Martha walked up to Jonathan, cradling his face and said, "My dear, wake up. It's because we had a poor harvest last year, that we need to work harder this year to make up for last year's losses!"
Jonathan exhaled deeply and said: "I, of course, know that we can buy a new one, but our losses last year were too great, and our working capital is limited. We overspent this year buying seeds for a new breed, where will we get the money to buy a new tractor?"
"Hey! Dad! Didn't you guys forget me?" Clark immediately stepped forward, waving his hand and saying, "The article I wrote a while ago was a big hit and I made quite a bit of money. I've paid off my student loans and still have a lot left."
"My god, listen, Jonathan, what on earth is our son saying? He actually wants to use his money to buy a tractor for the house? This silly boy thinks he's all grown up now?! Stop upsetting your father, he's heartbroken enough," Martha exaggerated, but she just didn't want Clark to spend the money.
Clark gave a somewhat helpless sigh. He turned to Treger and said, "With spring plowing coming up, all the big cities in Kansas State will have agricultural machinery markets. Where's the closest large market? My friends and I will go take a look around. With some luck, the new tractor could be delivered tomorrow."
Treger stepped forward and patted Clark on the arm, saying, "Every small-town boy has this day, when you use your own money to add new farming equipment to your family's farm, it means you've truly grown up."
"The towns around Kent Farm only sell tractor parts. There isn't any decent machinery. But I heard that there's an expo hosted by all the big tractor companies in Kansas City. They have the latest models. You guys really should buy a new machine. Always buying secondhand isn't a solution."
As Clark walked out with Bruce and Diana, Jonathan was still shouting behind him, "No! Clark, don't listen to him! A secondhand one is fine. A new tractor is too expensive and not necessarily reliable... mainly, it's too expensive! You still have to pay the rent in Metropolis!"
Clark walked out of the garage without looking back. He said somewhat helplessly, "My dad is a person who thinks two cents is too much. I'm very happy to listen to my parents' advice, except on this point."
Diana laughed and said empathetically, "They're not stingy, they just hope every penny can be used to good effect. My mom is the same."
"Their responsibility is too great, they have to be responsible for every single person in this family or this country, so it must appear that every penny must be made to count."
Clark leaned against the wall in contemplation, then said, "Kansas City is quite far from here, we probably won't make it in time if we drive."
Clark and Diana glanced at each other, then turned their gaze towards Bruce.
Bruce looked at both of them and said, "You're not planning to have me choose between one of you to carry me, right?"
"Don't be silly, Bruce," Clark slowly approached Bruce, swiftly grabbed his waist and took off, laughing, "You don't have a choice. It's impolite for a lady to carry heavy things."
In reality, the ability to fly, which the human race covets, is indeed very convenient. The flying speed of Clark and Diana was much faster than that of an airplane, and due to the biological field, Bruce did not feel the howling cold wind or weightlessness. The flying experience was quite comfortable, even better than a regular airplane.
They landed on a small road on the outskirts of Kansas City. Kansas State is vast and sparsely populated, so no one would notice them.
A few minutes' walk later, they finally entered the city. The agricultural week takes all farming-related affairs very seriously. Upon entering, they saw big welcoming banners and all sorts of signs indicating where the festival of agricultural machinery took place.
Clark hailed a local driver's car. As soon as he heard they were here to buy a tractor, the local man floored the accelerator and took them to the expo entrance within two minutes.
The expo was held at the Kansas City Convention Center. Walking into the spacious convention center entrance, the sight inside took all three of them aback.
Countless mechanical beasts spanned the wide hall. Unlike the sleek, modern lines of luxury sports cars, every part of the tractor spoke of the industrial beauty of the dawn of mechanical civilization.
The perfectly assembled components, despite their bulkiness and straightforwardness, combined in an intricate manner, bursting with unparalleled power. This sense of contradiction and conflict is what constitutes the beauty of modern agricultural machinery.
The three kept their heads turning as they entered the venue. Just as they were admiring one large and beautiful tractor, another more massive one caught their attention.
In the end, they discovered an unparalleled beast at the deepest part of the venue. Clark read out its name from its information board — "Lamborghini."
In front of this colossal beast, three strong humans looked somewhat petite. Their heads collectively tipped back, eyes trained on the tractor's driver's cab.
"It's so beautiful," Clark exclaimed.
"If I have to ride in a luxury car, I would prefer this one," Diana said, swallowing hard.
"It's nothing like the cars I own," Bruce also chimed in.
"Hey, friends, are you interested in this giant? This is a new model that's highly praised. Plus, this demo car is on sale! We're offering a 2% discount," the salesman greeted them enthusiastically.
Clark managed to move his gaze a bit, glancing at the price tag. Instantly, he sucked in a breath.
"The price is also very beautiful," Clark said, swallowing hard.
Suddenly, both Clark and Diana turned to look at Bruce. Bruce turned his eyeballs, glanced at them, and said,
"Why are you looking at me? I'm not interested in tractors, not even Lamborghini... No, I'm not buying it."
In a hospital room at the Wayne Hospital in Gotham, Thomas, who was still wearing an oxygen mask, was looking at a thick stack of account books. His brows were deeply furrowed.
The first thing he did when he woke up was, of course, to look at exactly where his son had spent such astronomical sum of money. He asked his secretary to bring him a complete bill and also checked Bruce's account.
Looking at the continuous expenses for building materials, Thomas appeared to understand a bit, his mood easing slightly.
At this moment, red-haired Moray knocked on the door, a stack of papers in his hand. He walked in and handed them to Thomas, then said,
"Mr. Thomas, here's the bank statement of Mr. Bruce you requested. There was a problem with their computer earlier, but they've just retrieved the data and printed it out."
Thomas nodded, put down the other account books and first looked at the stack of bank statements.
Bank statements are arranged from the newest to the oldest. Hence, Thomas saw the latest expenditure at a glance.
Then, a voice, first angry then confusing, resounded throughout the room,
"A Lamborghini... tractor?!"