The real life of an American police officer: Winning over others with virtue

Chapter 266 Improving the Relationship Between Father-in-Law and Son-in-Law. (Daily Transition)

Eric looked at the 3D house on the computer screen, casually zoomed it in, and a look of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

Although it's called a renovation, nothing has actually changed externally.

Overly obvious militarization may arouse suspicion from neighbors and cause unnecessary trouble, so keep a low profile.

Moreover, this low-key, discreet modification, which leaves no visible changes, also saves him a lot of money.

Eric stretched and looked at the house he had designed himself on the screen, falling into deep thought for a moment.

In the United States, property taxes have always been determined based on the assessed value of the property.

Local government tax assessors will also periodically evaluate the value of your property.

Therefore, renovating a house is quite troublesome.

Moreover, this type of renovation involves expensive labor costs, requiring structural engineers, safety consultants, architects, professional contractors, and so on.

They are usually several times the value of the house itself.

His net worth of over ten million probably wouldn't be enough to satisfy these people's appetites.

So, aside from the fence that couldn't be hidden from view, he decided to build the rest himself.

After all, ordinary people need these teams, but people like him don't.

"That's settled then. All that's left is the design of the safe house."

Thinking of this, Eric shook his head; it seemed unnecessary for him.

His memories consist only of his parents; he has no memories of any relatives.

His parents in this life never mentioned any relatives to him; all he knew was that his parents eloped to Los Angeles.

But in this way, it's not the same as being homeless.

But he was too lazy to investigate or acknowledge those relatives with whom he had no emotional connection.

So, apart from the few intruders who were long dead, no one has ever been to his house until now.

Then there's no need for this so-called safe house.

“This way, the cost of the modification is quite low.” Eric then extended the discussion to calculating costs and began to check on the computer.

"After deducting the enormous labor costs and professional company profits, which account for 50% or even more of the total cost, and material costs of over half a million US dollars, plus the large number of professional tools that are currently available and will be purchased later,..."
This level of renovation should cost around one million US dollars.

After roughly calculating, Eric breathed a sigh of relief; he could still afford this amount of money.

The problem is that the modified fence can no longer be concealed, which will cost him an extra $1,000 or so each year.

However, this also has its advantages. He can apply for a building permit to build an outer layer under the pretext of fencing, and then purchase a large amount of materials under the pretext of modifying the fencing, and carry out the modification at the same time.

This is a win-win situation.

Eric glanced at the computer screen again, made up his mind, and then printed out all the design drawings.
-

The next day.

The second day of vacation.

He drove directly to the community where Tifa's parents lived, hoping to use his future father-in-law, George's, connections to help him get a building permit and improve his relationship with his father-in-law.

Since my future father-in-law is a lawyer anyway, he's practically free manpower, so I might as well use him.

To be able to practice law for so many years, one must have connections within the city hall.

Eric rang the doorbell, pondering what excuse he could come up with to cover it up.

After all, a sharp-eyed person could see the purpose of the fence. The door opened, and he expected to be greeted by his future mother-in-law, Natie, with a gentle, overflowing smile.

Unexpectedly, it was Jay who had no expression on his face. He was wearing a casual polo shirt and khaki pants, and holding a newspaper in his hand, clearly enjoying his leisure time.

"What are you doing here?" Joe glared at the brat who had run off with his precious daughter, his eyes filled with hostility.

"Cough!" Eric chuckled dryly.

"Good morning, George. I have something personal I'd like to discuss with you privately. I hope I'm not disturbing your rest?"

Jay frowned almost imperceptibly, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the brat's empty hands.

Not bringing a gift clearly indicates it wasn't a social visit.

"Come in." Geo stepped aside to let Eric in.

Eric walked in and glanced around the living room: "Nadia isn't here?"

It's the weekend, otherwise he wouldn't have come.

“She went shopping with her best friend,” Jay said, then added.

"coffee?"

Although she instinctively disliked the boy because of her father, it was also out of jealousy, judging from Tifa's behavior.

As a father, he could tell that Tifa truly loved this boy very much.

Eric shook his head and said, "No need, I'll leave as soon as I'm done talking, it won't take up too much of your time."

Jay nodded and sat down on the sofa, and Eric followed suit.

“I saw the news this morning. I heard there was a fierce gunfight on Olympic Avenue? They said a patrolman stopped the trouble and played a key role.” Joe’s eyes flickered as he looked at Eric and asked tentatively.

"This shouldn't be any of your business, right?"

This kid actually has free time today?
Eric shook his head decisively, maintaining perfect composure: "No, I just do some peripheral work." He noticed Jay's gaze and continued:
"It's the weekend, I'm taking a break today."

"Oh~" Jay said with a sigh of relief and put down the newspaper in his hand.

"So what exactly do you want to ask?"

Eric took the blueprints for the outer fence out of his pocket.

"It's about my house. I want to reinforce the outer fence, which requires a building permit."

I'm not familiar with municipal procedures, and I figured you must have experience and a wide network, so I wanted to ask you for help to see if you could speed things up.

Jay frowned slightly, looking at Eric with a scrutinizing gaze, but didn't ask anything. He simply took the blueprints, lowered his head, and carefully examined them.

He read very quickly, and when he saw the foundation depth, concrete grade, steel specifications, and height that far exceeded the norm, his brows furrowed even more.

It's just a fence, why is this kid making such a fuss?
Jay looked at Eric, pointed to the materials list on the drawing, and frowned, "A reinforced fence requires this grade of threaded steel and such a deep foundation."

This specification looks more like it's meant to support a defensive fortification that can withstand the impact of vehicles.

What are you trying to defend with this fence? Or is the fence itself just a fence, or is it an outer shell for something else?

Eric raised an eyebrow. This future father-in-law has a sharp eye, doesn't he?
But that's precisely why he came to find his future father-in-law.

If all else fails, he'll ask that lawyer named Theo for help.

"Jeo, you're right. I do hope it has far more protective capabilities than a regular fence, and that it can truly serve as a deterrent and barrier, not just decoration."
Honestly, I just wanted to build a sturdy fence.

(End of this chapter)