“Go ahead. Keep bragging.”
The young nurse’s face showed clear disdain upon hearing Noemi’s words. Dr. Tyson’s voice turned cold as he said, “Give her the discharge papers.”
“Doctor, calm down, calm down.”
Lillian, seeing Dr. Tyson’s displeasure, quickly spoke up to comfort Noemi, “You have to stay in the hospital, Noemi. Just listen to the doctor. Okay?”
She continuously spoke kind words, soothing the emotions of the doctor and nurse.
Noemi wanted to say something, but Lillian pouted and said, “If you don’t stay in the hospital, I won’t talk to you anymore!”
Faced with Lillian’s threat, Noemi could only reluctantly respond, “Alright, I’ll listen to you and stay in the hospital. Just don’t get me an expensive ward.”
“Anyway, I’m just lying in a hospital bed to rest, so it doesn’t matter which room I’m in..”
Lillian said lightly, “I’ll make the decision for you. As a patient, you should just focus on recovering.”
Then she turned to Darnell, tilting her head. “Darnell, keep an eye on her. I’ll go take care of the admission procedures.”
As Darnell nodded gently, Lillian left the hospital room and went out. Soon enough, she completed the admission procedures.
Afterwards, she asked Darnell to help push Noemi into the inpatient department. Once everything was settled, Lillian let out a sigh of relief.
During this time, Noemi asked for her phone and sent a text message. Occasionally, she would curse a few times. In short, she found fault with everything and even scolded Darnell a few times.
But she didn’t say anything harsh to Lillian. In the end, she was able to lie in bed and receive treatment from the nurses thanks to Lillian’s efforts.
Sitting on a bench in the corridor of the inpatient department, Darnell handed a bottle of purified water to Lillian.
“You’re really good to your godmother.”
“For someone as difficult as her, you can still be so patient. It’s quite rare.”
Lillian took a sip of water and said, “Well, she’s my godmother after all.”
“Although she’s sharp-tongued, she is not a bad person. Every time there are repairs or fundraising events in Woodsea, she donates the most among thirty landlords.”
“She also used her land to build a parking lot and sponsors five impoverished students every year.”
Lillian sighed lightly, “She even sponsored me through college.”
Darnell was surprised. “Really?”
He didn’t expect that there was such a charitable side to Noemi.
“Yes, my godmother is a good person. Being fierce and cursing others is just her way of self-protection.”
Lillian nodded and changed the subject. “But what she did tonight was indeed too much. I don’t know why she got so angry and insisted on driving away those seven tenants.”
“In the past, when she drove away tenants, they were usually troublemakers or disruptive tenants.”
Darnell was taken aback and said, “Is she really choosing who to kick out? I thought she was just using it as an opportunity to keep their tenancy deposits.”
“She owns eight buildings out of thirty-eight in Woodsea. She has shares in the village and even owns a parking lot and eighteen shops.”
“She earns over a million dollars in rent and dividends each month. Why would she care about tenancy deposits?”
As Darnell nodded his head, Lillian continued defending Noemi. “By shouting about confiscating tenancy deposits, it’s just putting more pressure on the tenants she wants to drive away, so they feel uncomfortable and leave quickly.”
“In reality, as long as they agree to leave, she will return their tenancy deposits. She has never cheated anyone out of their money.”
“Her reputation is tarnished because not only does she like to curse people but also because of how those evicted tenants badmouth her.”
“As for her mean words, it’s just a survival tactic.”
“She’s a woman managing eight buildings and has to deal with countless tenants from all walks of life every day. She often has to confront hooligans with villagers by her side.”
“If she wasn’t strong-willed and tough enough, she would have been taken advantage of long ago.”
Darnell curiously asked, “What about her family?”
Lillian flicked her hair lightly and whispered softly, “Her husband died in a car accident over ten years ago. She married into Woodsea from outside and doesn’t have any sons.”
“That’s why many people look down on her, including some stubborn old folks in the village. If she wasn’t assertive enough, do you think she could have made it this far?”
“It’s because I understand her that I also understand her actions.”
Darnell looked enlightened. “I see.”
A woman from outside making it in Woodsea and becoming its leader must have been incredibly difficult. If she didn’t have any authority or power behind her name, how could she have become the village leader?
“Whiteville is a big city with glamorous elites as well as criminals.”
Lillian smiled as she chattered away, “Woodsea is a safe neighborhood and businesses there are not harassed by street thugs. This is largely due to my godmother’s efforts.”
“She united all of Woodsea by not only forming a security team but also standing up against thugs who wanted protection fees or caused trouble.”
“Small gangs dare not provoke Woodsea. Plus, there’s hardly any hidden dirt or corruption here.”
Lillian lightly flicked her hair again and turned the conversation towards Darnell’s impression of the landlady. “Only three types of people can rent a place in Woodsea.”
“One type is local villagers from Woodsea. Another type is newcomers who just arrived in Whiteville, and then there are those who have decent jobs or businesses to support their families.”
“The rest are unemployed or people with unknown backgrounds who will be driven away by my godmother within a month. It may not be considerate, but it benefits public order greatly.”
“You could say that without her, Woodsea would quickly become chaotic.”
Darnell squinted his eyes. “Looking at it this way, I’ve misunderstood her all this time.”
“It’s not really a misunderstanding. She does have a tough personality from all that cursing,” Lillian said helplessly. “And with her fiery temper, it’s normal for you to have a bad impression of her.”
Darnell chuckled and patted Lillian’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go see her.”
After misunderstanding Noemi for so long, he wanted to see if he could help.
Darnell followed Lillian into the hospital room where they saw Noemi holding her phone muttering nonstop. However, there was an unusually gentle expression on her face. Both of them were slightly stunned as they didn’t know who she was talking to on the phone.
Lillian stepped forward and said with concern in her voice, “Noemi, you shouldn’t talk too much since you’re injured.”
“You need to rest in bed and rest!”
“Alright, Lillian, I’m almost done with my call.”
Noemi spoke kindly before signaling that she would hang up soon. Then she whispered into her phone, “I’m in Ward 808 at the hospital. I’m waiting for you.”
After Noemi hung up the phone, Lillian immediately spoke up, “Noemi, who were you talking to on the phone? Why are you having someone come over? There are rules in the hospital. Visitors aren’t allowed after nine o’clock.”
“Just an old friend.”
Noemi endured the pain in her back as she added, “He’s a doctor. I asked him to come help me out because I can’t lie in a hospital bed for half a month.”
“Next week, those brats will come for negotiations. If I’m not there personally overseeing things, Woodsea will probably be ruined by them.”
Lillian exclaimed in surprise, “The Apex wants to expand its influence in Woodsea?”
Darnell felt something stir inside him. The Apex?