She sounded very innocent, but upon careful recollection, she had indeed never explicitly instructed those people to break their contract with Grace when she offered them a million dollars. She was simply adept at linguistic manipulation and would never say anything detrimental to herself. This way, she could easily disengage herself from problems. The project coordinator was at a loss for words. Now, there were problems with the apples from Southbrook, while the apples from Northbrook were improving. Moreover, the CEO had taken an interest in Northbrook. It was difficult for Southbrook to beg them to return, especially when the farmers wouldn't budge without being offered ten million dollars.

“Ms. Lambert, please leave. The farmers have become even more agitated ever since you arrived. Our small place can’t accommodate such a big shot like you,”

This remark was quite blunt. Alice’s expression changed several times, but she still didn’t lose her cool. She just smiled apologetically.

Seeing her like this, Yanory felt heartbroken and hugged her tightly. “It’s okay, Alice. We’ll head back to Deuville now. No one would want to come to such a poor place anyway.” Alice had the same thought: Grace had taken the blame for this failed mission, while Alice had received pocket money—a thousand dollars—from her family. Yancey had also promised to buy her a Persian cat.

She had earned an extravagant sum a few days earlier, so there was no need for her to get angry with a bunch of low-level people. Hearing Yancey’s words, the project coordinator’s face turned red with anger. “Mr. Lambert, you’re wrong. Do you think Alice is a good person? She incited the farmers to break the contract with Grace and kept it a secret, causing Grace to spend a whole day and night selling over 20,000 orders that couldn’t be shipped. It’s this scheming woman who drove Grace away step by step. If you keep indulging her, you’ll regret it sooner or later, just like me.”

He had finally seen through Alice. She was just a rich girl who pretended to care about the people while maintaining an arrogant attitude the whole time. She even did her livestreams in a fancy guesthouse and never set foot in the orchards. Grace, on the other hand, went straight to the orchard on her first day and worked through the night. It was too late for him to regret it now; he could only watch as the people in Northbrook made money.

The project coordinator deeply regretted it, but he had also tacitly approved the farmers’ actions.

Yanory was so angry that he immediately took Alice back to Deuville.

When Alice returned to the Lambert residence, the Lamberts were in a happy mood. She was a little surprised and asked, “Dad, Mom, what’s going on?” Quentin sat on the couch with a satisfied look, and Carmen also felt proud. “Alice, the higher-ups called your dad and said that the farmers came together to give you a plaque. We’ll probably hear the news of winning the bid soon. Come, sit here. You’ve lost a lot of weight these days.”

Alice was taken aback. When they departed, weren’t the farmers still seething with anger and hating her? Could it be that they were trying to flatter her because of the million dollars?

A hint of disdain flashed in her eyes; it was just a cheap plaque, which could be bought online for a few bucks. She wasn’t interested in it at all…

But seeing how happy her family was, she accepted the compliment without hesitation. They were still very angry when I was there. I thought they were dissatisfied with me. They probably regretted it after learning that I had left, so they decided to gift me the plaque. Dad, it’s good that I can help the company. I’m not tired at all.

Carmen was all smiles.

I was having coffee with a few rich ladies this evening; they even talked about you. Alice, you probably don’t know, but the Farm Support Project is an important project in Brookfield, and the tourism development is just an appetizer. Many companies are eyeing it—the Henderson family, the Sader family, and the Jensen family all want a piece of the pie. “The Farm Support Project is closely tied to this project. Your dad and I just found out about it, and those rich ladies are very envious of us.”

Mice really had no idea about this. It turned out that Brookfield was involved in other projects as well. No wonder they had chosen it.

If the higher-ups really did call to praise her, would Ethan also be impressed by her? She smiled, believing that she could win him over.

Soon, Quentin’s phone rang again. “Quentin, haven’t you gone to Brookfield yet? Several people from the higher-ups have already gone there. Your daughter is also on the invitation list. I saw her name. The reporters have been invited, and the interview will be featured in the local newspapers. The company will definitely get some policy benefits. How can you be so relaxed? Why haven’t you left yet?”