The villagers made way for an old man in his fifties to walk out from behind the crowd.

He was of medium height, with a square face and a serious expression.

Liu Lu said to the village chief, "Village chief, I've been married into this village for so many years, you know what my family's situation is like."

Then Liu Lu recounted in detail what happened today when Zhang Baogen pushed the little girl into the water.

Finally, looking at Baogen's mother, she said to the village chief, "Village chief, you see, Baogen's mother has come to our door demanding medical expenses. Please make a decision for us today."

After listening to Liu Lu's words, the village chief looked up at the little girl and then at Bao Gen's mother, who was clearly feeling guilty.

"What's the current situation with Zhang Baogen from Zhang Qun's family? Is he really bedridden?"

Baogen's mother's eyes darted back and forth, but she said, "Oh dear, that's right. Our Baogen has always been a bit weak since he was little. Don't be fooled by his plumpness; it's all just water retention. I would never lie."

"I came here this time to ask the Liu family for some medical expenses. After all, the child got sick because Liu's wife threw him into the river. Look at their little Pei, the girl is fine. That child is used to working, so she is much healthier than our Baogen."

The village chief pondered without speaking.

Liu Lu sneered: "In that case, I'll take Baogen to the hospital myself, so he doesn't get sick from catching a cold."

“Don’t worry, I’ll cover all the medical expenses. But,” Liu Lu suddenly changed the subject, “what if you lied about this?”

"What do you mean, what should I do? I can't lie, how could I curse my own child?" Baogen's mother was both in the wrong and indignant, but she refused to talk about the consequences of her lying.

Liu Lu didn't look at Bao and her mother, but instead looked at the village chief.

"Village chief, just tell us what to do. We'll do whatever you say."

Liu Lu recalled that the village chief always had high prestige and was always fair in his dealings.

When the original owner was working in the fields, the village chief took care of her many times. Seeing how hard it was for a woman to work, he had his son help her with the work.

I tried to persuade Mr. and Mrs. Liu to work together, but the elderly couple were only interested in enjoying themselves and were unwilling to work in the fields.

Since it was someone else's business, the village chief couldn't interfere too much, so he could only take extra care of the original owner.

Therefore, Liu Lu had a lot of confidence in the village chief's decision.

The village chief looked at Baogen's mother and asked again, "Zhang Qun's family, I'm giving you one last chance. Are you sure your baby is in a state where he can't get out of bed right now?"

Baogen's mother felt a little guilty and was about to retort when she suddenly saw her brother wink at her, and her eldest nephew had already run outside.

She felt relieved, thinking that he must have gone to find Baogen. She told him to pretend to be at home so that she wouldn't be afraid even if he came to check on her.

Thinking of this, Baogen's mother gritted her teeth and said definitively, "Village chief, that's exactly right. How could I lie about something like this? Otherwise, how could I have the face to ask the Liu family for medical expenses?"

Hearing her say that, the village chief decided to have everyone go to Baogen's house to see how Baogen was doing.

If it is determined that the illness is more serious than that of the little girl, then a decision can be made regarding whether to provide compensation.

Soon everyone entered Baogen's home.

Baogen's mother hurriedly took two steps forward and saw Zhang Baogen lying on the bed through the window.

Baogen's mother finally felt relieved. She squeezed out two tears and turned to the crowd, saying, "My Baogen is still lying in bed. You can look all you want. My poor Baogen has suffered so much. This is the only way I can get justice for him."

The village chief stepped forward, opened the door, and said, "Haven't you called a doctor yet?"

As he spoke, he approached Zhang Baogen's bedside.

Zhang Baogen's forehead was covered in cold sweat, his face was flushed, and he lay heavily on the bed as if he were asleep.

The scene before him was beyond the village chief's expectations. He had originally thought that Baogen's mother was taking the opportunity to cause trouble and extort money, but seeing that Baogen was now lying in bed, he was in a bit of a predicament.

Liu Lu was also a little confused. Logically speaking, a strong child like Zhang Baogen should have been pulled out of the water immediately after getting in. It was impossible for him to be so sick. Could it be that the child was just bloated?

Liu Lu approached and took a closer look. Zhang Baogen saw that the child's eyes were tightly closed, but his eyelids were constantly moving, clearly indicating that he was pretending to be asleep.

She reached out and touched the child's forehead; it was ice-cold, indicating no fever, but the child's cheeks were warm.

"What are you doing? Take your hands off me!" Baogen's mother shouted loudly, shoving Liu Lu aside.

“My Baogen is so sick, and you still want to lay a hand on him.”

A child ran in from outside while they were making a fuss.

The child shouted loudly, "Brother Baogen, you left your shoes at the village entrance, I've brought them back to you."

When he walked in and saw the room packed with people, he was stunned.

"Little Bean, what brings you here?"

Bean's mom squeezed out of the crowd and grabbed Bean's ear.

"Hmm, you little brat, always meddling in everything? What brings you here today? What shoes are you bringing?"

Little Bean was a little aggrieved. He cried out, "Mom, let go! It hurts!"

Douzi's mom still grabbed his ear: "You little rascal, tell me quickly what shoes you're giving as a gift?"

Little Bean grimaced in pain.

“Just now, Baogen and I were playing at the village entrance when his cousin from his maternal uncle’s family came over and scooped him up without saying a word. After playing for a while, we found Baogen had left one of his shoes at the village entrance, so I brought it to him.”

The people in the room fell silent and looked at each other in bewilderment.

"You're talking nonsense!" Baogen's mother yelled and rushed over.

“My Baogen fell into the water and got sick, how could he possibly play with you? Get out of here right now.”

Douzi's mother was displeased: "What are you yelling about? My Douzi said your son went to play just now, so he went to play. My Douzi never lies."

How did this little brat suddenly appear? The village chief is still here. If he finds out about this... Baogen's mother felt her back was soaked with sweat.

“I’m not lying. Several of us were playing at the village entrance. You can go and ask if you don’t believe me. Lots of people saw us.”

When Xiaodouzi heard Baogen's mother say that he was lying, he couldn't help but cry out that he had been wronged.

Liu Lu understood the situation and stopped Bao Gen's mother from getting angry.

"I was just thinking that Baogen had no fever at all, his face was flushed and his breathing was very rapid. It turns out he just ran back."

Everyone burst into laughter.

“Baogen’s mom, what you’re doing is a bit too much. This is clearly an attempt to extort money from you.”

"Oh my god. I was thinking that Brother Bao must be really sick to have fallen into the water this time, and that he was quite pitiful. But who knew, oh dear, I've been fooled again."

Seeing that his illness had been discovered, Zhang Baogen suddenly sat up in bed.

“You jinx, you threw me into the river. I’m sick now, but my mom said you have to pay me back.”

Baogen's mother hurriedly walked up to Zhang and covered his mouth with her hand.

"Have you all made enough of a scene?" The village chief gave Baogen's mother a deep look.

"The autumn harvest is in a few days. Your family can provide two laborers to help Old Liu's family harvest the land, and that will be the end of it."

After saying this, the village chief walked out of Baogen's house.