Chapter 9 : Negotiating Terms

When the captain heard that Han Zhenyu would not report to the police because he was doing it for his sake, he was very pleased and thought that the boy was being very sensible.

He had received a lot of benefits from Han Zhenyu in the past, and as long as it didn’t harm his own interests, he still supported him in his heart.

“Zhenyu, tell me your conditions.”

Han Zhenyu nodded and said, “Captain, I know you’re very busy, and everything on the team depends on you, so I’ll make this short. Yesterday, my wife went to the health center and spent 16.80 yuan, which was paid for by Han Lei and Sun Dashu. This money must be paid back by Han Meili and Zhang Qianyun. They will also need to cover future medical treatment and nutrition expenses, which would total about 100 yuan……The doctor said that my wife will often have headaches in the future and may not be able to do heavy work. She can only do work within her capacity, so the old Han family cannot force her to go into the fields to earn work points.”

Before the captain could respond, Yang Lanhua immediately objected. She put her hands on her hips and said, “How can it cost so much just to bandage a wound? And now you want 100 yuan for nutrition expenses. How can you say that? You’re so shameless.”

She spat at Su Xieqiu’s room and said viciously, “You’re still not allowed to do heavy work. You really think you’re a lady with a maid’s life. I tell you, once you’re well, go and earn work points for me. It’s a pipe dream to expect our family to support you. Don’t you realize who you are?”

Yang Lanhua was really angry this time. This little gangster rarely went to the fields. If his wife didn’t work anymore, would she expect the family to support both of them? How could such a thing happen?

Although the gangster rarely ate at home, his wife ate three meals a day at home.

At this moment, the door suddenly opened from the inside, and Su Xieqiu walked toward Yang Lanhua step by step.

“You vicious old woman, you’ve been bullying me since I came to this house. I work all day long, but you don’t even let me eat. I want to die with you today.”

After saying that, she took out a pair of scissors from behind and rushed at Yang Lanhua, stabbing madly while laughing.

Yang Lanhua screamed in fear and ran out, shouting, “What are you doing? Don’t come over here!”

Han Baoguo and the captain were also very frightened. Although they didn’t run away, they looked at Su Xieqiu with caution.

The performance was so realistic that Han Zhenyu almost thought Su Xieqiu was truly crazy. He quickly ran over and grabbed her hand.

Perhaps because he was afraid that Su Xieqiu might break free, he used a lot of force.

Su Xieqiu felt pain in her wrist from being grabbed, and she secretly winked at him.

Han Zhenyu then realized that she was pretending and felt relieved, at least she wasn’t crazy.

If she really went mad, that would be a big problem, and it would be difficult for him to get a divorce in the future.

The captain found a rope from somewhere and said, “Zhenyu, why don’t you tie up your wife first? It will be troublesome if someone gets hurt.”

At this critical moment, the captain couldn’t afford any scandal to happen in the village.

Su Xieqiu looked at the rope in his hand and couldn’t help but twitch the corners of her mouth. He really thought she was a lunatic.

She didn’t even know her acting skills were so good that she fooled several people at the hospital.

If she had known, she might have tried her hand in the entertainment industry in her previous life, and perhaps she could have won an Oscar.

Han Zhenyu saw her expression and smiled, “Captain, my wife must have been upset by the people who bullied her. No need to tie her up. I’ll take her back to the house right now.”

After saying that, he pulled Su Xieqiu back to their small mud house.

Then he whispered to her, “Don’t go out again later. If you act too much, it’ll be difficult to handle things later.”

What he wanted to say was that if the captain truly thought she was crazy, he might not dare to take any action, and things could quickly spiral out of control.

“Yes, I know.” Su Xieqiu had worked for five or six years and was familiar with these situations. She knew when to push forward and when to hold back.

Han Zhenyu scrutinized her for a while before turning and leaving.

Yang Lanhua and Han Meili were standing at the door. The door had somehow been opened, and a crowd had gathered outside, watching the drama unfold.

The captain and Han Baoguo were talking in the yard. When they saw Han Zhenyu come out, they immediately stopped their conversation.

Han Zhenyu ignored the crowd and directly addressed Han Hongbing, “Captain, you’ve all seen my wife’s condition. If you think my request is excessive, then there’s no need to discuss it. Just report it to the police.”

Su Xieqiu’s crazy behavior had already scared the Han family and the captain.

Now, hearing Han Zhenyu talk about reporting it to the police again, they knew he wasn’t just speaking idly.

Hongbing also wanted to resolve the matter as quickly as possible to prevent it from escalating. He turned to Han Baoguo with a grim face and said:

“Uncle, I think Su Zhiqing is seriously injured, and Zhenyu’s request isn’t unreasonable. You and Aunt should agree to it. Otherwise, if this situation spreads, how will Meili face her in-laws in the future? Which family would dare to marry a daughter-in-law who drives her sister-in-law to madness?”

Hearing what Hongbing said, Yang Lanhua immediately responded, “Captain, you know our family’s situation. We have only a few people earning work points, and the rest are just eating for free. This year, the eldest and second sons spent a lot on their weddings, and now we are still facing famine. The family truly can’t afford any more money.”

She glanced at Han Zhenyu and asked suspiciously, “Besides, it’s just a bandaged wound. It shouldn’t cost more than 30 or 50 cents. Why would it be so much?”

Han Zhenyu didn’t even look at her, merely curling his lips into a cold smile.

“Captain, I know you have good intentions and want us to resolve this peacefully, but now you can see there’s no way to negotiate.”

He said as he walked out, “Don’t try to persuade me. It’s settled. I’ll report it to the police, go through the formalities, and make the final decision when the time comes.”

Everyone became anxious upon hearing this. Han Meili cried out, “Dad, Mom, I don’t want to go to jail. Just agree to him.”

Han Baoguo stopped Han Zhenyu and, with disappointment in his voice, said, ” are you really so unkind?”

Han Zhenyu sneered, stared at him, and said word by word “Yes, I’m not kind. If it weren’t for the captain’s face, I wouldn’t even be here discussing this with you. And Han Meili wouldn’t be standing here unscathed.”

Hongbing glared at Yang Lanhua, who always caused trouble without offering any solution, and turned to Han Baoguo:

“Uncle, if Auntie keeps making trouble like this, I won’t interfere anymore, and I’ll let Zhenyu report it to the police. But I want to remind you, given the seriousness of this case, it’s uncertain if Han Meili will even be released if arrested. She not only injured your daughter-in-law, but also the educated youth who came from the city to the countryside. This is not just a village squabble.”

Although Hongbing’s words were meant to intimidate them, they weren’t an exaggeration.

If anything happened to the educated youth from the city, the Educated Youth Office would certainly get involved.

Han Baoguo and Yang Lanhua were both frightened and no longer dared to take any chances.

Yang Lanhua sat down on the ground, slapped her thigh, and started causing a scene. “Captain, it’s not that we don’t want to give it to you, but our family just doesn’t have that much money.”

The captain understood that one hundred yuan was a large sum, and an average family really couldn’t afford it.

He pulled Han Zhenyu aside, signaling him to ask for less.

Han Zhenyu knew his family’s financial situation. One hundred yuan was a significant amount, but the Han family could definitely afford it.

A few years ago, when playing Landlord, Old Man Han and Yang Lanhua had come up with a lot of valuable items.

But many people didn’t know this. If he insisted on asking for one hundred yuan, the captain would think he was being greedy.

So, he pretended to be embarrassed and said, “Captain, it’s not that I don’t give you face, but this is my wife’s lifelong matter. One hundred yuan sounds like a lot, but it might not even be enough for her medical treatment.”

The captain patted him on the shoulder and said, “I know your difficulties, but you also know your family’s situation. They really can’t afford it. How about this? Let them give your wife 50 yuan as a nutrition fee, and the matter will be settled.”

Although Han Zhenyu had asked for one hundred yuan, he had left room for negotiation.

While fifty yuan may seem a bit low, from an outsider’s perspective, it was already a considerable sum.

Unexpectedly, it wasn’t Han Zhenyu who thought fifty yuan was too little, but Yang Lanhua, who thought it was too much.

She pushed further, saying, “Captain, we don’t even have fifty yuan at home, we only have five yuan. So if he doesn’t want it, forget it.”

Before Han Zhenyu could respond, the captain glared at her sternly and said, “If that’s the case, I won’t care anymore. Let the police arrest your daughter.”

Han Baoguo, fearing that the captain might truly stop caring and also afraid that Han Zhenyu would back out, finally showed some authority. He said to Yang Lanhua, “Listen to the captain. Go get the money.”

Yang Lanhua knew she had no choice but to take the money.

Reluctantly, she went to the main room, and after some time, she brought out a handful of banknotes.

She didn’t give the money to Han Zhenyu, but instead walked straight to the captain, crying in distress, “Captain, our family only has this little bit of money. Now we’ve given it all to him. How are we going to live in the future…”

She tightly clutched the money in her hand, refusing to let go, and slapped her thigh, crying bitterly.