Chapter 7 Root Of The Problem

• Christopher and his family lived on the first floor. The plants outside of the entrance were trampled by the debt collectors from earlier.
• “I didn't expect a useless ex-soldier like Christopher would know Mr. Santos,” Frank uttered giddily.
• “Don't call him that anymore, Dad.” Julianna immediately stopped him when she heard that.
• “He was just lucky enough to know Mr. Santos' son. It's not like he actually did anything to know Mr. Santos. Besides, he's just a soldier. What else can he be called other than useless? I'm telling you, Mr. Santos is willing to work with us definitely because he investigated our family beforehand and thought our factory can be trusted! He was already planning to sign a contract with us and not because Christopher was his son's classmate. Otherwise, why would he hand us such a big contract for our factory? Do you think Mr. Santos is stupid? He's the general manager of Santos Corporation!” Frank didn't at all believe Truman made the decision in a hurry.
• He was convinced it was because Truman saw potential in their factory.
• Julianna had her doubts about the matter. After all, the contract Santos Corporation would be signing with the Murrays was not something small. It was a contract worth tens of millions. She wasn't a child, so of course, she also didn't believe the Murrays got that kind of contract simply because Christopher was Truman's son's ex-classmate.
• “After this is over, you should divorce Christopher! Your grandpa said Christopher will do great things one day, but look at him! He's just a useless soldier. He has no money or power!” Cindy didn't mince her words.
• “Dad, Mom, this is business. You don't need to worry about it. I'll go and check if Christopher has returned already.” Julianna then stood up and opened the door. Awkwardness dominated her expression when she saw him standing on the other side of the door.
• “You sent Mr. Santos away already?” She quickly changed the topic.
• “Mmm, I did,” Christopher answered calmly. There wasn't any emotion on his face, as though he didn't hear anything at all.
• “Good. I'm telling you now, Christopher. Don't think your position in our family has been elevated just because you know Mr. Santos. Don't ever forget who you are,” Frank immediately exclaimed.
• Christopher hadn't known Frank for long, but it was pretty obvious his father-in-law was the type of person who would act cowardly outside the house and all enthusiastic in front of his family.
• “Okay!” Christopher said with a smile because he didn't want Julianna to fight with her parents.
• “Mmm, your attitude is not bad, so I won't chase you away for now. You can sleep in the garage tonight!” Cindy turned to Christopher and ordered.
• “Mom! How can you let him sleep in the garage?” Julianna defended.
• “Why can't I? What has he done for the family in the three years he left this home? I'm already being merciful by not kicking him out,” Cindy justified viciously.
• “It's all right! I can sleep in the garage.” After all, Christopher had experienced a lot of hardship for the past five years. Sleeping in the garage was nothing compared to any of that.
• After Frank and Cindy left, Julianna gently bit her lip and apologized in a soft voice, “I'm sorry. My parents have sharp tongues, but they are soft-hearted.”
• Christopher smiled and said, “It's all right. It's quite a tiring day for you, isn't it? You should rest early.”
• She stared at his back with mixed emotions. In the past, she hated him for forcing her to bear so much pressure for three years.
• However, she had a feeling that in the five years Christopher was a soldier, the hardship he went through was tougher than what she had to deal with.
• The next day, the moment the sun rose, Frank and Cindy woke up with excitement. They didn't sleep all night as they thought about the cushy life they would be living in soon.
• Of course, the only thing they weren't happy about was their son-in-law. While he had helped them greatly, they still thought he didn't deserve their precious daughter.
• In their opinion, a retired soldier was useless.
• At nine in the morning, the Murrays' factory was already heavily decorated. They even had a red carpet placed at the entrance. The Murrays, as well as some of the workers in the factory, stood at the entrance as they waited excitedly. After all, if they could sign a contract with Santos Corporation, not only would the factory be able to survive, all of them would become rich, too.
• Soon, a few black cars drove into the factory. When Frank saw the car stopping, he immediately rushed over to the vehicle and opened the door for Truman. Truman was scared sh*tless because he was afraid Christopher would get mad if he let his father-in-law open the door for him.
• However, when he thought about what Christopher told him yesterday, he didn't dare to do anything drastic. That was because Frank was nothing but a small fry. Without Christopher, Frank would only receive a visit from a small department head of Santos Corporation at most. The fact that Truman personally paid a visit to the factory was a blessing to the Murrays.
• Everything was done by the books afterward. The contract Truman pulled out was drafted with kind consideration. In fact, the conditions listed were way better than what Frank expected. Besides, Truman also took the chance to praise Frank's factory. Of course, he did it to butter up to Christopher.
• Christopher smiled bitterly. It must be quite a tough job for Truman to praise this crappy factory.
• Obviously, Frank didn't notice anything and was just smiling brightly.
• He thanked Truman for supporting his factory, not knowing the true value of his factory at all.
• The entire contract signing process lasted for slightly more than ten minutes before Truman left. Frank expressed his excitement as he summoned all the workers for a pep rally.
• Just as Frank was about to start his pep rally, Fabio, who was sitting in the office, received a call that caused him to change his expression drastically. He rushed out of his office and ran to Fabian's office.
• Currently, Fabian was having a great time enjoying his premium coffee. He was dreaming that he would soon become a rich man in Jadeborough after getting help from the man who gave him the painting.
• It made him feel really good.
• “Dad, Dad, we got a problem!” Fabio barged in and exclaimed anxiously.
• “Why are you panicking, Fabio? You know, you're going to inherit the position of head of the Murray family in the future. You need to maintain your composure,” Fabian reprimanded when he saw his son acting like that.
• “It's not like that, Father. I just received news from someone in Uncle Frank's factory that Mr. Santos from Santos Corporation just signed a long-term contract with Uncle Frank! He is likely going to turn the tables soon! If he really becomes a collaborator with Santos Corporation, then we won't be able to finish Mr. Cordrington's assignment in time! In fact, your position as the family head may be threatened!” Fabio explained anxiously.
• Fabian sneered, “Are you seriously believing that Santos Corporation is going to work with Frank?” He didn't believe that Frank had the capability to do so.
• After all, if Frank was so capable, Fabian wouldn't have chased him out of the Murray family and gave him nothing but a crappy factory.
• “Just take a look at this footage if you don't believe me.” Fabio handed his phone to his father tremblingly. On the screen, there was indeed footage showing the scene of Truman and Frank shaking hands while smiling cheerfully.
• “H-How is this possible?” Fabian took in a deep breath when he saw that.
• He couldn't believe it.
• “Has Santos Corporation gone crazy? Or did Uncle Frank get extremely lucky?” Fabio asked dumbfoundedly.
• Fabian was a shrewd man, so moments later, he laughed out loud. “I didn't expect my brother to still be useful! He just signed a big contract for us!”
• “What do you mean, Father? After Uncle Frank signed that contract with Santos Corporation, there's no way Julianna will marry Mr. Cordrington! In fact, we may even get oppressed by Uncle Frank!” Fabio was shocked by his father's reaction.
• “Hehe, while I did hand that factory to your Uncle Frank, we still own the deed and the right to use the factory's land. More specifically, the factory still belongs to us. When the time comes, I'll use a worthless piece of land in the countryside to get the factory back. Then, we'll be the ones working with Santos Corporation.” Fabian chuckled coldly.
• “Hahaha! You're amazing, Dad! This is what they call solving the problem by its roots! Uncle Frank is delusional if he thinks he can use that worthless piece of land to rise again. When the time comes, he'll definitely chase Christopher out of the family and beg Mr. Cordrington to marry his daughter!” Fabio cackled evilly.
• “All right, you should go and deal with that now. I still need to uphold my reputation, after all. Don't forget to warn your Uncle Frank that Mr. Cordrington has a limit to his patience. Someone like Christopher doesn't deserve to stay in our family.”
• “Don't worry. He's just a retired soldier. I'll make sure to give him hell this time.”