As soon as he left the hospital, Jie Zi couldn't hold it back anymore and said with guilt: "Wen Bin, I'm the one who implicated you this time. If it weren't for me..."

"Jie Zi, don't say that." Huang Wenbin interrupted him. "We are brothers, and I can't just watch your head explode."

Xu Mengyao listened from the side and really wanted to roll her eyes at her brother. The most important thing now was to solve the problem with Zhang Zhao. So, she interrupted the two of them and asked:

"Brother, how's Zhang Zhao doing? What are their demands?"

Huang Wenbin sighed and recounted the entire story in detail. The doctor said Zhang Zhao would be fine once he woke up, but the Zhang family demanded Huang Wenbin pay the exorbitant medical and nutritional expenses. If they didn't meet their demands, they would call the police and have him arrested.

"This is simply asking for too much!" the Japanese soldier said indignantly, "They knew it was Zhang Zhao who started the trouble, yet they are still so arrogant!"

"No matter what, the problem must be solved." Xu Mengyao said in a deep voice, "Asking for money is easy, but we absolutely cannot let them call the police. I hope this matter will be over quickly."

The brother and sister quietly returned to the village. Huang Wenbin's steps seemed particularly heavy. He hesitated for a moment and said:

"Juan, can you... lend me some money first? I don't want my family to know about this... I will pay you back slowly in the future."

Xu Mengyao immediately understood her brother's thoughts. She gently patted Huang Wenbin's shoulder and gave him silent comfort:

"Don't worry, brother. I'll prepare the money tonight, and we'll go deal with this together tomorrow."

However, fate did not seem to let them off easily. The next morning, before the sun had completely dispelled the darkness, a burst of shrill shouting and cursing broke the tranquility of the village.

Xu Mengyao woke up suddenly, a sense of foreboding welling up in her heart. She quickly put on her clothes and walked out of the room, only to see Huang Wenbin standing at the door with a pale face, staring blankly at the scene in the yard.

Zhang Zhao's mother, along with two other women and an elderly woman, were sitting in the Huang family's courtyard, wailing and shouting. Their voices were high-pitched and shrill, filled with anger and dissatisfaction towards the Huang family. The surrounding neighbors, drawn to the sudden commotion, gathered around, discussing the situation.

Huang Nai heard the noise and hurried out of the house. Faced with this sudden scene, although she was a little flustered, she still asked with full energy: "Whose woman is this? She is crying at my door so early in the morning! Do you think my Huang family is easy to bully?"

"Bah! You old bastard! Your grandson beat my grandson into the hospital, but your family didn't even show up! And you're still cursing my grandson here! Do you have any conscience?" The old lady on the ground cried and cursed, and the people around her followed suit, like a professional mourning team.

Grandma Huang looked at her grandson whose face was pale, and thinking about how he came home late last night, she had a rough idea in her mind.

"Who said we wouldn't show up? You guys showed up before daybreak!"

Xu Mengyao also quickly joined in: "Auntie, my grandma is planning to wait for the big stores to open and buy some nutritional supplements to send over!"

However, Zhang Zhao's mother did not appreciate it at all. She sneered and said:

"Don't try to fool us with those worthless things! Did my son's head injury go to waste? Five thousand yuan! If you give me even a penny less, I'll call the police and have them arrested!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the crowd erupted in an uproar, discussing:

"Five thousand for one fight? Isn't that extortion?"

"The Huang family stall is doing good business, so they should be able to take out 5,000."

"Are you still confused? He just bought a color TV and a washing machine, so he must have plenty of money!"

Some people even joked, "Oh, if I had known earlier, I would have let my son go to the Huang family and cause a scene. Maybe he could extort some money!"

Amidst the discussion, some people sitting on the ground began to whisper among themselves. The oldest among them complained, "Is this the attitude you have when you receive guests? You won't even give them a drink of water?"

Grandma Huang sneered: "You guys can be considered guests." There was a hint of disdain in her voice.

The men got up and went into the Huang family's house. Old Mrs. Zhang scanned the house like a scanner. Then she picked up her water cup, gulped it down, and spoke slowly:

"My grandson had more than a dozen stitches on his head, and blood was all over the floor. He almost died. Five thousand yuan for medical expenses is not a lot. His brain injury is no small matter. You have to give me another five thousand yuan for food and take good care of it."

"What?!" Huang Nai jumped up from the stool when she heard it, her eyes wide. "Five thousand plus five thousand, ten thousand yuan! Even the Ge Min Party can't grab it like you!"

Grandma Zhang Zhao snorted coldly: "Hmph, I know your family is well-off. If you don't want to give it to me, just send your eldest grandson to jail!"

"Yes! Let's do it! How dare he accept the banner? I have to go to the police station and ask if this banner was given to the wrong person!" The people around him also started to make a fuss.

Huang Wenrong saw this and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over: "Don't be angry, my family really doesn't have that much money. Can you be flexible and give me less?"

"Stop talking nonsense! If I don't see the money tomorrow, I will send this little bastard to jail!" Grandma Zhang Zhao flicked her sleeves and left with a group of people.

Xu Mengyao looked at the sighing Grandma Huang and the distraught Huang Wenbin and comforted them, "Grandma, don't worry. I'll go get the money today. They just want to extort money, they won't really send Big Brother to jail."

"Binzi..." Grandma Huang sighed and shook her head. "Forget it, go to school first. I'll discuss it with your parents when they come back."

Huang Wenbin followed him out the door, head hung low. Along the way, the villagers' pointing and gossiping cut into his heart like a sharp knife. He lowered his head lower and lower until he left the village, then dared to raise it.

However, as soon as he arrived at school, Zhang Zhao's family appeared like ghosts. They made a big noise in the classroom:

"You beat my child so hard that he couldn't even get up, and you still have the nerve to come to school!"

"That's right! People like this should be expelled! Where's the principal? We want to see the principal!"

Seeing this, Jiezi rushed forward in anger: "Are you being unreasonable? Zhang Zhao got injured by a sneak attack. My dad has already paid for his medical expenses! Why are you still causing trouble at school?"

"If you hadn't said anything, I would have forgotten about your existence. You two are both worthless, and you still have the nerve to learn from me!" Zhang Zhao's family fought back mercilessly.

Huang Wenbin listened to the sharp insults in his ears and looked at the distorted faces in front of him. He felt his ears buzzing and his chest felt like it was being pressed down by a huge rock, making it difficult for him to breathe.

He pushed through the crowd and ran all the way to his usual fish pond, only then stopping to breathe in deep gulps of fresh air. Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he wiped them away carelessly with the back of his hand.

He didn't regret helping his brother, but he was heartbroken that it had implicated his entire family. Ten thousand yuan! Just because of his impulsive actions, his family had to endure such a huge loss.

He didn't dare go home, not knowing how to face his family who worked so hard every day. He was even more afraid that Huang's father would really break his legs. What would he do then?