Inheriting a Farm Made Me an Internet Sensation - Chapter 43

Forty minutes later, Tan Xiao drove to the Famous Hotel.

Exiting the elevator, she glanced left and right at the room numbers. After walking to the left for a while, she finally reached the private box Su Han had mentioned.

Pushing the door open and taking a few steps inside, a circular table measuring five or six square meters came into view. No food ingredients were placed in the center of the table; instead, it was decorated with floral arrangements. Sitting directly opposite the door was none other than Su Han.

Besides Su Han, there were four other people in the box—three men and one woman. Judging by their attire and bearing, it was clear they were no ordinary individuals.

The decoration of the entire box was quite magnificent. Romantic and stylish crystal chandeliers illuminated every corner, lighting up the space which spanned roughly twenty square meters. Thanks to clever design, it appeared both spacious and atmospheric.

Hearing the movement, everyone seated turned their eyes toward her.

She pulled out a faint smile and nodded slightly to greet everyone.

“This must be President Su’s cousin, the young President Tan, right?” A middle-aged man wearing a navy-blue checkered suit said to Su Han.

Su Han nodded and used her eyes to signal Tan Xiao to find a seat anywhere.

Understanding Su Han’s meaning, Tan Xiao pulled out a chair and was about to sit down when the man who had just spoken stood up.

“Indeed, meeting you is better than just hearing of your reputation. To think young President Tan has achieved so much in less than a year since arriving at the farm.” The man rose and raised his wine glass, turning to look at Tan Xiao. “Young President Tan, let me toast you.”

As soon as the man moved, the others followed suit, rising one after another and raising their glasses.

Seeing this, Tan Xiao also left her seat and stood up. She picked up the wine placed nearby, poured a little for herself, and raised her glass to clink with theirs.

After the wine went down, she sat back in her chair.

“These two are President Chen Chengxu and President Wu Yue,” Su Han switched hands and continued the introductions. “And these are President Sun Zhi and President Wang Mo.”

As Su Han’s voice fell, the smile on Tan Xiao’s lips receded.

Looking at the sumptuous dishes on the table, she decided that since she was already here, she should at least eat something to fill her stomach. She picked up her chopsticks and began to eat earnestly.

After tasting three consecutive seafood dishes, she had to admit the chef here really had some skill; it was so delicious it made her tongue click in wonder.

While she ate happily by herself, the other five at the table were busy in conversation.

They mostly talked about business. After listening for a while, she chose to automatically tune it out; it had nothing to do with her anyway.

“The four of you have unique vision and are involved in many industries. Lately, you’ve been wanting to try your hand at farming, but you are troubled by the lack of professional personnel,” Su Han said, swirling her wine glass in her left hand while looking at Tan Xiao, who was eating with great relish.

Finally, they reached the main topic. If they didn’t get to the point soon, she would be full.

Wait, that’s not right. She had already told Su Han about her plans. If Su Han really wanted to shove people her way, she wouldn’t be able to refuse; there was no need to make her come all this way specifically.

Tan Xiao put down her chopsticks and looked up at Su Han. Sure enough, the look Su Han gave her was full of deep meaning.

Uh, is she asking me to refuse?

It wasn’t convenient to ask now, so she just gave an awkward, dry laugh to the four people looking at her. She opened her mouth but didn’t utter a single word.

“I heard that young President Tan is recruiting people to come to the farm to learn,” Chen Chengxu put down his wine glass. “How about this: as long as young President Tan is willing to teach my people, you can name your price.”

The other three agreed with this proposal and nodded one after another.

Tan Xiao didn’t dare respond casually. She looked at Su Han inconspicuously, wanting to know exactly what Su Han meant.

While she was hesitating on how to respond, Su Han took over the conversation.

“For the four of you to say that, it’s far too formal,” Su Han said, while throwing a glance at her. “If you have any difficulties, just speak up. These four are not outsiders.”

Realizing the situation, Tan Xiao took a sip of tea and then spoke slowly: “Originally, according to the plan, I had placed the teaching aspect later.” She gave a bitter smile. “It seems I’ve moved someone else’s cake and run into some trouble, so I have to move the plan forward. I work part-time as an external teacher at the Agricultural College, and the experiments in the greenhouse cannot do without me. Fortunately, there are a few capable people on the farm. I’ve already discussed it with them—I will teach the theory, and they will handle the practical operations in my stead.”

Her meaning was simple: only after the trouble was resolved could she spare more time for one-on-one teaching.

All four of them were old foxes; how could they not understand the meaning behind her words? Thus, the four of them waited for each other to state their position.

No one wanted to wade into these muddy waters.

But if they did wade through it, their cooperative relationship with Huangtian International would only become even closer.

After a long while, Wang Mo spoke up: “I have worked with Huangtian International for many years, and I have seen President Su’s capabilities with my own eyes. Now, with a talented person like young President Tan helping, I expect Huangtian International will soon reach new heights.” She raised her wine glass. “In that case, I’ll have to trouble young President Tan.”

The other three looked at each other and then raised their glasses one by one. The alliance was formed.

Seeing that she was no longer needed, Tan Xiao found an excuse and ended her participation in the dinner early.

Returning to her small courtyard, she took out her phone and dialed Lin Muhan again. Just like before, no one answered, which made her increasingly worried.

She paced back and forth in the room, the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.

Clearly, when she left, Muhan’s emotions had stabilized a bit, indicating that Muhan had somewhat come to terms with yesterday’s events. But why, after just a short while, did she decide to go on a business trip?

A business trip is one thing, but not answering calls, not replying to WeChat, and not even taking an assistant along—all these signs combined suggested one thing: Muhan wasn’t on a business trip, but had left her behind to go lick her wounds alone.

She had used every method she could think of, but she still couldn’t get Lin Muhan’s exact location.

At this moment, a deep sense of powerlessness and defeat washed over her.

She was being a very incompetent girlfriend.

Furthermore, she realized that the knot between Muhan and Lin Kun was very tight—it might even be a dead knot.

Could it be untied? Could she help Muhan untie it?

She lacked confidence.

Over two hundred miles away in Xing’an County, in a hotel, Lin Muhan was sitting against her pillow, hugging her legs tightly.

The suppression and bitterness in her heart made her feel extremely miserable.

She couldn’t see the path ahead, nor could she see the future, and her body was exhausted.

Back in school, every major decision was made for her by her father. He even interfered in her choice of friends.

She had argued, she had made scenes, and she had even used the foolish method of a hunger strike. Each time, it ended in failure.

Afterward, she would think: if she had just persisted a little longer, would the result have been different? Would she have been able to make her father change, even just once?

Unfortunately, in this world, there are no “ifs.”

When she got to university and could make money through stock trading, her confidence grew, and she began a retaliatory resistance.

Her father forbade her from going to bars, nightclubs, or such clubs; she would not only go but make sure he saw her. He forbade her from associating with “fallen” men and women; she insisted on doing so.

The result was that her father would scold her every time he saw her. Each time, she could see that “hate-the-iron-for-not-becoming-steel” look and disappointment in his eyes.

In the beginning, there were moments when she doubted herself, asking if she had done something wrong.

She didn’t know if she was wrong or not. She only knew that gradually, every time she went home, there was nothing left but arguments. Evolving to the present, she had grown to loathe going home.

No, it wasn’t a home; it was just a place.

Heh, a place with only coldness and scolding—how could that be considered a home?

After a sleepless night, as dawn began to break, she got into a car heading up the mountain.

The business trip was just an excuse she had made up on the spot. She didn’t want to vent her negative emotions onto Tan Xiao. Therefore, she wanted to find a quiet place to be alone and adjust her mood. But once she actually drove to the service station, she became lost, not knowing specifically where to go. Just then, a tour bus passed by her car, and she followed it all the way here.

Xing’an County has a famous scenic spot—Mao’er Mountain.

She had heard before that the scenery of Mao’er Mountain was quite good and was a place worth visiting. Thinking she had no other better place to go, she signed up for a tour group, planning to follow them up the mountain to see for herself.

Sitting beside her was a middle-aged woman. The woman could tell at a glance that she was in a bad mood. Seeing that she couldn’t sleep, the woman spoke softly to her about the scenery of various places.

“In this life, one may encounter many setbacks and failures. You can look at these as tests. Although the process of passing the test is difficult, once you pass, it becomes an asset to us. These assets can make us more resilient, so that when difficulties come again, we will no longer hesitate in fear.”

Lin Muhan didn’t really take it in and couldn’t lift her spirits. She asked softly, “Have you ever experienced being stabbed in the heart by a relative?”

“More than once.” The middle-aged woman turned her head to look out the window. “Many times, the ones who truly stab you in the heart are precisely the people closest to you. Humans have a habit of turning their sharp side toward their family while giving their gentleness and kindness to strangers.”

The middle-aged woman looked back at her: “Suppose the person sitting here was your relative; would you sit here quietly and listen to me speak? Because I am a stranger, if I smile at you, even if you are unhappy in your heart, you would either smile back or respond. Do you know why?”

Lin Muhan didn’t speak, waiting for the middle-aged woman’s answer.

“Because of the upbringing in your bones. Your upbringing tells you that when others smile at you, you cannot respond with a cold face. But family is different; you don’t consider this point. You are also accustomed to releasing your emotions habitually—those words that stab and sting just come out naturally. Whether it’s a relative or a lover, you need to save some gentleness for the other person. If you use cold words and a harsh tone with them, what right do you have to demand gentle words and a warm tone from them?”