Chapter 137: Money Is Not a Problem
Chapter 137: Chapter 137: Money Is Not a Problem
"You said you’re here to travel and enjoy the hot springs?" The village chief’s eyes gleamed as he stared at Arabella Donovan and her group. He certainly wasn’t complaining about their large number anymore.
’Are these people? This is clearly money walking in!’
The onlooking villagers chimed in. "I can’t believe our village’s volcanic hot springs are so famous that people would come all this way to see them. Do you think more and more people will come over time? Won’t the people with hot spring sources near their homes get rich?"
"What are you dreaming about? With our village’s conditions, anyone who comes once definitely won’t want to come a second time. These people were probably tricked into coming here. They likely came to this backwater place on a whim because they were bored and looking for something new. We’re lucky to have this happen once, and you’re hoping for a second time? You’d have better luck dreaming about it at home."
"..."
The noisy chatter of the surrounding crowd made the village chief’s face darken.
Dennis Donovan was, after all, a man who had seen the world. Seeing the situation, he took the opportunity to tap his cane on the ground and feign anger. "Is this your way of saying we’re not welcome? In that case, we’ll just go back."
When the village chief saw the god of wealth about to run off, how could he remain indifferent?
"No, no, our villagers are the most warm and welcoming. How could we possibly not welcome you?"
"Yes, yes, you’re very welcome. Don’t overthink it. We were just curious, seeing so many outsiders at once."
"That’s good." Arabella Donovan knew to quit while she was ahead and took the opportunity to de-escalate. "Are there any hotels or places to eat around here? It’s getting dark, and my grandfather is old. He can’t go hungry, so we need to eat soon."
In such a remote village with so few people, how could there possibly be a hotel? Their only option was to make do with a meal at a villager’s home.
Arabella Donovan’s group was large, totaling around twenty people.
After a quick calculation, the village chief divided them into four groups. Except for Arabella Donovan, Dennis Donovan, and a few others, the rest went to the homes of villagers willing to host them for a meal. They were to gather in his courtyard afterward.
Of course, the meal wasn’t free. Arabella Donovan and the others had already said they would pay the villagers who hosted them a fee for the food.
As a result, the villagers who had initially been wary of them all happily led their guests back to their homes.
As the most respected elder in the village, the chief lived in a surprisingly large, single-story prefabricated house. The food was better than at the other villagers’ homes, but it was still just simple, home-cooked fare.
However, Arabella Donovan and her group hadn’t come for the food anyway.
After successfully getting into the village chief’s house and having a few bites to eat, Arabella Donovan began to subtly fish for information again. "Village Chief, I noticed that the living conditions here don’t seem great. Most families still live in tile-roofed houses. Are there any better houses available?"
"My grandfather’s legs aren’t what they used to be, and his doctor told him to recuperate by soaking in hot springs. We heard these volcanic hot springs are more effective than regular ones, which is why we came all this way. We’ll try them today, and if they really work well, we might stay here for a while. Could you help us find a better place to stay? Money is not an issue; everything is negotiable."
The village chief didn’t suspect a thing. Although he didn’t know much about luxury car brands, he had eyes. Just by looking at their clothes and demeanor, he knew this group wasn’t short on cash.
This was the main reason he had quickly let his guard down after learning their purpose for coming. After all, compared to these people, the dirt-poor villagers were the ones who looked more like crooks.
"A better place to stay..." the village chief mused. "There is one, but I’ll have to ask first. My brother-in-law’s house is the best in the village—a two-story prefabricated house. It’s a bit old, but its main advantage is that it’s sturdy. Their place isn’t far from here. After dinner, I’ll go over and ask. If there are no objections, you can stay there tonight. It’s just..."
"Is there some difficulty?"
The village chief looked up at Arabella Donovan, his face full of apprehension and unease. "It’s just that although their house has two stories, it’s not very big and doesn’t have many rooms. It would be fine in the summer, but in winter... with so many of you, I’m afraid one house won’t be enough to accommodate everyone."
Arabella Donovan turned to exchange a look with Justin Donovan, understanding the chief’s meaning.
In the summer, their large group could have slept on the floor and made do for a few days.
But in the dead of winter, they couldn’t just have everyone lie on the ground and freeze.
Moreover, he had probably figured out that most of the people with them were bodyguards who needed to stay close to their employers. If they were really made to split up, the chief worried they would find the conditions too crude, get angry, and leave without staying.
"It’s fine." At the critical moment, it was Dennis Donovan who spoke up. "Just Serena, Justin, myself, and..."
"I can share a room with Mr. Donovan," Caspian Rhodes, afraid of being left behind, quickly volunteered, pretending not to see the undisguised disdain on Justin Donovan’s face.
"Then one room for Serena, one for Justin and Mr. Rhodes, and one for me and Howard will be enough. The others can find places to stay elsewhere." Howard was the head of Dennis Donovan’s security detail.
The village chief finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright then. I’ll go ask for you in a bit and also see if any other nearby families have empty rooms. I’ll try to have your whole group stay close together."
"We’ll have to trouble you then, Village Chief. And like I said, money is not an issue. As long as we can stay comfortably, there will be plenty of benefits for you."
Arabella Donovan never thought she’d one day say something that sounded so much like a nouveau riche tycoon, but the effect of her words was undoubtedly immediate.
A glittering, sugar-coated cannonball had been dropped. The way the village chief looked at them changed, as if he were seeing a group of naive, rich golden dolls, and he nodded his head incessantly.
Arabella Donovan saw the change in his expression. Her eyes darted, and she decided to strike while the iron was hot. "I heard from the villagers just now that this place is called Lewis Village and that almost everyone here has the surname Lewis. Does your brother-in-law also have the surname Lewis?"
"No, no, no, my brother-in-law’s surname isn’t Lewis. It’s Preston. He and my wife’s family fled here during the wars years ago. They aren’t native to this village."
"Oh, Preston, you say? In that case, I’ll have to trouble you, Village Chief, to confirm with Mr. Preston as soon as possible. My grandfather really, really needs to rest in his house."
At this point, Arabella Donovan was about eighty to ninety percent certain that the village chief’s brother-in-law’s family was the so-called "collateral branch" responsible for guarding Miss Preston. As for the remaining ten to twenty percent, she would have to wait until she met the family to be sure.
When Arabella Donovan had asked about the house, Dennis Donovan’s heart had been in his throat. Seeing her wrap the village chief around her finger with just a few words, he grew even more delighted by her cleverness.
’If this Preston family is indeed the one they’re looking for, then tonight he might be able to stay under the same roof as his beloved. The chances of rescuing her safely would increase dramatically!’