Li Yuzhu certainly couldn't drive; she didn't even recognize the accelerator or anything like that on a car.
Ding Haowen impatiently taught her how to drive, but Li Yuzhu thought to herself, "Even if I've never eaten pork, I've at least seen pigs run."
So she floored the gas pedal and sped off.
Li Sumei rolled directly from the back to the front, Ding Haowen was holding the child, and the car sped along the road.
Ding Haowen turned pale with fright. The car was filled with the sound of children crying. Li Yuzhu originally wanted to stop the car, but then she stepped on the gas and drove off again.
Seeing Li Yuzhu driving so fast, Ding Haowen, who was originally extremely sleepy, suddenly became wide awake.
He gripped the handrail tightly, holding the child close with one arm.
"Li Yuzhu, that's the accelerator! Pah! That's the brake, are you out of your mind?"
Seeing that they were about to crash into each other, Ding Haowen closed his eyes with a death-defying resolve.
Goodbye, my dear Li Yan, my child, my mother...
With a loud crash, the car struck the middle of a tree trunk.
Fortunately, the tree trunk was thick and strong, and it managed to stop the car.
Everyone in the car sustained minor injuries, and Li Yuzhu looked pale.
She glanced at Ding Haowen beside her, then at the child, and got out of the car with the child in her arms.
Ding Haowen snapped out of his daze and said to Li Yuzhu with a very gloomy expression.
"Li Yuzhu, you idiot! You can't drive but you insisted on driving. Now look what happened, you damaged the car and almost got into an accident!"
"..."
The two started arguing again. The villagers saw someone drive a car and crash into a century-old tree in the village.
The villagers immediately swarmed around Ding Haowen and Li Yuzhu.
Ding Haowen was still completely bewildered, not yet recovered from the car accident, when they started talking to him one after another.
"Selinmu, this tree is a hundred years old. How could you drive like that? How could you crash into a tree?"
"Why don't you just fly up into the sky? Of all places to go, why did you have to crash into this tree!"
"You'll lose money; you can't leave without at least 20,000!"
“Our whole village depends on this century-old tree for our livelihood. If you knock it down, our income this year will definitely decrease.”
"..."
After being lectured for a long time, Ding Haowen finally realized that this tree was a century-old tea tree, and the entire village depended on the dividends from this tea tree.
Before the dividends even started this year, he was hit by Ding Haowen's car?
Li Yuzhu exclaimed in surprise, "20,000? That's so expensive! Are you robbing me?"
Although Ding Haowen was unhappy with Li Yuzhu's exclamation, he felt that what she said made sense.
He also felt that 20,000 was too expensive; in this day and age, many families don't even have 1,000 yuan...
Demanding 20,000 yuan in compensation all at once—isn't that extortion?
A group of people from the village emerged who had a voice.
“Young man, this tree is different from other trees; it’s insured.”
In 1982, during a pilot program for agricultural insurance, this century-old tree in the village was assessed as having a high value and was subsequently insured.
Ding Haowen knew what insurance was, but Li Yuzhu did not.
Li Yuzhu frowned, "Buying a child doesn't even cost 20,000 yuan, aren't you just robbing me? What insurance or not?"
The villagers looked at Li Yuzhu angrily when they heard her words.
The village chief's face darkened as he gave them a detailed explanation.
"This century-old tree has been damaged like this, they definitely have to pay for it! If they don't pay for it, then we can't leave here!"
This explanation was too forceful, so Ding Haowen naturally refused to pay compensation.
What kind of tree is so expensive?
They're definitely trying to blackmail me!
Therefore, Ding Haowen chose to call the police.
After the police officers arrived, they immediately assessed the damage at 30,000 yuan, and Ding Haowen was required to pay 30,000 yuan in compensation.
Ding Haowen originally went to the police station because he thought it was impossible to pay so much money in compensation.
Unexpectedly, when the police arrived, they demanded 30,000 yuan in compensation!
Ding Haowen immediately realized that these two comrades must be in cahoots with the people in this village.
He gritted his teeth, his face ashen.
"Are you in cahoots with the people in this village?"
Ding Haowen's questioning made the two elderly comrades' faces instantly darken.
"Comrade, please watch your words!"
“We responded to the report in accordance with the law, and the damage assessment was based on the standards jointly determined by the agricultural insurance and forestry departments.”
Another comrade spoke up, saying, "This century-old tea tree was priced at 28,000 last year. The trunk was cracked and severely damaged by your collision! Whether it can be saved is unknown. The price of 30,000 is to cover the damage you caused to the tea tree and the initial rescue costs."
“We haven’t factored in the value this tree will generate over the next few years. If we had, you would have lost much more than this amount of money.”
The comrade who had just started speaking nodded.
"Yes, if the tree dies, the loss will be even greater."
Upon hearing their long, rambling speech, Li Yuzhu immediately demanded 30,000 yuan in compensation.
Her voice was somewhat shrill, and she spoke with an expression of disapproval.
"30,000 yuan is such a lot of money, how are we going to pay for it? I didn't hit it on purpose, you can't just say it's a tea tree and call it a tea tree!"
Everyone was angered by Li Yuzhu, and one of them picked up a stone and threw it at her.
Li Yuzhu's calf was hit by a rock, and she cried out in pain.
She immediately accused him, "Comrades, look, this little brat hit me with a stone! I feel injured, I can't even move my leg now, he has to pay me 1000 yuan!"
The two veteran police officers sighed helplessly.
“Miss, the child is just ignorant and needs to be taught a lesson. If you are really injured by him, then your needs can certainly be met.”
"Yes, our main problem now is how to deal with this tea tree?"
Li Yuzhu felt they were all in cahoots, and angrily turned her face away and got into the car.
On the bus, Li Sumei listened to the chatter outside. She couldn't understand it, but she knew that the other party was asking for money.
Demanding 30,000 yuan right off the bat—isn't that extortion?
Li Sumei lay uncomfortably in the car, wanting to get up and check on the situation, but could only remain paralyzed.
Outside, Ding Haowen was surrounded by a group of people demanding money, and impatience flashed in his eyes.
"She hit the tree with her car. If you want money, go ask her! I don't have any."
"No money?" The village chief stared sharply at Ding Haowen.
“This car you’re driving costs 50,000 yuan, and the fabric you’re wearing is better than what ordinary people wear. You’re telling us you don’t have the money? I think you just don’t want to pay for it!”
The village chief was furious because the other party had destroyed the village's main source of income and seemed completely indifferent.
"It's really infuriating," the police officer said, staring at Ding Haowen.
"Comrade, we suggest you resolve this peacefully. Paying compensation is the best option; if you're unwilling, then you'll have to go to jail for the assessed damages."
"With 30,000, it would take about five years to get out."
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