Chapter 4

The moment the words left my mouth, Hilda's smile froze. Even in her livestream, the rapidly scrolling comments came to an abrupt halt.

She frowned and could barely believe what she had just heard. "Are you still trying to bargain with me?"

Once again, her voice turned shrill.

I ignored her questioning and looked straight into her phone's camera before calmly continuing, "Ten thousand dollars is too cheap. It doesn't match the Supreme Farmhouse Set Meal you've put together, featuring your imported Ardorian chives and classically trained gourmet chicken.

"I'll give you a million dollars."

The entire scene erupted in uproar.

Villagers gathered at the fence, gasped in unison, while her livestream comments exploded into endless punctuation marks of "?" and "!" They nearly obscured the entire screen.

"Holy shit! Did I hear that right? A million dollars?"

"He's snapped. Hilda must've broken his brain."

"Even the top fans don't throw money like that! Is he rich or just stupid?"

Mildred grabbed my arm in shock, her eyes wide with disbelief as if she couldn't understand why I'd do that.

Meanwhile, Hilda's breathing grew rapid. Her chest rose and fell as she fixed me with an unblinking stare, as if searching for traces of a prank on my face. But my expression remained completely calm and unreadable.

In the end, greed overpowered her last shreds of doubt. Her voice trembled with excitement as she blurted out, "Okay! You said it yourself! A million dollars!"

She thrust her phone right in my face as if she was afraid I might back out.

"Guys, you're all my witnesses! He said he'd give me a million dollars!"

Completely unfazed by her exhilaration, I nodded and said, "But I'm not giving it to you for free. That 'voluntary donation' agreement you drafted earlier is poorly written."

I picked up the donation agreement I'd signed earlier and tore it into shreds in front of everyone. "We're signing a new one."

Hilda was visibly confused. "What do you mean?"

"This one million dollars isn't a donation, but an investment in your farmhouse. Rewrite it as an investment agreement, and I'll transfer the money once it's done."

Investment?

Hilda's mind raced. To her, an investment meant the money would still end up in her pocket.

Besides, it sounded even better telling the world that she, Hilda Ross, was a female entrepreneur who'd just secured a million-dollar investment! That was a win-win for both her reputation and profit!

Immediately, all her doubts completely evaporated. When she presented her readied new pen and paper, her face was plastered with an ingratiating smile.

"Sure! No worries, Elden—I mean, Mr. Huff! Just tell me what to write, and I'll do it!"

Under my dictation, a brand new "Farmhouse Investment Agreement" was soon drafted. The terms and conditions were simple.

"Party A, Elden Huff, willingly invests 1,000,000 dollars in Hilda's Farmhouse, operated by Party B, Hilda Ross, and acquires a 49% share of the said business."

At the mention of the share ratio, Hilda secretly rejoiced. With her holding 51% of the shares, she would remain in control as the majority shareholder.

The agreement was signed and thumprinted. Two copies were made, one for each of us.

In full view of the livestream viewers, I took out my phone, tapped on my banking app, and transferred a million dollars into Hilda's provided bank account.

Seconds later, Hilda's phone chimed with a crisp notification. Her hands trembled as she tapped on the notification and stared at the long string of zeros.

Then, she began stammering incoherently in excitement, "I-It's in! The one million dollars! It's here, everyone!"

She screamed and began hysterically showing it off to the camera. "See? I told you I had business talent! I just landed an investment!"

The livestream comments were instantly drowned out by comments like "Hilda's unbeatable!" and "Queen Hilda, please teach us!"

While she was at her most triumphant and laughing with unrestrained arrogance, I quietly picked up my phone and made a call in front of everyone.

After it was picked up, I put it on speaker.

A steady, professional male voice came through. "What can I do for you, Mr. Huff?"

I watched Hilda revel in her victory and clearly said, "Mr. Irvin, I've just made a personal investment.

"Now, as the second-largest shareholder of Hilda's Farmhouse, I'm filing an official complaint against my business partner, Ms. Hilda Ross. She is suspected of operating without permits, tax evasion, price fraud, online defamation, and occupying zoned land for commercial purposes.

"Please bring the legal team, audit, and security over immediately. Do not forget to notify the tax, city regulators, and land planning authorities.

"I want a comprehensive, thorough, and meticulous inspection of my investment project."