Jane asked, not seeing the children around.
After everyone greeted each other, Austin invited everyone indoors. As he walked, he replied, "They all went back yesterday. The elders were complaining that it's summer break and it's rare for the kids to be free, and they wanted to spend time with them, so they were all sent back."
If they stayed here, it would be so noisy. Even though the kids were all quite well- behaved, whenever they played together, they would still argue sometimes.
Taking care of one child was enough to give one a headache, let alone a whole troop of them.
When the kids were all around, Austin had arguments to break up every day. They were such headaches that, despite his good-tempered nature, he would lose his temper sometimes.
"No wonder it's so quiet. It's summer break and the kids finally get to gather together. The elders just love it when it's lively at home."
Lilian remarked, "I look forward to whenever the kids aren't at home."
She was the most impatient when taking care of kids.
Luckily, she only had the one. Oliver had been such a crybaby when he was small. She managed to bear with it until he grew up and finally had peace now, so there was no way she was going to have another child and start the whole rigmarole again.
When she was younger, she never thought of having a second child and wanted even less so now. Now, she was simply waiting to become a grandmother.
The housekeeper served some tea, snacks, and fruits.
After exchanging pleasantries, Jane asked, “Are Isa and Chase busy?"
"They're both busy, but they know you're visiting today, so they said they'd come back after getting off work instead of attending some work function."
Even Isabella was not attending her work function due to the important guests visiting, so Chase, as a junior, was all the more expected to come home to greet the guests.
"Sorry to disturb you guys."
"Oh, no, you're not disturbing us at all. We're really happy to have you here." Austin glanced at Tati and her husband and said with a smile, "In fact, Tati and Francis came back at noon."
Tati chimed in, “I wasn't busy today, so I came back early."
She looked at Laurence. "Laurence, are you planning to take over the Longbottom family soon, then?"
Laurence nodded. "The time has come."
"Just let us know if you need any help."
Laurence thanked her. "I won't be polite with you when I do need help.”
"The Longbottom family is internally divided at the moment, so you'll be able to quickly gain supporters if you take over now, but Manny Longbottom and his father won't give in just like that. You'll only have more trouble coming your way once you take over, so be careful. You can't be careless." Francis reminded solemnly.
"I know, Uncle Frank. Before I get my revenge, I'll be very careful."
"Even afterward, you have to be careful. You mustn't intend to harm others, but you can't be completely defenseless either. Traditional families like yours are the most complicated. Their being able to do such a thing in the past means there will be people who have such ambitions again in the future."
Either way, it would not hurt to be as careful as possible.
After everyone gave Laurence some advice, the topic naturally shifted to the upcoming auction.
That evening, the O'Connor home grew lively again once Isabella, Chase, Louis, and Phillip got back.
Jane and the rest settled in at the O'Connor home.
Soon, it was time for the auction. This auction was to be the biggest in the last few years, which had attracted a lot of attendees.
As expected, Laurence and the rest saw Tony and Manny at the auction. However, Manny had not brought his son and instead had brought Roxy with him.
When he spotted Laurence, who was not wearing both the face mask and the silicone face mask, Tony's eyes darkened briefly before they grew fervent, and he stared at Laurence for a long moment, putting on an excited expression.
"You look so alike, really alike! Mr. Young, you look just like our previous family head."
Noelle, who was the symbol of Laurence's status, was with Laurence, so Tony directly singled him out.
Tony's reaction and words attracted the attention of those surrounding them.
The boss of Longtail Group in Havenmill, who constantly wore a face mask and refused to reveal his true face to people, finally showed his actual face in public today.