Chapter 340 - 339: Selling a Daughter for Glory

"No! I don’t know anything! I swear, I don’t know anything! Whatever you want, go to my parents! Go to them! This has nothing to do with me!!"

Walter Ward kept backing away, cowering desperately behind his parents.

"Kiddo, what gives you the right to make demands of me? Besides, I haven’t even said why I’m here. What’s the big rush?"

A mocking smile played on Felix Knight’s lips as he looked at Mark Ward and his wife.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Just look at him. This is your precious boy, your dear son who uses you as a shield the moment disaster strikes."

Walter Ward was bound in the exact same way, gagged, and tossed beside them.

"Mmph! Mmph!" The sharp-faced woman frantically checked on him.

Felix Knight waved his hand. "It’s getting late. Bring our guests along. Let’s all go to the city and see the sights."

’The villagers here go to bed early and wake up early. If we don’t leave soon, we might attract attention.’

And just like that, the family of three was dragged and hauled into the vehicles. The convoy had arrived with a great clamor, and it departed all the same.

They departed in silence, not taking a single cloud with them, but they did take away three scumbags. (?????????)

A little over an hour later, the vehicles entered a large villa complex in Fairfield City.

As they passed one of the villas, Tina glanced toward the shadows by a corner of the wall. She quickly looked away as if she’d seen nothing, then turned the wheel and pulled into the adjacent villa.

"I have to say, the feng shui and the air here are both great. It’s a pretty good place to retire."

Felix Knight got out of the car, surveyed his surroundings, and remarked,

"Hey, Tina, what do you think my chances would be if I asked the Boss for this villa?"

Tina calmly shut her car door. "Barring any surprises... I’d say 100%."

"You think so too? Is my status as his top confidant that firmly established? Tsk, it’s almost embarrassing.

But don’t say that in front of the other three Knights. I’m afraid they’ll get jealous. They’ll definitely come looking for handouts, and the hassle will drive me crazy."

Tina offered a perfunctory smile. "Sir, have you forgotten? This villa was bought with your money. You haven’t filed for reimbursement from the Boss yet."

’So of course the success rate is 100%.

In fact, he doesn’t even have to ask. He can just move right in after the mission is over.’

Felix Knight’s expression twisted for a second. Flustered, he waved his hand in dismissal.

"Go on, go on, get our ’guests’ unloaded. I swear, you’ve been spending too much time with Colin. You’re becoming just as charmless as he is. Honestly."

"Yes, sir." Tina shrugged innocently and went to direct the others to unload their captives.

The three members of the Ward family had been stuffed into the trunks of different cars. What surprised everyone was that Walter Ward had actually fallen asleep inside. He was sleeping like a log, which was a feat in itself.

The trio was dragged into a basement. They were immediately hit by a cold, musty stench. The sight of various torture implements hanging on the walls and poorly cleaned bloodstains made them tremble and huddle together instinctively.

’Do you like it?’ Felix thought. ’I had it renovated just for you this afternoon, a special rush job. Had to make a special trip to the market and kill ten chickens just to get some fresh blood. My guys ate until they were stuffed tonight, too~’

Felix Knight glanced around, found a suitable pair of pliers, and stepped forward to rip the smelly sock from the woman’s mouth.

Before he could say a word, the woman began to beg for her life.

"Sir, oh, sir, we’re just simple, honest farmers! We’d never do anything crooked, and we don’t have the means to know powerful people like you!

There must be some kind of mistake, right? Why don’t you let us go? We’ll be on our way, and you can rest assured, we won’t breathe a word of this to anyone!"

"Is that so? Funny, because I heard... you were planning to sell your daughter to buy him a big house in the city. Word is you’ve already taken the deposit."

Felix Knight gestured with the pliers toward Walter Ward, who was curled into a ball beside her. "Are the customs around here really that peculiar? Is this what you call being ’simple and honest’?"

"No, no, that’s not it at all! It’s just... the girls are older now, and as parents, we have to put in some effort to help them find a good match, that’s all."

The woman gave a sheepish smile. ’How do these people know everything?!’

’Could those two worthless girls have hired them?’

’No, that can’t be right. Those two money pits work at the factory in town. They can’t even come home without my permission.’

’They send their wages back directly every month. I doubt they’d have the guts to hide any of it.’

’So why would a bunch of gangsters suddenly show up at our door? Could it be...?’

’It has to be them, it’s the only explanation. After all, I haven’t even told those two money pits about the arrangement yet.’

The woman’s eyes darted back and forth as she asked tentatively,

"Um... Sir, you’ve taken a fancy to my girls, haven’t you? Is it Hope or Leda? How about this? I can call them both over. You gentlemen can take your pick, what do you say?

No charge! We won’t take a single cent of the bride price! It’s all about freedom to marry these days, right? The bride price is just a silly formality.

No, no, what am I saying? How could those two worthless girls of mine dare to ask for any official status? You can just keep them like dogs. As long as you feed them, that’s enough.

"Hope is 19 this year, and Leda is 17. I’ve raised them both to be fair-skinned and healthy—they’re definitely fertile! And believe me, they wouldn’t dare do... *that*... behind my back. They’re absolutely clean!"

’If these men took a liking to those two money pits, the cash would just keep flowing in, wouldn’t it?’

’And with men like these as our backers, forget about the village—even my arrogant brother-in-law, the one who looks down his nose at everyone, would have to bow and scrape before our family.’

"Gag! You actually know the phrase ’freedom to marry’?" Tina was sickened by her words.

"Also, ma’am, unless I’m mistaken about the concept of gender, you’re a woman too, right? Why do you have so much venom for your own kind? And we’re talking about your own flesh and blood. You think selling your daughters for personal gain is justified?"

"No, no, Miss, you’re a foreigner, so you might not understand! Everyone’s like this where I’m from. I’m doing it for their own good!

Aren’t daughters born to provide for their brothers? Only sons can carry on the family line. I know this because I’ve been through it myself."

The woman spoke with the earnestness of one imparting timeless wisdom.

’If a girl doesn’t get married, how can she earn money for her brothers back home?’

’If she doesn’t give birth to a son, how can she carry on her husband’s family line? How could she ever hold her head high in front of his family?’

’Or should she be like this foreign chick, running around with a bunch of men? Anyone could guess how she got into that crowd.’

’If it weren’t for the men in black standing behind her, would that foreign chick even be worthy of me calling her ’Miss’?’

’The nerve of her, trying to lecture me!’

The woman seemed to think she was at the village square, where such words would be met with nods of approval. She just kept talking, completely oblivious to the fact that not a single person standing before her was looking at her with anything but disgust.

A sarcastic sneer tugged at Tina’s lips. ’See?’ she thought. ’This is why we need to teach some people how to speak like human beings.’