Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

Seeing Lin Bufan's surprised expression, Xie Zhiyao naturally understood his confusion and quickly explained, "President Lin, please don't misunderstand. It's not that we don't want your large investment, it's just... Yunmiao Village has its own considerations."

We do hope to drive rural development through investment and improve the lives of our fellow villagers. However, we are also concerned that excessive and rapid injections of large amounts of capital may ruin the original character of Yunmiao Village.

Large-scale capital investment often comes with demands that are difficult for us to meet, such as an eagerness to pursue returns or over-exploitation. These factors will cause permanent and irreversible damage to Yunmiao Village.

Xie Zhiyao paused, giving Lin Bufan some time to process the information before continuing to explain: "Actually, it's like this: the guesthouse at the east end of the village was originally invested and built by a couple. They were very optimistic about Yunmiao Village and planned to create a boutique guesthouse. However, halfway through the project, Mr. Li's funding suddenly dried up, and now the guesthouse is in a state of abandonment. We are worried about who to find to take over."

This topic immediately piqued Xu Hongdou's interest. She put down her chopsticks and asked curiously, "The funding chain has broken? How could this happen? Logically speaking, since so much has already been invested, they shouldn't have given up so easily unless they encountered some major difficulties."

Hearing that Xu Hongdou had actually shown interest in the topic of guesthouses immediately put Lin Bufan on the alarm!

B&B!

The funding chain has dried up!

Could this be the guesthouse that Xu Hongdou took over in the original drama?

No, no!

We absolutely cannot allow Xu Hongdou to have any connection with this guesthouse!

Do not!

That's still not enough to guarantee safety!

I must also avoid contact with this guesthouse to prevent Xu Hongdou from having any interaction with it. I need to eliminate this unstable factor as soon as possible!

correct!

In the original drama, the owner was forced to sell his guesthouse because his wife had cancer.

cancer!

This is a perfect match for my major!

Just as Xie Zhiyao was about to explain to Xu Hongdou, Lin Bufan suddenly interrupted, cutting off all the words Xie Zhiyao was about to say: "President Xie, if I understand correctly, your problem now is that because the previous Boss Li's cash flow dried up, the guesthouse project was abandoned, and you need to find someone to take over, right? But if Boss Li's funds can be restored, then none of this will be a problem, right?"

Xie Zhiyao was taken aback by the sudden question, and nodded subconsciously: "That makes sense, but..."

"That makes things much easier!" Lin Bufan slammed his hand on the table, leaned forward, and stared intently at Xie Zhiyao: "Give me that Boss Li's contact information, and I'll take care of him for you."

"Huh?" Xie Zhiyao was completely dumbfounded: "No, President Lin, this isn't so easy to solve, Boss Li, he..."

"Oh, Mr. Xie, don't worry!" Lin Bufan stood up without saying a word, walked around the table to Xie Zhiyao's side, patted him on the shoulder, and said with an unquestionable confidence: "There's nothing in this world that I, Lin Bufan, can't handle. It's just a problem of a broken capital chain, leave it to me! I guarantee I'll take care of it perfectly! Here, give me your phone number now."

Under Lin Bufan's coaxing, deception, and half-coercion, Xie Zhiyao finally found out Boss Li's phone number and gave it to Lin Bufan in a daze.

Lin Bufan got the number, proudly waved his phone, said to everyone, "Wait for my good news," and then quickly walked to a corner of the yard to make the call.

The remaining people at the table looked at each other, momentarily speechless.

About seven or eight minutes later, Lin Bufan returned with light steps. After sitting down again, he met everyone's curious gazes and said, "Okay, it's all done!"

Xie Zhiyao looked at Lin Bufan and was incredulous as he saw him return so quickly: "Really? This...it's only been a few minutes? Mr. Lin, how did you do that? Did you give him money?"

Lin Bufan picked up the tea on the table and took a sip, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather: "Why give him money? That's too vulgar! I helped him solve his problems, and now that he's free of difficulties, he'll naturally come back to run the guesthouse!"

So simple... simple my foot!

Do you know what difficulty is? Difficulty is something that is hard to accomplish, that's why it's called difficult. How can you talk about it so casually?

Do you know how much I sacrificed for this? How many times I talked myself hoarse? And you solved it with just a few words. You hurt me deeply, you know that?

The worst part is that you act all nonchalant. Don't you know how pretentious you are?

Lin Bufan, unaware of Xie Zhiyao's inner thoughts, continued speaking: "His wife has cancer, bone cancer, in the middle stage. Treatment will cost a lot of money, so his original plan to invest in the guesthouse is naturally impossible to implement. After all, choosing between a wife and a guesthouse is not difficult."

"Mid-stage bone cancer?" Xie Zhiyao was so shocked that he stood up abruptly. "Mr. Li's wife... has cancer? How come I didn't know? Why has he never mentioned this to me?"

Lin Bufan was startled by Xie Zhiyao's sudden standing up, and rolled his eyes at him irritably: "What's the use of telling you? Can your wife help him get treatment, or lend him money?"

Xie Zhiyao was taken aback; it seemed that was indeed the case!

etc--

Why do I feel like something is wrong?

After some thought, Xie Zhiyao finally realized what was wrong: "So, all you're saying is that you lent money to Boss Li? You can't possibly be helping his wife get medical treatment, can you?"

"Hey!" Lin Bufan raised an eyebrow, an exaggerated expression on his face. "You know what, you're pretty good at guessing! Young man, I really did treat his wife's illness. I previously developed a new drug for cancer, and I'm currently collaborating with a hospital in Kyoto on clinical trials. I had Boss Li send his wife there to join the project, and then I could treat her illness while I was at it. The cost of the medicine will come from the research funding, so he won't have to spend that huge sum of money, and the money saved can naturally go back to running the guesthouse. Isn't that settled?"

Xie Zhiyao was stunned, feeling a bit overwhelmed: "No... Mr. Lin, wait a minute... this... this mid-stage bone cancer... how come you're making it sound like treating a cold or fever?"

Chen Nanxing, who was standing nearby, put down his chopsticks and couldn't help but interject, "President Xie, I can vouch for this. Lin Bufan wasn't lying. For him, treating cancer is indeed similar to treating a common cold."

After a pause, facing Xie Zhiyao's stunned gaze, Chen Nanxing added, "It's possible, even simpler than treating a cold!"

Xu Hongdou also spoke up to testify for Lin Bufan: "I can also testify to this. Nanxing's previous condition... was late-stage pancreatic cancer. At the time, the doctor said that the hope was slim, or even hopeless. It was indeed Lin Bufan who cured her."

Seeing that the two of them said so, Xie Zhiyao looked at Lin Bufan with suspicion: "What you're saying... is it true?"

Lin Bufan waved his hand, too lazy to explain: "Why do you care if it's true or not? Anyway, you don't have cancer, so you don't need it. Boss Li has already agreed and is on his way to Kyoto for treatment. You should see results in a few days, and he will contact you then. Just wait quietly for good news."

Xie Zhiyao thought about it for a moment and felt that Lin Bufan's words made sense, so he stopped asking questions.

Seeing that everything was over, Lin Bufan turned to Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing, who had already put down their chopsticks: "Have you finished eating? If you're done, shall we head out?"

Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously: "Then let's go."

The three bid farewell to Grandma Xie and Xie Zhiyao, and Xie Zhiyao stood up to see them off!

When he saw Xie Zhiyao off at the gate, Lin Bufan solemnly instructed him, "President Xie, I've taken care of the guesthouse issue for you. You must never mention it to me again."

Xie Zhiyao looked puzzled: "Why?"

"Don't worry about why, just remember not to mention the words 'guesthouse'." Lin Bufan glanced back at Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing, then added, "Don't mention it in front of them either!"

Although Xie Zhiyao was full of questions, he nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll listen to you."

Leaving the Xie family home, the three strolled along the cobblestone path back to Youfeng Courtyard. Chen Nanxing leaned closer to Lin Bufan, tilting his head to examine him: "Lin Bufan, why do I get the feeling that you have a particularly strong opinion about that guesthouse?"

Lin Bufan feigned doubt: "Really?"

Chen Nanxing nodded vigorously: "Yes!"

Lin Bufan looked at Xu Hongdou, wanting to hear if she had any different opinions!

To Lin Bufan's disappointment, Xu Hongdou and Chen Nanxing agreed: "When I asked President Xie about the guesthouse earlier, you seemed very nervous. And when President Xie was about to answer, you eagerly interrupted, as if you were deliberately avoiding something. Not to mention your special instructions to President Xie at the end!"

Lin Bufan rolled his eyes inwardly. Are they that sensitive? I won't watch Detective Conan without the two of you!

Chen Nanxing nudged Lin Bufan lightly with his shoulder, grinning slyly, "How about it? Confess and you'll be treated leniently, resist and you'll be punished severely, okay?"

Lin Bufan sighed and made a forced confession gesture: "Alright, since you've found out, I won't hide it anymore."

Actually, I have an innate talent for seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune. Just now, while I was considering whether or not to take over that guesthouse, a sudden, ominous premonition arose in my mind.

Chen Nanxing immediately asked curiously, "How big is it?"

Lin Bufan deliberately stared at Chen Nanxing's chest for a moment, then said in a serious tone, "At least it's bigger than yours."

Chen Nanxing was stunned for a second, then immediately raised his hand to hit Lin Bufan, only to find that Lin Bufan had already run away. So he immediately chased after him, shouting, "Lin Bufan! Are you trying to kill me?!"

Xu Hongdou watched the two bickering and shook her head with a helpless smile. Just as she was about to follow, she suddenly felt her pocket and realized that she seemed to have left her phone behind: "I think I left my phone at President Xie's house. You guys go back first, I'll go get it."

Chen Nanxing stopped chasing and turned around to ask, "Do you want me to go back with you to get it?"

"It's right next door, no need, I'll go get it myself." Xu Hongdou waved her hand and turned to walk towards the Xie family's house.

Chen Nanxing thought about it and agreed, so he continued to chase after Lin Bufan, who had already run into the windy courtyard.

……

The next morning, Lin Bufan was still sound asleep when he was awakened by a loud commotion in the courtyard. He frowned and opened his eyes, vaguely hearing a young boy's voice, trembling with sobs and anger, shouting:

"...Xu Hongdou! You're a big liar! You promised to keep the secret! I'll never believe you again!"

It seemed to be Xie Zhiyuan's voice.

Lin Bufan rubbed his eyes, shuffled his slippers, and opened the door. The courtyard had returned to quiet, with only Da Mai leaning against the second-floor railing, his face still showing a hint of dazed confusion.

"What's going on?" Lin Bufan asked casually as he looked up and headed towards the stairs.

Hearing the sound, Da Mai turned his head, shook his head sleepily, and said uncertainly, "I don't know exactly what happened... I just saw President Xie's younger brother rush in angrily, yelling at Hong Dou, saying that she was a liar and that she promised to keep his secret but didn't... Then before anyone could react, he ran out crying."

Although Da Mai's description was somewhat vague, Lin Bufan immediately understood—it must be Xie Zhiyuan's embarrassing incident of pulling his pants down at school, which had been spread around by those four little brats in the village. This kid thought Xu Hongdou had broken her promise and told others about it, and felt he had lost face, so he came running over angrily to settle the score.

"I see..." Lin Bufan nodded, indicating that he understood.

As he passed by Damai, Lin Bufan stopped and gazed at her face for a moment. Suddenly, he smiled and praised her sincerely, "But speaking of which, Damai, you look quite pretty today, even though you just woke up. You have a kind of... natural beauty."

"Huh?" Da Mai was completely taken aback by the sudden compliment, especially one about her disheveled appearance after just waking up. Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she lowered her head somewhat flusteredly, muttering softly, "W-what's so pretty about me? I didn't even comb my hair..."

Lin Bufan chuckled lightly, didn't continue the topic, and turned to go downstairs.

As soon as he reached the first floor, he saw Xu Hongdou come out of the kitchen carrying a glass of water. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her face showed a hint of helplessness and distress. She was clearly also affected by the sudden accusation she had just received.

Lin Bufan shuffled over to Xu Hongdou in his slippers and leaned in with feigned concern: "Oh dear, who upset my little bean? Come, come, tell your brother Bufan, and I'll help you get revenge."

Xu Hongdou rolled her eyes at Lin Bufan, annoyed: "You know perfectly well why I'm asking this."

Lin Bufan spread his hands innocently: "I just got up and I was completely in the dark. How am I supposed to know what happened if you don't tell me?"

Xu Hongdou shrugged and said somewhat helplessly, "I promised A Yuan I wouldn't tell, I can't leak the secret!"

"But now the whole village knows. Can't I just go out and ask around and find out the details? Does it even matter whether you keep it a secret or not?"

Lin Bufan realized something was wrong as soon as he said it, but it was too late. Why can't you keep your mouth shut!

As expected, Lin Bufan's words immediately alerted Xu Hongdou.

"How do you know the whole village knows? Didn't you just get up?" Xu Hongdou narrowed her eyes, her tone tinged with suspicion. "You know so much, could it be... you're the one who spread this news?"