Chapter 11

Promise
The villagers who robbed the stores reappeared again two weeks later.
A group of them rushed into one of Manager Feng's store. This time, they did not complain or form a riot, they rushed in, took every food then can find, and left.
As they get out of the store, a bunch of strong and big people immediately rushed out of nowhere, staring at the villagers fiercely.
It was a trap.
One of the villagers were scanning the whole area, trying to find an escape route, but there wasn't any. The street was fully surrounded by the big dudes. The villagers could do nothing but to stay still and not move.
When the previous incident happened, the villagers realised that the An Family did not report this to the mayor, and did not prepare any safety precaution to prevent another incident from happening. Therefore, the villagers decided to strike again, not knowing that they would end up in this situation.
All the villagers seemed to have no weapons nor any fighting skills. If this turned out to be a fight between them and the strong fighters, they would definitely lose. The villagers were nervous and had no idea what to do, but they still held the food they stole from the store tightly.
It was at this moment, a man walked out of the fully robbed store.
He seems to be a man with a strong, noticeable presence. As soon as he walked out the store, people started looking at him, some were disgusted and mad when they saw An Family's youngster, An Zi Ran.
An Zi Ran stood on a platform, looking down at the villagers who all had fear in their face. Zi Ran had lost about 5 kg within this two weeks, but the results were still not obvious enough to be seen by outsiders.
"Everyone! Don't be afraid, An Family had used inhumane ways to get money and power, god will eventually bring them their karma one day, we're just doing god's job for him!" One of the villagers shouted.
His words seemed to have special effects, they calmed the other villagers down. The once nervous villagers were now calm, their eyes were now filled with hatred.
"Yeah! An Family members are all jerks, they should all be punished!" Shouted another villager.
"Return us our land that you took away!" Followed by another brave villager.
……
The villagers started to move around, scolding and cursing Zi Ran, some even tried to climb up the platform to pull Zi Ran down, but were quickly denied and blocked by the strong fighters.
An Zi Ran scanned the whole area calmly. He let them shout and curse, he waited till they're all exhausted before he started speaking. "According to our country's law", what you all did, robbing the shop, was a serious crime. You all might have to spend your next three to 5 years in jail if you guys are arrested. Think about your family, your wife and sons, how are they going to survive if you were to spend your next 3-5 years in jail?
His voice was lour and clear, and really persuasive. The noisy street that was filled with noises of villagers shouting were now quiet. All of them calmed down after listening to Zi Ran speak.
Even though the villagers were all just uneducated farmers, they still know the basic laws of their country, that stealing and robbing is a serious crime. Once again, they got panic and nervous.
"Do you know why did I not report the previous incident to the mayor? It was because I did not want your love ones to lose you. I know you guys are just loyal husbands and normal farmers, all you guys need are affordable, cheap food. Today, since you guys are all here, I will hereby announce that, An Family would not force you all to pay high taxes and rents like we did before. Also, you guys do not need to pay back the debts you owe An Family.
It was dead silent.
After Zi Ran finished talking, none of the villagers spoke.
Moments later, a short guy shouted out loud, "Everyone, do not get fooled by this man! Think about it, think about how miserable our lives were just because of this man's father. He can't be trusted!"
Another villager then shouted "Yea! It's impossible that An Family will lower down the rent and tax, let alone allow us to not pay back the debts."
"I once went to An Chang Fu to beg him for a cheaper rent, but all he did was to inform someone to kick me out of the house. You and him are father and sons, he's a jerk, and so will you be!", followed by another villager.
An Zi Ran spoke again, "you all can choose to not believe me, but I will use my actions to prove that my words are right. In the morning three days later, meet me here, An Family will return you all your debt records."
After finishing his speech, An ZI Ran left the place without waiting for any replies, nor reaction.