Country Love: Xie Dajiao, 37, is pregnant!

Lin Chen's eyes turned cold, and he nodded, saying:

"I understand. This Liu Da Nao has been living too comfortably and has become arrogant. He thinks he can control everything just because I don't manage the manor? Fine, I'll take care of this for you. I won't let you suffer in vain."

He then gave a serious instruction:

"But you also have your problems. Why do you keep asking for leave and leaving your post? Why are you so busy? Even if you report it, if you do it too often, it will give people something to say and give them a handle to use against you. From now on, be more conscientious at work and try not to ask for leave if you can avoid it, so that people can find fault with you."

Then Lin Chen leaned closer and whispered instructions:

"Starting today, you will go to work at the resort as usual, do your job, don't clash with Liu Da Nao, and don't let him notice anything amiss."

"Keep a close eye on him. What he does every day, who he meets, how the money for entertaining him is spent, what's wrong with the accounts, what he says behind people's backs and what tricks he plays. Tell me everything in detail later, don't miss a single thing."

Xie Yongqiang was stunned for a moment, then asked in a daze:

"Brother Chen, are you sending me to the resort as a spy?"

Lin Chen was amused by him and punched his arm:

"I heard you!"

Xie Yongqiang immediately perked up, fully recharged, and nodded in agreement:

"I'll keep a close eye on him, don't worry, Brother Chen!"

With someone backing him up, Xie Yongqiang felt much more at ease.

Lin Chen looked at the new car in the distance and softened his tone:

"Alright, let's put this worry aside for now. You should go back now; there are too many people talking at the door, don't let your dad brag, or people will laugh at you. But this car is really good, it's enough for getting around."

"Yeah, it cost a little over 80,000 yuan after landing, which is pretty good value for money. It's also convenient for getting around town." Xie Yongqiang finally showed a smile.

Lin Chen patted him on the shoulder:

"Cherish her. This woman is truly good to you. Work hard and live a good life from now on. If you have any problems, come to me anytime."

"Thank you, Brother Chen!" Xie Yongqiang nodded and turned to walk back into the crowd.

On his way home, Lin Chen's smile gradually faded, and his expression turned completely somber.

Liu Da Nao, taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching him, dared to fool Wang Dana, becoming increasingly unscrupulous.

After lunch, Lin Chen couldn't sit still any longer, so he drove straight to the Ivory Mountain Hot Spring Resort.

The gatekeeper at the resort had sharp eyes; he spotted the license plate from afar. Forget about the guard post, he immediately called Liu Da Nao and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Mr. Liu! Mr. Liu! Lin Chen is here. I remember you told me his license plate number. The car is almost at the gate!"

At this moment, Liu Da Nao was lazily leaning back in his office chair, legs crossed, a small comb in his hand, slowly combing his shiny hair.

The computer screen was lit up, with QQ Farm running, waiting to steal crops. It looked like they were living a very comfortable life.

Upon hearing Lin Chen's name, Liu Da Nao jumped up from his chair.

The comb slipped from my hand and fell onto the table.

His eyes darted around nervously, his heart pounding with anxiety, and he muttered to himself:

Why is this guy here today? He's hardly ever been to the resort since it opened, so why did he suddenly show up without warning? Could it be that the chairman is worried and sent him here to keep an eye on things?

Liu Da Nao didn't dare to delay, hastily straightened his collar, and shouted outside:

"Everyone, come out here right now! Heads of the front desk, guest rooms, and kitchen, all of you, assemble at the main entrance! To welcome General Manager Lin! Hurry up!"

The resort staff didn't dare to dawdle; in less than three minutes, seven or eight managers stood at the main entrance.

Liu Da Tou stood at the front with his belly sticking out, a fake smile plastered on his face, trying to look very serious. He looked quite convincing, but in reality, his palms were covered in cold sweat, and his heart was pounding with anxiety.

Lin Chen got out of the car, glanced at the group of people, and looking at their neatly lined-up formation, said with a half-smile:

"Assistant Liu, you've got quite the entourage! I just came up for a casual stroll, and you've made such a big show of welcoming me?"

"Oh, Mr. Lin, you're a rare guest!"

Liu Da Nao, one tall and one short, quickly approached, bowing with a fawning expression:

"It's our honor that you've come to our resort and offer your guidance; we must treat you with great hospitality! Please come in; we've already prepared tea for you!"

Lin Chen didn't respond to him, just gave a faint "hmm" and walked straight towards the office.

Liu Da Nao followed along beside him, smiling obsequiously and rambling on about the recent situation at the villa, but inwardly he was unsure of Lin Chen's intentions.

Once inside the office, Liu Da Nao was as attentive as ever, pulling out a chair and pouring tea, using all the same tricks he used on Wang Dana on Lin Chen.

Lin Chen turned his head and saw that the vegetables on the computer screen had just been cooked, and a string of his friends' vegetable plots next to it were all marked as ready to be harvested. He sneered and reached out to tap the screen.

"Assistant Liu has quite the leisure time, huh? Busy with work during work hours, and still manages to steal a couple of vegetables? Are you paid to come to the office to grow and steal vegetables for fun?"

Liu Da Nao awkwardly rubbed his hands together and chuckled dryly:

"Oh, Mr. Lin, I'm just taking a short break from my busy schedule. I just opened it and haven't played for more than a few minutes. I don't usually touch these things at all. I just finished my work today and casually opened it to relax a bit. Otherwise, the pressure is too much, really too much."

"Yeah?"

Lin Chen glanced at him, not wanting to dwell on such a trivial matter, and plopped down in the boss's chair behind the desk, his tone turning serious:

"Stop talking nonsense, bring me the ledgers and all the expense receipts so I can take a look."

Liu Da Nao felt a chill run down his spine, still trying to bluff:

"Mr. Lin, the accounts are all filed with the finance department. Should I call the finance department over to report in person?"

"No need, I'll see for myself. You go get it yourself, now, don't dawdle."

Liu Da Nao didn't dare to talk back. He dawdled over to the safe and took out a large stack of account books.

My mind raced the whole way, desperately trying to recall which accounts had loopholes, which could be covered up, and which I needed to quickly find a way to cover them up.

Lin Chen sat at the table, flipping through the account books page by page. The more he looked, the more somber his expression became, and the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly oppressive.

"Snapped!"

After flipping through the ledger for almost twenty minutes, he raised his hand and slammed it onto the table, making quite a commotion.

He stared at Liu Da Nao, his tone cold:

"Well, Liu the Big Head, the occupancy rate looks pretty high on paper, and the restaurant revenue is also quite substantial. So after all that work, this is all the profit we're left with? This is such a big resort, bustling with people every day, and this is all the money we make? Are you kidding me?"

Liu Da Nao immediately broke out in a sweat and quickly stepped forward to explain:

"Mr. Lin, we've just opened! The initial investment was huge—the remaining balance on the renovations, equipment, employee salaries, materials—everything costs money. Once the costs are amortized, the profit margin is naturally thin..."

"Stop giving me that nonsense!"

Lin Chen interrupted him directly, his voice much louder:

"I know the costs better than you! I think you're just spending too much on entertaining! Take a good look at yourself, how much are you spending on hospitality? You're entertaining people every day, with seafood and alcohol at every meal. Who are you entertaining every single day?"

He jabbed his finger sharply at the entertainment expenses section of the ledger:

"Abalone, lobster, sea cucumber, and Wuliangye liquor—they eat it all! Tell me, which big shot is so extravagant that they come to this remote mountain village every day to eat seafood?"

"You can understand if these big clients come here to eat some local delicacies and try something new, but if they want seafood, why don't they go to the coast for fresh seafood? Why would they come all the way to this remote mountain village? Do you think I'm stupid, or are you just plain stupid?"

Liu Da Nao, startled by the shout, shrank back and stammered in defense:

"They're all... all people connected to our group! They heard about the opening of the resort and came to show their support and do some research. It's all necessary social interaction... They've come all this way, we can't just not feed them and be impolite..."

"Social exchanges?"

Lin Chen laughed in anger and said sarcastically:

"Is it just about indulging in lobster and abalone every day for social obligations? Have you even calculated how much a meal costs? What benefits do these so-called 'connections' bring to the group? The whole tour group comes here to eat and drink for free, and they even have to serve us the best wine and cigarettes?"

"Our resort is a business to make money, not a charity! To put it bluntly, you're just using company money to do favors and pretend to be generous, while secretly pocketing the profits, isn't that right!"

"No, no! I absolutely didn't!"

Liu Da Nao quickly waved his hand in denial, sweat dripping down his chin:

"They ordered all these expensive dishes themselves, so I couldn't very well refuse..."