The doctor, however, remained calm and composed as he stroked his beard, "I’m afraid you may not understand the amount of precious herbs it took to save his life. Just a small piece of Hundred Year Ginseng, which was used to keep him alive, has cost more than this sum. Add to that the numerous other rare medicinal ingredients I so generously gave, even my consultation fee has been waived. This paltry sum of ten taels of silver is a loss to me. However, it’s my duty to save lives; I do it willingly without seeking profit. Yet, you show no gratitude and instead accuse me of lying. Do you fancy yourself a doctor?"
Li Zheng, the village head, frowned and scolded Lady Ding, "If you’re going to disgrace yourself, don’t do it here!"
The status of a doctor in this era was very high, especially amongst commoners. As the head of a village, how could Li Zheng bear Lady Ding’s shameless behavior in public, causing embarrassment for their village, Yangluo Bay?
Lady Ding felt a surge of anger. She had originally planned to use Ji Dong’s death to extort some money. But not only did the guy fail to die, she even ended up losing ten taels of silver!
Now, this sum of ten taels of silver was like adding insult to injury for Lady Ding!
Lady Ding shot a furious glance at Ji Dong, who lay in bed, before gritting her teeth: "I didn’t ask you to save him! Don’t even think about getting your money from me!"
Li Zheng glared at Lady Ding in rage, but Lady Ding was blatantly indifferent. To save the ten taels, she feigned ignorance.
Li Zheng turned to Ji Dashan, "Aren’t you going to say anything?!"
Ji Dashan looked flustered. He glanced at Ji Dong on the bed, then at Lady Ding’s warning expression, and helplessly admitted, "We truly have no money left..."
Ji Xinhe had anticipated all this beforehand. She wiped away her tears and said, "It’s okay. We can’t ask for the money from my family. The one who hurt my brother is Ding Hui. Naturally, his family should pay the medical expenses. I will go and ask them."
Lady Ding screamed, "What nonsense! You dare!"
Ding Hui was her younger brother. Asking him for money was like asking for it from her maternal home. How could Lady Ding let this happen? What’s more, Ding Hui got involved due to Lady Ding’s plea for help. Even if the Ding family agreed to pay, they would still make Lady Ding incur cost. Lady Ding wasn’t willing to be the scapegoat, paying both money and effort.
So in the end, she would still have to pay the money!
How could Lady Ding be happy about it?
Ji Xinhe, however, appeared calm. After wiping her tears, she said to Li Zheng, "Village head, my brother’s illness must be treated, and the doctor must be paid for his life-saving work. Therefore, please report this to the county office, and bring Ding Hui to Public Court. Gets an explanation from the Ding family."
Lady Ding was livid. She stormed over, intending to pull Ji Xinhe’s hair, "You insolent child, you think you’re brave? I’ve already said no, how dare you take it to the county office! I’ll kill you if you don’t believe me!"
Ji Xinhe deftly dodged, and immediately heard Li Zheng’s stern warning, "Lady Ding, if you dare to be insolent before me again, I’ll drive you out of Yangluo Bay. Do you believe me?"
Upon hearing this, Lady Ding immediately backed down. She stood aside timidly, not even daring to breathe too heavily. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
She had lost control just now, almost forgetting the authority of Li Zheng, the local tyrant. He was the last person she could afford to offend.
It was only then that Li Zheng solemnly assured Ji Xinhe, "Don’t worry, your brother is in such a condition, I’ll definitely get justice for you. Otherwise, others would think that the people in Yangluo Bay are easy to bully!"
Ji Xinhe gratefully acknowledged, "Thank you, Village Head."
Lady Ding’s face was pale. Did Li Zheng really intend to take the matter to the county office?
Ding Hui was the Ding family’s most loved son. How could they bear to let him sit in jail? If the Ding family came to know about this situation, wouldn’t they tear her apart?
Ji Xinhe looked at Lady Ding coldly, "Mother, I don’t ask for much. Just talk to the Ding family and make it clear. Either they give the ten taels for medical expenses, or I will take this matter to the authorities. If they cannot hand over the silver to Doctor Zhong by tomorrow, the scoundrel Ding Hui can look forward to the jail!"
Lady Ding was almost grinding her teeth in rage, stared at the unfailingly high-spirited Ji Xinhe in front of her, wishing she could poke a hole in her, but finally, she gave a furious stomp and sprinted out. It seemed that she was going to discuss with the Ding family.
Only then did Ji Xinhe cast a chilling glance at Ji Dashan, "Oh, Dad, you’re still here? Mother has gone, aren’t you in a hurry to catch up with her? Otherwise, she might get angry."
Ji Dashan understood that there was sarcasm in Ji Xinhe’s words. Still, he looked helplessly at Ji Dong, who lay pale-faced on the bed, "How is Dongzi doing now?"
Anyway, he’s his own son.
However, Ji Xinhe sneered, "Dad, isn’t it too late for you to care? When you agreed to send my brother to the mine to die, you seemed quite satisfied."
Ji Dashan flushed with embarrassment, his heart suddenly grew cold. He realized that his children despised him to this extent.
——
That night, Ji Xinhe stayed there instead of returning to the village, "caring" for the soon-to-be "paralyzed" Ji Dong.
Doctor Zhong was still somewhat worried, "I observed Lady Ding today, and she seemed stingy. Would it be too difficult to ask her to give up ten taels of silver?"
"Don’t worry, if she won’t pay, someone else will. Ding Hui is a precious gem of the Ding family, even if they have to sell their stuff, they will get the money." Ji Xinhe hummed.
"So, you think the Ding family will pay?"
"Who cares who pays? As long as it’s silver, it’s okay. We had a deal, a fifty-fifty split," Ji Xinhe responded with a cunning smile.
Ji Xinhe knew that the Ding family and Lady Ding would inevitably fight over this ten taels of silver. Who would win was hard to predict, but it was almost certain that Lady Ding would sever ties with her maternal home.
This was good; Lady Ding had fallen out with her maternal home, and her lifeline was cut. It was hard to imagine how she would raise the thirty taels of silver she owed Ji Xiulan~
At this thought, a slight smile rose from the corner of Ji Xinhe’s mouth.
"We used to be a somewhat wealthy family in the village. I never thought we would fall to this point." Ji Dong couldn’t help feeling disappointed. When his mother, Wang Shi, died, he was already ten years old, so he had experienced good days. Back then, many children in the village envied him for his various snacks. But in the seven or eight years since Wang Shi’s death, the Ji family’s fortune declined to such an extent. Now, just the thirty taels of silver needed for Ji Xiulan seemed to have emptied their family wealth.
But Ji Xinhe laughed: "In the days when our mother was alive, the splendor of the Ji family was due to us. We must immediately cut ties with that pile of a mess."
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