Zombie Bodyguard
Chapter 78 - 77 There’s Always a Way

Chapter 78: Chapter 77 There’s Always a Way

Soft jade felt warm and fragrant in his arms; Lin Tian had barely found an excuse to hold her for a moment, but Miss had to come and spoil the moment.

He reluctantly withdrew his hand, while Xiao Manxuan, coming back to her senses, was also embarrassingly flustered, scampering off like a startled rabbit to her older sister’s side, her complexion blushing as if she were drunk.

Indeed, a man’s head and a woman’s waist were not to be touched—too sensitive.

"Lin Tian, look at the mess you’ve made; the door wasn’t even locked. Why the rush, breaking it like that?" Xiao Manxue complained, dissatisfied with Lin Tian hugging her sister.

Though it was a complaint, her tone didn’t seem angry; she clearly wasn’t blaming him, but she couldn’t stand the thought of him taking advantage of her sister.

"Ah, this is the house grandfather left us, but if it’s broken, it’s broken; there are things in the Xiao Family that need changing!"

Mrs. Xiao, being a woman of remarkable fortitude, stated decisively, "Manxue, issue a formal notice through the company to the family and relatives, presenting them with two choices: resign from their current positions, and they can receive a monthly salary twice their wages; those who don’t resign will, starting from next month, be evaluated based on their performance. Those who fail to meet the standard for two consecutive months will be demoted, and after three months of failing, they will be dismissed, without any monthly salary."

"Good, I also felt that the management was chaotic before. This is a good opportunity to implement a new policy and clean up the group’s malpractices!" Xiao Manxue, decisive and assertive, set about doing just that.

"This should have been done long ago. You two are always so exhausted; why bother? When leaders are working hard, it’s because those beneath them are incompetent," Lin Tian remarked.

His hindsight drew an eye roll from Xiao Manxue, who said, "Beautiful words, but if you chase them all away, who will come up with a solution to the current problems?"

The little girl still wanted to slyly fish for information, but Lin Tian didn’t fall for it. Instead, he countered, "What does Miss think, then?"

Xiao Manxue had just begun feeling a flicker of fondness for him, but now that he’d dared take advantage of her sister, her dissatisfaction resurfaced, "Lin Tian, I admit you have a knack for stone gambling, but these business matters, you don’t understand how complex they are, beyond what you can grasp."

"True, someone as honest as me wouldn’t quite understand the complexities of deceit and cunning," Lin Tian said, prompting the mother and daughters to shiver involuntarily. Now, even Mrs. Xiao didn’t believe he was an honest man. An honest man wouldn’t have bullied someone like that, frightening all the family members into holding their breath.

"But though I’m an honest man, I understand some principles. Grandfather told me, no matter how complex the world’s affairs, they can’t escape two things: the human heart and interests. Pursuing interests isn’t wrong or scary; what’s frightening is an insatiable human heart. Tell me, can a little concession of interests satisfy the Bai Family’s ambition?"

Lin Tian may not know how to operate in business, but many principles are universal.

His words caught Mrs. Xiao and her daughters off guard; they hadn’t expected Lin Tian to be able to articulate such insights. Xiao Manxue expressed her surprise, "So, you also disagree with us ceding the jade market and shrinking the jewelry business?"

"Miss, let me take a guess; do you plan to take a step back temporarily, and then borrow funds from the bank or raise capital through other means to regain the jade market next quarter? But is the recent loan rejection from the bank just a coincidence or could it possibly be orchestrated?" Lin Tian felt that if the Bai Family intended to target the Xiao Family, they would definitely launch a series of attacks and not just meddle with the raw jade stones.

"Were you eavesdropping on our conversation outside the door just now? Otherwise, how would you know that my loan application was rejected by the bank?" Xiao Manxue glared at Lin Tian, very annoyed that he had been listening in on the family meeting.

However, Lin Tian didn’t care about her anger and said with an unruly air, "You all were talking so loudly, and I have such good hearing. If your words are going to drill into my ears, what can I do about it?"

Could you be any more shameless? Xiao Manxue was so angered by him that she was at a loss for words. She had seen people with thick skins, but never as thick as his. Every time she talked to Lin Tian, she reminded herself to be calm, and even more calm. But it was really impossible to have a conversation with him without losing her prized composure.

She didn’t speak, but Mrs. Xiao was more open-minded. It’s normal for capable young people to have unique personalities. She had been observing Lin Tian and thought he wasn’t a bad young man, and he might have some good ideas.

There’s a saying that those involved can’t see as clearly as those observing. Sometimes outsiders have a clearer perspective on problems. She smiled seductively and said to Lin Tian, "Xiao Tian, you mentioned last time that there was a problem with the jadeite rough stones obtained from Bai Zhengchu. Now that it’s been confirmed, do you have any strategies to deal with it?"

"There’s always a solution, but I haven’t thought of one yet," Lin Tian admitted frankly.

Upon hearing the first part of his statement, the Xiao mother and daughters were somewhat pleased, but even Mrs. Xiao couldn’t help rolling her eyes at his last sentence.

"Lin Tian, can you think of a solution? I know you can come up with one, right?" Xiao Manxuan looked at him with hopeful, sparkling eyes.

Damn, what does she mean by ’I can definitely come up with a solution’? She thinks of me as some sort of Doraemon, able to solve any difficulty. Lin Tian was rendered speechless by her expectations.

Irritably pacing back and forth, Lin Tian wished he hadn’t rushed in and gotten involved in this mess. With the skills of Miss Xiao, dealing with a few rotten eggs and bad potatoes was as easy as flipping one’s hand. But the moment he saw Xiao Manxuan being bullied, he just couldn’t suppress his rage. Was he falling for this little girl?

It couldn’t be, right? They were all still so young, and it didn’t seem very appropriate. But considering how well the girl’s body had developed, even better than some adults, she did have a certain appeal; perhaps developing a relationship with her wouldn’t be so bad.

The three women watched him pace back and forth, unaware that Lin Tian wasn’t thinking about the Xiao Family’s issues at all, but instead was lost in his own tangential thoughts, getting more and more outlandish.

"Lin Tian, you’re making my eyes go blurry with all your pacing. Did you come up with a solution?" Xiao Manxue couldn’t help but shout.

This woman’s tone is so demanding when asking for a favor; she deserves a spanking. Lin Tian was really annoyed with her temper, always liking to argue with him.

He glanced sideways at Xiao Manxue and said, "We don’t have any evidence to accuse the Bai Family of tampering with the rough stones. Confronting them would only lead them to bite back, accusing you of framing them. What we need to do now is to acquire a new batch of jadeite rough stones to cover us, not too many, just enough for one quarter’s sales volume, but we need to find a supply channel that bypasses the Bai Family."

"You might as well have said nothing. If we could open up a new supply channel, why would we still be constrained by the Bai Family? With the skill level of our two Gambling Stone Masters, it’s simply not enough to select such a large quantity of jadeite rough stones from the gambling stone market, and they have already gone on vacation abroad. Besides, how would we solve the problem of financing? The Xiao Family doesn’t have any liquid funds right now." Xiao Manxue felt that Lin Tian’s solution was not reliable at all.

Moreover, it didn’t address the root of the problem, which was funding and new supply channels; that’s what was vital. Once resolved, the problem could be solved at its root.

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