Chapter 288: 284. Why do you think Zhang Ran is a great philanthropist?

Huo Zhiyuan was as good as her word, and her speed of action was extremely fast; that very evening, she had the people from the Yuanran Charity Foundation begin re-negotiating the matter of the Hope Primary School with the local government here.

Then, they immediately began to launch an investigation to see if Ligou Village was truly the most suitable location.

Tianjia Mountain Village also received this news very quickly, and for a moment, they were all somewhat stunned.

Miao Lao and some of the key decision-makers were gathered together, discussing how to arrange for the cleaning of the streets and the accommodation for the distinguished guests, when they happened to receive the news passed on privately by someone.

"How could it be withdrawn just like that? Wasn't it already agreed upon before?" Someone was quite unhappy about this.

Miao Lao shook his head and said, "I don't know what the situation is either, but if it's withdrawn, then let it be; in any case, the children in our village don't need it."

It was true that their village did not need it; although they all still lived in the village for now, every family had bought a house in the city and had sent their children to the city to study.

The reason they still wanted this Hope Primary School was not primarily for the children's education, but to better maintain their village's influence in the vicinity.

Don't look at them as just a few small villages; the internal infighting and power struggles were quite numerous.

Especially now that Tianjiashan had also discovered that although they still occupied the position of a "tourist attraction" here, many people also felt that their place no longer had that original flavor.

Moreover, as some of the nearby villages also began to engage in the tourism industry, many of those people would go to the mountains themselves to pick mountain goods, which many tourists liked.

Therefore, in recent years, their tourist business had also shown a slowly declining trend.

Although this was not their main source of income, they could still harvest some money from it, and naturally, they were unwilling to give it up.

And once the Yuanran Hope Primary School was built on their side, wouldn't the other villages have to look at their faces when they wanted to send their children over to attend school?

At that time, they could take the opportunity to put forward some demands, such as buying some mountain goods at a low price; they certainly didn't want to do that kind of manual labor themselves now.

"Uncle, we can't let them off so easily. Why don't you ask Uncle Xia? Let him step forward and speak up; people will definitely give Uncle Xia face," Xiaoyuan said.

Don't look at him as young, having lived in good conditions since childhood, but he was a very selfish person; he would absolutely never share anything he could obtain with others, even if it were some petty gains he looked down upon.

Miao Lao was actually not willing to give up like this either; just now, he had only wanted to find an excuse for himself.

Moreover, he always had an ominous feeling; it seemed that this matter had come too suddenly, and they hadn't received a single bit of news before their eligibility here was immediately canceled.

At this moment, he also subconsciously thought of Zhang Ran, but he quickly shook his head; although he didn't know the specific situation, based on what they had inquired about and the news that people like Xiaoyuan had obtained.

Among the wealthy people in Huaxia, there was simply no one named Zhang Ran, and previously, he had learned from Chang Meilan that Zhang Ran seemed to have disappeared; in his view, he must have lost money in business and was hiding somewhere.

"I'll give it a try," Miao Lao thought for a moment and said.

Immediately, he dialed Xia Zhangqing's phone number. After the call connected, Miao Lao said kindly, "Xia, I'm calling you so late, I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

Hearing this kind and amiable elder's voice, it was truly hard for Xia Zhangqing to imagine that he would do such a thing.

"Miao Lao, you are too polite. There is no disturbance at all; please tell me what you need." Xia Zhangqing still had to give the face that was due, just as a matter of respecting the elderly, though his tone was very flat.

Miao Lao smiled and said, "I heard some news here, saying that the Hope Primary School originally planned to be built here is no longer going to be built. Do you know about this?"

"Xia, let me tell you, this primary school is a very significant matter for the children's education. I don't know what the situation is; could you help me inquire about it?"

Xia Zhangqing said with a chuckle, "Miao Lao, I suppose they have their own considerations. Besides, Tianjiashan doesn't need a Hope Primary School, right? Haven't the children all been sent outside to study?"

He had also just learned about the matter of the Yuanran Hope Primary School; they hadn't given him any heads-up before. In any case, it was just a matter of a casual favor, nothing major.

However, the fact that the Yuanran Charity Foundation suddenly and firmly demanded to change the location made this side suspicious, so they had called to notify Xia Zhangqing.

Xia Zhangqing didn't even need to think about what Tianjiashan wanted this Hope Primary School for; they themselves had no use for it at all.

At this moment, Xia Zhangqing truly realized that Tianjiashan had really changed; it was no longer the Tianjia Mountain Village of the past.

Hearing Xia Zhangqing say this, Miao Lao was momentarily at a loss for words, but he still smiled and said, "If the Hope Primary School could be built here, we would also hope for our own children to come back to study. You know, we all live in Tianjia Mountain Village now, and we don't want to be separated from the children, so could you see if you can go and speak to them?"

Just as Miao Lao finished speaking, the people on the side wanted to speak up; they didn't want their children to come back at all. Could the teaching level of this Hope Primary School compare to the ones in the city?

However, they were glared at by Miao Lao, signaling them not to talk nonsense.

Of course, he didn't want the children to come back to study either; this was just something he said. Once the Hope Primary School was built, he could just find any excuse when the time came.

Could they really tear down the Hope Primary School?

And even if they wanted to tear it down, since it had already been built on their side, whether it was torn down or not was not up to them to decide.

But Xia Zhangqing said, "I really can't help with this. This is their business, and I can't put in a word at all."

"Xia, don't be so modest..." Miao Lao smiled and wanted to say something more, but was immediately interrupted by Xia Zhangqing, "I am really not being modest; I truly cannot intervene in this matter."

This was the first time Xia Zhangqing had interrupted Miao Lao; although his tone was flat, it revealed a trace of determination.

At this, Miao Lao suddenly felt speechless; he hadn't expected Xia Zhangqing to be so unaccommodating.

But he didn't dare to lose his temper at Xia Zhangqing; they still needed Xia Zhangqing's help now.

"Alright then, we won't trouble you, Xia. We'll go and talk to them ourselves," Miao Lao said.

Xia Zhangqing was noncommittal and did not speak.

Immediately, Miao Lao chatted with him about a few more trivial things, and just as he was about to hang up the phone, he suddenly heard Xia Zhangqing say, "Miao Lao, I want to ask you a question."

"Go ahead."

"What gave you the illusion that Zhang Ran is a great philanthropist? Is it just because Zhang Ran helped you back then without asking for anything in return?" Xia Zhangqing said indifferently.

After saying this, without waiting for a reply, Xia Zhangqing hung up the phone directly!