Chapter 210 - 206: Moral Blackmail

Chapter 210: Chapter 206: Moral Blackmail

Hu Xia looked at the man in front of her. His smile seemed a bit fake, and for some reason, she found him irritating.

She hadn’t expected the Jiangcheng Archery Club to have a new person in charge of the archery competition. This was clearly not normal.

This man, Huang Shili, was especially suspect. He had a pale face and sagging skin; a single glance told her he wasn’t the type to exercise regularly.

"Where’s Zheng Kang? Wasn’t he in charge of this event?"

"Zheng Kang had something else come up, so he couldn’t make it this time. I’ll be organizing the event with you now."

"Fine. We’ll follow the same procedure as last time, but you don’t need to send people to instruct anymore. You just need to send participants for the competition."

Huang Shili hadn’t expected this event to be completely different from the last one.

"Manager Hu, how about we still assist you with it? Also, for this event, we could easily expand the scale of the competition and invite some professional athletes to participate."

"That’s not necessary."

Hu Xia rejected the idea without a second thought. They had once considered inviting famous athletes, but now, Lin Xian Village didn’t need that kind of publicity at all.

Besides, when Lin Xian Village started this event, it was primarily for the tourists.

The current Lin Xian Village couldn’t even handle that many tourists, so there was even less need to make a big fanfare.

"That’s a shame. This Arrow Tower is very suitable for holding archery competitions.

If we could expand the scale, we might be able to establish a special archery competition event in Lin Xian Village."

"Mr. Huang, after you go back, just provide us with the list of participants. You don’t need to worry about anything else."

"Alright. Thank you very much for Lin Xian Village’s continued cooperation with us."

Seeing that he couldn’t change Lin Xian Village’s stance, Huang Shili didn’t say any more, though he felt it was a pity.

They had gone to great lengths to find a way to connect with Lin Xian Village through this Jiangcheng Archery Club.

They had pulled a lot of strings to gain control of this club, making it impossible for anyone to see that there was anything wrong with the change in personnel.

After Huang Shili left, Hu Xia made a phone call as she went to find Lin Feng.

In truth, after Lin Xian Village became popular, the promotion for the Arrow Tower’s Bow and Arrow competition had decreased.

However, precisely because Lin Xian Village had become popular—and was getting more and more popular—the Bow and Arrow competition at the Arrow Tower always had tourists participating.

Every so often, someone would break a record and win a prize from Lin Xian Village.

"Brother Lin, the West Spirit Mountain Temple is pretty much finished. I heard a group of investors lost their entire investment.

I went there to check it out yesterday. The whole mountain is like it’s covered by a protective shield. The environment inside is vastly different from the outside.

Their construction over there is huge and grand. They really weren’t afraid to spend money!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Hu Xia walked in from outside.

She expertly snatched a handful of dried fruit from Zhao Shiyun’s hand and started eating.

Zhao Shiyun quickly clutched her bag, turning away from Hu Xia with a pout.

"Sis, we were talking about the temple next door."

"Oh."

Hu Xia glanced at Lin Feng. ’It wouldn’t make any sense to say the changes there have nothing to do with him.’

"Don’t worry about them. Let’s discuss hosting this archery competition.

Also, Lin Feng, you, the boss, really don’t ask about anything. The year is almost over. Should we hold some activities for New Year’s Day?"

She poked Zhao Shiyun with her finger. "And you, how are things going with the entertainment company collaboration?"

Zhao Shiyun swallowed the dried fruit in her mouth, looked up at Hu Xia, and realized she was being asked a question.

"The collaboration is all sorted out. As soon as we confirm the candidates, they can send people over.

Oh, right, they said they can also help us invite celebrities who aren’t from their company."

"That’s not bad. We’ll discuss it in a bit and see if we need to bring in any celebrities."

Hu Xia looked at Lin Feng. These matters needed his confirmation as the boss.

"What’s the situation with the archery competition? I heard the Jiangcheng Archery Club has new people?"

"They do. A man named Huang Shili came to discuss the competition with us this time."

Lin Feng tapped his fingers, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Have them provide the list of participants first."

"I know."

Hu Zhiming said, "Brother Lin, is there something fishy going on here? Our place is so famous now. Unless they’ve lost their minds, why would they give this opportunity to someone else?"

Lin Xian Village rarely collaborated with outsiders. If the Jiangcheng Archery Club hadn’t, by sheer coincidence, started working with Lin Xian Village before it was famous...

...they wouldn’t stand a chance with the Lin Xian Village of today.

Hu Xia glanced at her younger brother. "Isn’t it obvious? Someone pulled some strings at the club."

"Then shouldn’t we investigate? If there’s really a problem, we can just cancel their partnership."

Lin Feng shook his head. "No need. As long as they provide a list of participants and the competition runs normally, we don’t have to bother with them."

As for what exactly happened at the Archery Club, it had nothing to do with him.

If a problem really did arise during the competition, it wouldn’t be too late to terminate the partnership then.

"Then for this matter, we’ll just follow the old procedure," Hu Xia said.

"Yes, just follow the old procedure.

As for whether to hold some celebratory events for New Year’s, you guys can decide for yourselves."

Hu Xia shot him a glare. ’As the boss, he couldn’t care less about something like this.’

"Shiyun, a few of us will discuss it later and figure out what kind of program to hold."

"Okay."

Just then, someone ran in from outside and said, "Boss Lin, Manager Hu, Manager Zhao, there are people causing a scene outside the village."

"What! Someone dares to cause trouble in Lin Xian Village?" Hu Zhiming was surprised.

Given Lin Xian Village’s current status, he truly hadn’t expected something like this to happen.

"It’s not exactly causing trouble... you’ll know when you see it."

Lin Feng was also a little curious. Logically, if someone were causing a disturbance, the police on duty would have taken them away. There should be no need for him to get involved.

The group went outside the village and saw three emaciated people in wheelchairs, wearing hats, lined up in a row.

Beside them, others were kneeling on the ground, holding a banner.

"Begging Lin Xian Village to save our lives!!!"

"Please, Lin Xian Village, save my dad!"

"As long as Lin Xian Village is willing to save my husband, I’ll agree to any condition."

A crowd of tourists had gathered, some pointing at them, others whispering among themselves.

"The boss of Lin Xian Village is here! Everyone make way, don’t block the path."

Wu Xin stood not far away, accompanied by several security guards, all of whom looked grim.

Hu Xia walked over and asked, "What’s going on, Sister Wu?"

Wu Xin said angrily, "I was going to take them away to deal with it, but they started shouting and attracted all the tourists.

Besides, the three patients refuse to leave, and they’re so weak that the guards don’t dare to use force."

She added in a low voice, "I suspect someone orchestrated this intentionally."

This hardly needed suspicion. It was clearly a premeditated act; otherwise, three patients wouldn’t have appeared all at once.

"Boss Lin, I’m begging you, please save my dad."

The youngest girl kowtowed in Lin Feng’s direction.

Lin Feng stepped aside to avoid it. This was clearly an attempt at moral blackmail.

"Boss Lin, I’m kowtowing to you! Please, save my husband.

We’ve tried every possible method. I heard you can cure cancer. I’m begging you, I’ll do anything you ask."

Lin Feng’s expression turned ugly. Hu Zhiming hurried over and said to the security guards, "Get these kneeling people on their feet first."

Wan Jianghong, having heard the news, finally rushed down from the mountain.

He brought several people with him, and with two men per person, they lifted all the kneeling individuals to their feet.

Seeing their reluctance, Hu Zhiming said bluntly, "If you keep this up, I’ll have you expelled from Lin Xian Village."

"These people are so pitiful. If Lin Xian Village really has a way, they should just treat them."

"Yeah, look at how tormented they are. They don’t even look human anymore."

"They are pitiful, but this method is wrong. You can’t just force someone to treat them."

"But they have no other choice! It’s cancer, something that can’t be treated anywhere else."

"By the way, can Lin Xian Village really cure cancer?"

"..."

Ignoring the surrounding tourists’ discussions, Lin Feng had the security guards take the people away first.

Then, the group headed for the conference room. Although they were in a terrible mood, they were mentally prepared for this kind of incident.

"Brother Lin, we absolutely cannot agree to treat them. If we set that precedent, others will follow suit, and then we’ll be in big trouble."

"I know. I’m just thinking about how to resolve this."

On the mental illness front, because they had opened up a thousand slots, no one was causing trouble.

Hu Xia said, "This must be premeditated. Someone is pulling the strings from behind, trying to force us to open up treatment slots for cancer."

"Can we find out who it is?"

"It would be very difficult to investigate, but we can make them reveal themselves."

Lin Feng asked curiously, "What’s your idea?"

"We could..."

"Sis, Brother Lin, news about what just happened is already online."

Everyone took out their phones to look and found that the news was gaining traction very quickly, with many netizens posting about it.

It looked like tourists from Lin Xian Village were the ones posting, but judging by the rapid rise in popularity, something was clearly off.

"The people behind this are really cunning. They’re trying to use public opinion to force us to treat those three."

Hu Xia said, "It’s not just that. If we treat those three, people will definitely use public opinion to pressure us into opening up all cancer treatment slots."

Lin Feng said resolutely, "We are not treating these three. Send them away immediately, and from now on, they are banned from entering Lin Xian Village."

"What if they cause a scene outside?"

"If they want to make a scene, let them. Ignore them."

The others looked at Lin Feng, confused, not understanding why he was handling it this way.

"Brother Lin, handling it like this will definitely cause an uproar online. We’ll be affected."

Lin Feng said nonchalantly, "Don’t worry about it. Lin Xian Village can’t handle that many tourists anyway. If people really don’t want to come to Lin Xian Village, they don’t have to."

"Brother Lin, are we really doing this?"

"Yes. Go do it."

The three cancer patients and their families were quickly escorted out of Lin Xian Village. No matter how much they shouted or begged, it was useless.

Then, the group knelt right outside Lin Xian Village, refusing to leave.

Clearly, they weren’t giving up. They wanted to use this method to force Lin Xian Village to treat them.

"They actually dared to just ignore them and send them out."

"I told you this method wouldn’t work, but you didn’t believe me.

I’ve studied Lin Xian Village. That Lin Feng, while he makes money from the village, isn’t greedy for it like a capitalist.

He seems like a good person, but his mindset is contradictory.

Especially after Lin Xian Village became famous, he’s changed even more. He knows people are investigating him, but he couldn’t care less.

He must have some kind of special power in his hands. He’s not afraid of this stuff at all."

"Everyone knows that. Lin Xian Village is so special, he really doesn’t need to care about these things.

I just didn’t expect him to be so decisive, not giving them even a sliver of a chance."

"You guys better be careful. It’s best not to reveal any information, or else you can forget about ever buying anything from Lin Xian Village."

"Heh, this has nothing to do with me."

After watching for a while, these people turned, went to the parking lot, and drove away.

Meanwhile, regarding the online public opinion, although those people had only just started pulling some strings, the storm was already brewing and couldn’t be stopped.

Lin Xian Village had always been a hot topic online, a constant source of traffic ever since it first appeared.