Chapter 247 Elder Gong Village Tears Flowing
The village chief was also ruthless. The past few years had been truly difficult, and money couldn't be casually taken from the team. If there wasn't enough grain, how would everyone get through to the next harvest? They still needed to buy grain.
The grain sent by Young Master Zi before was also paid for, just not at an exorbitant price. This was life-saving money. He hadn't thought much about it before, but now that his mind was clear, he absolutely could not let the villagers of his brigade starve because of one person.
Before long, the village chief arrived at the educated youth office. He had met the leaders here many times, so as soon as the village chief walked in, he began to weep.
Seeing Gong Hua's state, Leader He's heart sank. What was going on again?
"Village Chief Gong, please sit. What's wrong?"
"Leader He, something has happened, something big has happened!"
Seeing the old village chief crying so sadly, Leader He quickly helped him to a chair.
"Don't rush, Village Chief Gong. Let's talk slowly."
The village chief lifted the hem of his robe and wiped his face haphazardly. He handed the slip from his pocket to Leader He.
"A female educated youth from our village was thrown at the foot of the mountain by someone in the middle of the night and had her leg broken."
"What! Leg broken, and they don't know who did it?"
Hearing Leader He's sharp cry, the village chief was displeased. It sounded as if he was being blamed for not taking good care of the educated youth. The village chief quickly spoke, lest the other party push the blame onto him.
"I reported it to the public security bureau immediately, and the comrades from the public security bureau haven't found any clues. Leader He, this female educated youth was taken out of her sleep. I can't possibly sleep at the educated youth point to guard them."
The words were rough but not unreasonable. Leader He could only smile awkwardly, as the educated youth were their responsibility.
"Ahem, how is that female educated youth now?"
Seeing the amount on the invoice, Leader He wanted to return it to Village Chief Gong.
"She's in surgery at the hospital. They need payment, but what are the conditions now? The team doesn't have money to cover it for her."
Village Chief Gong was getting rid of all his burdens at once.
Leader He looked at the amount on the invoice again and felt a headache. Educated youth getting injured was indeed their responsibility, but it was over three hundred yuan. They couldn't possibly not be able to repay it in the end.
The village chief saw Leader He's hesitation, but if he didn't take it, who would?
"Leader He, Comrade Wang Zhenli is willing to work hard to earn work points to exchange for money. Once she has money, she can repay it slowly. Can you give me the money first, and then let Wang Zhenli repay the educated youth office slowly after she recovers?"
Leader He smacked his lips. He really had no way to refuse.
"How about this, I'll go to the hospital with you. As for the money, I'll contribute half, and you contribute half."
Seeing that Village Chief Gong was about to speak, Leader He immediately stopped him.
"Village Chief Gong, let me finish. It's true that educated youth getting injured is our responsibility, but we won't pay for them. Otherwise, if every educated youth gets injured, who can afford it, right?
My arrangement is out of pity for the injured educated youth. We'll pay half, and when I contact her family later, they can pay. You pay the other half, and let her use her work points to repay it when she's better.
Village Chief Gong had never realized his brain could work so fast. His tongue was very agile today. He immediately put on a mournful face, looking as if he wanted to cry.
"It's not that I'm unwilling to pay the other half. That child is also pitiful. The doctor said the chance of her leg healing is not high, and the team's account doesn't even have two hundred yuan. I have no right to borrow the entire village's money. Otherwise, I would be the sinner of the entire Bai Rong Brigade."
Tsk, that was a heavy accusation. The sinner of the entire Bai Rong Brigade. Could Leader He afford to offend him completely? He could be sent to eat steamed buns immediately.
"The possibility of healing is not high! This is really difficult to handle."
The village chief didn't care. Today, he was going to be a bad person against his conscience and push this hot potato away.
"Doesn't the educated youth office have a policy for this kind of situation? Surely not. Who can guarantee that educated youth won't get injured?"
Leader He didn't want to say it, but seeing Village Chief Gong's persistent attitude, he couldn't make things difficult for him, or it would be hard to suppress if it escalated.
"Generally, seriously injured or disabled educated youth can be given a return ticket to send them home to recuperate."
Village Chief Gong suddenly slapped his thigh, wishing he could break his own thin, old leg.
"Then let's send her back. Leader He, you take out the medical expenses, and when we send her back, you can ask her family for it."
That was indeed the logic, but there was a significant risk of not getting the money back. Firstly, it depended on whether the other party had money and whether they were willing to pay. If they encountered a difficult family, they might not get the money at all. He had encountered such situations before, which was why he didn't want to pay.
Seeing that Leader He still looked hesitant, Village Chief Gong cursed him in his heart ten thousand times. He wiped away nonexistent tears and started wailing again.
"Leader He, please hurry and save her. After all, it's a life. If the brigade wasn't so poor, I would never stand by and watch."
Well, "standing by and watching" was another heavy accusation. What could he do? He had to compromise.
"Village Chief Gong, stop crying. I'll take the money and go save her now. We can discuss the specifics later."
Discuss what? It was hard enough to get rid of it. If I take it back, I'll be a fool.
"Okay, okay, let's go quickly and pay the money to save her."
And so, Leader He, holding the money with a pained expression, followed him to the hospital.
As they walked to the operating room door, they heard an impatient nurse urging them to pay.
The team leader quickly looked at the village chief. Seeing the old village chief's fleeting smile, he relaxed.
Zhao Zhenzhen, listening to the village chief's words, felt a mix of emotions. She envied Wang Zhenli for getting the return-to-city spot, but she also sighed inwardly when she thought about what she had exchanged for it.
The four of them paid the fees and sat outside the operating room to wait, each with their own thoughts.
The operating room door finally opened three hours later. Leader He rushed to the front. He most wanted to know if her leg was permanently damaged.
After all, it was a lot of money and a wasted spot for an educated youth, which would be a failure of the educated youth office.
"The surgery was very successful. Your timely handling was also good. The bone fragments did not displace during transport, so fortunately, there was no secondary injury. The patient will recover normally after a few months of rest."
Among the four people present, only Leader He breathed a sigh of relief. The other three were not very happy. The village chief and the team leader were worried about how they would eat if she couldn't work for several months.
As for Zhao Zhenzhen, she was resentful that she would have to work for the next few months while also taking care of Wang Zhenli. After all, the remaining people at the educated youth point would not be willing to take care of her.
Zhao Zhenzhen looked at the village chief and the team leader, wanting to deal with her problem first.
"Village chief, I can stay and take care of Wang Zhenli, but how will we eat? And how will my work points be calculated if I don't work?"
This was indeed a practical problem. She couldn't take care of someone unconditionally. She needed to eat and couldn't work for free.