Lin Qiaoxia kept her head low, not daring to look at Mu Jinyu. In a low voice she said, "I'm sorry, it was because I'm too useless that I made you come all this way..."
With courage mustered, Lin Qiaoxia finally raised her head to look at Mu Jinyu and said, "Young Master Mu, I feel that I am really not up to the job of being the general manager of the branch office. You should still look for..."
"No, I can't trust anyone else with this. You have to do it," Mu Jinyu flatly refused.
"I..." Although Lin Qiaoxia was moved by Mu Jinyu's trust, she felt even more guilty. After all, she felt that she really did not have the ability to be of help to Mu Jinyu and was unworthy of his trust.
"Don't overthink it," Mu Jinyu softly advised. "Nobody is perfect at anything from the start. Just like Xiyan and the others, who isn't someone who has failed numerous times before becoming capable of handling things on their own? Don't be lost in wild and fanciful thoughts. You do have the capabilities; you are just too timid..."
After being comforted by Mu Jinyu, Lin Qiaoxia's anxiety lessened, although she still felt that she was not suited for the position of general manager of the branch office. But, not wanting to disappoint Mu Jinyu, she gritted her teeth and resolved to continue striving and work harder.
She absolutely must not fail to live up to Mu Jinyu's trust.
...
Lin Family Villa.
In the hall.
Elder Lin, who had recently recovered from a serious illness and experienced a brush with death, felt he could no longer let his underachieving descendants run amok, for if he truly were to leave one day, the Lin Family would also truly fall apart.
Therefore, today he specially summoned his descendants to hold a banquet to not only wish for his health but also to carve out a new path for the Lin Family.
"Come, let's wish Grandpa good health, and may all be well with him, and may all evil spirits stay away!"
A younger member of the Lin Family stood up, lifted his glass, and called out to Elder Lin.
Subsequently, the rest of the younger members also stood up and raised their glasses to toast to Elder Lin.
Lin Qingxue, of course, was no exception.
With an expressionless face, she stood up and joined in the toast, echoing cheerful words, then took a sip of her drink. After everyone sat down, she followed suit.
"Ha ha, very good... very good... everyone is great..."
Elder Lin chuckled heartily, nodding at everyone. His gaze lingered a while longer on the young man who first stood up to wish him well, then slowly shifted to the others.
Lastly, his eyes stayed on Lin Qingxue for an extra second, his expression slightly complicated, but it soon returned to normal, and he looked away from Lin Qingxue.
Once everyone had taken their seats, Elder Lin then spoke in a booming voice, "The reason I have held this feast today, firstly, is to celebrate my natural recovery. Secondly, I have been thinking about the Lin Family's state of being without a leader during my time of distress. I find this very problematic; we must urgently devise a new plan for the Lin Family."
Elder Lin, saying thus, turned his gaze toward the young man, and said, "And to decide on the next Head of the Lin Family."
Boom!
As soon as Elder Lin's words were spoken, everyone at the banquet table became excited.
It was as if cold water had been poured into a pot of hot oil, causing the calm oil to froth and boil.
Lin Qingxue however, wasn't as excited and instead looked a bit despondent.
From Grandpa's words, she hadn't caught much else, but his mention of his natural recovery felt like needles piercing her heart, deeply wounding her once more.
Yes, during this time, under the brainwashing of the Lin Family members, Grandpa no longer believed that his recovery was due to her traveling thousands of miles, through extraordinary difficulties from the Miao Zombie Hundred Thousand Great Mountains to retrieve the Spring of Life, and the massage techniques taught by Mu Jinyu, which had cured him.
He simply believed that his recovery was due to his own efforts and due to the Lin Family members' prayers...
In the end, he wouldn't even let her massage him anymore, thinking it was useless, feeling that she was just making a show of an effort to claim all the credit for herself...
Lin Qingxue didn't really mind, after all, this was her Grandpa and it was understandable for him to be confused and deceived by the others when old.
But she didn't feel it was unfair to herself; rather, she felt it was unfair to Mu Jinyu.
After all, Grandpa's recovery was all thanks to Mu Jinyu's contribution of a portion of the Spring of Life, yet they talked as if it had nothing to do with it...
I wonder if Grandpa's illness will come back now that he won't let me massage him anymore.
This was Lin Qingxue's biggest worry.
While Lin Qingxue's thoughts fluttered.
Elder Lin looked at the excited crowd, raised his hand to press downwards, signaling everyone to quiet down, not to get too worked up, and to listen to him continue.
The crowd gradually became quiet, then looked at Elder Lin with sparkling eyes, waiting for him to continue.
Elder Lin spoke in a resonant voice, "I've thought a lot during this time and feel that our Lin Group has been treading water in the Jinling business community for a long time. Our vast Lin Family has few who can shoulder great responsibilities. But what can we do now to help the Lin Family take a few more steps forward? Even if I'm old, how can I ensure that our descendants live without worries about food and clothing?"
No one spoke; some people even lowered their heads in shame, embarrassed by their previous debauchery.
Observing the expressions of the crowd, Elder Lin continued in a deep tone, "If it were before, we'd probably need a business genius to emerge from our Lin Family to change the current state of the Lin Group. But now..."
He raised his voice slightly, becoming a bit excited as he said, "But now, the Jinyu Group, which has the most promising development perspective and has developed the highly sought-after Beauty Pill, is about to open a branch in Jinling. If our Lin Group can obtain a collaboration with them, then... our Lin Group will soar to the heavens!"
After pausing, Elder Lin looked at the Lin Family's younger generation, whose spirits were lifted, and smiled, "So, if anyone can secure a collaboration with the Jinyu Group, that person will be the next Family Head of the Lin Family, the upcoming chairman of the Lin Group!"
After his words fell, the crowd calmed down again in their excitement.
No one raised their hand to volunteer.
Seeing their reaction, Elder Lin felt puzzled and asked, "Hmm?! Doesn't anyone have anything to say?"
Lin Zhiping, the young man who had been the first to stand up and toast Elder Lin, showed a bitter smile upon hearing this and said, "Grandpa, not to hide it from you, while you were recuperating, we all had contact with the Jinyu Group. But just like with other groups, we simply couldn't negotiate a collaboration with them, not to mention even getting to see their person in charge."
"Is that so?" Upon hearing this, Elder Lin frowned, also sensing that the matter wouldn't be easy.
Then, after thinking for a moment, even though he had already made his declaration, someone still needed to step forward and make a commitment. Otherwise, where would that leave him?
Therefore, Elder Lin looked at Lin Zhiping and declared in a loud voice, "I've already put my word out here, and I'll leave it at that. Whoever can secure a collaboration with the Jinyu Group, the chairmanship of the Lin Group will be his!"
Lin Zhiping was one of the more outstanding individuals among the younger generation of the Lin Family.
Elder Lin was quite fond of him.
He was also nurturing him as a potential successor.
So, after feeling that the task was daunting, he simply said that any cooperation would do, without specifying that it had to be one that would secure the future livelihood of the Lin Family. As long as Lin Zhiping dared to take on this task, even if it was to negotiate an ordinary collaboration, the next chairmanship of the Lin Group would be handed over to Lin Zhiping!
Feeling Elder Lin's gaze, Lin Zhiping gave a bitter smile and then looked away, not daring to make a promise.
Because he had just been to the Jinyu Group a few days earlier and hadn't even seen Lin Qiaoxia's face.
Elder Lin stared at Lin Zhiping for a few moments, noticing his silence, and immediately felt disappointed.
Then, he turned to look at the others.
But the others were just like Lin Zhiping. As Elder Lin's gaze turned their way, each of them lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
Elder Lin was even more disappointed.
Was there really no one in the vast Lin Family who could take responsibility?
Then, when Elder Lin's gaze inadvertently fell on Lin Qingxue, he instinctively looked away, considering that a young girl like her couldn't be of use, and he wouldn't even spare her an expectant look.
Except...
Lin Qingxue suddenly raised her hand and said in a firm voice,
"Grandpa, let me do it!"