An Expensive Meal and an Unexpected Meltdown

Barron's words left me stunned for a full beat.

The family's reputation?

Dad dragged him out of a casino years ago, paid off his millions in gambling debts, gave him a home and a plot of land so he could start over. Back then, "family reputation" wasn't anywhere on his mind.

Now, he was wrapped around a woman's finger and helping an outsider pick on his nephew, yet he was suddenly talking about saving the family's reputation.

Looking at his face, worn thin by booze and debauchery, I felt nothing but deep disappointment.

Meanwhile, Hilda was glowing smugly at seeing Barron completely under her control. She turned back to face the livestream like she'd just won a war.

"See that, guys? There has to be no mercy when you handle freeloaders!"

With that, she turned and entered the house, only to come back holding an EDC machine. "Card or transfer?"

She gave me a slow once-over before her eyes landed on the Patek Philippe watch on my left wrist. "If you're that broke, you can pawn that knockoff watch on your wrist here. That would work too."

The livestream comments erupted in a frenzy.

"Fake watch! LMAO! I knew he was just putting on an act!"

"Hilda's awesome for calling him out on the spot!

"Someone dig up who he is. Expose him!"

The nasty comments were unbearable. Some viewers were even threatening to dox our personal information.

Mildred trembled with anger so hard that her lips quivered. She took out her phone to record Hilda's behavior as evidence, but I caught her hand and shook my head. It was a signal not to act rashly.

To add more content to her livestream, Hilda started filming her so-called luxury imported vegetables around the yard.

"Look at this chive patch and how green it is! I had someone air-freight it from the grasslands of Ardoria for 100 dollars a pound!

"See this chicken. It was raised listening to Mozart’s's classical music every day. Every bite is pure sophistication!"

Her dramatic performance soon drew a crowd. Neighbors and wandering tourists clustered at the fence to watch the ongoing show. Not knowing the full story, they listened to her words before pointing and whispering about us.

"These city folks are utterly unbelievable for eating all the good food and trying to skip the bill."

"Exactly. They dress nice but act rotten."

That was when Hilda shifted her tone and, facing the camera, dropped a bigger bomb.

"Here's the truth, everyone. People like them aren't just trying to eat for free!

"I heard his dad's crappy company is planning to seize our village's land for development. They're going to drive out all of us hardworking farmers and leave us homeless!"

Her words immediately escalated a personal conflict into a group confrontation. She was casting herself as a brave local defender protecting the villagers' interests, while I was the heartless capitalist trying to bulldoze the entire village.

Public sentiment completely erupted.

Not just in her livestream, but even in local village WhatsApp group chats, videos and claims about "the rich kid returning to crush the villagers and attempting to seize land" were frantically shared.

Tensions instantly soared.

Barron was scared out of his wits by the sudden escalation, knowing how damaging that accusation was. Once it stuck, he'd be done here and forever branded a traitor to the village.

He paled and could no longer care about his ego.

With a thud, he dropped to his knees before me and clutched my leg. With tears and snot streaming down his face, he loudly cried out, "Please, Elden! I'm begging you! I'm even kneeling for you!

"Just pay so she'd stop streaming live! If she keeps it up, I won't even be able to stay in this village!"