Elena came back to negotiate with Roan again.

  The cow shed would be cleaned by someone else starting tomorrow. The ten jars of jam they agreed on earlier? Now she could only make three.

  "..."

  Roan sighed inwardly. A woman’s face truly changes fast. However, he felt he was being a bit unethical himself, and since this matter couldn't be publicized, he could only nod in agreement.

  He thought about watching Elena make the jam one more time. Maybe he could learn it then.

  Elena wasn't afraid of Roan learning. She thought about the skills she had practiced for years under her mother’s whip, and then thought about Roan’s complete lack of talent for cooking.

  Even if gave Roan three years, he might not learn it. Not to mention keeping the white sugar ratio consistent for the seasoning. You couldn't have the first batch too sweet and the next batch too sour, could you?

  When Elena made the jam again, the two Roan brothers watched for half the day, but they still felt they hadn't learned a thing.

  The steps seemed right, but how did she get that syrupy texture and the perfect sweet-and-sour balance?

  "Done!"

  Elena clapped her hands. The amount for three jars was in the pot.

  She looked at Roan with a smile, waiting to see how this guy would handle the next step. Was he still not going to confess?

  If he didn't tell the truth, Elena wouldn't help him anymore.

  Why should she provide the technology and get no chance to make money?

  "So sweet! This is the taste. Big brother, it’s delicious." Sofia took a small lick of the fresh jam and nodded repeatedly.

  She couldn't see the strange expressions between Elena and Roan. She thought that once this big pot was finished, her brother would be all set.

  Only Marco’s eyes kept shifting between Elena and Roan. What was wrong with these two? So weird.

  Seeing Elena clap her hands and leave, Marco was almost in tears. "Brother, when Sister Elena taught me to wash the snakeberries, she said we were making ten jars. Why only three now? What happened?"

  Roan sat by the stove, his face dark and silent.

  ……

  Intelligence Colonel Garrison and Xavier were invited into Antonio's office at the same time. On the desk sat a stack of bills thicker than a dictionary. Antonio sat slightly reclined.

  He had invited them to sit, but neither dared to take the chairs in front of him.

  "There are twelve suspicious bills related to Xavier here. Two are from the auto repair shop at the corner of Old Mill Road. The first one: a carburetor, 48,000 Kroner, dated one year and three months ago."

  "Is there a problem? That’s the price for a carburetor." Xavier started to argue before Antonio could even finish.

  He flipped through the old bills in front of Antonio and pulled out two more for carburetor replacements, also for 48,000 Kroner.

  Pointing at the bills, Xavier tapped the table loudly, looking like he was about to protest.

  "The problem is, why is the quote from the original manufacturer exactly the same as the quote from a 15-square-meter roadside shop? I’ve never heard of a roadside repair shop that can fix a carburetor."

  "It was a replacement!" Xavier was almost roaring, acting as if Antonio wasn't his superior and had no right to question him.

  "Xavier!"

  Garrison shouted. No one who reached the rank of Colonel was simple. He wasn't about to offend one of the four big figures in the military district just for Xavier.

  "Sir..."

  "Attention! Salute Commander Antonio and listen to his instructions!"

  A flash of grievance and confusion crossed Xavier’s eyes, followed quickly by fear. He hurriedly stomped his feet, saluted Antonio, and then stood stiffly with his hands by his sides.

  "Xavier! This type of carburetor is extremely complex. The manufacturer only allows it to be repaired at the factory. That’s common knowledge. You’re not telling me this 15-square-meter roadside shop can fix an original carburetor, are you? The military district doesn't allow replacements that aren't original parts."

  "Less than six months after you repaired the carburetor, this little shop reported a burglary. The owner told the police the total value of his entire inventory was only 26,715 Kroner. His main business is fixing flat tires. Here..."

  Antonio handed over the police report.

  Up to this point, Antonio’s emotions remained stable, his tone flat. "Explain this, Xavier."

  Beads of sweat dripped from Xavier’s forehead. His neck turned bright red. After a long silence, he finally said, "Sir, the former Commander instructed me to buy it."

  Antonio had already guessed it. Xavier would definitely push the blame onto the former Commander who was currently in custody for a corruption investigation.

  "Then, this bill for 600 Kroner for tea at No. 126 Copper Creek Lane... was that also the former Commander’s instruction?"

  Xavier: "..."

  "This tea shop doesn't even have a name. The owner, Brooks, is actually the owner of Shop No. 5 on the Red Light District. The most expensive tea in that nameless shop is only worth 20 Kroner a pound. Shop No. 5 is also the lowest-class place on the Red Light District, they won't even make a sign. The most expensive girl there for a night happens to be exactly 600 Kroner."

  "Xavier, you’re not telling me the former Commander likes drinking this low-grade tea, are you? He told you to buy 30 pounds at once? And you bought it seven times in one year? Or are you saying a great Commander would actually crawl into such a low-class brothel?"

  Xavier: "..."

  Seeing Antonio finally finish his calm interrogation while the red-faced Xavier kept his lips sealed, Colonel Garrison shouted again, "Xavier, speak!"

  "I... I..." Xavier’s legs were shaking. He was incoherent, and his nose had even started running.

  "There are ten more bills. Have a look." Antonio handed the bills to the Colonel.

  The Colonel took them respectfully with both hands, flipped through them, and immediately put them down. He saluted Antonio. "Reporting to the Commander, this is my responsibility for lack of supervision. I will immediately suspend Xavier for investigation. I will report the process and results to you as soon as possible."

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Antonio waved his hand. "Why report to me? I’m not your direct superior. You should report to Commander Bernardo! It’s just that these bills were paid by my unit, so I had no choice but to step in."

  "Understood! I will report to Commander Bernardo and provide you with a copy of the investigation and the results."

  "Good, good." Antonio waved, letting Colonel Garrison take his criminal subordinate away.

  There was still half an hour before the end of the workday.

  When Antonio walked out of the office with a straight posture, Tom, who was clutching snacks, quickly followed behind him.

  The others had grim faces, pretending to be busy.

  At this time, Dante should be undergoing one-on-one training on the playground. Antonio still intended to cross the playground to go to the canteen, checking on Dante’s progress along the way.

  ……

  Elena slept for a full four hours after getting home. Seeing that Lucy would be back in less than an hour, she lazily got up to cook.

  Barda really was a good person, giving her a day off for nothing.

  Pushing the door open, Elena found two men in the yard. Elias was sitting on a wooden stool, clearly waiting for her.

  But Roan was actually helping Elena weed her vegetable garden. Was this guy that bored? Besides, Elena had just weeded the garden two days ago. Where would there be any weeds?

  The two men, who weren't speaking to each other, both looked at Elena when she opened the door.

  "What are you two doing?"

  "Elena, I want..." Elias stood up.

  Roan threw down the hoe and said as he walked away, "So you know each other. He wasn't in uniform, so I thought he was a bad guy. I’m leaving."

  "Hey, wait." Elena chased after Roan. "He is a bad guy."

  Roan gave Elena a confused look. Seeing Elias trying to follow, he glared fiercely at the man.

  Walking to Roan’s yard, Roan finally asked, "Why didn't you ask him what he wanted?"

  "He’s here to borrow money."

  "Oh."

  As they were talking, Elias indeed caught up. "Elena, can you lend me 300 Pesos? I really don't have money for food."

  Elena blocked Elias at the yard gate. "Listen, Elias, you’re a man with hands and feet. Why are you coming to me if you have no money? You can go to Commander Barda for an advance and work hard next month to pay it back."

  "I'm your fiancé. Are you just going to leave me to die?" Elias muttered, making Roan’s eyes widen.

  Elena was furious. Was this man never going to stop? He kept bringing up "fiancé" and "fiancée."

  But she remained extremely calm on the surface.

  "Elias, you paid my mother three hundred Pesos for an engagement. You should go marry my mother then. I just don't know if my father will beat you to death."

  "If I go report to the Women's Director tomorrow that someone is still forced-buying marriages in this new socialist era, you can forget about ever returning to the city in this lifetime."

  "..."

  Elias had intentionally tried to trap Elena morally just now, but now that Elena had grabbed his weakness, the light in his eyes dimmed instantly.

  He spat out "Heartless," and slunk away.

  Seeing Elena was already there, Roan brought out the aluminum pot again, wanting to renegotiate the jam making.

  Elena gave Roan a fierce glare and walked away angrily.

  "So strange!" Roan scratched his head, not knowing why Elena was taking her anger out on him.

  In the evening, Roan continued trying to make jam at home. After repeated failures, he simply threw the aluminum pot aside.

  "I’m done!"

  Elena, who was complaining to Lucy in the yard, heard the sound of the pot being thrown. She cursed toward Roan’s house:

  "Serves you right!"

  Lucy was stunned. She was away for one day and these two were at each other's throats? What was going on?

  Just as Lucy was about to say something, the yard gate was pushed open. Marco was back again.

  He came in wiping away tears.

  "Sister Elena, can you please help my brother? He cares too much about his pride. But if these ten jars of jam aren't made, we’ll lose this way to make money. We won't be able to earn enough for Sofia’s eye surgery, and she’ll be blind forever. Waaaaah..."

  Marco was really crying. His tears were lit up by the oil lamp.

  Hearing that Roan actually wanted to earn money for his sister's eyes, Elena’s heart felt a sharp sting. She wasn't angry anymore. She asked Marco to describe Roan’s experience selling the jam at the county black market.

  Hearing that a jar of jam could sell for 60 Pesos, Elena was shocked.

  Where was it being sold? It would never sell for that price domestically. You have to understand, with a wholesale price of 60 Pesos, plus shipping, the profit cuts of three or four layers of merchants, and low sales volume, the price would have to be over 120 Pesos.

  While Elena was helping Roan make jam, she made Roan confess everything.

  Roan finally spoke about the background of the black market boss. This man, Mateo, had escaped from the battlefield. No one knew what method he used, but he had already wiped out his identity information. His current identity records could not show any of his past at all.

  This person’s character was extremely harsh and cautious. As long as there was one breach of contract, it would be impossible to find a way to cooperate with him next time. This was why Roan had to produce the first batch of jam on time.

  In addition, this person’s nickname was "Desperate for Life." He was truly someone who wanted money more than his life. When cooperating with him, you could not fall out with him, otherwise it would be very dangerous.

  As for what Elena raised about wanting to know where the goods were sold, Roan also had no way to find out.

  After all, it was the black market; the more one knew, the less safe one became. Roan usually never asked Mateo about these details.

  Regarding what Elena brought up—that if transported to other places for sale, a bottle of jam would sell for at least 120 pesos—Roan also felt it was incredible.

  However, Roan did not want to find out about Mateo’s sales network in other places. Mateo was a person with a very strong heart for revenge. If one snatched his business, his younger brother and sister would be in danger.