Why it never ends

Chapter 1015 Follow
Lai Lin walked towards the main entrance of the plantation. She was so excited that she jogged several times, but quickly slowed down again because she didn't want to mess up her hair and clothes.

Lai Lin could not forget the scene when Hesta suddenly came to the store a few days ago. Ellie was not there that day and the whole store was empty. She was the only one standing behind the bar, playing with bottle caps out of boredom.

Hesta appeared at the door, paused for a moment with some hesitation, then walked in and asked, "Are there no guests today?"

"There has been no more since that day," Lai Lin smiled bitterly, "They won't let their own soldiers come."

She brought Hesta a pitcher of lemonade, but before she could get a cup, Hesta pulled a document from her bag and placed it in front of her.

"I have a proposal. You can consider it as a deal," Hesta said. "Baron Trion doesn't want to run his plantation any more for the time being, so he offers the right to operate it for fifteen years. Are you interested?"

"...Ah?" Lai Lin was a little surprised, "Plantation?"

"It's the one next to you." Hesta said, "It's very close to here. It seems to have a lot of coffee planted there."

“I’ve never grown coffee before…”

"Then take a look," Hesta stood up, "If you are interested, you only need to exchange the management rights of your tavern."

"But I have less than—"

"You have as many years as you want. He doesn't ask for equality."

"…What do you mean?" Lai Lin asked.

"I need a piece of land," Hesta said, "but I am a special person and it is not easy for me to do it myself."

Lai Lin was speechless for a moment. He just went back to the bar and rummaged through the drawers to find his glasses, and then carefully looked through the documents brought by Hesta.

"…It says here that we need to pay a rent—"

"That's what you have to pay if you don't pay dividends," Hesta said. "After exchanging the management rights, Trion asked for 5% of the net profit from the plantation. Of course, you can also ask him to share the profits from the tavern for the next few years -"

"What if I lose money?"

"Then you don't have to pay the money." Hesta said, "Now take a good look at this contract. If you have any questions, just ask me directly."

Hesta stood up and went to the bar to get himself a glass.

"Is the injury better?"

Lai Lin hadn't been able to switch his attention to the daily conversation yet, so he looked at the document in a daze, then looked at Hesta, and after a while he said, "...Hmm."

"Idrien hasn't come to cause trouble recently, has he?"

"No more." Lai Lin said, "You... Excuse me, but who are you..."

"You can just use 'you'. I'm the new inspector assigned to District 12 by AHgAs," Hesta said, "Jane Hesta."

Lai Lin didn't know what this official did, but she nodded and acted as if she knew it very well.

"…What you need is a pair of white gloves."

“You can… say that.”

Lai Lin let out a sigh, shook her head, smiled, and pushed all the documents back to Hesta.

"Maybe you have misunderstood something. We have always been honest businessmen. Things like this--" "Just use 'you'." Hesta corrected again, "I'm new to District 12 and don't understand many things here, so I need some people to help me..."

Hesta's tone suddenly became higher: "Similarly, you also seem to need someone to help you."

Lai Lin's eyes fell on the document. She said nothing and seemed unmoved.

"I know you're good at using the opponent's force to counterattack," Hesta said, "but after you got into a feud with Idrien, who else can you use to gain force?"

“These things…”

Hesta's left hand fell to his chest: "To me."

Lai Lin held his breath for a moment.

"People like Idrien are not even worthy of my attention." Hesta said softly, "You saw with your own eyes the day he came to cause trouble for you."

"But...how long will you stay in District 12?" Lai Lin's words stuttered a little. "In the future...one day, if you suddenly leave——"

Hesta's expression looked a little surprised: "Are you planning to stay in District 12 forever? I thought you were just here to make money?"

Lai Lin's throat moved slightly: That's true.

She and Ellie will have to leave one day. Although it is dangerous here, it is much easier to make money than in the third district...

"It's all about exchanging risk for reward anyway," Hesta said, "why not try to go a step further?"

"I will think about it."

"I don't need a hesitant companion," Hesta said. "Lalin, I have never done business, but I think businessmen have the sharpest sense of smell. Prudence is a virtue, moderation is a virtue... These are all true, but these virtues of citizens cannot help you seize opportunities, because when opportunities come, fate often only favors those who dare to respond."

Hesta stood up and reached for the documents on the table: "If you want to help me, I can give you more time to read the documents. If not, I'll take my leave first--"

"I promise!" Lai Lin almost immediately pressed down a corner of the document, "I... will take a look now."

Hesta smiled and said, "Okay."

In the past few days, Lai Lin has been recalling this episode. Although she is extremely uneasy rationally, she can't explain why. Hesta's voice, the tone of her voice, and the serious and slightly majestic look when she glanced over, all made her feel inexplicably convinced. This feeling is like walking alone in the wilderness for a long time, and suddenly seeing another person, she is moving calmly in one direction, making you want to follow.

……

The car stopped on the south side of the plantation.

"We have collected almost all the reports about you in the past few days," Stella said, "Only the extreme right wing, such as the Wehoton Interest Party, stands on your side, praising you for your courage and bringing a breath of fresh air to the stagnant political arena..."

"What does the Wehoton Interest Party stand for?" Hesta asked.

"I am against abortion, I am against women's employment, I am against the excessive intervention of the Third District, I advocate the protection of local workers..." Stella said, counting on her fingers, "In order to play a counter-performance to the Independence Front, they don't even care that you are a woman! Otherwise, politicians are all fence-sitters."

"What about the rest of the party?" Hesta asked again.

"Almost all left-wing newspapers are calling you a militarist and a heartless executioner," Stella sighed. "What a big deal. Few normal people support you."

"That's not necessarily the case," Hesta said, "it's possible that the people standing in the middle didn't speak."