Chapter 138 The Bernardo Estate

The Bernardo estate's Guangzheng Courtyard alone covers one and a half football fields, not to mention the private gardens, swimming pools, wetland landscapes, and so on in the backyard.

A famous comedian once joked that a certain Mr. Qian's house was so large that he had to take a shuttle to get to the bathroom. This is actually quite fitting for the Bernardo family. Though slightly exaggerated, it illustrates the wealth of such a powerful clan.

It's likely that the family has the final say in matters of public property in Panama City.

The group entered the courtyard and indeed took a shuttle to the villa's entrance. Su Tianyu looked around at the scenery, marveling at the lifestyle of the wealthy. The beauty of the scenery was beyond words. Just the fact that there was a separate communications tower in the yard was astounding.

This was too extravagant!

Perhaps this is the difference between South Americans, Europeans, and Chinese. Compared to the people here, our elite are still quite low-key and cautious. It's rare to see a high-ranking official or a red-top businessman in the Chinese districts who dares to flaunt their wealth in such a way.

People here are more direct, or rather, more flamboyant.

However, while Su Tianyu was impressed by the Bernardo family's extravagance, he didn't feel much envy. He still preferred the atmosphere of the Su family compound, which felt more intimate and comfortable, without so many rules and formalities.

Looking around, the Bernardo family's servants and butler team all wore stern faces. It was rare to see them smile, and the sheer size of the manor gave it an eerie feeling.

"Please come in!"

Arriving at the entrance of the castle-like villa, Bruna gracefully led the way, elegantly raising her arm to guide the group into her home.

As they walked through the spacious and bright castle hall, Da Bai turned to Hou Guoyu, his resolve strengthened, and said, "It's her. I definitely don't want to work hard anymore... damn it, gunfights and intrigues, how much money can you make in the end?! One marriage, and you have everything."

"Indeed," Hou Guoyu surprisingly agreed. "I just don't have your skills, otherwise I would have pursued her too."

"It's okay. If I succeed, I'll introduce you to a maid or housekeeper from her family. You'll take off too," Da Bai said with a wicked grin. "Working here, you might even get to ride a helicopter. It's a good deal!"

"Damn!" Hou Guoyu cursed and fell silent.

The group passed through the bright hall and arrived at a dining room on the back side of the "castle" in less than five minutes.

As soon as Su Tianyu entered, he saw more than twenty people already seated in the spacious dining room, dressed impeccably and chatting with each other.

Bruna, wearing a white evening gown, looked even more elegant. She led the group into the dining room and first addressed a man in his thirties sitting on the sofa, "This is my brother, Booker Bernardo."

"Hello, gentlemen. Welcome to our home," the man in his thirties said, rising and politely extending his hand to the group.

As the group shook his hand one by one, Su Tianyu sized him up. Booker Bernardo had average looks and dark skin, but a sturdy build. From his clothing and demeanor, he seemed to be involved in administrative work.

During the conversation, Bruna told Jiang Zhou that this was her half-brother, the Deputy Chief Administrator of Panama City, essentially the second-in-command of the region.

After a brief chat, Bruna led the group to a table and found a lonely-looking teenager on the outskirts of the crowd.

He was about fourteen or fifteen years old, very thin, and sat in a wheelchair, out of place among the crowd, but still dressed very properly.

Su Tianyu was surprised when he saw him because the boy's features and limbs were somewhat distorted. He appeared to be a polio sufferer.

"This is my younger brother, Bo Ang Bernardo. He is not a lucky person. As you can see, he is plagued by illness," Bruna said, bending down to hug Bo Ang. "But we all love him!"

Bo Ang sat in his wheelchair, looking very restrained. He stared blankly at Jiang Zhou, Su Tianyu, and the others, saying in broken Chinese, "Welcome to you all!"

The group greeted him according to etiquette and continued to follow Bruna through the diverse crowd.

Besides the two direct relatives Bruna had just introduced, the rest were in-laws and leaders from the administrative departments. Their names were quite long, and even with Su Tianyu's good memory, he didn't remember many after the round.

After the introductions, Bruna asked Jiang Zhou, "Did you bring the documents?"

"Oh, yes, I brought them!" Su Tianyu formally took out the documents from his bag and handed them to her. "Thank you for your trouble."

"Make yourselves comfortable. I'll go upstairs to call my father and show him the information," Bruna said with a smile. "There are cold refreshments and wine over there. Please, help yourselves."

"Okay, you go ahead."

With that, Bruna took the documents and walked quickly towards the entrance of the reception room. As she left, two German Shepherds ran over, sniffing at her ankles and rubbing their bodies against her legs.

Bruna happily bent down, stroking the two German Shepherds, a male and a female, and said with a soft laugh, "Oh, Leon, Jessie, I'm still busy. Don't bother the other guests!"

The two German Shepherds wagged their tails, clearly very close to Bruna, probably her pets.

Bruna got up and left, and the two German Shepherds ran around the table, followed by four small puppies.

On the sofa, Su Tianyu looked at Bo Ang, the polio sufferer, and Booker, the Deputy Chief Administrator, and whispered to Jiang Zhou, "Are they biological brothers?"

"Yes, they have the same father and mother," Jiang Zhou said softly. "Big families, the relationships are very complicated."

"Oh!" Su Tianyu said nothing more.

On the outskirts of the crowd, Bo Ang sat in his wheelchair, watching everything in front of him with a restrained gaze. There was no expression on his face, but a smile involuntarily appeared when he looked at the dogs.

Inside the banquet hall, while everyone was waiting for the family head Nick, a burly middle-aged man entered the room.

"Oh, General Targu!"

"Long time no see, my dear General!"

"..."

As soon as the middle-aged man entered, at least eighty percent of the people in the room stood up and enthusiastically gathered around him.

"This person should be Nick's eldest son, right?" Su Tianyu asked Jiang Zhou.

"Yes, the commander of the Blackwater Legion, Targu Bernardo!" Jiang Zhou nodded slowly. "This person is capable, but we haven't had any contact with him before."

...

Upstairs.

Bruna entered her father's study and respectfully placed the documents on the large desk, saying, "Take a look, Father!"