Chapter 326: The Money from Selling a Daughter

「The next day, just after ten in the morning.」

Yvonne Lowell was woken by the buzzing of her phone. She subconsciously patted the space beside her, wanting Grant the Dog to answer it, but found the sheets were already cold.

‘Oh, when I was half-asleep, I thought I heard someone whispering in my ear. Looks like he went to the office.’

Resignedly, she rolled over to grab her phone.

But the slightest movement sent aches through her body, as if she’d been run over.

Last night, she had been stretched and kneaded like dough until she finally fell asleep after four in the morning.

She’d finally had a profound realization: that dog of a man couldn’t be spoiled, not even a little.

‘If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve let him stay a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. A tired hand is way better than my whole body being exhausted.’

‘At least I could’ve put it off for one day at a time and waited until after the wedding.’

After silently cursing that animal a few times, she answered the phone without even checking the caller ID.

“Hello?”

Nina Jennings’s teasing voice came from the other end of the line.

“Well now, little Yvonne, your voice is so hoarse. Sounds like you had a very… colorful night, huh?”

Yvonne Lowell’s brow twitched. “If you have something to say, spit it out.”

‘I haven’t even warmed up my voice this morning, and after last night… it’d be a miracle if it wasn’t hoarse!’

‘And in the end, it was all because this woman told me it was a “physically and mentally pleasurable” experience.’

‘Heh, pleasurable my ass! I can’t believe I fell for her nonsense!’

‘I should’ve known! The prettier the woman, the bigger the liar!’

Nina Jennings: Thanks for calling me pretty (⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎)

“It’s nothing much. I just figured since it’s a workday, your President Grant wouldn’t be around, so I thought I’d be nice and have lunch with you.”

Yvonne Lowell’s lips twitched. “Isn’t it really because Silas Lynch has to work and you’ve got no one to keep you company?”

“Hey, don’t sweat the details. Just tell me, are you in or not?”

“Yeah. You order the food. Come find me at noon.”

After saying that, Yvonne Lowell hung up and fell back into a deep sleep.

…

In a village in the south, there stood a three-story villa that was completely out of place with its surroundings.

At that moment, a large, bright-red banner hung at the villa’s entrance, which read:

‘Hearty Congratulations to Owen Ward for achieving the top score in the Epworth County college entrance exam and being admitted to Kingsland University of Industry!’

Since it was still morning, no guests had arrived yet, aside from the villa owner’s close relatives.

Outside the villa, a large tent had been set up, where chefs and workers were methodically preparing for the evening’s banquet.

In the living room, an overweight middle-aged man was brewing tea. He spoke with a polite but distant air.

“Yesterday at noon, we held a 66-table banquet in the county town. It was for all of Hugo’s classmates and teachers, as well as some of my business partners. We also considered that it would be inconvenient for everyone in the village to travel, so we decided to hold another banquet back here. But we haven’t been back in a few years and aren’t familiar with the villagers, so we’ll have to trouble you to help entertain the guests tonight.”

“Brother, what are you talking about? We’re all family. How could helping out our own family be a bother? Besides, Hugo is the top scorer this time! That’s the greatest honor for our branch of the family!”

A skinny farmer holding a water pipe waved his hand dismissively.

A woman with inverted-triangle-shaped eyes casually spat a sunflower seed shell onto the floor and said boisterously,

“Hugo, you’ve really made something of yourself this time. Not only are you the first college student in our family, but you even came out as the top scorer! You’ve brought so much glory to our King Family! This is a stroke of incredible luck for the King Family!”

A woman dressed like new money standing nearby had a flicker of contempt in her eyes, though it didn’t show on her face. She smiled and said,

“Second Aunt, listen to you. It’s all thanks to the boy’s own hard work. And never mind the three meals a day I prepared for him according to a nutritionist’s plan; I spent a fortune on tutoring classes alone.”

The woman gave an awkward smile and said in a fawning tone, “Sister-in-law, you have a point. You’re truly a woman of the world. But Hugo, from now on, you have to help your Second Aunt by tutoring your cousin. Try to get him into a good university too.”

‘Isn’t their success today all built on the money they got from selling their daughter? What’s there to be so smug about?’ she cursed inwardly.

The young man called ‘Hugo’ pushed up his glasses and said with a smile,

“Don’t worry, Second Aunt. My cousin and I have each other’s contact information. If he doesn’t understand something in his studies, he can ask me anytime.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I’ll thank you on your cousin’s behalf then.”

Suddenly thinking of something, the woman’s eyes darted around. She turned to the woman dressed like new money and said,

“Oh, by the way, Sister-in-law, last night I saw a photo on my Walter’s phone. One of the people in it looked a lot like that Bridget of yours from back then.”

The mother quickly cut her off. “What nonsense are you talking about? Bridget who?!”

“Don’t get so worked up. I just said she looked like her.” The woman didn’t notice her strange reaction and waved her hand dismissively.

“The girl in the photo has been playing with some foreign princess since she was little, and now she’s best friends with the young lady of a rich and powerful family in Kingsland. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. How could she possibly be that worthless wench?”

‘I actually wished it really was Bridget Walsh, just to piss off my dear sister-in-law!’

‘Even if it’s not her, who cares? It feels good just to say it and get under her skin.’

‘Serves her right for always looking down her nose at everyone!’

‘Before, we all used to live a hard life together. That couple was just lucky. They took the money from selling their child, went to the city to open a supermarket, and actually got rich from it.’

‘Within a few years, they had bought a big house in the city, started driving a luxury car, and even built this magnificent villa back in the village.’

‘Now they have several supermarkets and have even expanded to the next city over.’

‘And on top of that, their only son is the top scorer. How could they be so damned lucky?’

‘But I’m still smarter, more farsighted. I raised both of the wenches in my family, then sent them to work in factories to earn money to support my Walter.’

‘And I even raised them to be fair and plump, so they look very fertile.’

‘Even if I sell them to rich men later, I’ll get a better price.’

The overweight man put down the teacup in his hand and said in a gentle voice,

“Hugo, didn’t I hear you made plans with your classmates to play games today? Go on back to your room and play. Your mother and I can entertain your Second Uncle and Aunt.”

Owen Ward imperceptibly loosened his grip on his pant leg and said with a smile,

“Okay, Dad. Second Uncle, Second Aunt, if you’ll excuse me.”

With that, he got up and went upstairs.

The woman chuckled. “Just like a scholar, always speaking so formally.”

Only after Owen Ward’s figure had completely disappeared at the top of the stairs did the overweight man speak again, his voice cold.

“Sister-in-law, I don’t want a situation like today’s to ever happen again. My wife and I have only ever had one child, Owen. Do you understand?”