Don't meet me in your next life.

"What? There are no raw materials anywhere? No silica gel particles?" Lin Lubai was getting anxious.

"The silicone market is tightening, and the raw materials have been bought up by someone. It's not easy for everyone to buy raw materials for a while. We've already paid half the deposit for this batch of goods, and if we have to pay compensation, it will be a lot of money," Xiao Zhao said on the phone.

Lin Lubai received another call from his assistant; he and his driver had already departed from Shashi.

Yes, it's such a big order. We've paid half the deposit and just received the money, but now we're out of raw materials. Lin Lubai is starting to feel uneasy.

Lin Lubai sat in the back seat, his brows furrowed.

"Mr. Zhang, do you still have any silicone granules? My customer placed an order for this batch of goods, but now we suddenly don't have any raw materials." Lin Lubai tried calling his old suppliers.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lin, we don't have any raw materials here. We can't even buy raw materials domestically, so we don't dare to accept orders from customers." This was the result after calling more than a dozen raw material suppliers.

"Xiao Zhao, go and find out who hoarded all the raw materials. Where do we start to find a breakthrough?" Lin Lubai called his assistant.

Upon receiving Lin Lubai's instructions, Xiao Zhao immediately went to investigate. Lin Lubai also arrived in Lucheng and convened an emergency meeting of high-level officials.

"Or we can just make the silicone manufacturer compensate us. We've already placed an order, and they haven't delivered the goods to us, so the responsibility lies with them."

"That still doesn't solve the problem. If the chicken doesn't lay eggs, and you make the owner pay, you still won't get the eggs."

“Yes, even if the silicone factory compensates us, we still have to give most of the company back to our customers.”

"How about we buy a little from this store and a little from that store? That way we won't suffer such a huge loss."

Everyone chimed in with their opinions, and Lin Lubai listened attentively, understanding the concept of brainstorming, but he was the one making the decisions.

Regardless of the outcome of the discussion, he was going to lose a lot of money.

He rejected all the substantive solutions that would allow him to get through this difficult time, and after an hour-long meeting, he still had no ideas.

Back in his office, he started checking the raw material prices for the month. It was definitely aimed at him; the sudden shortage of supplies made no sense.

"President Lin, I've found out. A foreign client is stockpiling raw materials in large quantities. I think it's aimed at us." Xiao Zhao came to Lin Lubai's office.

"Yes, I noticed that too." Contact our customer service and see if you can buy some at a higher price.

"Mr. Lin, how are you? You miss me?" Angie teased Lin Lubai on the other end of the phone.

"President An, let's be frank. What price will you sell me the raw materials for?" Lin Lubai knew there was no need to beat around the bush with her.

“President Lin is a smart man. My task from above is to either return the Jizhou Market to us or give us a quarter of the Lin family’s business.” Anqi was confident of victory.

"Isn't there any other option? We can buy raw materials from you. You can give me a higher price than the market price, and that would be a huge profit." Lin Lubai tried to buy from her.

"Do you think the higher-ups are just after a little money? Mr. Lin is so smart, there's no need to say more." Angie smiled.

“President An, you’re in charge of managing such a large deal, you probably aren’t getting much, right? Why don’t you name your price? We can discuss everything. I absolutely need the Jizhou Market.” Lin Lubai tried to persuade An Qi.

“You’re right, I wouldn’t get much money. It would be a lie to say I’m not tempted, but they have leverage over me, so I don’t dare to do it.” Angie was indeed tempted, but her family was in their hands.

"You should really reconsider which one to throw away; you're probably going to get a lot of trouble this time," Angie kindly advised.

"Thank you, I'll think about it." Lin Lubai sighed.

"That's all I can say. I'll wait for you." Angie hung up the phone.

Lin Lubai made an overseas call: "Little A, do me a favor, I need silicone raw materials."

"Okay, how much do you want?" Little A asked.

"The more the better, no upper limit, at least 1000 tons," Lin Lubai said after considering it.

"Why do you need so many?" Little A asked, puzzled.

"I've been set up. The deposit has already been paid, and all the raw materials in China have been bought up. Now there's no stock at all," Lin Lubai explained.

“I can help you receive it, but the problem is how to get it back. I’m not sure, you know, the security here isn’t good.” Little A on the other end of the phone sounded worried.

“I’ll go and bring it back myself. You handle the procedures for me. I’ll go and bring it back tomorrow,” Lin Lubai said.

"Damn, so urgent? Do I need three heads and six arms?" someone complained on the other end.

"Yeah, I need to get back to my wife as soon as possible." Lin Lubai smiled as he thought of Yi Yi.

"Even if a thousand-year-old tortoise were to get married, I still wouldn't believe you'd get married, let alone spend time with a wife. Someone as focused on your career as you has probably never even been in a relationship." A low laugh came from the other end of the line.

"Get lost, I'll come over tomorrow." Lin Lubai ignored him.

"Fine, I'll do whatever Xiaobai tells me to do. But next time, remember to bring your wife to see me, and remember to bring your marriage certificate too, or I'll cut ties with you." Xiao A didn't believe he had a wife, but she couldn't let him off so easily, after all, he was the one who set the trap.

"No problem, it's just a matter of bringing my wife and marriage certificate." Lin Lubai smiled.

"Okay, I'll go prepare the raw materials for you." Little A hung up the phone.

Looking at the time, it was exactly 7 p.m. Lin Lubai called Xiao Zhao over.

"I've already contacted Xiao A. Xiao A will handle the raw materials for us. You contact Zhou Qiang and have him and his men fly to Africa tomorrow. Have the purchasing department buy some at a high price." Lin Lubai gave the instructions.

"Do we really have to use Zhou Qiang and his men? That would expose our strength. We could buy some at a high price and see how it goes?" Xiao Zhao asked with some concern.

“They came prepared this time, and we can’t withstand them,” Lin Lubai said.

“That won’t work. We’ll figure something out later. Exposing Xiao Zhou now will jeopardize your safety.” Xiao Zhao still didn’t want to put Lin Lubai’s safety in the open. They were brothers who had grown up together, and he couldn’t bear to see him in danger.

“But we can’t let them give up the Jizhou Market that we’ve worked so hard to seize. That’s the path I have to take to take over the Lu family,” Lin Lubai said decisively.

"Okay, I'll arrange it," Xiao Zhao reluctantly agreed.

"Make your arrangements and get ready. I checked the flights, and there's a direct flight to Africa in two hours. Book a ticket, and we'll fly over and meet them," Lin Lubai instructed.

"Okay, I'll go prepare now." Xiao Zhao closed the door and left.

Lin Lubai then called the vice president to arrange things here before he felt at ease.

"Yi Yi, take care of yourself. I'm going to Africa for two days." He made a video call to Yi Yi. He missed her very much, even though it had only been a day.

"Okay, I'll take good care of myself, don't worry." Xiang Yi nodded obediently as always.

"I'm leaving now, I love you." Lin Lubai blew her a kiss.

"Mmm." Xiang Yi blushed, her voice barely audible.

Seeing that Xiang Yiyi did not respond to his kiss, Lin Lubai felt a little disappointed.

On second thought, her "hmm" made him feel a little better. Although Xiang Yiyi hadn't fully accepted him yet, she already considered him one of her own, which was something to be happy about.