CHAPTER 208 INVESTING IN THE VILLAGE

"Sir? He's gone off to meet with the chief," said Sue as she pointed at the building she had just left.

Yvonne squinted her almond-shaped eyes. "What’s he doing at the chief's place?"

"I'm not sure." Sue shrugged.

Yvonne thought deeply for a while and headed to the chief’s house.

Before she could enter his house, she heard a voice coming from the inside. "On behalf of the entire village, thank you!"

"You're welcome, it’s the least I could do," replied Henry.

Yvonne started to sweat buckets the more she listened.

What had Henry done to be thanked by the chief?

Knock knock knock!

Yvonne couldn't wait any longer and knocked on the door.

The door opened almost immediately.

The chief peeked out of the door. When he saw her, he was smiling happily, "Yvonne, what brings you here?"

"I'm here because..."

"You're here to see Henry right?" said the chief, cutting her off before she could finish.

Yvonne nodded. "...Yes, I'm here to see what he's doing here in your house, chief."

"Henry is here to discuss his investment proposal." The chief opened the door to let her in.

"Investment proposal?" Yvonne was so shocked that her voice was raised.

The chief nodded and said, "That’s right."

“What kind of proposal?" asked Yvonne, even more puzzled.

To her, there was nothing worth investing in the village.

The chief chuckled and said, "Well, it's quite difficult for me to explain to you since I'm no businessman. I suppose it’d be better if Henry did the explaining," said the chief as he guided her into the living room.

Yvonne entered and saw a man seated in a chair leisurely sipping a cup of tea.

The man shifted his gaze at her and said, "You're up?"

Yvonne looked away uncomfortably and acknowledged it by making a weak noise.

She was now sure that it was him who had carried her to her bed.

Except she couldn't fathom how she had not felt anything when she was being carried.

"Why are you silently standing there Yvonne? Come, sit," said the chief as he saw her standing there. He poured her a glass of water.

Yvonne clearly felt that the chief’s attitude towards her had changed, and there was a hint of his kindness in his expressions.

Was it due to Henry’s investment?

Yvonne took the glass of water from the chief and sat down. "Thank you, chief."

"You're welcome. You two have a chat while I head into the kitchen, both of you stay here for breakfast." A s he finished, the chief left the living room, leaving the couple alone.

Yvonne looked at Henry and said, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to understand more about the village," replied Henry.

Yvonne raised an eyebrow. "What’s there to understand? The chief said you were discussing an investment proposal, is that right?"

“About right." Henry put down the teacup.

Yvonne stood up and spoke with a stern tone, "Mr. Lancaster, this is only a village, I believe there is nothing worthwhile here for you to invest in. Don’t tell me you’re planning to con the chief by asking him to invest?"

Henry unhappily pursed his lips at her accusal. "Am I that bad a person in your eyes?"

"I have never thought of you that way, but I really can't understand what’s there to invest in here." Yvonne stared at him.

Henry massaged his nose bridge and said, "This place i s surrounded by mountains, so tourism is out of the question. But, the agriculture here is worth investing."

"Agriculture?" Yvonne was startled.

Henry nodded and said, "That's right."

"But if I recall correctly, the Lancaster Group doesn't deal in the Food & Beverage sector, so what are you doing investing in this now?" asked Yvonne with a curious tone.

Henry was surprised and raised an eyebrow. "You seem to know the company well, even knowing what we do and don’t do."

"I-I read up some information on the company previously, and that’s how I know..." said Yvonne, slightly embarrassed.

There was no way she would tell him the truth. She had done a thorough study on the Lancaster Group so that she could understand Henry better.

But Henry was no fool. He could see right through her bluff, sneering with no intention of exposing her. "It's true that the company doesn't deal in agriculture, but we could help by buying the raw materials from them and then reselling it to companies in the related sector."

"Resale?" Yvonne had seemed to understand what he had planned. She asked, "Do you mean, you're planning to become a distributor?"

"Almost correct." Henry nodded.

Yvonne was in awe. “The Lancaster Group is one of the top entrepreneurs out there. There's no way they’d take interest in this line of business which only has small margins. I refuse to believe that there's no motive behind this, so tell me now."

"I'm doing this for the village of course." Henry tapped his foot.

Yvonne bit her lip. "For the village?”

"That’s right, doing it for the village would mean doing it for you indirectly as well. This is where you were raised, and I can tell that you have a strong attachment to this village. That’s why as your husband, it’s my duty to help develop the village as gratitude for raising you," said Henry with a gentle voice as he looked at her.

Yvonne could not believe what she had just heard and her eyes opened wide. "So you're doing this to pay gratitude on my behalf?"

Henry nodded and said, "I had intended to give the chief a sum of cash so that he could build a school here and improve the roadworks. But as I thought deeper, giving cash directly might be a good plan in the short term, but once the cash runs out, what would they do if they need more cash urgently? That's why..." Content is © by .

"That's why you suggested to the chief to be the village’s distributor and were discussing the terms?" interrupted Yvonne before he could finish.

Henry's eyes seemed to be praising her as he looked at her. "That’s right. By doing this, the village would be able to secure a stable source of income. Although it won't amount to much once they split it up evenly, they should be able to improve their lifestyle at least.”

"So that's how it is." Yvonne clearly understood the situation now but had mixed feelings.

It was as he said - she had been raised in this village and had a strong attachment to the place. She had intended to help the village a long time ago but didn't have the power to do so, hence why the village maintained its status quo.

She had not thought that it would be Henry who would grant her long time wish.

Thinking of this, she walked towards Henry and bowed to him under his watchful eyes. "Thank you, M r. Lancaster."

Henry grabbed her hand and pulled her up, slightly disgruntled. "I told you, I'm your husband. It's my duty to help your village so there's nothing for you to thank me for."

"I should thank you." Yvonne pulled back her hand, and she said in a plain voice, "Also, I would like to correct you. You don't have any duty to help my village. We'll soon be living our separate lives."

"So that means, you still want to divorce?" Henry's face sunk.

Yvonne twitched her lips. "...Yes."

"Yvonne, do you really have to do this?" Henry stood u p and looked down at her from his tall figure that seemed to be emitting cold air.

Yvonne shrank and took two steps back.

But as soon as she stepped back, Henry grabbed onto her shoulder and coldly said, "Yvonne, I know you're deliberately making me mad, but do you understand the consequences of making me mad? I could cut off m y investment and bring the plan to a halt if I want to."

Yvonne was stunned. "Y-you... How could you do this? Haven't you already promised the chief? How could you break your promise!"