Chapter 421: Benefactor...

Not only were their own apartment and belongings burned to a crisp, but the homes of fifteen households on the five floors above them also suffered varying degrees of damage, all requiring compensation.

Adding in another dozen or so households from the five floors of the two adjacent buildings, they were now facing compensation claims from nearly fifty families in total.

In other words, while the three buildings didn’t need to be demolished and rebuilt, their exterior walls, along with all the interior decorations, furniture, and appliances, would have to be completely replaced.

Even at a bare minimum of 150,000 per household, the total would run into the several millions.

Although Linden’s parents had scrimped and saved for many years while working away from home, the money they’d put away was just enough for Linden to return to their small county, buy a house, and get married.

Several million? That was a death sentence. They couldn’t possibly come up with that much money, not even if their lives depended on it.

When Linden’s mother came to, she just started crying again. Faced with the accusations from their landlord and neighbors, she truly felt she couldn’t go on living.

"Just take me away! Execute me! I can’t live like this anymore! We only moved in a day ago and now this happens... What have we done to deserve this?!"

She might have said that, but if it came down to actually going to prison, Linden’s mother couldn’t bear the thought.

People from the countryside—no, it should be said that anyone who is mentally sound and has a normal moral compass—is deeply terrified by the prospect of going to prison.

Linden wasn’t married yet. If his mother went to prison and word got out, he would never be able to find a wife.

Having not slept a wink, the family’s hair had practically turned white overnight. They stared at the charred remains of their home, their tears all but cried out.

Just when they were feeling lost, helpless, and completely at a loss, Zeke Walton unexpectedly showed up the next morning.

When Linden saw his car pull up, it was as if he’d spotted a lifeline. He scrambled toward it.

Zeke Walton had just opened the car door when Linden, a grown man, grabbed his hand, his voice thick with emotion.

"Sir, you came! SOB... Something terrible has happened... We’re ruined... We can’t go on..."

Zeke Walton listened to his sobbing for a moment before patting him on the shoulder and leading him over to his parents.

"A friend told me this morning there was a serious fire over here. I was worried about you all, so I rushed over. I never thought it would actually be you. Alright, alright. What’s done is done. There’s no use dwelling on it. Get up, don’t just sit on the ground."

Linden’s mother refused to get up. "Our life’s savings are gone, just like that! How is Linden supposed to get married or have children now? And the worst part is, even if we give them every penny we have, it’s not enough to cover the damages! We can’t go on like this! Who did we ever wrong to deserve this? It’s just one disaster after another... SOB..."

Zeke Walton asked them, "Didn’t you buy insurance? I reminded you when I brought you here, didn’t I? Fires, floods, natural disasters... there are uncontrollable risks. I told you to be sure to get accident insurance. You didn’t get it?"

At the mention of this, Linden’s family looked utterly ashamed.

They had been uninformed and prejudiced against insurance, always thinking it was a scam. Besides, they hadn’t wanted to waste money on it.

They had worked on construction sites for years without a single incident. Who knew that the moment they moved here...

If only they had listened to Zeke Walton.

But it was too late for regrets now.

Linden mustered up his courage and pleaded with Zeke Walton, "Sir, I know you’re not an ordinary person. You’re powerful. Can you please help us figure something out? Could we buy insurance now? We could... backdate it. No one would know. Otherwise, it’s over seven million! We could never pay that much, not in a million years."

Zeke Walton looked at him as if he were joking.

"Even if I have connections, I can’t defraud an insurance company of more than seven million, can I? With such a huge sum, who would dare help me pull off a scam that big? If we were caught, we’d go to prison."

Linden: "..."

"Alright, what’s done is done. It’s too late for any of that. There’s no other way forward but to work hard and earn the money. Instead of wasting time here complaining and crying, you should be figuring out how to earn it."

Linden’s parents looked distraught. "The two of us are almost sixty years old. No construction site will hire people our age. What kind of money can we earn? We can’t go back to farming, can we? We haven’t farmed in years. Not only are we not physically up to it, but we don’t want to. You can’t make money farming anyway..."

Zeke Walton offered a suggestion. "Then become food delivery drivers. Look around the streets—men, women, old, young, single parents, divorcees, widows... plenty of people are in tough situations. Haven’t they all managed to survive by doing food delivery? As long as you’re willing to work hard, there’s no challenge you can’t overcome."

The family considered it. He had a point.

Even if they cried until their tears ran dry, until they went blind, it wouldn’t change a thing.

If they worked hard, one person could make 10,000 a month. With all three of them working, that would be 30,000 a month. By scrimping and saving, they could put away 300,000 a year.

They could get Linden married first, and then slowly earn the money to pay back the rest of the debt. Life wasn’t completely hopeless after all.

Having made up their minds, Linden’s parents went to thank Zeke Walton again.

"We were going to treat you to a meal once our little eatery was up and running, but look at us now..."

"I appreciate the thought. Don’t worry about things like that. It’s not too late to treat me after you’ve made your fortune."

Zeke Walton adopted a gentlemanly demeanor. "Actually, I originally came here today for another reason."

"What is it? Please, tell us. If there’s anything we can do to help, we’ll do it, no matter the cost."

Zeke Walton said, "I’m in need of an assistant. These days, recent college graduates are useless for anything but their looks. They’re all coddled little darlings at home who are incompetent and can’t handle hard work. I’ve interviewed dozens, and they’ve nearly driven me mad. I was originally thinking of Linden... but never mind. The position doesn’t pay more than 10,000 a month, so just forget it."

With that, he turned to leave, but Linden’s father quickly stopped him.

"Wait, Sir, wait! You’re looking for an assistant, and you’re thinking of Linden? That’s a wonderful opportunity! We never said we wouldn’t agree, don’t be in such a hurry to leave."

Linden hadn’t even finished middle school. With his level of education, the idea of working in a company, let alone as an assistant to a big boss, was a complete pipe dream—unless he met a powerful benefactor.

For years, they had been scraping by on the lowest rungs of society. Everyone longs for a respectable life, a chance to move up in the world.

Now their son had a chance. It might not pay as much as food delivery, but it was a white-collar office job. Not only would it make it easier for him to find a wife, but maybe he could get promotions and raises in the future, even become a high-level manager.

He felt this was a worthy investment.

"It’s a great honor for Linden that you see potential in him. The boy may not have much education, but he’s excellent in every other way, especially his work ethic. Otherwise, his mother and I, being as old as we are, could never have run our food stall all these years. He’s also very smart! He handles all our family’s grocery shopping, bookkeeping, bill payments, everything. If this accident hadn’t happened yesterday, he was even planning to research how to set up an online ordering system while doing deliveries. It’s just such a shame that this happened..."

Zeke Walton listened patiently as he rambled on.

"Since you’re willing to let Linden work with me, I will certainly mentor him well and give him plenty of opportunities. Don’t you worry, your son’s future will only get brighter."

Zeke Walton booked a hotel room for them and lent them 10,000 to help them through their immediate crisis. As he was leaving, Linden’s parents fell to their knees before him.

"You’re a truly great man. In all our years, we’ve never met a person as good as you. We have no way to repay your kindness... please let us kowtow to you, our benefactor..."