At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

The Li family, in this generation, not only lacked the weakness often seen in those who maintained the status quo, but instead produced a fierce tiger whose spirit and methods far surpassed those of their fathers.

This is an immense blessing for the entire Li family.

There's an old saying that wealth doesn't last three generations, but Li Jianguo not only broke that saying, but also brought the Li family a step closer to prosperity.

Now in its fourth generation, Li Xiao has not disappointed him. In fact, this kid's starting point has far exceeded the limits he could have imagined back then.

He picked up the encrypted private line on the table and dialed his confidant's number.

"Old Lin, all those contingency plans I asked you to prepare before, just drop them all. Yes, drop them completely, so we old folks don't need to worry about them."

On the other end of the phone, Lao Lin was clearly taken aback.

He had followed Li Jianguo for nearly twenty years and knew his boss's style all too well—the Li family's business in Jiangyang County was always meticulously planned, with contingency plans always personally overseen and drafted by Li Jianguo; they had never proactively withdrawn from the plan. Moreover, this time, with higher-ups involved, any misstep could trigger a chain reaction.

"Mr. Li, should we withdraw completely? Should we leave at least one team to keep an eye on things in the south of the city, just in case the young master..."

Li Jianguo interrupted Lao Lin, "No need. How will our Li family navigate this ship from now on? We need to change the helmsman."

Old Lin remained silent for two seconds and did not ask any further questions.

"Understood, I'll take care of it right away."

He had never believed in geniuses before. He had spent half his life struggling in Jiangyang County and had seen too many spoiled brats who relied on their fathers' names to cause trouble outside, and in the end, the elders had to clean up their messes.

He originally thought Li Xiao would follow the same path—young people, after all, spending some money to learn a lesson is more effective than a thousand grand principles. He had even prepared the favors and funds for the aftermath in advance, just waiting for his son to learn from his mistakes.

But now, the pile of paper scraps in the shredder clearly shattered all his experience.

Not only did he not need to clean up the mess, he even had to secretly marvel at whether he could do a cleaner, more efficient, and bloodless job than his eighteen-year-old son if he were to personally take charge in Tianshui City, where various forces were deeply entrenched.

The answer is no.

Li Jianguo has spent half his life running his business in Jiangyang County, relying on steady progress and step-by-step strategy.

Acquiring land, building factories, and establishing distribution channels—every step is done openly, employing the arduous process of trading time for space.

When faced with a tough opponent, the best you can do is cut off their funding and force them to withdraw. This approach is safe, but slow, and it often results in losses for both sides.

Li Jianguo leaned back in his chair and suddenly remembered the time when he was thirty-eight years old and fought with another real estate developer in the county for a piece of land in the east of the city.

It took almost half a year of back and forth, including wining and dining guests, pulling strings, and finally raising the price to a level that the other party simply couldn't afford, before I barely managed to get it.

They won, but offended a lot of people, and it took two years to clean up the mess.

Then look at the son; he did a great job.

He had read every word of that document—it wasn't a vague accusation, nor was it a general document that could be obtained through pressure or connections; it was irrefutable evidence that could be used directly as an attachment to a judgment.

Wang Jianhui's offshore accounts in Hong Kong, the apartments he held on behalf of others in Victoria Harbour, and every single transaction of assets transferred through underground banks have been thoroughly exposed.

Although he didn't know how his son had done it, no one cared about the process.

The business owners in Tianshui City wouldn't care; they would only remember one thing—the young master of the Li family, who had just come of age, was holding an invisible knife in his hand.

This knife could wipe out Wang Jianhui's ten-year foundation overnight, even uncovering his underground bank accounts in Hong Kong.

Nobody knows if they're being watched, and nobody's sure if they're still wearing their underwear properly.

This is the part that keeps you up at night. What's more terrifying than power is the unknown, because no one knows if you hold a secret that could kill them.

This world has never been black and white, but rather a delicate gray.

In this delicate gray area, everyone has more or less some mud on them that can't be wiped off.

Among the self-proclaimed upright business tycoons in Tianshui's business circles, who dares to pat their chest and guarantee that their first pot of gold was completely clean? Who dares to guarantee that their accounts can withstand this kind of scrutiny?

Li Jianguo stuffed the last few copies into the shredder, watching the paper scraps spin and fall into the shredder. He suddenly remembered a sentence his grandfather had taught him years ago.

In the end, doing business isn't about who has the most money, but about who makes people afraid to mess with you. What he barely managed to achieve after half a lifetime, his son accomplished at eighteen—and not through the Li family's name, but through his own methods.

Meanwhile, Li Xiao, the absolute protagonist who stirred up panic throughout Tianshui City, was currently soaking comfortably in the open-air hot spring pool at Mingyue Bay Villa.

"No, Brother Xiao..."

Zheng Hao, wearing a white towel over his head and shirtless, splashed out of the water, his face full of confusion.

"The place is in complete chaos! Those big shots in Tianshui City who usually act all high and mighty are now like ants on a hot plate, calling my dad nonstop, trying every trick in the book to find out your opinion. Why aren't we on the front lines, reaping the benefits, instead of running around in these remote mountains soaking in hot springs?"

Although he also liked the place, wasn't it a bit inappropriate to come to the hot springs at this time of year?

Li Xiao didn't open his eyes, still immersed in the comfort of the hot spring.

"That's why we came here. If you stayed in Jiangyang, how many calls could you get in a day? Every single one of them is trying to get close to you or probe your intentions. If you don't answer, you'll offend them; if you do, you'll have to play along. Staying here, with the bad signal, nobody can find you. Isn't this better than sitting here and keeping watch?"

Zheng Hao wiped the water droplets from his face, frowning as if he understood but not quite.

"But Brother Xiao, Wang Jianhui is such a big piece of meat, if we don't hurry up and cut it, what if someone else takes a bite out of it in the chaos?"

He had long heard of Jianhui Real Estate, owned by Wang Jianhui, which was a leading giant in Tianshui City.

They not only hold several commercial complex projects in prime downtown locations, but also a large area of ​​high-quality villa land in the southern suburbs waiting to be developed.

With such a large piece of fat meat on the ground, wouldn't those hungry wolves in Tianshui City pounce on it with bloodshot eyes?

They went through so much trouble to cut down this towering tree, but if all the fruit it bore is picked up by others for nothing, wouldn't that be like doing a favor for someone else?