With his mind full of his feelings for Rose John found it harder to get motivated. He was uncomfortable in her company avoiding her as much as possible. He missed the fun times with Melissa but did not go back to the hotel. He told Lelani, "No massages" and stopped going to the family evenings.
He took to roaming through the local markets early every morning. He spent hours drinking tea, talking to farmers about their crops and their families. They told him that Monica was having trouble with her chicken farm.
The next morning he left the market early and went to her sheds. She made a great fuss calling her few workers together to meet him. "I am glad you came." she cried. "I was going to ask you for help but Kim told me you seemed to have lost interest in our family."
He was stung by that remark but had no chance to respond as she quickly continued." I fear I am going to fail. I am finding it impossible to buy sufficient young chickens to stock my sheds. I have rung all the large-scale chicken farms looking for stock. They have none to spare in fact they all want to buy more."
John laughed, "My god you don't have a problem that's an opportunity." "What opportunity?" she asked. "When you have all those farms wanting chickens and there are none available you have an opportunity to start a business supplying day old chicks. Come on I'll help you turn this place into a day old chick breeding facility."
When she hesitated, he said, "If you don't believe me check and see if I'm right. Put your workers on the phones. Have them ring those farms and tell them you are prepared to supply chickens. Tell them that you will contract to breed and grow young chicks to any age they want. " By mid morning, Monica was all smiles. She gave him a hug as her workers reported that most farms would sign contracts to buy chicks.
Monica's chicken farm gave him a new lease of life. They spent long hours together reorganizing the internal areas of her sheds, installing automatic lighting and large commercial incubators. He spent hours on the phone and on the internet talking to a friend in far North Queensland who ran such a facility.
His mate told him that a breeding farm with proper quality controls in place would find markets throughout Asia. John relayed that message to Monica. "You could end up with a bigger enterprise than the feedlot."
The feedlot generated a tremendous number of visitors. Now Monica's facility started to share the limelight. Most farms and houses raised a few chickens. People especially children came to see the hundreds of tiny chicks in Monica's sheds. Buyers for the large chicken farms crowded the street to the farm with their cars.
John spoke to the Queensland Government's roving trade commissioner about cattle imports when he visited Monica's farm. He confirmed that a few provinces in the south were lending their local farmers money to purchase Dairy cattle.
He realized then that the province would opt for a similar dairy program. It was clearly a government or party policy to supply cows to individual farmers. He checked around. Local officials who supported Rose's feedlot told him that the decision was a policy matter beyond their control.
Mr.Treet called to invite him to dinner. "I know you think we are making a mistake selling cows to individual farmers but our advisors feel this will help them to become more self sufficient. Your system will always have them working at the feedlot for someone else."
They drank a couple of bottles of good red wine and moved to the lounge. They ordered more wine and sat talking. The conversation became less formal and more relaxed. "Stop calling me Mr. Treet. I call you John, its time you called me Duong." The party secretary said as he raised his glass.
"You will always be Mr. Treet to me." John said. "I never had anything to do with politics and had never met a communist before I met you. I do not have much time for your party but you have earnt my respect for the way you use your position to help people in your province. Without your help, Rose and her orphans would still be scratching a living on that old farm."
Mr. Treet laughed. "Thank you, you know my people are worried about you. They wonder what we have done to offend you. They have grown to expect that you will want to change things."
"They worry when you don't come up with new ideas or argue passionately with them over our policies. While they complain when you challenge them, most of my staff are disappointed when you don't. They say you have lost interest. What's gone wrong my friend?"
John did not know how to answer. His embarrassment at the way he had stuffed up his relationship with Rose made it impossible for him to speak about it rationally.
Unbeknown to John Mr. Treet and Ruby had discussed John and his problems. "I think he loves my mother," Ruby said. "He believes that she was embarrassed and distressed because everyone became aware that he was spending his nights with massage girls."
"I know Rose likes him a lot. Maybe she loves him. I am sure the fact that he is a typical male does not faze her. I think she is hurt by his avoidance of her. She has always been a person who does not show public emotion. Because she hasn't become angry and scolded him, he thinks she doesn't care."
They sat silent for a while then Ruby continued." I think it will take time. As long as they continue to bump into each other around the village and remember the good things they did together, it will resolve itself. We need a new project something that will give him a new interest like the chicken farm."
Mr. Treet stood up and walked around the room. "John always complains about the lack of adequate accommodation for visitors." He laughed, "He tells me my party rooms are not visitor friendly. He has told everyone who will listen that we need a small boutique hotel."
"Maybe if we free up that old French colonial building in your village we could interest him in redeveloping it as a guesthouse. Remember French bureaucrats used it as a holiday home. They would travel up here in their carriages when the weather became to hot in the city. So it could be suitable."
Ruby told John of Mr. Treet`s idea. "Not before time" he growled. "International visitors drag up and down that shocking road on long day trips because there is no quality accommodation in the province. Your Parties senior officials and government members would at least stay overnight and see more of your province if there was a good pub." He smiled at her; "it would also steal massage business from that dump where I stayed."
John had often admired the stately old building standing high on a hill overlooking the lake. He was pleasantly surprised at its very high ceilings and spacious rooms when he ventured inside. Although it had been used as a storehouse and was full of junk the major structure was intact. "It has been sadly neglected," he told Ruby "With a coat of paint and a good clean up it has possibilities. Let's go and talk to Mr. Treet."
Mr. Treet told John he could not allocate any provincial funds for the hotel. "The best I can do is provide you with a thirty year lease. You can pay no rent until it makes a profit. To cut your costs you can use my works department staff to restore the building."
