Chapter 44
"What happened?" Lily asked.
"I also do not know," replied Alex.
With this, the married couple looked at each other in confusion.
Meanwhile, Lilith, who had just run from the kitchen, was panting as she sat in front of the TV.
"Huff, sorry Mom, I can't save you. It's not that I'm not filial, but Father's herbs taste bad!"
Lilith couldn't help but feel sorry for her mother, and she also squinted slightly resentfully towards her father, who was so mean with his herbs.
After a while, Alex and Lily came out of the kitchen together, each holding several glasses of yellow liquid.
Lilith, who saw this, then became alert. She didn't want to be told to drink Jamu by her father and mother.
Paying no attention to Lilith, who was behaving strangely, Lily happily sipped the peach juice she had in her hand.
With the taste spreading in her mouth, Lily enjoyed it.
Lilith, who kept watching her parents' movements, couldn't help but complain.
"Huff, even Mom is pretending to set me up! Father is sure a bad influence on her!" said Lilith irritably.
Then Alex, who was also oblivious to his daughter's gaze, started to ask.
"Lilith, do you want-"
"No," Lilith replied before Alex could finish speaking.
Alex, who was stunned and a little unsure whether his daughter rejected him, asked a slightly different question.
"Are you sure you don't want to? It tastes really good-"
"No! I don't want to!"
With this, Lilith then fled to another place.
Alex and Lily, who saw this, were once again confused by their daughter's behavior.
"Is she sick?" asked Alex.
"I don't know. Let's pay attention to her. If she's sick, we must quickly take her to the hospital!"
"Okay, I agree."
Meanwhile, Lilith kept walking until she reached her grandmother's house. She wanted to hide in this place out of fear.
Lily, who thought that peaches were very delicious, started packing some to be delivered to her mother and father-in-law's room. Alex also came to see the liveliness.
When the two couples arrived at Father Greenfield's house, they could see Lilith hiding as if frightened. Meanwhile, Rose, who saw Alex and Lily's arrival, was also scared because of the words that had come out of Lilith's mouth earlier. With this, Rose couldn't help looking at Alex's collar with a scanning gaze, and sure enough, the girl could see the bottle filled with yellow liquid in his hand, making her hesitant about her brother.
Alex then wanted to make small talk with his sister by offering fruit.
"Rose, have a look-"
"No, I don't want to."
"Ah," Alex felt dumbfounded by this familiar rejection.
Then Lilith, who saw that the situation was not conducive, went straight to her aunt's room. Rose, who saw this, also rushed to follow Lilith from behind. Lily and Alex exchanged glances and didn't know what to do.
After a while, Greenfield's mother finally appeared. "What is it? Why have you come?" she asked.
"Nothing, I just picked up some ripe peaches and peach juice," Alex replied.
Mrs. Greenfield frowned slightly when she saw a bottle in Alex's hand, but after explaining it, she seemed somehow relieved. Alex then put all the things on the table, and his wife did the same while telling Mrs. Greenfield, "Come on Mom, try this juice, it tastes really good!"
Greenfield's mother, who heard this, drank casually, but she was well aware of the condition of the fruit her son planted.
But even so, she still drank it out of courtesy towards her son and daughter-in-law.
As the juice entered her mouth, Greenfield's mother's old senses were stirred by an irresistible taste. Unconsciously, she swallowed several gulps in a short time.
"Wow, this is so delicious," she exclaimed.
After regaining consciousness, Greenfield's mother became suspicious. "Are these the peaches you have on your farm?"
"Yes, that's right, Mom. Try this a piece of fruit," Lily, who had been to the kitchen earlier, then came back with a knife to cut some fruit for her mother.
Picking up a piece of fruit, Greenfield's mother was finally convinced that the fruit her son had grown was really good.
With this, he couldn't help thinking about sharing it with his children and grandchildren.
"Rose, Lilith, come quickly, there is something you both must try!"
"No, we don't want to!"
"Yes, we do not want to!"
The two girls shouted in unison. Alex and Lily, who were used to such reactions, still didn't know what happened.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Greenfield didn't care and continued to eat.
After that, Alex and Lily said their goodbyes and went home. While Mrs. Greenfield was enjoying the peaches, Mr. Greenfield came home. He saw his wife's contented face and couldn't help but ask, "What are you eating?"
"These are the peaches that Russell grew, try to taste them, they're really good!"
Like everyone else who had heard these words, Mr. Greenfield was skeptical about the fruit grown by Russell. However, when he tasted the peach, he couldn't help but praise the delicious flavor.
"Ahhh, it looks like Russell is optimistic about the farm," Greenfield's father said.
"It's good that way, he's suffered a lot outside already," said Greenfield's mother, slightly distressed. However, the middle-aged woman's mood quickly improved as she continued to eat the fruit in her hand.
After a while, Lilith and Rose were sneaking around like thieves.
"Are they gone already?" Lilith asked in a whisper.
"Yes, it seems so…" Rose answered in a whisper.
"Huh, what a pity for Mother and Grandmother..." Lilith said a little depressed, thinking that they were drinking bad water made by her father.
As the two girls sneaked around, their actions were witnessed by Greenfield's father.
"What's wrong with you two?"
"Nothing, we were just playing."
"Yes, we are playing."
"Okay, you guys come here. Russell just brought some delicious fruit from his farm," said Greenfield's father.
The two girls wanted to immediately refuse, but after Father Greenfield finished his words, they breathed a sigh of relief. With this, the two girls drew closer and stared at the peaches with sparkling eyes, but when they saw the liquid that was in Mother Greenfield's glass, they subconsciously tried to stay away.
"Here," said Mother Greenfield to the two girls.
Lilith and Rose happily took the peaches. While they were eating, the two girls became completely addicted to the taste. They watched Mother Greenfield's movements as she ate some fruit and drank a cup of amber liquid.
Lilith couldn't help but ask, "Grandma, why do you drink Jamu while eating fruit?"
"Drink Jamu? Who drank Jamu? This is the juice your father made," Greenfield's mother clarified.
"Oh, really?" Lilith couldn't believe it.
"That's right, try it if you don't believe me," said Greenfield's mother, pointing to a glass of peach juice.
At first, Lilith was hesitant and frowned, subconsciously backing away. Then she realized that the juice didn't have any medicinal smell at all. Instead, it had a sweet and fresh aroma, just like the delicious peaches she had eaten before.
With this realization, Lilith hesitated and asked, "Grandma, can I try it?"
Greenfield's mother allowed it without thinking much.
Lilith took a sip of the juice, closing her eyes with a frown. But after tasting it, she didn't experience any bitterness or strange taste; instead, a sweet and honey-like flavor filled her mouth. With delight, the girl couldn't help but murmur, "Mmm, it's delicious!"
Rose, who had been observing for a while, immediately took the juice from Lilith's hand and tried it herself. Her eyes lit up after tasting the peach juice. Despite being made from the same ingredients as the fruit, consuming them in different forms created a delightful experience.
Lilith finally understood that what her mother had been drinking was not Jamu but this delicious peach juice. She had misunderstood, and her mother had been trying to share something wonderful with her all along.
Feeling a bit embarrassed about her earlier reaction, Lilith bid farewell to her grandparents and aunt and hurried back home. The whole way back, she couldn't stop thinking about how delicious the peaches were.
While running, Lilith wasn't paying attention and accidentally bumped into someone.
"Ouch!"
Little Lilith quickly apologized, feeling a little scared as she knew it was her fault.
"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't pay much attention to the road."
While Lilith was apologizing, the person she bumped into was preoccupied with their cell phone call.
"Yes, yes," the person mumbled, showing they weren't bothered by the incident, and continued to focus on their phone call.
Lilith let out a sigh of relief and stopped running hastily. She remembered that her father had a vast farm, and she could eat as many peaches as she wanted. With a smile on her face, she proceeded home at a leisurely pace.
While the person who was bumped into was still engrossed in the phone call, he continued, "Yes, fine boss, I will find out." After ending the call, he looked around with a displeased expression on his face.
After a while, two people with stern postures approached him.
"Have you two found anything?"
"Yes, we have inquired."
"And how did it go?"
"They said that some people come occasionally, but not frequently. The villagers also mentioned that the taste of the agricultural fruits is not very good."
Hearing this, Roger cursed under his breath. He had just received news that Alex could pay off the debt at the bank in these two months, which meant Alex was safe and wouldn't get into any trouble.
Naturally, this wasn't good news for Roger and the people above him. Moreover, not only was Alex safe, but the person they planted at the bank got completely fired. Alex seemed to have orchestrated this outcome.
This further fueled Roger's irritation and raised suspicions. He couldn't help but wonder, "Did Alex know about the impending trouble and manage to save up in advance? Or does he have someone else backing him up?"
Roger felt increasingly uneasy about the situation. However, for the time being, he had to set aside those thoughts and focus on other matters.
"Alright, let's check out that guy's farm now and see if there have been any changes."
With this, the three of them walked towards Mary's farm using a hidden path that Alex wasn't aware of.
...
thanks to: John_Carlo_Jalasco, yasir321, Jolly_roger, and realkiller11111 for power stone.