Chapter 258: Starkly Different Attitudes
He quickly raised his hand to calm the crowd. After opening it, she set it on the nightstand to cool.
Richard noticed that William had regained consciousness but said nothing. He quietly left the room to fetch a nurse.
Worried that William might not be able to handle the pain, the nurse repeatedly reminded him before leaving that if it became unbearable, he should ask them for painkillers immediately.
After another round of chaos subsided, William once again asked that question full of hope.
"Have you forgiven me yet?"
Naturally, he was addressing Isabella and Olivia. He figured that after what he had done today—after saving Isabella—he deserved at least some words of praise from her.
Isabella first made sure Olivia started eating, then picked up a spoon and began feeding William little by little.
"What happened today is one thing. Everything else is another," Isabella replied, her tone polite but distant. "I'm grateful you saved me, but that doesn't change anything about our marriage."
Isabella couldn't forgive William for the wrongs he'd committed against her just because he'd saved herlife. If she did that, wouldn't she be betraying herself?
Richard returned from outside just in time to hear this explanation. A trace of admiration flickered imperceptibly in his eyes.
Isabella never let other people's moral manipulation make her forget what she truly needed. Forgetting the reasons behind her convictions would only bring her more pain.
William fell silent. He focused on managing the pain while quietly eating.
Since the divorce battle had begun, this was the first time they'd shared such a peaceful, intimate moment.
"Tomorrow we're heading to Ashford," Richard told Isabella once they'd finished eating.
"Ashford?" Isabella sounded surprised.
After what had happened today, Isabella felt an instinctive wariness toward the villages in this area. She was afraid everyone would be just like the villagers from Riverside.
Richard nodded. "Ashford is a bit further downstream from Riverside. They've got paved roads throughout, so we can drive straight there."
The reason Ashford had never developed was because it sat somewhat far from the water source.
If they were going to build a factory there, they'd first need to construct an aqueduct.
When drafting the initial proposal, Richard had felt that building an aqueduct would waste too much time, which was why he'd chosen Riverside instead.
Now it was clear they should have gone with Ashford from the start. It would have saved them all this trouble.
Hearing that they were planning to go out alone again tomorrow, William insisted on tagging along despite his injury.
"I'm coming with you."
Richard shot him a look. "You're already hurt. What's the point?"
"I can push through it. Even injured, I can still help you solve problems," William said stubbornly.
Isabella's brow furrowed slightly. "The nurse said it's hot and humid out there. If you go, your wound will definitely get infected. And if you pick up some kind of bacteria..."
William felt indifferent through most of what she said—at worst, he'd just go all in. But hearing that last part, his expression softened.
He couldn't drag Isabella and Olivia into more trouble because of his own recklessness.
"All right, fine," William said, a flash of embarrassment crossing his face. "If anything happens, call me right away. I can arrange rescue for you."
Before today's incident, William hadn't thought this place was particularly dangerous.
Isabella and Richard hired a temporary caregiver to look after William, then returned to their hotel to rest and prepare for the next day's village visit.
This time, the mayor of Ashford personally came to pick them up.
The mayor was a kind-looking middle-aged man who greeted them with humble respect, constantly inquiring after their well-being.
"I heard Mr. Spencer and Ms. Capulet had some trouble in Riverside yesterday?" The mayor's face showed genuine concern. "Please don't let one village's behavior make you think everyone around here is unreasonable."
"When we were building the roads, Riverside blocked us every step of the way. If it weren't for them, Ashford would have paved our roads alongside Pinehurst and prospered years ago."
"But Riverside saw others building roads and got jealous. They didn't want to pay for their own roads, but they didn't want anyone else to succeed either. They sabotaged us time and again. We didn't finish our roads until last year."
"By then, we'd already missed our best window for development."
Richard smiled. "Don't worry, Mayor. I approached you about this partnership because I'd already researched your community. I know Ashford is trustworthy, which is why I chose you."
The mayor let out a relieved breath, finally confident they wouldn't lose this opportunity because of Riverside's actions.
When they reached the village entrance, they immediately spotted several villagers holding up banners.
The signs read: "Welcome Infinity Ventures Corporation's Mr. Spencer for Your Inspection and Guidance."
It looked quite formal, though also somewhat embarrassing.
"I'm just here to conduct a site survey—I wouldn't call it 'inspection and guidance.' In the future, your town will be the production base for our flying cars and Aetheria's megafactory. So really, this should be mutually beneficial."
Hearing this, the mayor understood that Richard wanted to set clear expectations, but he simply smiled.
"This was all organized spontaneously by the villagers. I can swear to God I didn't arrange any of it!"
As soon as they stepped out of the car, villagers began beating drums and gongs. The entire village was swept up in a festive atmosphere.
Olivia seemed delighted. Her tense nerves finally relaxed, and she wasn't as guarded as before.
Ashford had a slightly larger population and had managed to retain some young people—there were even a few children.
Olivia quickly found playmates here. The kids hit it off immediately, and innocent children's laughter soon filled the village entrance.
"Ashford might not have the same advantages as Pinehurst or Riverside, but our villagers are genuinely honest. Everyone's more than happy to sell their land and then continue working at your megafactory."
The salary Richard offered matched first-tier city wages in the country. The villagers could earn serious money right from home—they had no reason not to treasure this opportunity.
"My husband lost a finger while working out of town last year. Now when he goes looking for work, no one wants to hire him. Mr. Spencer, could your factory give him a job as a security guard?"
Richard agreed to whatever reasonable requests the villagers made, as long as they were within his power to grant.
After answering countless questions, the mayor began to worry that Richard might grow annoyed. He quickly raised his hand to calm the crowd.
"Let's get back to discussing the partnership. Mr. Spencer, the buyout price you offered before was already very generous. We're happy to sign on those terms."