The Bigshot Married Himself to the Heiress-Chapter 635 - 676: Discussing Business, Being Overlooked
It rained yesterday evening, so the daytime weather was very good, with bright sunshine and clear skies, cooling things down quite a bit.
"Adrian, is that the Imperial Palace of Abyanabad?"
Adrian looked in the direction Sienna Johnson’s hand pointed and saw the onion-shaped dome made of forty-five kilograms of gold. The symbol of the Abyanabad Imperial Palace is the "Golden Onion Head."
"Yes."
Sienna gazed at the palace from a distance. Its architectural style resembled that of a Mosque, with Royal Family soldiers guarding the entrance. In Abyanabad, the Royal Family held a high status, and portraits of the King and queen hung in every household.
"What a beautiful palace. Living inside must make one feel like a prince or princess in a fairy tale; it must be a very happy existence."
The Shariff Royal Palace has been described thus: step into the palace, and gold is within reach. Faucets are made of gold, carpets are woven with gold threads, and crystal vases hold roses that never wither—their stems are gold, and their petals are encrusted with sapphires, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. Even the light switches are made of gold.
Curly had always wanted to visit the Shariff Royal Palace, but with Paige Desmond wanting to divorce the prince, it was probably hopeless.
Adrian snorted. "Paige used to live there, but now she wants a divorce. It seems life there isn’t so happy after all."
"That’s true."
Adrian and Dylan were now living on the island. The queen had sent someone to Desmond Manor to find Dylan, wanting to take him back. She completely disregarded Paige, as if Paige were not her daughter-in-law.
Later, soldiers were even sent to directly search Desmond Manor. Adrian didn’t hesitate to take Queen Sarah to the Court. Although the queen faced no significant consequences, she was forced to apologize publicly, which damaged her reputation.
The luxurious business car drove towards the Abyanabad River, gradually moving away from the Imperial Palace.
Their destination for this trip was Bara Village (Kampung Ayer).
On both sides of the Abyanabad River, there are thirty stilt-house villages, collectively known as Bara Village, filled with a rustic atmosphere. About 32,000 people live here—out of Abyanabad’s total population of 350,000—nearly all of whom maintain a traditional way of life.
The client Sienna was meeting today lived in Bara Village.
"We’re here." Adrian got out of the car first and then helped Sienna out. She saw rows of houses built on the water.
"So many houses. Which one is it?"
Just as Sienna was wondering which house it was, Walter Klein emerged from a red house.
When Adrian saw Walter, he took Sienna’s hand, and they walked over.
"Sixth Master, this way, please." Walter led the way.
The three of them walked towards the red house. Their host, having seen them arrive, was already waiting at his door. Sienna saw the man at the entrance; he was portly and dressed in traditional Amwan clothing: a shirt on top and a skirt on his lower half.
Sienna glanced at Adrian beside her and asked, "Do all the men in Abyanabad wear skirts?"
"We usually wear pants."
Sienna teased, "It’s so hot here, you could wear a skirt too. It would be cooler..."
"Mmm, it would be more convenient when I’m doing you."
Sienna: ...
"Hello, Mr. Desmond, welcome. My name is Keith Hector." Keith introduced himself and shook hands with Adrian, completely ignoring Sienna.
It couldn’t be helped; in Abyanabad, women were often not treated as significant individuals in such contexts.
The group entered Keith’s home, which was decorated in a typical Amwan style. In the living room hung portraits of the King and Queen of Abyanabad, reminiscent of the era in our country when portraits of the figure on the banknote and of Zhu De were commonly hung.
Once they sat down, the business discussions began.
Throughout the entire exchange, Sienna grew frustrated. Keith paid her no attention at all, speaking only to Adrian. Just who was doing business with whom here?
"...I won’t hide it from you. I want to return to Amwan, so I’m in urgent need of selling this swiftlet processing factory. If you buy the factory, I’ll give you the swiftlet house as a gift."
A swiftlet house, as the name suggests, is a structure built for swiftlets to inhabit. In Southeast Agaia, investors construct these houses for the birds to nest, lay eggs, and hatch their young. Once the young swiftlets are able to fly, they abandon their nests.
Each time swiftlets breed, they build new nests. The previously used nests can then be harvested as edible bird’s nests.
Constructing swiftlet houses mitigates the risks associated with harvesting, as collecting nests from cliffs and precipices is inherently dangerous.
Sienna was tempted.
"We’d like to take a look," Sienna said.
"I can take you to see it now." Keith was very enthusiastic, but his enthusiasm was directed solely at Adrian.
Sienna accompanied Adrian. With Keith leading the way in his vehicle, they drove to his swiftlet processing factory in their own car.
Sienna couldn’t help but complain to Adrian in their car, "Am I invisible or something? He completely ignored me, treating me like thin air the entire time! That’s too much. I’m the one who wants to buy the swiftlet factory, understand? If he maintains this attitude, I’m not buying it."
Adrian replied, "In Abyanabad, women generally don’t engage in business. They typically stay home to care for their husbands and children. He probably assumed you were just accompanying me for leisure."
"Women can hold up half the sky!" Sienna retorted.
"I’d prefer you stay at home and avoid public appearances," Adrian said.
Sienna was well aware of this chauvinistic man’s thoughts. She glanced at him and replied, "Wouldn’t that be incredibly boring?"
"Many women in Abyanabad stay at home, and they haven’t died of boredom."
"Well, I’m not an Abyanabad woman."
"But you’re the wife of an Abyanabad man!"
"Please! Originally, you were the one who married into the Johnson family. There’s a saying: ’When you marry a chicken, follow the chicken; when you marry a dog, follow the dog.’ So, you should be the one following me, right?"
Adrian decided not to stoop to her level of argument. "What are you worried about? I haven’t asked you to stay home and stop working."
"Well, then I suppose I should thank you, Sixth Master," Sienna said dryly.
"You absolutely must thank me properly. There aren’t many men left who are as considerate, understanding, and reasonable as I am."
Adrian continued to praise himself. Sienna just shook her head, not taking the bait.
「 」
In Keith Hector’s car, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked Walter Klein, "So, that’s the Sixth Master’s woman?"
"Yes."
"No wonder she has the Sixth Master so utterly captivated! I didn’t expect her to be so beautiful, even while pregnant. Hey, I wasn’t drooling or anything just now, was I?"
Walter Klein’s expression darkened. "You were very aloof earlier, completely ignoring our Madam. Our Madam is not very pleased."
"Huh?"
"In some respects, our Madam’s words carry more weight than the Sixth Master’s. There’s a saying about ’pillow talk’—you understand?"
"I understand!"
"When you discuss the business later, address Madam, not the Sixth Master. Understood?" Walter Klein kindly reminded him. "The one who wants to buy the swiftlet factory is Madam, not the Sixth Master."
In reality, this swiftlet factory had already been purchased by Adrian Desmond for over three million. They were merely going through the motions now so Sienna Johnson could smoothly receive it as a gift.
