Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 137 Money is not a problem

"You said you came here for tourism and to soak in the hot springs?" The village chief stared at Du Anrao and his group with shining eyes, not caring that there were too many of them.

Is that a person? That's clearly money!

The villagers watching nearby joined in the excitement: "I never imagined our village's lava hot springs would become so famous outside. People even come from far away to visit. Do you think that in a while, even more and more people will come here? Won't those people with hot springs near their homes become rich?"

“What are you thinking? With the conditions in our village, people will never want to come back a second time. These people were probably tricked into coming here by someone, just bored and looking for something new in this poor, remote place. You’re lucky to have met them once, and you’re thinking about meeting them a second time. I think you’d be better off going back home and dreaming.”

"..."

The crowd around was making a racket, which made the village chief's face turn black.

Du Desheng, a man of the world, saw this and tapped the ground with his cane, feigning anger, and said, "Are you not welcoming us? Then let's go back."

When the village chief saw the God of Wealth trying to run away, how could he remain indifferent?

"No, no, our villagers are the most hospitable people here, how could we not welcome you?"

"Yes, yes, welcome, welcome! Don't overthink it. We're just curious because we suddenly saw so many people from other villages."

"That's good." Du Anrao knew when to stop while he was ahead, so he went along with it. "Do you have any hotels or other places to eat around here? It's getting dark, and my grandfather is old and can't stand being hungry. We need to eat quickly."

In such a remote village, with hardly any people, there wouldn't be any hotels. We could only make do with eating at the villagers' homes.

Du Anrao and his group brought a large number of people, totaling about twenty.

After discussing it, the village chief divided them into four teams. Except for Du Anrao and Du Desheng, the others went to eat at the homes of villagers who were willing to host them, and then gathered in their own courtyards afterward.

Of course, the meal wasn't free; Du Anrao and the others had agreed beforehand to give the villagers who hosted them a meal fee.

Therefore, the villagers, who were initially wary of them, all happily took the people home.

The village chief, as the most respected elder in the village, lives in a rather large one-story slab house. His meals are better than those of other villagers, but they are still just simple home-cooked dishes.

However, Du Anrao and the others were not there for this meal in the first place.

Having successfully sneaked into the village chief's house and eaten a few bites, Du Anrao began to subtly probe for information: "Village chief, I noticed that your living conditions don't seem very good. Most families still live in tile-roofed houses. Do you have any better houses?"

“My grandfather has some leg problems, and the doctor told him to soak in hot springs more often for treatment. We heard that these volcanic hot springs are more effective than regular hot springs, so we traveled all this way to get here. If a soak today really helps, we might stay here a little longer. Could you help us find a better place to stay? Money is not an issue; we can discuss anything.”

The village chief had no suspicions. Although he didn't know much about luxury cars and brand names, he had eyes and could tell from their clothes that they were well-off.

This was also the main reason he quickly lowered his guard after learning these people's intentions; after all, compared to them, these penniless individuals seemed more like criminals. "A decent place to stay..." the village chief pondered for a moment, "There is, but I need to ask first. My brother-in-law's house is the best in the village, a two-story wooden house. Although it's a bit old, it's sturdy. It's not far from here. After dinner, I'll go over and ask. If you have no objections, you can stay there tonight. But..."

Is there some difficulty?

The village chief looked up at Du Anrao, his face full of difficulty and apprehension: "Although their house has two floors, it's not very big, and there aren't many rooms. It would be fine in the summer, but in the winter... with so many of you, I'm afraid their house alone won't be enough to accommodate everyone."

Du Anrao turned and exchanged a glance with Du Junyan, understanding the village chief's meaning.

If it were summer, with so many of them, they could sleep on the floor at night and get through a few days by making do.

But in the dead of winter, we can't just leave so many of them lying on the ground freezing.

Moreover, he probably realized that most of the people following them were bodyguards who had to live close to their owners. If they were separated, the village chief was afraid that they would find the conditions too rudimentary and turn back home in a huff, not staying there anymore.

"It's alright." At the crucial moment, Du Desheng spoke up, "It's just An'an, Junyan, and I still have..."

“I can share a room with Brother Du.” Afraid of being left behind, Xi Jingyue quickly offered his services, pretending not to see the undisguised disdain on Du Junyan’s face.

“Then An’an will have one room, Junyan and Mr. Xi will have one room, and A-Ming and I will have one room. The others can go out and find another place to stay.” A-Ming is Du Desheng’s head bodyguard.

The village chief breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright, I'll go ask around for you in a bit, and while I'm at it, I'll see if there are any houses nearby with vacant rooms, and try to get you a place to stay as close as possible."

"Then we'll have to trouble the village chief. Like I said, money is no problem. As long as you can make us comfortable, you'll definitely get your share of the benefits."

Du Anrao never expected that he would one day say something that sounded like something a nouveau riche would say, but the effect of those few words was undoubtedly immediate.

A glittering, sugar-coated bullet was thrown down, and the village chief's gaze towards the group changed. He looked at them as if they were a bunch of rich, foolish little devils, nodding frantically.

Du Anrao noticed the change in his expression, his eyes darting around, and pressed his advantage, saying, "I just heard the villagers say that this place is called Liu Family Village, and almost everyone in the village is surnamed Liu. Is your brother-in-law also surnamed Liu?"

"No, no, no, my brother-in-law's surname is not Liu, it's Qin. He and my wife's family fled here during the war years ago, they are not from this village."

"Oh, so your surname is Qin. Then I'll trouble you, village chief, to confirm with Mr. Qin as soon as possible. My grandfather really, really needs his house to rest in."

Du Anrao was now basically certain that the village chief's brother-in-law's family was 80-90% likely the so-called collateral relatives responsible for guarding Miss Qin. As for the remaining 10-20%, he would have to wait until he met the family to be sure.

When Du Desheng asked about the house, his heart was in his throat. Seeing that she had the village chief completely fooled with just a few words, he was even more delighted by her cleverness.

If this Qin family is indeed the one they're looking for, then he might be able to stay under the same roof with his lover tonight, greatly increasing the chances of rescuing the person safely!
(End of this chapter)