"Cui Ju's parents pleaded for her, saying they were willing to compensate the Zhang family and promised to marry Cui Ju off far away as soon as possible so that Zhang Junping and Wang Jinling could rest assured. Before Zhang Junping could even speak, his mother agreed, demanding 500 yuan in compensation, otherwise there would be no room for discussion."
Wang Ping pursed her lips: "According to Li Xiao, the old woman originally wanted to keep the five hundred yuan in her pocket, but Zhang Junping took it from the Cui family first. He said the money was to compensate his wife, not the Zhang family, and that he wanted to use the money to help his wife take good care of her health."
"This involves human lives, two lives, and you think it's appropriate to settle it for just five hundred dollars?"
Song Lan looked serious and asked Wang Ping.
"To be honest, I think it's fine."
Wang Ping said, "Even if there is evidence to prove that Cui Ju had the intention to harm Wang Jinling and took action, Wang Jinling and her unborn child ultimately did not die together. Cui Ju was taken away by the police, and even if she is sentenced, she will probably only be sentenced to a few years and sent to some farm for reform. But for Wang Jinling, this will undoubtedly not bring any real benefits."
It would be better to accept the five hundred yuan as compensation, and then have the Cui family marry Cui Ju off to a distant place. In this way, they would get the benefits and wouldn't have to see Cui Ju hanging around in front of them anymore.
Furthermore, given the hasty remarriage of Cui Ju to the Cui family, they certainly wouldn't find her a good match, and her future life would likely be difficult.
"..."
Song Lan remained silent.
"You don't think this is unfair to Wang Jinling, do you?"
Seeing that Song Lan remained silent, Wang Ping smiled and said, "To be honest, we are just outsiders. After hearing what Cui Ju did, Wang Jinling had no objections after hearing her husband's account of the outcome. I suspect that Wang Jinling probably considered her past relationship with Cui Ju, so she chose to accept the compensation."
"That's true. If the parties involved don't feel it's unfair, what right do we, as outsiders, have to feel sorry for them?"
Song Lan's slightly furrowed brows relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on her lips. She said, "Five hundred yuan is equivalent to nearly two years' wages for an ordinary worker. Being able to receive tangible benefits, it seems that for that new mother, such an outcome is indeed not bad."
"..."
This time, Wang Ping fell silent. After a long while, she said, "I know you find it a bit unbelievable, and you think that since you have evidence, you should report Cui Ju to the police and sentence her according to the law. But then again, for ordinary country folk, they would rather get something tangible if they haven't been really harmed."
“You don’t need to comfort me. I’m not stubborn. There’s been the concept of ‘settling things privately’ since ancient times. Within the current legal framework, there are many people who choose to settle things privately when they have committed a crime or been harmed.”
As long as the offending party can afford to pay, and the injured party can get the compensation they want, it's not surprising that a private settlement is possible.
Song Lan felt that, compared to her original world, people in this world could at least have the protection of the law if they chose to settle matters privately. Unlike her era of feudal imperial power, where anyone with a little social status could have their family members commit crimes, even murder, and if the murderer was just an ordinary citizen, the other party could often settle the matter by throwing a few taels of silver.
Some even treat the lives of the poor as worthless.
If they intentionally or unintentionally take the lives of those they consider "lowly," they act as if nothing ever happened.
Without even glancing at it, he ordered his servants to dump the "lowly person's" corpse in a mass grave, leaving it to be devoured by wild dogs.
Recalling the things she had heard and seen in her original world that treated human life as a joke, Song Lan's heart became heavy.
To survive, parents sold their children, and even themselves, and there were human slave traders. To put it bluntly, without the permission of the imperial court, human life would not be so cheap and disregarded by the powerful and wealthy.
Those with a little wealth could buy a few servants from human traffickers to serve in their mansions. In other words, the moment the transaction was completed, the servants who were bought back to the mansions lost control over their own lives. No, to be more precise, their lives were no longer theirs the moment they fell into the hands of human traffickers.
Therefore, it was quite common for the master to beat, kill, or sell someone if he was unhappy.
If one tries to escape, unless one hides deep in the mountains and forests, one will inevitably fall into the hands of the government and be convicted as a runaway slave.
reason?
The master has a contract of indenture, and after buying someone into the household, the government has its endorsement.
Once you've been registered as a lowly person, if you want to get rid of this status, you have to take your indenture to the government office to cancel your status as a slave.
Even so, one still needs to bribe some people with silver; otherwise, it won't be easy to get rid of the lowly status.
Well, if you encounter a fair and just official, that's another story.
"It's almost time to leave work, want to walk together?"
Wang Ping glanced at the small alarm clock on Song Lan's consultation table against the wall and casually ended the previous conversation.
Upon hearing this, Song Lan nodded. She tidied up the medical records on the consultation table, then took off her white coat and hung it on the coat rack behind the door. She then put on her wool coat, picked up her bag, and said to Wang Ping, "I'll wait for you in the outpatient hall."
"good."
Wang Ping hurried out of the reception room. She needed to go to the nurses' duty room to change out of her nurse's uniform and put on her own coat before she could leave work.
The heating in the staff hospital is quite good; even in the corridors, it's not particularly cold.
Staying in the consultation room is even more comfortable, as if it were March or April, where a wool sweater would suffice.
...
After pushing their bicycles out of the hospital gate, Song Lan rode her bicycle past Wang Ping for about half a block before returning to the family quarters.
Qin Yaxin cooked lunch by herself, but the two children only helped out a little in the kitchen.
For example, starting a fire or preparing vegetables.
Qin Yanzheng was tutoring Qin Boyan, a second-year high school student. He had already learned from Song Lan that Qin Boyan wanted to graduate a year early so he could enlist in the army this fall.
Without much thought, Qin Yanzheng figured that Song Lan probably knew about the recruitment drive this fall from Chen Dongxu.
He didn't believe it was just a rumor.
Given the Chen family's background, it wouldn't be difficult for Chen Dongxu to know some information about recruiting soldiers. And since Song Lan is Chen Dongxu's attending physician, it's highly likely that the other party wants to do him a favor by selling his wife.
Knowing this earlier means you can start exercising sooner and be prepared for the physical exam, which undoubtedly increases your chances of passing.
"Sister-in-law, shall I get you some more?"
Seeing that Song Lan had finished a bowl of stewed noodles, Qin Yaxin stood up shrewdly and reached out to take the empty bowl from Song Lan's hand.
"You eat yours, I'm done eating."
Song Lan smiled and shook her head.
Qin Yanzheng and Qin Boyan's rice bowls were a size larger than those of the three women, Song Lan, Qin Yaqing, and Qin Yaxin. The two brothers ate quickly, finishing their second bowls almost simultaneously with Song Lan after she put down her chopsticks. However, despite their speed, they did not appear rude at all; instead, they exuded elegance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
