My Second Chance
Copyright© 2026 by BillMax
Chapter 18: A Whim of Kindness
As the day turned, the sun had not yet fully risen, and Marcus was already steaming with heat from his morning run.
After two years of decadence, he felt his body had become extremely frail. He had the memory of his past life’s skills, but his strength and speed couldn’t keep up.
His spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak—a phrase that did not sound good when applied to a man. To take good care of his wife and child, he needed a strong, healthy body, so he had devised a complete fitness plan based on his previous life’s experience.
A six-mile morning run was just a warm-up.
He ran all the way to the riverside and began stretching toward the sunrise.
On the distant river, several sand dredging boats were busy at work, which made Marcus gasp in astonishment.
Although this was the old city area, it was still an urban zone where, according to regulations, sand mining was absolutely prohibited.
Which meant those sand dredging ships were all illegal, operating so brazenly they were probably not far from their demise.
Huh?
Marcus silently calculated the days and his eyes lit up.
If he remembered correctly, in these couple of days a joint operation to crack down on illegal sand mining across several states would be swiftly launched, leaving not a single sand dredger on the river. Naturally, the market price of river sand would soar.
Soon after, the city would issue a draft plan for consultation that mentioned the construction of specialized trails and bike paths along the river to optimize the environment and create fitness parks, with the old city area being a key focus of the plan.
Here, the transformation would be earth-shattering, making it the perfect first peg for his rise to power.
After a quick bite at home, Marcus rode his motorcycle to a sizable sand and gravel yard in the suburbs.
Following the guidance of the gatekeeper, he circled around several piles of sand and gravel that looked like small hills and stopped in front of a row of simple bungalows.
Pushing open the door marked “Manager,” a pungent smell of smoke hit him in the face. Taking a closer look, he saw several tough-looking guys sitting around a square table, each holding a few cards in their hands.
This was definitely not what a manager’s office should look like. They were asking for trouble.
“What are you doing? Don’t you know how to knock?” a man with a face full of flesh scolded.
Marcus put on a smile. “Sorry, the door was unlocked, so it just opened when I pushed. I’m here to see the manager.”
“That would be me.”
“Oh hello. My last name is Hale. And your name, Manager?”
“Cut the crap. Get to the point. Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Marcus curled his lip. “I want to buy river sand.”
“How much?”
“Depends on the price.”
“One hundred and seventy, no bargaining.”
“If you can drop to one hundred and fifty, I’ll take ten thousand tons.”
The manager abruptly looked up. “When do you need it? How will you pay?”
“If it can be transported today, I’ll pay on the spot.”
The manager pushed away the person beside him and stepped forward with an eager handshake. “I’m terribly sorry. Boss Hale, it’s a pleasure. Luke Ashford.”
With a major river flowing through Westlake City, the number of sand and gravel yards large and small added up to no fewer than a hundred.
Although most of them were controlled by the big boss behind Luke Ashford, given that they were so scattered and widespread, it was great if an individual yard could turn a profit of a million a month.
Now, with Marcus asking for one and a half million dollars’ worth of sand up front, Luke Ashford had nearly achieved half of this month’s KPI in one go. How could he not be overjoyed?
Marcus shook his hand. “Manager Ashford.”
“No need to be formal, Boss Hale. Just call me Old Luke.”
Luke heartily pulled him inside, then kicked and shoved the card players out.
“We were just playing a few hands to kill time when we had nothing to do. Made a bad impression on you, Boss Hale,” he said with a sheepish smile, handing Marcus a glass of water.
“I understand.”
Marcus nodded and asked directly, “Can you fulfill my request within today, Manager Ashford?”
“No problem. Boss Hale, don’t be deceived by the small size of my place, but the amount of sand material we move here is in the millions of tons each month, and it can go up to ten million at times.”
After all, there was no tax on boasting, so Luke said whatever he wanted.
“What about the price?”
“Seeing as it’s our first meeting today, Boss Hale, and you seem like a straightforward person, as long as we can continue doing business in the future, consider the one hundred and fifty a gesture of friendship from Old Luke.”
Luke spoke with the air of someone accustomed to the ways of the world, more like a street operator than a businessman.
After setting the price, Luke went to prepare the contract, and Marcus called Hannah Kane.
“Get a few trucks and a construction site ready for me. Send them to Red Flag Sand Yard in the southern suburbs.”
Hannah, completely baffled, asked, “What are you up to?”
“I just bought ten thousand tons of river sand. The trucks are for transportation, the construction site is for storage.”
“River sand? Why are you buying that?”
“That’s my business. I will settle the costs of the trucks and the construction site with you separately.”
Hannah pinched the bridge of her nose. “Brother, we at Verdant Design are in the design business, not construction.
You suddenly come up with this idea out of the blue. Where am I going to find you trucks and a construction site at short notice?”
“Well, I’ll find someone else then.”
Hey? He actually didn’t force me or even use a domineering tone.
This ... this is not normal.
Doubts crept into Hannah’s mind, and she quickly said, “Don’t rush. Let me make a few calls and ask around.”
“Well, you better hurry up. I don’t have that much time to waste.”
After finishing, Marcus hung up the phone.
That’s more like it.
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