Chapter 9: Caught by the Deputy Director of the Street Office

Ding Hongjuan and Dong Xiaoye couldn’t rest easy about Wu Xiuxiu’s health. They didn’t dare sleep the whole night, afraid that her condition would worsen or she would develop a fever again.

Thankfully, Wu Xiuxiu drank the spiritual spring water and was safe and sound all night. The next morning, she woke up feeling energetic and lively.

Wu Xiuxiu thought that she could be discharged from the hospital as planned. She really didn’t like staying in the hospital, and it was too expensive.

Ding Hongjuan and Dong Xiaoye were worried about her and refused to let her leave, but she insisted on going home.

They couldn’t do anything against her, so they decided to ask Dr. Liu to check on her. If he said she was well enough to be discharged, they would let her go.

However, when they asked the nurse, they learned that Dr. Liu had a major surgery the previous night. He didn’t finish until dawn and went to sleep. He hadn’t woken up yet.

After learning this, Wu Xiuxiu told her mother and sister-in-law not to bother Dr. Liu and let her go home directly. She said she was completely recovered.

To convince her mother and sister-in-law, she even dragged the bed and moved the bedside table to show them.

Seeing Wu Xiuxiu drag the bed and move the bedside table, Ding Hongjuan and Dong Xiaoye believed that she was truly recovered and had no problems. They finally agreed to let her go home.

While Dong Xiaoye was processing the discharge procedures, Wu Xiuxiu specifically asked the nurse about Captain Jiang’s condition. She learned that he had been successfully resuscitated and was out of danger. He was still unconscious, but would wake up tomorrow.

Wu Xiuxiu felt relieved and fortunate. She thought, “It’s good that my blood wasn’t shed in vain. Captain Jiang is saved, that’s great!”

After Dong Xiaoye finished the discharge procedures, she and Ding Hongjuan took Wu Xiuxiu home.

Wu’s family lived close to the hospital, so they didn’t take a car. They walked home.

As they approached the entrance of the alley where Wu’s family lived, a tall, middle-aged woman suddenly appeared, blocking their path.

“Wu Xiuxiu, are you discharged from the hospital?” The middle-aged woman stared at Wu Xiuxiu, her eyes unfriendly.

Who was this woman? Wu Xiuxiu looked at her, feeling a sense of familiarity.

She quickly searched her mind and realized it was Zhou Lin, the deputy director of the Street Office. She felt a sense of dread.

Zhou Lin was in charge of sending educated youth to the countryside. Every year at this time, she would go around promoting the benefits of going to the countryside and encouraging families with eligible children to sign up.

She would force those who were eligible but unwilling to go, and use harsh methods to compel them.

For those who were determined not to go, she was extremely tough, even ruthless.

It was said that she once took people to catch two children who had run to their relatives’ homes to avoid going to the countryside. She beat them up and forcibly sent them to the countryside.

For those who didn’t want to go to the countryside, she was a devil.

Now, she had set her sights on Wu Xiuxiu and had personally visited Wu’s family several times, urging her to sign up for the countryside program.

The original Wu Xiuxiu was so pressured by her that she came up with the ridiculous idea of getting sick by getting drenched in the rain.

“Director Zhou, Xiuxiu is discharged, but she’s not fully recovered yet. Her body is still weak…

But we don’t have the money to keep her in the hospital. We’ve brought her home to rest.” Ding Hongjuan said to Zhou Lin.

Hearing this, Wu Xiuxiu knew that her mother was afraid that Zhou Lin would urge her to go to the countryside again. She quickly reached out to hold her head.

“Mom, my head is spinning… My body is so weak, I can’t even stand steadily.”

As she spoke, she leaned on Ding Hongjuan.

Ding Hongjuan immediately supported her, with a worried expression and a heartbroken cry, “My poor child, look at you…

Mom feels so sorry for you! I don’t know when you’ll get better. It might take months to recover.”

“The doctor said that although Xiuxiu’s fever has subsided, her body is severely damaged. It will take a year or two to recover.” Dong Xiaoye quickly cooperated and said.

Zhou Lin narrowed her eyes, scanning Wu Xiuxiu, her mother, and her sister-in-law before speaking, “Look at Wu Xiuxiu’s complexion, it’s quite good.

Her cheeks are rosy, her eyes are bright, she doesn’t look like she’s weak and dizzy. She doesn’t look like her body is severely damaged and needs a year or two to recover…”

“Which doctor said her body is severely damaged and needs a year or two to recover?”

Her gaze fell on Dong Xiaoye, and she scolded in a stern voice, “This is definitely a quack! Tell me who he is, I’ll go find him and take him to his leader.

I’ll have his leader investigate him thoroughly. If he’s truly a quack, he must be fired to prevent him from harming patients in the hospital.”

Dong Xiaoye panicked and quickly shook her head, “I don’t know who that doctor is… I just heard that he was an intern and left the hospital this afternoon.”

Zhou Lin sneered, “You believe an intern’s words, and you dare to say it out loud.”

Does she think I’m an idiot? She dares to lie to me with such nonsense… Look at her panicking and afraid.

Zhou Lin looked at Wu Xiuxiu and Ding Hongjuan again and snorted, “Don’t pretend, don’t act to deceive me!

I went to the hospital yesterday afternoon to visit a sick colleague, and I happened to see Dr. Liu Hanxiang who treated Wu Xiuxiu. I happened to know his mother and also know him, so I asked him about Wu Xiuxiu’s condition…

He told me that Wu Xiuxiu was recovering well and couldn’t stay in the hospital anymore. She wanted to be discharged today.”

Hearing this, the Wu family was embarrassed and could only chuckle awkwardly.

It turned out that Zhou Lin was deliberately here to “catch” them.

This Zhou Lin is so powerful! Wu Xiuxiu sighed inwardly. No wonder the original Wu Xiuxiu was forced to come up with such a ridiculous idea and lose her life.

But she didn’t expect Zhou Lin to know Dr. Liu. If she had known, she wouldn’t have told Dr. Liu yesterday afternoon that she felt she was recovering well and didn’t need to stay in the hospital. She wanted to be discharged today.

At that time, Dr. Liu had opposed her being discharged today, asking her to stay in the hospital for a few more days until she fully recovered before being discharged.

She didn’t expect Zhou Lin to remember what she heard from Dr. Liu, that she wanted to be discharged today, and come to block her this morning.

“I know you want Wu Xiuxiu to avoid going to the countryside, and I also know that Wu Xiuxiu got sick this time and was hospitalized because she didn’t want to go to the countryside, so she deliberately got drenched in the rain.”

Zhou Lin looked at the Wu family, with an expression that said, “I know everything.”

“Let me tell you, over the years I’ve seen countless people who didn’t want to go to the countryside, who used all sorts of tricks to avoid it. They used all kinds of methods.

So no matter what you do, what tricks you play, you can’t escape my eyes.” Her voice, like her gaze, was full of warning.

“Wu Xiuxiu, just be obedient and stop making trouble. Go to the countryside!

What’s wrong with going to the countryside? It’s good for building character, you can help the farmers build their homes, change the face of the countryside, it’s great, it’s a meaningful thing, it benefits both yourself and others!”

Her gaze landed on Wu Xiuxiu, she persuaded, with a look of concern.

Wu Xiuxiu could only smile awkwardly. It was true that going to the countryside as an educated youth could build character and help the farmers work and build their homes, changing the face of the countryside.

But to avoid her tragic fate, she absolutely could not go to the countryside, but she couldn’t tell Zhou Lin this.

“I’ve brought you the application form for going to the countryside, fill it out now, and next month you’ll be joining the team going to the northwest to work in the fields…

And let me tell you, the northwest is a great place, the mountains are green, the water is clear, the resources are abundant, I guarantee you’ll love it once you get there.”

Zhou Lin took out a piece of paper and a pen from her pants pocket and handed them to Wu Xiuxiu.

The northwest is a great place, the mountains are green, the water is clear, the resources are abundant? She’s lying! Wu Xiuxiu cursed in her heart.

She was from the northwest countryside herself. The northwest had been undergoing large-scale development for years, and many parts of the northwest were still desolate and poor, not to mention now.

The northwest had not yet been developed, it was definitely more desolate, more barren and cold, and more difficult to live in than in modern times.

But she couldn’t say these words, sigh…

Wu Xiuxiu shook her head in her heart, her eyes fell on the form and pen Zhou Lin handed over, she hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take the form and pen.

“Thank you, Director Zhou. After hearing what you just said, I feel like I’ve been enlightened, I suddenly understand,

I was wrong not to want to go to the countryside before, I should go to the countryside to build my character, to help others… I’m willing to go to the countryside.

But there’s no table here, it’s not convenient to write and fill out the form, I’ll take the form home to fill out, and I’ll bring it to the street office after I’m done.”

Wu Xiuxiu put on a look of enlightenment, her face full of gratitude.

Looking at Zhou Lin’s posture, she couldn’t refuse, she couldn’t not take the form.

She would take the form first to get her off her back, and let her go home.

If she refused, if she didn’t take the form, she would keep forcing her to agree, to take the form, and not let them go home.

Zhou Lin, Ding Hongjuan, and Dong Xiaoye all looked at Wu Xiuxiu in surprise, they couldn’t believe she suddenly understood and agreed.

But Zhou Lin didn’t doubt it, she thought that since Wu Xiuxiu had taken the form and said she would fill it out, then she must have really thought it through and wouldn’t be lying to her.

“Okay, take it home and fill it out, bring it to the street office when you’re done.” Zhou Lin nodded.

“Okay. Director Zhou, we’ll go home then, see you later.” Wu Xiuxiu smiled at Zhou Lin, then reached out to pull her mother and sister-in-law away.

They quickly entered the alleyway, and after walking a distance, Wu Xiuxiu stopped, looked back,

Seeing that Zhou Lin was no longer in sight, Zhou Lin naturally couldn’t see them either, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Ding Hongjuan and Dong Xiaoye also looked back, then both breathed a sigh of relief, but they both stopped halfway through, frowning at Wu Xiuxiu, each with a worried look on their faces.

“Xiuxiu, how could you agree to go to the countryside, and you even took the form.

Didn’t we agree to let Matchmaker Liu arrange a blind date for you, so you could quickly find a good man to marry and you wouldn’t have to go to the countryside?”

Ding Hongjuan grabbed her daughter’s hand excitedly and shouted.

“Yeah! I’ve already talked to Matchmaker Liu, she’s agreed, she said she has a few good young men in her hands, she can introduce them to you, you can go meet the first one tomorrow…

You actually agreed to go to the countryside just now, and you took the form she gave you, what were you thinking… you’re crazy!”

Dong Xiaoye was also very excited, she wanted to reach out and grab her younger sister.

“Mom, sister-in-law, don’t worry, I’m not really going to the countryside.

You saw Zhou Lin’s attitude, if I didn’t pretend to agree to go to the countryside and take the form,

She would definitely keep forcing me, forcing me until I agreed, if I didn’t agree she wouldn’t let us go.” Wu Xiuxiu quickly reassured them.

Ding Hongjuan and Dong Xiaoye breathed a sigh of relief, “So you were pretending to agree to go to the countryside, good, good!”

Ding Hongjuan and Dong Xiaoye both patted their chests, but they didn’t know what they were thinking, Ding Hongjuan’s just relaxed brows furrowed again, and a worried look appeared on her face again,

“But you’ve already taken the form, you said you’d bring it to the street office to give to Zhou Lin…”

“I’m definitely not going to fill out the form and give it to her.” Wu Xiuxiu waved her hand.

“But if she doesn’t see you bring the form, she’ll definitely come looking for you.” Dong Xiaoye said, her brows also furrowed again, a worried look on her face.

“If she comes looking for me, I’ll hide, I won’t see her, she can’t do anything to me if she can’t find me.” Wu Xiuxiu said with a nonchalant look.

She had already thought it through.

“But hiding isn’t a long-term solution, some people even hid out of town, and she still found them and brought them back.” Ding Hongjuan sighed.

“So we have to get Xiuxiu to succeed in her blind date, as long as Xiuxiu gets married, even if Zhou Lin is powerful, even if she has the power to reach heaven, she can’t do anything to Xiuxiu.” Dong Xiaoye said.

Ding Hongjuan nodded twice, “That’s right, the only solution now is to get Xiuxiu to have a blind date quickly, to get married quickly, as long as she gets married, we’re not afraid of that Zhou Lin.”

Wu Xiuxiu also nodded, this was the only way to save herself right now!