"What are you talking about? We all agreed to send you to the city." His father patted Arlan's shoulder.
"Son, are they your friends?" His mother asked while looking at Khalon and Karl.
Arlan wiped the tears on his face. He then looked at his parents and hesitated for a moment before he answered. "Those two are working for me. My position in the new company I'm working for is quite high so I need some people to help me with certain tasks."
His parents were a bit surprised to hear his words. Just a week ago, he was still a construction worker. His sudden jump in status was too sudden that they almost found it hard to believe.
His mother smiled as she said. "Let's talk inside. It's very hot outside. Tell your friends to get inside as well."
The hut was so small and it could barely fit all of them. Khalon was even forced to stand up because he was too big for their chairs.
"I'm really sorry for our poor hospitality. We don't know that we have guests today so we haven't prepared anything." His mother, Anaflor Roa, muttered apologetically.
"It's fine, Madam. You don't have to worry about us. We've also had breakfast before coming here so we are not hungry." Karl hurriedly said when he heard this. How could he get angry at his boss' parents? As for Khalon, he just stood there silently like a statue. His calm eyes intimidated the middle-aged couple.
"Son, you haven't told us what your new company is like. How about you tell us more about it?" Arlan's father, Lydio Roa, asked while blowing on his smoking hot instant coffee.
'Here it comes.' Arlan already knew that his parents would inquire about his 'new working area'. With a straight face, he replied. "You've heard about Pegasus Hotel, right?"
Both his parents nodded upon hearing this. Pegasus Hotel was like a brand in their country so even people like them who lived in the countryside knew about this famous hotel.
"I'm now working there. As for my position, you could say that I have a managerial role." Arlan said vaguely.
Lydio almost spat his coffee when he heard this. "You have a managerial position in Pegasus Hotel?!"
Anaflor's reaction wasn't as exaggerated as his, but she was also shocked.
"That's right. Enough about me. Why didn't you go to the hospital, Dad?" Arlan stared deeply at his father, making the latter laugh dryly in response.
Lydio shook his head. "There is no need for me to go to the hospital. I know my condition well. I'm not even coughing anymore. I just need another day and I should be back to normal."
Arlan could only stare bitterly at his father. He couldn't help but look at his mother for help.
"Don't look at me like that. I also tried to convince your Dad yesterday, but this guy is too stubborn." Anaflor chuckled while shaking her head.
Arlan could tell that his father was hiding an illness. He just didn't want to tell him to avoid making him worried. "How about this, Dad? You and Mom should come with me to the city. Life here is very difficult for the both of you. Dad, your condition might even worsen if you just treat it lightly." He was also worried about his parents' safety. Leandro's men are looking for him and with the size of their cartel, it was only a matter of time before they learned about his identity.
Lydio stared at his wife upon hearing this. Life was indeed hard for them recently. He also wanted to live in the city, but he didn't want to leave their land unattended. "What about our plot?" He asked while looking at his son.
"Dad, let's just sell the land. We can live in the city. Our lives will be more comfortable there. Please think about Mom. I know you guys had a difficult time here." Arlan persuaded.
"Sell the land?" Lydio's face fell. This land was something he had inherited from Arlan's grandfather. He didn't want to sell it just like that, but he also didn't want his wife to suffer. A look of struggle surfaced on his face.
Arlan felt a pang in his heart when he saw his father's expression. He knew that his father had deep sentiments towards this land since it was something he inherited from Arlan's late grandfather. However, he couldn't think of any other reason to convince them to follow him to the city. "Dad, if you don't want to sell the land. We can ask some people to take care of it. That way, there would be someone who will watch over the land while we are not around."
Lydio's face eased up at his words. "Fine. We can ask your Uncle Jomar to take care of the land for us. I'll go and talk to him. Wait for me here." He said before leaving the hut.
Arlan nodded his head. Uncle Jomar was a distant relative of his father and their family was quite close. With him around, his father no longer had to worry about their land.
"Look at him go. It is your Dad's long-time wish to live in the city. He just couldn't leave the land here." Anaflor laughed lightly.
While Arlan's father was gone, Anaflor started asking Karl some questions. As for Khalon, she was still afraid of him so she didn't ask him anything.
Soon, Lydio came back with a middle-aged man wearing a straw hat.
When Arlan saw this person, he immediately stood up and greeted him. "Uncle Jomar!"
Jomar took off his hat as he looked at Arlan in surprise. He squinted his eyes and studied his face and exclaimed. "Arlan? You look like a different person now."
"Sit down. Sit down. We have a lot of things to talk about." Anaflor grabbed a wooden chair for Jomar. This chair was too big for Khalon, but Jomar would be fine with it.
The family chatted for a long time before they reached an agreement.
Jomar would temporarily live in their hut and take care of their land. In return, he will receive payment from Arlan. He didn't specifically tell how much he would pay to Jomar, but he gave his assurance that Jomar would be satisfied by his payment. Initially, Jomar wanted to reject the payment, but Arlan insisted to pay him for his troubles. After all, it wasn't easy to take care of their land.
It wasn't long later that the talk ended with both parties satisfied.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l