Chapter 281: 277. Acting Until You Shed Tears (Please subscribe, please vote for monthly tickets!)

"This gentleman, I am truly sorry for the inconvenience this matter has caused you; we are willing to offer some additional compensation." The middle-aged man at the very back still hadn't figured out exactly who Zhang Ran was, but by this point, he knew for certain that Zhang Ran was no ordinary person.

Furthermore, he must be very familiar with their village, otherwise he wouldn't know the name of Xia Zhangqing.

Zhang Ran said unhurriedly, "We don't want any compensation; just give us a reason. Principal Su and these people are all educated, they know propriety, justice, integrity, and shame, and they wouldn't cause trouble for no reason."

These people could all hear that Zhang Ran was speaking in riddles to insult them, but thinking of how Zhang Ran had just called out Xia Zhangqing's name directly, they all swallowed their pride.

"If you don't want to say it, that's fine too; we can't force you, can we? And it wouldn't be worth doing so. However, I will have to sue you when the time comes. This counts as consumer fraud, right? Uh... I'm not really sure if it truly counts, but I can certainly afford to fight this lawsuit."

"By then, your Tianjiashan will truly be famous; everyone will know that you drove a group of children out in the middle of the night." Zhang Ran's face remained smiling.

The middle-aged man frowned upon hearing this; he realized that the person in front of him was truly difficult to deal with.

"Still don't want to say it, right? Fine, we don't want that money; keep it to pay for your lawsuit." After saying this, Zhang Ran turned to leave.

The middle-aged man took a deep breath and said, "We need to host an honored guest in a few days, and this honored guest is a bit of a germaphobe and likes quiet, so we are truly sorry."

He actually didn't want to say it, but Zhang Ran had already pushed the matter to this point, and he had no doubt that Zhang Ran was capable of doing what he said.

Although this wasn't a very good reason, the middle-aged man wasn't too worried in his heart. While it was true that what they did was wrong, it was just like a business suddenly having a big client arrive; clearing the venue was understandable.

Zhang Ran, however, was so angry he laughed at his words. "So, your guest is an honored guest, and we are just displaced people? Also, even if you don't take us seriously, why didn't you inform us in advance?"

"Sorry, we only just received the news ourselves," the middle-aged man said.

This was indeed the truth, though it wasn't that they had just received the news, but rather that a consensus had just been reached internally.

The reason they let Principal Su and the others leave wasn't entirely due to this reason; there was another reason, which was that they didn't want to push Principal Su and the others toward the other villages nearby.

Although small tour groups like this weren't the main source of income for their village, it was still a decent bit of extra revenue.

And another point was that other villages had started to imitate them, so they were even less willing to let these people go.

How could his little scheme possibly be hidden from Zhang Ran? Although Zhang Ran didn't know exactly what he was thinking, he could guess some of it from the tone and look in his eyes when he spoke.

Zhang Ran then couldn't be bothered to waste any more breath on him; he felt that the once simple-minded Miao Village had completely changed, losing the spirit it used to have.

"Miao Weng is still alive, right? If he is, have him come out to see me. If he's gone, have the new head of the family come to see me. The money owed from back then should be repaid," Zhang Ran said in a cold tone; he didn't want to chat with this group of people anymore.

And he wasn't just talking nonsense; back then, Tianjiashan was destitute, and even if they wanted to do some business, they didn't have a single cent of capital.

At the time, Zhang Ran said he was lending them money, but in reality, he had just given it to them, and Zhang Ran hadn't intended to ask for it back.

Actually, if this group of people had spoken properly just now and explained the reason—if there really was something urgent and it was inconvenient to host guests—then although Zhang Ran would have felt a bit uncomfortable, he wouldn't have done this.

But these people gave such a reason that he truly couldn't accept it. For the sake of a so-called honored guest, they were going to drive these children, who were filled with excitement and anticipation, away in the evening, without any regard for the children's safety.

As soon as Zhang Ran said this, some people were immediately about to get angry, but the middle-aged man who had been in the back all along heard these words, seemed to think of something, and looked carefully at Zhang Ran's appearance. In an instant, it overlapped with some lingering impressions in his mind.

"You are Zhang Ran, Mr. Zhang?" the middle-aged man couldn't help but say. He was still young when Zhang Ran helped the village, and his impression of Zhang Ran wasn't very deep, so he had only just managed to recognize him.

This was also because Zhang Ran's influence on their village was simply too great. The middle-aged man had known since he was a child that their village had only become like this because they had met a benefactor; otherwise, their development might not have been as good as the other villages nearby.

Zhang Ran ignored him and just stood to the side with a cold face.

After recognizing Zhang Ran, the middle-aged man didn't dare to be negligent and hurriedly sent someone to notify the person in charge. At the same time, he felt a bit uneasy in his heart and kept apologizing, but Zhang Ran acted as if he hadn't heard him.

However, very quickly, some people rushed over, and at the very front was an old man leaning on a cane.

Upon seeing Zhang Ran, he said with an excited face, "Mr. Zhang, we have finally waited for you. It is truly wonderful that you could come."

Zhang Ran looked at the old man's appearance, sighed, and took the initiative to step forward and support him.

"Miao Lao, how is your health?" Zhang Ran said.

"Good, thanks to Mr. Zhang's blessing, everything is very good," Miao Lao seemed to be in a very happy mood.

But Zhang Ran could see that he wasn't as excited as he was acting. They say that with age comes cunning; when one reaches a certain age, one can truly act until you shed tears.

Immediately, Miao Lao seemed to think of something and hurriedly said, "Mr. Zhang, please come in quickly."

As he said this, he stepped aside, but Zhang Ran didn't move, smiling as he said, "Won't this disturb your honored guest?"

"Of course not, Mr. Zhang, you are our honored guest," Miao Lao said hurriedly.

Zhang Ran looked deeply at Miao Lao. It was already late, and it wouldn't be good to make the children leave now, plus it would cause some impact on the children.

Zhang Ran said with a smile, "Then we will disturb you for one night. Tomorrow, please help us find a new village, Miao Lao, with conditions similar to yours. We won't disturb your hosting of the honored guest then."

Although Zhang Ran said it as a discussion, his tone was very firm, carrying a tone of instruction.

Miao Lao naturally understood Zhang Ran's meaning; his eyes flickered, and he immediately revealed an anxious expression. "Oh my, Mr. Zhang, I am truly sorry about what happened before. I didn't know what these little guys were making a fuss about. You are a magnanimous person, please don't take offense; I will teach them a good lesson later."

"They don't know you, Mr. Zhang. If they had known it was Mr. Zhang coming, they absolutely wouldn't have dared to do this."

Zhang Ran watched as Miao Lao spoke in what seemed like a sincere and earnest manner. If it were an ordinary person, they would have truly believed his words, but he saw the look of relief in the old man's eyes.

Zhang Ran smiled and didn't take up his words. If the person in charge of the village didn't know, then Zhang Ran wouldn't believe it even if he were beaten to death.

This time, so many people had come; if the person in charge hadn't spoken, and if the majority of the people in the village hadn't agreed, who would dare to do this?

That would be cutting off everyone's source of wealth!

Zhang Ran said to Principal Su, "Principal Su, you take the children in first. I will arrange everything tomorrow, don't worry."

Principal Su didn't know exactly what had happened at this moment, but looking at the situation, it seemed she didn't need to worry about anything anymore.