Chapter 335: What a Grand Aura
Milan put on an honest face as he delivered vegetables from Whispering Town to the two neighboring households on their floor.
"These vegetables are from our own garden back in the village. Nothing fancy, just brought them for you to try." He wore a simple, good-natured smile.
Seeing Milan's honest appearance and the fresh vegetables, which indeed weren't anything expensive, the neighbors accepted them.
"Thank you so much, that's really thoughtful of you," one neighbor said with a smile as she took the vegetables. "We actually love eating these."
Milan returned home after delivering the vegetables.
Seeing Milan's cheerful expression, Zara couldn't help but say, "You went to give them stuff? Why give things to them? We barely know them."
Milan snorted coldly, "What do you know? Hurry up and organize things. See what else we need and we'll go buy it later."
Zara turned to look at Seraphina and scolded coldly, "Echo, hurry up and get these things organized!"
How fast could a little girl like Seraphina possibly organize things?
Mason excitedly toured the new house. Rubbing his stomach, he called out hungrily, "Dad, can we go get beef noodles?"
Milan was hungry too. "Let's go."
Coming to town made it convenient for them to eat whatever they wanted.
Zara chimed in, "I'll go too. After eating, we can stop by the supermarket to buy stuff."
"If you go, who'll watch her?" Milan pointed at Seraphina.
Since Seraphina had work to do, there was no rope tied around her ankle.
Zara put her hands on her hips and snorted, "I'll lock her in our bedroom and have her organize it for us first."
Zara didn't believe Seraphina could figure out how to unlock the door from inside.
Milan didn't object, as long as she couldn't run away.
Zara pulled Seraphina into the bedroom. Before locking the door, she warned, "Clean up properly. If you're not done when we get back, you'll get a beating."
Seraphina kept her head down and said nothing.
Zara locked the door, stuffed the key in her pocket, and left with Milan and Mason.
The bedroom fell quiet.
Seraphina looked around with some fear and anxiety. At such a young age, she didn't really know how to organize things properly.
By the time Zara and her family of three had eaten their fill and returned home loaded with shopping bags, three hours had passed.
Zara pulled the bedroom key from her pocket and opened the door. She pushed the door open and saw the messy items scattered on the floor. Stamping her feet in anger, she said, "This is terrible, Echo! What kind of organizing is this!"
Zara stepped into the bedroom and raised her hand, slapping Seraphina several times.
Facing Zara's scolding and slaps, Seraphina stood there silently, afraid, taking the beating.
Seraphina cried softly, not daring to resist.
"You idiot, you can't even do a simple task right!"
Milan sat on the sofa and turned on the TV. Hearing the sounds of scolding and hitting from the bedroom, he frowned and looked toward it. "Stop hitting her for now. Hurry up and organize the room. I want to sleep. What a waste of time."
Zara reluctantly responded, "Got it."
Zara glared at Seraphina and pointed at the clothes in the box on the floor. "Put these clothes in the closet!"
Elizabeth had stayed in Cloudy Town for a full six months, but still had no news about Seraphina.
Wearing clothes and pants that cost less than a hundred dollars, holding a popsicle, she stood by a street in Cloudy Town watching people come and go.
Max stood half a step behind her. He checked his watch and said quietly, "Ms. Penrose, the BOSS should be here."
Elizabeth nodded and turned around, her eyes sharp. "Let's go."
Timothy stood downstairs waiting for Elizabeth. The moment he saw her, he strode toward her.
Timothy reached out and hugged her tightly.
He lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry I'm late."
Elizabeth buried herself in Timothy's embrace and said softly, "We can't find Seraphina anywhere in Cloudy Town."
It was time to search elsewhere.
Timothy held Elizabeth's hand as they went upstairs and entered the room. Max didn't follow them in.
Elizabeth came out after showering to find Timothy looking at a map. She grabbed a bottle of water, handed it to him, and sat down beside him. "Mr. Robinson, any ideas?"
Timothy took the water and looked up at her. "Next, we'll start searching the towns near Cloudy Town."
Elizabeth nodded. She studied the route. "Okay, let's go to Bluebird Town first then."
Timothy opened his laptop and pulled up the files of people who had previously gone to Bluebird Town to search. "Good, we'll search there again."
He reached out and pulled Elizabeth into his arms.
Elizabeth leaned against Timothy's chest and closed her eyes.
Though the road ahead was long, they could only pray that one day they would find Seraphina.
Early the next morning, they packed their luggage and set off for Bluebird Town.
The car bumped along the mountain road.
Nolan and Ryder had received a call from above last night and quickly arranged accommodations.
Now they were waiting at the building entrance early in the morning for the boss to arrive.
"I heard that this time the boss is coming personally to search. Is he unhappy with us?" Nolan said quietly, his eyes showing a hint of unease.
"Don't overthink it," Ryder said calmly. "We don't have enough people here. This time the boss brought more people with him."
Nolan nodded. Though still somewhat anxious, Ryder's composure gave him some reassurance.
Timothy's car finally drove into Bluebird Town.
After getting out of the car, Timothy saw Nolan and Ryder waiting at the entrance.
Timothy had photos and information about Nolan and Ryder, so he recognized them.
But this was Nolan and Ryder's first time seeing what Timothy looked like.
Timothy had a powerful presence. Though his hair was somewhat gray, it didn't make him look old. Instead, it added a refined handsomeness.
He held Elizabeth's hand as they walked over slowly.
Max walked up to Nolan and them, giving a slight reminder, "The boss is here."
Nolan nodded and respectfully led the way. "Boss, we've already arranged your accommodations. Please follow us."
Zara was carrying a bag of groceries back to the community building when she saw a group of people walking into the complex. She curiously stole a glance.
Her eyes widened, and she thought to herself: My goodness, could it be that some big boss has come to our poor, remote place?
Zara looked more carefully and recognized Nolan and Ryder.
Zara was even more surprised and delighted. Weren't these two the same Nolan and Ryder who had once gone to Whispering Town wanting to lease land for farming?
How could they be bringing such distinguished-looking people like Timothy and Elizabeth here?
Zara couldn't help but follow behind them, then discovered they were going the same way.
Zara watched them enter the building next door.
Zara couldn't wait to rush home and share the good news with Milan. "Milan, do you remember those people who came to our Whispering Town a few months ago wanting to lease mountain land? I saw them again today! The whole group has the air of people from the big city. If they buy our land, we'll be rich!"
Zara's heart bloomed with joy at the thought of their mountain land being bought.
Milan was watching TV. Hearing Zara's words, he looked up, a flash of surprise in his eyes. "Really? I'll call the village chief!"
Though several months had passed, maybe they wouldn't buy their village's mountain land after all.
Milan immediately picked up his newly bought phone and dialed Village Chief Luca's number.