Free Web NovelChapter 448: Chapter 448: The Envious and Jealous Villagers
Goldie Thorne rubbed his aching foot, complaining bitterly to himself. ’How am I supposed to know if Phoenix Golding will have an affair this week? If that whore decides to behave, what am I going to do?’
’Besides, I still have to go sell cloth. I can’t put off making money.’
But this wouldn’t stump Goldie Thorne; he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. He would just treat a few of his buddies to drinks and have them help keep watch. That whore was so brazen, she would never be able to hold back. The moment she went to find her old lover, she would definitely be caught.
He had already let that whore have her fun for an extra month. This time, her fun was absolutely over.
Frederick Thorne’s expression turned cold. He sneered, "Goldie, when the time comes, blow this up—the bigger, the better. Have those buddies of yours spread rumors everywhere. You even need to go raise hell at the school district office. I’ll cover the costs."
He had always tried to be amicable, but that didn’t mean he was a pushover.
He was determined to make Phoenix Golding lose her job and her reputation, to turn her into a pariah scorned by everyone.
"No need for that, Frederick," Goldie Thorne said, his gaze growing even colder. "You don’t have to pay. You can rest assured about this. Phoenix Golding’s good days are over." He was hardly the benevolent type.
Frederick Thorne just smiled, offering no polite refusals. There was no need for such formalities between brothers.
Lana Steiner watched him with concern, afraid things would go wrong. Felix Thorne gave her a reassuring look and a small smile. "Don’t worry about all this. Just focus on your work."
"Still, it’s best to be careful," Lana Steiner said, voicing her concern. "Phoenix Golding is like a mad dog. I’m afraid she’ll bite back if she’s pushed into a corner."
"She wouldn’t dare!" Goldie Thorne sneered. "Don’t be afraid, Lana. The Thorne family aren’t pushovers. If Phoenix Golding tries anything funny again, we won’t even let her stay in Millstone Peak. We’ll kick her right out."
"Exactly!" Phoebe Huxley snapped. "If Phoenix Golding goes crazy on us again, we’ll just kick her out and let her go beg on the streets."
Lana Steiner felt a little more at ease. ’Family ties are strong in the countryside,’ she thought. ’If Phoenix Golding wants to keep living in Millstone Peak, she’ll probably have to behave after being taught a lesson, right?’
Early the next morning, Frederick Thorne and Lana Steiner headed back to town, taking the floral fabric with them. Lana had taken measurements for both Phoebe Huxley and Amanda Chapman and planned to make their new dresses once she was back.
Goldie Thorne also set out early. First, he went to Adrian Hawthorne’s place to pick up some fabric. He planned to round up a few of his cronies and sell it in the surrounding villages. People in the countryside had fewer cloth ration coupons, and their clothes wore out quickly from daily labor, so the demand for fabric was actually quite high. He took mostly blue cloth, along with some floral prints. This way, he could sell fabric and work on catching Phoenix Golding in the act at the same time—killing two birds with one stone.
Adrian Hawthorne, meanwhile, went to Vessaria to handle sales. Operations had to be spread out. His goal was to capture the markets in Wraven and Vessaria first, then expand throughout Zylos Province. A single province would be more than enough to make a fortune. This batch of fabric would surely sell out in no time.
Tang Xiaonan resumed her daily routine of going to school and coming home. As the weather grew hotter, she started wearing a dress every day. It was a new one bought for her by Crazy Grandpa Feng, and its fashionable style caused quite a stir in the village. Many of the local women came over to get a closer look, planning to make similar ones for their own daughters.
When they learned the dress was a gift from one of Adrian Hawthorne’s relatives, the villagers grew even more envious. ’If only we had tried to get on the Hawthorne family’s good side back then,’ they thought, ’maybe we could be enjoying some of those benefits now.’
A short while ago, Shane Thorne’s family had bought a new sewing machine. His youngest son was getting married in the latter half of the year, and while Shane Thorne had the money, he lacked the necessary purchase coupons. He had gone through a lot of trouble just to get a coupon for a bicycle and was still short one for a sewing machine. The villagers had heard him grumbling about it countless times, so they were all surprised when he suddenly managed to buy one.
