Jiang Chen’s casual words just now had explained everything.
Even the young master of Hongyun Real Estate was just someone who delivered money to Jiang Chen.
And he, Liu Jinshan, was merely somewhat well-known in the town.
Compared to Hongyun Real Estate, he was nothing.
If he offended someone that even Zhang Bing didn’t dare to provoke, his own fate would probably be much worse.
In that case, his earlier kneel had actually saved his own life!
Liu Jinshan suddenly felt the bank card in his hand weigh as heavy as a mountain, almost making him afraid to hold onto it.
Jiang Chen chuckled.
“Don’t mention raising my rent.
Five hundred thousand to buy out your land for five years is definitely not a loss for you.
The land in Xianhuang Village doesn’t have motorized wells.
The harvest relies almost entirely on the Heavenly Lord’s rain.
Even if you took the land back, you wouldn’t necessarily earn more than this.”
With one sentence, he saw right through Liu Jinshan’s petty calculations.
Jiang Chen’s words left Liu Jinshan with absolutely no courage to retort.
He let out an awkward laugh and said, “You’re absolutely right.”
After saying that, Liu Jinshan couldn’t help but ask, “You mentioned earlier that you weren’t doing this for Xianhuang Village.
So why are you still renting the land?”
“I’m renting land to farm, naturally.
Do you think I have so much money to burn that I’m renting it just to show off?” Jiang Chen glanced at Liu Jinshan.
Liu Jinshan scratched his head.
“I just don’t quite understand your strategy.”
He genuinely didn’t understand.
Everything Jiang Chen had done just now was solely for Luo Yanran.
And based on the power and wealth he had revealed, he absolutely didn’t need to rely on farming to make a living.
So why did he still want to rent the land?
Jiang Chen didn’t answer.
Instead, he waved his hand dismissively.
“You’ve taken the money, and the matter is settled.
Are you waiting for me to treat you to a meal?”
Liu Jinshan grinned widely.
“No, no, no, I’ll be leaving right now!” As he spoke, he offered the card back.
“Young Master Jiang, this is for you!”
“What’s this?” Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow.
“You can farm this land for free for the next five years.
Consider this five hundred thousand as a token of my friendship!” Liu Jinshan said earnestly.
“I, Liu Jinshan, am no fool.
With one look, I can tell that you are no ordinary person, my young friend.
I only hope that if you make it big in the future, you can throw some favors our way.”
“But what if I’m not as formidable as you imagine?”
“I am a very good judge of character!” Liu Jinshan said with absolute certainty.
Jiang Chen pushed the card back.
“I don’t like taking back money I’ve already handed out.”
Liu Jinshan frowned.
“Do you not want to make friends with me?”
“Friendships are built over time.” Jiang Chen patted Liu Jinshan’s shoulder and smiled meaningfully.
Liu Jinshan’s eyes darted around for a moment before he let out a hearty laugh.
“I understand.”
With that, he turned to face the crowd of Liu Family Village villagers and shouted, “From today onward, Jiang Chen is a VIP of our Liu Family Village!
If he ever visits our village, you all better treat him well!
Furthermore, the land in Xianhuang Village will be under his management for the next five years.
Everyone, keep a helpful eye on it for him!”
Liu Jinshan’s influence was strong.
Even though the villagers had no idea why his attitude toward Jiang Chen had changed so drastically and so suddenly, since he had spoken, they naturally wouldn’t object.
One after another, they voiced their agreement.
After all, there were very few people in all of Baiyun Town who could command such respect from Liu Jinshan!
“Dad, I want the pretty sister,” Liu Jinshan’s son pouted and said.
Liu Jinshan stepped forward and kicked him hard.
“Shut your mouth!” He then turned to Jiang Chen with an apologetic smile.
“You surely have other matters to attend to, so we won’t disturb you any longer.” With those parting words, he led the villagers straight back toward Liu Family Village.
A moment later, only the crowd from Xianhuang Village remained.
The villagers looked at one another, the atmosphere thick with awkwardness.
Just moments ago, when Jiang Chen was negotiating with Liu Jinshan, not a single one of them had stepped forward to help.
They had even wanted to push out Luo Yanran—the very person Jiang Chen was protecting—just to satisfy their own interests.
But now, the land that dictated whether they could earn money to feed their families this year was entirely in Jiang Chen’s hands.
In other words, Jiang Chen could now decide the life and death of everyone in Xianhuang Village.
The tables had truly turned.
They never expected that Jiang Chen, whom they had looked down upon just moments before, would suddenly become the most important person in Xianhuang Village.
Seeing the apologetic looks plastered across the villagers’ faces, Jiang Chen smiled faintly and walked over to Luo Yanran.
“Out of all that land, I only need ten acres.
The rest is yours to deal with!”
After saying this, Jiang Chen clasped his hands behind his back and strolled toward the village.
Humming a little tune along the way, he looked incredibly carefree.
As soon as Jiang Chen left, the villagers rushed over and surrounded Luo Yanran.
“Yanran, we completely lost our minds just now.
We are so, so sorry!”
“Yanran, I was on your side earlier!
Those people were completely out of line, actually wanting to use you as a scapegoat!”
“Yanran, now that the land is in your hands, what do you plan to do with it?
We could actually lease it from you.
If we don’t have land to farm, how will our families survive?”
Some apologized, while others tried to change the subject.
None of them showed the slightest trace of the ugly faces they wore when they tried to push her to the wolves earlier.
Despite the noise filling her ears, Luo Yanran’s heart was entirely occupied by the words Jiang Chen had just spoken.
He hadn’t stepped forward for Xianhuang Village.
He risked offending the entirety of Liu Family Village purely for her!
Everyone present knew just how dangerous the situation had been a moment ago.
Yet Jiang Chen hadn’t backed down in the slightest.
If Liu Jinshan hadn’t knelt, Jiang Chen would likely have been targeted by the entire Liu Family Village.
And all of this was just to stand up for her!
Now, he had handed all the land over to her.
Luo Yanran understood his intentions perfectly.
Undoubtedly, it was a slap in the face to these villagers.
Her heart suddenly fell into turmoil.
Was a man like this truly the coward who had run away five years ago?
As her thoughts wandered, Zhang Rou tugged gently at her arm.
“Yanran…”
Luo Yanran snapped back to reality, but before she could speak, Granny Tan approached her and said apologetically, “I’m sorry.
My resolve wavered earlier.”
“Granny, I don’t blame you,” Luo Yanran said with a gentle smile.
Granny Tan shook her head.
“I’m old, and my willpower just isn’t what it used to be.
Even if we had agreed to Liu Jinshan’s demands just now, he wouldn’t necessarily have let us farm the land in peace.
He could have just found other ways to make things difficult for us.”
With that, Granny Tan turned to the rest of the crowd.
“Alright, everyone disperse.
The land is in Yanran’s hands now.
Let her decide what she wants to do with it!
“And don’t think a simple apology is enough.
Go home and reflect on your actions earlier.
It was truly foolish!”
Having said her piece, she too turned and left.
The villagers exchanged awkward glances, muttered a few more words to Luo Yanran, and then scurried back to the village one by one.
After the crowd departed, Luo Yanran stood rooted to the spot, her mind in absolute chaos.
Zhang Rou smiled and said, “Jiang Chen is really good to you!”
Luo Yanran looked up at Zhang Rou, unable to find her voice for a long time.
Zhang Rou patted her delicate hand.
“I think you should try giving him a chance.”