After working hard and being busy all year round, everyone looked forward to those few days of celebration. They were not allowed to set off fireworks? Even Eric found it hard to believe."Who would have thought?" Brook said, "Places selling fireworks are being patrolled, and people are too scared to display them. Even the pyrotechnician who used to come to our house a few years ago is no longer in Salt City."The directive is out—no fireworks are allowed anywhere in the province. If caught, there's a fine. They say it's to prevent air pollution. I really don't know what those officials and experts are thinking!"Sylvia, annoyed, said, "Brook! Have you forgotten? Eric is still… holding an official position, isn't he? By criticizing the officials, aren’t you also criticizing him?"Brook quickly waved his hand. "It's different! Even though my brother-in-law is an official, he doesn't get involved in those matters!"Eric nodded and smiled, saying, "Brother-in-law, you can't say tha
The journey was silent.After more than an hour, they arrived at Nutikiville.Elijah and Howard exchanged glances.They knew this was Eric's hometown. Could it be that Nutikiville had a project requiring funding from Salt City? That didn't make sense!The development of Nutikiville was largely funded by Eric. He had never asked for much money from the finance department. The notion of funding didn't add up.Upon reaching a reservoir, Eric finally parked the car."Mr. Dawson, Mr. Kent, what do you think of the scenery here?" Eric asked, gazing at the vast reservoir."It's wonderful!" Elijah commented, "The landscape is beautiful and picturesque. Years of environmental construction have truly paid off! Green mountains and clear waters are invaluable assets!""Mr. Johnson, if I recall correctly, you funded the construction of this reservoir in Nutikiville, right? I heard it cost about 3,000,000 dollars. With this reservoir, the water supply and irrigation issues for the surround
Eric hadn't finished speaking yet. He looked at the reservoir and said, "There is little vegetation within the city. To develop the economy, some pollution is inevitable. But in a rural place like this, setting off fireworks wouldn't cause significant pollution, even if you burned down this entire mountain."What I really want to know is whether you're banning fireworks because of air pollution or because it's difficult to manage. Is that why you issued such a strict regulation?"Howard was feeling a bit overwhelmed. He quickly replied, "Mr. Johnson, we'll issue an apology and lift the ban. Will that be acceptable?"He thought this would resolve the issue completely. However, Eric shook his head. "Mr. Kent, you still don't understand my point."Bringing you both out here just to talk about fireworks would be a waste of time. What I'm saying is that no matter how busy you are, you need to get out more and see what people actually want. Before implementing any regulation, you should
It was clear that Amelia's expression was not pleasant. As someone experienced, she saw something in Lora's eyes. It was love! She had even come to their home, which was impressive!When Eric returned, Amelia left immediately, not wanting to stay and be further annoyed.Eric approached with an evident lack of cordiality. "What are you doing here?"Lora smiled. "Just came to see you all. It's been two or three days, hasn't it?"As they spoke, Brook entered, covering his grin. Clearly, he had noticed something as well but chose not to interrupt and went upstairs.Eric, eager to leave the awkward situation, stood up. "Vee, you chat with her. I need to discuss something with Brook."Sylvia, understanding Eric's discomfort, nodded.Once Eric was out of sight, Lora asked, "Is he... your family's live-in son-in-law?"Sylvia's family background startled Lora. Such a prestigious family in Salt City was indeed remarkable. Lora knew that Eric hadn't always been impressive—over five years
Sylvia sighed. "Mom, don't worry, okay? Eric isn't that kind of person!"Amelia shot another glare at Sylvia before finally leaving.-After dinner, Sylvia and Eric walked out hand in hand.Brook put down his utensils. "Mom, you don't need to worry so much. Vee and her husband have a great relationship. You've been watching too many soap operas lately. In real life, there aren't that many people who are so fickle."Connor nodded quickly. "Brook is right. There aren't that many fickle people. Men are usually very loyal."As soon as he finished speaking, Queenie glared at him. "Loyal, you say? You men always prefer 18-year-olds!"Connor immediately shut his mouth, not daring to say another word.Amelia set down her utensils. "Queenie, Misty, Seraphine, all of you listen up. If any of the three brothers dare to be unfaithful, beat them senseless. If they even touch a hair on your heads, I'll deal with them myself!"The three brothers all shrank their necks. It was terrifying!Er
Going to Nutikiville meant not being able to accompany Amelia and Henry in Salt City, and staying in Salt City meant not being able to accompany Eric's parents.Upon hearing that, Sylvia said, "Eric, we should spend New Year's in Nutikiville. For the past two years, we celebrated in Salt City. While it was great for us and our parents here, no place compared to the way they felt about Nutikiville."This woman was quite astute.Did Eric's parents really want to spend New Year's in Salt City?Maybe not.They had spent their entire lives in Nutikiville, only coming to Salt City to work and support Eric and Elly through their studies.Now that they no longer needed to worry about money, no place was better than Nutikiville!Sylvia's words were also meant for Amelia and Henry. They couldn't disregard Eric's parents either.Eric didn't say anything, but Henry nodded. "Vee is right. You guys should decide for yourselves. If you ask for my opinion, Nutikiville sounds like a good idea."
In recent years, Kayden had fallen on hard times. Upon entering Richard’s home, he sat by the fireplace and looked at Gavin. "Cuz, are you still associating with them? Do you remember how much trouble their family has caused us over the years?"If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have spent years in prison, and my second-hand car business wouldn’t have gone under."His father, Jared, had kept a low profile, avoiding trouble. But Kayden and Ruby were restless and unable to stay out of trouble."Exactly!" Delilah chimed in. "Last time, that little bastard scared me half to death. Now, whenever it rains, my back aches! It’s all his fault!"Previously, when she tried to hit Blake’s chicken, she missed and was startled by Eric’s shout, causing her to nearly fall to her death in her panic."Mom, Kayden, the past is the past. At worst, we can just live our lives behind closed doors and not provoke them," Gavin said and sat down. "People say everyone is equal, but the truth is, there are
It wasn't just a matter of millions, hundreds of millions, or even billions. The millions spent in Nutikiville over the past few years were already beyond his imagination!Delilah slapped her thigh. "So that boy has really made it big, huh? Someone told me yesterday that Eric took Salt City's mayor to inspect the reservoir. I didn't believe it then, but now I do!"She realized Eric was no ordinary person. It would be wise to stop messing with his family's chickens, lest he called Elijah, and the Johnson family might never recover from that.Though she didn't know how powerful Eric was, she knew how significant Elijah was. In ancient times, such a figure would be like the ruler of Salt Province!To Delilah, even the local police station officers were like deities. Interacting with the station chief was the pinnacle of her social reach. Yet, even those officers were out of her reach.She decided not to provoke Blake's family anymore. If she couldn't afford to offend them, it would b