The Guardian's Return (Ethan Rivers) novel Chapter 519

Charles went to visit his mother, but his mother was asleep after taking the medication.

He sighed. Not wanting to disturb his mother, he left the hospital to go back to work. If he skipped work for even one day, he might not get his full salary at the end of the month. As such, he got into the car and went to pick Stephen up. When he saw Stephen, he felt a mix of feelings.

They arrived at the office soon after, and Stephen called a meeting, asking everyone whether they had thought of a way to increase the benefits. Everyone shook their heads, including Nolan.

Hill City’s economy was no longer thriving, and things were getting increasingly expensive. The people’s salaries, however, were getting lower or stagnant. With the people lacking the money to survive, why would they care about the benefits?

Stephen sighed. The matter was more complicated than he had expected. Not even the experienced Nolan had a suggestion.

“I’ll give us more time to think of a solution. Let’s end the meeting here.”

He felt a headache coming as he pondered. What other ways were there to stimulate the market and boost the economy? Real estate? New factories?

He denied all the random thoughts in his mind.

Celestial City’s real estate issue had traumatized him. The economy became a bubble that burst at the end, causing permanent damage to the city’s market. Even until now, Celestial City’s issues lingered.

As for opening new factories, it could not work. Hill City’s traffic was not as developed as Aqua City, and the new freeway was still under construction. His only option now was to focus on Hill City’s own resources and businesses, such as mining and logging.

As for the plantation and the livestock business, both were heavily impacted and barely anyone was willing to take the risk to venture into those fields or continue their businesses.

He got Charles to conduct some research and discovered that several mining contracts were about to expire and that several other mines were not operating per the regulations. In that case, he could take back the rights and then subcontract them again to get money to solve the urgent issue.

Charles followed the instructions and soon identified a mine with serious safety regulation issues. Many of the miners did not even have a safety helmet.

The owner of the mine smiled and said, “Sir, why didn’t you tell me that you’re coming? I could’ve welcomed you better!”

Charles stopped the man’s attempt to flatter and told him he wanted to inspect the mine to understand the situation better. As such, the owner followed Charles into the mine.

He then visited ten more mines across the city and found problems in every single one of them. However, each of the mine owners bribed him to have him turn a blind eye.

After going around the mines, he received around 500 thousand dollars. With the bribe, he no longer had to worry about the medical bill. Initially, he was nervous and hesitant to take the bribe, but he eventually got used to it. In fact, he felt excited about taking the money.

He never thought making money would be so easy.

“I think I was overthinking last night. Even without Ethan, my family can make it.”

He reported back to Stephen, telling him the mines were all fine.

Stephen frowned. If all the mines were fine, where else could he get the money to solve his issues?

Without the money, people would be disappointed in him again, and the reputation he had regained after so many hardships would be shattered.