Chapter 87: 87. Helping the villagers

[Your first mission is complete]

[Your reward is access to several products in the system store, which you are free to buy or resell]

[You will also receive a cash reward of 15 million dollars]

[You also earn 3 system points]

Riki smiled slightly, knowing that the fifteen million dollars would soon be spent on buying the entire place. However, Riki was sure that he would get even bigger profits.

Riki got up from sitting under the coconut tree, took out his smartphone, and began recording the extraordinarily beautiful beach.

Shell Beach was a very beautiful beach, and there were indeed many beautiful shells there. It had clean, well-maintained white sand. There was not a single piece of trash in sight.

It was shaded by many coconut trees, most of which were bent down so that the fruit could be easily to reached.

At the edge of the ocean, there were also several small islands, most of which could be visited simply by swimming or taking a short boat ride.

Riki took pictures of himself and all the scenery. He intended to promote it on social media. Knowing Riki’s intention, Sean did the same. Since Sean had many fans, he was sure that Riki’s goal of promoting the beach would spread more quickly.

Selene and Sofie also helped by appearing several times, either in Riki’s videos or in Sean’s videos.

At that moment, Anton, who was watching the four of them from afar, from a small bamboo gazebo on the beach, just smiled slightly at them.

For some reason, he didn’t feel like he was one of them. Even though it was clear that he was Riki’s half-brother. He felt he didn’t belong with them.

Because of that, he chose to sit quietly in the gazebo, observing his surroundings.

Anton knew that Riki’s intention in recording the video with his smartphone was to promote the beach. So, because he also wanted to help Riki, Anton recorded them all with his own smartphone.

From where Anton was standing, he could see the whole scene clearly. It was indeed very beautiful.

It would be a shame to ignore it.

Suddenly, two girls approached Anton and said they had brought some gifts for Riki and the others. According to the two girls, they would be grateful if the place was bought, renovated, and turned into a tourist attraction. That way, the local economy would improve, and access to the village would also get better.

Hearing the two girls’ words, Anton felt sorry for them. After the two girls left, Riki came over to him.

"What’s wrong, Anton?" asked Riki.

Anton showed him the large gift that the two girls who had just left had given him.

"The two girls said that the residents here gave this to us, and they also said that they were waiting for their village to be bought and renovated. I... I don’t know why, but I feel sorry for them," said Anton.

Riki sat down next to Anton, then opened the large gift wrapped in a big red plastic bag. Riki smiled when he saw what was inside. It was wild vegetables that were edible and tasted good.

Riki remembered the days when his parents were still alive. Riki’s happy family would go to the village, to where Riki’s mother’s family lived. At that time, Riki also met Selene, who was then still named Sunny.

In the village, Riki’s mother told him about some of the village’s specialties. His mother also showed him vegetables that usually grew wild and could be processed into delicious food.

Because Riki’s mother’s family was good at cooking, Riki was amazed by the taste of the wild vegetables he had just eaten back then.

And now, Riki saw those vegetables again. There were young ferns, genjer vegetables, very young bamboo shoots, and other vegetables.

"Riki, can I ask you for something?" Anton asked suddenly.

Riki looked up from the large package, closed it again, and focused on what Anton was going to say.

"Yes? Go ahead, Anton."

Anton cleared his throat briefly, then said, "Let me manage this place. I promise I’ll do my best for them, I won’t let them or you down. I’ll take it seriously, so—"

"Of course, go ahead, Anton."

Anton fell silent, staring at Riki with an incredulous look.

"You... are allowing me?"

Riki chuckled upon hearing this, then nodded, "Of course, why not? In fact, it was you who came up with the idea to improve the condition of this place, wasn’t it? So, I’ll leave it to you. But first, we have to buy this land and find an experienced architect. I also plan to build small villas or guesthouses here. That way, I can earn additional income. If I build guesthouses, I will also hire local people. Isn’t that a good idea, Anton?"

Anton’s eyes sparkled, he really looked very excited to help the local residents improve the place.

"That’s a great idea! I’ll contact the owner of this place right away... but later, after we leave here, because the internet signal here is pretty bad."

Riki, who heard Anton’s words, checked his own smartphone, and sure enough, the internet signal in the village was pretty bad.

"Find out how to improve the internet connection here, Anton."

"Of course, Riki."

***

After Riki and the others returned to the mansion in the afternoon, they were completely exhausted.

Selene and Sofie lay down on the large fur rug in the living room. Meanwhile, Sean lay on the sofa near them, editing the video that he and Riki had recorded at the beach.

Meanwhile, Riki cooked the vegetables he got from the locals. And Anton was different from the others. While the others were feeling exhausted, he felt even more excited at that moment.

He immediately contacted the owner of the shell beach and its surroundings. The man, the owner of the shell beach, was very happy that someone was seriously interested in buying the large plot of land.

In fact, the man didn’t need much persuasion; he immediately handed everything over to Anton. Or to Riki, because Anton bought the land on Riki’s behalf.

Even though the landowner gave a discount because he was happy that his land was finally being bought, it still cost 12 million dollars to purchase it.

Anton currently had 15 million dollars. So, he used that money to contact an architect and several experts to help him.

Riki, who saw Anton busy in the kitchen, just smiled broadly.

[You’re lucky because your brother has your father’s natural business talent]

Riki’s smile faded when he heard this. He knew that Anton was more like his father, especially in terms of intelligence. Riki knew this and he could accept it, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t jealous.

If only Riki had had his father’s intelligence from the start, he might not have had to suffer so much.

But well... everything must be appreciated. Because it was Riki’s suffering that led him to discover the system.

Riki began to focus on making various types of food from the vegetables he had. He cooked for lunch because he and the others were hungry that afternoon.

After making three types of dishes with vegetables given to him by the villagers, Riki invited the others to eat.

On that scorching afternoon, the five of them ate heartily. After their stomachs were full, drowsiness set in.

Riki, who could no longer stay awake, finally fell asleep around one in the afternoon.

Around three in the afternoon, Riki woke up to a loud noise coming from somewhere.

With a heavy and dizzy head, Riki got up and looked for the source of the noise.

After walking to the front of the mansion, Riki finally realized what was happening.

People who didn’t know their place had come to the mansion.

Selene turned her head when she sensed Riki’s presence.

"Riki!!"

Riki approached Selene and asked his cousin.

"What happened, Selene?"

Selene, who looked frightened, finally shed tears, staring at Riki with teary eyes.

"Riki, I’m sorry, but... do you remember me telling you that I ran away here because I was being chased by some people? They are those people," said Selene with a trembling voice.

Riki furrowed his brow, vaguely remembering Selene’s story. Moreover, he had just woken up, and his mind was still foggy.

"Do you owe them money?" asked Riki, glancing at the people who looked like village thugs. They were muscular, and it was almost impossible for Selene to fight them off. Fortunately, the mansion had strong security.

Selene shook her head, "No! But they always insist that I owe them, even though their evidence is fake. They just want to trap me so that I will marry their boss," said Selene.

Riki hugged his cousin to calm her down.

"What should we do about them, sir?" asked one of the mansion’s security guards. Even some butlers got involved to help security keep them from entering the mansion.

"Call the police immediately," said Riki.

"Yes, sir!"