Chapter 112

Many people are like this, especially girls—they always search in their contradictions for what they lack.

Young girls wish to appear more mature, but mature women long for a touch of youthfulness.

For Patricia, she was already youthful and full of energy, so she felt a little envious of her cousin’s poise and charm.

After all… men are always drawn to charm.

Lans glanced at Barbara and said firmly, “Of course, Barbara is beautiful and mature, with a unique elegance only mature women possess.”

Patricia’s expression instantly turned sad, but Lans wouldn’t let that look last long, “But there are many beautiful people—Barbara, or others, even those big stars.”

“I only looked around here for a moment and saw many beautiful girls.”

“Yet you, are only one!”

He cupped her face, “I’ve said it before: the world can have many beautiful, sexy, any kind of women—but Patricia, there’s only one, the one and only!”

Patricia, who had been feeling down, suddenly broke into an uncontrollable smile—she didn’t want to smile, because it was too immodest.

But she couldn’t help it—Lans was just too good with words!

“Your words make me blush!” she whispered to Lans, her tone clear: she was in excellent spirits.

Young people’s conversations always revolve around fashion, movies, trends—nothing deep.

To be honest, Lans wasn’t very good at joining their topics—he hadn’t watched movies or anything like that in a long time—but he still tried his best to engage.

Perhaps because of the luxury car worth two villas, everyone showed him warmth.

Money, in every class and age group across the Federation, is universally effective!

But surprisingly, one of Patricia’s cousins actually knew Lans.

“You run a Labor Service Office, right?”

The cousin’s name was Jack—a very ordinary name.

“Yes, but I don’t know how you found out.”

Patricia explained beside him, “Jack works at the docks.” She looked at Jack, “What exactly is your job again?”

Jack said easily, “I inspect incoming cargo—you know, holding a checklist, randomly opening a container to check for undeclared items.”

“It’s a boring job, but since I often interact with dockworkers, I know you.”

“They all say you want to monopolize illegal immigration work at the docks—is that true?”

Because Jack worked for customs and had connections with all kinds of people at the docks, he’d heard Lans’s name more than once.

At first, it was because of the illegal immigrant workers—they were completely different now from what they used to be, you could call them organized, disciplined, and scaled workers.

Plus, someone helps the dock office manage these illegal immigrants, and the dock authorities strongly support Lans and what he’s doing.

In the past, some of these illegal immigrants would do bad things—steal things, then vanish, no one could find them.

Or do other bad things, sometimes even slack off at work—after all, they earned only a few dollars a month for backbreaking labor—but now that’s changed.

Their discipline improved, which reduced many headaches for the dock office, but it also meant these immigrants were harder to bully—they started sticking together.

The events of just these past two days had spread like wildfire; Jack even leaned close to Lans and whispered, “Did Hammer really run away?”

Lans shrugged, “Who knows?”

“All I know is I can’t find him—he cost me a fortune.”

A flawless answer, yet somehow revealing.

Jack knew this was a sensitive topic and quickly moved on, “Maybe I’ll need your help again someday—I can come straight to you without going through her.”

Lans pulled out a business card and handed it over, “Of course, anytime.”

They soon parted; Patricia was curious, “Who’s Hammer?”

Lans recounted what had happened; Patricia didn’t look shocked, just surprised, “Some people are just hopelessly stupid!”

“You’re absolutely right!”

Aside from Jack, almost no one else had any overlap with Lans’s sphere—but nearly all of this family worked in government or corporations, with zero working-class members.

Back in the Empire, people always said the Federation was a fair and just nation—no corruption, no fraud, no… unpleasant things.

But if you truly delve into the heart of this country, as a Federation citizen, you’ll find it places even greater emphasis on “bloodline” than other nations.

When all the guests had arrived, the banquet officially began; Barbara appeared beside her father, standing before the cake.

First came a touching father-daughter speech, then came the cake-cutting and gift-giving.

The cake was delicious—and certainly expensive, given its size and height, enough for everyone to have a portion and still have leftovers.

The atmosphere gradually relaxed; people began presenting gifts.

Men and women stood to one side, while their children handed out presents; the first to give Barbara a gift was her older brother, now thirty-seven, a member of the Social Party, working in a government office.

He gave Barbara a pair of elegant, sparkling earrings that drew everyone’s eyes.

Barbara immediately put them on and expressed her delight.

Then gifts were given in order of age.

Patricia had taken out a necklace she loved, but Lans stopped her—it was his first time attending her family’s social event, and he wouldn’t let her bear the cost of the gift.

On the way here, they’d picked out a gemstone brooch worth about a hundred and fifty credits—a lark design paired with blue-green stones, stunningly beautiful.

When Patricia presented the gift to Barbara, the latter showed genuine surprise and delight.

The two girls embraced and kissed cheeks; Barbara kept thanking her, saying she adored the brooch, and even hugged Lans briefly—purely out of politeness.

Because the siblings and guests varied greatly in age, the gifts came in many forms.

The most valuable was Lans’s brooch; others gave necklaces and earrings; the cheaper ones were handmade crafts.

Yet you couldn’t say these were cheap—material value didn’t reflect emotional worth; everyone was happy.

About half an hour later, the group of “adults” finally began arguing over political differences.

Patricia smirked beside him, “William refused to come because of this—every year they argue, and no one ever convinces the other.”

This was common—even a three-person household could hold three different political views: one supporting the Social Party, another the Free Party, another the Federation Party.

Fortunately, this year’s election, due to behind-the-scenes deals, lacked its usual intensity; otherwise, someone might’ve already stormed out cursing.

But then again, though the President secured reelection through a series of underhanded tactics, those very tactics had cost him much public support.

Even Lans realized: the next election in four years might bring an unexpected outcome!

Federation citizens may be foolish and easily manipulated, but they hate looking in the mirror.

Now the President had placed a mirror before the voters, reflecting their own ugliness—no wonder their anger was palpable!

You can use my stupidity, but don’t tell me I’m an idiot!

That’s a Federation citizen!

The young people around Lans seemed unfazed by the scene; a few even ate more, and Lu Ka told Lans their father was losing the argument—unless something changed, he’d be leaving soon.

Sure enough, minutes later, shouts calling their names erupted from the other side; the young men quickly bid farewell to siblings and friends, smiling awkwardly as they hurried out.

The parents of those who remained stood like proud roosters who’d won a fight, scanning for their next opponent!

“They’re a waste of Federation political resources—they should all be in Congress, that’s where they truly belong!” Lans joked, earning nods of agreement.

After declining the invitation to dinner, Lans and Patricia drove off together.

On the way back, Patricia felt a little embarrassed, “I hope today didn’t shock you—you know, having a big family is always like this…”

Lans grew curious, “What did your grandfather or great-grandfather do?”

Patricia answered without hesitation, “Farm owner.”

Lans whistled—core Free Party supporters!

Almost all large farm owners were staunch Free Party backers, and only large farm owners could afford so many children and such an expansive family network.

After all, in the past, having more children meant more free labor for the farm—nearly every older-generation farm owner had at least three or four kids.

Some even had over a dozen!

After two or three generations of reproduction, they became vast family systems.

When they returned to Patricia’s home, William was still on a business trip and hadn’t come back.

Mrs. Lawrence hadn’t returned either; only the two young people were home.

Though they hadn’t crossed the line, they’d done many things that shattered Patricia’s previous understanding.

Just as things were about to reach their natural climax, the sound of a car engine came from downstairs—Mrs. Lawrence had returned.