Seeing no one speak up, the mayor could only try to fill the silence.“First, we need to show determination and confidence in dealing with this problem. While solving the issue, we also need to remain careful and sincere. After the problem is solved, we’ll need to ensure caution and sincerity. Only then can we perfectly settle the issue, impress everyone, and achieve success in the economy, environment, and public sentiment!”As soon as he finished speaking, the room erupted in applause. Everyone clapped.Only Stephen, who had been feeling frustration earlier, had all those emotions turn into anger instead. He clenched his fists. What kind of nonsense was that?“Be serious,” he said sternly. “Now isn’t the time for jokes.”The applause immediately stopped, and everyone lowered their heads. The mayor also looked awkward. He genuinely did not have any ideas.“The source of the pollution isn’t Breeze City, but Aqua City. We have to negotiate with Aqua City to solve this problem.”S
Stephen hoped that the mayor of Aqua City would strictly control the pollutants released by the factories to reduce the pollution of the river.“We’ve always been doing that,” the mayor of Aqua City said. “I can guarantee that the pollutants released by every factory are within the acceptable limits.”“Then, why is the pollution still so severe?” Stephen frowned.“There are too many factories,” was the mayor’s answer. “If we want to reduce the pollution further, we’d have to shut down half of the factories, but that will result in massive unemployment in Aqua City, and the economy we’ve just managed to stabilize will be in trouble again.”Stephen was caught in a dilemma. On one hand, there was Aqua City’s economy, and on the other hand was the grain production in Breeze City. He had two choices now, but neither of them was the right one. He did not know which to choose.“Isn’t there a way to get the best of both worlds?” he asked. “A way that can stabilize Aqua City’s economy whil
However, as soon as Rachel entered the first stop, she was blocked.The Spencers deliberately sent people to block her from entering. This made Rachel quite angry, but just as she was about to lash out, a young and beautiful woman approached to introduce herself and told security to let her through.Rachel’s eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the woman.The woman wore several brand names that Rachel recognized, and some of them were brands she liked. Her aura was also exceptional. It was clear that she came from a wealthy family. Furthermore, the woman had helped her, so Rachel felt even fonder of her.“Miss, I’m also planning to go inside and take a look. Would you like to join me?” Zoey Watson looked at Rachel with a smile.Rachel snapped back to her senses and nodded.They walked together, exchanging names and formally introducing themselves.Zoey took out her camera to take pictures for Rachel. She was trained and had good photography skills, so every picture she took mad
The man stood up. He was also angry at being punched out of nowhere. He stormed over to Stephen, and the two began to fight.Although Stephen was from the Quinns, he was just an ordinary person. He had never trained in combat before, and he rarely exercised, so he did not manage to get the upper hand in a fight.With just a few punches, Stephen gained a black eye. Fortunately, the servants heard the commotion and rushed out to hold the man back. Otherwise, Stephen would have suffered even more.“Let go!” the man shouted. “You’re just trash who can’t look after your own woman, so you take out your anger on other people. Who do you think you are?”Stephen held his swollen eye and gritted his teeth. “Take him away!”The servants immediately sent the man to the police station, oblivious to Tyler silently recording this scene from nearby.Stephen was sent to the hospital for an emergency checkup. The doctor said that it was just a minor injury that would recover in about half a month.
“What are you doing here?” Rachel frowned. For some reason, she wanted to see Ethan even more after drinking. Seeing Stephen simply irritated her.“You have a lot of nerve to ask that!” Stephen asked coldly, “Do you remember who you are now? How dare you go to a bar and fool around?”Rachel was shocked. She did not expect Stephen to know that she went to a bar. However, that was not something shameful. She had gone out many times before and could always hold her drink well. “I can go wherever I want to go. What has it got to do with you?”At those words, Stephen could no longer hold back and slapped Rachel across the cheek.“Bitch! You went to a bar and fooled around with other men, and you said it has nothing to do with me? I’m the young master of the Quinns. How am I inferior to other men?” Stephen yelled, “How am I inferior to Ethan?”Rachel was stunned by the slap. He hit her! Just because she fooled around with another man, Stephen hit her.When she turned her head back, her
If it were in the past, which woman would dare to betray him? Even if a woman betrayed him, he could effortlessly kick her aside without a second thought.“When did I start becoming so timid?”Stephen glanced at his phone. The man had returned home safely. The online insults against him had decreased slightly, but there were still many people who were very dissatisfied with him.He closed his eyes and turned off his phone, not wanting to look at it anymore.Now, he just wanted to focus on managing Breeze City. Once all the issues in Breeze City were resolved and the economy improved, the anger everyone felt toward him would disappear.Unbeknownst to him, the Spencers were already keeping an eye on him now.At the Spencers’ residence, Edward and Tyler were very smug as they read the news online. What they wanted was to further damage Stephen’s reputation, especially in Breeze City. That was because it was crucial for their next move.Before Ethan left Breeze City, he left two fam
The next day, Stephen woke up as soon as dawn broke and saw that it was not even 7 yet, but he could not fall back asleep. Unless he succeeded once, he would never sleep well again.He went downstairs to have breakfast, planning to check on the farmland relocation issue later.When he passed by Rachel’s room, he glanced at the door guiltily. He had acted too impulsively yesterday. “I need to stay calm. I can’t keep acting rashly.”By 8 p.m., Stephen finished his breakfast and left in a hurry. He believed that Heaven rewarded the diligent. As long as he worked hard, he surely would not fail again.Not long after Stephen left, Rachel woke up. She had the breakfast that was prepared earlier discarded and then made a meal for herself.After eating, she went out to meet Zoey for a shopping trip as planned. Zoey was a local and knew more about the events in the city, so Rachel found it convenient to have her as a guide to familiarize herself with Breeze City.Soon after that, Rachel sa
“You’re my role model. I’ve always been your fan!”The onlookers continued to praise Rachel, making the smug smile on her face grow.Zoey then said, “Rachel, let me handle these men. They’ve been causing trouble in Breeze City for too long. I’ve always wanted to teach them a lesson.”Rachel nodded. “I’ll wait for you in the car.”“Thanks, Rachel!” Zoey took the men out of Rachel’s sight and then let them go.A few minutes later, she returned to the car, and Rachel asked, “What did you do with them?”“I beat them up and called the cops. They’ll be quaking in their boots the next time they see us.”Rachel grinned. “Good job.”Zoey also smiled. “I heard that Stephen Quinn was coming and was worried since he’s incompetent. Problems arose in every city he went to, but I’m not worried now since you’re also here. You’re much more exceptional than Stephen. If you were in charge of Breeze City, everyone’s future would grow brighter. Breeze City would surely become Riveria’s, no, the nat
“They even drove farmers out to the outskirts to farm!”“Just yesterday, they used excavators to destroy other people’s farmland. They’re despicable.”“I’m from Breeze City. I can testify that it’s all true. They really did send excavators to drive people away.”“Are they a criminal organization?”Following that narrative, many people who did not know the truth believed the accusations and thought that the Fords and the Lanes were truly evil.Some of the more rational ones spoke up, telling the others not to jump to conclusions, but they were immediately attacked by the commenters the Spencers hired.“Why are you defending them? Are you part of their organization?”“This is hilarious. Did you go mad from eating contaminated food?”“How dare you defend these heartless companies? Be careful you don’t get hit by a car one day.”Some even sent private messages, cursing them. The rational people were frightened and quickly deleted their comments, not daring to speak out again.Whe
Rachel asked Theo, “If you manage these two families, will you end up like them?”Clatter!Theo suddenly stood up. “I swear to the heavens, if I ever betray you or do something that harms everyone, I shall be struck by five bolts of lightning!”Rachel nodded in satisfaction, reassured by his conviction. “Sit down.” She still had other problems, such as how to take over the two families. Should she go to them directly?“What’s on your mind, Rachel?” Zara asked.“I’m trying to figure out how to take over the two families,” Rachel said. “Can I just go and demand from them?”After all, she was the daughter of the former governor and one of the administrators of Breeze City. It should be possible to directly ask them to hand over their entire fortune, right?Zoey shook her head. “Of course not.”“Then, what should we do?” Rachel was confused. She had no management experience. In the past, Ethan was the one who handled all the matters in Riveria. She always felt tired just hearing ab
At Zoey’s words, Rachel said excitedly, “Great idea!”She thought about it carefully. If she found someone to replace the Fords and the Lanes, she would get all the benefits without any downsides. Then, she had a new question. Who should she choose to take over the Fords and the Lanes’ fruits of success?Although Rachel had many friends, at this critical moment, she could not think of anyone who would be suitable.Seeing her conflicted expression, Zoey asked, “Are you worried about not knowing who to choose to replace the Fords and the Lanes? I actually have someone in mind.”Rachel immediately asked, “Who?”“Theo Harlow. He’s a friend of mine. He’s a village chief but he’s already young and accomplished. He’s also highly respected in the village.” Zoey shared the story that the Spencers prepared all to arrange for Theo’s rise to power.“Theo Harlow?” Rachel muttered. She had never heard of that name before. “Where is he?”Zoey smiled. “I’ll call him now so you can meet him.”S
After all, Nolan took care of him while he was in Hill City.Stephen started to deceive himself. It was not only because Nolan had completely fooled him but also because he was unwilling to accept that he had been tricked again.“The Spencers must have turned over a new leaf.”Just then, Daniel and Caleb looked at Stephen and asked, “Sir, do you know where Mr. Rivers has gone? He has been missing for some time.”Stephen stiffened and said uneasily, “I don’t know.” He could not tell them that Ethan was currently locked up in Drakthorn Ridge and that he was the one who had locked him up! If he told them, he might not leave the Fords’ residence alive today.‘Well, I’m not completely at fault,’ Stephen thought to himself. ‘I gave him a chance. If he was willing to help me, I would’ve allowed him to occasionally go down the mountain. It’s his own fault for being ungrateful.’Daniel and Caleb frowned and said, “Recently, there’s been a lot of criticism of Mr. Rivers online. Can you hel
Who would dare to challenge the Spencers at the peak of their power?Before any of the families or factions could react, there was another shocking news from the Spencers—they were donating half of their wealth to develop Breeze City.Everyone thought they had misheard. Although Marcus was dead, the Spencers were not angry. Instead, they donated half their assets! It was like a lizard cutting off its own tail to survive.Not long after, several families went into obscurity and also announced that they were donating their assets.At that point, the remaining families and factions felt that something was going on. However, before they could respond, the Spencers and the families that donated their wealth all united to fight against the local criminal organizations.Having donated half of their wealth, the Spencers and the other families were already severely weakened when they fought against the criminal organizations. Although they won in the end, they could never recover.In the
Stephen ate something and went back to his room. He was not planning to rest yet. Instead, he took the opportunity to look into the Ford and the Lane families.The information showed that the Fords and Lanes had their own businesses in Breeze City, and they were also the leading enterprises in the city. When Riveria was still in turmoil, the two families did not add to the chaos and instead worked hard to improve Breeze City.However, back then, the two families were targeted by other families and forces, and they almost faced ruin.Then, one day, the families that had been targeting the Fords and the Lanes all apologized, and the factions quickly disbanded. Not long after that, the Fords and the Lanes started new companies and began to thrive again.Although the information did not go into detail about how they managed to turn things around, Stephen knew what happened.“It must be Ethan,” he muttered to himself. “He must have intervened.”After carefully reading the documents, S
Before Ethan left, he had explicitly told them that food production was of utmost importance. Any issue affecting planting or harvesting had to be resolved as soon as possible.When they heard that the farmland had to be relocated, they quickly sent people to clear the fields. If the land could be cleared and seeds planted within a week, they could still manage a harvest this year. It was critical for the whole of Riveria.Stephen mumbled, “The Ford and the Lane families?” He was not familiar with the families in Breeze City since he had been too focused on the water pollution issues.“Thank you for your assistance.” Stephen smiled.“It’s our duty. Although Mr. Rivers isn’t around anymore, we’ll continue safeguarding Breeze City’s food harvest.”Stephen was shocked. Ethan?“You know Ethan Rivers?”The captain replied, “Mr. Rivers told us to stay here.”Stephen suspected their motives, but when he heard that it was Ethan who had told them to stay, he completely relaxed.After h
“You’re my role model. I’ve always been your fan!”The onlookers continued to praise Rachel, making the smug smile on her face grow.Zoey then said, “Rachel, let me handle these men. They’ve been causing trouble in Breeze City for too long. I’ve always wanted to teach them a lesson.”Rachel nodded. “I’ll wait for you in the car.”“Thanks, Rachel!” Zoey took the men out of Rachel’s sight and then let them go.A few minutes later, she returned to the car, and Rachel asked, “What did you do with them?”“I beat them up and called the cops. They’ll be quaking in their boots the next time they see us.”Rachel grinned. “Good job.”Zoey also smiled. “I heard that Stephen Quinn was coming and was worried since he’s incompetent. Problems arose in every city he went to, but I’m not worried now since you’re also here. You’re much more exceptional than Stephen. If you were in charge of Breeze City, everyone’s future would grow brighter. Breeze City would surely become Riveria’s, no, the nat
The next day, Stephen woke up as soon as dawn broke and saw that it was not even 7 yet, but he could not fall back asleep. Unless he succeeded once, he would never sleep well again.He went downstairs to have breakfast, planning to check on the farmland relocation issue later.When he passed by Rachel’s room, he glanced at the door guiltily. He had acted too impulsively yesterday. “I need to stay calm. I can’t keep acting rashly.”By 8 p.m., Stephen finished his breakfast and left in a hurry. He believed that Heaven rewarded the diligent. As long as he worked hard, he surely would not fail again.Not long after Stephen left, Rachel woke up. She had the breakfast that was prepared earlier discarded and then made a meal for herself.After eating, she went out to meet Zoey for a shopping trip as planned. Zoey was a local and knew more about the events in the city, so Rachel found it convenient to have her as a guide to familiarize herself with Breeze City.Soon after that, Rachel sa