Lin Chen drove back to Taohua Village Base, where the once pitted and uneven mud ground had already been replaced by a tarred road, and after this period of construction, the base as a whole was nearly complete.

A row of neat factories was arranged within the base, and not far away was Lin Chen's plantation.

The plantation was divided into two areas: one for cultivating medicinal herbs and the other for growing vegetables.

Following Lin Chen's instructions, high walls were built around the plantation, making it impossible for outsiders to see inside.

Arriving at the office, Lin Chen saw Xue Ying sitting in the boss's chair with a worried face.

Perhaps she had been too busy lately, as there were signs of exhaustion on Xue Ying's face, which made Lin Chen feel both distressed and guilty.

"What's wrong, Ying Jie?" Lin Chen walked up behind Xue Ying and placed his hands on her shoulders.

A refreshing sensation spread throughout Xue Ying's body, and the fatigue she felt disappeared without a trace the moment Lin Chen massaged her.

"Xiaochen, your massage skills are amazing," Xue Ying couldn't help but close her eyes and lean back in the chair, enjoying the comfortable feeling.

"Sorry, Ying Jie, the company's affairs have all been pressing on you alone, this burden is too heavy," Lin Chen said with some guilt.

"What are you talking about? This is our company together, I'm just afraid that if I don't do well, you would blame me," Xue Ying opened her eyes, looked back at Lin Chen, and sighed.

"Have you encountered any difficulties, Ying Jie?" Lin Chen asked while continuing the massage.

Xue Ying said indignantly, "Li Yan has gone too far, he actually bought up all of DY and the surrounding medicinal herbs we need. Our first batch of products was very well received, and we signed a lot of orders, but at this rate, we're going to run out of stock."

Lin Chen snorted coldly, "It's Li Yan again, it seems he hasn't learned his lesson from the ten-million loss last time!"

Xue Ying's face looked troubled as she said, "Their move to pull the rug out from under us is too ruthless. We have agreements with the merchants, and if we can't deliver on time, we'll have to compensate for breaching the contract."

Lin Chen smiled, "Don't worry, didn't we buy seeds to plant a batch of medicinal herbs last time?"

Xue Ying sighed, "We did plant them, and they are growing very well, but it'll take months before they mature, which doesn't solve our immediate problem!"

Lin Chen nodded, "Don't worry, Ying Jie, leave this matter to me. By the way, can you get more seeds?"

"We can get as many seeds as we want, but with this batch of herbs not yet harvested, what's the use of buying so many seeds?" Xue Ying looked at Lin Chen, puzzled.

"I have a clever use for them, Li Yan likes to buy up medicinal herbs, doesn't he? Then let him get his fill," Lin Chen said with a smile on his face.

At the headquarters of Li's Group, Li Yan sat in the boss's chair with his legs crossed, listening to reports from his subordinates.

"Boss, we have bought up all the medicinal herbs that DY and the surrounding companies including Xingchen need; they won't be able to buy a single herb in the short term. By cutting off their supply, I don't see what they can use for production," Zhang Dong, the marketing manager, said with a cold smile.

"Hmm, send a reminder to those companies, and once they can't supply, have all of them demand compensation. I want to smear Xingchen Company's reputation and see it go bankrupt right after opening," Li Yan said with a cold laugh.

"Don't worry, boss, I've arranged everything. With several companies demanding compensation together, Xingchen Company is sure to go bankrupt," Zhang Dong said with full confidence.

"They're still too green to fight me," Li Yan said forcefully, and the teacup in his hand shattered with a bang.

At Taohua Village Base, Lin Chen went to the plantation alone.

A few days earlier, the seeds of medicinal herbs had been sown by the workers, and with the abundance of Spiritual Energy, they had already sprouted young shoots.

Compared to the normal growth rate, this was already fast, but for Lin Chen, this growth rate was still not enough.

"Minor Rain Technique." Lin Chen utilized Spiritual Energy to start applying the Minor Rain Technique to the entire herb field.

Only to see the seeds that had just sprouted tender shoots were now rapidly growing, producing long vines and blossoming with small flowers.

Witnessing this growth rate, Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief, estimating that the herb field could be harvested by tomorrow morning.

Having applied the Minor Rain Technique to several plots of land, Lin Chen returned to the office, where Xue Ying was on the phone.

"General Manager Wu, please give us a few more days. Our DY medicinal materials are all out of stock," Xue Ying pleaded.

"No way, we have a contract. If you can't deliver on time, we'll see you in court," a cold voice came through from the other end.

Lin Chen walked over and suddenly snatched Xue Ying's phone: "I don't care who you are, the goods will be delivered on time, but this will be our last transaction. From now on, Star Company will no longer cooperate with you, nor will it sell you any products."

Having said that, Lin Chen firmly hung up the phone.

"Lin Chen, you're being too impulsive. The Beauty Group is DY's largest cosmetics sales enterprise, offending them does no good for us," Xue Ying said anxiously.

Lin Chen snorted coldly, "Sister Ying, rest assured, our cosmetics and medicines don't need to beg others to be sold, instead, they should be the ones begging us. Pull up the list, and blacklist every enterprise that's been pressing for delivery or suing us. Since they've chosen to collude with the Li family, then they can't blame us for kicking them out of the cosmetics market."

"Lin Chen, I know you have confidence in our products, but it's hard to cook without rice; we have no raw materials, how can we produce?"

"Don't worry, I have a way to get the medicinal materials. Tell the workers to resume construction tomorrow," Lin Chen said with a smile.

"Do you really have a way?" Xue Ying looked at Lin Chen with skepticism.

In the past two days, Xue Ying had thought of all the methods she could, but hit a wall everywhere, unable to conceive of what good method Lin Chen could possibly have.

"Of course, I'll give you a surprise tomorrow," Lin Chen said with a mysterious smile.

After dealing with the company's affairs with Xue Ying, it was nearly dark when Lin Chen finally returned home.

As soon as he entered the yard, Lin Man came to greet him: "Brother, Dad's back, and he brought a strange monk with him."

A strange monk, Lin Chen's gaze fell upon his father's study.

Inside the room, his father and a monk clad in a Kasaya were discussing something. Although the two spoke softly, Lin Chen still heard the content of their conversation.

"Brother Lin, I think you should tell Lin Chen about this. He's now qualified to know the truth," the monk said.

"Master Mu, back then the Lin family almost perished because of this matter, I haven't yet decided whether to let Lin Chen shoulder this burden," Lin Hai sighed as he spoke.

"Brother Lin, everything has its cause and effect. Don't you think it's the will of heaven that Lin Chen has such a fate?" the monk said solemnly.

"The will of heaven?" Lin Hai was visibly shaken.

"We've already received word that that power has appeared in Huaxia. They are searching for the descendants of the Guardian, and the catastrophe from decades ago is becoming unavoidable again. They will find Lin Chen sooner or later. Brother Lin, this is Lin Chen's mission!" the monk's words were laden with gravity.

Suddenly, the monk's gaze sharpened as he looked toward the door and said with a slight smile, "Lin Chen, since you have returned, come inside."

Lin Chen stood outside the door, his heart chilling. He had concealed his presence just now, yet he was still detected by the monk.

Lin Hai sighed, "Is this really fate? Since you've already heard, come inside, Lin Chen. I have something to tell you."