Chapter 549

“This isn’t just some random gossip! I went to confront Samuel myself. He’s never been able to lie, not since we were kids. With how he acted, you could tell he was hiding something. This isn’t just some baseless rumor!”

“That’s enough!” David snapped. “We have guests here. Do you think this is how you should act?”

Millie reluctantly gave in under her father’s stern gaze, her head hanging low. “Alright,” she sighed.

David’s tone softened as he reassured, “I’ll talk to the village chief about this when I get a chance.”

That reassurance finally made Millie feel a little less upset.

However, she didn’t feel like eating at all. Glancing at the dishes on the table, she stated, “I’ve no appetite so I’ll just go upstairs.”

For once, David didn’t reprimand her for her manners, and he told Jillian to bring some food up to her room.

“Sorry you had to witness our family drama. I only have these two kids, and they’re not exactly making me proud. I guess I just have to worry about them a bit more,” David said.

The meal wasn’t exactly relaxing.

When it was time to leave, David personally walked them out. He stated, “I’ll treat you all to another meal after we finalize the fruit business.”

“My apologies for not being a better host today.”

Aubree smiled in response, “You’re too polite. Jillian’s cooking is wonderful, and we really enjoyed the meal."

“It’s not our place to comment on your family matters, but I hope everything works out for your family.”

David just moved his lips, sighed, and left it at that.

After leaving Ridgehaven Town, they headed straight back to the hotel.

Bowen reflected, “From what we learned today, it seems the village chief commands a lot of respect around here.”

Aubree nodded in agreement, adding, “Not only that, but the last failed demolition had a lot to do with the village chief as well.”

“So, should we go meet the village chief?” Vincent couldn’t hide his excitement and asked.

‘If we can just deal with the village chief, doesn’t that mean the project would be in the bag?’ Vincent thought.

Aubree glanced at Bowen and shook her head, stating, “No."

“If we go to the village chief, we’ll blow our cover."

“We’re not even sure we can talk him into it, and if we get found out, we’ll end up just like the Wilson Group and the Diamonde Group—the same ones you were laughing at earlier today.”

Thinking about what they’d heard today about what happened to the people from the Diamonde Group and Wilson Group, Vincent couldn’t help but shiver. ‘Man, that was seriously messed up,’ he thought.

“So, we’re really going to buy fruit tomorrow?” Vincent asked, sounding a bit defeated.

He thought, ‘It’s not like we can’t afford it, but man, it just feels like we’re throwing money away for nothing.

‘And if we actually go through with the deal and buy the fruit, doesn’t that mean we’ll have no excuse to stick around anymore?’

“Come on, it’s business. Stalling is part of the game, isn’t it?” Aubree joked.

“We can’t do much about the village chief for now, but we can start by visiting those holdouts and scoping out the village. Once we land the project, we’ll have to figure out how to develop the land anyway, so we might as well put that on our agenda,” Aubree said, her eyes gleaming with a look that said she was in it to win it.

Vincent was a bit stunned. ‘Are we really planning for the future before we’ve even secured the land?’ he thought. However, seeing Aubree’s confidence fired him up. They were already ahead of everyone else, and it felt as if they had essentially secured the project.

Bowen tapped the table and added, “This project has been on the table for a few years now. The reason they couldn’t use any hardline tactics before is because there are descendants of martyrs living on that land, and the higher-ups don’t want to get rough with them."

“There’s just this one old man left, and he’s stubborn as a mule. There’s no way he’ll move, no matter what you say."

“The guy’s pretty old now. If you go bother him too much, he’ll start swinging his cane at you. No one dares fight back as everyone’s scared something might go wrong.”

“That’s another headache for us."

‘Even if Aubree manages to win over the village chief, this is still a problem we can’t just ignore,’ he thought.

With that, Bowen chimed in with his thoughts, “We should keep tabs on those rumors about the village chief’s son and Josephine. Let’s see if we can find a chance to get an inside scoop. For now, let’s figure out what to do about that old guy.”

Chapter 550