SWNOVELS Chapter 174
Chapter 174 Silver Headdress
Another month had passed.
Ian drove a jeep with two bodyguards toward a village near the borders. He was going to meet an old village chief there. This village was located in a remote area with a sparse population. Most of the villagers there lived an isolated life. The total population of the entire village was not more than five hundred people.
Just half a month ago, the only college student in this village organized a photography exhibition in a small city. As an unknown student photographer, he took some pictures depicting the local customs of his hometown. It wouldn’t have attracted much attention, but lan, who happened to be in the city for business, went to take a look at the exhibition accompanied by a local business tycoon.
The reason was that the tycoon’s own son had also taken some alternative and seemingly artsy photos. The tycoon wanted to show off his talented and artistic son, and a photography exhibition naturally served as a good publicity stunt. The collaboration project was worth two hundred million, and lan was naturally willing to attend, considering it a business socializing opportunity.
However, after arriving there, he realized that he’d chanced upon an opportunity to uncover something profound.
At the photography exhibition, lan saw a black and white portrait of a woman adorned with silver jewelry and dressed in a set of luxurious ethnic clothing. Even though only a portion of her profile was captured in the photo, he immediately recognized that the woman in the picture had the exact same features as Erin!
That same evening, he arranged a meeting with that student photographer, lan was generous and handed over a hundred thousand in cash right on the spot in a private booth at the café.
The college student. Darian, was a photography enthusiast. He’d been eyeing a specific camera lens for three years, and one hundred thousand dollars happened to be enough for him to purchase il.
Chatting rapidly, Darian revealed everything he knew to lan.
He explained that the woman in the black and white photo was Yvette Dempsey, the daughter of their old village chief, Lamar Dempsey. She was twenty–five years old that year and was the only daughter of the chief, as well as the renowned village beauty.
Darian’s deceased mother had told him that Yvette had appeared suddenly many years ago. In fact, the people in the village knew that Lamar had bought her from human traffickers using money. However, no one paid much attention to this matter. Firstly, it had nothing to do with them, and the people in the village weren’t concerned about each other’s affairs as they led their own lives behind closed doors.
Secondly, Lamar was a descendant of the village’s landlord. Since he was practically royalty there, no one dared to provoke him. But most importantly, it was because Lamar’s mother was of the Murrka ethnic minority known for their ability to practice witchcraft.
No one in this village dared to go against the chief’s family.
Darian also mentioned that he attended university in a small city and, after being exposed to the Internet, he naturally came to know about the new actress, Erin Lane. Although she didn’t appear much on screen later, her appearance made a lasting impression on Darian. He’d
speculated whether Erin and Yvette, back in his village, were twin sisters.
At that time, Darian was afraid that Lamar would find out that he’d photographed Yvette. He didn’t dare to take a headshot of Yvette and exhibit it, fearing retaliation from Lamar. After all, he raised Yvelle in a secluded living environment and didn’t want anyone to know about
her origins.
Armed with the information provided by Darian, lan embarked on the path to uncover the truth. Even if Erin couldn’t be found, it wouldn’t
hurt to locate her sister, who looked exactly like her.
lan waited in the living room of Lamar’s house with a set of handmade silver bridal headdresses worth five million dollars.
Just three days ago, Lamar announced to the entire village that he would begin searching for a son–in–law for his daughter, Yvette. He was looking for a son–in–law who would marry into the family, and whoever was interested should bring a set of handmade silver bridal headdresses to have an audience with him.
The craftsmanship of the headdress would first be inspected by the village’s old silversmith. If it passed the first test, one could meet Lamar in person to have a conversation. Only after passing Lamar’s scrutiny would one have an opportunity to meet his daughter, Yvette.
Zinka entered the rustic and elegant living room with ethnic motifs holding two plates of fruit.
Although Lamar and his family lived a secluded life in the borders, he placed emphasis on the education of the people in his household.
Speaking in somewhat broken Coandrian, Zinka said, “Mr. Sloan, these are fruits grown in our village. They are absolutely delicious and healthy. Please try them.”
lan, dressed in a sophisticated suit and wearing a deep blue tie, appeared exceptionally smart and handsome. Taking in his refined temperament and handsome appearance, Zinka couldn’t help but smile uncontrollably.
*Thank you, Zinka. This coffee is excellent. It’s my first time tasting such good coffee.” Ian had it all down when it came to pleasing. people. He’d honed his smooth conversational skills of adapting his speech to appeal to different people and situations from his business
endeavors.
Zinka blushed with a beaming smile. This was the first time she’d seen such a handsome man.
As they were chatting, an elderly man wearing a long green robe entered through the front door. He looked to be in his seventies, with gray hair and an upturned mustache that added to his imposing presence. He wore a pair of comfortable black canvas shoes and held a tobacco pipe with an emerald mouthpiece. He was the old village chief, Lamar..
Upon seeing Lamar, lan stepped forward, walking all the way to the eaves of the hall to show respect. Lamar didn’t have a favorable impression of lan due to the modern suit he was wearing, However, since lan appeared at least superficially respectful toward him, he didn’t immediately chase the younger man away.
“Are you Mr. Sloan?” Lamar, with his hands behind his back and holding the tobacco pipe, walked into the living room. He calmly sat down on an individual couch in his living room.
lan turned around and bowed slightly to Lamar, saying. “My name is lan. Greetings, Mr. Dempsey. I have brought the handmade bridal silver jewelry you requested. Please have a look.”
Lamar glanced at him arrogantly from head to toe. “You’re not from our village. How did you know about my seeking someone to marry my
daughter? Don’t lie to me. I won’t give a second chance to someone who lies.”
lan smiled pleasantly and said, “Mr. Dempsey, I have no intention of deceiving you because I sincerely want to marry your daughter. I saw
a photo of your daughter at a photography exhibition two weeks ago. Just a side profile of her left a lasting impression on me. I found the
photographer and inquired about your daughter.”
Looking sincere with a hint of uneasiness, he continued, “I hope you don’t blame Darian. It was me who begged him repeatedly to tell me.”
Lamar furrowed his brow, seemingly trying to remember who Darian was. Zinka reminded him, and he finally recalled that Darian was a young man who left their remote mountain village to study in a city. Darian’s family had never brought shame to the village, and this eased
Lamar’s anger by a little.
His gaze shifted to the handmade bridal silver jewelry not far away, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He was satisfied and silently approved of the gift that lan had brought though he didn’t show it.
Just by a rough glance, one could tell that the entire set of silver jewelry was of top quality. Showing an appreciative expression, Lamar commented, “Not bad, young man. The fact that you managed to convince the renowned craftsman, Rhett Jachim, to sell you his treasured masterpiece shows that you put a lot of thought into it.”
lan responded calmly, “Mr. Dempsey, you flatter me.”
Lamar smiled but didn’t say anything. After a few seconds, he suddenly said to Zinka, “Ask Yvette to come out and meet Mr. Sloan. Let
them chat for a while. I’m going to take a nap.”