RYEY – Chapter 16 Huge Compensation

Chen Weidang was momentarily speechless. He knew everything that rascal said was true, but what should have been a relatively simple matter had now become tricky because of his involvement.

He turned and entered the ward. Looking at Cheng Qiao, he forced a kindly smile and gently asked how she planned to handle this matter.

Cheng Qiao’s eyes brimmed with tears as she choked out, “Village head, the day before yesterday I was pushed down by Xu Laidi and sprained my ankle. Today I was pushed down by Chen Chunhua and nearly lost my life. Why is this happening to me?”

Chen Weidang: “…”

Wasn’t it just because you’re too naïve and easy to bully?

“Village head, I want to report this to the police, and I also want to transfer to another village for my volunteer service. Otherwise, I might die in Xiangyang Village one day without even knowing how.”

These words made Chen Weidang’s heart jolt, and his face immediately turned stern. If Cheng Qiao only reported it to the police, at worst Chunhua would go to jail, and their Xiangyang Village would lose its advanced honor for the year.

But if Cheng Qiao really requested a transfer—and with such a valid reason—then his position as village head would be finished. No, Chunhua must not go to jail, and Cheng Qiao must not be transferred.

“Comrade Cheng, I will conduct a serious and thorough investigation into this matter. You will get a proper explanation in the end. For now, focus on resting and healing. You won’t need to participate in the autumn harvest. The work points you lose will be compensated by Chunhua’s family.”

“Thank you, village head, that really eases my heart.”

“Comrade Cheng, there’s one more matter. That rascal—no, I mean Li Huan—said he wants to marry you as his wife.”

“Village head, now you understand why I want to transfer, right? Not only was my life nearly taken, today I was even… even harassed by that rascal, no, by Li Huan. What am I supposed to do?”

Seeing Cheng Qiao’s reddened eyes, Chen Weidang felt guilty. That rascal’s reputation was terrible. Forget educated youths—even the village girls wouldn’t marry him.

Outside, Chen Weimin heard the conversation between Cheng Qiao and the village head. His face turned pale. He hadn’t expected things to escalate to such a serious level. His daughter had really caused a disaster this time.

“Rascal—no, Li Huan—tell Comrade Cheng I’m willing to compensate. As long as she doesn’t report to the police and doesn’t transfer, I’ll make up for all of her lost work points from the autumn harvest.”

“Accountant Chen, it’s not compensation, it’s damages. And it’s not just once, but twice. One is a fee for covering things up, the other is hush money. Of course, there’s also medical expenses, lost wages, nutritional costs, and disfigurement compensation.”

Chen Weimin swallowed hard. He knew everything the rascal said was correct. The compensation would not be small this time. He could only hope the demand wouldn’t be outrageous.

“How much are you asking for?”

“The cover-up fee? Let’s say 200 yuan. If this went to the police, Chunhua would get at least three years in prison. Three years, so 200 yuan isn’t much.

As for hush money, I’ll ask for less—50 yuan. After all, I also want Comrade Cheng to stay here in Xiangyang Village. As for the rest, especially disfigurement and nutritional costs, 50 yuan should do.”

“What? That’s ridiculous! Extorting me of 300 yuan—don’t even think about it. I don’t have the money.”

Chen Weimin’s voice suddenly rose. As expected, this rascal was no good, using Cheng Qiao as an excuse to squeeze money from him.

“Accountant Chen, don’t get agitated. The incident already happened. Whether to pay damages is up to Comrade Cheng, but whether Chunhua gets spared—that’s up to me.”

Chen Weimin shuddered. Looking into Li Huan’s eyes, a chill rose from the soles of his feet. Chunhua might be no good, but she was still his only daughter. He couldn’t let her be destroyed by this rascal.

“Give me some time to think. Besides, I really can’t come up with that much money all at once.”

“I don’t care whether you can or not. I’ll give you one day. If you don’t show up with the money by this time tomorrow, I’ll take Cheng Qiao to the police. Also, Chunhua must apologize to her.”

At that moment, Cheng Qiao finally understood why Li Huan insisted she be hospitalized—he wanted to pressure the Chen family into paying money and apologizing. Well, that part was absolutely necessary. Chunhua had always targeted her, intentionally or otherwise. She still didn’t know why.

Chen Weimin left dejectedly, completely forgetting about Chen Weidang in the ward. His mind was consumed with only one thing: where to find 300 yuan.

After saying a few comforting words to Cheng Qiao, Chen Weidang chased after him. The money had to be paid. Cheng Qiao was too wronged this time—disfigured, and now facing marriage to that rascal.

At the hospital entrance, they ran into Han Chunmei and other educated youths. Seeing their worried faces, Chen Weidang grew even more frustrated. These educated youths weren’t so easy to appease either. Ah, Chunhua—truly ruined by her indulgent aunt-in-law.

She was useless at everything, wasted food, and spent her days preening in the mirror, smearing cold cream or braiding her hair. Always thinking she was pretty, but compared to Comrade Cheng, she wasn’t even half as good.

“Weimin, I think the rascal is right. Chunhua must have been jealous of Comrade Cheng’s looks, that’s why she wanted to ruin her face. This money must be paid, otherwise it won’t sit right with our conscience.”

“Brother, I know that. Comrade Cheng is from the city, and city girls’ faces are especially precious. But I really can’t produce 300 yuan.”

“How much do you have at home? Let’s pool together.”

“At most, I can scrape 100 yuan. That’s money I saved desperately for repairing the house.”

“I have 100 yuan here, I’ll give it to you.”

“But that’s still 100 yuan short.”

“Maybe write a promissory note and pay it back slowly?”

“That depends on whether the rascal agrees. He’s been a thug all his life, and his tongue is sharper than mine. I can’t outtalk him.”

“Then let’s go talk to his mother. No matter how much of a thug he is, he treats his mother well.”

“Treats her well? If he really did, would he still let his mother work the fields while he runs off who knows where every day?”

“Eh… true. But we should still try. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

…

“Cheng Qiao, what happened? Did that rascal beat you?”

Han Chunmei and the others finally found the ward number the village head gave them. Seeing Cheng Qiao’s head wrapped in a bandage, they anxiously asked.

“Cough, cough…”

Li Huan coughed from the corner. Only then did they notice the rascal sitting there, peeling an apple.

“Sister Chunmei, Sister Yuefang, why are you here?”

Cheng Qiao was stunned to see her fellow educated youths. Didn’t they leave earlier? How did they know she was at the hospital?

Oh, right—just earlier, Sister Chunmei saw her sitting on the back of Li Huan’s bicycle and even called out to her several times.

“Cheng Qiao, don’t tell me you were hurt so badly you forgot seeing me just now. I saw you, head covered in blood, riding behind that rascal. That’s why I went to find the others and brought them here.”