“I don’t think that’s possible,” James said. “I am already in touch with two people willing to buy it without visiting. I don’t have enough time, Harry, but I promise you won’t get a better deal than this. You’re buying the farm for $1K. Believe me, that’s an insane deal!”

Unaware of James’ ill intentions, Harry paid his last thousand dollars and bought the farm. He planned to move in with his wife and two kids after his sister betrayed him by taking his parents’ house and land. She made him sign documents by lying to him and never gave him his part of the inheritance.

“Now I understand why they sold the farm for a thousand dollars!” Harry thought.

After buying the house, Harry felt happy that he had invested his money in the right place, unaware that James and his brothers were laughing at him. “We’ve fooled him!” they said and laughed at Harry for buying their late father’s abandoned farm.

Two days later, Harry arrived at the farm with his family and was delighted to see the farm he had bought from his children’s college fund. He had invested the money, hoping it would give him a huge return that he would use to send his kids to college.

However, upon entering the abandoned house, Harry and his wife realized they needed to repair the entire place. “How will we pay for the renovation?” his wife asked.

“Don’t worry, we will work on the farm and revamp this house ourselves,” Harry said. “I know it would take a lot of time and hard work, but I’m sure we can make things work.”

Soon, Harry and his wife began working on the farm and transformed it into something extraordinary. They planted new seeds, bought new livestock, and made their farm look beautiful with limited resources. Harry’s new farm gave him his first monthly earning a few months later. His neighbors were stunned to see how he and his wife had revamped Sebastian’s old farm into a beautiful place.

One day, Harry was working in the field when he saw two men standing outside his house. “How may I help you?” Harry asked them.

“Are you the owner of the farm?” they asked him.

“Yes,” Harry nodded.

Then, the two men told him they wanted the owner to pay the debt Sebastian’s sons never paid. “The previous owner of this farm took loans that he never paid back. I’m sure you knew this before buying the farm,” one of the men said.

“Now I understand why they sold the farm for a thousand dollars!” Harry thought. Then, he promised the men he would soon pay the debt by using the money he made by working on the farm. He even gave them an initial deposit so they would trust him.

The next day, Harry cleaned the farm and got rid of the trash inside the house. He was in the attic when he climbed the ladder to reach the topmost drawer of a storage cabinet. He opened it and pulled out a black plastic bag. “What’s inside?” he wondered.

Suddenly, the bag ripped apart, and multiple wads of dollar bills dropped on his head. “Oh my!” Harry exclaimed. “What’s all this?”

Then, Harry pulled out the other bag and was shocked to see it was also filled with a lot of money. Besides the money, he also found an envelope with a handwritten letter inside. Harry read it aloud:

“If you are reading this letter and don’t know who I am, that means my sons ignored my will.”

“I’m Sebastian, and I asked my three sons to care for my farm after my death. I wanted them to look after the piece of land I had inherited from my grandfather, William. He worked hard to set up the farm so I could earn money. He taught me how to work on the farm, and I wanted my sons to learn the same. However, it seems like my sons don’t want to work hard.

Whoever reads this letter must have bought the farm from my sons. I don’t know what they told you, but I hope you take care of my beloved land. It will require a lot of hard work and finances, so I decided to take care of the latter. I am leaving this money for you. Please invest it in my farm and make it one of the best in town. I want to see my land flourish, wherever I may be. I want people to visit it. I want my farm to attract people from the city.

I hope you fulfill my dream because my sons probably refuse to respect my last wish.”

After reading the letter and counting the money Sebastian had left, Harry was stunned. He could use that money for his children’s college fund, but he chose to be honest instead. He used part of the money to pay Sebastian’s debt and invested the rest in renovating the farm.

Harry made the farm look exactly like Sebastian wanted it and named it ‘William and Sebastian’s Farm.’ Soon, it attracted the neighbors, who regularly bought eggs, milk, and vegetables from Harry. Even people from neighboring towns visited the farm, allowing Harry to earn money.

A year later, Harry had saved money that was ten times his kids’ college fund. He believed buying the farm was the best decision of his life because it helped him in many ways. He was also grateful to Sebastian for leaving the money.

Since the farm had become a hot tourist spot, James, Fred, and Kyle also learned about it. They were shocked to see how Harry had changed the farm into a beautiful place and instantly regretted not working hard as their father had told them.

“Hi, Harry!” James said. “I love how the farm looks now! I’m sure you must be earning a lot of money.”

“Yes,” Harry smiled.

“Buying the farm has changed my life!”

“Well, since we offered you such a low price for it, why don’t you share your profit with us?” James tried to trick Harry. “You can give part of your income to us, and we will divide it evenly.”

“What?” Harry chuckled. “Why would I share my income with you? I paid a huge price after buying the farm from you. My wife and I worked day and night to restore everything. You guys didn’t help us in any way.”

James shifted his gaze toward the ground and began thinking of another way to fool Harry. The brothers needed money because they had taken bank loans and had nothing to repay.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Harry made an offer that the brothers could not resist. He knew they needed money, so he asked them if they wanted to work on the farm full-time.

“I will pay you all a monthly salary,” Harry said. “I know you guys need money.”

Soon, the brothers began working at the farm and realized they should have listened to their father’s advice. Working tirelessly made them realize how difficult it was to earn money.

One day, James was cleaning the attic when he found a $500 bill on the floor. “Oh my!” he gasped while picking it. “Who left this here?”

His eyes glistened while he looked at the bill, and he thought of a million ways he could spend this money, but his inner voice stopped him from stealing it. “I should return it to Harry,” he thought.

Surprisingly, Harry laughed when James told him about the bill. “It’s your bonus for honesty, James! You can keep it!” Harry said. It turned out that he had intentionally kept the bill in the attic to test the brothers.

Since Harry loved his farm and felt grateful for owning it, he taught his children how to grow crops and care for livestock. When they grew older, they went to the city to attend university but frequently visited the farm to help their parents.

After watching his children work hard on the farm during their free time, Harry was relieved that his farm was in safe hands. Unlike Sebastian, the farm was the least of his worries when he was on his deathbed because he was confident his children would look after it.

What can we learn from this story?

• Hard work is rewarded sooner or later. When Harry bought the farm, he realized he had to work hard before he could start earning money. He wouldn’t have reaped the rewards of his tireless efforts if he had shied away from working hard.
• Teach your kids the importance of money at an early age. Sebastian’s children did not know the value of money because he always gave them everything they wanted. They never realized how hard their father had worked to earn money.

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