Internal Cleanup of the DeVenger Family (3)
Just as Henry had discussed with Bart, his afternoon was packed with inspections and meetings that took him all over the estate. The first people he encountered were the mansion's servants. Far from the sexy maids he'd been hoping for, they were all battle-hardened veterans who'd seen it all, so Henry swallowed his disappointment and opened his notebook.
“Henry, the facilities are so outdated that there's never a quiet day,” Bart reported, his suggestions carrying real urgency. On the surface, Henry nodded along, but inside he was cheering with delight.
Heating system pipes constantly making loud clanging noises.
Frequent leaks in the water pipes.
Electrical wiring from 1920 mixed with newer systems — total mess.
Marble exterior walls are cracking.
Severe warping in the wood of the grand library.
Perfect. This gives me more than enough excuses to tear everything down to the foundation and start over.
Even old-world charm had its limits. A mansion this massive without an elevator went against every modern instinct Henry had picked up from his apartment-dwelling days. Upgrading to a contemporary system was essential — if only for his own sake.
The meeting with the private garden landscaping team outside the mansion went much the same. They only toured the gardens right next to the house. While they were satisfied with their work and compensation, their main suggestion was about the water pipes for the fountain in front of the mansion entrance. Liam Robert, head of the landscaping team, had managed the thirty-acre gardens since he was young. He was a respected elder of the family, someone even the original wild, rebellious Henry had treated with caution. The new, sane Henry promised a full replacement in the near future and parted ways with him.
The entire marble fountain isn't in great shape. Might as well replace the whole thing, not just the pipes.
The mansion exterior looks fine, so a reflecting pool might work too. Note that down for later.
Following the oak-lined path from the mansion led to a family cemetery shaped like a Greek temple, nestled in the middle of the woods. From the founding father all the way to this body's recently deceased parents, they all rested in marble tombs here. Henry stood solemnly before his parents' headstones, bowed his head in silent greeting, then left.
Marble pillars at the cemetery entrance show fine cracks. Should handle this during the mansion renovation.
Marble sure is pretty, but it really doesn't hold up outdoors.
With the relaxed air of someone taking a stroll, Henry walked back through the oak woods to the mansion. There, the Rolls-Royce Phantom VI that Bart had prepared was waiting. This monstrous vehicle was considered the exclusive property of 1970s nobility and heads of state. Its nearly six-meter-long body gleamed under the sunlight. When Bart opened the rear door, Henry gave a light nod and sank into the seat. The heavy texture of the leather pressed up through his backside.
Whoa, so this is what a real chairman's car feels like. The air itself is completely different from the compact I drove back in Korea.
Even with his massive 190-centimeter frame, there was still plenty of headroom. So this is why everyone raves about Rolls-Royces, Henry thought, unable to hide his admiration.
Next on the itinerary were the satellite mansions scattered around the main house. Normally they would have been used for long-term stays by outside business partners, but to the current Henry, they were simply more renovation targets.
“These facilities are a mess too…”
He visited all four satellite mansions from north to south, and the reports were identical: old, leaking, broken. Henry gazed at the estate scenery passing by the car window and murmured quietly.
“Jay. You know, when I look around, I don’t see any of my friends from the same generation on the estate.”
Beyond the window, between perfectly pruned trees, he could see white-haired old gardener Liam and his team. From what he remembered, Liam’s grandson and former classmate Donald Robert had already left the family to strike out on his own when Henry went to college. And he wasn’t the only one. Countless young people had left the estate.
“Haha, you know how it is, young master. Hippie culture swept the whole country not long ago. My classmates all ran off to underground clubs in Manhattan looking for freedom. But I’m different, aren’t I? I’m a Johnson of the DeVengers.”
Jay Johnson answered smoothly as he turned the wheel. A descendant of the loyal vassal family that had served the DeVengers for generations, he was the head of vehicle security for the security firm DeVenger Resources. His loyalty was rock-solid — Joshua had vouched for him — and Henry had already given him a passing grade.
“We’ll discuss it formally at the full family meeting, but the people who lost their lives in this incident will receive separate compensation in addition to their insurance payouts. We have to properly reward those who devoted themselves to the family.”
Henry sank deeper into the plush Rolls-Royce seat as he added, “As someone who values safety above all, there’s nothing more reliable for risk management than buying people’s loyalty.”
“By the way, Jay, I never thought I’d end up riding in a car you were driving. In my memories, it was always old man Nasus. Every time I left the house, that man would turn around and lecture me nonstop. I can still hear it ringing in my ears.”
Nasus. Jay’s father and the old knight who had served the previous head of the family his entire life. He had also been one of the victims of this incident. Jay’s eyes clouded over for a moment in the rearview mirror. Realizing he’d brought up a painful subject, Henry fell silent for a moment before changing the topic.
“Well, what’s done is done. Enough sentimentality. Let’s head to the northern grounds. At least one friend of mine is still there. How are things at the distillery? Is Ben doing well?”
“The apple harvest just finished, young master. This year’s crop was excellent, so Benjamin won’t stop bragging that the brandy aroma will be especially rich.”
The car showed off its signature hydraulic suspension as it smoothly left the asphalt and headed toward the northern hills. Outside the window stretched an endless 2,000-acre apple orchard. After driving for quite a while, the grand DeVenger Brandy Distillery finally came into view.
Come to think of it, how is this even part of the house grounds? We’ve been driving for at least five minutes… It must be about three kilometers from the mansion. Six thousand acres is no joke.
Henry was still overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the estate. Three kilometers from the mansion to the distillery — that was enough distance to cut through an entire neighborhood. He couldn’t even imagine how long it would take to walk from the front gate to the house without a car. Every time he saw it, he struggled to wrap his head around the overwhelming size of the territory.
“Young master! No, Lord of the House!!”
Before Jay could even open the door, a booming voice loud enough to rattle eardrums burst out. It was hotter than the humid June heat of 1979. Henry stepped out of the car with a wry smile.
“Ben, what’s got you in such a hurry that you came out to greet me? That’s not like you at all.”
When Henry casually extended his hand, Benjamin Thomas hurriedly wiped his palms on his work pants and gripped Henry’s hand with bone-crushing strength. The rough calluses and the smell of copper polish. Henry naturally draped an arm around Benjamin’s shoulder as they walked into the distillery.
“Drop the young master and lord stuff. I don’t care what you call me in front of others, but when it’s just us, call me Henry. If you start acting like that too, I’ll feel like I’ve been turned into some kind of family relic.”
Benjamin Thomas was the young craftsman in charge of the DeVenger distillery for the third generation and one of Henry’s few true childhood friends. In his memories, the guy had been a terrible influence — secretly letting a Henry who wasn’t even ten yet taste the raw distillate and whispering ambitions about “the world’s finest liquor.”
“Of course I had to wait! You came at the perfect time, Henry. While you were off at college talking about hippies and rock music and sleeping with girls, I didn’t rest for a single step! There’s nothing I haven’t tried for the sake of the best liquor. So… we’re a bit short on money. Those inflexible bastards at the family office keep insisting they can’t go over the amount the previous head promised.”
“Hah, Ben. So you’ve been waiting with your neck stretched out for me to invest? Haha!”
It was incredibly rude language to use with the family head, but Henry actually felt refreshed. To someone who had been trapped in formality and authority, Benjamin’s blunt honesty was like a vitamin. Above all, the guy was completely transparent. Honest, without a shred of deceit, and relentlessly chasing his dream. The easier he was to handle, the more likable he became.
When I was ten, he taught me how to drink, and every time we drank he’d make me promise that when I became head of the family I’d invest big and turn DeVenger liquor into the best in the world. The only memories I have are of drinking and drunk rambling, but he really is consistent. He’s going to go far. Didn’t he pester the previous head — who had zero interest in alcohol — hundreds of times to convince him to build this distillery?
They stepped into the clean, newly built distillery next to the old one. A sharp yet sweet apple scent hit them immediately. Unlike the outdated equipment used for the rough DeVenger Applejack that George Washington supposedly loved, a French-style alembic still glowing with a reddish light stood proudly, showing off its grandeur.
“So this is the machine that makes that apple brandy… what’s the French name, Calvados? You know I’m completely clueless about brewing, so explain it to me.”
“Calvados! This alembic still is slower than the one for applejack, but it pulls out a much richer base spirit. Then you age that in oak barrels to get apple brandy. The French call it Calvados. That’s the gist of it. Come on, follow me! I’ll teach you everything step by step!”
“You really don’t have to… Hey, wait! I’m coming with you!”