1: I was reborn, and my money was reborn with me?

Parallel World, Northeast People's Hospital, top-floor VIP ward.

Lin Chuan lay on the hospital bed, various tubes inserted into his body.

His eyelids felt as heavy as lead, making it hard even to open them.

His life had been like a legend, and also like a joke.

He was the richest man in the Three Northeastern Provinces, a magnate ranked among the wealthiest nationwide.

Yet, in the end, there wasn't even a single person who would genuinely shed a tear by his bedside.

No children.

The absurdities of his youth were like a scar etched into his bones, hurting him for a lifetime.

For an unworthy woman, someone had smashed the two most important 'eggs' of his life with a stick.

And shattered all his thoughts of love.

'Back then, I was the only college student in our village.

For a woman like that, it really wasn't worth it!'

A group of people stood in the ward, dressed in suits and ties, with slicked-back hair—all company directors and high-level executives.

"Chairman Lin probably won't make it this time! The company is so huge, who will take over?"

"Chairman Lin's company seal, and his 51% personal shares, haven't been transferred yet!"

"Alas! He's so old, yet still clinging to power. Now look, he's unconscious, throwing the whole company into chaos."

"He constantly uses company money to fund those damn labs, researching 'Great Nation Technology,' and setting up some 'Lin Chuan Award'!

I think it's all just throwing money away! Dozens of billions in profit annually, just flowing away for nothing! We're running a company, not a charity!"

"We're running a company, not a charity!"

"I bet he's just moving money from his left hand to his right, funneling all the company's money into his own pockets!"

Lin Chuan closed his eyes, hearing every word they said.

Among them.

There were company shareholders, those he had personally promoted from the bottom, some he had poached from rival companies, and a few were the children of his old brothers.

Now, many of them were hoping for his death.

Lin Chuan was indeed a dictator.

He had been domineering his entire life.

He treated the company as his child, and his dream of technological advancement as his unfulfilled ideal.

With heavy investment over the years, he had indeed enabled some scientists to dedicate themselves to research without worrying about livelihood or funding, leading to world-changing new inventions.

And it was through these era-leading inventions that the company established a strong technological barrier, a moat!

But this group of people didn't understand.

They only cared about money and temporary profits, completely oblivious to long-term development.

Nor did they have any sense of social responsibility.

The ward door was pushed open.

Two more factions, holding real power in the company, walked in.

"Sister-in-law!"

The woman who entered was dressed in an elegant purple trench coat, similar in age to Lin Chuan. Though elderly, her bone structure hinted at her youthful beauty.

However, the woman detested this form of address.

She glared at the other party, and the executive immediately corrected himself.

"Chairwoman Zhou."

Chairwoman Zhou, Zhou Xingcai, Lin Chuan's wife.

She was the campus belle at the university Lin Chuan attended in The Capital, from an influential family in The Capital.

Although she graduated with a degree in business administration, she was merely a 'pretty face' with poor business acumen, but her talent for forming cliques and internal strife was first-rate.

Within the group, several projects she spearheaded ended in major failures, causing significant losses to the company. Consequently, the board of directors discussed and demoted her to a branch office.

After losing power, she repeatedly asked Lin Chuan to let her return to headquarters.

But she couldn't even manage a branch company well, so how could Lin Chuan allow such a person to repeatedly wield significant company power?

Thus, Zhou Xingcai held a grudge against Lin Chuan.

As Lin Chuan's wife, she still had many supporters.

The leader of the other faction was Li Wenbin, dressed in a crisp custom suit, his hair meticulously combed.

He was the son of Lin Chuan's most trusted old brother, whom Lin Chuan had personally promoted.

That old brother had once taken a bullet for him and died.

Therefore, Lin Chuan treated this man as his own son.

Even though they were only a dozen years apart in age.

"Godfather, please wake up!"

Li Wenbin knelt by the bed, filled with sorrow.

Lin Chuan's eyelids twitched, then opened, his cloudy eyes looking at him.

He no longer had the strength to speak.

"Godfather! You're really awake!"

A director with a bald spot on his head eagerly spoke: "Old Lin, a company cannot be without a master for a day.

In your current state.

Many things need to be arranged early!"

Another female executive said, "Yes, Chairman Lin, your life's work cannot be thrown into disarray like this."

They spoke one after another, seemingly concerned, but in reality, they were forcing his hand.

Li Wenbin leaned close to Lin Chuan's ear, his tone chilling.

"Old man, don't hold on any longer. You're old, it's time to rest."

His voice was very low, audible only to the two of them.

"Be sensible, hand over the company seal, your authority, and your personal share trust.

Cai'er and I can still guarantee you a few years of peaceful life."

Lin Chuan's eyelids twitched violently.

It was these two!

The orchestrators of this accidental car crash were his good adopted son, whom he treated as his own, and his wife, with whom he shared a bed.

Moreover, he addressed his adopted mother with such intimacy.

This unfilial son!

The smile at the corner of Li Wenbin's mouth grew wider, carrying a hint of cruel pleasure.

"Why so surprised!"

"Old man, I've followed you for so many years, yet you've never trusted my abilities."

"Refusing to delegate power to me, this is your path to death."

"Hmph! If it weren't for my father back then, you'd be dead already. Now, handing the company and your wife over to me as compensation is only reasonable!"

"As long as you're obedient!"

"I can still let your precious labs and welfare homes operate for a few more years.

Otherwise, once you're gone, I'll be the first to cut them all, leaving nothing. They're all just money-burning nonsense! What's the point?"

They're all just money-burning nonsense! What's the point?

Naked threats.

Lin Chuan's chest heaved, and he closed his eyes again.

But in his heart, he was scoffing.

A bunch of fools.

Did they really think that Lin Chuan, who had fought his way through life, would become muddled in his old age?

Seeing Lin Chuan close his eyes in what seemed like submission, Li Wenbin thought he had accepted his fate.

"Hmph, it doesn't matter if you don't hand it over. Once you're dead, I'll immediately convene a board meeting to reallocate shares. With Cai'er's and my influence, controlling the group will be a matter of minutes."

He straightened up and smugly winked at the directors behind him.

"Alright, let's all go out. Don't disturb my godfather's rest."

"Godmother, let's go." Li Wenbin hooked Zhou Xingcai's arm, the two looking intimate.

Zhou Xingcai quietly reminded Li Wenbin: "Those loyal to Lin Chuan in the overseas branches of the group haven't returned yet. We need to act fast."

"Don't worry, he won't live past today." Li Wenbin sneered, "Baby, everything he couldn't give you, I can give you from now on."

Zhou Xingcai chuckled: "Hmph~"

The last subordinate to leave pulled out Lin Chuan's oxygen tube.

A few minutes later, the ward was in chaos again.

Outside the ward, it was also a mess.

But everyone's face was beaming with joy.

They seemed to already envision a new commercial dynasty about to begin.

Just as they were immersed in fantasies of power transfer.

"Manager Wang! This is bad!"

Vice President Wang frowned, impatiently barking, "What's the panic about! Has the sky fallen?"

"It's worse than the sky falling!" The assistant's voice was trembling as he held up a tablet computer to everyone, "Financial news! Just released!"

On the screen, the glaring red headline was like blood.

[Prosperity Group Stock Price Collapses! Largest Shareholder Lin Chuan Has Completed Sale of All Personal Holdings!]

"What! Sold! Sold off?" Vice President Wang's fleshy face trembled, "How is that possible! When did he—!"

"Impossible! This is absolutely fake news!" another director shrieked, snatching the tablet computer.

But official announcements wouldn't lie.

The largest shareholder selling all his shares would cause a cliff-like drop in stock prices, leading to a series of ripple effects.

Zhou Xingcai sharply said, "This is bad! I just signed stock price gambling agreements with several major domestic and international institutions! Now that the stock price has plummeted, even if we sell all the company's assets, we won't be able to pay!"

"It's over! Everything is over!"

Everyone was dumbfounded.

They had worked so hard, using threats and inducements.

But it turned out he had already flipped the table?

"Where's the money?!" Li Wenbin howled, "Where did all my money go! Where did he put my money!?"

Calculated, after those personal shares were sold, there were almost hundreds of billions.

Hundreds of billions of yuan!

It couldn't just disappear into thin air?

It must be recovered.

The assistant stammered, adding, "The news says that Chairman Lin established an irrevocable trust fund. All the money went into that fund. It will then operate independently each year, gradually donating to thirty-seven basic science research labs and nineteen key universities across the country!"

"What the hell! Oh my god! Lin Chuan, you son of a bitch!"

"You deserve to die!"

Li Wenbin's face was flushed: "You lunatic! You're going to ruin the company! Ruin everyone!"

"I worked so hard following you for thirty years! Is this how you treat me?!"

"Lin Chuan! You old bastard!"

The curses became a chaotic mess.

But Lin Chuan, on his hospital bed, departed with a satisfied smile.

A bunch of fools.

Money?

Cannot be brought into life, nor taken to death.

He would rather burn the money and hear a bang than leave it to these ungrateful wretches.

The world completely plunged into darkness.

Lin Chuan felt as if he was sinking into the deep sea, everything drifting away from him.

In the endless darkness.

He seemed to see his parents who died young, and the brothers who fell by his side during those years of wild growth.

They were all smiling at him.

I'm sorry.

Brother is here to join you now.

The moment before his consciousness completely dissipated, what flashed before Lin Chuan's eyes was not the glory of his business empire.

Instead, it was a hot afternoon when he foolishly rushed towards a group of hooligans for a girl named Zhang Yaoyao.

That was the beginning of all his tragedies.

If only.

He could do it all over again.

He definitely wouldn't be foolish again... "Crash—"

Outside the window, the leaves of the old locust tree rustled in the wind.

Sunlight streamed through the thin, dusty glass window, casting mottled shadows, and the air was filled with choking dust.

The smell of soap, earth, and wooden furniture.

Everything was both strange and familiar.

Lin Chuan suddenly opened his eyes, his vision shifting from blurry to clear.

What greeted his eyes was a yellowed ceiling plastered with newspapers.

He was stunned!

This was not his special care ward.

He looked around, his neck making a slight cracking sound.

As far as his eyes could see, there was a rural kang bed.

An old wooden bed stood against the wall, and on the bedside table was a chipped enamel mug.

Red characters reading 'Serve the People' were printed on it.

On the wall hung a relatively new poster of the Four Heavenly Kings, and below it was an old radio.

Oh my goodness!

Is this my home?

Lin Chuan raised his hand in disbelief.

It was a pair of young, clean hands with distinct knuckles, tight skin, and full of strength.

Then, he lifted the thin quilt covering him, and what he touched was his own young and strong body.

He subconsciously reached into his crotch.

His two dangling bells were still there!

"Oh my! My balls are still here, these are treasures that I wouldn't trade for a hundred billion in the future!"

A surge of ecstasy erupted in his heart.

Lin Chuan abruptly sat up from the bed, breathing in deep gulps of fresh air.

This isn't a dream!

He had transmigrated!

He had returned to Northeast China in the 90s!

Lin Chuan looked at the open calendar on the bedside table.

June 12, 1992.

It's today!

This date struck his memory like a bolt of lightning.

It was this afternoon that he, the only university student in the village, in a fit of rage, went to fight Li Hu, the leader of the hooligans in the west of the city, all for a girlfriend he had been with for only a month.

The result was that he was ambushed and severely beaten by Li Hu and his brothers in an abandoned factory.

That most fatal blow completely stripped him of his manhood and ruined his chance of having a complete family.

A few days later, Zhang Yaoyao not only left him but also got together with Li Hu.

In his previous life, Lin Chuan was devastated by this for a long time.

But because of it, he became ruthless.

That wild era was full of opportunities.

Someone who was ruthless, persistent, and had a sharp mind could generally achieve some success.

As for achieving great success, that required some luck!

Lin Chuan chose the right industry back then; he had a university degree, could understand architectural blueprints, and then led a group of people from his village to establish the Wanjia Construction Team, seizing the opportunity.

He was pushed by the tide of the era and achieved later success.

Thinking of this, overwhelming hatred churned in Lin Chuan's heart like magma.

His fists were clenched tightly, his nails digging deep into his palms, his eyes blood red.

Zhang Yaoyao!

Li Hu!

I'm back, damn it!

In this life, I won't let you ruin my life again!

I will make you pay for your blood debts!

And that bitch from The Capital, how did I ever mistreat you and your family in my previous life?

The Zhou Family in The Capital faced several crises, didn't they survive by my strategizing and financial support?

Yet you conspired with my good brother's bastard son to kill me with a truck.

Fine, all of you just wait, these debts will be settled one by one!

Starting with the closest ones, the people in the village.

Just then, a cold, mechanical voice unexpectedly echoed in his mind.

[Ding! Detecting that the Host has been reborn, the Mall System is activated!]

[Current Assets: 12 yuan 5 jiao.]

[You have a trust fund asset currently being settled.]

[Current Assets: 678.9 billion and 12 yuan 5 jiao.]

Lin Chuan's body trembled, his eyes filled with astonishment.

[The Host can materialize account funds into cash or deposits through thought. Within a reasonable scope, it will not arouse any external suspicion or investigation.]

[Please note, 'within a reasonable scope'. If the Host runs to a tall building and throws all six hundred billion from the sky, the system cannot intervene.]

[This system will upgrade as the Host's social status increases, unlocking more functions.]

A series of messages flooded his mind.

Lin Chuan was stunned for a long while, then became ecstatic.

The money he transferred into the fund after his death actually followed him to this life!

No, he'd never heard of this kind of thing being able to follow one through rebirth!

Is this reasonable?

Did the system glitch?

Over six hundred billion!

Over six hundred billion!

The richest man in Xihong City only inherited over 30 billion.

And!

This is over 600 billion in '92, and as long as it's not too outrageous, he can materialize it all at once. What kind of concept is this!

If I don't go wild, who will?

The wealth he had accumulated through a lifetime of struggle in his previous life had now returned to his hands in such an unimaginable way.

Lin Chuan's smile became increasingly twisted.

If rebirth gave him the chance for revenge and to mend his regrets.

Then this enormous sum of money was his strongest weapon!

With this money, any hooligan leader was nothing more than a stray dog on the roadside in his eyes!

He could kick them to death with a single casual blow.

Li Hu, don't you like to solve problems with violence?

Then I'll show you what 'money power' is!

He was already beginning to formulate his revenge when.

"Clang—"

The sound of a '28-inch bicycle' being thrown to the ground came from the courtyard, followed by two rough voices.

"Dad, look at your tire, it's almost flat again. I'll get you a new one tomorrow."

This was the voice of his second brother Lin He, boisterous and full of vigor.

"Just make do! You need to save your own money to marry a wife!" A more aged but authoritative voice sounded, it was his father, Lin Jianguo.

"What's the rush for me? Hey, why didn't Xiao Chuan come out to greet us today? That kid, he didn't go looking for that girl surnamed Zhang again, did he?"

"Just thinking about that makes me angry! What kind of good family is that Zhang family!"

They're all lazy scoundrels who love to eat and do nothing.

He's so infatuated with a woman, he'll suffer for it sooner or later!"

Before the words finished, the inner room door creaked open.

Lin Chuan stood at the doorway.

He looked at the two familiar figures in the courtyard, and for a moment, he was overwhelmed with emotion.

His father wore a faded blue work uniform, his temples already streaked with gray.

His second brother, Lin He, had his shirt open, revealing a white undershirt, looking rather carefree.

In Lin Chuan's eyes, this was a scene he later couldn't buy back even with a fortune.

"Awake? You slept like a dead pig! Did you eat lunch?" Lin Jianguo leaned the bicycle against the wall, and seeing Lin Chuan, he immediately scolded him.

"Dad, Brother."

Lin Chuan spoke, his voice slightly hoarse.

Lin Jianguo and Lin He both paused.

Lin He walked over and patted Lin Chuan's shoulder, "What's wrong, little brother! Why do you sound like you're about to cry, did someone dump you?"

He thought Lin Chuan was heartbroken because he had broken up with the girl surnamed Zhang, which was why his voice was choked.

In the past, Lin Chuan would either talk back to his father with a stiff neck or impatiently avoid his second brother's affection.

But now, his heart ached.

"Nothing, I just missed you all."

(Parallel world Northeast, do not associate with reality)