**TITLE: Broken by Destiny by George Orwell**
**Chapter 371: They’re Complete Opposites**
By a twist of fate, the few households that stood firm against the deal were none other than the families of those middle-aged brothers and a handful of their loyal companions.
They had listened to the mayor’s speech with rapt attention, his words ringing clear in their ears, and they understood perfectly well who had just given them a good kicking.
The moment they comprehended that those city slickers had come groveling for their signatures, their chests swelled with an inflated sense of pride. They erupted into loud, boisterous shouts, clearly reveling in the power they believed they held.
“Hah! So you’re those highfalutin city folks, are you? You want our signatures, huh?” one of the brothers bellowed, a smirk plastered across his face.
“If you want us to sign, you’d better cough up ten times the going rate!”
“And that imbecile who gave us the boot? He better drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness!”
“And that girl standing next to him? She’s got to stay with me for a whole month! Otherwise, you can forget about our signatures!”
They rattled off their absurd demands with an air of self-satisfaction, as if their outrageous requests were perfectly justified.
True, they had never ventured far beyond their small town, nor had they ever witnessed the grandeur of bustling cities, but in their minds, anyone seeking their precious signatures was obligated to meet every single one of their whims.
If they didn’t, those outsiders would walk away empty-handed from the land deal, and they took immense pleasure in that thought.
The town had an unyielding rule: even a single household refusing to sign could bring the entire deal crashing down.
Anderson’s eyes widened in disbelief. He stared at the brothers as if they had completely lost their sanity.
Had Jeremy’s kick scrambled their brains?
Did they even hear the ridiculousness spilling from their mouths? It was laughable!
Expecting an apology from the top dog of the Curran family in Novaterra? What a fantasy!
Jeremy’s laughter was cold and dismissive.
It wasn’t just Anderson who found their demands absurd; Josie and Amelia shared the same sentiment, each of them shaking their heads in disbelief.
In the end, silence reigned. Jeremy didn’t even bother to respond to their ludicrous demands.


VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: When the Dead Still Call