"Then, why are you acting like a clown?"
"I..." Rose was startled by Henry's words.
She didn't know what to say nor how to react.
But the silence was broken with a burst of laughter.
"Pfft!"
Rose turned her head to look at where the voice had come from and she noticed several other saleswomen and salesmen trying to stifle their laughter with their shoulders incessantly trembling.
Rose was infuriated.
She felt humiliated.
Taking a deep breath, she deeply looked at Christine and warned, "All right. Since the client requests you to be the person in charge of this deal, then it shall be given to you..."
"However, if you mess this deal up, then expect to receive appropriate sanctions!" She didn't dare to curse nor let out any nasty words in the presence of the clients as she turned around and stormed out of the place.
The moment she disappeared, the saleswomen and the salesmen erupted into cheers.
"Congratulations, Christine!" One of the saleswomen approached Christine from the side and gave her a hug, "Don't worry about that request letter. It's not really that difficult to make. If you're in trouble or in doubt, you can always approach me for help!"
The saleswoman was a lady in her mid-thirties.
A kind look was on her face for she was genuinely happy with Christine's success.
"T-Thank you, Aunt Rinna... I'll be sure to approach you if I'm not sure about something."
"Hahaha, yeah, just come to me at any time! However, once this deal is over, you better treat me with a drink or two!" Rinna boisterously laughed before she repeatedly patted Christine's shoulders.
The mood in the building seemed to have been uplifted.
Christine didn't look so miserable as before anymore as a smile decorated her lips.
Patrick was about to interrupt their celebration when he noticed the smile on Henry's face as he was looking at his overjoyed wife.
Shaking his head, Patrick decided to just stand there and let Henry burn the image of his joyful wife into his retinas.
A few moments later, Christine finally recovered from her trance as she let out several coughs out of embarrassment.
"Ahem..."
The other saleswomen and salesmen also recovered their wits at that moment as they glanced at Henry and Patrick in embarrassment.
Fortunately, Henry and Patrick didn't seem to be so petty as to criticize them for their small celebration.
The others scattered while Christine awkwardly smiled at Henry and Patrick.
"Sir, please follow me."
"All right." Henry nodded his head and he followed Christine to a showroom where a 3d model of the entire city of Dalaget was located.
Christine pointed at a land property directly across the entrance of the elementary school as she explained, "Based on the requirements that you have in mind, sir... I would recommend this land property because not only it has an available house for you to stay in, it's also quite cheap. The price is only about five million dollars for a fifty-year land rights deal."
Christine glanced at Patrick before her gaze landed on Henry.
Her hunch was telling her that Henry seemed to be the person of authority and the boss for this transaction.
"I don't need a fifty-year land rights deal. As for that house, I also don't need that. I'm planning on demolishing that house, so I can build a three-story house that will also serve as a place for my business."
"You see... as I said earlier I would love to create a place where children can get cheap but nutritious food." Henry smiled and carefully observed Christine's expressions.
"For children to get cheap and nutritious food?" Christine furrowed her eyebrows. She couldn't believe that someone would actually go to such lengths for the sake of random school children.
"Ahem..." Patrick lightly coughed and explained for Henry, "Miss, my boss is a philanthropist. He has established several charity foundations overseas, aside from his hometown. Now, that he's back where he was born..."
"He's planning on returning to his roots and giving back to the unprivileged children of the city."
Christine was moved upon hearing Henry's words.
To think that such a man existed in this world!
"Sir... I'm sorry if I doubted your words." Christine stared at Henry with renewed light and Henry didn't know how to react. Though, he glanced at Patrick and gave him a silent nod.
With his actions being recognized, Patrick was overjoyed.
He stood there with a smile on his face.
"It's all right, it's all right..." Henry waved his hand and asked, "How about you, Miss Ayala? Do you love children like me?"
Christine's attitude towards Henry had changed and she became even more polite, "Yes, to be honest, sir... I actually have a daughter."
"Oh, really?" Henry smiled, "Then, I guess your husband is so lucky to have such a virtuous and hardworking lady like you in his house!"
Christine abruptly froze.
Husband?
What a joke... If that person didn't run the moment he took my precious thing, would we be suffering like this? If only he presented himself, he could've married into my family and I wouldn't have to be kicked out!
If only that man...
Christine lamented in her heart.
But she didn't dare to finish her thought for it has been five years.
She had long resolved to forget about what had happened and focus solely on bringing up her daughter. It didn't matter if she was alone. It didn't matter how arduous the journey would be.
For her daughter... she was prepared to give up everything.
"Miss Ayala?" Henry asked in apparent doubt.
Christine awakened from her trance and she hung her head low before replying, "Actually, sir."
"I'm a single mother."
"Oh?"
Henry furrowed his eyebrows, "Then, he sure is a stupid man to leave such a capable woman!"
Patrick glanced at Henry in astonishment. Sir, do you realize that you're attacking yourself?
But Henry remained unperturbed.
Christine lightly chuckled, "Surely, you jest, sir..."
Realizing that she had something in common with Henry, Christine's tone of voice became more friendly as she explained, "I can make that deal that you want to happen, but are you sure that you do not care about the price, sir?"
"I reckon everything would be ten times more expensive since we're going to hire a development company to build and design everything that you want..."
Henry waved his hand, "It's fine, it's fine... Money is not something that I lack in this world. I could use my money for leisure or any other activities, but I'd rather use it for the sake of the children. After all, I firmly believe in the historical words of Laguna's National Hero..."
"The youth is the hope of the nation."
Christine stared at Henry and smiled, "Okay, I'm curious sir... Just what business do you plan to establish? I would have to ask the developers if they are able to do your requests, so if you can tell me all of your plans as soon as possible, then everything would be less of a hassle."
Henry nodded and replied, "I'm planning on making a bakery."
"A bakery?" Christine was surprised, "I thought for sure that you were making a cafeteria, sir."
"Hahaha," Henry softly chuckled, "So that's what you thought, miss Ayala? But to be honest, the reason why I'm trying to make a bakery is that I was previously a soldier, and you see... On the battlefield, we have these rations called Nutribuns."
"Those Nutribuns are incredibly small, yet they are so filling. It's also packed with all the nutrients that a child needs for their development and it's also quite easy to make. Moreover, since it's literally just a bland bun. You could change the flavor into sweet or savory."
"With that in mind, I guess you can imagine the possibilities?" Henry patiently explained.
If Christine still wasn't convinced that Henry actually liked children earlier, then she was now utterly convinced at this moment. Nodding her head, she jotted down Henry's words in enthusiasm as Christine briefly talked with Henry about the details of the plan.
Half an hour later, Henry was finally out of the building, and as he got into the driver's seat and drove down the road...
Patrick couldn't help but ask.
"Sir, do you really know how to make Nutribuns?" Patrick asked in doubt. He knew Nutribuns for it was the favorite staple of Laguna's soldiers on the battlefield. But as far as he could remember, the recipe for Nutribun was a tightly guarded secret of Laguna.
Only government and military officials with enough authority clearance could possibly access the recipe. Although Henry had sufficient clearance to access such information, Patrick doubted if Henry had the time to dabble in baking when he was still a soldier.
Henry glanced at Patrick beside him and a smile appeared on his face.
"Use my medallion and stamp to make a formal request to the Food and Drug Industry for the recipe for Nutribun. I also want you to find a baking master who is willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement that will last for his entire life."
"I've got to learn the art of baking before the building is built."
What?
Patrick doubted if his ears were working.
"Sir, you don't know how to bake?"
"Yeah? Is there something wrong with it? I am a soldier. How can I possibly have the time to learn baking on the battlefield?" Henry said in a matter-of-factly tone.
"If that's the case, then why did you choose to establish a bakery, sir? When you know nothing about it?" Patrick furrowed his eyebrows.
"Well..." A doting look appeared on Henry's face, "It's because the report said that my daughter loves baked pastries and sweets. Also, I wasn't lying when I told my wife earlier about the Nutribun..."
"I am also planning on turning that bakery into a popular spot for children to get their meals from... Speaking of meals, I should probably hire a Food Scientists and a Nutritionists to modify the ingredients of the pastries and sweets, so that it would be sufficiently healthy!"
"All right, you've heard me, Patrick! It's your time to shine!"
Henry handed over a medallion to Patrick and the latter casually took it from Henry's hand.
Patrick didn't notice the medallion that he was holding at first since he was jotting down notes on his notebook, but as soon as his eyes landed on the medallion. They almost bulged out of their sockets!
It was because the medallion he was holding was the custom-made Medallion of Glory for the God of Destruction Squad! What's more, there were six stars decorated above the cracked monolith under the sun!
This was a Six-Starred General's medallion!
The realization sent a bolt of shock down Patrick's spine as his body started to sweat. His palms also became sticky as he hurriedly laid down the medallion on a clean and pristine piece of handkerchief.
He was too afraid to damage or taint the symbol of the Vajrada Shivada.
"What's with the ruckus, Patrick? It's just a medallion." Henry asked.
IT'S JUST A MEDALLION?!
Patrick wanted to scream at Henry at this moment, but he knew that he couldn't do that for Henry was his boss. Calming down the galloping of a thousand horses in his heart, Patrick took a deep breath and asked, "Sir... Are you really going to let me use this thing?"
"What's with the hesitation?"
"Are you going to try and summon the God of Destruction Squad or what? Well, you can actually do that with just a press of a secret button on the surface of that medallion."
"Once the button is pressed, the God of Destruction Squad will do a tactical insertion at your real-time location...
"The sight of a hundred thousand strong soldiers of the God of Destruction Squad descending from the airspace of Dalaget would surely be a fun scene to see. Hahaha, be careful to not touch that button now!" Henry warned.
"Hieek!" Patrick was now even more afraid to touch the medallion, "I'm not touching that medallion, sir!"
"Hahaha..." Henry boisterously laughed, "I was just kidding. There's no such button. If there was, then those bastards who are so afraid of me at the capital would probably piss their pants knowing that I can summon a hundred thousand monsters above their heads anytime."
Patrick was speechless. He wanted to cry but tears wouldn't come out.
Sir, I beg you, please take this seriously... It's bad for my heart.