Nobody said a word. Nobody dared to.
Yes, public safety really had improved enormously, and hardly anyone heard of highway robberies anymore. But with all those predatory eyes fixed on them...
What if? Better safe than sorry. Nobody wanted to gamble with their own life.
Seeing that nobody spoke up, Wen San smiled even more brazenly.
Of course, he did not have the nerve to break criminal law. But after working this route for so many years, he understood people well—his countrymen had always preferred to compromise when away from home. Besides, he had not done anything wrong, had he?
Getting them onto the bus was to save them admission fees. Taking their phones was to prevent conflicts with the locals. Even if he eventually took them to shopping outlets, those were legitimate transactions, services they paid for. What did any of that have to do with him?
Besides, he certainly would not let things turn into an actual fight. But how did that saying go? Scaring people was enough.
So he leaned against the railing, smiling with the utmost sincerity.
"Everyone, I need to eat too. To put it bluntly, what you paid doesn't even cover the travel expenses for me and the driver—we're counting entirely on a little extra income to get by. And think about it. Haven't I done my job properly this whole way? Haven't I done my best to meet every request you made? When that elderly lady said she was thirsty and wanted a bottle of water, I was the one who ran off to buy it for her..."
His words sounded fairly reasonable, and much of the tense, uneasy atmosphere dissipated.
Wen San struck while the iron was hot.
"I'm not asking you to spend any particular amount. Just support me a little