America: The neighbor's wife is so incredibly hospitable!

"Come on, give it a try."

Guided by Chen An, Jessica stiffly pushed the lever with her right hand.

"boom--"

The hydraulic arm emitted a deep, muffled roar as the massive bucket slowly rose.

This feeling of absolute power made Jessica forget her shyness instantly.

"Wow! It moved!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Now, we need to push that pile of snow away."

Chen An applied slight pressure to guide her movements.

The bucket drops, cuts into the snowdrift, then lifts it up and dumps it.

The movements were fluid and graceful.

"How are you feeling?" Chen An whispered in her ear.

"I feel... like I'm a Transformer." Jessica's eyes sparkled.

"Very good. Keep it up."

The next hour was less about construction and more about flirting.

Chen An held her like that in this private space filled with mechanical noise and the smell of diesel fuel.

He taught her step by step how to handle this steel beast.

Every movement of the control stick, every rotation of the machine, brought the two bodies into closer contact.

Jessica gradually lost her way.

She couldn't tell if her racing heart was due to the thrill of controlling the giant beast.

It was still because of the body temperature of the man behind her.

All she knew was that this was probably the most expensive and most embarrassing "driving lesson" in the world.

………………

Noon.

The road has been half cleared.

Sarah carried her lunch basket up the snow slope.

When she saw the excavator parked on the side of the road, it was still running.

But when there's no movement inside, you probably understand what's going on.

She walked over and knocked on the glass.

The two people in the driver's cab seemed to be electrocuted and wanted to separate.

Jessica frantically tried to jump off Chen An's lap.

However, the space is too small to separate the seats, since there is only one seat available.

She could only straighten her somewhat disheveled clothes, blushing so much that she didn't dare look at her mother.

"Um... Mom, we were... we were discussing hydraulic systems."

Jessica stammered an explanation, a reason so flimsy that even she didn't believe it.

Chen An, on the other hand, was quite unfazed.

"Have you eaten?"

He opened the door, jumped out of the car, and then naturally lifted Jessica out of the car.

"Good progress today. This girl has a high level of comprehension," Chen An praised.

Sarah gave her daughter a half-smile and handed her the basket.

"Yes, Mr. An is so good at 'teaching' people."

"Let's eat something to replenish our energy. It's a sandwich and hot cocoa."

The three sat down on the excavator's tracks, just like a family resting on a construction site.

All around was a vast snowfield, and behind him lay a mineral deposit worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Jessica took a bite of her sandwich, glanced at Chen An, and then at Sarah.

She found that her mother wasn't angry; instead, she poured her a cup of hot cocoa.

He even helped her wipe off the little bit of engine oil that had gotten on her face.

"Are you tired?" Sarah asked.

"It's alright..." Jessica said softly.

"Actually... it's quite fun."

"As long as it's fun."

Sarah smiled knowingly. "Ann's stuff is always pretty 'fun'."

"But be careful, don't overdo it."

This is both a warning and tacit approval.

Jessica lowered her head and drank her cocoa, but her heart was filled with sweetness.

This strange balance of competition and coexistence gave her an unprecedented sense of excitement and security.

………………

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

The sky was getting dark.

The main road leading to the devil's throat has been basically widened.

Chen An turned off the excavator and jumped out of the cab.

Jessica was so tired that her legs felt weak; she was really exhausted this time.

The intense concentration required for the operation, combined with the tension of being in Chen An's arms, drained a lot of her energy.

"To be continued tomorrow."

Chen An patted the tracks.

"If you can learn to operate independently within three days, I'll forgive $500 of your $10,000 debt."

"Only five hundred?!" Jessica protested.

"Then it'll be a thousand. On the condition that you can stay in the driver's seat... well, without getting distracted."

Chen An pinched her cheek with a mischievous grin.

Back to the main house.

A wave of warmth washed over me.

Sarah had already prepared dinner, while Zeus was snoring on a new sheepskin cushion in front of the fireplace.

"Ann, Robert just sent a fax."

Sarah handed over a document, "It's a list of equipment to be purchased."

"And... there's a letter of intent for cooperation from a company called TerraPower."

TerraPower?

Chen An took the document, glanced at it, and frowned slightly.

This is a well-known lithium battery recycling and processing company in the industry, and it is said to have capital backing from Silicon Valley.

"They're quick."

Chen An sneered.

"They're already thinking about distribution channels before the ore has even been mined."

Should we refuse?

"No. Let it hang there for now."

Chen An threw the documents on the table. "We want more than just to sell ore."

"If we can connect with these downstream giants, we will have more bargaining power in the future."

He glanced at Jessica, who was sprawled on the sofa.

"Jessica, do you know how to use Photoshop?"

"Yes, I can. I studied at an art college, and although I dropped out, photo editing is a fundamental skill for me."

Jessica raised her hand lazily.

"very good."

Chen An took out a USB drive from his pocket; it contained photos of minerals he had brought back from the mountain.

"Please retouch these photos of emerald green spodumene."

"It doesn't need to be too fake, but it needs to have that... high-class, mysterious feel to it."

"What are you going to do?"

"Since someone wants to discuss cooperation, we should first show them our 'sincerity'."

"I want to make a beautiful PowerPoint presentation and send it to those Silicon Valley elites."

Chen An sat on a single sofa and lit a cigarette.

"Also, Jessica, you can take half a day off tomorrow. Go to town and buy a decent business suit."

"If those people come to inspect, I don't want my administrative secretary to dress like a biker gang member."

"Administrative secretary?" Jessica pointed to herself.

"I upgraded?"

"Yes. He worked part-time as an excavator driver and administrative secretary."

Chen An exhaled a smoke ring.

"My salary won't increase, but if you perform well, I might consider letting you meet that TerraPower representative."

"I heard they sent a young, handsome vice president this time."

"cut."

Jessica pursed her lips and glanced at Chen An.

"Handsome? Is he as rich as you? Is he as...bad as you?"

"I don't think so," Chen An readily admitted.

"Then I'm not interested."

Jessica got up from the sofa and grabbed the USB drive.

"I'm only interested in how to Photoshop this broken stone."

"And... I want steak tonight, medium-rare."

After saying that, she grabbed her laptop and ran back to her room.

Sarah shook her head helplessly as she watched the girl's retreating figure.

"An, she only has eyes for you now."

Sarah walked behind Chen An and massaged his shoulders. "You've completely bewitched her."

"That's because she knows her stuff."

Chen An took Sarah's hand in return.

"However, in this family, only you can truly keep her in check."

"Don't forget, you are the major shareholder."

Sarah smiled and leaned down to whisper in his ear:

"Well... the major shareholder wants to hold a 'private board meeting' tonight."

"The location is in the bedroom. It's just the two of us."

"What topic?"

"Regarding...how to better serve our chairman."

………………

Outside the window, the wind and snow gradually stopped.

Inside, the lights were warm and inviting.

Whether it's the underground mines or the people around you.

During this long winter, they all grew wildly in the direction Chen An had hoped for.