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

Lin Ting took the gold-embossed invitation and glanced at it.

"Reconstruction of the Municipal Square." Lin Ting read out the words.

"Yes." Lin Fu stood in front of the desk, holding a stack of bills from Jiangjing Mansion in his hand.

"If it's from the county, this project was originally a quota for the city. Director Wang reported the speed of our Jiangjing Haoting project."

The higher-ups made an exception and granted the Lin family a bidding qualification. Ma Jinlong and his associates, having heard the news, are all trying to find out more about us.

Lin Ting threw the invitation on the table.

Riverview Mansion is an unfinished building, a project meant to clean up messes, while the Municipal Square is a vanity project.

If they win this project, the Lin's Construction Team's name can be directly listed on the city's register.

Lin Ting picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

"Get the car ready. Call Uncle Dayou." Lin Ting stood up. "Let's go check out the site. And while we're at it, let's get a feel for the land."

Half an hour later, the black SUV stopped at the old site of the municipal square in the center of the county town.

This is a half-demolished ruin, with piles of broken bricks and cement blocks stacked high on the open ground.

Several scrapped excavators were parked nearby, their tracks covered in hardened mud.

It rained yesterday, and the ground is covered in puddles. When the wind blows, it stirs up the dust and dirt.

Lin Dayou was wearing work clothes covered in mud and a yellow safety helmet.

He carried a fifty-meter-long measuring tape and led five bricklayers from the charitable organization to draw lines in the waste pile.

"Measure the elevation here! Calculate how many cubic meters of soil are needed to fill that pit over there!"

"There are old pipes under this foundation, don't dig them up!" Lin Dayou shouted at the top of his lungs.

Several bricklayers were marking the ground with red bricks. Their movements were skilled and efficient.

Lin Ting stood on a concrete block, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He looked at the terrain before him, his mind racing with plans from the blueprints.

A black Maybach sedan drove up the main road. Its wheels rolled over the puddles on the road and stopped at the edge of the ruins.

The car door opened.

A woman got off the car.

She was wearing a pure white haute couture suit and ten-centimeter red-soled high heels.

Her hair was tied up at the back of her head, and she wore sunglasses. She held a white silk handkerchief in her hand.

The woman's name was Leng Qiu, the project manager parachuted in from the city. Behind her was a top-tier conglomerate in the city.

Four men in black suits followed behind her, each carrying a thick folder.

As the wind blew, sand and dust from the ruins were swept over.

Leng Qiu covered her nose with a handkerchief. She glanced down at her dusty high heels and took a step back.

"What a dump! There isn't even a clean road. Didn't the city's handover report say it was cleaned up?" Leng Qiu demanded.

A chubby manager who was following behind quickly ran forward.

"Mr. Leng, the demolition work has just been completed, and we haven't watered it to reduce dust yet. You can watch from your car, just don't get your clothes dirty," the chubby manager said with a forced smile.

Leng Qiu ignored him, raised her hand to take off her sunglasses, and looked into the ruins.

She saw Lin Dayou leading a group of people measuring with a ruler; the bricklayers' trousers were covered in yellow mud.

The shoes were covered in wet concrete. A bricklayer was squatting next to a puddle of mud, washing his hands.

"What's that over there for?" Leng Qiu pointed at Lin Dayou. "Is this a place anyone can just walk into?"

The chubby manager glanced at it, then flipped through the roster in his hand and looked around.

"Mr. Leng, those are people from the Lin's construction team. They also received a tender invitation. Today is the day for the site inspection," the chubby manager replied.

Leng Qiu put the handkerchief into her pocket and walked on the uneven bricks. The four men in suits quickly followed.

Lin Dayou was squatting on the ground, looking at the markings on the tape measure and counting.

"Take your rulers away. Get out of here with your men." Leng Qiu walked up behind Lin Dayou and spoke directly.

Lin Dayou turned his head and looked at the exquisitely dressed woman in front of him.

"Who are you?" Lin Dayou stood up, holding a measuring tape. "This place is open for exploration; we came in with invitations. Why should we get out?"

Leng Qiu glanced at the mud on Lin Dayou's body, took half a step back, and created some distance.

"Can I come just with an invitation?" Leng Qiu asked. "Which company are you from?"

"Lin's Construction Team," Lin Dayou answered loudly, puffing out his chest.

Leng Qiu scoffed after hearing this.

"Who do we have here? It's the Lin family from Tazhai who sell fruit." Leng Qiu looked around and pointed to the red brick line on the ground.

"The news of your construction project at Riverview Mansion has spread throughout the city. Building three buildings in ten days, you really treat construction like a game."

Lin Dayou rolled up the measuring tape, his face darkening.

"That's technical expertise! The quality inspection bureau has stamped it!" Lin Dayou retorted. "We're qualified to bid!"

"Qualifications?" Leng Qiu took a step forward.

"The municipal square is a landmark project for the city. It's meant to be a landmark, not something for you nouveau riche from small towns to mess around with."

Leng Qiu took a document from the fat supervisor and smashed it on a nearby piece of waste stone.

"This project is only being undertaken by the city's three major conglomerates. They have the best designers and the most advanced equipment," Leng Qiu said, looking at Lin Dayou.

"What does your Lin family have? No academic qualifications, no background, no connections. You think you can take a slice of the city's pie with a lousy recipe?"

Leng Qiu pointed to the construction site gate.

"Take your muddy legs and get back to town to farm. Don't get in my way here." Leng Qiu said, turning around to walk back.

Two men in suits stepped forward, blocking Lin Dayou's path, and reached out to push his shoulder.

Lin Dayou's temper flared up. He gripped the tape measure in his hand and was about to step forward to argue.

A hand rested on Lin Dayou's shoulder.

Lin Ting stepped down from the cement block and stood in front of Lin Dayou.

He took the cigarette butt out of his mouth, threw it into the mud puddle, and stomped it out.

"The rule for municipal projects is to see who has the best plan, the lowest cost, and the highest quality." Lin Ting looked at Leng Qiu's back.

"Since when did it become the place for an outsider to set the entry requirements?"

Leng Qiu stopped and turned around to look at Lin Ting.

He wore a black jacket and ordinary leather shoes. He didn't have the slightest bit of the airs of a rich city kid.

"Are you Lin Ting?" Leng Qiu asked.

"Yes," Lin Ting replied.

Leng Qiu crossed her arms over her chest, her high heels clicking on the stone slabs.

"I won't talk to you about those empty words," Leng Qiu said.

"The bidding process is just a formality. City projects follow city rules. I don't care how much trouble your Lin family causes in the county, but trying to get involved in the city is just asking for trouble."

Lin Ting didn't reply.

Leng Qiu continued to exert pressure.

"Aren't you supposed to be building fast?" Leng Qiu pointed to the sand on the ground.

"Believe it or not, with just one phone call, not a single cement factory in the entire Jiangnan Province will dare to sell you a single ton of cement. Not a single sand quarry will dare to deliver a single truckload of sand to you."

Leng Qiu took out her phone and twirled it in her hand a couple of times.

"If your supplies are cut off, your Lin Family New City will be reduced to a pile of scrap metal."

"All ten thousand workers at Riverview Mansion will have to stop work and starve." Leng Qiu's eyes were filled with disdain. "What makes you think you can compete with me for the Municipal Square?"

Leng Qiu put her phone back in her pocket.

"Get out now, at least you'll retain some dignity," Leng Qiu added.

Lin Dayou grew anxious and turned to look at Lin Ting.

In the construction industry, materials are everything.

If the city's wealthy elites really cut off the cement and sand supply, the entire construction of Riverview Mansion will have to stop. That would be a fatal mistake.

Lin Ting did not look at Leng Qiu's phone.

He turned his head and glanced at the empty space in the center of the ruins, reserved for building a statue.

Lin Ting raised his hand and brushed off a piece of dirt stuck to his shoulder.

He turned around and walked towards the SUV parked by the roadside.

"Grandpa..." Lin Dayou called out from behind, his voice filled with impatience.

Lin Ting opened the car door and looked back at Leng Qiu standing in the ruins.

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Lin Ting placed his hand on the car door, looking directly at the other person. "We'll see what happens at the bidding meeting tomorrow morning."