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

Sun Jianguo handed over the crumpled draft of the termination notice with both hands, his hands still trembling.

Lin Ting leaned back in his armchair and didn't answer.

"Grandpa Lin, the province has no choice. The Mitsui Group has the entire province's heavy industry in its grasp. If they stop machine tool maintenance, Jiangnan Province's industrial output will be halved tomorrow."

"The province would rather pay a penalty for breach of contract than offend Mitsui for this 500 million yuan order." Sun Jianguo slapped his thigh in frustration.

Lin Ting glanced at the paper and reached out to take it.

Lin Ting pinched the edge of the paper with two fingers, and in front of Sun Jianguo, tore it in half, then tore it into quarters, and casually threw it into the wastebasket next to him.

"It's just a piece of waste paper," Lin Ting said.

Sun Jianguo's eyes widened, and he grabbed his hair with both hands: "Grandpa Lin! Tearing up the draft won't help! As soon as the official document comes out tomorrow, Jiangnan Heavy Industry's legal team will be stationed in the prefecture-level city."

"At that time, your Lin family won't even get a single penny of advance payment, and you'll face hefty breach of contract claims!"

Lin Ting picked up his teacup and blew on the floating leaves: "Representative Sun, what does the Mitsui Group have to threaten the province with?"

Sun Jianguo swallowed hard, his voice trembling: "Technology! Materials! They have monopolized the core code of high-precision machine tools, as well as the formula for special steel."

Without their authorization, even if your Hongtu Machinery Factory produces a sample, it will absolutely not be able to mass-produce it.

The provincial leaders' exact words were: "The Lin family can conquer prefecture-level cities with their fists, but they can't break through the technological blockade imposed by foreigners."

Lin Ting put down his teacup and looked directly at Sun Jianguo: "Ten days."

Sun Jianguo was stunned, not understanding at first: "What, ten days?"

"Within ten days, the Lin family produced a special bearing that surpassed the standards of the Mitsui Group and achieved mass production," Lin Ting said calmly.

Sun Jianguo shook his head repeatedly and took two steps back: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! The Mitsui Group's technological barriers were built up over decades, while your Lin family has only been in charge of Hongtu for a few days."

Even the supply channels for special steel have been blocked. What are you going to use to build it? Mold it with mud?

Lin Ting ignored Sun Jianguo's questioning and turned to look at Lin Fu, who was standing to the side.

"Uncle Fu, transfer 200 million from the logistics park's account to Representative Sun's personal account," Lin Ting instructed.

Without saying a word, Lin Fu immediately turned on the tablet and started operating it.

Sun Jianguo was so frightened that he jumped up from his chair, waving his hands frantically, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead: "Grandpa Lin, what are you doing! Are you trying to send me in!"

Although I, Sun Jianguo, am not a high-ranking official, I would never dare to take bribes!

The provincial task force is still investigating the Jiangnan conglomerate; transferring money to me at this time is tantamount to taking my life!

Lin Ting leaned back in his chair: "This isn't a bribe, it's a technology pledge."

Sun Jianguo stood frozen in place, his hands hovering in mid-air: "Technology collateral?"

Lin Ting pointed to the cell phone in Sun Jianguo's pocket: "Two hundred million to buy your way back to the province and delay for ten days. Within ten days, the province's official termination document cannot be issued."

If the Lin family cannot produce qualified bearings within ten days, the two hundred million yuan will belong to you, Sun Jianguo, as compensation for your emotional distress.

If the Lin family comes up with the funds, you, Sun Jianguo, will be the number one contributor to breaking the deadlock in Jiangnan Province's heavy industry.

Sun Jianguo's phone vibrated in his pocket.

He shakily took out his phone and glanced at the text message notification on the screen.

One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million.

A full two hundred million yuan is already sitting in his personal account.

Sun Jianguo's legs went weak, and he slumped into a chair. He looked at the young Lin family patriarch in front of him, cold sweat pouring down his back.

He casually threw out 200 million yuan in cash as collateral without even blinking.

This is no ordinary village chief; he's a ruthless character who eats people without spitting out the bones.

"Grandpa Lin, where...where did you get so much cash?"

Sun Jianguo's voice trembled; he even suspected that the Lin family had unearthed some gold mine.

Lin Ting didn't answer, but picked up his teacup and took a sip of strong tea: "Representative Sun, the tea is getting cold. Finish it and go back to the provincial capital early."

Ten days later, bring your Jiangnan Heavy Industry testing team to Hongtu Machinery Factory to inspect the goods.

Sun Jianguo gritted his teeth and stared intently at the string of numbers on his phone screen.

done.

Take a gamble; if you win, you'll gain both fame and fortune; if you lose, you'll still have 200 million to fall back on.

Even if the province holds them accountable, they can simply take the 200 million yuan, resign, and live a comfortable life for the rest of their days.

"Fine! Ten days! Even if it costs me my life, I, Sun Jianguo, will keep the province's termination documents on my desk for ten days!"

Sun Jianguo grabbed his briefcase, turned and rushed out of the study, not even picking up the pen that had fallen to the ground.

Lin Fu watched Sun Jianguo's hurried departure and put away his tablet computer.

"Grandpa, are we just going to give him two hundred million like that? What if he takes the money and runs away?" Lin Fu asked.

Lin Ting picked up a walnut from the table and twirled it in his palm: "He can't escape. The money the Lin family gives him can only be spent if the Lin family approves."

"Have someone keep an eye on him. If he dares to buy a plane ticket, break his legs and bring him back to Tazhai."

"Understood." Lin Fu nodded.

Five o'clock in the morning, Workshop No. 4 of Hongtu Machinery Factory.

Old Wei, along with a dozen or so veteran technicians, stood around a newly assembled five-axis machine tool, their faces full of worry.

A piece of scrap steel was stuck on the machine tool spindle. As soon as the cutting tool touched the steel surface, it emitted a piercing metallic friction sound.

Sparks flew everywhere, and the entire workshop was filled with a burnt smell.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Old Wei shouted.

The operator quickly pressed the stop button, and the machine tool spindle slowly came to a stop.

Old Wei stepped forward, measured the cutting edge of the lathe tool with calipers, and his face turned ashen.

"No, the existing lathe tool materials are too brittle."

We increased the hardness of the bearing, but the cutting tools used to machine it couldn't withstand such high-intensity cutting.

"If we keep doing this, the blades will all break off." Old Wei slammed the calipers heavily on the control panel.

An older technician next to him sighed and took off his oil-stained gloves: "Director Wei, the Mitsui Group has already announced that they have cut off the supply of all high-hardness alloy cutting tools."

Even if we had the blueprints from our great-grandfather, without a good knife, we couldn't cut through this tough bone.

Another young technician chimed in with a complaint: "All the machine shop owners in the city have sided with Mitsui."

They locked up all the imported knives in the warehouse overnight, and no one dared to sell them even for three times the price.

Old Wei gritted his teeth, staring at the machine tool, his face contorted with rage: "Can a living person die from holding their pee? Grandpa Lin allocated us two hundred million yuan, and even bought the steel mill in the suburbs."

If the knives aren't up to par, we'll make our own materials! Go dig out all that scrap tungsten steel from the warehouse and remelt it!

"Director Wei, we don't have a high-precision smelting furnace, so the tolerances of the tools we melt ourselves are simply uncontrollable," the veteran technician reminded him.

Old Wei ripped the towel off his neck and wiped the sweat from his face: "We have to control it even if we can't! The Lin family has staked their lives on our factory, we can't let them down at this crucial moment."

Everyone, in two shifts, went to the scrap heap to pick out tungsten steel. I refused to believe it!

The technicians in the workshop stopped talking and grabbed their flashlights, running towards the waste storage area at the back of the factory.

Just as dawn was breaking, a screeching sound of brakes came from outside the large iron gate of Hongtu Machinery Factory.

Five black vans with provincial capital license plates were parked across the factory gate, blocking the entrance and exit.

The car door opened, and more than twenty bodyguards dressed in black suits and wearing sunglasses filed out, forming two lines.

A man with slicked-back hair and wearing an expensive custom-made suit stepped out of the middle car.

He held a cigar between his fingers, glanced at the faded signboard of Hongtu Machinery Factory, and looked at it with disdain.

Murakami, Chief Representative of the Mitsui Group in Jiangnan Province.

"Break down the door and take over the workshop," Murakami ordered in broken Chinese, exhaling a smoke ring.

The dozen or so Zhongtang men guarding the gate immediately drew their batons and blocked the large iron gate.

"This is Lin family territory, outsiders get out!" the leader of the Zhongtang squad shouted sternly, pointing his baton directly at the villager's nose.

Murakami threw the cigar on the ground and crushed it.

"A bunch of country bumpkins, daring to block the Mitsui Group's path." Murakami waved his hand.

The twenty-odd bodyguards behind him drew gleaming short knives from inside their suits and pressed towards the door.