He cleared his throat, putting on a heartbroken expression: "Xu Kuo, Xu Kuo, you have truly disappointed me! I always thought you were someone important, but I never expected you to be so... so shameless!"
Xu Kuo was almost amused by the old fox's shamelessness. "Village chief, have you had enough of your act? Trying to frame me? No way! Here's what I'll do: I'll go find some doctors and have them thoroughly examine this illness!"
The village chief scoffed, "Find a doctor? Who are you going to find? Are you trying to bribe them to speak for you? Let me tell you, Xu Kuo, that won't work on me!"
Xu Kuo narrowed his eyes. This old man really knows how to turn the tables!
"Village chief, are you so afraid that I'll find a doctor? Is there something you're hiding? How about this, I won't make things difficult for you. I'll ask Secretary Wen to find a few more doctors. Is that alright?"
"Secretary Wen...?" Zhao Dezhu panicked upon hearing this. He had originally thought it was just a common rural infectious disease, but he hadn't expected it to involve Secretary Wen.
This is terrible!
He took money from the village chief and slandered Xu Kuo against his conscience. If Secretary Wen finds out, will he still be able to keep his white coat? He'll probably lose his job!
Zhao Dezhu's face turned deathly pale, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. His voice trembled as he pointed at the village chief, stammering, unable to speak: "You...you...Xu Kuo, he really...really knows Secretary Wen?"
The village chief nodded smugly. He assumed Zhao Dezhu was worried that Xu Kuo would get Secretary Wen to back him up, so he patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, with me here, Secretary Wen will handle things..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Dezhu interrupted the village chief. He turned around abruptly and shouted towards Xu Kuo's doorway, "Everyone, fellow villagers, please calm down! I have something to say!"
Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events, and they all stopped shouting and cursing, looking at Zhao Dezhu with confusion.
What kind of trouble is this doctor up to now?
Zhao Dezhu slapped himself hard across the face, then knelt down before Xu Kuo with a thud. "Xu Kuo, Comrade Xu, I was wrong! I deserve to die! I shouldn't have taken the village chief's money and slandered you against my conscience! I'm sorry to you, I'm sorry to the villagers! Please forgive me! I beg you, please don't tell Secretary Wen!"
Xu Kuo snorted coldly, a sense of satisfaction welling up inside him. This bastard, wasn't he so arrogant just now? Didn't he keep claiming he was the evidence? Why is he chickening out now?
"Weren't you so capable just now? You even said I was the source of an infectious disease? What, are you scared now?" Xu Kuo's voice was icy cold, devoid of any warmth.
Zhao Dezhu was filled with remorse; he wished he could slap himself repeatedly. For a few measly coins, he'd gotten himself into such big trouble—it was truly a losing proposition!
Even if the other party only knows Secretary Wen, it would be enough to give him a hard time.
"Comrade Xu, I was wrong, I was really wrong! I'm just a heartless bastard! I'm kowtowing to you, please forgive me this time!" Zhao Dezhu said, kowtowing repeatedly until his forehead was quickly red and swollen.
The villagers were completely dumbfounded. What... what was going on?
"Dr. Zhao, what are you doing? Why are you kneeling down to him?"
"Yes, Dr. Zhao, please get up and let's talk this out!"
Several villagers stepped forward to help Zhao Dezhu up, but he pushed them away.
"Don't worry about me! It's all my fault. I took bribes from the village chief and wronged Xu Kuo!" Zhao Dezhu cried, tears streaming down his face.
He pointed at the village chief and shouted hoarsely, "This disease wasn't caused by Xu Kuo at all! It's...it's because everyone doesn't pay attention to hygiene, and with the famine these days, everyone's bodies are weak and their resistance is low, that's why...that's why they got infectious diseases!"
The crowd erupted in chaos.
"What? Not Xu Kuo?"
"This...how is this possible?"
"Dr. Zhao, you mustn't be talking nonsense!"
The villagers were shocked, bewildered, incredulous, and mostly bewildered.
Zhao Dezhu knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly: "Fellow villagers, I'm so sorry! I'm not human, I'm a beast! I deserve to die! But this really has nothing to do with Xu Kuo! Please stop wronging him!"
Xu Kuo looked at Zhao Dezhu kneeling on the ground without a trace of sympathy.
"Get out of here, all of you! Don't ever come to my doorstep to cause trouble again!" With that, he slammed the door shut.
The crowd looked at each other, standing rooted to the spot, unsure whether to advance or retreat. Zhao Dezhu slumped to the ground, his face ashen, his eyes filled with despair.
"Dr. Zhao, then... then how exactly should this illness be treated?" a villager asked cautiously.
Zhao Dezhu gave a wry smile: "This disease, I... I've never seen it before! The township health center has never encountered this situation either. It's difficult to treat, very difficult to treat!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers immediately panicked.
"What are we going to do? Are we just supposed to wait to die?"
"Village chief, say something! Didn't you say you had a solution?"
"Village chief, you can't just abandon us!"
The crowd questioned the village chief in a cacophony of voices, their tone filled with fear and despair.
The village chief was dumbfounded. He had hoped Zhao Dezhu could smooth things over, but the kid had betrayed him at the last minute! Now, he'd tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead, getting himself into this mess!
"I...I..." The village chief stammered, unable to utter a single word for a long time.
"That's right! Xu Kuo! Xu Kuo and his family are all safe and sound, he must have a way!" a villager suddenly shouted.
"Yes, yes, yes! Let's go find Xu Kuo!"
"Go knock on the door!"
The villagers swarmed to Xu Kuo's door and started banging on it.
"Xu Kuo, open the door! Help us!"
"Xu Kuo, we were wrong! We shouldn't have wronged you! Please, save us!"
"Xu Kuo, as long as you can save us, we'll do anything for you, like slaves!"
Xu Kuo opened the door, his face full of impatience: "Get out! All of you, get out of here!"
The villagers refused to leave, kneeling on the ground and pleading desperately.
"Xu Kuo, we know we were wrong, we really know we were wrong! Please, save us!"
"Yes, Xu Kuo, we were blinded by greed and wronged you! Please forgive us this time!"
Xu Kuo snorted coldly, his eyes full of disdain: "Didn't you just call me a jinx, a scourge? Why are you begging me now? Let me tell you, it's too late! I can't cure this disease! Go find someone else if you want!"
"No, Xu Kuo, you can't just stand by and watch someone die!"
"Xu Kuo, we really know we were wrong, please save us!"
"Yes, Xu Kuo, we've kowtowed to you, please have mercy on us!"
Seeing Xu Kuo angry, everyone became anxious. Suddenly, a villager saw the village chief sneaking around trying to escape. Enraged, he rushed forward and kicked the village chief to the ground.
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