novelraw Chapter 157: Repairing a House
Chapter 157: Repairing a House
’The good thing is, even with the new restrictions, my salary has increased. As long as I keep my mouth shut, I can be considered one of the big boss’s core confidants!’
’With such a fascinating person by his side, it would be a miracle if the President could ever be interested in anyone else!’
Ahem, later I’ll have to secretly watch Miss Perry’s livestream. I couldn’t stop laughing at the video from yesterday of Riley Perry zipping all over the streets on her electric scooter, fixing appliances for people. I hope I don’t miss any highlights today.
On the 18th Floor of the Sinclair Group, Rosalie Upton had been quite happy sitting at her desk at first. But after a full, busy day, she realized that while the Sales Supervisor position was a promotion, it didn’t even give her a chance to see the President, and her happiness vanished.
Not only had her manager buried her under a pile of work she couldn’t possibly finish, but even if she did, a mere Sales Supervisor had no reason to go to the top floor to report to anyone.
’If I can’t even see the man I admire, what’s the point of me being here?’
Glancing at the dark sky outside, Rosalie Upton stood up and rubbed her stiff waist. In order to make a good impression at the company, she had to get familiar with all this work. Working overtime was inevitable.
「October 4th, Thursday. Clear skies.」
As soon as she finished her midday livestream, Ruby Marshall urged her son and husband to pack their things and go to the front desk to check out. "Your sister is coming back tomorrow night. Let’s get home early and tidy up. The house must be covered in dust after us being away for several days."
Patrick Perry said, "It’s strange, why does it feel like these past few days have flown by? Five days have passed in the blink of an eye."
While packing things into a newly bought suitcase, Ruby Marshall said, "Of course it feels fast. At home, you have to work every day, so time drags on because the chores are endless. Out here, we’ve just been having fun. You feel like time flies when you haven’t had enough fun yet."
Patrick Perry chuckled. "My wife is still the smartest one. You see things so clearly."
"Go on, go on, hurry up and pack. Stop with the sweet talk."
Ruby Marshall was frugal, so she had found a hotel with good value for the money. A standard room for 180 a night, with two large beds, was just right for four people.
If her daughter’s assistant hadn’t been with them, she would have found an even cheaper place. After all, it was just a place to sleep at night. What was the use of paying for something expensive?
The family of three finished packing, and Rocco took the room key to the front desk to check out. A little over two hours later, they were back at The Elysian Gardens.
Upon returning home, Shane Perry grabbed a rag and started wiping down his bedroom and the study. Even while having fun the past couple of days, he hadn’t forgotten to do his practice problems. Of course, he’d done fewer than usual, so today he was going to make up for the ones he missed. During their little trip, he’d realized that his parents wished they didn’t have to go back at all and could just live in Dragonspire.
’The cost of living here is high, but as long as you’re not lazy, you can make money doing anything. Even a hotel security guard earns five or six thousand a month. An assistant like Rocco has a five-figure salary.’
’That’s why I have to study hard, get into the best school in Dragonspire, and find a good job after graduation. I need to earn a lot of money to support Mom and Dad.’
He was used to doing chores at home, so he was quick and efficient at cleaning. In no time, both rooms were spotless. He then picked up his books, went into the study, and closed the door to focus on his problems.
The couple was cleaning up outside. Patrick Perry nudged his wife. "Sigh, it’s true what they say: it’s easy to go from a simple life to a lavish one. We’ve only been here a few days, and I already don’t want to go back."
Ruby Marshall laughed and chided him, "You’re hopeless! Can’t we just come back next year? When we get back, you’d better work hard and make good money. Having money in your hands brings peace of mind. Once Sean graduates, we won’t have to work so hard anymore."
’Once the kids can support themselves, our burden won’t be so heavy. Besides, we’ve always been capable. We’ve saved up a fair bit of money over the years. Even in a big city like this, as long as we don’t get into drinking, whoring, and gambling, we can find decent jobs and live a good life.’
When the cleaning was almost done, looking at the spacious, bright apartment and thinking about their savings, Ruby Marshall felt that all the hardships and exhaustion from the past were worth it!
"Quick, get your phone out. Let’s see what our girl is up to now."
What was Riley Perry up to?
The eight contestants were having a rough time, thanks to Director Warren.
As per yesterday’s instructions, seven of the eight contestants—everyone except Holly Summers—had received a clue. They pieced the clues together to form the name of a place.
So, everyone headed to that place: Poplar Creek Village.
This time, they didn’t have to find their own tasks; a task came right to them. Riley Perry was assigned to help an elderly woman who lived alone, Grandma Dixon, repair her house.
The houses in Poplar Creek Village were all quite dilapidated. Many of the tiles on Grandma Dixon’s roof were broken and needed to be replaced. The walls showed signs of mold from a leak during the summer, and a musty smell hit you the moment you walked in.
So, not only did Riley Perry have to help Grandma Dixon replace the roof tiles, but she also had to scrape the moldy walls and give them a fresh coat of paint.
Fortunately, completing the task wasn’t about speed. Instead, the villagers would judge their work and give them a score. The person with the highest score would win. Otherwise, Riley Perry would have been guaranteed to lose.
The production team had already scouted the location and prepared everything in advance. There was no way they would make the contestants buy materials on the spot; things like the roof tiles were already provided.
Riley Perry asked the village chief who had led her there a few questions, and then she got straight to work.
It took her the entire morning just to replace the broken tiles. Grandma Dixon was very happy, and Riley Perry could tell it wasn’t just because someone was fixing her house. It was because having someone coming and going brought a bit of life and energy back to the courtyard.
"Dearie, hurry and wash your hands. Lunch is ready."
Riley Perry obediently washed her hands and face, then took the skin cream Grandma Dixon handed her and rubbed it on her hands. She had used this stuff before. It was cheap when she was a kid, just pennies for a packet, and even now it probably cost no more than a dollar or two. But it worked really well.
"Thank you, Grandma."
Grandma Dixon’s smile was the picture of kindness. "Come now, I’ve stewed a whole hen. It smells wonderful. You’ve worked hard all morning, you should eat a lot."
Riley Perry helped Grandma Dixon into the kitchen. On the table were a plate of braised eggplant and a basin of fragrant chicken stew. And it really was a basin—a home-raised chicken weighs at least four or five pounds, and Grandma Dixon had stewed the entire thing. It was a huge portion.
A bowl was already filled with fluffy white rice.
Riley Perry sat down. "Wait, this isn’t right. I remember the director owes us a big meal. How could they make you kill a chicken for us, ma’am?"
Grandma Dixon chuckled. "Oh, one of your staff members already paid for all this food. I just did the cooking."
Riley Perry was speechless. In front of Grandma Dixon, could she possibly say that this wasn’t a "big meal"?
She couldn’t!
"...That Director Warren is really something else! Please, you should sit and eat too, Grandma. You’ve worked hard."
Grandma Dixon sat down across from her, beaming. "Alright, alright. You eat too." She picked up a chicken leg with her chopsticks and placed it in Riley’s bowl. "Go on, try it."
This time, Riley Perry didn’t hold back. She picked it up and took a bite. After swallowing the mouthful of chicken, she said, "Grandma, this chicken you stewed is delicious!"
"Then eat up. Don’t be shy."
Riley Perry laughed. "I definitely won’t be shy with you. Just as long as you don’t mind me eating too much."