After a conversation, Chen Fan and Su Qingyan learned that the girl’s na was Jiang Qing, and she was still in high school. Her parents had settled in Qingyang Town five years ago, buying a house with an entire lifeti’s savings and maintaining their livelihood through the hostay.
It was now the sumr break, and as soon as Jiang Qing had ti off, she ca to Qingyang Town to help her parents manage the hostay.
It wasn’t long before Jiang Qing led Chen Fan and Su Qingyan to a place covered with a two-story building. Although the houses here were built uniformly, each one had a distinctive style, making them a varied and picturesque scene.
"These houses are all so pretty, especially the one in front with the yard filled with so many flowers, all colorful, it’s really beautiful," Su Qingyan said with a happy expression.
A smile appeared on Jiang Qing’s face, "That one is my ho."
Chen Fan took a glance at the house and praised, "Among all these hostays, your ho is the most beautifully and warmly decorated. If I’m not mistaken, your guests must be a constant stream."
A trace of faint pride flashed across Jiang Qing’s face, "It used to be like that, but now..."
As she said this, her expression suddenly beca downcast.
Chen Fan looked at her, "What happened now?"
Jiang Qing took a deep breath and put on a smile, "Nothing, brother and sister, let take you around the house first."
Seeing that Jiang Qing did not want to elaborate, Chen Fan did not press further.
Soon, the three of them entered the colorful and vibrant house.
By this ti, night had fallen, and lights had co on around the house and among the flowers, their various colors lending an exceptionally warm and beautiful atmosphere.
"Mom and Dad, we have guests at ho!" Jiang Qing called out loudly.
A middle-aged man and woman ca out of a room, both wearing warm smiles on their faces.
Jiang Qing’s father, Jiang Chunhua, ca forward with a smile to welco Chen Fan and Su Qingyan, "You both must be tired after your long journey, please co inside and have a seat, I’ll clean up the room right now."
Her mother, Liu Fang, also smilingly said, "I’ll go prepare so food, do you two have any dietary restrictions?"
Chen Fan shook his head, "No, anything will do."
Afterward, he and Su Qingyan entered the room.
The difference between a hostay and a hotel lies in the fact that a hostay feels more intimate and has a more lived-in atmosphere.
After settling Chen Fan and Su Qingyan in, Jiang Qing ran to help Liu Fang cook.
In the kitchen, Liu Fang looked at Jiang Qing sowhat helplessly and said, "Qing’er, didn’t we agree not to take in guests for the ti being? Why are you bringing people ho again?"
Jiang Qing said indignantly, "Since there’s still so ti before the deadline those scoundrels set, the house still belongs to our family, and they can’t control bringing guests ho. Besides, Qingyan is so pretty, I wanted her to stay at our place."
Liu Fang sighed, "Well, since it’s like this, we must take good care of the two of them, after all... they might be the last two guests our ho will have."
A touch of sadness appeared in Jiang Qing’s eyes, and she nodded gently.
In the living room, Chen Fan was releasing his Divine Sense to scan the surroundings, just in ti to catch the conversation between Jiang Qing and Liu Fang.
"It seems their family must have encountered so difficulties, but I wonder what exactly happened."
At that mont, his phone rang with a call from an unfamiliar number.
He answered and a burly, middle-aged man’s voice ca through, "Mr. Chen, hello, I’m terribly sorry to bother you at this ti. My na is Zhang Baifa, the mayor of Qingyang Town. You can call Old Zhang. President Sun has already inford about you; you and your companion are honored guests in our town, and he asked to make sure you’re well taken care of. I wanted to get in touch with you."
Chen Fan smiled, "Mayor Zhang, you’re too kind. We’ve got the tickets from Sun Xiong, and everything’s fine so far, no need to trouble yourself."
Zhang Baifa quickly said, "I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying yourselves. During your stay in town, if you encounter any issues, you can reach out to , my phone is on for you both twenty-four hours."
Not wanting to engage in too much small talk, Chen Fan said, "Alright then, I appreciate it."
Zhang Baifa said with a smile, "It’s my honor to serve you two. I won’t disturb your rest any further."
Chen Fan didn’t say anything more and hung up the phone.
Before long, Liu Fang and Jiang Qing had prepared a table full of sumptuous dishes.
Jiang Qing’s family and Chen Fan and Su Qingyan sat together, chatting and eating, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.
Jiang Qing told Chen Fan and Su Qingyan about many interesting places in the town, many of which you wouldn’t find unless you lived there for a while. These sights were not included in any tour tickets and were only known to locals.
The three made plans to go out together the next day.
That night, Su Qingyan felt her heart palpitate again and woke up suddenly, but soon fell back into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning.
Liu Fang made breakfast, and the family sat down to eat together.
After thinking for a mont, Chen Fan looked at Jiang Chunhua and Liu Fang and asked, "How much do you charge for the guesthouse? I just rembered that we didn’t discuss this after checking in yesterday, and I’m really sorry. My girlfriend and I feel very comfortable staying here, and we would like to pay for a month in advance. How much would that be?"
Liu Fang looked towards Jiang Chunhua.
Jiang Chunhua smiled and said, "Please, feel free to stay here without any worries about paynt. However, you can only stay for half a month; after that... we will be leaving here."
As he spoke, Jiang Chunhua beca sowhat downcast.
Seizing the opportunity, Chen Fan asked, "Leaving? I heard from Jiang Qing that our guesthouse business is pretty good, and we earn much more here than outside. Why would you want to leave?"
Jiang Chunhua thought for a mont, deciding there was no need to keep secrets. After all, if he didn’t explain things clearly and also refused to take money, they might think he had so ulterior motive.
He gave a wry smile and said, "I really like it here, and our business is indeed the best around. Many guests love it, and I originally thought my family could live in this town for a lifeti. But, ever since the new person in charge of the guesthouse managent arrived, everything has changed."
Chen Fan raised an eyebrow, "Oh? What’s different?"
Jiang Chunhua went on to explain, "This new director is selfish, self-serving, and he likes to abuse his power for personal gain. After he took office, he required every guesthouse owner to give him gifts. If you didn’t give a gift, or if it was too small, he would find all sorts of ways to make things difficult."
"I’ve never liked to flatter or cater to such influential people, so I didn’t send a gift, and as a result, I was oppressed by him."
"That’s not the worst of it. When he realized he couldn’t profit from and saw how successful our business was, he started eyeing my guesthouse. Recently, under the pretext of nurous custor complaints, he ordered to close down the guesthouse and said that I was damaging the reputation of Qingyang Town. He also intends to take back this property and only pay half of the original purchase price."
"I’ve tried reaching out to the authorities, but the new director has been able to suppress my complaints, and he’s only beco more aggressive in bullying our family."
"I considered giving in, but that bastard even demanded that my daughter sleep with his son in exchange for leaving us alone. Having no other choice, our only option is to leave Qingyang Town."
"Now, we only have half a month left before the managent’s deadline. If we don’t leave by then, we will be evicted."
After listening, Chen Fan frowned deeply, "This new director is nothing but a rat droppings, ruining Qingyang Town with his actions."
Su Qingyan added indignantly at his side, "Exactly, that damned director is just despicable. If I ever co across him, I’d definitely give him a good punch or two."
Jiang Qing couldn’t help but laugh, "Qingyan, I never expected soone as beautiful and gentle as a fairy like you to have such a violent side."
Su Qingyan’s face turned red, "Keep calm, even fairies must unsheathe their swords to help when they encounter injustice."
Chen Fan smiled and looked at Jiang Chunhua, "Uncle Jiang, don’t worry. Since I’ve stumbled upon this matter, I’ll help you resolve it. You won’t be driven out of Qingyang Town."
Jiang Chunhua shook his head, "I know you travelers must be well-off, but here, isolated from the world, the town’s managent is supre. This new director is a crafty man, and everyone in town is afraid of him. You outsiders will not be able to fight against them."
Chen Fan smiled faintly, thinking that even the town’s mayor had to be polite to him, so what was a re guesthouse managent director worth? He was about to explain when suddenly a burst of cursing ca from outside.
"Jiang, I heard you’re taking in guests again? Do you really not take our managent seriously? Get out here at once, or there’ll be trouble!"
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