Chapter 311: 307. Returning the Jade Bracelet (Please subscribe, monthly tickets!)

It was only after pondering for several days that Principal Su decided to come and ask Huo Zhiyuan for help.

In the past, Principal Su had always limited such activities to the students in the Summer Camp; there was no other reason, simply that there was no capacity to organize the entire school to participate.

Principal Su could call upon the entire school's teachers and students to donate these supplies, but how to distribute them afterward, and how to ensure these items truly reached the hands of those in need, was another matter entirely.

Now that Huo Zhiyuan was here, Principal Su wanted to see if it might be possible to ask Huo Zhiyuan to help expand such an activity to the entire school.

Upon hearing Principal Su's words, Huo Zhiyuan thought for a moment and said, "That is certainly no problem, but I am wondering, have you chosen the donation locations? Also, have you communicated this matter with the parents?"

Principal Su said, "I have already scouted the locations; they are not far from here. There are some villages over there that are quite remote, with many mountains and narrow roads, making them very hard to find, and the villages inside are relatively poor."

"As for the students' parents, I still want to use an anonymous method for donations. For ordinary people, charitable activities should come from the heart; if there is any sense of compulsion, it will make many people feel resentful and start to loathe charitable activities, which is not what I want," Principal Su said.

Huo Zhiyuan nodded and smiled, "That is fine. I will have the people from the Yuanran Charity Foundation contact you tomorrow; you can instruct them to handle whatever needs to be done."

Huo Zhiyuan had always been very supportive of charitable activities, especially those led by people like Principal Su who were genuinely committed to charity.

Having received Huo Zhiyuan's agreement, Principal Su immediately smiled happily. Seeing this smile, Huo Zhiyuan suddenly felt a stir in her heart and said, "Principal Su, do you have any other plans after you retire?"

"I don't have any plans?" Principal Su did not quite understand what Huo Zhiyuan meant.

"If... I mean if Principal Su has nothing else to do after retiring and still wants to do something, you can come to our Yuanran Charity Foundation," Huo Zhiyuan invited.

Principal Su felt a sudden stir in her heart; she had reached the age of near retirement, with only a few years left.

"Let me think about it. Thank you for your high regard, President Huo."

The next morning, Zhang Ran and Zhang Siyan headed over together. Zhang Siyan had decided to come on a whim because Susu had video-called the previous night and she had seen the aggrieved little expression on Susu's face.

Things at the company were not very busy right now; although there were many matters to handle every day, it was not as if things could not function for even a quarter of an hour without Zhang Siyan.

Zhang Ran did not go directly to Ligou Village, but first arrived in Yi City; this time, he was here to return something.

The jade bracelet from last time was not a gift to him from the people of Tianjia Mountain Village. Returning this time, he had found the jade bracelet and prepared to return it to Chang Meilan.

Zhang Ran had also mentioned this matter to Liu Lu over a video call last night, and Liu Lu had no objections to it.

Regarding jewelry or luxury goods of this kind, Liu Lu truly cared less and less about them now.

There was no helping it, as their household currently had the most of these things.

Lin Mei and Huo Zhiyuan would send over seasonal luxury goods every so often; Liu Lu could not use up many of these items and had to give them away to others, otherwise, they would go to waste.

Arriving at the courtyard, Zhang Ran called Chang Meilan. Not long after, Chang Meilan hurried out.

"Brother Zhang." Chang Meilan looked at Zhang Ran, full of guilt.

Seeing her expression, Zhang Ran sighed inwardly. The thought he originally had of leaving as soon as he returned the item vanished, and he smiled as he said, "What? Won't you invite me in to sit for a while?"

"Please, please, please. I'm just glad Brother Zhang isn't angry," Chang Meilan said immediately.

As they walked, Zhang Ran said, "Why would I be angry? Don't overthink it. I was actually afraid you might be angry. By the way, this is Siyan, my daughter. Siyan, this is your Aunt Chang."

Zhang Siyan immediately greeted her, "Aunt Chang."

Seeing Zhang Siyan, a smile finally appeared on Chang Meilan's face, and she took hold of Zhang Siyan's hand and would not let go.

"Siyan, is it? You have grown up to be so pretty!"

Once inside the house, Chang Meilan did not go out to buy groceries herself this time, but instead asked someone to help bring some back.

She was afraid that if she left, Zhang Ran would be gone by the time she returned.

At the same time, she called Xia Zhangqing to come back.

Upon learning that Zhang Ran had gone to his house, Xia Zhangqing had no heart for office work; after handling a few matters, he quickly rushed back.

Just as he returned home, he saw Zhang Ran place the jade bracelet on the table. Seeing this scene, Xia Zhangqing sighed to himself.

"Old Xia, we agreed on three bottles of special-supply liquor. I've arrived, so where are your goods?" Zhang Ran said with a chuckle.

Xia Zhangqing said irritably, "Who agreed with you? You were the one who agreed to it yourself, right?"

"You were the one who tricked me this time and made me lose so much face. Do you really intend to welch on the debt?"

Seeing Xia Zhangqing open his mouth, Zhang Ran immediately said, "Don't tell me you don't know what they were thinking over there; that would truly be an insult to my intelligence."

Xia Zhangqing sighed and said, "Fine, I admit my fault. I didn't expect them to actually do something like that either. But Zhang Ran, can you really not give them another chance?"

In truth, Xia Zhangqing did not want to say this, but he truly had no face to do so. If he asked himself honestly, if such a thing had happened to him, he would not have done any better than Zhang Ran, and perhaps he would have been even more ruthless.

But these were his parents-in-law, after all!

Chang Meilan also looked at Zhang Ran with anticipation.

Zhang Ran smiled faintly: "Old Xia, sister, don't say I'm not giving you face. Before, I only took back what I had given them and didn't demand anything else."

"But they touched Xiao Lu, they touched my family. Even if it was unintentional, they must be punished."

Immediately after, Zhang Ran said in a deep voice: "Old Xia, you should know something about my affairs. I don't care about anything else, but I am afraid of people setting their sights on my family. Therefore, no matter who it is, whether intentional or unintentional, as long as they make a move, I cannot just let them off like that."

"Otherwise..."

In the end, Zhang Ran did not continue, but Xia Zhangqing understood Zhang Ran's meaning.

Sighing again, Xia Zhangqing nodded and said, "I know your difficulties. I have wronged you on this matter, Zhang Ran. I apologize. I will punish myself with three cups later."

"Haha, are you just craving a drink?" Zhang Ran also laughed.

Both were clever men; in just a few sentences, they knew Zhang Ran's firm stance, and at the same time, Xia Zhangqing understood Zhang Ran's predicament.

Not to mention that the people of Tianjia Mountain Village had done such outrageous things; even if they hadn't, Zhang Ran would still be able to harden his heart if he needed to.