Villagers Scorned My Millions; I Invested Elsewhere, They Regretted It

I came to Brightvale with ten million dollars, to hold an investment aid assembly.

I was in the middle of my speech when Curtis Mason, the resident representative, suddenly stepped forward and snatched the mic out of my hand. Mr. Johnson, you talk a real pretty game. All this talk about investing to help us. What you really want is our land, so you can line your own pockets.

"You ask me, if you actually wanted to help us, you'd just split that ten million between us instead of dragging us through some project."

The mood in the room stiffened right away.

"Yeah, calling it an investment, but we've still got to work before we see a dime."

"And you take our land while you're at it. What are we supposed to live on after that?"

"Mr. Johnson, what kind of help is this? I've seen bosses on TV go help villagers, and they hand out cash to people straight up."

Curtis stared at me, sneering. "Mr. Johnson, if you haven't got the money to invest, don't come to our town playing the big man, putting on airs."

Hearing that, my assistant went hot with anger and started to step forward to say something, but I raised a hand and stopped him.

I looked at Curtis and smiled. "You're right. I really don't have it in me to just hand you cash. If you people don't need an investment project, someone else will."

I turned and left, and on the way out I fielded dozens of calls. Before long the project was locked in with the next town over.

A month later, Curtis was crying, begging me to come invest in his town.

......

The assembly wasn't even over, and the villagers were only getting louder.

"No money, then clear out. Our town doesn't want your type."

"Won't hand out cash, but still putting on a show. We can do without an investment like that."

I got up and got in the car.

Inside the car!

My assistant said, furious, "Mr. Johnson, these people don't know good from bad. This is going way too far!"

"Never mind them."

Back at the hotel in town, over the course of one afternoon I received a dozen or so applications "requesting investment."

I read through them carefully. The wording was earnest enough.

But I wasn't about to pick a town based on the applications alone.

I planned to go down to the towns myself and see them firsthand, to find out whether they genuinely needed the help.

I'd been busy in the hotel all afternoon when there was a sudden bang, bang, bang at the door.

The knocking was urgent.

I opened the door to find my assistant standing there, his face tight with alarm. "Mr. Johnson, this has blown up."

"Hm?"

"That bastard Curtis put today's assembly online. He cut the front and back off the video and claims you never came here to help anybody. He says your real goal is to trick the villagers into giving up their land so you can exploit them."

"Let me see."

He handed me his phone, already playing the video Curtis had posted.

It was hot. The likes alone had topped two hundred thousand, and with numbers like that the views had to be in the millions.

In the video, Curtis was saying, "The land in our town has zero pollution, everything we grow is all natural. He comes here saying he's investing to help us, but the truth is he wants to bleed us dry and then exploit us to the bone."

"Our town's poor, sure, but the folks here don't lack backbone. We will never fall for his con!"

"If he really had what it takes, if he was really sincere, he'd hand us the cash straight up."

The netizens who didn't know any better were all commenting. "He's right. Too cheap to part with the money, and he's talking about running some investment project?"

"Con men these days are ruthless. They target the out-of-the-way towns, waiting for the young people to leave for work so they can prey on the elderly."

Beside me, my assistant was shaking with rage. "Mr. Johnson, is Curtis even human? He's smearing you!"

Whether he's even human, I couldn't say.

But their village's situation, does he really not know it?

If you want to get rich, first you build a road. Right now their village doesn't even have a road that runs through.

Plenty of people still have roofs that leak when it rains, and he wants to talk about how everything's all-natural.

And there's no shortage of nearby villages in exactly the same shape as theirs.

"Don't bother with him. Tomorrow we'll go scout another village."

"Yes, Mr. Johnson."

"Also, notify Brightvale. Tell them our investment project is terminated."

Eugene nodded. "Got it. I'll take care of it right away."

Once Eugene had done as I said, half an hour later a knock came at the door, and Curtis Mason showed up with someone in tow.

The man beside him I recognized too. He was the mayor of Brightvale.

Mayor Doyle glanced at my laptop screen. I reached over and closed the lid. "Mayor, what brings the two of you here?"

There was a smile on his face as he spoke. "Mr. Johnson, today was just Curt getting too worked up. His words, the way he handled things, weren't quite appropriate. But you can't cancel your investment in Brightvale over a little thing like this."

Curtis jumped in at once. "Right, Mr. Johnson, you're not that petty, are you? Besides, I posted the video of the assembly online so everyone could weigh in fairly."

"You've seen the talk online by now, haven't you? Everyone's saying your way of investing isn't fair. Us villagers, we live and die by our land. You take our land away, how are we supposed to survive?"

"Don't you think your way of investing goes a little too far?"

Hearing all that nearly made me laugh out of sheer anger.

Eugene couldn't hold back. "You talk without any fear of biting your own tongue. According to the data, your village pulled in under a hundred dollars per acre per person last year. Living off the land all year round, you people would starve to death. Where do you find the nerve to say you survive on your land?"

"And those things you said online, which of them is even true?"

The mayor spoke up right away. "Let's set the online stuff aside for now. We can clear that up later. Mr. Johnson, this time we came to bring you a new investment arrangement, one that all of us can accept. Take a look."

"Clear it up?" I asked.

The mayor reached over and gave Curtis a shove. Curtis said at once, "Mr. Johnson, I've got tens of thousands of followers online now. That video I put up on a whim, it's already past five million views. Everyone's watching this closely. If you can accept our terms, then naturally I'll go online and clear up all the facts."

That was plainly a threat aimed at me.

Eugene heard it and was furious, ready to open his mouth.

But I held him back. "Fine. Show me your terms."

"Curt, hand it over."

Curtis pulled out a sheet of paper covered in crooked, sloppy writing, and leaned in near my ear. "Your ten million has to go into the village account, with me and the mayor jointly overseeing it alongside you. Every dollar of profit earned from here on stays put, not a cent leaves. Each year the profit gets paid out to the villagers as dividends."

"And, for me and the mayor overseeing the account, a salary. Ten thousand a month, each."

When Curtis finished, a faint smile touched the corner of my mouth as I looked at the two of them. "Not a cent of the profit can leave?"

"That's right. If you agree, tomorrow you go online and clear everything up."

"And if I don't agree?"

Curtis's face darkened. "If you don't agree, then I've got no choice but to let the folks online keep judging for themselves."

The mayor said, "All right, Curt, we've said what needed saying. Mr. Johnson's a smart man. I trust he'll make the wise choice."

"Mr. Johnson, it's getting late. If there's nothing else, we won't take up any more of your time."

Mayor Doyle led Curtis out.

On his way out, Curtis let his eyes settle on me, and there was no mistaking the sneer and the threat in them, as if he'd finally gotten me right where he wanted.

Once they were gone, Eugene was furious. "Mr. Johnson, thank God we haven't invested yet. Putting money into a town like that would be like handing it straight to a pack of ingrates."

I said nothing. I dialed a number and pressed the speaker button. The call connected almost at once, and I skipped the pleasantries. "Mayor Barrett, this is Theodore Johnson. We'd like to come out and take a look at your town tomorrow. Would that be all right?"

An excited voice came through from the other end. "All right? It couldn't be more all right. But Mr. Johnson, cars can't get into our town. I'll come pick you up on a motorcycle tomorrow."

"Sure. Sorry to put you to the trouble."

Early the next morning we drove out toward Cottonwood Hollow, and at a spot under a locust tree the car could go no farther.

A lean, dark-skinned middle-aged man was waiting under the tree with two or three others.

Beside them sat a few battered old motorcycles.

The moment we got out of the car, the dark-skinned man hurried over. "Mr. Johnson, sorry to make you come all this way. Our town's poor, there's no road in, so we get by on motorcycles..."

"You must be Mayor Barrett?" I said.

"That's me, Mr. Johnson. With no road, the kids have to get up at five every morning and walk the mountain trails to school. The trip back and forth is so hard they don't eat enough. Some of them bring nothing but two roasted potatoes to school for the whole day..." As he spoke, the rims of his eyes reddened and he couldn't stop it.

"I saw that video about Brightvale. We're willing to sign the land over to you. We don't want you just handing us cash."

Mayor Barrett spoke with real feeling, gripping my hand and holding on for a long time.

"I understand. Let's head into town first and see the details for ourselves."

"Good."

We got on the motorcycles, and Mayor Barrett cautioned them, "Ride slow, you hear me? Don't rattle Mr. Johnson and his people to pieces."

"I know."

Even with that warning, the mountain road into Cottonwood Hollow was truly brutal. From here to the town was another seven or eight miles at least.

And it was all rough, uneven gravel, terrible to travel on.

I felt like the ride was going to shake my bones apart.

Once we reached the town, what I saw shook me even more. Everyone lived in run-down, crumbling houses, and the townsfolk all wore patched clothes.

A small, thin girl stood in clothes that didn't fit her age, hanging on her like a robe.

"Come here..." I said to her.

She came toward me, timid.

"What's your name?"

"My name's Prudence Pope. Mister, are you here to invest in our town?"

I nodded.

Mayor Barrett came over. "Mr. Johnson, her parents passed early. She was raised by her grandmother. Their family has it rough. That's the house they live in."

I took Prudence's hand and walked toward the house. Inside it was pitch dark, the bulb burnt out, and the conditions were even worse. The bed they slept on was just two wooden boards pushed together.

"Prudence, if I invest in your town, what's the one thing you'd want most?"

"I want my grandma to not have to work so hard anymore."

I'd assumed she'd ask for a new set of clothes for herself, or a new bed. But no. The first thing she thought of was her grandmother.

Hearing that, I couldn't keep my own eyes from stinging.

I forced it down. "Mayor Barrett, show me around, let me get a look at the lay of the land. Eugene, make a record of the whole town's situation."

"Yes, sir!" Eugene answered.

After a full day of work, the sky had gone dark.

My assistant said to me anxiously, "Mr. Johnson, it's already dark out. The road out of the mountains is rough at night. We need to leave right away."

Mayor Barrett said too, "That's right, Mr. Johnson, we'll get you out at once"

"No need, Mayor Barrett. I was wondering if we could impose on you for the night."

Mayor Barrett looked troubled. "That's... "

"Would it be a problem?"

"No, it's just, Mr. Johnson, the conditions in our town... "

I cut him off. "It's fine. As long as it's no trouble, I'd appreciate it if you'd arrange something for us."

That night we stayed in a dark, somewhat dirty house. Mayor Barrett told me it was the cleanest one they could find.

At dinner, they even killed a chicken for us.

I meant to have my assistant pay, but Mayor Barrett refused on the spot. "You came all the way out to look at investing in our town. We're grateful enough for that. How could we take your money?"

"All right."

That night, lying on the wooden plank bed, I said to my assistant on the bed beside me, "Eugene, the investment goes to Cottonwood Hollow."

Eugene surfaced from a half-sleep. "Huh? You've decided to invest in Cottonwood Hollow?"

"Mm. Tomorrow, once we sign the contracts with the townspeople, notify the heavy-machinery crew right away so they can come in and start on the road."

"Got it. The crew can be here tomorrow."

I'd just gotten up in the morning when I got a call from Brightvale. The mayor's voice came through. "Mr. Johnson, everything's ready over here."

"Ready for what?"

"The new investment assembly, of course. Bigger than last time, too. Your investment in our town blew up online last time, and Curt says a lot of people from the internet are coming out in person this time to see it and keep an eye on things."

"On top of that, the county TV station is coming to cover your investment. Mr. Johnson, you'd better make the most of this. It's a great chance to get some publicity for yourselves."

I had nothing to say to that. When had I ever agreed to attend another investment assembly?

Clearly they'd decided it on their own and put me over the fire.

They figured a little pressure yesterday and I'd fall in line today.

Their whole game was laughable.

"A publicity chance like this. You think I should treasure it?"

"What do you mean? Mr. Johnson, I don't follow. Our thinking is simple. We just want you to make us rich." Curtis let out a cold laugh.

"Making you rich isn't something I can do. Getting you out of poverty, that I can manage."

"Mr. Johnson, all you have to do is share the profits with us every year. The assembly starts at ten thirty. Everyone's waiting. Whatever you do, don't be late, or this ends up online again and people start saying you think too highly of yourself."

"All right." I hung up.

My assistant said furiously, "Mr. Johnson, they've gone too far. Do they really think we're easy to push around?"

"It's fine."

"Mr. Johnson, are you really going?" There was indignation on his face.

"Going where?"

"To the investment assembly in Brightvale."

"No time for that. Have Mayor Barrett gather the townspeople for a meeting right now. Get the contracts ready. Once they're signed, construction starts immediately."

Eugene brightened. "I'll go now."

He rushed out.

A short while later, he came hurrying back. "Mr. Johnson, quick, look at Brightvale's livestream."

I opened the stream and saw Brightvale already packed with people, the whole town decked out in bright colors, balloon arches, a red carpet, everything.

The stage was up too. They clearly meant to shove me onto it and make me put on a show.

"Mr. Johnson, streaming this fast, they obviously want to force you to show up."

I watched Curtis on the screen, playing it up with real flair, all animated and pleased with himself. I gave a faint smile. "It's fine. Then let the whole internet see with their own eyes who the real joke is."