Right now, Veronica wasn't close with Svetlana. She only knew Svetlana as a Russian artisan and, honestly, looked down on her a bit.
So, after hearing Svetlana's request, Veronica's almost immediate instinct was to say no.
However, she caught herself just as the words were about to come out. She realized why Dexter had sent Svetlana to rent the truck.
The Alibi Room was being renovated, and Veronica's own income was looking good. Maybe it was time to ditch that beat-up old pickup truck and get a new one.
In that case, renting the old truck to Svetlana to make a little cash wasn't a bad idea.
As for Svetlana being an "artisan"...
When you think about it, if a rich guy like Dexter didn't care, who was Veronica to judge?
Veronica swallowed the words she was about to say. "How about this, you wait a minute. I'll ask Kevin. It is his truck, after all."
"Okay," Svetlana knew Veronica's attitude, so she didn't push it. She found a seat and waited quietly for dinner.
Veronica pulled out her phone to call Kevin.
Just then, Carl pushed the door open and declared with his usual swagger, "Veronica, I'm here for dinner."
Veronica was surprised to see Carl and quickly put her phone away, walking over to him.
Veronica didn't dislike Carl, but she felt this wasn't really a good habit.
Dexter probably wouldn't take Carl's money again...
If this kept happening, it wouldn't look good for Dexter. Plus, given the situation at the Gallaghers', spending money here was a luxury.
"Carl, you should use the money Dexter had me give back last time for something else. Eating here is too expensive..." Veronica said tactfully, without overthinking it.
Carl's eyes widened. "The money he gave back last time? What money? I didn't get any."
Veronica: "..."
Hearing that, and knowing Fiona, Veronica instantly realized what happened: Fiona hadn't given the money to Carl.
Veronica was immediately annoyed.
Dexter had done a good deed, but Carl didn't even know about it. What was the point?
After a moment of thought, Veronica decided not to cover for Fiona. "The last time you ate here, Dexter gave the money you paid back to Fiona that night. She didn't give it to you?"
Carl understood and got furious. "No way! Fiona stole my money!!"
Veronica smiled. "Looks like it. So, where did you get the money for dinner this time?"
"Monica gave it to me. I want dinner, I'm starving," Carl said, ignoring Veronica and quickly finding a seat. "What's good tonight?"
Monica's money...
Veronica thought about it and decided not to try and talk him out of it. It was better for Carl to spend the money on food than for Monica to use it on her habits.
"You're in luck, we have a new dish tonight. I bet you'll love the Braised Beef Noodle Soup," Veronica said, smiling.
"Cool," Carl nodded, coolly stating, "Braised Beef Noodle Soup it is!"
"Alright, I'll go tell the boss."
Walking into the kitchen, Veronica quickly told Dexter about Carl coming for dinner and the accidental discovery that Fiona had pocketed the money from last time. "Boss, the money Carl has this time is from Monica. I recommend you don't give it back."
Dexter smiled.
Fiona stealing the money was, honestly, a little unexpected.
"Find an envelope, put Carl's money in it, and save it for him. He'll need it later," Dexter thought for a moment and said. "Then, tell him about it."
Veronica was a little surprised. "Boss, if I hadn't known Carl for so long, I'd think he was your son. You're too good to him."
Dexter chuckled. "I'm a great judge of character. That kid, Carl, he's going to be a miracle later on."
Veronica instinctively doubted it. "Are you sure? Right now, he's a little terror."
"Well, we'll see."
"Okay. Oh, right, about Svetlana renting the truck, you wanted Kevin to make a little money, right?" Since she was there, Veronica casually asked.
"That's the idea. It's up to you guys. Making some extra cash, getting a new truck, and boosting your quality of life is nice, don't you think?" Dexter replied with a smile.
Veronica grinned. "I figured as much. If we make money, I really do want to get a new truck."
"Mmm, you two decide for yourselves."
"Got it."
Veronica didn't say much more. She went back to Carl and told him Dexter's idea. "The boss still won't take your money, but he's not giving it back this time. He's going to save it for you here at the restaurant."
Carl might be rough, but he knew who treated him well. "Whatever, I'm eating, and I'm paying."
Veronica smiled, didn't waste any more time, and stepped aside to call Kevin.
Kevin was naturally happy. "That fruit store is Dexter's, too. Even if he needed my truck, I wouldn't complain. Why don't we just let Svetlana use it for free?"
Veronica hesitated.
No charge?
It wasn't a huge problem. That old heap of a truck wouldn't bring in much money anyway, maybe just over a hundred dollars a month. She could make that in one lunch shift.
But still, letting Svetlana get a freebie didn't feel right...
"I'll think about it. We still need to use the truck sometimes," Veronica said.
Kevin still insisted on giving it away for free.
They discussed it for a few minutes, then hung up.
A few minutes later.
Dexter personally brought a Braised Beef Noodle Soup combo to Carl. "Carl, haven't seen you in a few days. How are you doing? Haven't been causing any trouble?"
Carl grinned mischievously. "Just some fights at school, nothing else."
Look at that bully attitude.
"What about at home?" Dexter asked casually.
Carl had already started eating and replied between bites, "Home? A bunch of messes..."
It didn't take long for Dexter to get the information he wanted. He chatted with Carl a little longer, then got up to return to the kitchen. "Stop by anytime."
"Definitely, what you make is too good," Carl genuinely praised.
To be fair, the flavor of the system-enchanted Braised Beef Noodle Soup was absolutely incredible.
Because Dexter had recently taken photos and posted them on Twitter...
Many of the dining customers were promoting the dish like crazy on their own Twitter feeds.
The account
was absolutely blowing up.
"o(╥﹏╥)o!! Boss, you gotta tell us in advance when you're adding new dishes! You're making me so hungry..."
"Seriously! Fine, no reservations, but you have to give us a heads-up on big news like this!"
"Boss, are you open at the usual time tomorrow lunchtime? My friend is visiting from Miami, and I'm bringing her!"
"I'm coming too! Boss, how many servings are you making tomorrow?"
"..."
Dexter took a quick look at his account.
Heh.
The Twitter plan was a total success.
---
Carl finished eating, paid his bill, said goodbye to Dexter, and left.
Back in front of The Alibi Room.
Frank was sitting in his wheelchair, chatting and drinking with barflies like Tommy and Kermit right outside the door. The atmosphere was actually pretty good.
Carl knew Frank wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, so he told him without hesitation, "Frank, I'm going home to settle a score with Fiona! I'll come back to push you later!"
"Go on," Frank didn't care one bit.
Carl stormed off home, fuming.
Back at the Gallagher house.
Carl marched straight up to Fiona and angrily called her out. "Fiona, Dexter had Veronica give you back the money I paid for dinner last time, but you never told me or gave me the money!"
Fiona felt instantly ashamed. "I'm sorry. I meant to give it to you that night, but then I forgot with everything else going on..."
Was that the truth?
Half-true, maybe.
"That was money I worked hard for, and not only did you not give it to me, you didn't even mention it!" Carl was furious.
Fiona was genuinely remorseful and could only apologize.
Lip and Ian stood on the side, trying to calm Carl down.
After a good while, Carl cooled down a little, stopped arguing, and stormed upstairs to lie down on his bed.
Seeing this, Fiona sighed helplessly and shook her head. However, she didn't take it too seriously, thinking Carl would forget about it in a few days. It never occurred to her how this incident might affect Carl.
In his room upstairs.
Carl lay on the bed, eyes wide, staring at the ceiling, feeling deeply disappointed. An idea formed in his mind, and he grew up a little without even realizing it.
---
A little after nine in the evening.
Knock, knock, knock
A knock on the door sounded.
Dexter got up to open it and saw Svetlana and three other artisans. He smiled.
"Welcome," Dexter said, smiling.
Svetlana and the three others walked in.
Well, life is short, so you might as well have fun while you can.
The next few thousand words are omitted...
---
A little after four in the morning.
Svetlana woke up in the brand-new fruit store, got up, quickly splashed some water on her face in the bathroom, dried off, changed her clothes, and went out. She got into the driver's seat of Kevin's pickup truck, started the engine, and headed for the designated wholesale fruit market.
As for the pickup truck, Veronica ultimately decided not to charge rent. She only agreed on a usage schedule with Svetlana.
Svetlana didn't care about the details. No charge was even better.
In the pre-dawn hours.
The wholesale fruit market was already bustling and lively.
Vendors big and small were busy purchasing goods and loading fruit onto their trucks.
Looking at the scene, Svetlana felt a rush of excitement.
She then shifted her gaze to the trucks with the names of various large and chain fruit stores printed on the sides. Her spirits soared, and she became full of anticipation for the future.
She believed that as long as she worked hard and stuck with it, one day, she too could achieve that level of success.
Time was precious. After a brief moment of daydreaming about the future, Svetlana didn't delay. She quickly got out of the car and became part of the busy crowd.
Svetlana was pretty, her style was striking, and she was much hotter than most people who came to this wholesale market to buy goods...
In short, Svetlana's appearance naturally attracted a lot of attention.
Svetlana didn't mind using her advantages. In no time, she was mingling effortlessly in the wholesale market, completely at ease.
In the blink of an eye, it was six in the morning.
After filling the bed of the pickup truck to the brim and learning many tips for the fruit business from the men who were loading their goods, Svetlana smiled, said goodbye to the guys, and returned with a full load.
Back at Dex Fruit Store.
It was almost dawn.
Svetlana didn't rest. She immediately unloaded the goods, set up the displays, and kept busy.
After about two hours of work.
By a little after eight o'clock.
Everything was completely ready.
Dex Fruit Store was officially open for business.
Svetlana washed her face again, cleaned herself up, and enthusiastically started her money-making journey.
---
It was a new day.
Today was Saturday, so there was no school.
However, the Gallagher house was already loud and lively early in the morning.
There was a lot to do.
The problem with Patrick needed to be solved.
Frank and Monica needed to go to the bank to cash the settlement check.
Roberta's truck and the rest of the stolen goods needed to be sold off quickly.
The latter two tasks were good news.
Unfortunately, with the prospect of losing the house looming over them, it was hard for anyone in the Gallagher family, except Frank, to be happy.
"Alright, let's divide and conquer," Fiona called out, clapping her hands after breakfast. "Lip and Ian, you two go research the house situation and the thing about 'you know who'."
"Steve and I will take Frank and Monica to cash the check."
"Debbie and Carl, you two stay home and look after Liam until I get back."
The truth was, Fiona loved the feeling of being in charge; she was even obsessed with it.
Everyone, including Lip, responded loudly.
It was hard to tell if this scene was a case of "being happy despite poverty" or something else entirely.
Frank couldn't wait any longer and immediately urged them on. "Come on, don't waste time! Let's go! I'm getting a bunch of money today!!!"
Fiona would also get a cut of the money. Although it was a small part, it was still a few thousand dollars.
Therefore, she didn't argue with Frank's urgency and readily agreed.
Soon, Steve, who had become a willing errand boy, drove Fiona and the two parents toward the bank.
At this moment.
Kevin and Veronica were also leaving their house.
Both groups saw each other.
Steve, as if nothing were wrong, greeted Kevin and Veronica.
Fiona did not.
Kevin and Veronica didn't say anything to Fiona either.
Who cares, whatever.
"Let's go," Veronica said, taking her eyes off Steve and the others after watching them drive away for two seconds, and called for Kevin.
The two walked toward where Vivian lived.
Thinking about Vivian...
Sometimes, it's just like this: you only see the difference when you have a contrast.
As Veronica walked, she silently compared Vivian and Fiona in her mind...
The result was a no-brainer.
The narrow-minded, bad-tempered, messy, promiscuous, and self-serving Fiona VS the clever, always-cheerful, sweet-tempered, agreeable, and beautiful Vivian, who also liked to read, knew how to cook, and knew a little about everything, making her easy to talk to...
Fiona was utterly defeated.
"Kev, I think I need a new best friend," Veronica suddenly said.
Kevin gave a toothy grin. "Agreed."