The sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow on Lin Zhiming's face. After a moment of silence, he smiled and said, "To put it simply, I’m the one who's impressive."

"I initially thought that the person backing you would inject capital directly into the company to get through this crisis. But now it seems that wasn’t necessary at all. The land you acquired for a billion can conservatively be estimated to be worth over five billion after development. With these lands and some of the company’s other assets as collateral for a bank loan, the bank would be more than willing to lend you tens of billions… Using the bank's money to pay the fines means you won’t need to sell off any assets, and you’ll hardly bear any compensation costs. Moreover, because of this land, more merchants will approach you, and you might even find better partners! You can leverage this opportunity to strengthen the entire Lin Group… I must say, this maneuver is quite impressive, enough to make one’s scalp tingle," Yao Jing said.

"This is the advantage of information. In this era, having information is like having a head start. Without the fines, I could have made Lin Group a fortune. But now, maintaining the current market value is already sufficient," Lin Zhiming replied with a smile.

"As long as we get through this, the Lin Group will surely generate more value. Moreover, the implicit strength you’ve shown will make people more optimistic about the Lin Group… I believe my grandfather will call you shortly," Yao Jing said.

Lin Zhiming smiled. The Yao family’s Tianjiao Group primarily deals in building materials and real estate, but on a smaller scale. Since Yao Jing joined the Lin family, all the building materials for Lin Group's real estate projects had been supplied by the Yao family, leading to substantial profits for them. Now, as the Lin family prepares to develop school district housing, the scale is far larger than any previous real estate development, making it a great opportunity for the Yao family, which is why Yao Jing expected Yao Shanchuan to call him soon.

"What do you want me to do?" Lin Zhiming asked.

"Are you really expecting me to tell you what to do?" Yao Jing asked, a bit surprised.

"I’m the one in charge of Lin Group," Lin Zhiming asserted.

Yao Jing smiled and shook her head.

"For now, your words hold weight," Lin Zhiming added.

"Me?" Yao Jing was taken aback.

"What do you think about the position of Executive Assistant to the President of Lin Group?" Lin Zhiming asked.

"You want me to be your assistant?" Yao Jing questioned.

"Well… what assistant can be more trustworthy than one’s own wife?" Lin Zhiming chuckled.

"Can you actually make that decision?" Yao Jing asked.

"I can handle this," Lin Zhiming nodded.

"Alright!" Yao Jing nodded, saying, "I’ll help you manage the affairs of Lin Group! But you have to give me sufficient power."

"I’ll grant you my full authority!" Lin Zhiming declared.

"Very well." Yao Jing smiled, revealing a highly self-assured expression.

For her, if she truly had the authority of a president, she was confident that she could take control of the entire Lin Group in the future! By then, even the person behind Lin Zhiming wouldn’t easily be able to kick him out!

Outside the Lin Group building, a large bus pulled up at the entrance.

On the bus, the former senior executives of the Lin Group, along with members of the Lin family and previous shareholders, descended together. Their purpose for coming was simple: they wanted to see Lin Zhiming's expression when faced with a massive fine.

A group of about twenty or thirty people, wearing victorious smiles, strode confidently toward the entrance of the Lin Group building.

The head of security, Li Tiegen, blocked their path.

“What are you doing?” Li Tiegen demanded, raising a baton to stop the leading figure, Lin Wei.

Lin Wei was a peripheral member of the Lin family, but this time he was at the forefront, eager to win favor with the family members and achieve personal success. At this moment, he fully displayed the qualities of a good sycophant.

“Get out of my way! Do you know who’s here? These are all members of the Lin family and former shareholders!” Lin Wei said arrogantly.

“Lin family? Shareholders?” Li Tiegen scoffed, saying, “Our group doesn’t welcome people like you.”

“Not welcome? Ha! Your group is probably going bankrupt soon, and this building will be sold off to someone else. What are you pretending for? Let us through! We want to go up; who knows, in a good mood, we might just buy this building! Whether you can keep your job here will be up to us!” Lin Wei shouted.

“Bankrupt? You’re the one who’s bankrupt! Move aside and don’t block our group’s entrance!” Li Tiegen retorted.

“Hey, you rotten security guard, look at how capable you think you are! Do you believe I won’t hit you?” Lin Wei exclaimed, pointing at Li Tiegen.

“I don’t believe you. If you have the guts, go ahead and hit me!” Li Tiegen sneered.

“You!!” Lin Wei pointed at him, wanting to charge forward, but upon seeing several security guards present, he suddenly cowered. He had no money or power; before, he could only bully Lin Zhiming, but facing someone tough, he truly had no way out.

Fortunately, just then, a man in a suit emerged from the building.

“Tiegen, what’s going on? These are our former shareholders, all billionaires, and these are Lin family members—our chairman’s relatives. Why are you stopping them?” Wang Hai scolded as he walked over.

Li Tiegen looked at Wang Hai, somewhat confused.

“Finally, someone sensible has arrived!” Lin Wei, hearing Wang Hai’s words, grinned proudly. “Since you recognize our identity, let this security guard step aside. We want to see Lin Zhiming.”

“Mr. Lin is waiting for you on the top floor!” Wang Hai replied with a smile.

Waiting for us?

Lin Wei paused for a moment, then laughed, “I understand now, lead the way!”

“Okay!” Wang Hai nodded and turned to walk inside.

“Ah Wei, what’s going on?” Lin Maocai asked in a low voice.

“Can’t you see? Lin Zhiming is scared! The company is about to go bankrupt, and he’ll have nothing left. He must be eager to curry favor with us, the Lin family!” Lin Wei said, feeling triumphant.

“So that’s how it is. We can’t forgive him! Let’s go up and humiliate him! After humiliating him, we’ll leave; the Lin Group has nothing to do with us!” Lin Maocai exclaimed.

“Of course! Lin Zhiming, that wretched offspring, has offended us Lin family members terribly. If he wants to return to the Lin family, he’s dreaming!” Lin Wei gritted his teeth.

Under Wang Hai's guidance, they took the elevator to the top floor of the company.

For those shareholders, the top floor was not unfamiliar; shareholder meetings had previously been held there, and many of them had their own offices just days ago.

Seeing everything familiar, many couldn’t help but laugh, thankful they had sold their shares early and recouped some losses; otherwise, the money they made wouldn’t even be enough to pay the fine!

“Where’s Lin Zhiming?” Lin Wei looked around and, not seeing him, asked.

“Mr. Lin has something to attend to, so he sent me to welcome you!” Wang Hai replied with a smile.

“He has something to do? Is he perhaps looking for his wealthy mistress to borrow money?” Lin Wei mocked.

“Mr. Lin has a fortune, so borrowing money isn’t necessary,” Wang Hai shook his head.

“Fortune? More like he’s drowning in debt!” Lin Wei scoffed.

Wang Hai smiled and said, “Among you are Lin family members and former company shareholders. Mr. Lin knows your visit is crucial to the company’s future, so he specially asked me to prepare something.”

Saying this, Wang Hai picked up a remote and pressed a button, causing the television to display the previous planning bureau's press conference.

The crowd watched the press conference with confusion. When the spokesperson announced plans for a key middle school at Huachi Stadium, the faces of the Lin Group shareholders changed. They recalled that just before the New Year, the company had spent considerable money to acquire several plots of land near Huachi Stadium. If Huachi Stadium were to be transformed into a key middle school, then… those plots of land could be developed into school district housing!

Lin Wei and the others were unaware of the company's situation, so they had no real sense of the significance of this development.

“What’s this about? Where’s Lin Zhiming? Is he hiding?” Lin Wei demanded.

Wang Hai smiled and said, “I believe the former shareholders of the Lin Group among you have already understood.”

The faces of the few shareholders turned ashen.

Wang Hai continued, “Our Lin Group acquired several plots of land around Huachi Stadium last year, and we will soon develop those lands into school district housing. Conservatively estimated, the total value of that land and the properties soon to be constructed will exceed ten billion… Additionally, we plan to create a student walking street, food city, etc., around the entire school district. In the next three years, the Lin Group’s development will accelerate significantly; several banks have already approached us, willing to provide loans totaling over five billion… Meanwhile, we are preparing for deeper cooperation with our existing partners…”

“That bastard Lin Zhiming! He knew about the plans for the key middle school, didn’t he?!” one shareholder exclaimed angrily.

“Mr. Lin is a businessman; a businessman wouldn’t make unprofitable deals. The ten billion he spent to buy the Lin Group wasn’t because he had too much money. The reason he let you into the group and shared this with you was mainly to show you how foolish you are: you sold an asset worth a hundred billion for ten billion in cash to someone you looked down upon. This may well be the biggest loss-making deal of the century. Alright… the company’s situation has been explained; you… can leave now.” Wang Hai said, clapping his hands.

Li Tiegen, along with a group of security guards, strode over fiercely from the side.

“Are you going to leave on your own, or should I throw you out of the group? You Lin family members and former shareholders?” Li Tiegen growled threateningly.