Chương 108: The Favour (11)

"Why is that, father?" Xiu Ling said to show Elder Lin that she was still following his words.

Elder Lin nodded as he leaned forward to pick up his cup of tea. Then he continued, "Do you know Japan has one of the highest suicide rate among all the countries in the world?"

This was another sudden shift in topic, but this time, Xiu Ling had a better idea what her father-in-law was getting at. She nodded quietly and allowed Elder Lin to continue.

"It is because their sense of community is so strong that often the individual is silenced. This gives an impression that the individual is not that important because they are easily replaceable.

"After all, a spirit of collectivism encourages self-sacrifice for the benefit of the collective. In other words, the Japanese culture encourages oneself to put others first. It is not a bad philosophy in and of itself but everything taken too far into its extreme would often implode upon itself."

Here, Elder Lin paused to take a sip of the tea. He also hoped that her daughter-in-law could use this small break in their conversation to digest what he had said.

"After all, if you keep on giving, what would be left of yourself in the end?" This sounded like a conclusion as well as a question that was directed at Xiu Ling.

Xiu Ling mulled on it but just as she was about to answer Elder Lin, her father-in-law sat up straighter, a sign that they were finally getting to the business part of this interaction.

"Xiu Ling, you want me to intervene to stop Lin Kang from consuming Xu Corps?" Elder Lin asked.

Xiu Ling nodded. "Yes, father."

"And you're doing it as a favour for a friend… How very kind of you." Elder Lin said that comment with a smile but for some reason, it did not sound like a compliment to Xiu Ling's ears.

Elder Lin was indeed a character that was as enigmatic as she thought, Xiu Ling got that part right. However, she realized she got another impression of Elder Lin wrong. Her father-in-law was more in tuned with the family business than she realized.

"Speaking of favours, you have done Lin family a great one by bringing us Lin Xi so technically we did owe you one." Elder Lin said before adding, "Yes, I'll be able to stop Lin Kang but are you really going to use this debt that Lin family owes you on a friend? Don't you want to save it for yourself? Who knows you might need it in the future… After all, we Lin's are incredibly powerful and influential, and we can help you with many things, things that you might not be able to solve on your own."

Suddenly, Xiu Ling felt transported into a boardroom because Elder Lin was making a deal with her. He had laid down the terms very clearly. Lin family had owed her one because of Lin Xi and that was her leverage.

She could trade that bargaining chip for anything that she wanted from Lin family and with Lin family's power, that anything was a literal anything.

Therefore, the question Elder Lin was posing towards her was: Are you going to waste such a valuable leverage on your friend and not save it for yourself for a rainy day in the future?

The answer could not have been clearer for Xiu Ling.

She nodded and answered without hesitation, "Of course, father. Please help Xu Corps."

Elder Lin looked at Xiu Ling with intrigue and interest in his eyes. Xiu Ling had a hard time telling he had disproved or approved of her choice. The man's face was completely unreadable.

Elder Lin put down the empty tea cup and nodded. "Okay, I understand. I will talk to Lin Kang later. I've enjoyed my talk with you, Xiu Ling but please leave me be for now."

"Of course, father," Xiu Ling said as she stood up. Her heart was jumping with joy but she kept her posture and grace as she glided out of her father-in-law's study.

The moment she was out though, she gave a contained happy yelp and texted Joann immediately to share with her the good news.

She was thankful that things went so smoothly and she did not feel one bit sorry that she had 'wasted' her one bargaining chip. After all, in Xiu Ling's eyes, she had never seen Lin Xi as anything else other than her precious son, and thus definitely not a bargaining chip. The thought of using her son as a chess piece in a family drama situation disgusted Xiu Ling to the core. 'How could someone even do that with their own flesh and blood?'

…

"Thank you, father," was the first thing that left Lin Kang's lips when he stepped into Elder Lin's study.

Elder Lin was still seated at the couch where he had the conversation with Xiu Ling. Lin Kang had arrived about 15 minutes after his wife left. Noticing the lightness in her steps and the joy on her face, Lin Kang knew she had gotten what she wanted from his father.

"Don't need to thank me." Elder Lin took another sip of the hot tea before continuing, "It was you who came to me, suggesting to have the take-over of Xu Corps halted. Lin Kang, I have to say, I was quite shocked at the time because you were never one to give up on a good deal."

Lin Kang could remember how high his father's eyebrow rose when he approached him with the request.

"However, since I've already handed the company to you, I decided to follow what you have asked of me," Elder Lin explained.

Lin Kang knew that to be untrue because if his father was as permissive as he said he was, he would have agreed to his request immediately, instead of going through the whole charade of talking to Xiu Ling first.

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