Chapter 71: The Prime Minister Wishes to Meet

Lin Chuanming was the eldest son in the family and next in line to become the clan leader, so Old Master Lin paid close attention to his opinions. After listening quietly, the old man pondered for a while and found that his eldest made solid points. Because of Lin Feng’s return, the Lin family’s strength had indeed increased rapidly. Even though Lin Feng’s business had only just begun, his homecoming had directly propelled the Lin family to third place among the Four Great Clans, replacing the Murong family, who now stood at the bottom. Although these were only rumors from the outside world—and neither the Lin nor the Murong family had publicly acknowledged it—in truth, no amount of clarification could change this reality.

“Lin Feng, what do you think about this?” After some thought, Old Master Lin turned to seek Lin Feng’s opinion. Now Lin Feng’s status in the Lin family was on par with Chuanming’s, perhaps even higher. Old Master Lin could sometimes still be forceful with Chuanming, but he dared not do so with Lin Feng. Even though he had been jesting and playing with Lin Feng these past few days, he never crossed the line. Still, Lin Feng was a lazy sort, never keen on getting involved in family affairs.

When the old master asked for Lin Feng’s view, everyone understood how much say Lin Feng had in family matters, so all eyes turned to him, waiting for his response.

“Huh? Why am I involved again?” Lin Feng exclaimed in surprise at being called upon.

“Exactly! Grandfather, Lin Feng’s just a kid—what could he possibly know? Even if you gave him ages to think, he’d still come up empty. Say something wrong, and he’ll only hold you up,” Lin Chuanzi quickly chimed in to help Lin Feng out of his awkwardness.

“Hmph! I asked for Lin Feng’s opinion. Why are you interrupting?” Old Master Lin snapped at Chuanzi, displeased.

“I don’t really have much of an opinion. Whoever wants to come to the Lin family is welcome!” Lin Feng replied casually, not wanting his father to take the blame for him.

“Hmph! If you’d take things a bit more seriously, would it kill you? Just like your uncle said—you sit there forever and can’t squeeze out a word!” Old Master Lin was annoyed by Lin Feng’s perfunctory attitude but helpless to change him; such was his nature. In the end, the discussion about the marriage alliance wrapped up hastily. Whether it would succeed now depended on the arrangements of the Murong family.

Among the whole family, Lin Yu was the most disappointed. Murong Xue had a good reputation in Beijing’s social circles, and Lin Yu was infatuated with her. At first, he’d been delighted, but now, seeing the low chances of success, he felt let down.

After the matter of the marriage alliance was settled, Old Master Lin prepared to retire to his room with the old lady. Being the elder, he knew his presence made the younger generation less at ease, and he was open-minded enough to leave the scene to them at the right time.

Just as Old Master Lin was about to leave, Chuan Yan spoke up, “Father, please wait, there’s one more thing I need to discuss with you all.”

Hearing this, Old Master Lin turned back in surprise at Chuan Yan’s hesitant manner, intuitively grasping that he was asking whether to discuss this privately in the study. After a moment’s thought, seeing that only direct family were present, the old man decided there was no need for secrecy. “If there’s something to say, speak up! There are no outsiders here.”

Realizing the old man had understood him but insisted on discussing it in the living room, Chuan Yan dared not go against his wishes and began, “Father, when the Prime Minister’s secretary visited today, it wasn’t just to ask for wine. He wants me to bring Lin Feng and Ruoxi to the State Council tomorrow. There are some matters he wishes to discuss with the two of them.”

“What? The Prime Minister wants to see Lin Feng and Ruoxi? Was that all he said—no more details?” Old Master Lin sat back down, shocked.

“I asked the secretary for more information, but he didn’t know much himself. He was only passing along the Prime Minister’s request,” Chuan Yan replied honestly, knowing that this could be a serious matter, and dared not withhold anything.

Since returning to the family, Chuanzi had rarely voiced his opinions on family affairs—partly because he’d been away from Beijing for ten years and wasn’t clear on the current situation, and partly because he didn’t want to get involved too soon. But since this news concerned Lin Feng, he was the most anxious to speak. As soon as Chuan Yan finished, Chuanzi couldn’t help but ask, “Father, why would the Prime Minister take an interest in Lin Feng and Ruoxi?”

“I can’t figure it out either. Lin Feng’s achievements shouldn’t be enough to draw the attention of a national leader. Even if it’s about the operating system cooperation, the Prime Minister shouldn’t personally get involved,” Old Master Lin said, puzzled.

Since this matter concerned him directly, Lin Feng, for once, didn’t try to evade responsibility but seriously considered the possible interests at play. Meanwhile, Xia Ruoxi, seeing her name also mentioned, was equally perplexed and looked at Lin Feng, who was deep in thought.

With both Old Master Lin and Lin Feng pondering the situation, no one else dared make a sound for fear of disturbing them. Lin Feng thought for a long time, considering many possible reasons the Prime Minister might want to see him: perhaps the wine, perhaps the operating system. But neither seemed important enough to warrant a meeting with the Prime Minister himself—the level of reception was simply too high. Still, since he hadn’t done anything wrong, Lin Feng wasn’t too worried about the meeting. He would simply deal with whatever came his way.

When he’d finally sorted out his thoughts, he looked up to see the elders still worried about him, and Xia Ruoxi gazing at him anxiously. Lin Feng smiled calmly and reassured everyone, “There’s no need to be so concerned. At the very least, a meeting with the Prime Minister can’t be a bad thing. We’ll know what it’s about when we’re there. Besides, my second uncle will be with me, so there’ll be a family elder present. It really seems like he has something to discuss with me. Whatever it is, there’s no point in guessing now—just let things take their course.”

Old Master Lin thought over Lin Feng’s words and agreed that there was nothing else to be done but wait until tomorrow to find out the topic of discussion. Reflecting on his dealings with Lin Feng recently, he felt reassured—never once had he managed to get the upper hand with the boy. With that, the old master said nothing more, and he and the old lady retired for the night.

With the elders gone, everyone was left uneasy by the news that the Prime Minister wanted to see Lin Feng and the others, and lost interest in further conversation, each returning early to their rooms.

As soon as Lin Feng and Xia Ruoxi reached their room, Xia Ruoxi couldn’t hide her anxiety and asked, “Lin Feng, I still feel uneasy. Why do you think the Prime Minister suddenly wants to see us?”

“I’m not sure of the exact reason,” Lin Feng replied immediately, “but I can guess it might be about the new operating system, or perhaps the laboratory. Yet the lab is still under renovation this year and hasn’t started operating, so that’s unlikely. I think the operating system is the more probable reason.” He hadn’t mentioned the lab earlier in front of others, which was why he now explained in detail.

“Still, that doesn’t make sense. Even for normal government-business cooperation, it would be the Ministry of Commerce or some other department contacting us—there’s no need for the Prime Minister himself. I just have a bad feeling about tomorrow’s meeting,” Xia Ruoxi said worriedly. From the moment she’d heard the news, she’d been uneasy.

“Under normal procedures, you’re right. Especially after those experts from the national academy left unhappy last time, I’d given up hope for cooperation. Besides, after the holidays, our overseas distributors will be launching our products. If the government places large orders now, our production will really struggle—it’s already beyond our capacity,” Lin Feng said as he thought aloud.

“Exactly. I was just thinking the same thing. Our product’s only been on the market a short time, and we’re already struggling to meet domestic demand. The overseas market is still in the planning stages. If the government places a big order now, we’ll be in a dilemma: refusing would offend them, but accepting would stretch our capacity. It’s really conflicted!” Xia Ruoxi agreed with a sigh.

“That’s not my biggest worry,” Lin Feng said as he massaged his throbbing head. “What I fear most is that they’ll make some unreasonable demands tomorrow and we won’t be able to refuse. These power groups always compromise and trade interests for other gains, but our company isn’t lacking for funds or resources right now—there’s nothing we want to exchange. That’s what troubles me.”

Seeing Lin Feng so troubled, Xia Ruoxi couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. She stepped forward, gently massaging his head and said softly, “All this is just speculation on our part. Let’s not overthink it. We’ll know everything when we go with Second Uncle tomorrow.”

Feeling her gentle hands on his head, Lin Feng relaxed and couldn’t help but joke, “You’re right. I won’t think about it anymore! But I never knew you were this good at massages. Tell me honestly—did you practice on someone else before?”

With her cheeks flushed, Xia Ruoxi ignored his teasing and continued massaging him. In truth, this was the first time she’d ever given anyone a massage.