Chapter 86: The Wang Family Wants to Make Peace

Inside the Lin family estate, the old master Lin gave a wry smile and shook his head when he saw the old master Xie behaving so shamelessly, but he still did not respond to him. Instead, he turned back to the old masters Murong and the others and said, “Now that the tea has been served and the tea leaves have been given, do the three of you have any other business here?”

Hearing the old master Lin get to the point, the three old men exchanged glances. Then old master Murong spoke first. “Heh, old fox that you are, you really did know we did not come all this way just for tea. Very well, let me be frank. The three of us came to speak with you about the agency rights for Lin Feng’s company.”

When the old master Lin heard this, he was somewhat confused. Matters of profit were usually settled one family at a time, so why had Murong invited the other two together? He could not make sense of it at once, and so he did not answer immediately.

Old master Murong seemed to see the doubt in his heart and went on to explain. “Heh, don’t overthink it, old Lin. Old Long and old Xie were both invited by me. Didn’t you previously agree to cooperate with the Murong family? I had that girl Murong Xue look into the overseas markets, and I think Europe is promising. But the market there is too large for the Murong family alone to swallow, so I invited old master Long and old master Xie as well. The three of our families will take Europe together. I believe the others will not dare play any tricks.”

“Yes, old Murong has talked all morning and finally said something sensible!”

“That’s right, just as old Murong said. At least he still remembers us. Old Lin, you’ve gone too far. When there’s something good to eat, you don’t even know to share a piece with us.”

After hearing Murong’s words, the other two old masters nodded approvingly from the side.

This time it was the old master Lin who fell silent. He had been weighing the pros and cons of the matter. If the Murong family, the Xie family, the Long family, and the Lin family joined together, then the four great families of the capital would be assembled at last. With their combined strength, they would be more than capable of dealing with the issue of the foreign agency rights. Thinking this through, the old master Lin said gravely to the three men before him, “Our four families have never worked together before. I did not expect that because of the matter of my grandson’s company, we would end up sitting at the same table. I have considered what old Murong just said, and I am in favor of cooperation among our four families. The European market can be yours. As for how you divide the profits from that market among yourselves, the three of you may decide it privately; I will not take part. But let me make one thing clear. You may share the profits, but if you run into trouble, you must also lend a hand.”

“Rest assured, old Lin. When old Murong discussed this with us, he had already spoken to us very seriously about it. We agreed to these conditions before we decided to cooperate with him,” Long replied with a smile as soon as the old master Lin finished.

“So long as you understand, then it is settled,” the old master Lin said, finally smiling with relief.

Having obtained the old master Lin’s final answer, and after taking some of the cloud-and-mist tea from his hands, the three old men left the Lin family estate satisfied. They still had to continue to the Murong family to discuss the division of interests in the European market, so they took their leave first.

From the moment the three old masters visited the Lin family until they left, they carried things with them as they departed. In the capital, there were many who paid attention to such matters, and even Madam Lin could roughly guess the purpose of their visit. Naturally, the other families in the capital could also make a fair guess of it.

At present, the family most anxious in the capital was the Wang family. They had once joined forces with the Lin family, and by rights they should have been the most advantaged, but regrettably, because of that very alliance, they had instead grown farther and farther from the Lin family.

In the Wang family estate, the old master Wang was pacing back and forth in his study, troubled and restless. One of the younger generation was also in the room, watching his frustration. “Old master, if this goes on, it won’t do! Today, the other three great families in the capital have all already made contact with the Lin family. When they left, the three old masters were all smiling, and each was carrying something in his hands. It looks as though their trip bore rich fruit. I don’t know how their talks about the agency rights went, but they must already have discussed the specific terms of cooperation. Our Wang family commerce has good advantages in the Japanese and Korean markets, and we have our own market channels. If we can secure the agency rights for Japan and Korea, the strength of our family’s economy will at least double!”

The old master Wang said vexedly, “Everything you say I understand, but the Lin family still has not given any clear position. I don’t know what their attitude is now!”

After speaking, he took a cigarette from the box on the desk, put it to his lips, lit it, and smoked with deep frustration.

“Dad, how about this: you take the initiative and ask the old master Lin about it. From what I can see, among the families in the capital, those who manage to get anything good from the Lin family all go to their door to ask for it in person, just like old Murong, old Xie, and the others,” Wang Boyi suggested after seeing how troubled his father was.

“Boyi, I’ve thought of that too, but I’m worried that if I go there rashly and they refuse to receive me, then our Wang family will lose face terribly,” the old master Wang said with some hesitation. He still did not quite agree with Wang Boyi’s suggestion.

“Dad, if you’re worried that being turned away at the door would make things awkward if word gets out, then call first and test the Lin family’s intentions. See whether they have any interest in cooperating with us,” Wang Boyi said again when he saw that the old master Wang had not agreed to his previous suggestion.

This time, the old master Wang did not refuse at once. After thinking it over, he nodded in agreement. He picked up the phone in the study and called the Lin family directly. The Lin family’s butler answered. The old master Wang gave his name and requested to speak with the old master Lin. After the butler relayed the message, more than ten seconds passed before the old master Lin’s voice finally came through. “Family Head Wang, what made you think of calling me today? Is there something you need?”

The old master Lin was not very familiar with him, so his address was not as casual as it was with the other old masters.

“I say, old master Lin, our two families at least have had dealings before. There’s no need to be so formal right from the start, is there?” the old master Wang said, trying to sound familiar.

“Ah, that was all in the past. Let bygones be bygones. Family Head Wang, are you calling at this hour because of something important?” The old master Lin naturally understood what those dealings referred to, so he avoided the subject and did not want to bring it up. He also did not wish to grow any closer to the Wang family, and so his address remained unchanged as he continued speaking to the old master Wang in a businesslike tone.

Seeing that he had already lowered himself, yet the Lin family did not appreciate it, and because the matter involved the family’s future, the old master Wang could not get angry and hang up. So he stated his purpose directly: “Family Head Lin, then I’ll speak plainly. Our two families did cooperate once before. This time, your Lin family has a great cake, and our Wang family would like to have a slice as well. What do you think, old master Lin?”

Hearing the other man’s request, the old master Lin’s instinct was that he did not wish to offend the Wang family. Although the Wang family was only a second-tier family in the capital, even a second-tier family could inflict serious damage if it fought to the end. But when he thought of the conflict between Lin Feng and the Wang family, the old master Lin did not need to weigh matters for long before he knew he would stand with Lin Feng. So he could only say tactfully to the Wang family head, “Family Head Wang, it is not that the Lin family is unwilling to cooperate with you. It is only that, although the power to recruit partners for this project is in my hands, the final decision rests with Lin Feng. And that boy has conflicts with your Wang family, so...”

Hearing what the old master Lin said, though the words were unfinished and spoken with some tact, the old master Wang still understood the meaning behind them. The old master Lin was unwilling to offend Lin Feng, or else Lin Feng himself did not wish to cooperate with the Wang family at all. The old master Wang grew anxious and softened his tone over the phone. “Family Head Lin, the conflict between our Wang family and Lin Feng is not deep. It was just a matter among children, and we are willing to resolve it. Please see whether that child Lin Feng needs anything from our Wang family, and let him say it openly. Better to have one more ally than one more enemy.”

Hearing that the other man had already said so much, the old master Lin had no more words to offer. He simply told the Wang family man, “I will pass the message to Lin Feng. If Lin Feng is willing to make peace, he will call the Wang family again.” With that, amid the repeated thanks of the Wang family head, he hung up.

After seeing that the old master had finished speaking with the Lin family, Wang Boyi, who had been listening the entire time, still did not know the final result and hurriedly asked, “How was it? What did the Lin family say? Are they willing to cooperate with us?”

“Ah, I’m afraid it looks grim. It’s all because of the earlier attack on Lin Feng’s company. Though that matter has already passed, everyone in the capital knows Lin Feng only let it go because he feared retaliation would drag the Lin family into it. But however you put it, the Lin family is still his home. As for our Wang family, in that matter we were the ones who would have to bear all of Lin Feng’s fury. The old master Lin was probably thinking of Lin Feng’s feelings and did not dare agree to cooperate with our family. Ah, I was truly blinded by greed back then. How could I have been so impulsive as to be the first to move against Lin Feng’s company? Now all the bitter fruit must be borne by us!” the old master Wang said with disappointment and self-reproach.

“Ah, old master, this isn’t your fault either. Who could have imagined that Lin Feng would have such ability, that he could still rise up and counterattack even against the joint efforts of two great families? So we do not blame you for this. Every major decision a family makes is a gamble, with both profit and risk. If Lin Feng had not been able to hold on back then, the ones reaping the rewards now would be our Wang family,” Wang Boyi hurriedly comforted him when he saw the old master Lin in low spirits and somewhat self-reproachful.

“Yes, Boyi, you’re right. It seems I don’t see things as clearly as you do. Still, I am unwilling to be enemies with the Lin family. I only hope Lin Feng is willing to reconcile with us!” After thinking it over, the old master Wang felt that it made sense, and only then did he smile and say so.