It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

However, this isn't Li Cheng's fault. After all, even if allicin has poor oral effects, it shouldn't have the opposite effect.

If we had to say something, it also had to do with Didelli herself. If she had stayed in bed and rested properly and kept warm, she should have been able to recover from the sub-illness state by relying on her immune system.

But this female knight not only couldn't rest, she also held the housekeeper's hand and chatted for an entire afternoon, asking all sorts of questions, until she finally stumped herself.

"Cough cough cough cough..."

After a series of coughs, Dideli's face flushed sickly.

Li Cheng stood quietly to the side, holding a bowl of freshly squeezed garlic juice. After her cough subsided, he slowly said, "Big Brother..."

"Okay, I'll drink it, I'll drink it."

After confirming with her own voice that it was a garlic product and not feces, Dideli's resistance lessened considerably. However, she still couldn't understand why Li Cheng had to personally bring the medicine to her and always call her "Big Brother, it's time to take your medicine," even though she wasn't called "Big Brother" at all.

Maybe it's some kind of weird fetish...

Putting this trivial matter aside, Dideli sat up wearily, took the garlic extract and drank it down in one gulp, the whole process swift and decisive, displaying the style of the knightly training she had received in her early years.

Li Cheng took back the now empty bowl and nodded, saying, "Just focus on getting better. I'll take care of the reception duties for you."

"Ah."

Dideli responded and then curled back into bed, clearing her mind to rest.

Seeing this, Li Cheng stopped disturbing them, turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him. He then handed the bowl to the incompetent housekeeper on duty at the door, asking her to take it to the kitchen and have the maid wash it.

Immediately afterwards, he went to his study to prepare for his busy day.

On the one hand, the territory needs to prepare for the construction of new equipment and buildings for the preliminary work of steelmaking, which requires sufficient funds and manpower.

On the other hand, the original coal stove business was in its initial growth stage and lacked suitable help, so it couldn't be left unattended.

Finally, he still had to hurry up and finish writing the book.

To be honest, Li Cheng was a little reluctant to continue writing "Domineering Love" and just wanted to finish it as soon as possible.

He had originally tried to remain an anonymous writer, but now he has inadvertently not only fully admitted to the role but also told the female protagonist's prototype, Veronica, about his design ideas for the male and female protagonists. It's quite a social death story.

In this situation, sending a book to Veronica feels rather odd, like... writing a love letter? And a very sophisticated one at that, at least in terms of sheer volume of words.

In short, it was very embarrassing.

But not writing it doesn't seem right either. If he goes back on his promise, what if Veronica gets angry and embarrassed...? Although it probably wouldn't have happened before, after what happened the day before yesterday, Li Cheng is really not sure.

It's really a loss to even think about it. I don't have any specific impression of it at all, and I'm still incurring an intangible debt for nothing.

"Ugh."

With a sigh, Li Cheng picked up his quill pen and began the arduous task of writing his book.

He originally thought that writing would be awkward and psychologically challenging, but it turned out to be smooth and easy all the way, and he even got more and more into it as he wrote.

The main reason is... because it's so relatable.

The vague idea was completely revealed, and the plot progressed to the stage of the male and female protagonists' passionate love affair. In addition, there was no damned censorship mechanism, so Li Cheng felt like he was writing a first-person erotic novel, even more violent than "The Decameron".

Just imagine.

The male protagonist of the novel is based on yourself, and the female protagonist is based on a real woman.

The male protagonist in the novel sexually assaults the female protagonist in the book, and you have also sexually assaulted the prototype of the female protagonist in real life.

These two elements alone are stimulating enough to conjure up a flood of corresponding images in one's mind. Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this book will be sent to Veronica for reading once it's finished...

In other words, to create a semi-erotic novel that will be read by the female protagonist, who will be sexually assaulted by the male protagonist's prototype in the future, and is based on both of them, featuring the male protagonist sexually assaulting the female protagonist.

The ultimate nesting doll, doubling the excitement.

The excitement even made Li Cheng a little restless, wondering if he should first go hunting for a wild Newton to get himself into a better state for creation.

But upon further reflection, this behavior was a bit too despicable, so I had no choice but to give up. Instead, I stubbornly persevered and continued to strive to create... well, I mean, noble literary works.

Moreover, if you think about it carefully, many famous works in history are very explicit and violent, and even fairy tales are not immune to this.

As the saying goes, food and sex are human nature; the ancients were truly right...

Knock knock knock—

Just as Li Cheng was full of energy, there was a knock on the door.

Li Cheng looked up warily and was stunned.

As the saying goes, you see the world as you are.

At this moment, full of enthusiasm, Li Cheng saw that although Freya was wearing a loose maid outfit with an apron over it, he could still vaguely observe her shapely figure and even make out her approximate size...

"Ahem, Mr. Li Cheng."

Freya coughed twice as she was being scrutinized by a slightly aggressive gaze.

"Um?!"

Li Cheng's expression quickly returned to normal, and he asked as if nothing had happened, "Is there something wrong?"

Li Cheng remained friendly towards this capable and reliable head maid.

Although Freya had to leave the castle briefly yesterday because a servant had to attend to some business, which caused Newton to lose control and cause a problem, it can't be blamed on her.

Freya didn't waste any words: "We have a guest visiting."

"Who?"

Li Cheng found it strange, thinking to himself that this remote little castle had become so lively these past two days, with people coming to visit one after another.

Freya replied, "It is Lord Darlena."

Upon hearing the name, Li Cheng's gaze sharpened: "Who is this? I seem to recognize the name."

"..."

Freya paused for two seconds before explaining, "Lord Darlena is a lord in the vicinity who doesn't get along well with Miss Newton. You even said you were determined to acquire the coal mine in her territory."

Li Cheng then remembered: "Oh, it's her. What brings her here?"

There's no way around it; with so many things to worry about, who would remember such a minor character who has no role and seems destined only to be humiliated?

Furthermore, the insistence on acquiring the coal mine also had an element of impulsiveness. In reality, whether or not to acquire it was quite irrelevant. Lincoln had so many coal mines that it didn't really need another one. Once the matter was over, it was mostly forgotten.

“I don’t know, but she’s not here to see Miss Newton,” Freya said, shaking her head. “Lord Darlena wants to see you this time.”

"See me?"

Li Cheng was a little confused, but he felt it made sense: "Okay, then I'll go see her now."

As he spoke, he turned around and closed the half-finished literary work, but after thinking about it, he felt a little uneasy, so he simply found an empty drawer and put the literary work in there before getting up and leaving satisfied.

Only a table full of blank manuscript paper and quill pens remained, much like the empty computer desktop during a parent's surprise visit.

Chapter 204 As long as the hoe is swung well

Darlena sat on the sofa in the hall, still wearing a bright red dress, but this time she was wearing more layers, presumably to keep warm. After exchanging a few words with her, Li Cheng understood her purpose.

Dig the wall.

Darlene seemed to be trying to persuade Li Cheng to give up the Newton area and let him invest in his own territory.

Li Cheng was immediately confused, wondering where Darlene's inexplicable confidence came from. Even Newton, who was listening in, looked at him like he was an idiot and didn't bother to say a word.

Although this seemed like an overconfidence to them, Darlene herself saw it as a very promising thing.

Initially, Darlena judged Li Cheng to be a fraud and chose to ignore him.

But with the visible development of Newton's territory, the construction of coal stove production plants and simple coal processing plants, and the stark contrast in the attitudes of the employees towards each other that she witnessed at the Carter Chamber of Commerce that day, she began to believe more about Li Cheng's identity as an investor and businessman.

But that's all. Although she was a little envious, it didn't mean that Dalena would have to set aside her noble status to beg the other party or agree to their coal mine acquisition agreement.

Even if things get a little tight, we can just borrow money.

With the opening of new sea routes and the prosperity of trade, the currency depreciated, but the wealth produced by the territory remained unchanged. Many nobles had to borrow from merchants in order to maintain their dignity, but no one was ever willing to admit it.

What? You mean what do you do when loan sharks come to collect debts?

Good question. So, how many divisions does a loan shark have under his command? How dare he come to the lord's door to cause trouble?

That was originally the case, but after what happened at the banquet hosted by Chairman Smith a few days ago, where Li Cheng actually suffered a setback even with the Garcia family, Darlena's thoughts changed, and she developed a new plan.

Darlena's little plan, after careful planning, was to go directly to their door and poach their client.

Behind this simple and brutal plan, her thinking was also surprisingly simple—if it works in Newton's broken territory, why not in mine?

In conclusion, this is the purpose of Darlena's visit today.

Li Cheng bluntly rejected her tactless behavior, saying, "I'm only interested in your coal mine. We can talk if you're willing to sell, but forget about the rest."

Because the rejection was so abrupt and decisive, Darlena was momentarily at a loss for words, since this step had not been considered at all in her meticulously planned scheme.

But then she remembered something—the man in front of her seemed to be trying to hide the unidentified bulge in his pants when he first entered the hall.

Could it be because he saw himself...?

After making another round of inferences without any basis in fact, Darlena came up with another little plan.

As the saying goes, if you swing your hoe well, there's no corner you can't dig down.

Right now is the perfect place to wield a hoe.

Then Darlene casually adjusted her bulging collar, revealing a captivating smile that had been honed by countless banquets: "I am also very interested in you, Mr. Banana."

"If you don't mind, you can come to my villa sometime, and we can discuss the investment in detail..."

Newton had been watching smugly from the sidelines, and Li Cheng's decisive refusal had made her feel incredibly relieved, but now she couldn't sit still any longer.

Like a child terrified of having her toy taken away, she quickly stood up from her sofa seat and sat down in the sofa seat where Li Cheng was. As if asserting ownership of the toy, she tightly hugged one of Li Cheng's arms and glared coldly in Darlena's direction.

That seemed to be saying, "This is my toy, you're not allowed to touch it."

However, considering that Newton claimed to be an adult, Li Cheng should be considered an adult's toy, or in short... an adult toy.

Darlene dismissed Newton's threat with disdain.

In her opinion, how could a girl with no breasts or buttocks compare to her own figure, which always attracted attention at banquets? Any normal man would know who to choose.

—Unless you're a lolicon.

Therefore, instead of giving up wielding the hoe, Darlene boldly pulled her collar down a little: "Strange, it's a bit hot..."

As the adult toy being fought over, Li Cheng watched Newton's rather childish behavior with amusement, feeling a sense of satisfaction. It was just a pity that he was wearing so many clothes in the winter, and he could hardly feel the small chest pressing against his arm...