The car drove into the village, and as Peter Brown breathed in the earthy air of the countryside, his mood instantly lifted.
Without the hustle and bustle of the city and the bloodshed of the battlefield, Peter felt as if he had been cleansed, his whole person refreshed.
Peter was a person with simple aspirations and not too many pursuits; what he most desired was a peaceful life.
Indeed, the air in Flower Creek Village was much better now!
Peter stopped by a herb field and could clearly feel that his herb field was in excellent condition. After the formation, the growth of herbs was encouraging.
The car continued towards the hill, and when it entered the courtyard, his parents came out with delighted surprise.
"Son, you didn’t even tell us you were coming back," his mother said with joy on her face.
Father Raven Walter smiled as well.
Seeing their warm and affectionate looks, Peter said with a smile, "It’s nice to be home!"
At this moment, Kate Brown came running out. "Brother, you’re finally back! I thought you didn’t want me to go to school. I have to go register tomorrow."
Speaking of going to college, Kate’s eyes lit up, having never expected that she would make it to college.
"Well, I’ll take you there tomorrow," Peter replied, his joy reflected in Kate’s happiness.
As the family went in, Quinn Walker came out to greet them too.
"Peter!" Quinn’s eyes gleamed with excitement, and she looked very happy standing there.
"Quinn, go make some nice dishes," said Peter’s mother.
Peter paused, sensing that his mother was treating Quinn like a daughter-in-law, and both of them went to prepare the meal.
After unloading some things from the car, Peter asked, "Did grandmother and the others leave?"
"Yes, they said they were more comfortable back in the village and left the day before yesterday," replied Raven.
Raven walked inside the house, sat down, took out a cigarette, and started smoking.
"Dad, didn’t you go to the factory?"
Hearing the question, a complicated expression appeared on Raven’s face. He sighed, "Your father doesn’t know anything. What am I going to do there?"
Peter, feeling that something had happened, asked curiously, "What’s wrong?"
"Peter, Flower Creek Group is yours, and when you’re not around, it now looks completely different!"
"Brother, Dad doesn’t want to say it, but let me tell you, Flower Creek Group now completely belongs to that woman. She made quite a few changes in the company, and not only dad, but Quinn has also been assigned several deputy positions under her, bullying them for not understanding management, leaving them with nothing to do."
Hearing this, Peter frowned and looked at his father. "You were in charge of technology, what happened?"
Raven gave a bitter smile. "That Phoenix Taylor you hired said the company needed standardized management and a patent for the recipe, otherwise, it could be stolen. So, I told them how to make the medicinal wine recipe, and they took it to apply for a patent. Later, the technical staff she brought mastered the method of making the wine, and she promoted them to technical director and such."
Now understanding, Peter realized that his father had indeed been hoodwinked and been relieved of power, with the technology being stolen!
"Quinn, you tell me what happened," Peter said with some anger in his heart. Though he trusted Phoenix, he couldn’t have imagined her sidelining his father’s authority so easily.
Hearing Peter’s shout, Quinn walked out and said, "Peter, I don’t understand a lot of things, but Phoenix is very capable."
Seeing Quinn’s timid demeanor, Peter knew that she lacked confidence in this matter.
"Tell me about the current situation of the group company," Peter asked seriously.
Seeing Peter’s stern expression, Quinn explained, "Peter, actually the situation in the company isn’t that bad. I’ve been meaning to tell you about something, but I couldn’t get in touch with you."
Peter knew that his phone couldn’t be reached while he was abroad, so he nodded and said, "Tell me. What other things happened?"
"Peter, after Uncle Wang told Phoenix the recipe, she went to apply for the patent. She single-handedly handled everything, and we don’t know what happened after the application, she keeps hold of the patent documents. Also, I overheard a technical supervisor she brought report to her that they seemed to have set up another company somewhere, which also produces health wine."
At this point, Peter had murder in his eyes. From Quinn’s words, he had gleaned that Phoenix had her own agenda.
Recalling his dealings with this woman, Peter knew she was discontent with her share allocation in Flower Creek Group and had a huge appetite.
Raven then said, "Peter, it was all my fault, I was confused, and she tricked me into telling her the recipe."
"Dad, it’s nothing. The recipe isn’t that valuable," Peter reassured his father.
Though he said this, Peter was unhappy about the woman running off to apply for a patent without his consent. With Peter’s intelligence, he believed that Phoenix might be attempting to set up a separate business and cash in on the wine market.
Indeed, farmers are reliable!
Upon learning this, Peter became angrier. If it had been an ordinary person, her approach, along with the big shot Henry Martin backing her, would have left a small farmer defenseless against her.
Peter believed that Phoenix thought the key formula was the only thing she needed to have the upper hand against a farmer and that, by that point, he wouldn’t be able to object to anything she did.
Peter somewhat regretted that he had listened only to Edward Martin’s side of the story, sympathized with Phoenix, and decided to use her. He hadn’t anticipated that, in the face of huge benefits, she would seize her own interests.
"Peter, you’ve invested so much money in it. There won’t be a problem, will there?" His mother asked worriedly, as they knew about Phoenix’s background. The thought of having someone like Henry Martin behind her made them, simple farmers, feel unable to revolt, so they had simply returned home.
"Peter, there’s also unrest in the village about share distribution. They’re also not satisfied with the current shares. I feel that woman is stirring trouble behind the scenes," Raven revealed his worries.
Peter sighed inwardly. That woman was cunning enough to anticipate various issues, except that she hadn’t taken into account that Peter was no ordinary person!