Chapter 52

In the next three days, Grace sold between four and five thousand orders each day, but her energy level never recovered. By the time she completed the last order, the world seemed a blur. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the nearest chair.

All the accumulated apples were sold, and the farmers gathered to celebrate. When they saw Grace slumped over, they fell silent. Her cheeks were red, and her lips cracked from dryness. Unable to speak, she had been replying to questions on the screen by typing. The farmers knew how exhausted and hardworking she had been, and they were very touched.

Grace finally woke when the sun set. Mandy immediately checked her temperature. “You’re still running a fever. Let’s head back to the guesthouse in Southbrook. You need to rest for a few days.”

Grace nodded, reminding the young people, “Something might happen in Southbrook tonight. Make sure to keep an eye on your people, and don’t post any comments online.”

Everyone was confused. “What will happen in Southbrook?”

Grace glanced at the horizon, where the sunset glowed over the mountains. She explained, “They didn’t filter the customers’ addresses, and now it’s been four days since the first orders were placed.”

“People in remote areas should have received the apples by now, and there are probably a lot of spoiled apples. Although the temperature here has dropped, it’s still hot in the south, so the apples have probably gone bad.”

The farmers exchanged glances and quickly spoke up. “Ms. Lambert, please give us your phone number. Once we get our payment, we’ll send you a gift. And you don’t have to go back to Southbrook tonight. We also have a guesthouse here, and the environment is quite good.”

“There’s a hot spring. It’s not open to the public. It was built many years ago by the old village chief, and it’s only used to host distinguished guests involved in developmental projects. However, there haven’t been any in recent years.”

Hearing about the hot spring, Grace decided to stay. She dragged her weary body to the spring everyone had mentioned. After asking around, she found out that a VIP had arrived that evening, and the hot spring had already been reserved and disinfected.

She thought she would have no chance to use the hot spring, but then she saw Erhan, followed by several managers. Her eyes widened. “Mr. Henderson!”

Erhan noticed the mud on her pant legs and her disheveled appearance. Grace quickly wiped the mud from his cheek. “Mr. Henderson, what brings you to Northbrook?”

“Inspection,” Ethan replied indifferently. Tim was pushing his wheelchair.

Grace quickly caught up with him. “Did you book the entire hot spring and guesthouse? Can we stay here?”

Mandy, still intimidated by Erhan, had been hiding. She was surprised by Grace’s boldness.

Grace sighed with relief. She was exhausted and couldn't travel anymore. She just wanted to go to the hot spring and sleep. She hadn’t had a proper rest for several days.

The other managers, respecting Ethan’s need for rest, quickly left. Tim also left. Grace went behind the wheelchair, grabbed the handles, and gently pushed it. She could see Ethan’s hair from her angle.

Ethan, dressed in a black suit, asked faintly, “Are you exhausted?”

Grace didn’t expect him to ask, and she admitted, “I haven’t rested for several days, but all the apples have been sold. Does that mean I’ve completed the Farm Support Project?”

“Yes. The managers tonight praised you.”

Ever since Grace woke up from the accident, she hadn’t received any recognition, and everyone despised her. She stopped in her tracks when she heard Lihan’s words. All her fatigue vanished, and her eyes glistened. “Really?”

Turning around, Lihan saw her expression, and his brows furrowed. “You did very well.”

Grace forced a smile. “When I was in Southbrook, I also thought hard work would pay off, but the people there seemed to dislike me. I even wondered if I was born with a curse that makes people shun me.”

“Nonsense.”

Only then did Grace realize how miserable she had been, ensuring that she had been too busy to wash her hair and take a shower in the past few days. She checked her reflection and quickly tidied herself. “I haven’t had time to wash my hair. It looks very disheveled, right? I’ll go take a bath and wash my hair.”

She paused a moment. When she looked at him, she saw the emotions in his eyes. She wanted to know why he was in a wheelchair. She had a painful and fast-approaching question for him. She wanted to know the fate of everyone who had offended Lihan. But now wasn’t the time to ask. They weren’t that close yet. She went to send a message from Mandy: “Good news, Grace! Good news! There are really problems with the apples fixed Boutideock. Many people...”

Ge had expected this as Alice had aimed for short-term results. The reputation of apples from Southbrook would definitely be affected by this incident. However, Grace wasn't worried. These people simply got what they deserved.