Chapter 497: At a Dead End

After returning to Pengwan, Su Xinghui was busy with work every day, but he didn't put aside the matter of the old Hou residence in Zhuangyuan Lane. He kept himself informed of the situation through phone calls every day.

These days, the county government's working group stopped visiting, but court staff had been to Zhuangyuan Lane to understand the situation. While they called it understanding the situation, in reality, it was to exert psychological pressure on the residents of Zhuangyuan Lane, making them understand that occupying someone else's house like this was illegal and that they wouldn't win if it really went to court.

Wan Furong's eldest son, Wan Xinhua, had been looking for work quite diligently these days, running to many construction sites. He was young and strong and had been a construction worker for nearly ten years, so he was considered a decent worker. However, as soon as the project managers at those sites heard his name, they wouldn't hire him at all. They said Wan Xinhua was a person who lacked integrity and couldn't be hired.

Wan Xinhua ran to many construction sites but couldn't get a satisfactory answer. Later, a project manager who knew him told him not to waste his effort; as long as he was in Shangjun County, it was impossible for him to find work.

Liu Xiancai gave his subordinate, the staff member who leaked the secret, Liang Qingyuan, a severe lesson and also gave him a disciplinary action. Originally, Liang Qingyuan had a chance to be promoted early next year, but this time it was ruined.

Liang Qingyuan was so angry that he ran to the home of Wan Furong's son-in-law and scolded him severely, saying that he shouldn't have told him about this. After he found out, he went outside and blabbered, unable to control his mouth, which caused him, Liang Qingyuan, to be disciplined. Since he, Liang Qingyuan, was having a hard time, he wouldn't let the Wan family have an easy time either.

The news Su Xinghui heard these past few days made him very satisfied with the progress of the matter. Such pressure, even if the Wan family was unreasonable, was not so easy to bear, especially since the economic pressure was too great. A single cent can stump a hero, let alone the fact that the Wan family members were not heroes.

According to what Zhang Kaishan told Su Xinghui over the phone, in the past two days, some residents of Zhuangyuan Lane had already gone to the county government to ask if the previously promised conditions were still valid. The county government working group said they were valid, and two households immediately signed contracts with the county government, preparing to move out.

This news made Su Xinghui very happy. This was equivalent to having a breakthrough, which would exert even greater psychological pressure on the Wan family and other residents.

On Saturday, just as Su Xinghui arrived at the office and processed some documents, he heard Liu Yongjun calling him from outside: "Town Mayor, someone is looking for you!"

Su Xinghui stood up and said, "Who is it? Come in."

Liu Yongjun brought two people in. Su Xinghui saw that it was indeed Wan Furong and Wan Xinhua. Su Xinghui smiled and said, "Old Mr. Wan and Brother Wan are here. Please, sit."

The two sat on the sofa somewhat awkwardly. Liu Yongjun poured each of them a cup of tea and then went out.

Su Xinghui said, "Old Mr. Wan, how did you find me here today?"

Wan Furong said, "I didn't expect that you are really a town mayor at such a young age!"

Su Xinghui smiled faintly and said, "Just luck."

Wan Furong picked up the teacup, took a sip, and hesitated to speak. Su Xinghui said, "Old Mr. Wan, if you have anything to say, just say it."

Wan Furong no longer had the arrogance he had a few days ago. In fact, his arrogance might have just been a hard shell, covering his weakness and helplessness inside.

He was now just a person at the very bottom of society, with no money and no power. What capital did he have to be arrogant? His arrogance was actually just the thorns on a hedgehog. When a hedgehog encounters danger, it curls into a ball, facing people with sharp thorns.

But his hard shell and sharp thorns had been beaten down by Su Xinghui over the past few days, exposing all his weakness.

Wan Furong said timidly, "Town Mayor Su, can you make the decision regarding our family's matter?"

Su Xinghui smiled and nodded, "As long as your requirements are reasonable, I think I should be able to make the decision."

Wan Furong said, "Then we won't ask for such high requirements. How about compensating us with 30,000 yuan? We don't want the house, but Xinhua must be allowed to go back to work."

Su Xinghui shook his head and said, "Compensating with a house is impossible. We have to reason, right? After all, the house you are living in now is not yours; it belongs to the Hou family. This is the truth anywhere in the world. I think the conditions given by the county government are already generous enough. As for Brother Wan's job, that's no problem. Once you return the house to others, the issue of integrity will no longer exist, and he will naturally be able to go back to work."

Wan Furong pleaded, "Town Mayor Su, look at my family's situation. It's really too difficult. Our Steel Pipe Factory's efficiency is poor, and they haven't paid wages for more than half a year. My family's Xinguo's breakfast stall is no longer open, and now Xinhua has no job. How can this family live? Our request for 30,000 yuan is really not high."

Su Xinghui shook his head and said, "It's really not possible, Old Mr. Wan. No matter whether the request is high or not, we cannot agree to unreasonable requests. Otherwise, if we give you 30,000 yuan and others find out, what will we do if they all want this money?"

Wan Furong said, "Town Mayor Su, don't worry. If we take this 30,000 yuan, we will definitely not tell anyone else."

Su Xinghui said, "Even if you don't tell others, this matter cannot be handled this way. Furthermore, paper cannot wrap fire! But I can promise you that we will do our best to help with your family's difficulties."

Wan Xinhua said, "Town Mayor Su, my family is really in a difficult situation now and really needs this money. My mother is sick and needs to be hospitalized."

Su Xinghui couldn't help but ask, "Your mother is sick? What happened?"

Wan Xinhua explained the ins and outs. It turned out that the weather had been getting colder these days, and Wan Furong's wife was already physically weak. She caught a cold and fell ill in bed, needing hospitalization. But the Wan family had no source of income now, so how could they afford to be hospitalized? Wan Xinhua had spent all the wages he received when he was fired, and his mother's illness hadn't improved much.

The Wan family went everywhere to borrow money from neighbors and relatives, but they were unpopular, and few people were willing to lend them money. Originally, his son-in-law's family was in decent condition, but his son-in-law was very dissatisfied with Wan Furong's spreading the news about the Hou family wanting to return, because this matter caused him to offend Liang Qingyuan, so he was unwilling to take out much money.

Now Wan Xinhua's mother could only lie at home, taking some traditional Chinese medicine, and her condition was worsening. The Wan family could be said to be at a dead end.

Although Wan Furong was a jerk, he had one good point: he was very good to his family, especially to his wife. She had been with him for decades, and she hadn't despised him even when he was this poor. No matter what, he had to save his wife.

Wan Furong knew that going to the county government working group now wouldn't be of any use. He felt that it would be more useful to find Su Xinghui, for the sake of the sentence Su Xinghui said when he left their house that day—that if they figured it out, they should come find him. Therefore, he came to find Su Xinghui with his eldest son today.

Su Xinghui asked, "How much money do you need for your mother's hospitalization?"

Wan Xinhua said, "I don't know yet. Anyway, to be hospitalized, we first need to pay a deposit of 1,000 yuan, and I don't know how much more will be needed later."

Su Xinghui said, "How about this: I will call my father today. My father is the vice president of the People's Hospital and also an internal medicine expert. Let your mother be admitted first, and let my father treat her. Your mother's illness will definitely be cured. The unpaid medical expenses can wait. If it really doesn't work, I'll pay for it."

Wan Furong and Wan Xinhua were overjoyed. They looked at each other and thanked Su Xinghui profusely. Su Xinghui waved his hand and said, "Don't thank me. Hurry back and treat your mother's illness."

Wan Furong said, "Town Mayor Su, what about our relocation? Are we still talking about it today?"

Su Xinghui said, "Now it's a matter of life and death. Let's put the relocation matter aside for now. But I'll say it again: the unreasonable demands you put forward will absolutely not be agreed to by the county government. The county government's conditions are already the most generous. After you cure the patient's illness, we can talk slowly. You are not in a hurry, and neither are we."

Even if Wan Furong was a jerk, he couldn't help but be moved. He came here today prepared for Su Xinghui to blackmail him using his wife's situation, but Su Xinghui didn't do that at all. Instead, he let them treat her first, and the medical expenses could even be owed. For him to be able to do this was truly not easy.

This was not the time to talk. Wan Furong was anxious to rush back and send his wife to the hospital. He stood up and said, "Town Mayor Su, then I'll go home first and send his mother to the hospital. We'll talk about anything else next time we meet."

Su Xinghui nodded and said, "Okay, you go back first. I'll call my father and tell him. When you get to the People's Hospital, just say you're looking for Vice President Su Wenyun."

Wan Furong and Wan Xinhua left together. After they left, Su Xinghui called Su Wenyun and told him about the Wan family's situation, asking him to admit the patient first and let the medical expenses be owed. If it really didn't work, he would find a way.

Su Wenyun was a doctor with superb medical skills and noble medical ethics. Even if Su Xinghui hadn't said he would find a way for the medical expenses, encountering a patient with such a difficult family situation, he would have admitted the patient first anyway.

Therefore, hearing his son's words, he agreed without hesitation to admit the patient first, and the medical expenses would be put on credit.

With this matter settled, Su Xinghui felt relieved. Of course, he knew that if he had used this as a condition just now, it was very likely that the Wan family would have agreed to relocate on the spot. But that would have violated his principles of conduct. What kind of person would he be if he used such things to blackmail others?

Even if this matter ultimately failed to persuade the Wan family to relocate, Su Xinghui couldn't do that.

That afternoon, Su Xinghui told Qi Jian and returned to Shangjun County again.