abcnovels
Chapter 902
Chapter 902
Chapter 902
She gazed at her hands, which had toiled on the land alongside her parents’. They were coarse and sallow, and the sight of them made her temper flare.
How is Charlotte that fortunate to have been adopted by the Field family?
Her anger and jealousy grew the more she thought about it.
Amidst her resentment, she drifted off to sleep.
At the first light of dawn, the rain, having poured unceasingly for the past couple of days, finally showed signs of stopping. As the downpour slowed to a drizzle, the pattering gave way to a steady, discordant drip.
Some of the early risers in the camp had already begun their morning drills when Ashlyn and Lucas returned.
When they passed the stove, Lucas saw several familiar faces.
Upon closer inspection, he frowned.
“Are those the chefs from the Imperial Hotel?”
With a spatula in his hand and masterfully flipping the vegetables in the pan, one of them called out in greeting, “Good morning, Mr. Nolan, Ms. Berry!”
Ashlyn smiled. “Go easy with the seasoning, Simon.”
The chef roared with boisterous laughter. “Don’t worry, Ms. Berry. I’m a decent cook.”
The others chefs joined in the laughter.
Lucas discovered more familiar faces as they ventured deeper. A few servers of the Imperial Hotel were engaged in a geological survey with the experts they had hired.
“Aren’t they waiters? What are…”
They even know how to use the instruments. Very adeptly too, it seems.
The sight did not perturb Ashlyn. “Oh, their thesis relates to geology. Usually, they would fool around in the Imperial Hotel and head to work when it was time for them to get busy. They’re at work now.”
Lucas froze in his tracks and gazed at her in disbelief. “Your staff has such hidden talents! Some are even experts in geology.”
“They’re no experts. They merely dabble in geology,” Ashlyn replied, still in the same indifferent manner.
They continued forward. Lucas saw several guards of the Imperial Hotel in a heated debate with several of the architects on the issue of post-disaster reconstruction.
“Our priority is to build buildings with steel frames. In the meantime, we’ll put up some temporary shelters that won’t take up space or collapse from the wind but will also keep its occupants warm.”
One of the elderly professors adjusted his glasses with a solemn expression. “Indeed. Winston is right. We must first build such structures before planning the reconstruction. Reconstruction is crucial and requires vast manpower and resources, something impossible to accomplish within a year.”
“It can be done if we all work together,” another young man piped up.
Lucas blinked. “The guard became an architect?”
“It’s simply a matter of building a house, isn’t it? Let’s go. I’m sleepy. I want to take a nap.” Ashlyn yawned.
All the staff of the Imperial Hotel had come with her to the disaster zone.
Fortunately for the myriad of specializations the staff seemed to possess, every one of them was of some use in the disaster zone.
Some cooked, and others designed a sewerage system. Some were experts in architecture, and some in geology. Some of them dispensed medical attention, while others dispensed psychological ones. Many disaster victims had been traumatized by the ordeal and required guidance only a psychologist could provide.
The servers and guards of the Imperial Hotel occupied almost all the positions there. Those without the necessary expertise, on the other hand, went directly to the police officers for rescue missions and physical labor.
Not a single one of the hundred-odd staff of the Imperial Hotel was left without a task.
Stretching himself out on his bed of hay, Lucas cast his mind back to the scene he had witnessed.
Despite usually preferring to remain in the Imperial Hotel, the staff has come with Ashlyn. Why?
Puzzled, he resigned himself to wondering how she always found ways to surprise him.
What else is there that I’m not aware of?
He was not the only one. When James and Fae awoke and caught sight of the familiar faces they often saw in the Imperial Hotel, their mouths fell open in amazement.