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

The next morning, in a side room of the Lin Clan Ancestral Hall in Tazhai Town.

Lin Ting sat in the armchair and took a sip of Pu'er tea from his purple clay teacup.

Lin Fu stood in front of the table with the account book in his hand, giving a report.

"Grandpa, today's 10,000 catties of golden fruit sold out again. Several big bosses from the county were waiting outside with cash, but I sent them all away." Lin Fu flipped through the account book.

Lin Ting put down his teacup, about to speak.

A piercing car horn blared outside the compound.

Three black Mercedes SUVs drove recklessly into the open space in front of the ancestral hall. The tires left black marks on the bluestone slabs.

The car door opened, and eight burly men in black suits jumped out and lined up in two rows.

A middle-aged man with a slicked-back hairstyle got out of the back seat of the middle car.

He was wearing a custom-made suit, a gold watch on his wrist, and a cigar in his mouth.

The middle-aged man's leather shoes stomped on the ground as he glanced disdainfully at the old buildings around him.

"This place is so shabby, there isn't even a decent road. I really don't know what Mr. Wang saw in these peasants." The middle-aged man exhaled a smoke ring.

Lin Fei walked over from the side carrying seamless steel pipes and blocked the doorway.

"What are you doing here? This is the Lin Family Ancestral Hall; outsiders are not allowed in." Lin Fei looked at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man flicked his cigarette ash, not even glancing at Lin Fei.

One of his bodyguards in a suit stepped forward and reached out to push Lin Fei's shoulder.

"Get out of the way. We're from Dafeng Group in the county. Vice President Sun Qiang wants to see your manager." The bodyguard's tone was very aggressive.

Lin Fei's shoulders slumped, and he grabbed the bodyguard's wrist with his other hand and twisted it forcefully.

The bodyguard cried out in pain and knelt on one knee.

Sun Qiang frowned, threw the cigar on the ground, and stomped it out.

"Bad people come from poor and remote places." Sun Qiang snorted coldly.

Lin Ting's voice came from the side room.

"Lin Fei, let him in."

Lin Fei released his grip and kicked the bodyguard aside.

Sun Qiang straightened his suit collar and led two bodyguards into the side room.

He glanced at Lin Ting sitting in the armchair, and without any ceremony, pulled out a mahogany chair, sat down, and crossed his legs.

"You're the great-grandfather who's in charge of the Lin family?" Sun Qiang sized up Lin Ting.

Lin Ting didn't answer, instead fiddling with two walnuts in his hands. The walnuts made a crisp sound as they were rubbed together.

Sun Qiang took a document out of his briefcase and threw it directly onto the table in front of Lin Ting.

"I am Sun Qiang, the vice president of Dafa Group. More than half of the fresh food supermarkets in the county are under the name of our General Manager Wang Dafa."

Let's not beat around the bush, our boss Wang has his eye on those golden fruit trees you grow on the back hill.

Sun Qiang tapped his fingers on the table.

"Selling them piecemeal in town for fifty yuan a pound is too stingy. Once you sign this contract, Dafeng Group will be the exclusive distributor of your Lin family's golden fruit."

Lin Fu glanced at the contract, and his expression changed.

"Exclusive sales? How much per kilogram will you pay?" Lin Fu asked.

Sun Qiang held up five fingers.

"Five yuan. We'll supply at least 10,000 jin every day; you'll give us as much as we need."

Lin Fu laughed out loud in anger.

"Five yuan? We sell it for fifty yuan in town because we can't keep up with demand, and you come all the way to Tazhai and offer only five yuan? That's robbery!"

Sun Qiang leaned back in his chair, his face full of disdain.

"Fifty is a price you inflated yourselves. I've checked the accounts of your Lin family's farmers' market."

Rent-free, utilities included, yet you're losing tens of thousands a day. How long can you sustain this money-burning strategy?

Sun Qiang pointed to the last page of the contract.

"Without Dafa Group's channels, your fruit would rot on the trees and you wouldn't be able to sell it in the county town. Giving you five yuan is an honor."

Furthermore, we want to take over the cultivation technology for the golden fruit. Dafeng Group wants to own 70% of the orchard's shares.

"Your Lin family will keep 30%, and you'll be responsible for farming. We'll pay you a monthly salary from now on."

After these words were spoken, no one in the room spoke.

This isn't a business meeting; this is a predatory gathering.

By spending five yuan to buy out the supply of goods and taking away 70% of the shares and technology, it's as if the Lin family's cash cow has been uprooted.

Lin Ting stopped playing with the walnuts.

He placed two walnuts on the table and looked at Sun Qiang.

"Dafa Group, Wang Dafa," Lin Ting read out the two names.

Sun Qiang thought Lin Ting was scared and smiled smugly.

"That's right. In the county town, Mr. Wang has the final say when it comes to fresh produce."

"Your Lin family might be able to bully street thugs like Liu Da Nao by building a farmers' market, but you're not qualified to fight the Dafeng Group."

Sun Qiang stood up and pushed the contract in front of Lin Ting.

"Sign the papers obediently, and everyone will have food to eat. Otherwise, if I say one word, your fruit will never be able to get onto any shelf in the county town. I guarantee you won't be able to sell a single fruit."

Lin Ting picked up his teacup and poured the remaining half cup of Pu'er tea onto the contract, the brown tea water soaking the paper until it was mushy.

Sun Qiang's expression changed, and he pointed at Lin Ting.

"What are you doing! You're refusing a polite toast only to suffer the consequences, aren't you?!"

Lin Ting leaned back in his chair, his voice steady.

"Lin Fei".

Lin Fei walked in carrying a steel pipe.

"Grandpa."

"Throw these men, along with that worthless contract, into the Tazhai River. He likes to use canals, so let him take the waterway back to the county town," Lin Ting ordered.

Sun Qiang's eyes widened.

"You dare! I'd like to see who dares to touch me!"

Two bodyguards in suits clenched their fists and stood guard on either side of Sun Qiang.

Lin Fei sneered and threw the steel pipe on the ground.

He strode forward, swung his right fist in a wide arc, and smashed it directly into the face of the bodyguard on his left.

The bodyguard didn't even have a chance to react before his nose bridge broke, and he was sent flying backward, crashing into the door frame and losing consciousness.

Just as the bodyguard on the right was about to pull out his baton, Lin Fei kicked him in the knee.

All that could be heard was the cracking sound of bones breaking, and the bodyguard screamed and fell to his knees.

Having consumed the enhancement potion, Zhongtang's strength was far beyond what these ordinary bodyguards could contend with.

A dozen or so young men from Zhongtang rushed in and quickly pinned the remaining bodyguards to the ground, binding them tightly with hemp rope.

Sun Qiang turned pale with fright and stumbled backward, his back hitting the wall.

"Lin Ting! You're breaking the law! Dafa Group won't let you get away with this!" Sun Qiang shouted at the top of his lungs.

Lin Fei walked over, grabbed Sun Qiang by the collar of his suit, and lifted him up.

"In Tazhai, the words of the patriarch are law."

Lin Fei dragged Sun Qiang outside.

Sun Qiang kicked wildly, losing one of his expensive leather shoes and tearing his suit to shreds.

"Let me go! President Wang will kill you all!" Sun Qiang's curses echoed in the courtyard of the ancestral hall.

Lin Fei ignored him and dragged him out of the courtyard, heading towards the Tazhai River at the village entrance.

Several young men from Zhongtang followed behind, dragging bodyguards along, as the Tazhai River flowed swiftly.

Lin Fei walked to the shore, exerted force with his arm, and threw Sun Qiang directly out.

Water splashed two meters high as Sun Qiang crashed onto the water's surface. Immediately afterward, the bodyguards were also thrown into the river.

Lin Fei crumpled the contract, which had been soaked in tea, into a ball and threw it at Sun Qiang's head.

"Grandpa said we should take the rolling water route back to the county town." Lin Fei clapped his hands, turned around, and led his men back to the ancestral hall.

The river water was icy cold.

Sun Qiang couldn't swim, and after struggling in the water for a long time, swallowing several mouthfuls of muddy water, he finally managed to climb ashore using both his hands and feet.

He lay sprawled in the mud, soaking wet, his expensive suit covered in mud.

Several bodyguards scrambled ashore, shivering from the cold.

Sun Qiang spat out a mouthful of mud and sand, then turned to look in the direction of Tazhai Village.

He pulled his water-damaged phone out of his pocket and pressed buttons for a long time before the screen finally lit up.

He dialed a number.

The call was connected.

"Mr. Wang! Those Lin family guys are all lunatics! They injured our people and threw me into the river!" Sun Qiang shouted into the phone.

Wang Dafa's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"They're asking for it. Since they want to play this game, let's cut off their path."

Sun Qiang gritted his teeth and wiped the mud off his face.

"That's right! If the soft approach doesn't work, we'll try the hard one! Mr. Wang, please contact Captain Zhang of the traffic police team and Brother Hei from the underworld right away."

"Stop all the national highways leading out of town! I want the Lin family's 10,000 jin of golden fruit to rot in the warehouse, not a single one can be transported out!"

After hanging up the phone, Sun Qiang slammed his phone down on a rock.

A gust of cold wind blew by, and Sun Qiang shivered.

He stared at the archway of Tazhai Village and spat fiercely.

"Lin Ting, you just wait. We'll see how you get the goods out tomorrow!"