The security guards present were all stunned.
What kind of audacious words were those from Lin Xiao Tian?
This company belonged to his father!
But the guards knew that Lin Xiao Tian was currently in charge of personnel appointments and dismissals. If they didn't comply, they would be offending him.
"Um... Young Master Jiang, could you please cooperate?"
A security guard hesitantly approached Jiang Li.
Jiang Li was furious, glaring at Lin Xiao Tian. But Lin Xiao Tian merely shot him a look, and Jiang Li’s temper deflated significantly.
Jiang Li snorted coldly, shoved aside a nearby guard, and walked towards the exit.
As he was about to leave, he shot a venomous glance at Lin Xiao Tian. However, the moment Lin Xiao Tian turned to look at him, he immediately chickened out and averted his gaze.
"What are you looking at? Get back to work!"
Lin Xiao Tian glanced at the people around him and then left the office area of the business department.
The matter of Jiang Li quickly reached Jiang Kun.
In the president's office, Jiang Kun slammed the table in anger.
"Lin Xiao Tian!"
Lin Xiao Tian expelling Jiang Li from the Jiang Corporation in front of the entire group was an immense humiliation for Jiang Kun.
Not long after, Jiang Kun received a call from Jiang Li.
Jiang Li complained incessantly on the phone, and Jiang Kun could only repeatedly try to comfort him.
His son had always been his treasure. He himself was reluctant to scold or hit him, yet Lin Xiao Tian had done both.
In the past, Jiang Kun would have never let Lin Xiao Tian off the hook.
However, this time, his actions had clearly been discovered by the old lady. He was unsure if the old lady had other intentions towards him.
The old lady was the head of the Lin family. In the past, they had been favored by her and acted with impunity. But now, things were different. On one hand, Lin Li Wen was pregnant, and on the other, the old lady had suddenly placed great importance on Lin Xiao Tian. These signals all indicated that they had lost favor.
Furthermore, the splinter factions of the Lin family would certainly not go against the old lady for the sake of their Jiang Corporation.
They had sided with them previously because of Jiang Li, hoping to take a gamble. But now that they had lost this gamble once, and the old lady was not pursuing the matter, they would naturally not be foolish enough to gamble a second time.
After all, they had Fang Corporation as an additional option.
If the old lady could truly live for another decade or so, and by the time Lin Li Wen’s child grew up, the inheritance of the Lin family would naturally fall to him. They had no reason to risk it all for the Jiang Corporation!
Jiang Kun vented his anger in his office for a while, and then could only instruct Jiang Li to lie low for the time being.
"What? Dad, if you tolerate Lin Xiao Tian like this, won't he become even more arrogant in the future?" Jiang Li yelled into the phone.
"Just bear with it for now. I don't believe the old lady will truly do nothing!" Jiang Kun said, though he himself lacked confidence.
After dealing with Jiang Li, Lin Xiao Tian left the company.
According to what the old lady had said earlier, he could arrange his time flexibly.
Lin Xiao Tian took advantage of this time to visit the National Medical Hall and check on Nannan.
Fortunately, Nannan had not suffered any harm. She had merely been traumatized by being locked up for a period. However, Nannan was very fond of Lin Xiao Tian. Upon seeing him, she immediately became much livelier, leaving Liang Xu, who was accompanying her, feeling helpless. He was Nannan’s father, after all.
In the afternoon, Lin Xiao Tian went to comfort Wei Long.
This fellow had also been kidnapped for several days because of him. He wondered what his current condition was.
However, when Lin Xiao Tian saw Wei Long, he found that he hadn’t been greatly frightened. He even recounted how brave he had been during his kidnapping.
"Xiao Tian, you wouldn't believe it. When they asked me to call you back then, I refused! We're good brothers, how could I implicate you?
It's a pity I forgot to delete your number. They took my phone and dialed it. Fortunately, the call didn't go through."
Wei Long spoke with considerable regret.
Lin Xiao Tian patted Wei Long on the shoulder, saying nothing more.
Afterward, Lin Xiao Tian visited Jinsha Village again.
The village road was still under construction. Lin Xiao Tian glanced at the workers and noticed only a small number of Jinsha Village villagers present.
Some of the fellow villagers, upon seeing Lin Xiao Tian, seemed hesitant to speak.
Lin Xiao Tian felt guilty.
Those people had threatened everyone in the village to stop him before. The villagers were probably still reeling from the fear.
Lin Xiao Tian heard from Li Ergou that the number of villagers who used to deliver fish to them had decreased by more than half this time. Fortunately, Xue Ziyan had sent people in time to ensure a normal supply of goods.
After returning to the village, Lin Xiao Tian specifically paid a visit to Li Ergou.
Upon entering, Lin Xiao Tian saw Zhang Xuefen, who had put on some weight. Zhang Xuefen was not far into her pregnancy.
Lin Xiao Tian took Zhang Xuefen’s pulse and confirmed that she was not in any serious condition. He then prescribed some medicinal herbs for Li Ergou to help with the pregnancy and instructed him to purchase them from the pharmacy regularly.
"Xiao Tian, everyone doesn't blame you. They know this wasn't your fault. They're just a little scared right now. It will get better after some time." Li Ergou immediately understood Lin Xiao Tian's concerns.
Lin Xiao Tian did not hide his feelings, only feeling a sense of guilt.
In the following days, Lin Xiao Tian successively visited other households in the village.
He was particularly concerned about families with children. This incident had seen all the village children abducted without exception. Compared to those who had only received verbal warnings, the parents of these children had clearly been more frightened.
"Xiao Tian, you're here." Li Ermao addressed Lin Xiao Tian by his generation.
Uncharacteristically, Lin Xiao Tian did not pat him but instead stroked his head.
"Ermao, is everything alright?"
"I'm fine. I'm a tough guy, my bones are hard!" Li Ermao said heroically.
But as soon as he said that, he heard Auntie Li's voice from inside.
"Ermao, what are you still loitering outside for? It's time to eat!"
Auntie Li called out, glancing at Lin Xiao Tian as she did so.
Lin Xiao Tian greeted her, but Auntie Li only responded politely before pulling Ermao away.
Lin Xiao Tian sighed.
Why had he become involved in such matters?
He had simply wanted to take good care of Qin Yuxiang and live his own life. But who would have thought that he would experience so much along the way?
Lin Xiao Tian did not go inside but left Li Ermao's house.
Afterward, Lin Xiao Tian visited several more families. Some comforted Lin Xiao Tian, telling him not to take it to heart, while others, like Auntie Li, were wary of him and wanted to keep their distance.
Lin Xiao Tian understood them and did not resent them.
Without realizing it, it was already evening.
Qin Yuxiang had stayed at the Qin family's home today. Lin Xiao Tian had informed her that he would be staying in Jinsha Village.
Deep in the night, Lin Xiao Tian couldn't sleep.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Lin Xiao Tian opened the door and found Zhang Cuihua standing there.