Extreme Almightiest Young Master Chapter 78

"Looks like that’s settled, then. I won’t press the matter," Lin Dongchen thought to himself, but he was actually finding it quite wasteful. Such culinary talent going to waste as a teacher—sigh, one day I must get Lin Feng to be the head chef. He’s a goose that lays golden eggs!"

"Sister-in-law, look at you now, taking care of the home and going shopping—how nice!" Liu Li interjected, with no thoughts of making money like Lin Dongchen.

In her eyes, no matter how well one cooked, it was just cooking. How could their destitute family have any ties with hers? She had actually thought that Lin Dongchen really wanted to help the Lin Family.

"After Brother Lin Feng gets back, I don’t plan to just sit around either," Zhang Lan said softly.

"What do you mean?" Liu Li was confused. The conglomerate had been sold, what else could you possibly do without staying put?

"I’m thinking of getting back into the workforce," Zhang Lan replied, glancing at her son with immense satisfaction. If it weren’t for her son’s encouragement, she could never have made such a decision.

"Mom and Dad, if Auntie were as outstanding at work as she used to be, imagine how great it would be for our family business," Lin Jie exclaimed upon hearing Zhang Lan wanted to work again, reminiscing about the strong woman she once knew. Such a person would be an asset to their own family business.

The family business had indeed reached a bottleneck. The old money-making methods that had once expanded the business were no longer effective, but Auntie was different. She could not only lend them a hand but also help the family. In her opinion, even giving Auntie shares and letting her be the chairwoman was a feasible option.

"Um... our company’s current situation isn’t that great either. If it were a good time, it would be no problem for Sister-in-law to come..." Lin Dongchen hesitated. However, he thought, there was no way he could let Zhang Lan join his company. It was her company originally. What if she came and took all the people away? How could his daughter carelessly say such things?

Children just don’t understand the dangers of human hearts. Now that their family has fallen into such a state, bringing them into the business would be like inviting wolves into the house.

"Yeah, Sister-in-law, you don’t know the situation. We’re even considering layoffs. I’m really sorry!" Liu Li chimed in, smoothing over her husband Lin Dongchen’s words, the couple showing a united front.

"Ha-ha, thank you. I hadn’t planned on going to that company anyway. I’m thinking of starting my own small company and building it up slowly," Zhang Lan wasn’t bothered.

Hearing Zhang Lan’s words, Lin Dongchen and his wife heaved a sigh of relief. As long as she didn’t join their business it was fine. If she started her own company, that would be even better—having no ties to their enterprise would put them completely at ease.

"Sister-in-law, do you have enough money to start a company? If not, we can lend you some. We can’t offer much, but we can manage a couple hundred thousand," Liu Li said, wondering inwardly. With the family in such a state, she still wants to go into business? What a joke, does she even have the capital?

If not, lending her a couple hundred thousand would suffice. That way, they could avoid people saying that they only benefitted from the Lin Family’s misfortune.

"Well... Brother, Sister-in-law, I really don’t have much money on hand right now either. This is all the help I can offer," Lin Dongchen added.

"Dad, how can you act like this? Remember what we had back then? Without Auntie’s family’s support, would we be where we are today? How can you be like this!" Lin Jie was furious when she saw her parents’ behavior and heard their words.

Hearing her parents say such things made her feel indignant. They had just given her a card in the morning with a seven-figure sum, and now they claimed they had no money. It was clear they didn’t want to help because they saw the current state of the Lin Family. How could her parents show no sense of past kindness? Thinking of this, Lin Jie angrily turned her head away.

"You children don’t understand anything. The family enterprise is indeed not doing well. Otherwise, wouldn’t we offer to help?" Lin Dongchen glared at his daughter, thinking, why does she always bring up the worst possible topic?

Hearing her father’s words, Lin Jie could no longer sit still. She stood up and walked over to Zhang Lan, biting her lip, uncertain of what to do. Finally, she respectfully said, "I’m sorry."

"Silly child, what does this have to do with you?" Zhang Lan patted Lin Jie’s head with a smile. Yet, her heart sighed at Lin Dongchen and his wife.

She understood the situation at a glance but, having weathered many storms, she wouldn’t act impulsively. Looking at Lin Jie, she felt more and more that this girl was quite something—smart, beautiful, and sensible. It was just her parents who had become increasingly ridiculous.

"Mom, you’re meant for big things—how can you start with so little money? It’s like Han Xin leading his troops; you need at least tens of millions to start," Lin Feng said, happy that his mother had finally decided to do something. As her son, he felt the need to support her. Considering all the hardships his parents had gone through for him over the years, there was no way he would let his mother start from a small company.

Moreover, hearing the previous conversation, his mother and father could laugh it off. If it were his own matter, he could also dismiss it like admiring the school beauty or watching a clown perform. But it was different when his parents were involved. Although he wouldn’t overreact, he still had to do something.

What, start with tens of millions?

Hearing Lin Feng’s words, Lin Dongchen, who had just finished speaking and was greedily enjoying his food, nearly spat out his meal. This was too hilarious—considering the Lin Family’s current state of decline, let alone tens of millions, I doubt they could even come up with a few million. You’re talking about tens of millions as if you’re a money printer.

Liu Li almost burst out laughing too. Tens of millions? If your family really had tens of millions, would you still be living in this dump? Driving such a broken-down car?

Lin Jie, seeing the look on her parents’ faces, found herself unable to stand their blatantly opportunistic expression. It frustrated her so much that she lowered her head, wishing she could just disappear into a crack in the ground. Sitting here now, she felt unbearably embarrassed.

"Well, sister-in-law, it’s fine if you think so. Starting small if you don’t have money isn’t such a bad idea," Lin Dongchen casually responded to Zhang Lan’s remarks, not taking Lin Feng seriously. He thought Lin Feng was just talking nonsense. Kids, what do they know about hardship? He used to be a spoiled rich kid who didn’t know how hard it is to earn money, and now he’s still blabbering nonsense.

"Yeah, small businesses have their advantages too, like less risk," Liu Li chimed in, glancing at Lin Feng with a hint of condescension, thinking to herself that children will be children.

"Mom, how much do you need?" Lin Feng, who really couldn’t stand his relatives constantly trying to embarrass him, ignored them and directly asked his mother.

"No need, we still have some money at home, and I used to have connections, so I can still take out a loan," Zhang Lan said, already content with her son’s understanding, but the sum of tens of millions was too much—how could her son possibly come up with it?

"You go for a walk with Lin Jie after you finish eating. The environment here is pretty good. I’ll have a chat with your uncle," Lin Yiwen, like Zhang Lan, thought his son was being impetuous, saying such things out of anger in a spat with Lin Dongchen. He quickly intervened, suggesting that his son leave for a moment.

It was normal for young people to be unable to restrain themselves, as he felt a pang of melancholy in his heart.

"I’m really curious, though," Liu Li sneered triumphantly, "how much money can you, a university teacher, have?" As if boasting without money was a capital offense, she thought.

"Some people are just destined to do great things, Mom. Just like Mu Guiying leading the army, you need to pick and choose your battles. How could I possibly let you waste your energy on trifles? I’ll go upstairs and get the money," Lin Feng said, not bothering to pay any attention to Liu Li.

He could tell what his parents were thinking and understood his mother’s intentions, so without saying anything further, he simply got up and headed upstairs.

This...

This action left Zhang Lan and Lin Yiwen exchanging puzzled glances—what was their son up to?

"Hmph!" Liu Li curled her lip in disdain, letting out a contemptuous snort. Just a child acting like a child, going to get money like the house was a bank or a treasury.

At that moment, Lin Dongchen puffed out his chest slightly, shaking his head and muttering, "Young people..."

"Mom, can’t you just keep quiet? Your words are so hurtful!" Lin Jie could no longer bear to hear her mother’s remarks and blurted out. How could demeaning others have any value? Did belittling others make her feel that good?

"It’s just the truth! He’s just a university teacher, but he’s talking about tens of millions as if it’s nothing. Even when you’re exaggerating, there’s a limit," Liu Li ignored her daughter’s plea, eager to see Lin Feng make a fool himself. As if a university professor would have tens of millions—in his dreams! It was his own embarrassment, not her problem.

She had put up with him and his family for so many years, as if things were still the same as before.

And since she felt somewhat embarrassed just now, she was determined to get one over on him, thinking he was brazen and out of his depth, fallen on hard times, yet still arrogantly bragging.

Lin Dongchen didn’t object to his wife’s words because he also didn’t believe the Lin Family could come up with tens of millions now. If they really had that kind of money, why would they still be living here? What a joke!

Moreover, Lin Feng claimed that he could bring out tens of millions all by himself; if he had that much money, why would he still be working as a damn university teacher? If not crazy, what would that be? And here he was, losing face in front of outsiders—why should they stop him? It was all his own doing. Thinking thus, Lin Dongchen’s face bore a faint smile, condescendingly, as if to say, "Children just don’t understand."

A person with a net worth of several hundred million wouldn’t necessarily have tens of millions in cash, and certainly wouldn’t keep it at home. Had Lin Feng lost his mind to be spouting such nonsense? Even I couldn’t come up with tens of millions in cash right now. Who did he think he was? Still the pampered young master of old, or did he truly see himself now as a wealthy man, richer than me?

Lin Jie too hadn’t expected her mother to say such things and felt even more worried. Brother Lin Feng had gone upstairs, but did he actually have the money or not? Even if he did, it surely couldn’t be tens of millions. He was no longer the affluent young master of before, and the Lin Family was in such a state of disarray—how could they possibly have so much money? What was she going to do when Brother Lin Feng came back down? How could she get her parents to hold back their harsh words?