The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 128: Dreams Bought in Hard Cash
“Can your father drive?”
After listening to the girl, William asked only one question.
It would be best if Eleanor’s father could drive. Cars, larger automobiles, trucks, aside from minor differences, were essentially the same. As long as a man knew how to drive one, he could quickly master the others.
The Baler Federation was not a country with narrow territory. It had vast stretches of land, and plants were usually far from the metropolitan areas. When handlers marked out parcels of land, they generally asked for more than the minimum required.
Most plants occupied large areas. Moving materials inside the plant would be almost impossible if it all depended on manual labor, so most used dump trucks or forklifts to assist with transport.
That gave many workers a chance to come into contact with such machines and learn how to operate them. Plant bosses were happy to see it too.
After all, hiring a dedicated driver cost extra money. If the workers themselves knew how to drive, the boss could save another wage.
Unfortunately, Eleanor’s father did not know how to operate any kind of vehicle. He was only a simple workshop worker, the sort of ordinary man who did not want to meddle in anything outside his own duties and did not care to worry about it.
“Is there any manual work?” Eleanor took another sip from her glass. “You can arrange some laboring job for him. That’s what he’s best at.”
When she spoke of that kind of work, Eleanor had no affectation or hidden meaning. For these two young people, for a long time, manual labor had been the most normal kind of work in their understanding of the world. Even now, in Eleanor’s world, it was only natural for ordinary people to do physical work.
William scratched at his eyebrow. It had suddenly begun to itch. He pressed his lips together and thought for a moment. “Then let him work in the warehouse. He’ll be dealing with all kinds of things every day.”
“Good. That’ll do.”
Silence suddenly fell between them again. Neither spoke first. The atmosphere turned strange, and also a little heavy.
After several sips, the girl finished the last of the liquor in her glass. She carefully set the glass down on the coffee table without making much noise, then looked at William. William looked back at her.
Their eyes met only briefly before the girl hunched her shoulders and looked away. Her hands clasped together awkwardly, fingers interlaced, then loosened with the motion of her shoulders and fell to either side.
“What about me, then? How are you going to arrange me?” She looked around the big house. Back when she and William had been together, they had imagined that if they ever made money, they would buy a large house.
That way the whole family would not have to crowd into a cramped little space. They would give each child a big room of his own, large enough for a bed, a desk, a bookcase, and a wardrobe.
They would have a large, fully separate kitchen, and an independent dining room. There would be a big television in the dining room, so they could watch a little television while they ate.
They would have many rooms, each with its own bathroom, so the whole family would not have to stamp their feet in frustration because some idiot sat on the toilet and refused to get up.
And if there were a swimming pool in front of the house, that would be even better. When the weather grew hot, they could take the children swimming. Swimming made people happy, and it would finally give some long-bought but never-used swimsuits a reason to exist.
Now that dream had come true, but the girl who had belonged in the dream was no longer there. The girl’s mood sank a little.
But she was a strong girl, and she quickly adjusted herself. “Let me say this first. You can make me a maid, but I’m not wearing those clothes...” She gave him a sly little smile. “You know.”
William froze for a moment, then could not help bursting into laughter. It was the first time since he had crossed into this world that he laughed so freely, without any burden, driven purely by a simple feeling.
Before the two of them had broken up, they had once bought a few magazines that only adults could read. One issue had been called Master and Maid. At the time, “William” had even wanted to buy that outfit and have Eleanor try it on, only to give up because of the price.
The memory suddenly rising from deep in the mind gave them a longing tinged with nostalgia and a certain fear. Their laughter intertwined, but before long each of them gradually quieted down.
William pinched the bottom of his glass between two or three fingers and turned it, playing with it. After roughly a dozen seconds, he said, “Do you remember our original idea?”
Eleanor nodded once. There were always things people found hard to forget, and that period of time was not actually so distant for the two young people.
Back then, after leaving school, they had agreed that if one of them could find a steady job and save some money, perhaps the other could continue studying.
In truth, both of them had done well in school. They had only lacked certain hard conditions.
William’s words made Eleanor vaguely realize something, and a trace of expectation rose in her.
For the third time, the girl met William’s eyes. This time she did not look away. She stared straight at him.
William smiled lightly. “Go to school. Chase our own dreams.”
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