Chapter 689: The Journey Home

Chapter 689 -441: The Journey Home

Hearing Feng Mountain’s question,

Fat Laura froze for a moment, a flash of panic in her eyes.

She hesitated.

She unconsciously wrung her hands, her knuckles turning white from the pressure.

“Um… sir.”

Then, taking a deep breath, an earnest look appeared on her face as she spoke in an almost pleading tone.

“Diego wants to go to Crown Territory with Miss Jenny too. Diego… he… he’s a really good kid, very hardworking, and he’ll do any job. I hope you can take him with you. I don’t want him to be stuck on this ranch like me. I promise you, he won’t let you down!”

Hearing this,

Feng Mountain frowned slightly, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

After a moment, he looked up, his gaze open and sincere, and said earnestly,

“Ma’am, Crown Territory isn’t really that different from this ranch. Even if Diego goes there, he’ll most likely be doing the same kind of work he does now. Not much will change.”

Fat Laura suddenly broke down.

Her voice immediately choked with sobs.

No longer able to suppress her despair, she buried her face in her hands and began to weep.

“I know, I know all that, but I really don’t have any other choice!”

“The new government got rid of the asylum provisions. Diego is an undocumented immigrant now, and Lady Penny can’t do anything about it. I heard they’re going to start the big community raids again, arresting and detaining undocumented immigrants and deporting them back to Mexico.”

Fat Laura’s sobs grew more sorrowful.

Her body trembled uncontrollably.

“Diego’s so young. I brought him to Melon Ranch from Mexico right after he was born. He’s never even lived in Mexico.”

“I can’t even imagine how Diego could survive in a place that’s completely foreign to him, how he could make a life there.”

“Holy Mother Mary, please have pity on us… What are we supposed to do?!”

As she vented her anguish,

Fat Laura’s cries grew louder, as if she were trying to release all her fear and helplessness.

Feng Mountain was stunned.

He hadn’t expected things to take such a sudden turn.

For a moment, he was at a loss for what to do.

He hurried to the doorway and waved his hands at whoever was outside.

It was a gesture to show he hadn’t done anything, afraid that Jenny might get the wrong idea.

At the same time, he was secretly glad Erica had been dragged out of the cabin by Demi.

‘If she saw this,’

‘God only knows what kind of frustrating things she’d come out with.’

Watching Fat Laura sob her heart out, Feng Mountain couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity. He sighed helplessly and said,

“Ma’am, please don’t cry. I can… consider it.”

“Really?”

As if grasping at a lifeline, Fat Laura abruptly dropped her hands.

Her tear-streaked face instantly lit up with anticipation.

Her eyes shone with a glimmer of hope.

“Miss Jenny told me you were a good man and would definitely help us.”

‘So that’s it!’

‘After all that, it turns out she was pulling strings.’

‘How else could she have targeted my weak spot so perfectly?’

Feng Mountain shook his head with a wry smile.

He mused to himself.

‘It’s not like this weakness of mine works on just any woman.’

‘I’m only considering this because it was Jenny who asked. I wouldn’t have agreed otherwise.’

‘Still, Crown Territory really is short on people right now.’

‘Once the highway is finished,’

‘I’ll need my own people to manage all sorts of things. Every detail will have to be taken care of.’

‘That kid, Diego…’

‘He’s a little timid, but he seems fine otherwise.’

‘And since Jenny was willing to get involved,’

‘she must have had her own reasons.’

‘I’d just be doing her a favor, and helping Fat Laura out in the process.’

After a moment of thought, Feng Mountain said, “Alright, how about this? Since Diego wants to go to Crown Territory, have Jenny vouch for him. If that kid causes any trouble over there, I’ll hold Jenny responsible. How does that sound?”

“Have Miss Jenny vouch for him?” Hearing this, a look of hesitation appeared on Fat Laura’s face.

‘Anyway, I’ve given her the chance.’

‘Whether she can make it happen is not my problem.’

Feng Mountain shrugged and picked up a dinner plate.

With a practiced motion, he scraped all the sizzling, greasy beef sausages from the pan onto his plate, then turned and walked out of the kitchen.

In the living room, Jenny and Lady Penny had finished their hushed conversation.

Each wore a different expression.

A hint of shyness occasionally flickered in Jenny’s eyes, while Lady Penny nodded slightly, the corner of her mouth graced with a barely-there smile.

When Feng Mountain came out, he shot Jenny a furtive glare.

It seemed to say, ‘Look what you’ve done.’

Then, he plopped down into a chair.

He began to eat with large, ungraceful bites, completely ignoring his image.

He seemed to be swallowing his slight annoyance at being manipulated right along with his food.

Jenny, of course, noticed Feng Mountain’s mock-angry glare.

She knew her little trick had been exposed.

She slowly rose and headed toward the kitchen.

Her gait was strange, though; she walked with a hesitant, halting rhythm, looking a bit like a waddling duck.

When Feng Mountain saw this,

he immediately remembered their “overtime” session last night and how he had thrown himself into it a little too enthusiastically.

It had caused Jenny to… work too hard and suffer a “work-related injury.”

In that instant,

a wave of guilt washed over Feng Mountain, spreading through him like a rising tide.

The annoyance he’d felt just moments before about being manipulated vanished into thin air.

As he watched Jenny’s slightly comical yet delicate-looking figure from behind,

his eyes unconsciously filled with affection and concern.

…

After breakfast,

the morning light had completely burned away the early mist, and gentle sunlight spilled over the land.

Feng Mountain and his group began preparing to leave.

Gruus and Diego, each with a bag on their back, wore expressions that were in stark contrast to one another.