Looking at the three or four court summonses and police station penalty notices in front of them, Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi no longer cared about their injuries.
If the punishment is strictly enforced, let alone going bankrupt, even selling one's bones wouldn't be enough to pay the debt. Forget paying that much, even a tenth of it wouldn't be enough for me.
Some things can't be resolved simply by saying you won't pay. The lawyer immediately had the police station freeze all of the Qin family's money.
The neighborhood committee and other departments also shut down Qin Huairu's stall. Now, Qin Huairu is facing difficulties even in accessing medical care, let alone losing money.
Seeing this situation, the Jia family members started crying on the bed again. Last time it was an act, but this time they were really crying.
"Qin Huairu, what do we do now? If there's no solution, you'll probably spend the rest of your life in jail. Don't blame me for washing my hands of everything. It's better for one person to die than two. I told you not to use such crooked ideas, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened, you've lost both your wife and your money."
“I never expected Weihua to change so much in the past ten years or so. Now he’s ruthless and vicious, leaving us no way out. Not only is he going to sue both of us, but he’s even shut down our vegetable stall.”
"I've heard that most of the rumors circulating outside are about us. Once you're inside, I'll definitely keep an eye on Bang Geng for you."
It's said that when disaster strikes, everyone flees for their lives, let alone Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi. Qin Huairu orchestrated this whole affair, which is why her injuries are slightly more severe than Jia Zhangshi's. Now, both of them are in dire straits, so dire that they can do nothing but speak.
Qin Huairu never expected things to turn out this way. She knew her mother-in-law's character all too well. She knew her mother-in-law wouldn't take any responsibility; if things went to court, she would definitely shift the blame onto Qin Huairu.
If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have made such casual remarks. I should have let Jia Zhangshi say these things instead. In the end, Jia Zhangshi was able to deny everything, but I couldn't get away with it. After all, Jia Zhangshi was just crying and didn't say a word; I was the one who told her everything.
Qin Huairu hadn't expected Wei Hua to have someone record the conversation beforehand. Even if she wanted to deny it, she couldn't.
Qin Huairu knew she was completely finished. Whether she could recover was a matter for later. The most important thing now was to get through this ordeal and then recover her health.
This made Qin Huairu look at her son beside her. Now, besides her son, Qin Huairu really didn't know who else she could rely on.
“Banggeng, Mom and Grandma are in this state now. You're the only one who can help us now. You don't want our family to become destitute, do you? Given the current situation, your only option is to beg Weihua and his wife. Because we have no other way to go.”
"Only by gaining their understanding will we have a glimmer of hope; otherwise, we will become destitute."
But as Qin Huairu continued speaking, she realized something was wrong with her son. He wasn't listening to her at all.
"Banggeng, did you hear what your mother was saying? I told you to go and plead with Wei Hua and his wife, but you've been daydreaming the whole time."
"Does it matter whether I heard you or not? Do you think I'm the one with the problem, or Wei Hua and the others? Do you think they'll forgive you two? Why don't you go outside and listen to what other people are saying about you?"
"Do you think you're the only smart person in the world, and everyone else is a fool? You frame someone one minute and expect them to forgive you the next. Do you think that's realistic?"
"Or do you think the world can't function without you, and everyone has to cater to you and do things your way? Do you believe me? Even if I crashed and died in front of Wei Hua's house, Wei Hua wouldn't let you off easily."
Bang Geng's words were hard for Qin Huairu to accept. Yet, she couldn't refute them. The world had changed more than a decade ago. Since her reputation was ruined, it seemed no one pitied her anymore.
Perhaps, aside from Yi Zhonghai, no one else would accommodate her. The only reason Yi Zhonghai accommodated her was because of the issue of having children. Ever since Yi Zhonghai learned he was infertile, he had become just like everyone else. She felt like she was nothing, and no one would spoil her.
Although she already knew all this, Qin Huairu just refused to accept the facts. Even though these words came from her own son, Qin Huairu refused to believe them.
"Bang Geng, I'm your mother! How can you talk to me like that? Are you just going to watch me die? Do you know how many crimes that beast Wei Hua has listed against me?"
"If all the charges are added together, I'll be in jail for ten years or more. Given my current condition, do you think I can last ten years? I might die the moment I get in."
"Don't you want to keep the money our family has recently earned? If we do what those lawyers and the police station say, we'll have to pay two or three hundred thousand yuan in compensation. Do you think we can afford that?"
Banggeng seemed somewhat impatient upon hearing Qin Huairu's words. Having inherited the true traits of Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi, Banggeng was naturally just as selfish as they were, and when faced with such a situation, he naturally only thought of himself.
Seeing the two of them lying in bed, Bang Geng turned around and left the hospital.
Seeing Banggeng leave like that, Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi became anxious. Jia Zhangshi could at least move her limbs, and although she couldn't get out of bed, she could at least put things in her mouth. But Qin Huairu could barely move anything except her mouth.
The moment Banggeng turned to leave, Qin Huairu began calling out. But Banggeng didn't slow down. Banggeng knew that his only support now was the reputation he had built up in the countryside. He could temporarily owe the farmers money and repay them later when he earned more.
Anyway, doing business isn't difficult. At worst, I can just come to the city to buy groceries by myself. Once I'm familiar with these things, I can partner with someone else to continue expanding and strengthening the business.
Having made up his mind, Banggeng returned to his lodgings and drove his oxcart back to Changping. The next day, he hauled half a cartload of vegetables from a fellow villager to the city. Having lost his stall, he could only sell vegetables at the entrance of the market.
Fortunately, Banggeng hadn't been idle during the past six months. He not only went to the countryside to collect vegetables, but also helped Jia Zhangshi and her family sell them. All of this wasn't too difficult for Banggeng.
After selling all the vegetables on the cart, they drove the oxcart back to the countryside to continue their vegetable business. But Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi at the hospital were in a terrible situation, because nobody paid them any attention.
After the medical expenses were paid off, the doctor stopped their medication. The hospital wasn't a charity, so naturally no one would pamper them. The next day, the mother and daughter-in-law were thrown back into their rented room by hospital staff.
Banggeng felt particularly helpless when he saw the two of them being thrown back. When he had time, he would give them some food, but when he didn't, he had no interest in taking care of them.
The court and police station officials were also particularly helpless, as Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi were not yet able to serve their sentences. Even if they were sentenced, there was nothing they could do to get them to jail. Their health hadn't fully recovered yet, and if they actually went to jail, they might need someone to take care of them.
Although he couldn't serve his sentence, he still had to receive the punishment he deserved. The court awarded all of the Jia family's money to Yang Tao to compensate her and the hotel for their losses.
As for their imprisonment, that will have to wait until they recover. Qin Huairu, as the main culprit, was sentenced to five years, while Jia Zhangshi was only sentenced to six months, and that sentence wasn't even immediate.
Given Jia Zhangshi's condition, if she recovers, she might not even need to go to jail. If she doesn't recover, naturally she won't need to go to jail either. After all, she's dead; they can't possibly use her corpse to vent their anger, can they?
Jia Zhangshi could accept this outcome. After all, given her condition, she didn't need to go in; the only pitiful thing was that she had been pelted by hail.
Qin Huairu found it hard to accept this outcome. She had worked so hard for over half a year, only to find herself back to square one. The main problem was her poor health; Qin Huairu didn't know if she could recover.
If I can't recover, so be it. After all, I'm already dead, so going to jail or not makes no difference. But what if I do recover and go back to that hellhole? I'm afraid I really won't have a chance to get out.
Adding to the cancer cells in her body, she feared she was doomed this time. Only then did Qin Huairu truly begin to accept her fate.
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