Mountain Stream Ravine.

After hearing Ye Chen recount what seemed like an outlandish tale, Chen Yinuo gradually emerged from her shock.

However, the fact that Ye Chen had become a billionaire left her unable to remain calm for a long time.

In the end, she said she needed some time to cool down and process everything.

She then took out Ye Chen's clothes and toiletries from the suitcase—items he had brought from his rented apartment—and headed to the bathroom.

In the living room, Ye Chen was sitting on the sofa with Ye Youyou, watching Peppa Pig.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

Seeing that it was Zhong Jianshe calling, Ye Chen was momentarily surprised, but not too shocked.

After patting Youyou's little head, he took the phone and stepped out onto the balcony.

"Hello, Mr. Zhong!"

"Ye... Ye Boss, hello!" Zhong Jianshe said awkwardly.

"Hmm, what's the matter?" Ye Chen asked with a smile.

Before Zhong Jianshe could answer, the phone was snatched away by a representative from Jinzhong Village, who immediately put it on speaker and placed it on the table.

"Boss Ye, I'm the representative of Jinzhong Village!" the representative declared.

"Oh? What's going on?" Ye Chen asked.

"Well, Boss Ye, it's like this. You purchased Jinzhong Village from us earlier, right? After some discussions, we villagers have decided we don't want to sell it anymore. Could you return the land and property deeds to us? Don't worry, we'll refund you every penny of the money you paid!" the representative explained.

"Wait a minute. Everything was done with official contracts, and all the required procedures were completed. Ownership has already been transferred, and you've received the money. How can you just decide not to sell anymore?" Ye Chen replied with a laugh.

"Mr. Ye, since you put it that way, let's not beat around the bush. Even we know that the government plans to extend the subway line to the outskirts and that Henda Group is planning a major development there. Surely you have even better information than we do!" the representative said, holding back his emotions.

"Hmm. And then?" Ye Chen asked.

"And then? Then it means Jinzhong Village is now worth a fortune! Back then, you only offered us a million yuan per household. Do you think that's a fair price?" the representative asked.

"At the time, no one knew about the subway plans or Henda Group's development. I was just looking for an affordable plot of land to build a factory. Across Jiangzhou, only Jinzhong Village was cheap enough. Honestly, the one million per household I gave you was more than fair. You wouldn't have found anyone else willing to pay that price!" Ye Chen said.

"But now, Jinzhong Village is worth a fortune!" the representative insisted.

"So, what are you trying to say?" Ye Chen asked with a smile.

He had already anticipated this.

In fact, he was prepared to offer an additional 200,000 yuan per household as compensation.

In his previous life, Jinzhong Village had been acquired by Henda Group for only 700,000 to 800,000 yuan per household. Even after the villagers caused a stir for a long time, Henda Group refused to pay extra, as setting such a precedent was out of the question.

In this life, Ye Chen had already paid them a million per household—a fair and generous deal.

If he hadn't bought it, they would still have been forced to sell to Henda Group for a much lower price.

In essence, Ye Chen had already done them a great favor.

Even so, he anticipated that they wouldn't be satisfied after the announcement, which was why he had planned to offer an additional 200,000 yuan when they came to him.

Not out of fear, but purely out of sympathy.

"Boss Ye, you need to give us more compensation. That's only fair!" the representative demanded.

"Alright, let's not waste time. I'll make it simple—an additional 200,000 yuan per household!" Ye Chen replied.

But as soon as the words left his mouth, another villager shouted, "What? 200,000? That's it? Are you treating us like beggars? We've consulted others, and with the current developments, our land and homes should be worth at least 10 times more! Each household should get at least 10 million!"

Hearing this, the other villagers fell silent, clearly sharing the same thoughts.

Just 200,000?

They couldn't accept that.

What they failed to realize was that they had no bargaining power.

Even if Ye Chen refused to pay a single extra penny, they had nowhere to turn.

In his previous life, Henda Group hadn't compensated them at all, even after their complaints went viral online.

Public opinion overwhelmingly sided with Henda Group. Aside from a few hired trolls, no one sympathized with the villagers.

It was a simple principle: once you sell your house and the price rises, you can't go back and demand more money.

On the other end of the line, hearing the villager's shouting, Ye Chen's face darkened.

Just 200,000 wasn't enough? They were getting too greedy.

"How much are you asking for?" Ye Chen said coldly.

"At least 4 million! We need another 4 million per household!" the same villager shouted.

"Four million, huh? Alright then. I take back my earlier offer of 200,000. Not a single penny more, not even 20 yuan. That's final," Ye Chen said with a sneer and hung up the phone.

Greed knows no bounds.

Their ungratefulness and audacity had completely crushed the last shred of compassion in his heart.

"He hung up? Damn it, he actually hung up!"

The villager shouted angrily after seeing the call end.

"Maybe asking for 4 million was a bit too much?" another villager ventured.

"Too much? If he gave us 4 million, he'd still make a few million more! Is that too much to ask?" the shouting villager retorted.

"But if he refuses to pay, where can we go to complain? Who can we appeal to?"

Realizing this, the villager fell silent, finally remembering that the buyer was an individual, not a corporation.

Even if they wanted to cause a scene, they wouldn't know where to start.

"Call him again. Let's lower the price and negotiate," the representative said, picking up Zhong Jianshe's phone to dial Ye Chen again.

But the call didn't go through.

"Damn, did that guy already block the number?" the shouting villager cursed.

"Use another number!"

Beep... beep... beep...

They tried calling from different numbers, but none of the calls connected.

"Actually, we should've accepted the 200,000 earlier. He doesn't owe us anything. Paying extra would've been a favor, not an obligation," said an elderly villager with graying hair, shaking his head and sighing.