Chapter 1364


    Stanley himself had tacitly epted the marriage. He was preparing himself to officially marry Christine


    —so much so that he was beginning to renovate their marital house. However, Christine knew that he


    was not happy. He didn’t love her; he only saw her as a friend. The truth was that he didn’t even want


    to get married. He simply chose to ept it out of a sense of responsibility. She could have pretended


    not to know and sessfully married him. Even so, she chose to back out of their marriage. She even


    went so far as to create a reason so that he could divorce her without any guilt.


    Maddie wiped Christine’s tears away as she said, “Silly girl, why did you do that?”


    Christine smiled, but her tears slid down her face. “I don’t even know if I can get better. I can’t tie him


    down.”


    Upon hearing those words, Maddie did not force the topic anymore. She simply pushed Christine into


    the car and said, “Don’t worry. The military’s nursing home has a lot of experience in this area. You will


    surely get better. Have some confidence in yourself.”


    “Okay. Don’t worry, Maddie. I will do my best to recover. After all, I’m a multi-millionaire now!”


    Sophia was not surprised to hear that the Yard twins were returning to their home country. Jordan’s


    power was at its peak right now. As long as he stood strong, his two sons would not be punished so


    easily either. Still, she had her own ns. I’m going to make them wish they were dead.


    The weather during the early summer was neither hot nor cold—it was the perfect time to go on a trip.


    “Cash Edwards! Spit out my slippers, now!” Michael furiously pped Cash’s butt with a slipper. Then,


    it ran away after yelping in pain.


    Ever since Judge decided to live out his elderly life here, Cereberus had gathered together again, and


    the three dogs ran wild at home every single day. Putting on the slippers that were covered in dog


    saliva, Michael packed a bag for Carmen.


    Every year, the Fletcher Family held several activities for their children to ‘experience the countryside’.


    Children from the Fletcher Family were sent to a farming vige outside the city to experience life in the


    countryside. It was a chance for them to experience the hardships of a farmer’s life and learn about


    how precious food was. In other words, the Fletcher Family’s farm out in the countryside required


    manpower. So, the Fletcher Family send some childbor over to help.


    However, that was definitely something all the children in the Fletcher Family looked forward to. They


    could visit the farnd outside the city to harvest vegetables, till the soil, catch worms, feed the pigs,


    harvest grains, and scatter manure for fertilizer. They were also allowed to catch fish and shrimp in the


    streams or pick up mineral water bottles from the nearby towns to sell for money.


    Michael recalled that when he was younger, he and the other children of the Fletcher Family would go


    outside the city and challenge each other while harvesting wheat. The group of 10-year-olds would


    rush through the fields like a bunch of overexcited huskies, working energetically to obtain


    achievements. Celine would almost alwayse out on top since she harvested the wheat neatly and


    swiftly. Meanwhile, Joel and Michael would snatch for the second and third spots. The three of them


    constantly fought over the top spots until they were red in the face. Ah, what a beautiful memory that is


    —


    “Oh, is Carmen going to the farm outside the city?” Cooper felt quite moved when he heard about it. He


    could be regarded as part of the Fletcher Family. After all, Mark had specially allowed him to join the


    other Fletcher children on their trips to the countryside when he was younger. They normally went


    during the autumn harvest when the farmers were at their busiest. The older children would be used for


    physicalbor while the younger children got to y or do some simple chores. It was very fun.


    Adults were not allowed to tag along, and it was Carmen’s first time going there. Therefore, Michael


    was incredibly worried. After packing Carmen’s bag, he saw her out the door while nagging her. “Be a


    good girl when you’re there. You’re five years old now. You need to wear your own clothes, shower on


    your own, and put on your own shoes. Don’t run about wildly but be quick during mealtimes. Nobody


    will wait for you! Mummy and Daddy won’t be by your side, so you’ll have to learn how to take care of


    yourself.”


    He didn’t know why he felt so worried. Back then, they followed the older children down to the farnd


    to y when they were just a bunch of cheeky kids in open-crotch pants. They were very happy, and all


    the adults left them to their own devices. But now, he couldn’t help worrying himself to death when he


    had to send Carmen there. I wonder how other parents could harden their hearts and send such young


    children there. Although it’s only for two days during the weekend, it feels like two centuries to me.


    Unfortunately, Carmen was starting to lose patience with him. “Come on; I’m only going to watch.


    Besides, it’s not my turn to scatter manure yet.”


    This time, the children were going to harvest wheat, scatter manure for fertilizer, and nt corn.


    Although mechanizedrge-scale farming had been implemented a long time ago, the Fletcher


    Family’s farms retained the tradition of scattering manure as fertilizer. The reason was that scattering


    manure was one of the mostborious tasks that challenged one’s courage and endurance. Along with


    cleaning out the pigsty, it was among the farm work that had a difficulty index of five stars. As a


    consequence, the children of the Fletcher Family would rush to volunteer for the task of scattering the


    manure and cleaning out the pigsty to demonstrate how amazing they were. In short, it was a way to


    prove that they were better than others.


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    Every year, the one to scatter the most manure in the shortest time would be the king among the


    children of the same age group. Moreover, they would receive a prize when they got home. Every


    single child from the Fletcher Family would have to scatter the manure at least once before they


    reached eighteen years old. Joel, Stanley, Michael, Celine, and the others were no exception. It was a


    ritual. Since the Fletcher Family was a military family, most of their children would grow up to be


    part of the army. They did not want weaklings that could not withstand the harsh realities of life. They


    wanted fighters who went through all sorts of challenges in life, understood the country’s citizens, and


    were able to protect their country from danger!


    Michael was unable to imagine his beautiful little baby scattering manure in the future… It was still too


    early for Carmen right now. She was only five years old. She couldn’t even pick up the bucket of


    manure even if she wanted to. She would only be watching and experiencing the atmosphere at most.


    Even so, that day woulde, sooner orter.


    Thus, he specifically instructed Nathan. “Nate, take good care of your sisters.”


    Nathan nodded before leading Carmen away. He did itst year and wanted to go earlier this year.


    Otherwise, he would not have the chance to do it again this year. Everybody seemed to be particrly


    keen on the task of scattering manure. It was the best chance to prove their strength. Hence, the one


    who grabbed first ce in scattering manure was the king in everybody else’s eyes.


    Sophia sent Carmen off. Watching as the car drove away, she suddenly turned to Michael and asked,


    “Did you really scatter manure before?”


    Michael nodded. “I did.”


    Back then, he fought with Joel just to snatch the first bucket of manure. They ended up in a brawl next


    to the dung pit, fighting from the dung pit to the pigsty to the ce they dried the wheat. By the time


    they returned after determining the winner among them, Celine had taken the first spot. She finished


    scattering the manure and came back as the king of the year. Back then, Irene had followed along too.


    However, she refused to lower her pride and scatter manure. Consequently, the seed of discord was


    nted—from then on, nobody truly considered her as part of the Fletcher Family. Now that I think


    about it… that’s just weird. Why would everybody have such a strange mentality?


    Then, she asked Cooper. “Dad, did you do it?”


    Cooper shuddered slightly. Lowering his head to read the newspaper, he replied, “Nope.”


    Theo leisurely said, “The first time your father went there, he was so scared of the pigs that he cried for


    two days. He begged me to send him home in the middle of the night and refused to do the task of


    scattering manure.”


    Cooper said nothing. When he was around Carmen’s age, he followed the children of the Fletcher


    Family down to the farnd. At the time, Theo was still with the Fletcher Family, and he was in charge


    of taking care of the children. To Cooper, that was something that happened decades ago. However, it


    was only something that happened several years ago to Theo.


    Then, Theo strongly emphasized, “Among those children, your father was the most squeamish!”


    “Hmph.” Cooper snorted before walking away in a huff. Sophia stifled herughter at the sight.