Chapter 316: 312. Zhang Ran

Facing Huo Zhiyuan's sincere praise, Principal Su became increasingly embarrassed; she truly felt she had done nothing, far less than Huo Zhiyuan's contributions to charity.

After speaking with Huo Zhiyuan, Principal Su went to notify the other parents, though this time not all parents were to go, just a few selected representatives to go and take a look.

Watching Principal Su's departing back, Zhang Ran also secretly decided in his heart that Taotao and Susu's primary school years would all be spent at Fuyuan Primary School.

The next day, Zhang Ran, Huo Zhiyuan, He Yong, and several other parents and teachers put on their gear, ready to set off.

Starting in the morning, it was nearly noon by the time they reached the first village; the road was truly difficult to travel, and once the car reached a certain point, it was no longer drivable, so they had to continue on foot.

However, what surprised Zhang Ran was that Principal Su was more relaxed than some of the younger parents and teachers.

"Everyone, the next place is the village I selected earlier, called Sanzhou Village. Most of the people in the village are left-behind children and the elderly, weak, sick, or disabled; the younger ones have basically all gone out to work."

"You have all seen the situation here; the mountain roads are hard to travel, and children going to school is also a problem."

"However, we cannot solve these for the time being; we can only do our part by sending some food and clothing."

"I must urge everyone on one point: no matter what happens next, and no matter what you are thinking, please treat these people kindly, especially the children. You must not show pity in front of the children, because this might cause them harm."

Principal Su gave many instructions, covering every detail, and was especially tireless when it came to the children's psychological state.

Everyone could understand Principal Su's intentions; in fact, from the moment Principal Su mentioned anonymous donations, everyone had an idea in their minds.

This was also to avoid letting everyone be kidnapped by charity.

Principal Su had not told the people in the village that they were coming to donate, as she could not guarantee how much she would be able to collect.

The reason Principal Su brought everyone along this time actually had her own selfish motive, which was to get Huo Zhiyuan to pay attention to this area.

Principal Su led everyone into the village without saying they were there to donate, only saying they were coming into the mountains for a visit.

At noon, under Principal Su's coordination, they paid to ask the villagers to help prepare some food.

The situation here was just as Principal Su had described; it was basically all the elderly, weak, sick, or disabled, with only a few young people remaining in the village.

There were also quite a few children, each with dark, tanned skin; although they were playing the whole time, in everyone's eyes, these children seemed somewhat malnourished.

However, Principal Su had already stated the precautions, so although everyone felt a bit sorry for these children in their hearts, none of them showed it.

Many of the women were already overflowing with kindness at this moment, and they "lost" all the snacks they had brought by playing games.

Watching the children's overjoyed expressions after "winning" the snacks, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in the hearts of the group.

It seemed this was much better than just giving it to them directly, and seeing the children's relaxed and happy smiles, everyone also felt incredibly relaxed.

Zhang Ran did not participate; he just watched quietly from the side. In his heart, as long as it was charity, there was no distinction between true kindness and false kindness; as long as it was put into practice, whether you were sincere or not, it was true kindness.

However, it would be better if it were sincere, because for the person involved, this was actually a kind of spiritual baptism.

The group, who had all been somewhat exhausted, seemed to have fully recovered their energy at this moment, and they began their journey again.

Over the next few hours, they passed several villages and "lost" all the food and small toys they were carrying to the children in the villages.

"Everyone, cheer up. There are about two more miles to go until our last stop for today, and we will stay there for the night." Seeing everyone's exhausted state, Principal Su began to encourage them.

Hearing Principal Su's words, everyone felt a bit invigorated. Since after three o'clock in the afternoon, they had not encountered any more villages, and they had walked for nearly two hours before they were about to encounter the next one.

"Girl, how about I carry you? Look at how tired you are." Zhang Ran looked at Huo Zhiyuan, who was forcing herself to keep going, and said with a smile.

Huo Zhiyuan's eyes lit up, and she immediately said, "Okay, but Brother Zhang, do you still have the strength?"

"Of course, my physical fitness is top-notch!" Seeing Huo Zhiyuan's concern, Zhang Ran deliberately struck a bodybuilding pose.

Huo Zhiyuan did not stand on ceremony with Zhang Ran anymore and gently climbed onto Zhang Ran's back.

Zhang Ran bounced Huo Zhiyuan slightly and deliberately laughed, "You're a bit heavy."

"Hmph, I'm not heavy at all, I'm exactly one hundred jin." Huo Zhiyuan was unhappy.

"Haha, alright, not heavy."

Just like that, talking and walking, Zhang Ran mentally calculated the distance and suddenly realized that Principal Su seemed to have lied just now.

They had already walked nearly three miles, but they still hadn't seen a village.

It wasn't until about five miles that they truly saw a village.

Upon seeing the village, everyone could not care about anything else and sat down at the entrance of the village to rest.

Principal Su was actually quite exhausted as well, as her age was a factor, but she still forced herself to go and communicate with the people in the village.

Zhang Ran signaled for He Yong to follow along and protect Principal Su.

Seeing these people arrive, some of the people in the village also came over to interact; there seemed to be more young people here, so there was no problem with communication.

Very quickly, Principal Su had settled the matter; everyone could stay here for the night, but they would stay in the tents they brought themselves, not in other people's homes.

He Yong followed Principal Su to the village head's house. While listening to Principal Su communicate with the village head, he looked around; this was his habit.

But very quickly, He Yong's expression changed; he saw a memorial tablet, and on the tablet was written: Benefactor Zhang Ran, may you have good fortune, prosperity, and health!

Seeing He Yong staring at this tablet, a young man walked over and said, "This is our Longevity Tablet, used to pray for blessings for our benefactor. Every family here has one."

Hearing this, He Yong felt slightly relieved in his heart. He felt he might be a bit oversensitive; Zhang Ran shouldn't have been here before, and if Zhang Ran really had been a benefactor to this place, then it wouldn't be in such a dilapidated state now.

It was probably just a coincidence!

He Yong didn't ask anything more; he just watched silently, following behind Principal Su the whole time, and only returned with her after she had finished handling the matters.