Transmigrated as the Villain Boss's Precious Darling Chapter 273: Bicycle Ticket

"It’s the least I can do. Thank you for looking after my Grandpa Wood." Adrian Hawthorne smiled more genuinely, his posture neither servile nor overbearing.

’His father had told him that while you had to be tactful to make money, you could never lose your pride, not even if it killed you. Even if you had to bow when asking for a favor, your spirit must never bend.’

Director Hughes accepted the savory cakes with a clear conscience. Glancing at the bag in the corner of the room, he patted Adrian Hawthorne’s shoulder. ’Not a bad kid.’

’Looks like Old Wood’s luck is finally turning. He’s finally got a relative with a conscience, unlike the rest of those ungrateful leeches. As soon as Old Wood got into trouble, they all scattered, terrified of being implicated.’

"Don’t buy tickets to see movies anymore. Pay no mind to what your Mr. Wood says—I have the final say."

"Alright. Thank you, Director Hughes."

Adrian Hawthorne accepted without a fuss. ’This is how favors work,’ he thought. ’There has to be a give and take. Only taking is inconsiderate, and only giving is just putting on a brave face when you can’t afford it. Neither approach is wise. What he was after was a network of these relationships.’

A few back-and-forths would solidify the relationship. eting more people like this would weave a proper social network. This was the foundation for building his future, and he had to manage it carefully.

This made Director Hughes even happier. He picked up a savory cake and ate it, showering it with praise. "It’s so full of filling. Your mother is quite the cook."

’Thin skin, packed with filling, and plenty of at... they must be from a wealthy family.’

Adrian Hawthorne smiled. ’When you make food for your own family, you’re always generous with the ingredients. He had specifically weighed out five-and-a-half pounds of at entirely for the filling; it’d be a miracle if they *weren’t* delicious.’

’Even that picky eater, Tang Xiaopang, had called them delicious!’

Director Hughes went inside, smiling and content with his snack. Mr. Wood watched Adrian Hawthorne with a complicated expression. ’This kid is nothing like a child. He understands the ways of the world better than an adult. He must have been forced into it.’

’Though he wasn’t clear on the specifics of Adrian Hawthorne’s family life, Mr. Wood guessed that the boy’s father was gone. If there was a man—a pillar—to support the family, they’d never let a child so young be out and about, fending for himself.’

"Kid, this is for you."

Mr. Wood pulled a coupon from his drawer and stuffed it into Adrian Hawthorne’s hand. It was a valuable bicycle ration coupon.

Adrian Hawthorne was stunned and overjoyed. He’d been racking his brain over how to get a coupon, and now Mr. Wood had given him this incredible surprise. "Grandpa Wood, this is too valuable! You should keep it for yourself."

’A bicycle coupon was already fetching a hundred yuan on the black market, a sky-high price, and they were nearly impossible to find. If Mr. Wood sold this, he could make life much better for his family. Adrian Hawthorne’s backup plan had been to buy one on the black market if he couldn’t acquire one through other ans.’

"I don’t have any use for it. You go buy one. Stop borrowing other people’s bikes all the ti," Mr. Wood said with a cheerful grin.

The coupon was from an old comrade-in-arms who worked in the Ard Forces Departnt. His old friend was doing much better than he was and often helped him out. But Mr. Wood was reluctant to accept handouts, and he had asked for this particular coupon specifically for Adrian Hawthorne.

"Where did you get a coupon like this?" Adrian Hawthorne asked, his curiosity piqued.

"It was allocated by the theater."

Mr. Wood answered vaguely, telling Adrian Hawthorne to hurry up and go take care of business. ’I’ll repay the favor to my comrade slowly over ti,’ he thought.

Adrian Hawthorne knew at once that Mr. Wood was lying. ’The theater would never allocate a bicycle coupon to a gatekeeper,’ he thought. ’Soone with connections would have snatched it up long ago.’ He asked abruptly, "It was from your comrade-in-arms, wasn’t it?"

Mr. Wood was taken aback. ’This kid is a real pistol; you can’t hide anything from him.’ Since he’d been found out, he confessed, "It was from an old comrade-in-arms. We’ve been through life and death together. A single coupon is nothing between us."

Adrian Hawthorne now understood completely. He made a plan: he would acquire a few chickens and bring them here for Mr. Wood to pass along to his old friend. He couldn’t let Mr. Wood pay for this favor out of his own pocket.