The Zhang family suggested that if they did not want to report to the police, they could pay compensation with silver. Zhang Dawei's father asked for one hundred taels of silver, while Zhang Dawei's master asked Zhang Qingshan to pay twenty taels of silver for the damaged furniture.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Zhang family was asking for an exorbitant amount of money, and Zhang Qingshan's master pushed the responsibility of damaging the furniture onto Zhang Qingshan, and also started asking for an exorbitant amount of money.
Everything was exactly as Li Hehua had expected, but the bad thing was that if Zhang Dawei's family insisted on getting this number, there would probably be no possibility of negotiation because they could threaten them with reporting him to the police. Unless they didn't care about Zhang Qingshan's life or death, they would eventually compromise and the dominant power would be completely in their hands, not theirs.
Li Hehua slapped his forehead with a headache.
Zhang Tieshan's expression became darker and darker. After a while of silence, he said to Zhang Dawei's family, "It was not our Qingshan who took the initiative to provoke the attack, but your child who took the initiative to attack. The damage was not intentional by our Qingshan. No one wants this to happen. Of course, your child was injured, and we will pay for the treatment, but one hundred taels of silver is too much. It is unreasonable to ask anyone for this price."
Hearing what Zhang Tieshan said, Zhang Dawei's mother was unhappy and cursed: "What do you mean by reasonable or unreasonable? Our Dawei was beaten like this by your kid, do you still have reason? You shouldn't pay this money? My Dawei suffered so much, and it's not worth a hundred taels of silver? I think you look down on our family! I think there is no need to say this, just report it to the police!"
When Zhang Lin heard the words "report to the police", she was so scared that she started to cry again and begged, "Don't report to the police, don't report to the police... We can discuss it if there is anything..."
Zhang Dawei's parents looked more and more proud.
Li Hehua grabbed Zhang Lin's hand, pulled her back, and said softly, "Don't say anything. We will solve the problem. If you say something wrong, Qingshan will be in trouble."
Zhang Lin didn't know what she said wrong, but she was flustered at the moment and inexplicably believed Li Hehua and Zhang Tieshan, so when Li Hehua said that, she wiped her tears, nodded, stepped back and didn't say anything.
Seeing that she stopped crying and begging, Li Hehua let out a breath, walked up to Zhang Dawei's family and said, "We are all reasonable people, and we should do things according to reason. The compensation amount is not what you say it is worth, right? Everything should be based on reality, right?"
Li Hehua said, calculating the bill for Zhang Dawei's family, "Look, your child is injured, the doctor said he lost blood, and needs to rest for three months. So we will use the best medicine, see the best doctor, and go to the clinic more often. This will cost at most ten taels of silver."
Li Hehua continued, "Your child cannot be an apprentice for these three months. Although apprentices do not receive wages every month, we are reasonable. We will calculate the time wasted at 20 wen a day, which is less than two taels of silver for three months. Then let's calculate the money for your child's health supplements. Even if we buy meat and fine rice every day, it will not cost 20 wen a day. So let's calculate 20 wen, which is less than two taels of silver."
Li Hehua said, seeing that the other family members looked unhappy, he pretended not to notice and continued, "Okay, you can say that the child suffered a loss and want compensation, then we can compensate, but such an injury under normal circumstances, the maximum compensation will only be ten taels of silver. If you don't believe me, go and ask around, and you will know the amount of money awarded by the government to those who suffered the same injury. All these things added up, it's less than twenty-four taels of silver, and you asked for a hundred taels, how can we let people compensate you?"
Li Hehua listed the money one by one, and it was reasonable and well-founded, and no one could find fault with it. The onlookers thought that twenty-four taels was very good. How many years would it take for an average family in the town to save twenty-four taels! This family asked for a hundred taels right away, and they were not afraid of slipping their tongue.
When Zhang Dawei's family saw that the onlookers were accusing them of asking for an exorbitant amount of money, they felt anxious and angry. Although they knew that they were indeed asking for an exorbitant amount of money, they were still unhappy to hear that. Moreover, they did not want the one hundred taels of silver to be reduced to twenty-four taels. After all, their child was beaten, and they were right. If they were not given so much money, they would report it to the police. Who was afraid of who?
Zhang Dawei's family was not afraid of Li Hehua and the others, so they said, "If you don't want to pay, then of course it's fine. How dare you ask for such a small amount of money? Dawei has been the only son in our family for three generations. He is the only child in our family. Now he has been beaten so badly, and we don't know what will happen to him in the future. We are asking for a hundred taels, which is still a small amount. Since you are not willing to pay even a hundred taels, there is no need to talk about it. Let's just report it to the police!"
Zhang Dawei's family now keeps talking about calling the police. The meaning of the threat is self-evident. The purpose is to make them compromise for fear that their child will be arrested and imprisoned.
However, Li Hehua is not someone who would compromise so easily. She is not afraid of reporting to the authorities. Even if she does, she can protect Zhang Qingshan from punishment because she has some friendship with the county magistrate. After all, Shulin is his junior fellow apprentice, so he will give her this face. As long as the government handles the case fairly, the sentence will definitely not be as much as one hundred taels of silver.
Li Hehua looked at the other party's confident expression, smiled faintly, and said: "Since you insist on asking for such a high price, let's go to the official and let him judge for us how much money we have to pay. Let's go to the county government now."
When Li Hehua said this, Zhang Dawei's family was stunned, their expressions full of disbelief. They clearly saw that boy's mother crying very sadly, and it was obvious that she was worried about her child. How could she bear to let her child be arrested?
The family subconsciously looked at Zhang Lin.
But Zhang Lin was indeed reluctant to let him go. When she heard that Li Hehua was really going to see the official, she was so scared that she wanted to cry and say no immediately. Fortunately, Zhang Qingshan, who was quick-eyed and quick-handed, stopped her from crying.
Zhang Qingshan didn't want to pay more than one hundred taels of silver all at once, nor did he want to be blackmailed by that family. He believed in Li Hehua and believed that she had a way and would not really ignore him, so he grabbed his mother, stopped her from speaking, and told her that the matter was entirely left to his eldest brother and sister-in-law to handle.
Zhang Lin was stopped by her son, tears streaming down her face, but she said nothing.
When the other party saw that Zhang Linshi did not say anything to object, he became anxious. He thought that if this family really did not care about the life or death of the boy who beat his son and did not pay compensation, then they would have no compensation. What's the point of just putting someone in jail? Silver is still the most practical.
Zhang Dawei's family looked at each other and exchanged glances. For a moment, they didn't know whether to insist or take a step back.
Finally, it was Zhang Dawei's father who stood up and said, "Since you don't care about your child going to jail, let's go to the yamen. We can also seek justice for our son." In fact, he didn't believe that Li Hehua and others would ignore Zhang Qingshan, so he wanted to take a gamble. What if he went to the yamen and was scared into paying the money obediently?
Li Hehua and Zhang Tieshan didn't say anything. Instead, they took the initiative to walk in front and take Zhang Dawei's family to the yamen. Zhang Dawei's family had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow Li Hehua to the yamen.
When they arrived at the county government office, Magistrate Huo Yi came out and saw Li Hehua. He raised his eyebrows, but the next second he acted as if he didn't know him and asked the visitor to explain the whole story.
Zhang Dawei's father came out to explain, but he skipped the fact that it was Zhang Dawei who started the fight first and emphasized how badly Zhang Dawei was beaten. Li Hehua listened quietly without interrupting. After he finished speaking, he looked at Huo Yi who was sitting at the top.
Huo Yi also listened calmly, without any expression or statement, and said: "Zhang Qingshan, do you have anything to say?"
Zhang Qingshan raised his head, with fear in his eyes, but he still mustered up the courage to say: "Sir, what Zhang Dawei's father said just now is not complete. I didn't take the initiative to hit anyone. It was Zhang Dawei who falsely accused me of breaking the new furniture made by the master. I argued with him, and then he hit me. I had no choice but to fight back, and accidentally pushed him. His head hit the corner of the table, and that's how it broke, but I really didn't mean it."
Zhang Dawei's mother immediately pointed at Zhang Qingshan and yelled, "Bah! Stop making excuses, you little bastard. When did my son ever frame you? It's you who's trying to find an excuse to get away with it!"
Huo Yi's face was gloomy, and he slammed the gavel down. "How dare you! You are not allowed to yell and curse in the court. Come, drag this woman who despises the court down and give her 20 lashes!"
Zhang Dawei's family members were all terrified and quickly kowtowed to Huo Yi, their foreheads banging on the ground loudly, begging for mercy and asking for forgiveness.
Huo Yi looked at them for a while before saying calmly, "Since this is your first offense, I'll let you off with the stick. But if you do this again, don't blame me for being rude!"
"Yes, yes, I won't dare to do it again. Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"
After this fright, Zhang Dawei's family no longer dared to be arrogant. They knelt respectfully and dared not say a word.
Huo Yi then asked Zhang Qingshan: "Is what you said true? Is there anyone who can testify?"
Zhang Qingshan was now confident and said, "Your Excellency, all the apprentices with me were present at the time. They heard and saw what Zhang Dawei said and took the initiative to attack. Your Excellency can ask them."
Huo Yi nodded and called these people directly.
Because everyone had followed them to the yamen, they were standing outside the court watching, and they appeared as soon as they were summoned.
The hearts of these people were pounding and sweat was pouring down their foreheads, just because they were frightened by the beating of Zhang Dawei's parents. They were originally planning to help Zhang Dawei and refused to admit what Zhang Qingshan said, because Zhang Dawei was a relative of the master's family. If they didn't help Zhang Dawei, what would happen if the master didn't like them? But when they saw that Zhang Dawei's parents were about to be beaten with a stick, they were also very scared, for fear of being beaten with a stick for lying.
Several apprentices knelt on the ground tremblingly, "Greetings, Your Excellency the County Magistrate."
Huo Yi got straight to the point, "You also heard Zhang Qingshan's words outside the hall just now. Is what he said true?"
Several people looked at each other, not knowing whether they should tell the truth or not, and their eyes involuntarily looked at the carpenter kneeling on the side.
Huo Yi took a look, sneered, slammed the gavel again, and said: "Just answer the questions I ask you truthfully. If you lie or try to cover up for me, you will be punished with fifty lashes!"
Fifty strokes of the cane! This is going to kill someone! The few people were so scared that their faces turned pale. How could they dare to lie? They immediately told the whole story of the scene without hiding anything.
And the facts were exactly the same as Zhang Qingshan said.
Moreover, there was an apprentice who was particularly timid. He was frightened by Huo Yi and confessed everything. He also said that it was actually Zhang Dawei who broke the furniture and that he deliberately framed Zhang Qingshan. Now, everything was clear.
At this point, Li Hehua breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Zhang Tieshan, his eyes filled with relief.
Now that the matter is clear, it is easy to judge. Huo Yi said, "Zhang Dawei took the initiative to frame someone and then provoked Zhang Qingshan, which caused him to fight back and accidentally cause injuries. Although it is understandable, it also caused Zhang Dawei to be injured. Therefore, I sentence Zhang Qingshan to compensate Zhang Dawei's family for 25 taels of silver. This matter ends here. Do you two families have any objections?"
Li Hehua and others certainly had no objection, they could accept this decision.
But Zhang Dawei's family had objections. They came here just for the hundred taels of silver, but now they had knelt for a long time and were almost beaten with a stick by the magistrate, but they only got twenty-five taels. It would be better if they didn't come to court.
Zhang Dawei's father mustered up his courage and said stutteringly, "Sir... my child has lost a lot of blood. The doctor said... he needs to rest for three months... this is only worth twenty-five taels of silver?"
Huo Yi smiled and asked, "Then how much silver do you think it's worth?"
Zhang Dawei's father thought there was a chance and immediately replied, "One hundred taels of silver!"
Huo Yi laughed immediately, but that laugh made people's scalps tingle.
"So according to what you said, you can ask for as much as you want? Then if someone is short of money in the future, they can ask their family members to go out and provoke others, and then get hurt, and ask them for a few hundred taels of silver. Then the family won't have to worry for several years, and they can also eat and drink delicious food. How great is that, isn't it?"
The people outside the court laughed and nodded, saying that this was a good idea and they would do the same in the future.
Li Hehua also secretly tried to hold back his laughter. This County Magistrate Huo was quite a talker.
Zhang Dawei's father's face turned red and he stammered, not knowing what to say.
Huo Yi slapped the gavel of his subordinates and said to Zhang Dawei's parents: "If you are dissatisfied with my verdict, I can also beat Zhang Qingshan 30 times to vent your son's anger, but you will not get a penny of the money. Think about which method you want to solve it and give me a decision as soon as possible."
When Zhang Dawei's parents heard that they had no money left, they hesitated and decided to take whatever money they had. The twenty-five taels of silver were enough to live a good life for a few years and to find a good wife for their son. So, they immediately said, "Sir, we don't want to beat you up anymore. Just give us the money. Twenty-five taels is fine."
Huo Yi curled his lips and smiled, and closed the case. Li Hehua took out twenty-five taels of silver and gave it to Zhang Dawei's parents in court, and the matter was officially over.
When the family walked out of the court, Zhang Lin's legs went weak and she fell down.
"mother--"
Zhang Tieshan stepped forward, picked up Zhang Lin and took them to the clinic. The doctor said that she fainted because of her emotional fluctuations and shock. She just needed to go back and rest for two more days.
The whole family finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Hehua originally wanted to go back to the restaurant first, but Zhang Lin was still asleep, so it would not be a good idea to leave like that, so he followed them back to the yard.
It was already late and no one had time to eat dinner, so Li Hehua went down to the kitchen, found some flour, made a pot of noodles for everyone and brought it out.
"Come, eat first, and we'll talk about other things after the meal." Li Hehua gave each person a bowl and invited Zhang Tieshan and Zhang Qingshan to eat. As for Zhang Lin's rice, it remained in the pot.
Zhang Qingshan couldn't eat at all, but he couldn't bear to refuse Li Hehua's kindness. He took the bowl and chopsticks obediently, and before taking the first bite, he couldn't help but say what he had been holding back in his heart for a long time: "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry, and thank you." I'm sorry for causing her trouble, and thank her for not only believing in him and comforting him, but also solving his problems and helping him pay for it. He didn't know how to repay this kindness.
Li Hehua pursed his lips and nodded, "Okay, let's eat first."
Zhang Qingshan's eyes were hot, he said "hmm", lowered his head and started eating with big mouthfuls, his hot tears fell into the bowl of noodles, slightly bitter.
Zhang Tieshan tilted his head to glance at Li Hehua who was eating quietly, the tenderness in his eyes almost overflowing. He reached out and held one of her hands. When she looked at him, he smiled at her. Everything was said without words.
Li Hehua curled up the corners of his mouth and lowered his head to continue eating noodles.
Not long after they finished eating, Zhang Lin woke up faintly. Li Hehua brought her the noodles. Seeing that there was nothing else to do, she said goodbye. But before leaving, she pulled Zhang Tieshan's sleeve and said, "You don't have to go to the restaurant today. I'll be there. Don't worry. Stay home with your mother and Qingshan to rest. Let your mother rest well tomorrow as well. We'll talk about it after you've rested. If you don't know how to cook at noon, go to the restaurant and get some food to eat."
Zhang Tieshan touched her little face, kissed her on the forehead, and then nodded.
After Li Hehua left, Zhang Qingshan sat down beside Zhang Lin's bed and watched his mother eat. When his mother finished eating, he reached out to take the bowl and suddenly said, "Mom, sister-in-law is a good person now. She treats us better than her own family. Mom, we should also treat her as a family member."
Zhang Lin paused for a long time, then sighed. Her eyes turned red again. She hummed softly and sighed silently, "Yes... yes." She was not a blind person. She could see it. She saw it.
It was her old wife's attitude that was wrong before.
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