"Interesting!" Lin Yifu smiled as he held onto a document that described how Su Tao played an active role between Stefan and Dobrynin's contest.
Seated not far away from him, Michelle was currently enjoying her ice-cream. Seeing how happy her father was, she pouted, "Would the man that my daughter has her eyes on be bad?"
Putting the document aside, Lin Yifu stood up then paced back and forth in the office before he sighed, "I never expected that the relationship between two powerful countries would be affected by a small physician. Even I felt unbelievable reading through this document."
"Firstly, he might be young, but he's definitely not any small physician. He's a National Healer, and even calling him a Divine Physician isn't an understatement. Secondly, his scheming ability far exceeds others, and he didn't get so far by relying on his luck; he relied on his scheming ability!" Michelle smiled and continued, "I'm more and more satisfied with this son-in-law. Dad, why don't you hand the family business to him? This way, that stubborn old fellow, Ormond, would no longer think that he's not a match for your granddaughter."
As beads of sweat appeared on Lin Yifu's forehead, he sourly replied, "Is there someone who squanders the family fortune like you? His relationship with Vera still isn't determined, and you're already in such a rush to offer him my assets. I'm not dead yet, and even if I was, I might not hand my fortune to the later generations."
Putting down the ice-cream in her hand, Michelle unhappily replied, "You're not thinking of donating them to charity, right? I will definitely not agree to that. You only have a daughter, me. That also means that all your assets will be mine, and at the same time, I only have a daughter, Vera. If Vera and Su Tao get together, then there won't be any difference between the two of them. That means that sooner or later, your assets will also belong to Su Tao."
Listening to his daughter's twisted logic, Lin Yifu felt a little headache. However, he waved it off since he wasn't a stranger to his daughter's twisted speech and actions. Changing the topic, he said, "I still have to observe that brat a little. But for Ormond's side, I'll give a call to him to forbid him from interfering with Su Tao and Vera. We're already in this era, and no one follows the medieval age's tradition anymore. That's simply ridiculous."
"Isn't it all because Su Tao passed your test? Otherwise, would you be willing to speak with that stubborn Ormond?" Michelle muttered.
As a smile rose on Lin Yifu's lips, he sighed, "Now truthfully speaking, Su Tao is truly a suitable candidate. However, he doesn't seem to be faithful to Vera alone. It's reasonable for one to have a loose romantic life in their youth, but for some reason, I feel that Vera is in a disadvantageous position."
Glaring at Lin Yifu in disdain, Michelle snapped, "Anyone else in the world can criticise Su Tao for having a loose romantic life, but you're definitely not one of them."
Wearing an embarrassed smile, Lin Yifu replied, "You're the only person in the world that dares to speak to me in this manner. Since you, the mother, aren't afraid of your daughter being in a disadvantageous position, then there's nothing for me to be afraid of."
Lin Yifu had his own thoughts. He fought for half of his lifetime, but he realised that there wasn't a suitable person to inherit his family assets. He didn't have any prejudice for nationality. If his son-in-law, Ormond, knew how to get on his good side, then he would've considered handing his assets over to Ormond. However, the relationship between his daughter and Ormond was stiff. Their marriage was practically just in name, and this was also the reason why Lin Yifu had to find another candidate.
Although he only had Michelle as his daughter, he adopted several sons. But even so, none of those sons were capable of holding his empire.
Since there's no suitable candidate amongst the second generation, then he naturally turned his attention to the third generation. Vera was worthy of nurturing, but Lin Yifu had already made a decision. After all, this was a society where men wielded authority, and Vera would definitely not have an easy time if she inherited his empire. It's something that he didn't wish to see.
Hence, this was the reason why Lin Yifu has the intention of viewing Su Tao as his successor, but it's just a thought. After all, Lin Yifu was a cautious person. Unless he understood Su Tao well enough and learned how the latter came to possess his heaven-defying medical skills, only then would he carry out the plan to nurture his successor.
In a quiet courtyard located in Beijing.
Qin Jingyu was currently fanning the palm-leaf fan for an old man, who was seated in a rattan chair with his eyes closed.
"It's time for you to stop! Russia has already agreed to the cooperation project with regards to the aerospace technology, so don't interfere in that matter anymore. Otherwise, it won't be wise for you to provoke public rage." The Dragon Emperor sighed as his voice resounded with his eyes still closed.
Looking at the Dragon Emperor's long and white beard, Qin Jingyu explained, "If we sell those firearms to the Middle East, we can receive several times the profit. With that money, we can totally offer money to Russia and America for their aerospace technology, and I believe that they will definitely be tempted! Furthermore, is Russia's aerospace technology necessarily that much better? The reason why I interfered in this matter is because I don't think that this is a worthwhile transaction."
Opening his eyes, the Dragon Emperor looked at Qin Jingyu for a long time before he solemnly said, "Everyone has their own standpoint, but you must know when to band together as a country and face outside. Since you've tried your best and failed to obtain your desired outcome, then give up. This is called 'knowing when to retreat and advance'."
It's rare for Qin Jingyu to hear the Dragon Emperor speak in such a solemn tone, to which he immediately replied, "Alright, I understand your intention!"
"Furthermore, the members of the Dragon Group aren't pawns. Every single one of them is a respectable comrade." The Dragon Emperor said, keeping it short.
Qin Jingyu knew that the Dragon Emperor was hinting about how the Nineteenth Dragon's sacrifice in Russia related to him. However, he viewed it with disdain. The Nineteenth Dragon's death was because he wasn't powerful enough and underestimated Su Tao's strength, paying his life as a cost.
After a while later, Qin Jingyu left.
Looking at Qin Jingyu's disappearing silhouette, the Dragon Emperor suddenly felt concerned. In the two recent times that he met Qin Jingyu, the latter seemed to be lacking something.
"First dragon, what do you think about this matter?"
Out of nowhere, the First Dragon walked out and stood before the Dragon Emperor then replied, "Even if Su Tao only seems to be a doctor, he possesses great potential. The Nineteenth Dragon was proficient in firearms and was also decent in his close combat, but he was still beaten to death with bare fists."
"No one would underestimate the Fire Deity's eyes. Since it's a successor that he chose, then Su Tao must have something unique about him. For Jingyu to meet such a rival, it can be considered a challenge for him." The Dragon Emperor sighed.
"But he's too indifferent in handling the Nineteenth Dragon's matter. He's not a qualified leader." The First Dragon replied.
"A great man has to be ruthless! And this is where his advantage lies. The Dragon Group doesn't need a charitable man, but we need someone who can let go of his pride for the country's benefit; someone to execute what others wouldn't dare." The Dragon Emperor smiled.
The First Dragon knew that his evaluation of Qin Jingyu clashed with the Dragon Emperor's, which he immediately changed his tone, "I'm sorry. It was a slip of my tongue!"
When he finished, he turned around and left.
Letting out a sigh, the Dragon Emperor muttered to himself, "Benevolent and evil, that's the biggest difference between the Fire Beacon and Dragon Group. Let the two of them fight amongst themselves and determine who's more suitable for the nation, and whose initial intention when founding the two organisations is right!"
In the Shui Family's residence located at Qiongjin City, Huainan Province.
Sire Shui stood before an old tree practicing the Pulse Art. Ever since Su Tao taught it to him, he has been practicing it every day. As time passed, not only did his health become much better, but he even felt himself becoming younger. For example, he now had a few strands of black hair. This made Sire Cao, who was far in Minnan Province envious. As a result, Sire Cao tossed aside all his other martial arts to focus on the Pulse Art. However, he was too hard-working so it took an opposite effect and hurt himself instead, which made Sire Shui laugh at him.
After Ah Jun waited for Sire Shui to finish the Pulse Art, he reported with a gentle voice, "There's news from Russia. Despite the bumpy ride our representative team went through, ultimately, it all went well."
Wiping his forehead with a towel, Sire Shui asked, "Has that brat recovered from his injuries?"
"With his medical skills, he naturally has ways to treat himself as long as he's not dead. Furthermore, there's also development with the state-of-the-art aerospace technology. Su Tao treated Stefan's Essential Tremors…" Ah Jun nodded.
Ah Jun knew that Sire Shui would be curious in the process of Su Tao's treatment; hence, he gave an extremely detailed report.
Sitting beneath the tree, Sire Shui lifted a purple pot and took a sip. He did not interrupt as he listened to Ah Jun's report, which took twenty minutes. After Ah Jun finished his report, Sire Shui smiled. "That brat has done well, catching everyone by surprise!"
For once, a smile rose on Ah Jun's usually stern face as he replied, "The internal affairs of that Russian company was more complicated than we've imagined. If Stefan was removed from his post, then all of our efforts would go down the drain. Furthermore, the Qin Family even contacted Dobrynin to interfere with our plans."
"The Qin Family has nurtured a ferocious tiger who's decisive, meticulous, and proficient in scheming. His schemes are practically in loops. Now that I think about it, there's only one or two in his generation that can be comparable to him." Sire Shui bitterly smiled, shaking his head.
Seeing that Sire Shui started to read the Golden Vajra Sutra, Ah Jun quietly left.
For some reason, Sire Shui couldn't capture any of the content in his mind since his mind started to linger on a plan. Finally, he put down the sutra and entered the room before making a call.
"Old friend, are you free recently?" Sire Shui spoke in a casual tone.
"Yeah. Ever since I semi-retired, I have nothing to do except idling my time away." A robust voice sounded from the other side.
"Then exercise a little. Ole Dragon in Beijing hasn't been idling. As his rival, shouldn't you do something as well?" Sire Shui smiled.
"Sure. Since it's your instruction, I'll get those disciples of mine to fight with that Ole Dragon's kids." The one that spoke was the founder of the Fire Beacon, the Fire Deity.
"As for Su Tao… I wish that you can find a chance to talk to him after he's back." Sire Shui solemnly said.
"The Fire Beacon is a huge responsibility. Although I believe in his ability, I also feel a little apologetic to him. The moment he assumes this responsibility, he will not be able to enjoy his carefree life anymore." The Fire Deity sighed after a brief hesitation.
"With great power, comes great responsibility!" Sire Shui firmly said and continued, "I believe in him."
