The colleagues at the savings office, including the girls, quite a few of them laughed at her, thinking that everyone in the county knew Henry Carter couldn’t possibly be short of money. He had been in business for ten years and had never borrowed a cent from the bank. For her to go and ask him for a loan was pure wishful thinking, a complete fantasy— but what’s so funny about that? How would you know if he needs a loan or not if you don’t try?

No matter what it is, shouldn’t you first dare to dream, and then work hard at it, so that the dream can really come true?

I insist on thinking big, I insist on dreaming!

I’m going to ask him for a loan, and in a few days I’ll go again— I don’t believe I won’t get to see him!

If you want to do something big, start by getting Henry Carter to take out a loan from you!

…………

After drinking and eating, David Brooks still had things at home that hadn’t been explained. The blind date didn’t work out, but he still had to go back early and give his parents an explanation, so he said goodbye to Samuel Wright, and the two of them headed home separately.

He had to head south out of town to get home, about sixteen or seventeen kilometers.

Fuping County is close to the water towns, located in Jiangnan, but once you leave the county seat and go south seven or eight kilometers, it’s already a hilly area. After passing Xuguan Township, where his father is the deputy director of the police station, and entering the mountains, the dirt road becomes hard to travel.

When riding on flat ground, David Brooks could still let his mind wander, but once he entered the mountains, he had to be careful riding his bike. Even so, it took less than an hour for him to return to the home he’d known all his life— it felt like the elevation was four or five hundred meters. Scattered on the hillside were a small cluster of homes, maybe thirty to fifty households in total, and the newest two-story earthen building was theirs.

As soon as he got home, he was surprised to find that his father had come home early from work. He and his mother were sitting in the main room, warming themselves by the brazier and chatting.

When they saw him come in, both their expressions were a bit odd.

Had word already gotten back that the blind date didn’t work out?

But David Brooks didn’t feel he’d done anything wrong. He greeted them, pulled over a low bamboo chair, and sat by the brazier, ready to talk about it.

However, before he could speak, his father Edward Brooks suddenly said, “At noon, I got a call from your Uncle Carter at the station. He said he wants you to go again tomorrow, same place, before ten in the morning.”

David Brooks was taken aback. “Huh? Why? What for?”

His father Edward Brooks’s tone was a bit strange. “Another blind date.”

David Brooks was stunned again. “Another blind date?”

He thought to himself, that can’t be right. A proud girl like William Carter, even if she suffered a setback or lost face, would only look for a chance to get back at him. She wouldn’t suddenly do a complete 180 just because he spouted a few random terms— that’s not her type at all!

“Your Uncle Carter said he has another younger daughter, named Sarah Carter.”

Chapter 7: Having Failed the Past Life, Don’t Fail This One

That night, David Brooks almost couldn’t sleep.

This… just doesn’t make sense!

What was so great about the original David Brooks that made someone like Henry Carter so determined to marry off his daughter to him?

One didn’t work out, and now there’s a second one?

You sure got a lot of return for saving someone, Comrade Song!

But the problem is, David Brooks may be incredibly handsome, but he’s dumb!

Someone as rich as Henry Carter, especially a tycoon entrenched in the countryside, would surely know that the original wasn’t even a Lü Bu among men— at best, he was a Red Hare among horses.

With his intelligence, could he really be that shallow?

He just couldn’t figure it out.

For a while, it even scattered his thoughts about making a fortune.

He felt that Henry Carter really did want him as a son-in-law!

He drifted off to sleep in confusion, and in the night, cold rain suddenly started falling outside the window, drizzling on and on, making things feel even more melancholy. By morning, when he looked out the window, the whole mountain was shrouded in mist, the distant mountains hazy, the nearby waters veiled.

The light rain was still falling.

While eating breakfast, David Brooks’s mother suddenly said, “When you two leave later, take a change of clothes for Xiaohui and Nannan.”

Father and son both grunted in agreement.

She was talking about David Brooks’s younger brother and sister, who didn’t go to school in their home township, but in Xuguan Township. James Brooks, the older one, was in ninth grade, and little Nannan, Linda Brooks, was in seventh grade this year.

They were supposed to live at school, but since their father was the deputy director of the police station, they had some conveniences. The station had two small dorm rooms, one for men and one for women, for police officers to rest in during the day, but no one stayed there at night. Edward Brooks set up a bed for each of them, so the two kids stayed there at night— convenient and safe.

With the rain, the mountain roads would be muddy and hard to walk. Edward Brooks had to go to work, David Brooks had a date, so neither could afford to waste time. After a quick breakfast and grabbing the clothes, the two of them rode a motorcycle down the mountain.

They didn’t dare go fast, afraid of falling. Even so, by the time they got down to the main road, both were splattered with mud. When they reached the police station at Xuguan Township and dropped off his father, he was pulled inside, handed a towel, and told to wipe the mud off his raincoat before being allowed to leave.