn't here yet, give him a call and tell him to hurry... No, just go get him yourself!"
Lin Jin acknowledged the order and went out without another word.
Jiang Hong was stunned. 'Who on earth is this kid? Important enough for Lin Jin to go and fetch him personally?'
The crucial part was Lin Jin. He was famous for his arrogant "young master" attitude, so for him to go fetch Mu Lin personally without the slightest complaint was simply incredible.
Lin Jin ran into Mu Lin as soon as he reached the lobby and hurried to greet him. "Mr. Mu!"
He was very polite. He wasn't a fool. Though he'd once considered Mu Lin completely useless, he'd since calmed down and thought things through. He had a long life ahead of him. The Lin Family would one day be his to lead, which meant he would be socializing with people from all walks of life much more often. This kind of etiquette was essential.
Mu Lin replied just as casually, "Young Master Lin! I was held up by a personal matter. I hope you can smooth things over for me with President Lin."
"Of course! Not a problem. My dad's not angry in the slightest."
Without further delay, they went upstairs and into private room 2020.
"Ah, young friend Mu Lin, you've finally arrived! I was starting to think you had no regard for this old man!"
Mu Lin replied, "How could that be? I would never disrespect President Lin. I was just truly caught up in a private matter and couldn't get away."
Lin Tian asked with concern, "Is everything taken care of? Was it serious? Do you need my help?" He was very worried that this dinner was interfering with Mu Lin's affairs; that would be a different matter entirely.
"It's nothing worth mentioning," Mu Lin said calmly. "Thank you for your concern, President Lin."
In truth, the matter was quite serious. Beating Gao Yi to a pulp in a hotel like Huangshang Huang... no matter how wretched Gao Yi was at the moment, he was certain to plot revenge later.
There would be endless trouble ahead.
But this was his own problem, and he didn't want Lin Tian to get entangled in it in any way.
"This is Mr. Jiang," said Lin Tian. "He's quite capable. You have that construction project, don't you? His people are in charge of the approvals and inspections."
Mu Lin turned his head to look at Jiang Hong, who was sitting beside Lin Jin.
He had a sleazy look and a plain appearance, without a hint of a calm or gentle temperament. His beady, rat-like eyes were filled with greed.
Mu Lin judged that Jiang Hong's status couldn't be very high; sitting at the same table as Lin Tian was a blessing it must have taken him eight lifetimes to accumulate.
And as for why Lin Tian would lower himself to host Jiang Hong, it was obviously for Mu Lin's sake. This was a favor, no matter how you looked at it.
Then, Mu Lin seemed to realize something else. "The project approvals and inspections, your people are in charge of all that, is that right?"
Seeing Mu Lin address him, Jiang Hong immediately piped up enthusiastically, "Yes! Throughout Anhua City, anyone who's anyone in this field has to call me 'Brother'."
Seeing how delighted he was to say it, Mu Lin decided to humor him. "Mr. Jiang's influence is truly impressive. You have my admiration!"
Jiang Hong was overjoyed to hear Mu Lin's praise. "Brother Mu, you're too kind. It's only because my associates are willing to give me some face. I'm just getting by on a few superficial connections."
"In that case, do you know Gao Yi?" Mu Lin asked suddenly.
When Jiang Hong heard Mu Lin mention Gao Yi, he took it for granted that Mu Lin was trying to find common ground with him.
"I'm the one who brought him into this business! I taught him all the rules of the game!"
"Oh," Mu Lin replied, his voice flat.
As the old saying goes: if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beams will be too. Gao Yi's way of doing things must have come from Jiang Hong.
If Gao Yi was capable of such monstrous deeds, then Jiang Hong was surely just as bad, if not worse.
Jiang Hong puffed out his chest and rattled on endlessly about his history with Gao Yi, inflating his own importance to the point where it sounded like he'd even taught the man how to wear diapers.
He had expected an eager response from Mu Lin, but the latter's reaction was colder than ice.
Jiang Hong furtively glanced at Mu Lin. Seeing his frigid expression, Jiang Hong's stomach dropped. 'This is bad. Gao Yi must have offended him.'
Jiang Hong's mouth was suddenly parched. He downed several gulps of liquor, but it brought no relief.
If Gao Yi had really done something unforgivable, he feared he might be the one to take the fall.
He'd thought today was his big break into high society, but if he made one wrong move, this day next year might be the anniversary of his death.
The Lin father and son sensed the subtle shift in the atmosphere, guessing there were details to the situation they weren't yet privy to.
They certainly weren't going to jump in and run interference for Jiang Hong. They simply kept eating, drinking, and making small talk, ensuring the mood at the table didn't completely die.
"Mu Lin, eat! A young man like you should eat more!" Lin Tian sounded like a doting old man caring for his nephew, with none of the imposing aura of a man who looked down upon the rest of Anhua.
'This is it, I'm screwed,' Jiang Hong thought. 'Were they just pretending they wanted to introduce me to Mu Lin? Was the real reason to call me to account for something Gao Yi did?'
He felt as though a guillotine was hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment.
'When is this dinner going to end!' he lamented. He desperately wanted to find Gao Yi, grab him by the neck, and demand to know how in the hell he had offended Mu Lin.
While they were drinking in the private room, Gao Yi was slowly coming to in another.
His men had bandaged his various wounds, and a box of painkillers sat nearby.
A few pills were missing from the box, so they must have already given him some.
But even so, a dull ache still throbbed through his entire body, making it impossible for him to move.
Gao Yi couldn't help but get angry just looking at this bunch of losers. 'How could so many of them not even be able to handle one Mu Lin?'
He tried to sit up abruptly, ready to start screaming at them, but the sudden movement tore at his wounds.
"ARGH..." Gao Yi immediately broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. 'Damn,' he thought, 'these painkillers are completely useless.'
His men rushed forward in concern, wanting to help him lie back down, but Gao Yi exploded in a rage. "You useless pieces of trash! Are you disappointed I'm not dead? You can't even do one simple thing right!"
Gao Yi's temper was even fouler than usual; his anger was completely uncontrollable. "Get fifty more men over here! Have them hide nearby and wait for my signal!"
He desperately wanted to grab these subordinates and beat them senseless, one by one.
'Li Group, is it? I told you, I'm not going to let you get away with this!'
He snatched his phone and began making a flurry of calls.
"Hello? This year's Fire Safety Demonstration Week... I want the focus to be the Li Group's project. Investigate them! I want you to tear them apart."
"The Li Group wants to renovate the docks? Stall them. Say they're not meeting environmental standards! *I'll* decide when they meet the standards!"
Gao Yi promised all sorts of rewards, but for now, they were all empty checks.
But once he managed to take down the Li Group, he and his buddies were bound to make a killing in the chaos of its collapse.
They'd pulled this kind of thing more than once, always on smaller factories, and his buddies had always made out like bandits.
Gao Yi felt certain he could succeed by repeating his old tricks. When he did, he would make Li Xue kneel at his feet in surrender.
Back in room 2020, Lin Tian was getting on in years and couldn't hold his liquor like he used to. He turned his glass upside down, indicating he wouldn't be drinking any more.
Lin Jin took over, drinking with Mu Lin and idly chatting about all sorts of gossip from around Anhua City.
Mu Lin felt a shift in Lin Jin's attitude toward him. He no longer seemed to be putting on a smile just to appease his father; it felt as if something was genuinely changing.
It probably had something to do with his previous actions. At the Lin Family's birthday banquet, Mu Lin's performance had thoroughly impressed Lin Jin. Though he didn't say it out loud, he had already begun to see Mu Lin as a truly capable person in his heart.
A man with great potential, at the very least.
With that thought, Mu Lin slowly clinked his glass against Lin Jin's.
Lin Tian glanced at the time. He remembered Mu Lin saying he had other matters to attend to and figured it wasn't right to take up any more of his time.
"Well now, look at the time," Lin Tian said. "Young friend Mu Lin, why don't we call it a night? Don't you still have matters to attend to?"