96: I believe in you

"Sichuan Province... a severe drought... corpses of the starved for thousands of miles."

This news weighed heavily on his heart. Lu Fan's brow furrowed, and his fingers unconsciously tapped the tabletop.

Without a moment's hesitation, Lu Fan immediately took action.

Whether it was to fight the disaster and save the people, or to complete the system mission and obtain the generous rewards.

He first grabbed the phone in the study and dialed Manager Wang's private line.

When the call connected, Lu Fan got straight to the point: "Manager Wang, I need to charter a transport plane immediately to fly directly to Chengdu.

Money is no object; the faster, the better."

On the other end of the line, although Wang Tianxi didn't understand why Lu Fan wanted to charter a plane to Chengdu,

a big client was god, and all his requirements had to be met.

So he replied in a deep voice: "Understood, wait for my word."

In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, good news came from Wang Tianxi's side; Huifeng Bank's private plane would be available for his use early tomorrow morning.

With transportation settled, the remaining task was to procure disaster relief supplies.

Next, he dialed Sheng Aiyi's number: "Seventh Miss Sheng, I urgently need grain right now.

Use all your connections to immediately, right now, procure everything edible in Shanghai and the surrounding areas with all your might. Buy as much as there is.

Once procurement is complete, charter the fastest cargo ships, fill them with grain, and transport them to Chengdu at the highest speed.

The funds will be transferred directly from my account. I'm giving you the authority; spare no expense!"

Sheng Aiyi didn't know the reason, but she could truly feel the severity and urgency of the situation from his words.

Without any hesitation, she immediately took the order over the phone: "Understood, I'll get on it right away!"

The third call was to the Reister Hospital Dean's office, where he presented his viewpoint with righteous conviction.

"Dean Reister, flowers raised in a greenhouse cannot withstand the wind and rain.

I want to take the people from the training class to conduct field teaching. What do you think?"

Hearing that there was an opportunity for practical operation, Reister instantly beamed with joy.

The progress of having a class once every two days was currently too slow, yet he didn't have the leverage to ask Lu Fan for more classes.

Now that he was willing to personally lead the team out for practical drills, it was exactly what he wanted.

So he readily agreed over the phone: "I will gather the personnel and prepare the supplies immediately. We can depart at any time."

"Then I'll leave it to you. We depart tomorrow morning." Lu Fan hung up, did some mental calculations, and walked out of the study.

Getting into the car, he instructed the driver: "To the Sihang Warehouse, as fast as possible!"

The car sped through the streets of the Concession.

Upon arriving at the heavily guarded Sihang Warehouse, Lu Fan showed his special credentials and entered the core storage area without any hindrance.

The thousand tons of grain obtained from the black market auction that day were stored here.

He came to Warehouse S-7 and took out the key to open the lock.

As the heavy warehouse door was opened, a large number of gunny sacks were stacked neatly inside.

Lu Fan's fingers brushed over a pile of sacks marked "Premium Rice," and in the blink of an eye, a neat portion of the rice pile vanished.

Fifteen tons of rice were packed into his space. Although this bit of grain was a drop in the bucket in the face of a major disaster,

it could hold the fort in the first instance and buy time. If it wasn't enough, he could make a few more trips.

As long as he could hold out until Sheng Aiyi's grain arrived, the situation could be completely stabilized.

After settling the rice, Lu Fan, led by the driver, made a round through Shanghai's supply markets.

After buying all the supplies he could think of, Lu Fan returned home exhausted.

As soon as he entered, Tang Li and Sheng Aiyi were sitting there quietly.

"Brother Fan~ I heard you're going to Sichuan Province for disaster relief. That's great, I want to go too!"

Seeing Lu Fan, Tang Li immediately ran over to demand: "I want to go with you!

I want to report the true situation, let more people know, and get them to help!"

Her journalistic instinct and sympathy for the disaster victims made her blood boil.

Lu Fan glanced at her, his tone calm but brook no argument: "No, my primary task is disaster relief, not interviews."

"I..." Tang Li still wanted to argue.

"Enough." Lu Fan raised his hand to cut her off, his tone carrying an irrefutable decisiveness. "If you really want to help, then memorize your books.

If you become a doctor, I will definitely take you along.

Go out now; I have more important things to discuss with Sheng Aiyi."

Tang Li looked at Lu Fan's serious expression, then at the silent Sheng Aiyi beside him. Although she was full of reluctance,

she also knew that once Lu Fan decided on something, it was hard to change.

She could only mutter, "Then... then fine,"

and left the study, looking back with every step before gently closing the door.

Only Lu Fan and Sheng Aiyi were left in the study.

"Lu Fan, I fully support the disaster relief.

I can go and handle the grain procurement and transport organization right now, using every resource without a second thought.

However—" she emphasized her tone, looking directly at Lu Fan, "I firmly oppose you personally going to the front lines in Sichuan."

Sheng Aiyi's brow was tightly furrowed, her tone full of worry as she voiced her clear opposition.

"Give me a reason." Lu Fan looked up at her, waiting for her rationale.

Sheng Aiyi took a deep breath and stated clearly: "The reason is simple.

The futures ambush we've been planning for so long is imminent. Without you here to oversee it, we can't pull it off."

Lu Fan listened quietly, his gaze deep.

He understood Sheng Aiyi's concerns; they were pragmatic.

He walked to the window, looking at the peaceful street scene of the French Concession outside, which formed a cruel contrast with the hellish purgatory in Sichuan described in the newspapers.

"Aiyi," Lu Fan turned around, his voice low and powerful, "everything you said is correct, but I have deep faith in your abilities.

Even without me here, the wisdom of you and Sixth Brother is enough to crush the japanese and win the futures ambush."

He walked back to the desk, opened a drawer, and took out a deep blue hardbound book; it was the account credential book for Huifeng Bank.

He picked up the fountain pen on the desk, quickly signed his name in the book, and pushed it in front of Sheng Aiyi.

"This is the credential for my main account at Huifeng Bank.

From now on, all the funds inside are at your full disposal to be used freely. I am granting you the highest decision-making authority!"

Sheng Aiyi's pupils shrank suddenly as she looked at the bank book pushed before her.

She knew what this account represented; it was the core capital pool of Lu Fan's vast commercial empire.

This trust weighed more than a thousand catties.

Lu Fan's voice continued, resolute: "I believe in your ability, Aiyi.

I'm leaving the battlefield of Shanghai to you. Act boldly according to the established plan.

You have the power to make immediate decisions. If necessary, you can use these funds to provide full support. As for me..."

Lu Fan's words weren't finished when a pair of warm lips blocked his mouth.

Between Lu Fan's inspiring words and his unreserved trust, Sheng Aiyi was directly moved to tears.

She couldn't find words to express her gratitude and respect,

so she chose to use actions to tell him her feelings.

For a moment, a tender scene began to play out in the study.

Their breaths intertwined, and their heartbeats seemed to merge into one.