Chapter 211 - 207: Tempting Prizes

Chapter 211: Chapter 207: Tempting Prizes

By evening, this matter had sparked a heated debate online.

The main issue was the group of people kneeling outside; they hadn’t left, and even the police couldn’t get them to move.

"So Lin Xian Village is just going to watch people die right outside its gates!"

"These people are just trying to morally blackmail them. They’re no good either."

"Bullshit! Those people are about to die! If Lin Xian Village can save them, why won’t they?"

"Use your head. Let me ask you, if they save these three, and then this happens again, is Lin Xian Village supposed to save them too?"

"That’s a problem for later. Just save these three first. We can deal with future problems in the future."

"Um, I have a question. Can Lin Xian Village really cure cancer?"

"I’m not really sure about that. I know they can treat mental illness and have opened up a thousand treatment slots."

...

The online discussion was fierce, with netizens splitting into three camps. One side believed that if Lin Xian Village had the ability, they should provide treatment.

Another side argued that even if they could, they shouldn’t treat people like this. Then there was a neutral group of onlookers, not taking either side.

Inside Lin Xian Village, a group of people who had been in high spirits were now disgusted by the whole affair.

"Those people are still kneeling out there. They really plan on dying outside Lin Xian Village," Hu Zhiming said, watching a livestream.

There was a streamer outside broadcasting the situation, and quite a few netizens were watching.

"Don’t worry about them. Wuyuan County will definitely handle it," Wan Qianqian said.

She had only heard about the matter from a diner at the Restaurant.

Hu Xia said, "These people have gotten smarter. This time, they aren’t cursing Lin Xian Village. They’re just subtly steering the narrative, saying Lin Xian Village should save them."

Hu Zhiming nudged Lin Feng with his elbow and said, "Brother Lin, are we really not going to do anything?"

"Ignore it. Just watch."

To resolve this matter, Lin Xian Village only needed to pull a few strings.

Zhou Jun, who had returned to the Imperial Capital on business, called to ask if he should help handle it.

Sun Lili had also asked; her family could resolve the issue.

Lin Feng received even more calls from people who could all help him deal with this.

Even the monks from the neighboring mountain, who couldn’t even handle their own problems, contacted Lin Feng, saying they could help resolve it.

Strictly speaking, this was a trivial matter for Lin Xian Village. As for the public opinion affecting tourism, there was no need to worry at all.

People could say what they wanted online, but if someone actually boycotted Lin Xian Village, you could only say there was something wrong with their head.

One look at the number of applicants for Lin Xian Village provided the answer. After this incident was exposed online, the number of applications skyrocketed.

Especially after a netizen revealed that the treatment was related to the Medicinal Cuisine, reservations for the Restaurant surged even more.

So, don’t watch what they say; watch what they do.

Early the next morning, Lin Feng heard that the people from Wuyuan County had taken everyone away.

At the entrance to Lin Xian Village, a streamer stopped a tourist who had driven there.

"Sir, did you see the news online last night?"

"Don’t film me."

"Sir, my camera is pointed at myself, not you.

I just want to know, what’s your take on Lin Xian Village not saving those three people yesterday?"

"As long as you’re not filming me. My take? It’s none of my damn business."

"Sir, I have a lot of viewers in my livestream."

"Oh. In that case, let me rephrase. My take is: moral blackmail is unacceptable.

Whether Lin Xian Village is willing to provide treatment cannot be achieved through coercion or force."

"Sir, some netizens say these are three lives, possibly the breadwinners of three families."

"See? There’s the moral blackmail again. There are many people like this in the world. Can Lin Xian Village save them all?

It’s like if someone asked me to donate ten million; I could agree to that right now.

But if they asked me to donate my car, I’d definitely refuse.

In today’s society, we don’t even dare to help someone who’s fallen on the street. What right do we have to demand Lin Xian Village treat them?

Even the ancients knew, ’Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.’

Alright, I need to get into Lin Xian Village. Goodbye."

Watching the man turn and leave, the streamer said to his audience, "What he said seems to make a lot of sense. If someone really fell down, unless you’re like me, livestreaming every day and not afraid of trouble...

...otherwise, I can’t say everyone in this chat, but ninety-nine percent of you wouldn’t dare to help.

The example might be a bit off, but whether or not Lin Xian Village is willing to save people is a decision only they can make. We have no right to interfere."

The streamer went on to interview many other people, and the answers he received varied.

However, the relatively unanimous opinion was that moral blackmail is unacceptable.

It seemed that the real world was different from the internet; everyone hated moral blackmail.

Inside Lin Xian Village, Hu Xia also started a livestream to promote the Bow and Arrow competition.

"Alright, everyone, stop asking about yesterday’s incident. I can give you the answer right now: Lin Xian Village does not accept any form of moral blackmail.

If you want to come to Lin Xian Village for treatment, please go through the proper channels. Otherwise, you will be put directly on Lin Xian Village’s blacklist.

Next, I want to talk about the Lin Xian Village Bow and Arrow competition.

The year is almost over. The Lin Xian Village Arrow Tower Bow and Arrow Tournament will be held in five days. Participants will be those who have made it onto the Arrow Tower’s leaderboard."

Hu Xia noticed that the netizens didn’t seem to care about this competition at all. ’I wonder if they’ll regret not paying attention once they find out what the prizes are.’

"I’ve been looking at the live comments, and it seems no one is interested in this competition. I hope you don’t regret it later.

For this year-end competition, the first-place prize is a special Lin Xian Village Stone Dragon Carving, one free meal at the Lin Xian Village Restaurant, one permanent pass to Lin Xian Village, and a trophy.

Second place will receive one free meal at the Lin Xian Village Restaurant, one permanent pass to Lin Xian Village, and a trophy.

Third place...

Tenth place will receive one permanent pass to Lin Xian Village and a trophy."

When the prizes were announced, the endless stream of live comments flooding the screen paused for a moment.

"AHH! What did I just see? Why are you only announcing the prizes now?"

"Stop screaming. It’s useless. Your skills are nowhere near good enough to win a prize."

"Sister Hu, Sister Hu, if I go to Lin Xian Village right now, can I still participate in the competition?"

"..."

Hu Xia looked at the live comments and said with a smile, "The competition is by invitation only for those on the leaderboard. Our Lin Xian Village Arrow Tower has ten people make the leaderboard every month.

Because we’ve only had competitions for two months this year, only twenty tourist contestants will be participating."

"I could just die! The last time I was at Lin Xian Village, I thought the leaderboard was useless, so I didn’t even bother."

"What the hell are you crying about? Back in November, very few people participated in this event.

I just gave it a casual try back then and got eleventh place. If I’d just tried a little harder, I could’ve been in the competition. I’m the one who should be crying!"

Hu Xia hadn’t expected that the thing these netizens wanted most was actually the permanent pass to Lin Xian Village.

Upon learning that the pass was tied to the individual, those who had been planning to obtain one through "special means" immediately gave up on the idea.

However, after the news spread, some people realized that December wasn’t over yet. In theory, they still had a chance to compete for a spot on the December leaderboard.

Archery masters who hadn’t paid attention to this competition before started buying tickets to Lin Xian Village as soon as they heard the news, especially about the permanent pass.

Among them were even some Olympic archers, who started taking leave to participate after hearing the news.

There was just too much news about Lin Xian Village online, and the benefits were countless.

If they didn’t seize this opportunity, trying to get a spot this way next year would be hellishly difficult.

This news even overshadowed last night’s incident. Clearly, netizens were more interested in things that could benefit them personally.

Inside the office in Lin Xian Village, Lin Feng was meeting with a leader from Wuyuan County.

"Regarding the cancer treatment, is it really impossible to make it widely available?"

"Sir, the cancer treatment is mainly due to the combination of the Qi Replenishing Soup and the Medicinal Cuisine. Moreover, it can only cure cancers related to the spleen and stomach.

The Qi Replenishing Soup is not a problem, but we really have no way to increase the supply of the Medicinal Cuisine in Lin Xian Village.

After the Restaurant at the foot of the mountain is built, the quantity of Medicinal Cuisine will increase, but you also know what that Medicinal Cuisine is used for."

"I see. Well, let’s leave the matter as it is for now.

By the way, I heard the monks from the West Spirit Mountain Temple came to see you?"

"Yes, but I can’t help them with their problem either."

The official was just testing the waters. After confirming that Lin Feng was unwilling to help, he didn’t ask again.

Compared to the temple on West Spirit Mountain, Lin Xian Village was Wuyuan County’s top priority.

In just two months, the number of tourists brought in by Lin Xian Village had significantly revived the entire economy of Wuyuan County.

The real estate market had been in a continuous decline, and while the impact on the county’s finances was small, there were still some issues.

But Lin Xian Village solved the county’s troubles in just two months.

Based on Lin Xian Village’s current trajectory, next year would only be better, especially since some of its buildings were still under construction.

The official looked toward the Mountain God Temple on West Mountain. ’The Land God Temple is already so miraculous,’ he thought. ’The Mountain God Temple must be extraordinary as well.’

Lin Feng saw the official off and then checked a message from Hu Xia.

"Last night’s news has been buried by the news about the Arrow Tower competition."

He replied, "That’s just how the internet is. Everything is like a gust of wind. Once it passes, it’s quickly forgotten."

He stood up and walked toward the agricultural Research Institute. For now, they were still primarily conducting research in the Jade Vineyard and would only move once the new institute was built.

Liang Miaomiao said, "The boss is here."

"Yes. You’ve all been working hard lately."

"Not at all, Boss."

Liang Miaomiao wasn’t just being polite. She genuinely didn’t find it hard work. The salary at Lin Xian Village was just too good.

Lately, they had been busy setting up a fast-growing strawberry cultivation base and researching a nutrient solution for them.

Of course, with help from Professor Jin of the Science Academy, their research progress had been much faster.

Professor Zhou heard the voices and came out from inside.

"Boss, is there something you need?"

"Actually, there is. I wanted to ask if you could help me get some mandarin fish and perch fry."

"No problem. How many fry do you need, Boss?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment and said, "Five thousand of each, and some other small fish as well."

Both are carnivorous fish. If he didn’t put some smaller fish in with them, he would have to rely entirely on artificial feeding.

He didn’t have to worry about aquatic plants in the valley lake. There was already plenty of grass growing on the mountainsides, plus a lot of trees on both sides.

When the time came, he could just scatter some aquatic plant seeds along the shore to solve that problem.

It was a pity the water was too deep; otherwise, he could have planted some lotuses in it.

Lin Feng planned to go back and do some research to see if there were any attractive plants that could grow on the water’s surface.

After Lin Feng left, Zhou Yongqiang called a friend who researched aquaculture to ask about the fish fry for him.

Although the three cancer patients and their families were taken away by the Wuyuan County authorities, they were still unwilling to give up.

Or perhaps, the fact that they had agreed to someone’s suggestion to obtain treatment from Lin Xian Village this way meant their thinking was already flawed to begin with.

The three cancer patients in particular, now knowing that a cure existed, were even more unwilling to accept death.

They knew it was useless to go to Lin Xian Village, as they would never be allowed inside.

Instead of causing a scene in Wuyuan County, these people left Lin Xian Village by car and then started a livestream.

The content was simple: they begged Lin Xian Village for help, hoping the village would treat them.

The buzz that had died down because of the Lin Xian Village Bow and Arrow competition was reignited by them, and netizens once again started debating whether they should be treated.

In Lin Xian Village, Hu Xia, who had thought the matter was over, was disgusted when she saw their livestream.

"Boss, isn’t there some way to teach them a lesson?"

Over the past two days, Lin Feng had already been forming some ideas about handling disease treatment in Lin Xian Village.

As Lin Xian Village developed, he was acquiring more and more medicinal recipes, and incidents like this were bound to happen again.

"Yes, I have a few ideas. Let me run them by you and see what you think."