Shadow Empire

Chapter 134: Conversation between the father and son and an accident
In mid-to-late November, the weather finally turned cold, and people not only stopped avoiding the sun, but began to pursue it.

After more than ten days, the new house that Lance bought was completed.

Someone from Blue Lotus Community Services called Lance and told him that all the houses had been built.

It stands to reason that building your own house must be fun. In the memories of many federal people, building their own house with their father and grandfather is a very precious memory of their childhood.

Most people who have such memories come from middle-class families, and it is known that they are the only ones who have a very fulfilling life.

The houses that poor people buy are mostly cheap apartments in remote areas, while the rich live in villas or manors. High-end apartments in the city center are also a good choice.

Only the middle class will pursue a kind of "sentiment". No one in the world is busier than them!
Apart from work, they plan every minute of their lives and are happy to do things that are not actually required of them.

They often schedule some very special things for themselves and make a list, such as reading a book every week and writing a review.

Or maybe you must learn a musical instrument within a period of time and show it to your family and friends.

They can always find many things that seem to make their life process more meaningful. This is the middle class.

Mood, exquisite.

Building a house happens to be one of their many life plans, and it is an important one.

But unfortunately, Lance and his family don't have the time, nor the skills to do this. Even if they could buy all the ready-made wood directly based on the selected model house, they would only need to assemble them according to the drawings.

Building a house is a big project, not to mention there are so many houses here, so in the end professional matters are left to professionals.

The community service company hired a professional construction team, which is a construction team under the name of these building housing production companies. With some money, they can quickly build the house.

Lance drove here and was very satisfied with everything. The more than two-meter-high vegetation wall, whose name he didn't know, could block people's sight very well.

Outside the vegetation wall, there is an iron fence about one and a half meters high.

He bought several houses at once. These townhouses were not separated by walls, making them form a whole.

The community service manager was very enthusiastic about "big customers" like Lance. "The color of the roof and exterior walls will be completed in two days. You can already consider choosing the decoration style."

“I recommend working with our partners at Community Services, where you can walk around the community and check out model homes that they have decorated.”

"If you are not satisfied with their work after the renovation, we can negotiate with them for you..."

The manager said a lot of things, but his only meaning was that he hoped Lance would sign the company he recommended as the decoration company.

The decoration of this building is four and a half floors - a basement counts as half a floor, and there are first, second floors and half an attic, so it is called four and a half floors.

It would cost at least 500 yuan to renovate a house of four and a half floors with a total area of ​​more than 300 square meters.

If you want to decorate it better, it will cost one thousand yuan.

The manager can get a 2% return from this. Even if Lance decorates the house according to the lowest standards, he can still get at least a few dozen dollars in benefits.

Moreover, the community service company can also share some of the profits.

Seeing that Lance didn't show any obvious refusal, the manager immediately knew that he didn't have any choice at the moment, so he started to promote the product more vigorously, and even went back to get a picture album to introduce the various styles in it to Lance.

During this period, the most popular style in the Federation was "modern".

Modern originally means something fashionable, trendy, and trendy, but it has now surpassed its own meaning and is becoming a phenomenon.

Modern Family, Modern Girl, Modern Decor, Modern... Everything!
Lance flipped through the album in his hand and then handed it to Mello. As the "chief steward", it was enough for him to handle these things.

When the group returned to the company, their faces were filled with a kind of... very special happiness, because they now had a home.

The sense of security that home brings to people cannot be replaced by anything else. The feeling of curling up in bed, covering your head with a quilt, even though it is dark and small, can bring an incomparable sense of security, which is also irreplaceable by anything else.

Those who went there and those who didn't go talked about all the wonderful things about their new home, and it seemed as if the good days had already arrived.

Lance looked around, "Where's Ennio?"

Ennio likes to join in the fun. It was surprising enough that he didn't go to see the house with us today. I didn't expect that he is not in the company now, which is very abnormal.

Morris came over and explained, "He went to the hospital. His father was hospitalized."

Lance had heard about the feud between Ennio and his father, and also heard that his purpose in doing all this was to move out of his home.

Something must have happened since he is taking the initiative to see his father now.

"Is there anything I can do for you?", he asked.

Morris shook his head. "He should be back soon. You know, between him and his father..." Morris shook his head.

Almost most immigrant families will face similar problems: income, expenses, savings, poverty...

At this time, Ennio didn't know that Lance had asked him a special question. He was standing in the ward looking at his father who was wrapped in bandages. The father and son looked at each other, but neither of them had a good expression.

No one spoke first, as if whoever spoke first would lose, and they just kept on talking angrily like that.

After a while, a doctor came in with a nurse. He glanced at Ennio and asked, "Are you a relative of the patient?"

Ennio didn't say anything, just looked at him, "Don't worry about who I am, just say what you want to say."

The doctor glanced at the silent man and took out a bill. "Your...relative's account is empty. He currently owes the hospital seven dollars. In addition, if he needs to be treated in the hospital in the future, you must deposit at least fifty dollars into his account."

In fact, they didn't need so much, but they were afraid, so they could only ask for a little more.

It is easier to refund more, but it is not necessarily possible to make up for less.

Federal social health insurance does not reimburse people without any restrictions. People pay medical expenses according to a proportion, and there is a limit.

If you exceed this limit and do not have additional commercial insurance, you will need to pay the full medical expenses yourself.

This place is not as good as it is boasted to be. A lot of people cannot afford medical treatment, and even many middle-class people go bankrupt every year because of medical treatment.

He handed the bill to Ennio, who took it in his hands and looked at it, unable to understand it.

But he could read the typewritten numbers at the bottom of the bill and the signatures of two people.

He glanced at his father again, was silent for a while, took out a wad of money from his pocket, counted out seven dollars, and then counted out fifty dollars.

This was not the first time the doctor had encountered such a situation. He collected the money and counted it. “Don’t leave yet. I’ll ask the accountant to issue you a certificate. The extra money can be refunded with the certificate when you leave the hospital.”

He felt that the two people must have a lot to say, and he didn't like to get involved in the conflict between the patient and his family, so he took the initiative to take the nurse to get the payment certificate.

There were only two of them left in the room.

After about ten seconds, the man suddenly asked, "Where did you get the money from?"

"Did you do anything illegal?"

He looked at his son. Enio didn't even want to look at him, but at this moment he was so angry that he pinched his waist and turned to look at his father. He walked back and forth a few steps and said in a slightly louder voice than usual, "At least I have money in my pocket, and you can't even take out seven dollars!"

The man kept looking at him and said, "Although I am poor, every penny I have is clean."

"What's the point of being clean?"

Ennio's voice got louder. "If it's clean, it's fine. Why did Mom leave?"

"If cleanliness is useful, how can you lie here and not even be able to take out seven dollars?"

"Listen, I don't want to argue with you, but you have to remember that what you think is dirty money can save you now and allow you to receive the federal medical services you love!"

"And the clean money you mentioned, I've never seen it since I can remember!"

The man seemed to be still struggling, "I will succeed..."

Ennio shook his head in disappointment, "You thought so twenty years ago!"

The man didn't seem to want to continue arguing with Ennio on this issue, so he changed the subject, "The person who beat me said he hurt his family..."

"He has gone to reunite with his family!"

"You..." The man was shocked. He just said one word, and suddenly seemed to realize something, and lowered his voice, "You killed him?"

Ennio shook his head. "These have nothing to do with you. You just need to know that he won't look for you again."

"Then, go on and pursue your federal dream!"

He raised his wrist to check the time, "I have to go."

After saying that, he took two steps, then came back and put the cigarette on the bedside table, along with a ten-dollar bill.

"You can use it or not." "Money is money, there is no such thing as clean or dirty."

After he finished speaking, he looked at the man deeply, turned around and left without looking back.

He hated this man.

He hates that he inflicts all his failures on his family through domestic violence, which is why Ennio wants to escape from his family.

But when he saw the man lying on the bed covered with wounds, he suddenly felt a little soft-hearted.

Some of the good things he had done began to surface from the depths of his memory.

When I was a kid, he bought me a cake for my birthday, a pair of sneakers, and took me out to play...

When you hate someone, you can't find any reason to forgive him.

But when you are soft-hearted, you can find many good memories.

People are always contradictory, and will always be contradictory.

The man looked at Ennio's back, then his eyes moved to the pack of cigarettes and the money.

The young nurse brought him a receipt and told him that if he had not spent all the money when he was discharged from the hospital, he could use the receipt to get the remaining money and he must keep it well.

He struggled to sit up and glanced at the cigarettes on the cabinet. They were 49 cents a pack and he couldn't afford them.

He usually smoked cigarettes that cost five cents a roll, which were the kind that ordinary people rolled by hand. There was no certain amount of volume in a roll, but it was just a roll, and they were rolled and sold by individuals using tobacco leaves.

It’s choking and spicy. This is the taste of low-quality raw tobacco, some of which doesn’t even taste like tobacco.

He had the urge to spend money many times and buy a pack of better commercial cigarettes to try, but he gave up in the end.

Because life is too difficult.

It's so funny that a person can overcome desires with reason!
He pulled one out, took a pack of matches from the cabinet drawer, and lit it.

Then he coughed twice, but he felt great!
The feeling this cigarette gave him was much better than those ten-cent cigarettes or the cigarettes he rolled himself.

He looked at the white ceiling.

Ennio was driving, thinking about a lot of things in his mind. When he passed the red light at the intersection, he stopped the car.

Looking at the scenery on the street, his thoughts drifted far away.

He is rich now. Not long after following Lance, he already has several hundred dollars. Making money is too easy.

He was a little confused again. Perhaps this is a stage that everyone must go through.

Suddenly, the sound of car horns and curses in his ears brought him back to his senses. He was now at an intersection and had just stopped because of a red light.

During the waiting time, he thought a lot and realized that this was his own problem.

But just as he was about to start the car and leave, someone suddenly knocked hard on his car window.

The whole car seemed to be vibrating.

Outside the car window, a middle-aged man was cursing loudly and banging on the windows and roof, looking like he wanted to eat someone.

The two looked at each other, neither of them having the slightest intention of stopping, still banging on the car windows and cursing Ennio.

Ennio looked back at the baseball bat exposed under the passenger seat, and an indescribable desire for destruction instantly filled his heart!

He turned, grabbed the baseball bat, and pushed the car door open.

The car door hit the bastard, causing him to step back a few steps, and then Ennio swung the bat and hit him.

The honking of horns and shouting around all stopped in an instant, leaving only the man's begging for mercy.

The whole world seemed to have entered into a strange rhythm.

An unknown amount of time had passed before he stood up, panting slightly and staggering. He looked at the groaning man, looked at the horrified eyes of the onlookers around him, wiped the blood off his face, and returned to the car.

He originally wanted to drive away, but after venting his anger, he began to regain his senses and felt that this matter suddenly became a little tricky.

Instead of leaving, he walked to the side of the road and called the company.

Lance, who was counting money, received a call, "This is Lance."

"I, Ennio, had an accident..."

Soon, two cars drove out of the alley behind the company, and more than ten minutes later, Lance saw Ennio on the side of the road.

The police also came, and there was an ambulance. The unlucky guy had just been taken to the ambulance, and the police were questioning Ennio.

Lance walked over, and when the two policemen saw Lance coming, they took a step back, and one of them even put his hand on his holster.

They were all wearing the same outfit and looked a bit scary, not like good people.

Lance raised his hands to prove that he was harmless, "I'm his friend, I came to find out what happened."

"Which branch are you from?"

The two policemen looked at each other, and one of them said, "We are from the Imperial District Police Station."

This is the Empire District, Lance smiled a little, "I know John... He should be the Assistant Director now."

The expressions of the two patrolmen immediately relaxed, because this was one of their own.

Lance also took the opportunity to move closer, and behind people's backs, he took out twenty dollars from his pocket and stuffed it into the pocket of one of the patrolmen, "I believe we will become friends."

The two patrolmen looked at each other again, with a little more smile on their faces, "Of course, sir."

Lance was pleased with their reaction, "So can I have a chat with my brother?"

The person who was taking notes put down his clipboard and said, "Why not?"

They took the initiative to go to the front of the car and let them stay at the back.

Ennio told Lance what happened, and Lance listened carefully, "Do you think he will die?"

Ennio shook his head. "Although I lost my mind at that moment, I promise I didn't want to kill him. I held back. He was probably seriously injured."

As long as he's not dead.

"You had an altercation and he asked you to get out of the car and you were afraid he was going to hurt you so you got out of the car with your bat."

"He seemed to want to hit you, and you were too nervous, so you fought back. You heard that he swore to kill you, so you had to make him lose his ability to resist first."

Lance patted his cheek, "Don't say anything, don't admit anything, even if they beat you up, remember, you were nervous, he provoked you first."

"I'll arrange a lawyer for you and everything will be fine."

"Is there anything in the car or on your person that cannot be shown in court?"

"A gun, or something?"

Ennio shook his head. "No."

Lance patted his arm, "Mark my words."

He turned around and walked back to the front of the car, giving each of the two patrolmen a cigarette. "My friend is a little nervous because this is the first time he has encountered such a thing. Can I see the transcripts of what he said before?"

A patrolman looked a little embarrassed, "This is not... in line with the principles of our work."

Lance handed over a business card, which was his own, and said, "I'll buy you a drink after get off work tonight, and try to overcome your difficulties."

The two hesitated for a while, but finally gave the clipboard to Lance.

On the one hand, Lance knew John. John was not just greedy, he was also a vicious and cruel character. Everyone in the police station was a little afraid of him, not to mention that these were just two of the lowest-level patrol officers.

On the other hand, they were also moved by Lance's generosity.

After Lance got the writing board, he simply modified a few places in it. "He was too nervous and a little confused. This description is more reasonable. What do you think?"

The two police officers glanced at each other and said, "You've already finished talking, what else can we do?"
But they nodded in agreement, after all, their job is to restore the truth.

(End of this chapter)