Chapter 758
These food stalls were lined up along the streets scheduled for demolition.
Most of the vendors were longtime locals.
They faced life with a vibrant energy, even if the surrounding environment was a bit rundown.
Claire also overheard their thoughts on the redevelopment project.
Some families had lived there for generations. This area used to be bustling, and the older folks refused to move their roots were deeply planted here.
Every morning, they’d wake up to make some oatmeal, have some toast, or stroll down the street for coffee and a fresh bagel.
After eating, they would take a leisurely walk around the block, heading home just in time to cook lunch or wait for their wives to finish making it.
In the afternoons, they’d cool off under the shade of the large oak trees. The old
men would gather for a game of chess, while the women met up for cards.
A single cup of tea could easily carry them through the whole afternoon.
It was an incredibly cozy and satisfying way to live.
They were surrounded by neighbors they had known for decades.
No matter where they stood to chat, there was an air of deep familiarity.
But if they were relocated, some of them might never see each other again for the rest of their lives.
There would be no more neighbors rushing over to help carry heavy groceries. That was why they had zero interest in moving into sterile high-rise apartments. They much preferred the warm, close-knit community of the working-class Westside.
Were there people living here with successful children who had plenty of money?
Absolutely!
Take the older woman Claire was chatting with right now. Upon learning that Claire had just graduated high school and was out on a date with her boyfriend, the woman struck up a friendly conversation.
“It’s so nice being young,” she sighed. “Still in school, without a care in the world.”
“Not like my son. He barely comes home once a year. When my husband got sick last year, our neighbors were the ones who rushed him to the ER.”
“He lives in a big city on the coast. He has a great job, but he just has no time to visit.”
Claire smoothly guided the conversation. “I bet your son wants to move you two out there so you can all be together, right?”
The older woman smiled proudly. “My son is a good boy. Every year, he tries to talk us into moving to the city with him.”
“So why don’t you go?” Claire asked, handing the woman a handful of sunflower seeds.
The two chatted comfortably while snacking.
“It’s not that we don’t miss him, it’s just hard to leave home.”
“We hear it’s a massive, busy city out there. We probably wouldn’t fit in it’s not like here—if anyone needs a hand, you just holler and a neighbor comes running.”
Claire was starting to understand exactly why these people refused to leave, and
why they had even banded together to protest the redevelopment.
“But I heard this area is getting torn down. If you don’t go to the coast, you’ll still have to move somewhere else.”
Her words wiped the smile right off the woman’s face.
“It is getting torn down. We wish they’d leave it alone, but the plans are already set.”
“We know staying here holds up the
city’s progress, but that James Corporation or whatever… they’re completely unreasonable. They didn’t communicate well, and their relocation packages are a joke.”
“They want to develop this land, but the new lots they offered us are terrible. Worse,
they’re scattering our entire neighborhood.”
“They keep pushing us to take cash
buyouts instead of new homes.
Sure We could take the money
buy another place, but could e afford anything decent?”
“Even if we could, our neighbors would be gone. We’d have no one to talk to.”
The old woman rambled on, venting her frustrations.
Claire wasn’t sure what intel Dane had gathered on his end, but she now had a solid grasp of what the holdouts actually wanted.
They wanted to stay with their neighbors. A simple cash buyout wasn’t going to cut it; they wanted homes where they could remain a community.