The Lin Family Must Not Fall into Chaos (Continued)
Lin Xiaokang Lin Xiaoda, like prisoners, had their mouths stuffed with hemp seeds and their hands tied behind their backs, and were pushed in front of Lin Xiaohe, who was gazing at the waves in the Causeway Bay night.
Perhaps because of the strong night wind, Lin Xiaohe wore a trench coat over his Zhongshan suit. He slowly turned around and stared expressionlessly at his two younger brothers, who had been brought by Liao Jingxuan's men. Lin Xiaoda looked extremely anxious, while Lin Xiaokang remained expressionless and met Lin Xiaohe's gaze without fear.
Amused by Lin Xiaokang's gaze, Lin Xiaohe walked over and personally released Lin Xiaokang's mouth. He then gestured for Liao Jingxuan to release Lin Xiaokang's hands before speaking in a calm tone, "You earned at least three million Hong Kong dollars today. Aren't you happy?"
"How did you find out about me so quickly?" After Lin Xiaokang regained his freedom of speech, he did not answer Lin Xiaohe's question, but instead asked in return.
Lin Xiaohe both hands. "I'm such a failure as the older brother, but you're even more of a failure as the younger brother. You made three million Hong Kong dollars, becoming rich overnight. Aren't you happy?"
"How exactly did they find out about me? Considering we were born of the same Dad, let me die knowing the truth." Lin Xiaokang cracked his knuckles, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and said nonchalantly.
Lin Xiaohe took out his gilded lighter, lit it with a snap, and offered it to Lin Xiaokang. Lin Xiaokang hesitated for a moment, then lit the cigarette, took a satisfied drag, and exhaled two plumes of smoke from his nose, saying to Lin Xiaohe, "Thank you, Third Brother."
"From the day I decided to take action against Song Tianyao, I had someone bribe operators at the telephone company to answer calls for me. After the fall in Macau, I increased the number of people at the telephone company to four, 24 hours a day," Lin Xiaohe said to Lin Xiaokang, putting away his lighter.
Lin Xiaokang scoffed, "I'm about to be drowned by you, and you're still lying to me? I didn't say anything on the phone."
"The phone call is indeed irrelevant; the most important thing is that you've been sold out by Song Tianyao." Lin Xiaohe turned back to look at the dark sea. "You don't think your third brother is really an idiot, that he doesn't understand stock market tricks, do you? When I was helping the Kuomintang manage the Tongshang Bank, you were still studying ABCs. Today, Prosperity Rubber was dumped at the opening, initially led by Song Tianyao's side, but the subsequent large orders weren't from Song Tianyao's side, but from your short selling operations. Song Tianyao even bought shares at the close to deliberately prop up Prosperity Rubber's stock price; otherwise, with the money Studwell had, they couldn't have maintained the current price. You've been used as a pawn by Song Tianyao. He didn't want to join forces with you to bring down Prosperity Rubber and make a fortune; the Lin Family needs to make a drastic sacrifice, but he wants to use Prosperity Rubber to continue trapping the Lin Family. Do you understand?"
"Whether you understand or not, things are already like this. We've tasted the bitterness of betraying our mother and being bullied by our sisters for so many years. We don't want to endure it anymore. If we get the chance, we'll take a gamble!" Lin Xiaokang grinned, watching Lin Xiaohe's retreating figure. "When my mother was kicked out of the Lin Family, I was still young. The servants held me, pretending to be asleep. Everyone thought I was naive and didn't care even if I heard them. But I'll always remember that Fourth Brother curiously asked Madam, 'Why did you kick out my sister and my mother, but not me...'"
"Your Fourth Brother was young and ignorant back then, and he spoke without thinking. Hasn't he treated you very well since then? When you were studying and going abroad, did the Lin Family ever wrong you? My mother has always favored you, letting you manage the Soda Factory." Lin Xiaohe said without turning around, still gazing at the sea ahead.
Lin Xiaokang chuckled. "If you really favored me, would you deliberately let me provoke my older sister who lives in the Lin Family but feels like a dependent? If you really favored me, would you even oppose my wanting to find a girlfriend from a wealthy family? Fifth Brother became the son-in-law of the Ji Family at Bank of East Asia. Why was that possible? Because Fifth Brother and Ah Da's mother are still in the Lin Family. I'm different. What if I found a wealthy and powerful father-in-law and then turned against the Lin Family? The Lin Family doesn't want to raise me, but they're afraid outsiders will say that after Lin Xizhen died, the First Madam will exterminate all her illegitimate children. So they have to consider her reputation. Besides, raising me is like raising an obedient dog. It's just that the Lin Family killed my mother back then, and this dog still remembers it. Given the chance, it will try to bite the Lin Family's throat."
"Those grudges are the grudges between your mother and my mother from the previous generation. In this generation, have I or A-Sen Sen wronged you?" Lin Xiaohe turned around again, walked up to Lin Xiaokang who was laughing wildly, and asked seriously.
Lin Xiaokang's laughter continued as he quickly said, "You haven't wronged me, but I haven't wronged you either, at least I haven't left your mother's fate unknown, right?"
"But you have let the Lin Family down. The Lin Family is in a little trouble, and you jump out to try to collude with outsiders to ruin the Lin Family business. How will you face your father?" Lin Xiaohe spoke to Lin Xiaokang in a completely emotionless tone.
Lin Xiaokang glanced at the cigarette in his hand, then looked up at Lin Xiaohe and smiled, "I'd like to go down and ask him. He spent his whole life philandering, but never thought about disciplining his own women. He just passed away, and his concubine and daughter were dealt with by the first wife. How could he be the head of the family?"
"Is it so hard to play dumb? What's wrong with the brothers getting along well? Why did you have to jump out? You've endured this for so long, you should have endured a little longer, even if it's just to wait for a better opportunity." Lin Xiaohe stared into Lin Xiaokang's eyes, his gaze as deep as a still pool.
Lin Xiaokang glanced at Liao Jingxuan and his several capable subordinates beside him, and snorted, "What are we going to do? Wait until we end up like Fifth Uncle and Sixth Uncle, being killed by your men?"
"Are you scared by what happened to your fifth and sixth uncles? Did your second brother tell you? Finish this cigarette and go in peace. The Lin Family can't be in chaos. Since you know your third brother could do this to your fifth and sixth uncles, you know he can be just as ruthless as him to do this to you. The Lin Family can't be in chaos. Anyone who dares to take advantage of the chaos will be dealt with by me." Lin Xiaohe repeated twice that the Lin Family couldn't be in chaos, "I won't ask about the matter of profiting from short selling anymore. Did that guy surnamed Tang teach you or did you come up with it yourself? Anyway, that guy surnamed Tang will go down and join you after this is over."