Ch. 531..535: The Secretly Rich Man Chapter 531-535

Chapter 531

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 531 “Gerald?”

XellaJaquin and Waylon Letts were both startled.

The entire marketing department was confused.

“Alright, I’m coming!”

Gerald shouted back.

“Gerald, you…you…you are Mr. Crawford?” Xella stuttered. She was clearly in shock.

Though Cindy’s mom joked around once, saying how Gerald could actually be Mr. Crawford from Mayberry the last time they had dinner at their place.

Xella was just flabbergasted back then when she heard of the joke.

But when she gave it a second thought, she was quite close to Gerald, so how could he be the super- rich Mr. Crawford?

But then, just a moment ago, when Mr. Lyle had called out his name, Xella’s mind completely went blank.

Gosh, could Gerald be Mr. Crawford?!

Gerald turned to Xella and nodded, “Yep!”

He then left as the crowd stared at him in astonishment.

Waylon, initially brought in by Xella to visit her father, was dumbfounded as he fumbled around for a chair to sit.

“F*ck! Gerald is a rich heir, and he’s our CEO! No wonder he had so many tickets! Just like what I told you, Gerald had a sophisticated identity, but… oh my god, never would I have thought that he’s our chairman!”

The moment Gerald had left, the entire marketing department went crazy!

“Luckily, we didn’t offend the chairman!” Some girls were both relieved and scared.

In short, the entire atmosphere was just in a frenzy.

Everyone was way too overwhelmed and shocked.

Regarding Stuart’s matter, the problem was handled with ease.

At that moment, they did not only confess what they had done but also exposed several other department managers who were previously not mentioned.

Most of the culprits were residents from Serene County, Mayberry.

The outcome was simple. They were all handed over to the police.

When they were being arrested, Ava threw Gerald a pitiful gaze, pleading for his help, but he turned a blind eye.

He had already given her a chance before.

Since she played the emotion card to deceive him, Gerald was not going to fall for it again!

Eventually, the matter had come to an end.

“Mr. Crawford, your birthday is in four days; any plans? Your dad gave me a call and told me it’s your first birthday since the end of your poverty-stricken life, so let’s celebrate and have a good time, shall we!” Mr. Lyle smiled excitedly.

“What else is there to plan? I’d usually celebrate my birthday with Mr. and Mrs. Winters, and this year is no exception. I’ll still go back to my hometown, but this time around, all of you are free to tag along! With more than twenty people, it’s going to be a blast, hehe!”

Gerald returned a bright smile.

Other than Xeno, who had been a good friend to Gerald since he was a kid, Gerald did not have many close friends.

After all, if you had no money or influence, who would want to play with a poor loser like you?

Hence why Gerald did not invite that many to his birthday party.

Those that he planned on inviting were Zack Lyle and Michael Zeke, probably Aiden Baker, Elena Larson, Xeno Lane, and Sienna.

He mingled well and had fun with those people, so he figured their company would be alright.

Gerald was not willing to make it too public.

After that, Gerald packed up his things as he prepared to go to town.

Michael, on the other hand, looked pale.

Zack had already noticed it, so he asked, “Michael, is there something you haven’t told Gerald?”

Michael scratched his head, anxiously, “I kinda told everyone that Mr. Crawford’s birthday is in four days. But he said to keep it low-key?”

“What?! You leaked that information out?” Zack froze, stunned.

At five in the afternoon, Gerald took a cab and headed back to town.

Gerald could now head back freely without causing any trouble. It was not a problem for the fleet to send him off.

However, the fact that he was Mr. Crawford was still unclear to Mr. Winters and his family.

If he returned like this, it would be too much extravagance, and Gerald did not like this feeling.

The next thing on the list for Gerald was to come clean with Mr. Winters and his family regarding the hospital bill settlement and his identity. After all, there was nothing for him to hide from the old couple.

While on his way back to his hometown, Gerald felt it was better to keep a low profile.

Seeing the roads being paved along the road, Gerald knew that his town would soon undergo some significant development.

 

Chapter 532

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 532 “Young man, is your house in this town?”

The driver was a middle-aged man. He asked warmly and flashed a smile.

Gerald nodded.

“Well, congrats, kiddo, your town is about to undergo quite a significant development, and no piece of land here will be left unattended! Not only will they provide housing fees, but also demolition fees and many job opportunities too! You look like a college student, so when you’re back home, you should make good use of this opportunity!”

“Yeah, that would be nice!”

As they chatted along the way, they eventually arrived at Gerald’s hometown.

It was a town, but Gerald’s home was in a small village in the middle of the city—a town village.

There were many families in the village that run mills. They ran businesses like milling flour and such.

Back then, the best part about the village was the fantastic fragrance of freshly milled flour in the air.

But this trip back to his village, it was apparent that the fragrance of milled flour which Gerald missed was significantly lesser now.

“Woohoo, the college student is back!”

“Why didn’t you bring your girlfriend back?”

“Gerald, have you found a job? I’m sure such a bright college student like you can find a good job, right?”

As soon as he entered the village, the villagers flocked around him and started questioning.

“Not yet!”

Gerald smiled.

“Hmph, then you went to college for nothing? It’s no different than the others who dropped out of school early to work!” A woman taunted with disdain.

The village folks’ words were dreadful and judgemental, but Gerald did not bother much.

Instead, he turned away from their remarks and finally reached the door of his home.

When he took out his keys to unlock the door, he realized that the door lock was changed some time ago, and he could not open it.

“What’s the matter?”

Gerald wondered for a moment.

“Oh, Gerald, you’re back!” A woman came out of the house next to Mr. Winters’s. She was Mr. Winters’s second daughter-in-law, Sandrilla Sutton.

She approached Gerald while munching on some peanuts.

“Sandrilla, how come the house locks were changed?”

Gerald asked as he smiled wryly.

He had met Sandrilla before back when they were at the hospital.

She was very greedy for money and would take advantage of every situation, and she did not like losses.

“Oh, I changed it; what’s wrong?”

“Then what about the keys to my house?” Gerald asked.

“Huh, what do you mean by your house? Gerald, do you even know who this house belongs to now? I know why you’re back. You heard that the house was about to be demolished, and you wanted to come back to get your fair share of the money. Let me tell you this once, don’t even think about it! This is my house and written black and white on the estate license!”

Sandrilla’s tone changed.

Gerald immediately understood what she meant.

Mr. Winters had two houses when Gerald’s parents moved here. One was for their own family, and the other one was this.

His parents paid for the house.

To be frank, there was no such thing as a real estate license in the countryside twenty years ago.

They only signed a simple contract, and it was the same contract that his dad had signed with Mr. Winters while they were drinking.

That was a long time ago, and Gerald had no idea where his father had kept the contract.

During that time, they would not even have thought that Mr. Winters’ family would forcefully evict them to get the house back.

And it was because of this matter.

Sandrilla, too, heard about the demolition project and tried to get her hands on the house. She could make tens of thousands of dollars from it.

“Gerald, you’re back! Don’t listen to her nonsense; this house belongs to your family, and no one can take it away from you!”

Suddenly, Mr. Winters came out and exclaimed firmly.

Chapter 533

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 533 “What do you mean by that, old man? What do you mean it’s theirs? I’m warning you, I’ve consulted with a lawyer, and if we bring this to court, the contract you signed will not be counted! The real estate certificate is ours anyway!” Sandrilla said frantically.

‘Seems like they’ve been quarreling about the matter for quite some time now.’

Gerald thought to himself.

Earlier, when he called Mr. Winters, he sensed that Mr. Winters was in a bad mood.

It turned out that they had been quarreling.

Even if the housing estate belonged to the Crawfords, why would Gerald even fight with them for it?

“Besides, didn’t Gerald win the lottery? Why would he still care about this house anyway! And I don’t know where I lost the house key for the lock!” Sandrilla continued, fuming.

“Hmph!” Mr. Winters grunted as he picked up a large rock from the ground.

“Excuse me, what do you think you’re doing?” Sandrilla asked as she stepped back in anxiousness.

Mr. Winters then stormed towards the door and smashed the lock with the rock.

He then whipped out a new lock from his pocket.

“Gerald, with this lock, the three of them wouldn’t dare to take turns to change the lock to your house. Enough with this mess. Let’s go inside and clean-up later. Come over to my house for dinner; your aunt

is cooking up a feast for you.” Mr. Winters said.

“Alright then!”

Gerald took the lock and forced a smile. Turns out, the second sister-in-law was not the first person to lock his house door. The first and third sister-in-law were also involved.

Gerald looked at how grim and hopeless the circumstances were and could only force a grin.

Sandrilla’s face turned scarlet. She cried as she ran back home to make a phone call.

After Gerald had tidied up his house, he headed to Mr. Winter’s for dinner.

He was greeted by a few shiny, brand new cars parked in front of Mr. Winters’s house. The best looking one among the bunch was a black Passat.

They were all newly bought.

It looked like all the brothers, from the oldest to the third, were all there.

In previous years, they usually held many big feasts and occasions as such, but this year, things were different.

As Gerald stepped into the house, he heard someone banging on the table loudly.

“Why?! That was our house, and by what authority should we give it to them?”

“Yeah, mom, I heard that this time they’re going to demolish several houses, and to reimburse them for the demolition, each household will be receiving tens of thousands of dollars. They’re starting to repair the roads, and since our house is by the mountainside, they might even turn this place into a tourist attraction, or even a movie base! After this, our houses will be worth a lot of money! Money!” Francis Winters exclaimed excitedly.

“Yep, yep! Mom, a friend of mine, had invested in the tourism sector in her town. After her house was demolished, she was able to afford two houses!” Queeny Winters said.

“That too! Gerald’s family has taken so much advantage over us; besides, he won hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of lottery already!”

The eldest brother banged his fists angrily on the table and scowled.

“Let’s wait until tomorrow. I’ll find someone to get the house back.”

“Big brother, what makes you think that only you can do that? It’s not like I’ve got no connections at all!”

“I know, right! I’ve connections too, you know! Plus, if you get back the house, wouldn’t that mean the house would be under your name afterward?”

The entire family started falling into a chaotic squabble.

At this point, Gerald could not stand by the sidelines and eavesdrop any longer, so he walked in.

“Everyone, stop fighting! If you want this house that much, take it!” Gerald said.

“Gerald, this has nothing to do with you, so stop the nonsense. It doesn’t matter who you want to hand the house over to; the house still belongs to your family!” Mr. Winters said coldly.

Gerald, on the other hand, was fed up with the drama.

“Hmph, since Gerald said it himself, you don’t have to worry about it, old man!”

The sister-in-law chimed in haughtily.

As for Queenie, Francis, and the others…

Chapter 534

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 534 They threw death stares at Gerald.

Gerald had unintentionally embarrassed them previously at the hospital.

Because of that incident, any word that came out of his mouth at the moment seemed to be just infuriating.

“Okay, that’s enough. It has been a while since Gerald came back, so let’s eat first.”

The eldest brother gestured everyone to the dining table after hearing what Gerald had said.

Upon the eldest brother’s persistence, only then did the family get seated at the dinner table.

Regarding the housing matter and seeing the angered expression on their father’s face, he was afraid that he would fall sick once again from the stress and tension.

Hence, for the time being, no one touched on the topic.

“Gerald, have you finished your internship? Have you found a job already?” The third brother quizzed.

“Hah, seems like he hasn’t found any job yet, though. It’s difficult to look for a job these days, and if it wasn’t for our third bro pulling some strings, even Francis wouldn’t have found a job. But look at him now, he works in an office for an insurance company, isn’t that great?” The third sister-in-law boasted proudly.

“Queenie’s job is even better! Although her job is quite laborious, it holds the infinite potential for future developments! Francis is still young for his age; being able to live so comfortably is not a good thing!” The second sister-in-law scoffed and replied.

“I’m not looking for a job,” Gerald said, cutting the conversation.

“You can’t afford to not get a job! Are you planning to get by your days with just your lottery money and do nothing? You’ll starve to death sooner or later, and besides, without a decent job, who’s going to look up to you?” The second sister-in-law sneered.

“Yeah, I’m afraid it’s quite difficult for someone like Gerald to find a good job, but hey, our company is short of a toilet cleaner. I remembered last time Aunt Lacy, who cleaned the hallways, said their cleaning company was short of cleaners, so she told us to help her find one. Although the job seems pretty shabby, it is still a job nonetheless!”

Queenie spoke up; her voice was cynical.

“Hmmm, Queenie is right. Gerald, if you want to find a job, I can persuade Aunt Lacy with some gifts to get you the position!” The second sister-in-law nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, that won’t be a problem!” Francis chuckled as he, too, agreed.

When they first met a while back, Francis and Queenie were still on probation.

After Gerald had embarrassed them with tens of thousands of dollars, their pride was hurt. But now, after entering the working world, their knowledge had widened. To them, Gerald was still a nobody who had just won a small lottery.

They continued to take turns to throw jabs at Gerald.

Gerald lowered his head as he ate his food.

After a while, he finally spoke up, “My birthday is in another three or four days. I’ve invited my friends to come over, and I’m treating them to dinner; all of you should join us too.” Gerald extended the invitation in a low voice.

“Huh, okay… Well, Gerald, it’s not like we like to ridicule you or anything; you may have some money, but why even bother holding a birthday celebration? It’s not like you can compare with others anyway!”

“We’ll see when the time comes; we’ll go if we’re free.”

“Yeah, we’re all kind of busy at the moment; we don’t have time for your birthday!”

“Oh right, during my meeting today, my leader told us there will be a major event happening in just a few days. It’s said that all the leaders from the province will be attending this event, so we’ve got many things to handle. I’m sorry, but I have no time to spare.” Francis said.

Queenie, too was busy with something else.

Gerald caught on to their intentions immediately. None of them would spare even a minute for his birthday.

“Yeah, no problem, if you’re not busy, you can come over. Just saying. That’s all.” Gerald replied.

Everyone stopped talking at that instant.

“Gerald, you can ask your friends to come over. We’ll still celebrate with you, and I’ll even prepare a big feast!” Mr. and Mrs. Winters said in unison.

Upon hearing their words, Gerald’s heart warmed up, “Okay, I’ll let them have a taste of your cooking Mrs. Winters! I’ll get the groceries!”

They then continued briefing chatting.

Once dinner was over, the brothers drove home.

Everyone was ready to go to bed. Suddenly, Mr. Winters called out to Gerald.

“Gerald, wait a minute! I’ve something important that I must tell you!”

Chapter 535

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 535 “Hmm? What is it, Mr. Winters?”

Mr. Winters tugged at Gerald’s sleeve and sat him down.

“Of course, it’s something good! When you called earlier today, I told you about it, but I figured it’s better to tell you in person. It’s not the wisest to talk about it with my sons around.”

“Ohh, please go ahead then, Mr. Winters!”

“I used to work in the mines and befriended this guy. After all these years of moving around, when I went to town some time ago, I just happened to run into him, and we chatted for a bit, you know, to catch up. He told me that his granddaughter is almost the same age as you, around the same age group as you and Francis!”

“She graduated from college a year earlier than you, and now her family seems anxious to find her a boyfriend. Her family is well-off and rich, so there aren’t any particular criteria needed. I just thought of introducing her to you, as the family has two daughters, and she’s the eldest!” Mr. Winters explained excitedly.

“So, I wanted to discuss with you about arranging a date between the two of you for tomorrow! I’m not going to let Francis know about this matter, and you shouldn’t tell him either!”

Gerald could see what Mr. Winters had in mind. Seeing that Gerald had difficulty looking for jobs, Mr. Winters wanted to help Gerald matchmake.

He did all these for Gerald, and his intentions were pure and honest.

It was just like the last time with Xeno.

But Gerald already had Mila Smith, and the previous dates that were matchmade to him did not go well at all. Gerald was traumatized by the girls, so he really repulsed the idea of it.

“Mr. Winters, there’s no need for that, but thank you for your kind consideration! Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

“What’s there to be afraid of? You can mind your own business later, but I think you should meet up with her! It doesn’t matter if it will work out, at least get to know her!” Mr. Winters wondered in bewilderment.

This scenario felt almost identical to the last time with Xeno.

Under this particular circumstance, Gerald could not tell Mr. Winters that he was actually well-off, and there was no need to help him find a partner.

He could neither accept nor reject that offer, and neither could he upset Mr. Winters.

“Alright, fine, I’ll meet up with her tomorrow.” Gerald nodded.

“Great, I’ll give her a call then!”

Mr. Winters eagerly grabbed his phone to make the call. He then returned minutes later in high spirits.

“Okay, luckily, my friend’s daughter is available tomorrow! I told him that both of you will be meeting and none of us will be tagging along. This is her number, give her a call tomorrow. Wherever you guys are going to meet, that’s up to you. Try to sweet-talk her, okay? Her name is Michelle Waxham, just call her Elle. Her mom is a teacher, so she is a sweet one with good manners.” Mr. Winters said excitedly.

“Alright then, I’ll give her a call later!”

After chatting with Mr. Winters, Gerald went home.

He pondered for a bit before he decided to make the phone call.

“Hello, who are you looking for?”

A lady’s voice was heard from the other end.

“Hi, I’m Gerald; you must be Elle? It was Mr. Winters who suggested that I should give you a call!”

It was Gerald’s first time to call someone this way. He tried to act a little cheerful and generous, but he still sounded a little restrained.

“Oh, oh, yes, I know,” Elle replied politely. She then waited for Gerald to continue speaking.

“Are you busy?” Gerald asked.

“I’m good, no worries, you may continue!”

“Which middle school did you attend before? Was it the First, middle school or Second middle school?” Gerald tried to create conversations with random topics.

“I attended Second middle school; what about you?”

“I attended the First! So, are you free tomorrow? There’s a new Domino’s that just opened in town; why don’t we meet there and hang out?”

Gerald did not know what else to talk about anymore, so he went straight to the point.

“Sure!”

“Well, you get some rest early!”

“Mmhmm, you too!”