Chapter 149 Rope
Seeing Lu Huaiyuan fall flat on his face, a burst of laughter erupted around him.
Gu Mansheng couldn't laugh; her face turned pale instantly.
In that instant, she understood everything.
She rushed over in three strides, not caring whether Lu Huaiyuan was hurt or not, grabbed his collar, and demanded sharply, "Where did you buy this rope? It's like it's made of paper!"
Lu Huaiyuan, his face covered in mud, his eyes darting around, was terribly nervous: "It was...it was in the market..."
"Which supply and marketing cooperative? Whose goods are they?" Gu Mansheng pressed on relentlessly.
"It's just... something I bought casually in the city..." Lu Huaiyuan stammered, unable to give a coherent explanation.
Seeing his guilty look, Gu Mansheng was so angry that she trembled all over.
What an idiot! He actually bought this kind of inferior product just to get a little kickback!
The villagers nearby also realized what had happened and picked up the broken rope from the ground to examine it carefully.
It looked like it was working properly, but when you pulled on it, with just a little force from the two of them, the rope snapped with a "bang".
"What kind of junk is this? It's not even as sturdy as my belt!"
"This isn't a life-saving rope, it's a death rope!"
The deceased's family members, their eyes bloodshot, lunged at the two men like madmen, shouting, "You bastards! This is a human life! You're treating a human life like a game just to save a little money?!"
Zhang Xiuying pointed her finger at him and cursed, "You heartless bastards! You think you can absolve yourselves of responsibility by signing that piece of paper? Now you've provided the tools that led to someone's death. This is a case of 'a life for a life,' and even the King of Heaven himself would have to take responsibility!"
Liu Xiangyang frowned and suddenly shouted, "Gu Mansheng, this is not over! You prepared the rope. I have reason to suspect that you didn't want to pay the five yuan reward and deliberately used a rotten rope to kill the villagers who were gathering herbs!"
These words came out like a thunderclap from a clear sky.
The nature of the crime has completely changed from "accident" to "murder"!
The injured man's family and villagers were instantly enraged, surrounding the two men like a barrel. Someone held up a broken rope and roared, "Yes! This is murder! If they don't get an explanation, we'll take them to the police station right now and accuse them of murder!"
"Take them to the police station! Let them get shot!"
Faced with the angry human wall, Gu Mansheng was so frightened that her legs went weak and she desperately tried to shrink behind Lu Huaiyuan, but there was nowhere she could escape.
At this moment, she was truly terrified. If she were convicted of murder, not even a god could save her.
"No! Don't report this to the authorities!"
Gu Mansheng screamed, her voice trembling, "I'll pay! I'll pay! I have money! Please don't send me to the police station!"
Just as everyone was pressuring Gu Mansheng to pay compensation, Madam Yang suddenly darted out of the crowd like a mad dog, standing in front of him with her hands on her hips.
"Wait! If you give them all the money back, what about our wages?!"
Everyone was stunned by the sudden shout.
Aunt Zhou was furious: "Yang, are you even human? There are several people in the hospital waiting for money to save their lives, and the families of the deceased are still crying and wailing. Your son is perfectly healthy, why are you making trouble at a time like this?"
Yang, with her neck stiff and self-righteous, said, "My son is healthy and strong, that's his good fortune! He's been searching for so many days, putting in all his effort! Gu Mansheng said she'd give him five yuan for each fruit he picked! If we lose all that money, who will we ask for my son's hard-earned money?"
Aunt Zhou angrily shouted, "What kind of time is this to be so obsessed with money! Don't you understand that human life is at stake?"
Yang threw a tantrum, blocking Gu Mansheng's path: "I don't care! That's our hard-earned money! If anyone's going to compensate, we'll settle our accounts first, and then they can have the rest!"
Liu Zhixia sensed something was wrong and stepped forward, her eyes blazing: "Aunt Yang, you keep saying that your brother Yang picked dendrobium, so where is he now? Where is the dendrobium?"
Yang's eyes darted away instantly: "Is it any of your business? You didn't get involved, so stop acting like a big shot!"
Aunt Zhou also realized what was happening and shouted angrily, "Yang! Where is your son?!"
Seeing that the situation was turning bad, Yang began to incite the surrounding villagers: "Everyone! Don't be fooled by the fact that you're alright now, it's just luck! We risked our lives for this money, why should we throw away our hard-earned money for these few unlucky souls? Don't you all agree?!"
Sure enough, some villagers wavered, their eyes becoming hesitant.
Seeing this, Liu Zhixia shouted, "Fellow villagers! Open your eyes and look! The body of the dead is not yet cold, and the injured are still in the hospital with their lives hanging in the balance! If it were your relatives lying there today, would you still stand by and do nothing for a few dollars?"
Liu Xiangyang also stood up, his voice loud and clear: "A person must have a conscience! Who doesn't have their share of troubles? If you don't help others today, who will help you tomorrow? Do you want the whole village to be busy dividing money and watching the show when you encounter difficulties in the future?"
These words struck everyone like a hammer blow, and many people lowered their heads in shame.
Xu Zhihong seized the opportunity to shout, "That's right! Saving lives is the priority! The hospital is waiting for money to treat their patients!"
Aunt Zhou made a quick decision, waving her hand: "Don't worry, everyone! There's an agreement regarding the wages, they can't run away! Detain these two for now! I'm going to talk to their boss. This compensation is astronomical; it definitely won't be enough for Gu Mansheng and her husband alone. We have to find the real boss!"
She knew perfectly well that Gu Mansheng was just a puppet; the real big fish was yet to come. This time, she had to drag that nouveau riche out of the woodwork!
Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Yang angrily pointed at the villagers and cursed, "A bunch of short-sighted idiots! Once the medical expenses are all paid out, who will care whether we live or die? You won't even have a place to cry then!"
Zhang Xiuying shoved her away and spat, "You money-grubbing idiot! If everyone were as cold-blooded as you, would our village still have any humanity?"
Seeing that the people's hearts were with her, Aunt Zhou stopped talking nonsense and waved her hand: "Lock up Gu Mansheng and Lu Huaiyuan! This life-saving money must be raised. Even if the King of Heaven himself comes, he must save them first!"
The villagers swarmed forward and dragged the couple into the brigade headquarters.
Aunt Zhou pulled Lu Xiaohui out again and said sternly, "Your brother caused this mess, you can't just stand by and watch! Although you don't have to pay compensation, you have to run errands! Go find Gu Mansheng's uncle and ask him to step in and settle this!"
Although Lu Xiaohui was scared, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree.
I thought this matter would take a few days, but to my surprise, a black sedan drove into the village that afternoon.
He Shijie was dressed in a suit and tie, with a refined and gentle demeanor and a warm smile on his face, making him seem very approachable.
Only Liu Zhixia and Liu Xiangyang knew the viciousness hidden beneath that hypocritical face. He didn't respect the villagers at all; he just wanted to pay them off as quickly as possible to avoid escalating the situation and affecting his plans in the town.
But the villagers were fooled by his appearance.
He Shijie was very generous. With a wave of his hand, he not only paid the hospital's treatment fees in full, but also provided ample funeral expenses and family compensation for the deceased. He even made proper arrangements for the injured person's subsequent nutritional expenses.
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