I chose one of four options at the start, and I chose the number one clan in Lingnan.

Lin Fu held his phone and spoke loudly, drowning out the sound of names being called out in the square.

"Grandpa! It's Sun Jianguo calling. The deputy director of the independent inspection team from the Provincial Construction Commission, along with people from the Provincial Heavy Equipment Inspection Bureau, has arrived in the prefecture-level city ahead of schedule."

Lin Ting opened his eyes and put the walnuts in his hand into his pocket.

"Where are they?" Lin Ting asked.

"We didn't go to the municipal party committee guesthouse, we went straight to Hongtu Factory. Sun Jianguo was still on the way, we couldn't stop him at all," Lin Fu replied hurriedly.

Lin Ting stood up and picked up the walnut wood cane next to him.

"Da Biao, leave ten people to continue distributing money. The rest of you, come with me to Hongtu," Lin Ting ordered.

Lin Dabiao immediately turned around and waved to the man from Zhongtang next to the truck.

"Team One, Team Two, get on the bus!" Lin Dabiao shouted.

Dozens of men in black suits quickly jumped into SUVs, the roar of their engines echoing across the square.

Lin Ting sat in the back of the lead car, while Lin Fu sat in the passenger seat.

"Grandpa, this Ma Guoqiang is notoriously difficult to deal with in the Provincial Construction Committee. He brought people from the Testing Bureau this time, clearly intending to nitpick on the technical aspects," Lin Fu reported, turning his head.

Lin Ting looked out the window at the receding scenery.

"Finding fault takes money. Check his recent bank statements, especially his overseas accounts," Lin Ting instructed.

Lin Fu nodded, took out another phone, and dialed a number.

"Old Li, check Ma Guoqiang's account at the Provincial Construction Commission, focusing on the companies under his wife's name, to see if any large sums of overseas funds have come in. Be quick," Lin Fu instructed over the phone.

Outside the gate of Hongtu Machinery Factory.

Three Coaster buses with provincial capital license plates were parked on the side of the road.

The car door opened, and a dozen or so inspection bureau personnel in uniform stepped out, carrying various instrument cases.

Leading the way was a middle-aged man in his fifties, wearing a navy blue jacket and carrying a black leather briefcase tightly under his arm.

This person was Ma Guoqiang, deputy director of the independent inspection team of the Provincial Construction Commission.

Ma Guoqiang stood at the factory gate, looking at the rusty iron gate and the oil-stained factory roads, his brows furrowed.

"Where's Sun Jianguo? The representative from Jiangnan Heavy Industry didn't even show his face? There isn't even a decent hotel in this place, where are we supposed to stay?" Ma Guoqiang turned to ask his assistant.

The assistant quickly took out his phone and dialed several times, but no one answered.

"Director Ma, we can't get through to Representative Sun by phone," the assistant replied.

Lin Fu arrived in an SUV, opened the car door, and walked forward.

"Director Ma, Representative Sun is in the workshop overseeing the progress and didn't hear the phone. Accommodation has been arranged at the workers' guesthouse behind the factory, with freshly changed clean bedding," Lin Fu said.

Ma Guoqiang looked Lin Fu up and down, his face full of disgust.

"Workers' guesthouse? Those tin sheds, without even a private bathroom, you want our provincial inspection team to stay in such a place?"

"Is this how your Lin family receives inspections from higher-ups? Go to the InterContinental Hotel in the city and book a few suites!" Ma Guoqiang raised his voice.

Lin Fu stood still.

"Grandpa said the factory is short of funds and has poured them all into research and development. If Director Ma is unhappy about it, he can pay for his own accommodation in the city," Lin Fu said calmly.

Ma Guoqiang laughed angrily and pointed his finger at Lin Fu's nose.

"Fine, well done, Lin family. I'm not going to the hotel, I'm going into the workshop now! I want to see what kind of junk you've produced!" Ma Guoqiang tightened his purse under his arm.

"Lead the way!" Ma Guoqiang shouted to his assistant.

Lin Fu stepped aside to make way.

Ma Guoqiang, accompanied by more than a dozen people from the testing bureau, strode into the factory area and headed straight for Workshop No. 4.

Inside the workshop, the machines roared.

Old Wei was leading several technicians around the control panel, recording various data of the prototype.

Ma Guoqiang and his group walked in, directly interrupting the technician's work.

"Stop! Everyone back off!" Ma Guoqiang's assistant shouted, reaching out to push the technician in front of him.

Old Wei turned his head and looked at the group of uninvited guests.

"Who are you looking for?" Old Wei asked.

"The Provincial Construction Commission's Independent Inspection Team! This is Director Ma!" The assistant pointed at Ma Guoqiang, his attitude arrogant.

Ma Guoqiang walked to the control panel and looked at the silver-gray special bearing prototype.

"Is this the special bearing you reported?" Ma Guoqiang asked.

Old Wei nodded.

"Yes, the tolerance is less than 0.002 millimeters, and the hardness exceeds the standard. Representative Sun has already confirmed the data," Lao Wei replied.

Ma Guoqiang snorted coldly.

"Anyone can falsify data on paper. Pack it up! Seal it! Take it back to the provincial bureau for destructive testing!" Ma Guoqiang waved his hand.

Several people from the testing bureau immediately stepped forward, opened the wooden crates they were carrying, and took out the seals.

Old Wei got anxious and directly blocked the prototype.

"Destructive testing? This is the first prototype. Jiangnan Heavy Industry hasn't even accepted it yet. What right do you have to take it away?" Old Wei shouted.

Ma Guoqiang pointed at Lao Wei's nose.

"As the head of the provincial construction commission's inspection team, I can say that your data falsification is too obvious. It must be taken back to the province for verification using professional equipment. Move aside!" Ma Guoqiang shouted sternly.

Old Wei wouldn't budge an inch.

"The inspection can be done at the factory! We have a coordinate measuring machine and a pressure testing machine! If you take the prototype away and something goes wrong on the way, who will be responsible?" Old Wei questioned.

Ma Guoqiang's face darkened.

"Who do you think you are, daring to tell me what to do? Pull them away!" Ma Guoqiang ordered.

Two people from the testing bureau stepped forward and reached out to grab Lao Wei's arm.

Old Wei grabbed a large wrench from the control panel and held it across his chest.

"Who dares to move!" Old Wei roared.

The dozen or so technicians around also picked up their tools and gathered around.

Seeing this, Ma Guoqiang was not afraid at all; instead, he laughed.

"Violent resistance to law enforcement? Very well. Believe me or not, I'll revoke your factory's production license and ensure you never receive any orders from the province again!" Ma Guoqiang threatened.

The workshop door was kicked open from the outside.

The iron gate slammed against the wall with a loud bang.

Lin Fei strode in, carrying a baton.

One hundred men from Zhongtang dressed in black suits rushed into the workshop, quickly dispersed, and surrounded Ma Guoqiang and his group.

The moment those men in black suits stood there, the workshop fell silent.

Lin Fei walked to the control panel and tapped the iron frame with the baton in his hand, making a crisp metallic clanging sound.

"Who wants to take the prototype?" Lin Fei asked Ma Guoqiang.

Ma Guoqiang glanced at the men in black around him, swallowed hard, and forced himself to maintain his official demeanor.

"What do you want to do? Rebel? I'm a commissioner sent by the province!" Ma Guoqiang's voice trembled.

He took out his phone, intending to call for help, but found that the screen showed no signal.

Lin Fei ignored him and turned to look outside the door.

Lin Ting, leaning on a walnut wood cane, slowly walked into the workshop.

The workshop was extremely quiet, with only the tapping sound of the cane on the ground.

Lin Ting walked to the control panel, glanced at the prototype, and then turned to look at Ma Guoqiang.

"Director Ma has quite the airs of an official," Lin Ting remarked.

Ma Guoqiang looked at Lin Ting and recognized him.

"So you're Lin Ting? I'll remember this for allowing your men to surround the provincial commissioner and for blocking the signal."

"I must take this prototype with me today!" Ma Guoqiang said through gritted teeth.

Lin Ting pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Take away the prototype and conduct destructive testing. Then issue a report deeming it unqualified, completely ruining Jiangnan Heavy Industry's order."

"Director Ma is very skilled at this process," Lin Ting said calmly.

Ma Guoqiang's expression changed slightly.

"Stop spouting nonsense! We're just following the rules!" Ma Guoqiang retorted.

Lin Ting tapped his cane.

"Rules? The rules the Mitsui Group gave you?" Lin Ting asked.

Ma Guoqiang took a step back and tightened his grip on the bag under his arm.

"I don't understand what you're saying! Your Lin family is going against the provincial committee's decision!" Ma Guoqiang said, bringing up a major accusation.

Lin Ting watched Ma Guoqiang's movements, his gaze falling on Ma's black leather bag.

"Is Director Ma in such a hurry to take the prototype away because he's worried that the final payment from the Mitsui Group won't arrive?" Lin Ting asked.

Ma Guoqiang's expression changed drastically.

"What nonsense are you spouting! I'm going to sue you for defamation!" Ma Guoqiang shouted, pointing at Lin Ting.

Lin Ting pulled a folded A4 sheet of paper from his pocket and casually threw it at Ma Guoqiang's face.

The paper fell to the ground, face up.

It was a copy of a payment slip for an overseas account.

"Yesterday afternoon at 2 PM, the Mitsui Group transferred three million US dollars to a shell company under your wife's name through an overseas account."

"The original documents in Director Ma's briefcase haven't been destroyed yet, have they?" Lin Ting looked at him.

Ma Guoqiang's face turned pale, his legs went weak and he stumbled backward until his back hit the machine.