Over the next two or three days, Sun Xiangxing and the others finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked the village committee secretary to go and negotiate with Old Master Song.
Old Master Song continued to pretend to be unwell, clutching his head and complaining of pain, and still let Song Xinfu talk to them.
Secretary Chen held up five fingers and smiled at the Song family.
Song Xinfu and Xu Guiying frowned.
Song Zhicheng's eyes widened: "What do you mean?"
Secretary Chen said in a low voice, "Is five thousand yuan enough?"
Song Xinfu's eyes widened. "Does our Song family really need your little bit of money?!"
Secretary Chen sighed, "Brother Song, now that the old man is in this state, his hospital stay, food, drink, toileting, and surgeries are all expensive! Sun Rong is in jail, but you all have to..."
Before Secretary Chen could finish speaking, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
“It wasn’t said that Sun Rong wouldn’t go to jail, but you still have to find some losses.”
Xu Guiying glanced at Secretary Chen, then turned her face away. "Anyway, it was the Sun family and the Jiang family who were in the wrong in this matter."
Song Xinfu wiped away his tears, "Our father is so old. Elderly people can't afford to fall. Even if Sun Rong doesn't want to take responsibility, he can't just throw a life away!"
Seeing that the Song family had softened their tone, Secretary Chen knew there was hope.
“They know they were wrong, they’re just hoping for a reduced sentence.” Seeing that the men didn’t react, Secretary Chen held up six fingers.
Xu Guiying sighed, "I'm going to check on Dad."
Secretary Chen quickly pulled Xu Guiying back, and gritted his teeth to show seven fingers!
Xu Guiying looked at Secretary Chen with a puzzled expression and said with difficulty, "This is really not something we can decide. The old man is still angry, so we dare not do anything reckless."
Song Zhicheng realized what was happening and cooperated with his brother and sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, after Dad is discharged from the hospital, he can come stay at my place. My town is quiet, and Dad can recuperate there. It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, and Dad has had surgery, so he will probably need to rest for a year or two."
Secretary Chen then held up eight fingers!
Song Xinfu then said, "Secretary Chen, this is really not something we can decide."
Secretary Chen pursed his lips and simply held up ten fingers.
Xu Guiying looked at Song Xinfu: "Old Song, I just remembered that I haven't asked for leave from my supply and marketing cooperative yet. I'll go take a look first."
Secretary Chen quickly called Xu Guiying back...
-
Secretary Chen felt he had taken on a hot potato. If it were because of their family ties, he wouldn't bother with Sun Rong's affairs.
When Sun Xiangxing and the others saw Secretary Chen return, Sun Xiangxing stood up first and asked anxiously, "How did it go? How much did they agree to?"
Secretary Chen frowned, looked at the group, and sighed.
Jiang Qiang felt that Secretary Chen was being hesitant, "Just say what you want to say, how much money is it!"
Jiang Hong also looked at Secretary Chen with a nervous expression.
Secretary Chen first held up a ten, then a five.
Jinzhu breathed a sigh of relief. "Fifteen thousand? As long as they can sign the letter of understanding, I agree!"
Secretary Chen: "...Who said it was 1,500?"
Jiang Hong's eyes widened. "It's not 1,500, it's... 15,000?"
Under the tense yet expectant gazes of Sun Xiangxing and the others, Secretary Chen nodded.
Sun Xiangxing felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
Fifteen thousand?
"Why don't the Song family just rob them?!"
Jin Zhu couldn't control her expression; her face was contorted with rage. "Fifteen thousand? The Song family is asking for the moon!"
Jiang Qiang was just Sun Rong's brother-in-law, and he didn't want to take on Sun Rong's debts, so he went out to smoke.
Sun Xiangxing was furious and wanted to settle accounts with the Song family.
Secretary Chen quickly stopped her, "This is something I negotiated with great difficulty. The Song family never intended to reconcile! If you cause trouble, they won't agree to write a letter of understanding!"
Sun Xiangxing cursed Secretary Chen in her heart for being unreliable.
"I've never seen so much money as 15,000 in my entire life! The Song family is asking for it right off the bat; they're trying to kill us!"
Secretary Chen complained, "If Sun Rong had just helped Old Master Song, things wouldn't have escalated to this point."
Grandpa Song has a good reputation in the village and will help any household in need. If this matter is not handled well, the villagers will no longer respect Secretary Chen.
Sun Xiangxing's face darkened. She looked at Jiang Hong, wanting Jiang Hong to plead with Song Anmin for leniency.
Jiang Hong couldn't help but roll her eyes. "How could Song Anmin possibly listen to me? His surname is Song! Asking for more money won't do him any harm!"
Sun Xiangxing couldn't help but pinch Jiang Hong.
"Go and try it, we'll talk about it if it doesn't work."
Xu Guiying and the others had already entered the ward. Secretary Chen said to them one last time, "If you agree, I will go and give an answer to the Song family."
Although writing a letter of understanding cannot lead to immediate acquittal, it can at least reduce the sentence. Sun Xiangxing has always loved her younger brother Sun Rong since childhood, but where can she raise 15,000 yuan?
Jinzhu, her face stern, said angrily, "The Song family is trying to drive us to our deaths!"
Sun Xiangxing sneered, "What's the difference between the Song family's actions and extortion!"
Secretary Chen frowned and explained, "Don't just look at the surgery fees; there are also lost wages, the maintenance costs for the next few years, and the fact that the old man's radishes have been delayed in being sold."
"The surgery was successful, but if something unexpected happens next year and the person dies, the Song family will cause even more trouble!"
“Sun Rong was in the wrong to begin with, and now every household in the village knows about it. Do you think it sounds good?”
Jinzhu had no choice but to try to borrow money from her family. Sun Xiangxing also wanted to contribute her own money, but Jiang Qiang refused.
"All the money in this family comes from my own earnings. Now you want to cover your brother's expenses? I don't agree!"
Sun Xiangxing immediately burst into tears and pounded on Jiang Qiang's shoulder, crying, "That's my own brother! You heartless bastard!"
Even Jiang Hong was forced to go to Song Anmin.
The slap mark on Song Anmin's face hasn't faded yet.
Jiang Hong cried miserably, "Song Anmin, I know my request is unreasonable, but 15,000 is too much of a burden for our family. Could you ask your mother if we can reduce it by one or two thousand?"
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