The Family Business (4)

Lin Kang reached out and used his hands to stop the closing door. The man explained, "Mother, please listen to me. Things have changed. Please hear me out..."

Mrs. Xiu leaned on the other side of the door but even so Lin Kang was too strong of a man for her to stop. Even though it was not her nature, Mrs. Xiu argued, "I've listened and seen enough."

As Mrs. Xiu felt the door behind her slowly got pushed open, she warned with a serious tone, "Young man, I do not know who put the idea in your mind to come get my blessing but based on what you've done to my daughter, that will never happen. Please leave me be and return to whence you came from. Don't make me call the police on you."

Lin Kang and Mrs. Xiu was caught in a stalemate. Lin Kang did not want to make things worse by involving the law enforcement. An advice he took from his young secretary suddenly shot through his desperation, "It's wise to take some gifts with you when you go to visit the parents. It'll help you build a great impression, thanks to your generosity and all..."

Lin Kang placed one hand on the door and he snapped the fingers on his other hand. "Mother, take a look at these first."

Lin Kang's men heard the cue and they hurried out of their cars. While they were confused why their boss was caught in the tug of war with an elderly woman, they did not question it because that was not what they were trained to do.

They had their assigned mission for the day and they quickly got into motion.

Lin Kang's men separated into groups and took out boxes, packages and suitcases from the parade of cars. The large amount of items soon filled up the yard. A makeshift market seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Audible gasps could be heard coming from the audience of villagers who had yet to leave. They had not seen something of this scale in their life yet.

On Lin Kang's command, his men opened all the containers and the audience was blinded by the amount of luxury displayed. It was like an out-of-sort price is right session.

There were pyramids of gold bars, exotic furs, expensive food ingredients, shiny jewels, necklaces, pendants, rings, bolts of luxurious fabrics and many more. Lin Kang's men stood to the side. Due to the immense value of the items on display, they were also acting as security that day. They were there to ensure the safety of all these luxury items.

This was a good thing because some of the villagers eyed the stuff hungrily. Any item there cost more than their lives. Even if they worked their whole life, they would not be able to afford any of the stuff there. The large rows of securities were to deter these people from committing a crime. Human greed could not be underestimated.

"Mother, if you think this is not enough, take a pick of any car you like. Say the word and I'll hand you the key." Lin Kang hoped that would be enough to convince Mrs. Xiu but he could still feel resistance coming from the other side of the door.

This probably meant that all that gifts were still not enough. Thankfully, Lin Kang still had one last trick up his tricks. "Mother, if you do not like any of those, how about this?"

Lin Kang ordered one of the men to bring him the few remaining suitcases that remained unopened.

The audience looked on with anticipation. They were already stunned by things that they had seen so far but it appeared like there was still a finale, a revelation to top them all. They extended their necks and tried to lean forward as far as they could without earning the ire of the security guards.

Lin Kang snapped the clasps off and the suitcase bounced open. The jaws of people were on the floor. What were inside the suitcase were bundles of cold hard cash. Just like the scene in movies, the cash were tied together in individual stacks and their ends fluttered in the wind.

Most of the people there had not seen so much money in their lives before. Then, they heard Lin Kang say, "Mother, there is ten thousand dollars in this suitcase alone and I have about 10 suitcases with me."

In other words, there were one hundred thousand dollars worth of cash?! This was a number that the people gathered had an impossible time wrapping their heads around. That amount of money could buy their house... no, it was more than enough to buy the entire village if the man wanted to.

'Just what the man was up to that he would present Auntie Xiu with so much money?' was the shared thought of the villagers.

Lin Kang's heart started to soar when he felt a lessening force from behind the door. "Is it finally enough, mother?"

However, its trajectory stopped dead in its track when Lin Kang heard a heavy sigh. It was a non-verbal cue but it was filled with emotions of helplessness, despondency, pity, rage and regret. Lin Kang's heart began to sink instead. "Mother?!"

Perhaps she was touched by Lin Kang's sincerity, perhaps she knew Lin Kang would not give up until she relented, or perhaps she finally realized talking to Lin Kang would only ultimately benefit her daughter, Mrs. Xiu pulled the door open to face Lin Kang. If the man came seeking blessing, then fine, she was going to teach him how to go about doing it.

"Lin Kang," Mrs. Xiu began in a serious tone, this was the first time she had addressed Lin Kang by name since his arrival. That was a cue that he should take what she would say next seriously.

Lin Kang pricked his ears up and nodded solemnly.

Mrs. Xiu sighed and shook her head. "No, it's not enough. It'll never be enough."