Chapter 54 Ji Xuening recalls her serious illness at age five
These words made Wang Yuqing curious again: "Why is your grandfather so good to me? Logically speaking, he saved me and Lin Xuemei back then, he is my family's benefactor, yet he is still so good to me... even better than a biological granddaughter, why is that?"
Ji Xuening replied, "I don't know."
Wang Yuqing asked again, "Didn't you feel anything strange?"
Ji Xuening recalled that when he was five or six years old, his grandfather would always tell him that when he grew up, he would marry Wang Yuqing and treat her well and not mistreat her. He would ask, "Grandpa, why?"
Grandpa Ji just sighed deeply and didn't say anything.
Ji Xuening came to her senses: "I did find it strange, but I will listen to my grandfather."
Wang Yuqing couldn't help but ask again, "Your grandfather must have been extremely good to you, and loved you very, very much, right?"
Ji Xuening nodded without hesitation: "Yes."
Wang Yuqing didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he recounted the story himself: "When I was five years old, my parents died in a landslide. I fell seriously ill, which cost all the money and ration coupons in the family. We even had to borrow money from the village committee and write IOUs. Everyone told my grandfather to give up on me, saying that I was incurable and that we shouldn't waste any more money. But my grandfather didn't give up on me. He continued to borrow money everywhere, beg for food, and beg from people..."
“Every time he managed to scrape together a little money, he would immediately carry me to the county hospital for treatment. The last time, he knelt on the street and kowtowed to passersby to raise enough money for my medical expenses…”
“The death of my parents was a huge blow to him, and on top of that, I was seriously ill. I watched as his hair turned completely white in just a few days, and he looked decades older. He also lost more than ten kilograms. He was not as energetic as before, and he looked very haggard.”
"Later, one night my grandfather suddenly raised a lot of money. He said it was given to him by a kind and wealthy person. With the money to pay for medical expenses and to buy better medicine, my health improved."
"However, he developed many illnesses that year, and his health deteriorated year by year."
Ji Xuening paused, her voice choked with emotion: "He is the greatest person in my heart."
Wang Yuqing listened quietly, tears welling up in her eyes before she knew it, but she didn't know how to comfort this poor man.
However, she was quite surprised. The original owner was born in the county hospital, and Ji Xuening was also seriously ill in the county hospital. Ji Xuening was five years older than the original owner. He was hospitalized when he was five years old, which was about the same time the original owner was born.
Just then, someone suddenly shouted at Ji Xuening: "Ji Xuening, Xuening."
At the entrance of the brigade headquarters warehouse, there was a hand-held tractor with a welded trailer, and a dark-skinned, thin man squatting next to it.
Ji Xuening pushed her bicycle over and asked, "Junzi, is the wheel fixed?"
Lei Jun smiled and nodded at Wang Yuqing, then replied with a long face, "No, you know I can't fix it. I'll wait for you to come back."
Ji Xuening parked his bicycle, walked over to the tractor wheel, and frowned as he looked at it. "It's obvious that it was deliberately driven in with a thick nail. If the tractor wheel had accidentally run over the nail, the nail would still be on the wheel. Moreover, there are many marks around here, as if it was accidentally driven in crookedly, and the hole is uneven. It was done on purpose."
Lei Jun exclaimed, "Did someone do this on purpose?"
Wang Yuqing followed Ji Xuening's gaze and, just as he said, could tell at a glance that someone had done it on purpose.
She had a general idea of what was going on.
Lei Jun scratched his head: "I knew it! Yesterday, when I finished work, I drove the tractor back here and checked everything to make sure it was in good condition before I went home. This morning, when I came to work, I found that the tire was leaking air. I was so anxious. I went to the foreman, and he said it was my problem and told me to fix it right away. Then he deducted three days' work points from my pay. If my mom finds out, she'll beat me to death with a pot lid."
Ji Xuening said, "Didn't I tell you to go to the director and explain the reason, just say it was the duty officer's negligence?"
Upon hearing this, Lei Jun glanced uneasily at the office in the distance and whispered, "I...I talked to...the director said that the tractor is in my hands. I'm the tractor driver, so I should take full responsibility. Besides, the person on duty is..."
"She's the women's director, that's his wife."
Wang Yuqing knew that the person he was talking about was He Ruhua's mother, Hua Gui.
Lei Jun looked utterly helpless: "Tell me, how am I supposed to hold her accountable? She heard everything at the door and gave me a good scolding. I... I can't argue with her."
Wang Yuqing analyzed, "At six o'clock last night, when you commune members were getting off work, you happened to run into my grandmother who had been poisoned by eating wild vegetables. Your mother, Aunt Chen, and Sister-in-law Tang helped take my grandmother home. Then I asked your mother to go to the brigade headquarters to borrow a tractor from the director..."
"You should have just finished work and gone home at that time. According to you, you had already checked the tractor. Besides, the tractor was definitely not broken at that time, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to drive it back, right?"
Lei Jun nodded: "Yes, I definitely didn't break this tractor."
Wang Yuqing continued, "Then your mother came to the brigade headquarters but couldn't borrow a tractor. At that time, the women's director was on duty, and she told your mother that the director said the tractor was broken."
"But it wasn't broken when you left, and it suddenly broke down while she was on duty after you left..."
Ji Xuening glanced at Wang Yuqing and knew the answer in his heart.
Lei Jun nodded again: "Yes, I heard my mom mention it last night, and sure enough, the tractor really did break down when I came this morning. I thought she just didn't want to lend it to you."
He suddenly understood and his eyes widened: "So, the tractor was broken by that couple just so they wouldn't lend it to you? Aren't they despicable? They don't deserve to be cadres."
Wang Yuqing smiled and said, "Regardless of whether they damaged the wheels, it is definitely the responsibility of the person on duty."
Lei Jun said angrily, "That director wants to deduct three days' worth of work points from me. Why? Does he think I'm stupid? Sister-in-law, you're right. That's the women's director's responsibility. If anyone's going to deduct work points, it should be hers. No way, I'm going to find the director right now."
"Wait a moment."
Ji Xuening called out to him.
Lei Jun turned around: "What's wrong?"
Ji Xuening calmly replied, "You have no evidence."
Lei Jun said urgently, "What evidence do we need? Isn't this obvious?"
Ji Xuening added, "But what if you didn't see it with your own eyes and they don't admit it? At most, you can only blame the person on duty for negligence."
Lei Jun was furious; "I don't care if he admits it or not, he's just bullying me. I deserve to have three days' work points deducted and to be scolded like that."
Wang Yuqing stepped forward and said, "Junzi, I know you're very angry right now, but we really don't have any evidence. We didn't see it with our own eyes. If you go up and make a scene, you won't win. You won't get your work points back, and you won't be able to work in peace."
A glint of light flashed in her eyes: "I do have an idea."
Lei Jun hurriedly asked, "Sister-in-law, tell me what you want, I'll listen to you. My mom said you're amazing."
Wang Yuqing whispered, "Go find the director, but don't argue with him. Just admit your mistake and say that you want to go to the commune to report this to the commune cadres and ask them to punish you. The director definitely won't deduct your work points."
Lei Jun listened with skepticism: "Is that all? But why should I admit my mistakes? I didn't make any mistakes."
Wang Yuqing sighed and said patiently, "If you don't want to lose work points, just say it like this."
Lei Jun glanced at Ji Xuening, who then said, "Go ahead."
Only then did he turn around and leave.
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