Chapter 557

It wasn’t too far from Ridgehaven Town, and a theme park or a unique farm stay would definitely draw in the crowds.

Carmen sobered up considerably and began seriously considering the whole resort idea after hearing Alvin out. Comparing their team’s plan to his suggestions, she felt that hers suddenly paled in comparison.

“Since you can’t get into the village right now anyway, you might as well help me out with something else,” Alvin said.

Early the next morning, Aubree and her group made another trip to the village.

Vincent had heard yesterday that Alvin had come to Ridgehaven Town, and figured that if Alvin could buy Jacob off, then so could they, as they certainly weren’t lacking in funds.

Aubree didn’t say much but just encouraged him to give it a try.

As soon as they arrived, Vincent got the Nelson family’s address from Aubree and swaggered off toward the far end of the village, looking like he owned the place.

The village felt especially lively today as all the gossip-loving women had gathered under the big old tree in the center of the village, gossiping about all the latest village drama.

One of the ladies shared, “I ran into Millie’s mom yesterday, and she was acting all tough, swearing up and down that Samuel is an honest guy and there’s no way he’d have anything going on with that woman who lives at the edge of the village. She sounded so sure about it."

“But, guess what? Last night I heard that Jacob, the Nelson family’s son, was back, so I thought I’d go take a look. And what do you know? I saw Samuel heading straight for Josephine’s place. She lives at the edge of the village, and it was late at night. So, what on earth was he doing there if it wasn’t for something fishy?”

Another woman gasped, “Oh my goodness! Millie hasn’t even married him yet, and that man’s already had his soul snatched by a widow? What a scandal!”

“If Millie can’t keep her man from wandering, she’s got no one to blame but herself, right?” A third person chimed in.

Even with the summer heat already bearing down early in the morning, these village women didn’t care a single bit. They crowded under the old tree, waving their fans, just to keep the gossip going.

“Samuel went there last night too…?” Aubree murmured as she caught onto the key detail in their gossip. “It seems like we need to check it out ourselves.”

Meanwhile, things weren’t exactly peaceful at the Molina family’s place either.

The village was small, and the word about Samuel heading over to Josephine’s place late at night spread in no time.

Jillian, who was always quick-tempered, was storming around the house, cursing and saying all kinds of nasty things. Her son, Jason, was lying back on the couch, playing video games with his legs up.

“What’s the big deal? Josephine’s good-looking, and Millie is not as hot or as pretty as her. Isn’t that just how it goes?” Jason said lazily.

Jillian smacked him right away as she warned, “Watch your mouth!”

Millie wasn’t downstairs with her family as she’d already run off to her room to cry.

David sat there smoking as he uttered, “If the village chief doesn’t step up and do something about this, he’s really doing our family wrong.”

Hearing that, Jillian’s anger flared up even more as something came to mind. She spat, “You’ve got some nerve bringing that up. Didn’t I say we should’ve just taken the demolition compensation and left? But no, you just had to chase after that little bit of extra benefit… Now look at us. We could’ve found a good match for Millie in the city, but instead, we’ve become the laughingstock of the whole town.”

David shot back, “Like you weren’t tempted by it too?"

“Alright, enough about that. Anyway, isn’t Vincent and his people planning to buy our fruit this season? Once we’ve sold off this harvest, I’ll see if I can pull some strings to get Jason a decent job. Then we’ll discuss this with the village chief properly. If they don’t provide a satisfactory explanation, we won’t beg them for anything. Worst case, we’ll call off the engagement.”

Ethan, who had just finished his chores, happened to catch that conversation. “Wait, what happened back then? Something about the demolition?” he wondered as he promptly informed Bowen about this new discovery.