Chen Guangze turned to Old Man Chen and asked,
“Dad, what did the police say?”
Old Man Chen answered solemnly, his voice hoarse.
“The police said that if we refuse to settle, they could be sentenced to three years in prison.
“If we agree to settle, we can handle it privately and withdraw the report.”
Hu Yan sat beside Chen Guangze’s bed, rubbing her chin as she thought.
“Hmm. Zhang Qiulian’s younger brother won’t allow anyone in the family to go to prison.
“They probably won’t be held for long. Someone will definitely come looking for us.”
The ward suddenly fell silent, and everyone looked at Hu Yan.
She continued analyzing the situation.
“The man Zhang Qiulian is planning to marry is the deputy director of a steel mill.
“Besides that, she also knows some… well, she doesn’t have just one man.
“Fourth sister-in-law and I know about two of them, so we’d better take this seriously.
“Otherwise, even though we’re clearly in the right, they might turn around and frame us.
“Then we’d be screwed no matter what.”
Lin Xiulan looked at Hu Yan with disgust.
“Fifth sister-in-law, could you please use less colorful language?”
The Chen family ignored her.
Chen Guangze pulled out a large stack of business cards from his pocket. After searching through them, he found one and handed it to Teacher Bai.
“Mom, I think we should hire a lawyer.
“The Zhang siblings have connections.
“Let’s just spend some money to make this problem go away.
“This is a lawyer I know in the provincial capital.
“Get in touch with him. Since we can’t get them locked up, we should at least make sure we get some compensation.”
Hu Yan thought Chen Guangze had made the right call.
They had to make the Zhang family pay something after getting so many people injured.
Chen Guangyao was still uneasy.
“Those thugs really won’t come after us again?”
That was what everyone was worried about.
Once this matter was over, would those people really be willing to let it go?
Hu Yan rubbed her eyes and yawned.
“Then we’ll have to wait and see.
“If those thugs have a boss behind them, they’ll definitely offer us money to settle the matter and come looking for us.
“If they’re just street punks, then there’s nothing much to worry about.”
Chen Guangze’s expression turned cold, his eyes dark and serious.
“I’ve been in Shenzhen all these years. Do they really think I’m easy to bully now?
“Don’t worry. I know a guy in the city.
“He’s got quite a bit of influence.
“I’ll go talk to him and have him mediate.
“We’ll get this settled. Everyone can relax.”
Old Man Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Good.
“Stay in the hospital for the next few days.
“Whoever comes looking for you, send them to your mother.
“Whatever happens, don’t agree to anything.”
Everyone obediently nodded.
Chen Guanghui scratched his head and looked at Chen Guangze.
“Fifth brother, will that really work?
“The Zhang family has someone backing them. Can we actually stand up to them?”
Chen Guangze played with his wife’s seaweed-like hair without even looking up.
“Don’t worry. My buddy isn’t someone people can push around.
“He has some influence in the city.
“And we’re in the right here.
“They won’t dare go too far.”
Had all those years he spent building connections in the city been for nothing?
Although his main focus had shifted to Shenzhen, the city was still his hometown.
He could still get things done there.
Chen Guangze looked at Hu Yan proudly.
He had pursued his wife back when he was still making a name for himself in the city.
Hu Yan understood the meaning behind his look immediately.
Back then, she had just started high school.
This shameless man had been hanging around in front of her every day.
Her parents had died young.
She had an older brother and a younger brother to take care of.
During her senior year of high school, her older brother was involved in a car accident.
The surgery was expensive, and she had no other choice but to ask Chen Guangze for help.
Without hesitation, Chen Guangze lent her 3,000 yuan.
That year, she had to take care of both her injured brother and her younger brother.
She had no choice but to drop out of school.
Those had truly been difficult times.
Although this man was usually cheeky and carefree, he had genuinely been dependable back then.
He had been the person she could rely on.
Her brother’s surgery was successful, and he eventually returned to work.
Naturally, Hu Yan and Chen Guangze began dating.
Her brother also repaid the 3,000 yuan he had borrowed from Chen Guangze.
Back then, even people with 10,000 yuan in savings were rare.
Three thousand yuan was an enormous amount of money.
When they got married, Chen Guangze felt that the 3,000 yuan had special meaning for the two of them.
So he gave her another 3,000 yuan as her bride price.
He didn’t keep a single yuan for himself, either.
He gave all of it to her as part of her dowry.
In her previous life, Chen Guangze’s business ventures had gone through ups and downs.
That 3,000 yuan had gone back and forth between them as he took it when he needed help and returned it when he had money again.
At first, it had seemed like a substantial amount.
It had helped him get through several difficult periods.
Later, money became increasingly less valuable.
Yet the two of them seemed to have an unspoken agreement.
The 3,000 yuan in that account was always there.
Even when she died, it was still there.
Thinking about all of this made her feel as though life itself were some strange joke.
Fortunately, this man was still alive and standing right in front of her, making faces at her.
Fortunately, he was still here.
The silent exchange between the husband and wife didn’t escape anyone’s notice for long.
Suddenly, Old Man Chen stood up and slapped his forehead.
“Oh, no! I forgot about the children.
“They must be terrified.”
The four nieces—Chun, Xia, Qiu, and Dong—were all grown girls, so there wasn’t much to worry about.
But the triplets were still young.
As their grandfather, it was only natural for him to worry.
The Chen brothers, however, fell silent.
For all these years, because of their eldest brother, they had taken care of his widow and children in every possible way.
Sometimes, they had even neglected their own families.
But Zhang Qiulian had gone too far this time.
The brothers were all deeply disappointed in her.
Hu Yan was more than happy to watch it unfold.
Zhang Qiulian had truly brought this disaster upon herself.
She had failed to get the houses and had even gotten herself thrown into the police station.
Judging by the situation, the Chen family had finally grown cold toward her.
In her previous life, whenever Zhang Qiulian had trouble, she would turn to the Chen brothers.
And those brothers had protected and supported her for the rest of her life.
Teacher Bai ignored her dejected sons and turned to Hu Yan.
“Fifth daughter-in-law, your father and I are going home to check on the children.
“I’ll also contact that lawyer.”
She took 100 yuan from her pocket and handed it to Hu Yan.
“Use this to buy them something to eat. I’ll bring them some toiletries tomorrow.”
Hu Yan had done a good job this time.
She was the only one who hadn’t been injured.
The elderly couple were already exhausted after running around all day.
If they stayed to care for the injured as well, their old bones probably wouldn’t be able to take it.
They could only rely on her.
Hu Yan accepted the money.
“Don’t worry. I’ll stay here.”
Teacher Bai still reminded her sons firmly,
“No matter who comes, don’t agree to anything.
“Wait until the lawyer arrives tomorrow before discussing anything.
“Do you hear me?”
After saying that, Teacher Bai led Old Man Chen out of the ward and headed back to Willow Bay.
Meanwhile, Zhang Qiulian was having a much harder time in the detention center.
It was cold and they were hungry.
Zhang Qiulian, her parents, and more than a dozen street thugs crouched on the floor, trembling.
For the moment, everyone was blaming Zhang Qiulian.
Even her own parents were furious with her.
The thugs weren’t particularly frightened.
But Zhang Qiulian’s parents were genuine farmers from the countryside.
They had never dealt with the police before.
Their bodies shook uncontrollably from fear.
“You—you damn girl! You’re going to get us killed!”
Old Man Zhang was equally confused.
“Tell me, why are you so desperate for those few lousy houses?
“We never even saw you worry much about the triplets before.
“And now that you’re about to marry someone else, you’ve suddenly become such a loving mother?”
Zhang Qiulian had no idea how to explain it to her parents.
She couldn’t possibly reveal the news about the upcoming demolition.
The man had told her that even he wasn’t certain which nearby village would be demolished.
But Willow Bay was the closest village to the city.
That was why she had been so desperate to get her hands on the Chen family’s houses.