The young man bowed slightly, then said with a gentle and sincere smile, "Everyone, my surname is Tang, my given name is Xuan, and my courtesy name is Mufeng. I am from Jiuyuan County. It is truly a blessing for my brother and I to receive your generous assistance today."
At this point, his eyes were filled with gratitude. He bowed deeply to everyone and continued, "I, Tang Mufeng, will remember your kindness today. Please allow me to fulfill my duties as a host, so that I can feel a little better."
After saying that, he turned around and prepared to take his sister and the accompanying guards into the city. It was obvious that he was planning to treat everyone in Sujia Village well.
Upon seeing this, the village chief hurried forward, stretched out his hand and waved, looking honest and sincere, and hurriedly stopped him, saying, "Mr. Tang, we appreciate your kindness, but there's really no need to go to such trouble.
We all believe in the saying "when we see injustice, we should help it." This incident, which happened today, is just a matter of convenience, not a big achievement. Besides, we have to hurry on our way, and we really don't dare to delay here any longer, so please don't bother."
Although the village chief's words were plain, they revealed an unquestionable determination.
When Tang Mufeng heard the village chief's refusal, he immediately became anxious. His brows furrowed slightly, his eyes filled with anxiety and sincerity. He hurriedly said, "How can this be possible? You all saved my brother and I today. If I don't repay this great kindness, wouldn't I, Tang Mufeng, be considered ungrateful? This is unacceptable!"
As he spoke, he took a step forward and held the village chief's hands tightly. His hands were gripped very tightly, as if he was afraid that the village chief would leave and would not give him the opportunity to repay his kindness.
Seeing Tang Mufeng's firm attitude, the village chief felt helpless.
He looked up at Tang Mufeng, his eyes revealing simplicity and honesty. He sighed softly and could only explain again: "Mr. Tang, we understand your kindness and are particularly grateful for your gratitude. It's just that our group all came from Sujia Village and are preparing to go south to escape the famine.
We have endured hardships along the way, hoping to reach the south as soon as possible and find a place to settle down. Therefore, our itinerary is very tight and we cannot delay for a moment. I hope you can understand our difficulties.
When Tang Mufeng heard what the village chief said, he was slightly stunned and began to think in his heart.
After a moment, he turned around and waved to the captain of the guard behind him.
When the captains of the guards saw that the young master had given an order, they immediately stepped forward quickly.
Tang Mufeng whispered a few words into the ear of the leading guard, who then took his orders and hurried towards the city.
After the guards left, Tang Mufeng turned around and faced the village chief, his gentle and sincere smile reappearing on his face. He said, "Village Chief Su, since you and the other villagers are unwilling to come into the city and let me entertain you properly, then I can't force you to do so.
But I can't just let this life-saving favor go. So please wait a moment. I've already sent someone back to prepare a thank-you gift. It's not something valuable, but it's a token of my appreciation from Tang Mufeng. I hope you'll accept it."
"This, this..." The village chief was stunned for a moment. He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. His face was full of helplessness.
But it was really not appropriate for them to stay here for any longer. However, facing Tang Mufeng's firm attitude, it was not easy to directly reject his kindness. For a moment, the village chief stood there, feeling torn and uneasy.
At this time, Su Wencheng, who had been standing by and observing the situation silently, saw that the village chief and Tang Mufeng were in a stalemate. He frowned, thought for a while, and had to stand up.
Su Wencheng walked up to the village chief, gently pulled his sleeve, and said to him in a low voice, "Village chief, it's almost noon. We've rushed all the way here, and everyone is exhausted. How about...how about we just rest here for a while?"
"It's not too late to leave after lunch. This way, we can slow down a little and give Mr. Tang some face, so he won't be embarrassed. What do you think?"
After hearing what Su Wencheng said, the village chief looked at the villagers around him who also looked tired, and sighed inwardly, knowing that this seemed to be the only way at the moment.
He nodded slightly and said helplessly, "Well, then... let's do as you say. Let's rest here for a while, have lunch, and then continue on our journey."
Seeing that the village chief finally agreed to stay, Tang Mufeng was immediately delighted. The slightly anxious look on his face, which was originally caused by worry that the village chief would not stay, disappeared instantly, and was replaced by a bright smile.
He nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "Yes, Village Chief Su, it's almost noon now, and everyone is tired from traveling. There's no need to rush. We can take this opportunity to rest and have a meal. It will also give me a chance to thank you all for saving my life."
Half an hour passed slowly as everyone waited with some anticipation or some anxiety.
Finally, in the distance, dust was flying and a group of people were rushing towards this side. They were the Tang family members sent back by Tang Mufeng to prepare a thank-you gift.
When they came closer, the people in Sujia Village couldn't help but widen their eyes. They saw that there were more than twenty people in the group, and each of them was holding a variety of things steadily in their hands.
This scene stunned and opened the eyes of the "country bumpkins" in Sujia Village who usually only dealt with land and crops and lived a simple life.
They had never seen such a dazzling array of valuable items. For a moment, everyone looked at these thank-you gifts with curiosity and some restraint.
At this time, Tang Mufeng walked forward with a smile, bowed slightly to Village Chief Su, and said sincerely and respectfully: "Village Chief Su, this is a thank-you gift I specially prepared for you. I hope you and all the villagers will accept it."
After hearing this, Village Chief Su looked at the many objects held by the group of people, and his eyes were instantly filled with surprise and fear.
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he felt like his throat was choked by something.
After a long while, he finally came to his senses and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "This... How can this be? We... We are just doing what we should do. Seeing someone in distress, it is only natural to lend a hand. How can we accept such a generous reward?"
This... this is really frustrating for us, Mr. Tang, please take all these things back quickly. We can't afford it, we really can't afford it."
As Village Chief Su spoke, he took a few steps back, his expression full of determination, and it was obvious that he did not want to accept these overly expensive gifts of thanks.
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